Author: earlthepearl137

I'm a big fan of Harness Racing and Minor League Baseball (Lancaster Barnstormers). In case you didn't realize it, that's not my picture in the photo. That's my all-time favorite baseball player, Mickey Mantle, in racing silks before a celebrity Harness Race.

The Magic of Misdirection

by earlthepearl137

There’s an old joke that goes like this:

Juan comes up to the U.S./Mexican border on his bicycle. He has two very large bags over his shoulders. The American guard stops him and says, “What’s in the bags?”

“Just sand,” answered Juan.

The guard says, “We’ll just see about that. Get off the bike.” The guard takes the bags and rips them apart; he empties them out and finds nothing in them but sand. He detains Juan overnight and has the sand analyzed, only to discover that there is nothing but pure sand in the bags. The guard releases Juan, puts the sand into new bags, hefts them onto the man’s shoulders, and lets him cross the border.

A day later, the same thing happens. The guard asks, “What have you got?”

“More sand,” says Juan.

The guard does his thorough examination and discovers that the bags contain nothing but sand. He gives the sand back to Juan, and Juan crosses the border on his bicycle.

This sequence of events is repeated every day for three years. Finally, one day, Juan doesn’t show up.  It also happens, that this day turns out to be the guard’s last day of work before he retires.  He is frustrated that he never solved this case, and he just has to know what Juan’s been doing all these years, so, after work, he goes to a few bars in Mexico until he finally finds Juan.

“Hey, Buddy,” says the guard, “I retired today, so I won’t do anything to you, but I just know you were smuggling something these last three years. It’s driving me crazy. It’s all I can think about….. I can’t sleep, and I’d like to retire with some peace of mind. Just between you and me, please tell me what you were smuggling.”

Juan took a sip of his beer and casually said, “Bicycles.”

The sandbags in the joke were used for misdirection.  It wasn’t so much smuggling that Juan was doing.  It was magic through misdirection.

Recently, Donald Trump has been running a lot of ads where he pronounces that if he becomes President again, he will eliminate all taxes on tips.  This is good news for waiters, waitresses, barmen, barmaid, bellhops, cabbies, and everyone else who works for low wages and depends upon tips.  I had to ask myself, though, “Why is Trump making so much of this?”  He’s a man who only thinks of himself.  So, what’s in it for him?  I saw the trick, but what was the magic involved?  Where was the misdirection, and, especially, where was his trademark fear?

Trump focuses his campaign on fear.  He says that if Harris wins, there will be World War III, there will be a 1929-style depression, and illegal immigrants will kill you and your family, eat your dog, and take your home and your jobs.  He said the same things would happen if Biden was elected in 2020.  He plays on fear, and fear of non-white immigrants is his specialty.  He got elected in 2016, by promising to build a wall across the entire southern border.  It worked then.  It got him elected, and, since he never actually built the wall, he is still able to campaign on the same issue.  He will say or do anything to make his base fear immigrants.  “They’re eating your pets,” he tells them, and he, and only he, can and will be their protector. 

Where was the “fear factor” in declaring that he will stop taxing tips, though?  It was actually such a popular “concept” that Kamala Harris quickly supported the idea herself, and said her Administration would not tax tips, either.

So, let me play Penn & Teller, who had a television program where they showed you how magic tricks were performed, and I’ll explain the magic trick.

In 2022, Vice President Kamala Harris cast the tiebreaking vote in the Senate to pass a bill that, in part, gave money to the Internal Revenue Service.

Speaking in Las Vegas, Trump told his followers: “Kamala cast the tiebreaking vote to hire 87,000 new I.R.S. agents to go after your tip income.”  Two days later, Trump ran an ad that said, “Harris and Biden have literally unleashed the I.R.S. to harass workers who receive tips.”

Frequently during his rallies, especially when talking about one of his court cases, he tells the audience, “They are coming for YOU, but I am in their way.”  He, and only he, can and will be the great protector for his followers against the evil “Them.”  There’s the fear factor.  He told the multitude of people in Las Vegas, who work for tips, that Kamala Harris cast the deciding vote to bolster the I.R.S. and now the I.R.S. is coming after all those workers who haven’t been declaring all their tips for tax purposes.  He is the only one standing up for his followers against “Them.”  Kamala even wants to increase the number of I.R.S. agents.  If Trump wins the election, he promises to drastically reduce the number of I.R.S. agents.

