Random Thoughts: Teary Bolsonaro

2023-01-01: Headline: "Teary Bolsonaro calls loss unfair, condemns violence, flies to Florida."
Florida, the refuge of criminal ex-presidents everywhere.
Brazilian president mimics Trump in two out of three.

2023-01-01: The football gods meted out justice. Ohio State couldn't even win their own conference. They had no business playing for the national championship. Of course TCU lost its conference championship game, but they did have their conference's best overall record. Georgia is the only deserving champion, despite winning because of Ohio State's last-second, missed field goal. Football isn't fair.

2023-01-03: The closed meetings Republicans in Congress are having right now to decide whether to support Kevin McCarthy as Speaker could never happen if Congress had to follow rules like the Texas Open Meetings Act. Is that good or bad?

2023-01-04: The late great Arizona Rep. Mo Udall once said, "You know the difference between a cactus and a caucus? A cactus has the pricks on the outside."
-- Matthew Dowd

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2023-01-04: Osama bin Laden attacked America to draw it into a war in the Middle East, from which chaos would result and out of which would emerge a new Caliphate. The rightwing of the Republican Party has the same strategy. Bring down the GOP and the entire American government, sow chaos deliberately, and from the ashes a great country will emerge (by some magic). That's the theory anyway.

2023-01-05: Name a shorthand for a streamer that is both accurate and unliked by the streamer itself?
Answer. D+

2023-01-06: I've heard the 20 or so holdouts to Kevin McCarthy's speakership described as the "Burn it All Down Caucus." One reason to believe they could hold out forever is that Congress can't do business without electing a Speaker, meaning Congress can't raise the debt ceiling, either. The caucus will like that.

2023-01-06: Kevin McCarthy never watched Charlie Brown and Lucy play football.

2023-01-07: Kevin McCarthy's ascension to the speakership was historic: The process lasted longer than any speaker election since 1859 during the run-up to the Civil War. Simply an historical coincidence or a portent of more danger ahead?

2023-01-11: Fundraising email from Colin Allred: "Colin is holding Ted Cruz accountable."
He's got his eyes set on a run for Senate in 2024.

2023-01-13: Why would anyone want a gas stove? Other than to own the libs I mean?

2023-01-15: In 1973, Texas got rid of a public holiday honoring Robert E Lee's Birthday. Before you applaud Texas for forward thinking, know that they only renamed the holiday "Confederate Heroes Day." It was enacted in 1973, after a Black lawmaker in Texas had the gumption to introduce a bill to establish a public holiday honoring Martin Luther King, Jr.
Reminder: January 19, "Confederate Heroes Day," is still a public holiday in Texas.

2023-01-16: "There are those who are asking the devotees of civil rights, when will you be satisfied? We can never be satisfied as long as the Negro is the victim of the unspeakable horrors of police brutality."
-- MLK, Jr, "I have a dream", 1963

2023-01-18: Annual reminder: Texas still honors slaveholders with a state holiday, "Confederate Heroes Day," on January 19.

2023-01-18: Revolving door in Texas politics. Voters kicked J.J. Koch off the Dallas County Commissioners Court, so GOP Gov. Greg Abbott appointed him to be judge of Dallas County Criminal District Court 2.

2023-01-19: Why can't Texas Atty. Gen. Ken Paxton do something useful with his time, like prosecuting people who have been indicted for criminal securities fraud...you know, people like Ken Paxton?

2023-01-19: Headline: "George Santos Denies Defrauding Dog. Also, the dog had cancer. And it belonged to a homeless veteran."
GOP reaction? Everything's fine.

2023-01-20: Headline: "Yes, Texans actually pay more in taxes than Californians do."
Left unsaid: ...and get so much less.

2023-01-21: Washington Post: "The Virginia teacher who was shot by a 6-year-old student repeatedly asked administrators for help with the boy but officials downplayed educators' warnings about his behavior."
This highlights the need for social-emotional-learning lessons (SEL) in schools. It's a better response than arming teachers. IJS.

2023-01-21: The best of (local) NextDoor

2023-01-21: KTRE: "Senator Bob Hall sponsored Senate Bill 314, which says food that contains, is manufactured with or derived from research that came from an aborted unborn child should be labeled as such. Critics say such food does not exist."
My Texas State Senator (thanks to gerrymandering) from the fever swamps of east Texas.

2023-01-22: Today's fundraising pitch from the former guy: "This invitation to view a preview of my video message is not transferable. I trust you with this information. Please do not tell anyone."
You mean, anyone other than all the other email inboxes you spammed with this fundraising pitch? OK, then, you can trust I won't forward the email to anyone. Promise.

2023-01-22: Today's offer from the former guy's middle-aged son: "My father asked me to reach out to his BRAVEST and FIERCEST supporters, like YOU, and invite them to join the most EXCLUSIVE and PRESTIGIOUS opportunity ever."
How do you qualify for this EXCLUSIVE opportunity, you may wonder?
"Please contribute ANY AMOUNT IMMEDIATELY, and you'll instantly join."

2023-01-22: What is the true meaning of a teacher?
teacher. noun. teach·​er ˈtē-chər. : someone who knows, i.e., someone who should be listened to.

2023-01-26: I used to feel good about the racial/ethnic diversity in my city. Judging by the attendance at the State of the City presentation last night, I have to wonder if my feelings might be misplaced. The attendance, to put it delicately, didn't look or feel diverse.

2023-01-29: ESPN: "Former Georgia quarterback Stetson Bennett, who led the Bulldogs to a National Championship earlier this month, was arrested on a misdemeanor public intoxication charge in Dallas on Sunday morning...A Dallas Police Department spokesperson said officers responded to a report of a man banging on doors at 6:10 a.m. on Sunday."
Q. How can you tell Stetson Bennett is white?
A. Because if he were Black, he'd have been at least tasered and maybe shot for banging on doors.

2023-01-31: Headline: "Samsung profits sink to 8-year low."
I'd say I'm not sorry if not for the fact that when this Korean giant in the semiconductor industry sneezes, American companies catch the flu.

2023-01-31: NYTimes: "Black Americans Are Much More Likely to Face Tax Audits, Study Finds. The findings do not suggest bias from individual tax enforcement agents...Instead, the findings document discrimination in the computer algorithms the agency uses."
*This* is what is meant by systemic discrimination. You could staff the whole IRS with MLK clones and the result would still be racist.

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