This Ain’t No CNN.

I have to admit I’m a little fascinated by the drama going on with the new session of Congress, specifically the election of Kevin McCarthy as Speaker of the House. As of this writing the fifth election is taking place to elect McCarthy in the role, and it’s not looking good. The “Freedom Caucus” is holding out and 20 Republican members of the House are casting their votes for others.

Now, ideologically I’m not aligned with these folks on the “Freedom Caucus”. But I’ve long held the belief that the U.S. Government in general needs a shake up and away from the “same old, same old” approach that’s been going on for decades and these 20 folks holding their ground are certainly shaking things up.

It’ll be interesting to see how this falls out, especially since there was no “red wave” at the midterm elections and the Republicans BARELY hold a majority in the House. On one hand, the GOP not getting their stuff together to elect a speaker is damaging to their political capital (aww, so sad). But on the other hand, more of these shake ups may be just what this country needs to start things moving forward again.

We just need to keep moving things in the proper direction.

UPDATE 14:31 MST as I finished up this entry, Mr. McCarthy lost his fifth round of voting in his efforts to become speaker.

Reposted from Voenix Rising.

What is wrong with you people voting for those that put these idiots on the Supreme Court? Who could be so pathetic that they need the Supreme Court to tell them what they can and can’t do with their bodies?

This is just the beginning. And I again I will state, if they come for my marriage I will disavow, disassociate, and dissolve any relationship I have with anyone that supports this idiocy.

This is not the United States. This is a travesty. At best.

My opinions on abortion are really not that important because I’m never going to have an abortion and I’m never going to be in the position of being involved with that sort of decision.

I do believe a woman should absolutely, without question, have 100% authority over what she wants to do with her own body, and for the U.S. Government to reconsider legislating otherwise is regressive, absurd, and down right stupid. In no way does any American have the backing of using the phrase “Land of the Free” when there’s active legislation, against the will of the majority by the way, to take away a woman’s right to choose. There’s nothing free about that.

How about this: if a man rapes a woman, instead of forcing the woman to carry a pregnancy to full term and then raising a child that was forced upon her, we give her the right to choose what to do with her own body and then let her decide what to do with the man’s penis.

The Supreme Court justices that were jammed through at a record pace during the dark ages known as the Trump Administration lied. And the Republican women (Collins, etc) that touted “I believe them” and voted for their confirmations knew very well they couldn’t be trusted. They are as much to blame for this mess as the idiots we are stuck with on The Supreme Court. I have little faith the Democrats will be able to rectify the situation and we’re going to be stuck regressing the United States back to the mid 20th century. Ladies, get out your pearls and get ready to give up your careers, because they’re not going to stop with reversing Roe v Wade. These crazy men in power want you back in the home peeling potatoes.

And of course, there’s a decent chance these reversals won’t stop at Roe v Wade and they’ll start coming for other landmark decisions around racism, education, and gay rights.

One of the things I can’t help thinking about is the women I know personally that have had an abortion and continue to vote Republican because they simply couldn’t vote for Hillary or they don’t like Biden raising gas prices (which he absolutely has no control of). I don’t understand how any woman that’s had a safe and legal abortion can vote for a party that is actively trying to take this right away from current and future generations. Where would these women be in their life if they had to carry their aborted pregnancy to full term?

And just so I’m clear, if the GOP and their cronies in SCOTUS start coming after gay marriage, and/or the ability for future LGBT folks to get married, I will cut any and all ties I have with folks I know that continue to vote Republican. No stop, no explanation necessary, good bye. You do not get to be on friendly terms with me and continue to vote for people working to reduce the rights of Americans.

Unfortunately, the Democrats are as entrenched in corporate donors as the Republicans and I don’t have a lot of hope that any of this will get sorted out within my lifetime. The U.S. has been on a downward spiral, especially after 9/11. It’s too bad so many are trying to push things downward at a faster pace.

There is a certain amount of danger with having unqualified people in high positions of power, for example, a federal judiciary position. Trump placed a lot of unqualified people in these positions and they make uninformed, reckless decisions that affect the entire country.

Enter the ending of mask mandates today per one unqualified judge in Florida.

This is just another round of bringing the country to the absolutely lowest common denominator and catering to the folks that don’t like to feel as stupid as they are. They’re offended by common sense, more fragile than the common snowflake, and a plague on our society. For years we’ve heard, “it gets better”. The country as a whole will not get better.

I don’t care if you wear a mask or not. I’m doing everything scientifically sound to keep me and my family safe from the lingering pandemic. If folks want to be reckless and want to risk permanent health concerns or even death, that’s fine. Thin the herd.

I just wish someone else in power would be reckless and negate any insurance coverage when someone chooses to go unvaccinated and then wants to be cured of their foolishness.

There was a line in a recent episode of “Star Trek: Picard” that really struck me. This season’s story arc takes place primarily in the year 2024; the cast has gone back in time to “fix the timeline” again and they’re in 2024 Los Angeles trying to figure out what’s wrong and make it right. They meet up with a young Guinan, who is ready to leave the planet because of the turmoil of 2024.

The line that struck me was in regard to the rampant racism, obviously a commentary of what we’re seeing today: “They took off hoods and put on suits”. A simple, in your face statement of what’s happening, especially since Trump’s run in office.

I don’t follow the news as much as I used to, namely for the sake of my own mental health. However, I was quite happy to see sense prevail when the Senate confirmed Ketanji Brown Jackson as our newest Supreme Court Justice.

Perhaps things won’t be quite as bleak as portrayed in Picard’s version 2024 when we get there just two years from now.

Be Prepared.