Ah, there’s the rub. That’s the misdirection.

In 2023, the I.R.S. did use money from the Inflation Reduction Act to pay for 13,661 positions, including 495 for enforcement.  From 2024 to 2030, the agency expects to hire about 32,500 more for enforcement.

That seems to prove Trump’s point.  Magically prove it.  But here’s the tricky part.

The I.R.S. has been focusing on enforcement against large corporations and wealthy taxpayers.  Since the law passed in 2022, the I.R.S. has collected more than $1 billion from high-wealth taxpayers.  They are not targeting the chump change in your tip jar.  They are going after the big bucks, the ultra-rich corporations and the people who refuse to pay their fair share of taxes.  They are not coming after you.  They ARE coming after Donald Trump, Elon Musk, Peter Thiel, the chief contributor to J.D. Vance, Rupert Murdock, and the Fortune 500 companies which pay lower income tax rates than the average high-school teacher.

Donald Trump is not your protector.  He is certainly not standing between your tip jar and the I.R.S.  He is trying to get you to protect him.  Vote for him and he will fire half the I.R.S. agents on Day One.  He’ll be glad to do it.  The only thing that will make him happier on Day One is pardoning himself for any and all the crimes he’s committed.

According to the U.S. Constitution, billionaires like Pay Pal founders Elon Musk, Peter Thiel, and Rupert Murdoch can’t become President, because they were not born in the United States.  Musk was born in South Africa. Thiel was born in Germany, and Murdoch was born in Australia.  They can, however, use their vast media enterprises, social networks, and resources to try to buy the election for a not-so-smart aging white guy who can easily be flattered into tearing up that Constitution and happily cutting taxes for the rich and the restless once again.

We, the People of the United States, need to protect our Constitution and our country.  We need to keep Donald Trump and his ilk as far away from the Oval Office as possible.  We need to elect Harris/Walz in November.

Peace & Love, and all of the above,

Earl

How Do You Like Me Now?

by earlthepearl137

It’s been a bad day for New York City Mayors.  Former New York City Mayor, Rudy Giuliani, who recently was disbarred from practicing law in New York, is now disbarred from practicing Law in Washington, D.C.

Current Mayor Eric Adams was indicted today on charges of Fraud and Bribery, in a case where he is charged with accepting bribes from Turkish nationals.  It is charged that he accepted plane trips and vacations in exchange for pressuring the New York City Fire Department to facilitate the opening of a new Turkish Consular building, which did not pass a safety inspection.

In a related story, former New York City Mayor, Bill De Blasio, who left office with an approval rating lower than the approval rating of the infamous New York City Pizza Rat, will be recording a cover version of Toby Keith’s song, “How do you like me now.”

Toby Keith – How Do You Like Me Now?! (youtube.com)

Peace & Love and all of the above,

Earl

Roe, Roe, Roe – and What’s Next

by earlthepearl137

On January 22, 1973, the Supreme Court issued its landmark 7–2 decision in Roe v. Wade, protecting a woman’s constitutional right to choose.

The Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization decision, made by the US Supreme Court on June 24, 2022, overturned Roe v. Wade and Planned Parenthood v. Casey, and removed the constitutional right to abortion in the United States. The decision gave states the power to regulate abortion access, and it has led to significant changes in abortion access across the country.

In the case of Engel v. Vitale, The Supreme Court ruled in 1962 that school-sponsored prayer in public schools is unconstitutional. 

I think that this will be the next thing that Evangelical Christians will use this Supreme Court to try to overturn.

Why?  It’s the same reason that Evangelical Christians overthrew Roe v Wade.  It’s because they’re losing, and they’re scared.

Losing?  They’re winning, you might say.  They got what they wanted, but I ask you, for how long?

We like to say that our country was founded by people who came here to promote religious freedom.  That’s just not true.  The country was founded by people who were not welcomed in Europe because their religious beliefs were not accepted by the ruling majority.  The Pilgrims came here because Europe didn’t want them.  They didn’t come here to promote all religious freedom.  They came here for the freedom to practice their religion.

Other religious groups came here for the same reason, for the freedom to practice their religion, not to promote religious freedom for everyone.  Some groups, like the Mormons, sprung up with new, unpopular religions, and they migrated to Utah, to have a place where they could freely practice a religion that the majority of the country thought was weird.

So, while many of the first settlers came here to be able to openly practice their religious beliefs, not all of their descendants continued to practice that religion.  Some converted to other religions, and some even stopped believing in God.  There are now dozens of different religions being practiced in the United States, including Christianity, Judaism, Islam, Buddhism, Hinduism, Sikhism, Jainism, Baha’i, Wicca, Native American religions, and many others.

And then came Communism, an ideology that included Atheism.  With that, came the Cold War.  Good God-fearing people of the U.S. vs the godless Russians.  We had to win the Cold War, because we had God on our side.  We were, therefore, morally superior.  To further our cause, the phrase “one nation under God” was added to the Pledge of Allegiance in the United States on June 14, 1954, when President Dwight D. Eisenhower signed a bill into law. 

On July 30, 1956, the 84th Congress passed a joint resolution “declaring ‘IN GOD WE TRUST’ the national motto of the United States.” The resolution passed both the House and the Senate unanimously and without debate. It replaced E pluribus unum, (Out of many, one.) which had existed before as a de facto official motto.  Take that you godless Ruskies.  We had God on our side, and we could prove it.  It said so right on our money.

Then The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics was formally dissolved as a sovereign state and subject of international law on 26 December 1991.  We didn’t need to invoke the alliance of an almighty God to defeat the Russians, anymore.  We won.

But like the song says, “Something’s lost when something’s gained.”  When we faced the Soviet Union only 2% of Americans called themselves Atheists.  Since the Soviet Union dissolved in 1991, however, those numbers are growing steadily.  Today, about 28% of U.S. adults are religiously unaffiliated, describing themselves as atheists, agnostics or “nothing in particular” when asked about their religion.  A growing percentage of Americans want freedom of religion to now also include freedom from religion.

This is why religious organizations are getting scared.  Church attendance is way down.  32% of Americans attended church weekly in 2000. Now, according to Gallup, only 20% of Americans attend church every week, while only 41% attend at least once a month.  The percentage of Americans who never or seldom attend religious services is 57%.  That translates to fewer people tossing their money into the collection plate, which is a major concern for all religions.  God may be all-powerful, but He still needs money to carry on His work.

So, the Religious Right is leading the charge to bring back religion, but deep down they know it is a losing battle.  While they still have the numbers, though, they are doing everything in their power to legislate religion.  In Louisiana, they recently passed a law to display the Ten Commandments in every public school.  They are threatening doctors who perform abortions with jail time, and they are screaming that all the school shootings are not caused by assault weapons, but by the assault on religion.  They don’t want to get rid of the guns. Their answer is to bring back mandatory prayers in school.

White groups are also worried about losing their grip on America.  With less than 61% of the population representing as White, they are afraid that soon they will be the minority.  They’ve already seen the country elect a mixed-race President.  So, they are trying to limit the number of non-whites who can enter this country and become citizens.  They want to limit immigration to only the “good countries,” meaning, of course, the white countries.

White Nationalists and Christian Fundamentalists are combining in a futile effort to bring back “the good old days” when only white men became President and God was on our side.  They won’t do anything  about assault weapons in the schools, but they will be down on their knees praying for the overturning of Engel v. Vitale, and a return to the “good old days.”

To quote Kamala Harris. “We’re not going back.”

Peace & Love, and all of the above,

Earl

Economics 101

by earlthepearl137

There is one advantage to being old.  We, old farts, have been around long enough to have seen a lot.  We can put things in perspective, because at some time in our life, we’ve probably been there, done that, and might even still have the commemorative t-shirt hanging in the back of our closet.

In 1626, a group of Native Americans sold Manhattan Island to the Dutch for approximately $24 in trinkets and jewelry.  If they put that money in the bank and got an annual interest of 6.5% on their money, today that would amount to $1.8 trillion.

Ten years ago, it was estimated that the entire amount of the developable land on Manhattan Island was actually worth approximately $1.74 trillion.  So, the Native Americans weren’t outsmarted, like we’ve been taught to believe.  It was a fair deal for both sides.  Well, it might have been a better deal for the natives, though, since they had no actual deed to the land they sold.  It was like that line in Crocodile Dundy, The Aboriginal people believe that arguing over who owns the land, is like two fleas arguing over who owns the dog.

Many people today are wondering when prices will come down.  I hate to be the one to break the news to you, but the answer is, Never!  Prices only go up.  Real Estate values fluctuate, but, over the long haul, Real Estate has been going up approximately 6.5% a year since 1626.  So, to keep pace, everything else winds up going up in price, too.  That’s what inflation is.  There may be a sale on some items occasionally, but over the years the price always goes up, unless the demand for an item goes down.  I don’t imagine that the cost of buggy whips has risen as steeply as housing.

Real estate is the main driver of inflation.  We all need someplace to live.  We also all need food.

When I was a kid, my mom would tuck a one-dollar bill in my mitten and send me to the store for 3 quarts of milk and a loaf of bread.  A Mom today would have to put a $20 bill in their child’s mitten to get that same grocery order, and she shouldn’t expect to get more than a few dollars back in change, either.

Workers get pay raises but companies insure their own profitability by raising their prices to cover the higher salaries and the higher cost of supplies, and maybe they even give themselves a big bonus for being so smart.  It’s a vicious cycle that has been going on for centuries, and it isn’t going to stop no matter who’s in the White House.

Ten dollars doesn’t buy what it used to, but then again, 50 years ago the minimum wage was $2/hour, and it could take you 5 hours just to earn $10.

Are you better off than you were four years ago?  That’s a trick question you hear very often during an election year.  You nostalgically remember that four years ago everything was cheaper.  You conveniently forget that wages were lower, and worse yet, wages have not been keeping up with the rate of inflation.  So, in terms of spending money, you’re probably worse off.  Companies have switched from honoring employees to honoring shareholders of their stock.  Since the top executives at most companies often own stock in the company, they are far better off today than they were back then, while most of the employees are not.

The problem is not the rising prices.  They’ve been going up in this country for 400 years and will continue to rise forever.  The problem is that wages are not keeping up with rising prices.  When you get a raise, you’re supposed to be able to get ahead, not just get caught up.  You’re not getting the raises you deserve because, like I said, companies care about their shareholders far more than they care about their employees.  To move our economy forward, we need workers to have more clout, and unionizing is how we can do that.  Union Membership is down to only 6%.  In the 50’s it was 35%.  That’s what made those “good old days” so good.  Rising wages for union members resulted in rising wages throughout the industries.  A rising tide lifts all boats.  That was a great time, but union membership declined, and workers lost their clout.  Now, guys like Elon Musk and Donald Trump openly joke on “X” about firing employees who want to join a union.  I don’t think that they know or even care that this is illegal.  They just know that non-union employees are far easier to bully.

You’re never gonna lower the cost of living, but you can demand a living wage by joining a Union.  Together we are very strong.

Peace & Love, and all of the above,

Earl

My Take on the Harris-Trump Debate

by earlthepearl137

At the very beginning of the Debate Kamala Harris walked all the way across the stage to shake hands with Donald Trump. He went straight to his podium, but she went in for the handshake, like it was the beginning of a Heavyweight Fight. I think she just wanted to see if his tiny little hands were sweating. If they weren’t sweating then, they sure were over the course of the next 90 minutes as Kamala landed punch after punch, bringing up all the crimes for which he has been indicted or convicted, going all the way back to discrimination in housing when he worked with his father.

Trump told the viewers that he was proud when Viktor Orban told him that other world leaders feared him.  I hate to tell you this, Donald, but you lost the 2020 Presidential election because 80 million Americans were also afraid of you.  We were deeply worried that a madman, who would do anything to line his pockets and remain in power, had access to our nuclear codes.  The whole world was afraid of Donald Trump, and Donald Trump still doesn’t realize that this wasn’t a good thing.  It was a horrible thing.  The world gasped a big sigh of relief when Joe Biden won the Presidency, but they held their breath on January 6th, when Trump tried to use a mob to reverse the results of that election.

Kamala Harris revealed her plan for America, and Donald Trump revealed that he doesn’t have a plan.  His cronies have a plan, it’s called Project 2025, but he denied ever reading it.  That part might be the only honest thing he said all night.  Donald Trump probably didn’t even read the books he is supposed to have written, so I’d have no problem believing that he never read the 900-plus-page report. The ideas contained in Project 2025 were certainly written with him in mind, though.  It also came out that even though Trump tried to kill Obamacare 60 times, he never had a health plan to replace it,  At the debate, Trump finally revealed that nine years later, he still doesn’t have a health plan.  He still only has a “concept of a plan.”

What is his plan for anything?  Probably to put his son-in-law Jared in charge of fixing it, while Trump plays another round of golf. Don’t let that happen. Vote for the Harris/Walz team in November.

Peace & Love, and all of the above,

Earl

Time to say Goodbye

by earlthepearl137

My little brother, Kevin passed away this past week.  Since 2016 he wrote a weekly column in the San Francisco Chronicle.  His death was not a surprise as he had stage 4 cancer.  So, he had time to think about what he would say in his final column.  In his honor, I would like to reprint his final column here.

“Time to say a final goodbye, and thanks”

By Kevin Fisher-Paulson, Columnist Sep 5, 2024

Editor’s note: Chronicle columnist Kevin Fisher-Paulson died early Thursday, Sept. 5, after a 15-month struggle with cancer. He wrote this column shortly before he died. An obituary for Kevin will be published soon.

“Almost a decade ago, this column began on a baseball diamond on a block in the Outer, Outer, Outer, Outer Excelsior. Excelsior. A Latin term for “ever upward.”

For all that time, it has been the tale of a typical family in the city of St. Francis: a deputy, a dancer, their spirited son with a taste for the wild side, their curious son, as well as the dogs who keep choosing them. In short, this has been about family.

We have told the story of the Fisher-Paulsons, warts and all. One of our sons went across the desert and over the mountains, and the four of us have found a way to save each other.

When the column first came out, a number of readers wrote to tell me that their family was not like my family. Brian and I are gay, having struggled for gay marriage when straight marriage was a fait accompli and had been for more than 2,000 years. We fostered triplets and after that we adopted our two sons, both of whom were born into circumstances that would always challenge us, always keep the Fisher-Paulsons a footstep away from normal.

But you readers came to embrace us. Moms wrote to tell us that their daughters had found new lives across the desert, grandsons had become granddaughters, sons had chosen recovery over the mountains and siblings had chosen forgiveness. If each of us has the courage to change, we all have the courage to hope.

Back in May of 2023, I told you that I had been diagnosed with Stage 4 kidney cancer. My husband and I took up the struggle. We did immunotherapy. When that stopped working, we began radiation therapy. That helped a little and then we started chemo. That proved painful beyond words, and we moved back to radiation until we could stabilize.

In July, it all caught up. I was admitted to the hospital for tests and therapies. At last, on a recent Tuesday, my oncologist called with the results of my spinal tap and bone marrow analysis. The cancer had won the race, suffused throughout my body. It was, he concluded, time for home hospice. A few weeks to go.

This, therefore, is my final column.

Having said that, I would like to thank the family and friends who have made me the person I am, the community that shared the joy of the Blue Bungalow. That includes Brother X and Brother XX, SASB and DVR, Crazy Mike, Uncle Jon and Uncle Doya, Aunt JJ, Aunt Helene, Terry Asten-Bennett, Jill and Sarah. Nurse Vivian.

But it is my husband of 40 years and my sons who have made this life so worth living.

And also you, the readers. We have become friends over the years, sharing a cup of coffee every Wednesday morning. If you feel like it, have a good cry.

And now I go. So I’d like to ask that you be part of the leave taking. Raise a parting glass.

You could describe life as one long process of letting go, which makes death a process of holding on. What remains after death is the way I have changed Zane, Aidan and Brian. And you. We are all connected.

For me, I have my father’s faith in God, my mother’s faith in family, my grandmother’s secret for pie crust and my sixth-grade teacher’s love of French. From you I have my love of garlic French fries and the baseball stadium. Fog sliding down Sutro Tower. Dad jokes.

I hope I have brought you wonder, and I hope you now bring wonder to others. Teach your grandson to bake chocolate chip cookies. Take your niece to high tea at the Sheraton.

I stand on that baseball diamond, and I salute life. My journey is now over and yours must continue. Years ago, I asked you to believe in my family. And you did. You lit candles. You spread pixie dust. I am humbled. I am grateful.

And now I tell you that I believe in you. So go out there. And be kind.”

Kevin Fisher-Paulson’s weekly column has appeared in the Chronicle since May 2016.

Peace & Love, and all of the above.

Earl, a.k.a. Brother XX

Saddle Up, Donnie, and Ride Off into the Sunset

by earlthepearl137

There is a Spanish proverb that says, If one person calls you a jackass, ignore him. If two people call you a jackass, think about it. If three people call you a jackass, buy yourself a saddle.  It’s time for Donald Trump to buy a saddle.  Here is a collection, compiled by Zachary B. Wolf of CNN, of things that former Trump allies and aides have said about him.

Zachary B. Wolf, CNN

1. His vice president, Mike Pence: “The American people deserve to know that President Trump asked me to put him over my oath to the Constitution. … Anyone who puts himself over the Constitution should never be president of the United States.”

2. His second attorney general, Bill Barr: “Someone who engaged in that kind of bullying about a process that is fundamental to our system and to our self-government shouldn’t be anywhere near the Oval Office.”

3. His first secretary of defense, James Mattis: “Donald Trump is the first president in my lifetime who does not try to unite the American people – does not even pretend to try. Instead he tries to divide us.”

4. His second secretary of defense, Mark Esper: “I think he’s unfit for office. … He puts himself before country. His actions are all about him and not about the country. And then, of course, I believe he has integrity and character issues as well.”

5. His chairman of the joint chiefs, retired Gen. Mark Milley, seemed to invoke Trump: “We don’t take an oath to a wannabe dictator. We take an oath to the Constitution and we take an oath to the idea that is America – and we’re willing to die to protect it.”

6. His first secretary of state, Rex Tillerson: “(Trump’s) understanding of global events, his understanding of global history, his understanding of US history was really limited. It’s really hard to have a conversation with someone who doesn’t even understand the concept for why we’re talking about this.”

7. His first ambassador to the United Nations, Nikki Haley: “He used to be good on foreign policy and now he has started to walk it back and get weak in the knees when it comes to Ukraine. A terrible thing happened on January 6 and he called it a beautiful day.”

8. His presidential transition vice-chairman, Chris Christie: “Someone who I would argue now is just out for himself.”

9. His second national security adviser, HR McMaster: “We saw the absence of leadership, really anti-leadership, and what that can do to our country.”

10. His third national security adviser, John Bolton: “I believe (foreign leaders) think he is a laughing fool.”

11. His second chief of staff, John Kelly: “A person that has nothing but contempt for our democratic institutions, our Constitution, and the rule of law. There is nothing more that can be said. God help us.”

12. His former acting chief of staff, Mick Mulvaney, who resigned as US special envoy to Ireland after January 6, 2021: “I quit because I think he failed at being the president when we needed him to be that.”

13. One of his many former communications directors, Anthony Scaramucci: “He is the domestic terrorist of the 21st century.”

14. Another former communications director, Stephanie Grisham: “I am terrified of him running in 2024.”

15. His secretary of education, Betsy DeVos, who resigned after January 6: “When I saw what was happening on January 6 and didn’t see the president step in and do what he could have done to turn it back or slow it down or really address the situation, it was just obvious to me that I couldn’t continue.”

16. His secretary of transportation, Elaine Chao, who resigned after January 6: “At a particular point the events were such that it was impossible for me to continue, given my personal values and my philosophy.

17. His first secretary of the Navy, Richard Spencer: “…the president has very little understanding of what it means to be in the military, to fight ethically or to be governed by a uniform set of rules and practices.”

18. His first homeland security adviser, Tom Bossert: “The President undermined American democracy baselessly for months. As a result, he’s culpable for this siege, and an utter disgrace.”

19. His former personal lawyer and fixer, Michael Cohen: “Donald’s an idiot.”

20. His White House lawyer, Ty Cobb: “Trump relentlessly puts forth claims that are not true.”

21. A former director of strategic communications, Alyssa Farah Griffin, who is now a CNN political commentator: “We can stand by the policies, but at this point we cannot stand by the man.”

22. A top aide in charge of his outreach to African Americans, Omarosa Manigault Newman: “Donald Trump, who would attack civil rights icons and professional athletes, who would go after grieving black widows, who would say there were good people on both sides, who endorsed an accused child molester; Donald Trump, and his decisions and his behavior, was harming the country. I could no longer be a part of this madness.”

23. A former deputy press secretary, Sarah Matthews, who resigned after January 6: “I thought that he did do a lot of good during his four years. I think that his actions on January 6 and the lead-up to it, the way that he’s acted in the aftermath, and his continuation of pushing this lie that the election is stolen has made him wholly unfit to hold office ever again.”

24. His final chief of staff’s aide, Cassidy Hutchinson: “I think that Donald Trump is the most grave threat we will face to our democracy in our lifetime, and potentially in American history.”

So, if you have a relative or loved one, who got sucked into the Donald Trump – MAGA cult, it appears that there is only one surefire way to save them – get them a job working with Donald Trump.

Peace & Love, and all of the above,

Earl

The Biden Bump

by earlthepearl137

Fans of Stephen Colbert, have long recognized the phenomenon known as “The Colbert Bump,” which is an increase in the popularity of a person (author, musician, politician, etc.) or thing (website, etc.) as a result of appearing as a guest on Stephen Colbert’s show or (in the case of a thing) being mentioned on the show.

Traditionally, Presidential Conventions also have the ability to boost the national recognition and popularity of their speakers and their candidates for President and Vice-President.  So, naturally, the Republicans were hoping that Donald Trump and J.D. Vance would enjoy a bump in popularity following their convention.  There were three things, however, that were working against them.

The first thing was their Presidential candidate.  Ex-President Trump was already the most recognized politician in America.  The convention wasn’t going to be able to introduce him to any new audience.  All they could do was trot him out to the same MAGA Cult followers who have attended dozens of his rallies in the past.  To them, he is a “rock star,” because he had a TV program, and because they know he will publicly say outrageous things.  To everyone else, he is a narcissistic, disgraced, twice-impeached, convicted sex offender and 34-time convicted felon, who stole top secret U.S. documents and tried but failed to overthrow the government on January 6th, 2021.

The second thing was the Republican platform.  They spent four days talking about the problems in America, but didn’t have any suggestions for solving these problems other than mass deportation of minorities and punishing women who didn’t want to be pregnant.  They spent four days suggesting that our problems would go away if our President wasn’t 81 years old.  Of course, they didn’t have any way to explain how 78-year-old Donald Trump was going to remain 78 for the next 4 years if he got back into the White House.

One speaker at the Republican convention ridiculously asked the age-old political question to the conventioneers, “Are you better off now than you were 4 years ago?”  The meatheads in the audience gave a resounding “No!”  Apparently, they thought that 2020 was a great year.  I’d like to jar their memory with a montage of how things really were in 2020 when Donald Trump was President.

The third thing was the Biden Bump.  Joe Biden isn’t the most eloquent speaker.  He had to overcome a severe stuttering problem as a child.  He has worked in Government for decades, though.  He knows how to get things done.  Even though they had to deal with a divided Congress, he and Kamala Harris still managed to rescue the economy and change the course of the Pandemic.  He got the infrastructure bill passed and lowered the price of prescription drugs.  He created millions of new jobs and lowered unemployment to the point that more Americans are working now than at any point in American History.

That was only the first part of the Biden Bump.  He listened patiently as Republicans spent four days disparaging his age, and then he dropped the bomb on them.  Just when they were hoping to enjoy a post-convention honeymoon with America, he turned the tables on them.  He suddenly withdrew from the race and immediately threw his support behind Kamala Harris.  This left the Republicans with nothing.  They had spent four days playing the age card, the only weapon they had.  Now, will 78-year-old Trump dare play the age card against 59-year-old Kamala Harris?  I think not.  I don’t think “Fox News” will bring it up, either.  By waiting until after the Republican convention to tag off to his fresh tag-team partner, Biden-Harris pinned Trump, Vance, and Hulk Hogan to the mat.  Like I said, Joe Biden may not be as good a speaker as Donald Trump, but he knows how to get the job done.  One.  Two.  Three.  It’s over.  The winner – American Democracy.

Now all we have to do is turn out in record numbers in November to elect Kamala Harris and a majority of Democratic Senators and Congressmen to kick Trump to the curb one final time.

Peace & Love, and all of the above,

Earl

Too Soon?

by earlthepearl137

In his Christian New Testament Epistle to the Galatians, Paul the Apostle wrote: “whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap.” The Bible also says, “For they sow the wind, and they shall reap the whirlwind.”  I’m sure that Donald Trump, the conman Bible salesman is familiar with these quotes, even if he never read them.

Donald Trump has been sowing the seeds of hatred for years, and yesterday there was an alleged assassination attempt against him at a rally in Butler, PA.  News sources reported that the shooter, 20-year-old registered Republican Thomas Matthew Crooks was shot dead by snipers at the scene.

If a Democrat had been shot, Donald Trump and his low-life friends like Steve Bannon would probably call it a False Flag operation.  If a Democrat had been shot, they would have said that Antifa did it, or maybe it was just tourists out for a stroll.

Trump led a bloody insurrection against the country on January 6, 2021, and he promised this country a “bloodbath” if he was not elected in 2024.  Kevin Roberts, the President of the Heritage Foundation, is behind Project 2025, the right-wing’s plan to take over the country.  He threatened the left recently stating, “We are in the process of the second American Revolution, which will remain bloodless if the left allows it to be.”  These guys have been threatening the country with bloodshed for years.  Trump wanted to execute people like Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, General Mark Milley, for disagreeing with him.  Not happy with just macing peaceful protesters for a photo op with the Bible, he wants to be able to shoot them on sight, something that the First Amendment strongly disallows.  So, he wants to scrap the Constitution, jail his political rivals, and send tens of thousands of Americans into detention camps.  He wants to be a dictator on day one if he gets re-elected.

Unlike draft dodging Trump, there were no bone spurs for this guy, General Millie.

Now the Republicans are shocked that they are reaping the whirlwind, and are shedding a little of their own blood.  Trump is lucky that the bullet only nicked his ear.  If the bullet had been 3 feet lower, it would have gone through his brain.

Republicans and Democrats quickly joined in a rare bi-partisan show of support today.  A poll of politicians would find that 100% of them are opposed to violence against politicians.  Mass shootings in schools, okay.  Violence on the street, okay, but when a citizen attacks a politician, they lose their minds.  They’re always quick to quote the Second Amendment when they fill their pockets with money from the gun lobby, but they forget that the founding fathers encouraged citizens to fight against tyrants.  Thomas Jefferson said that the strongest reason for the people to retain the right to keep and bear arms, is, as a last resort, to protect themselves against tyranny in government.  “When governments fear the people, there is liberty.  When the people fear the government, there is tyranny.  Donald Trump wants to be a tyrant.

The Republicans haven’t shown any intention of supporting stronger gun control laws in the wake of this tragedy.  I’m waiting for one of them to declare, “If Trump was armed, he could have shot back.”  Who’s going to tell these a**holes that convicted felons aren’t allowed to carry guns, and Donald Trump has been indicted on 91 felony charges and already convicted of 34 of them.

I, personally, don’t believe that violence is the answer.  I hate Trump as much as anyone, but in this country we have laws against shooting people.  Of course, Donald Trump and the corrupt members of the Supreme Court he appointed believe that Donald Trump is above the law, but the rest of us are still subject to it.  So, I won’t take any violent action against him, but I will wear out my knees if I have to praying that someday soon, Donald Trump will choke to death on a Big Mac.

I refuse to shed crocodile tears for Donald Trump’s bloody ear.  I am truly sorry that innocent people were killed at the rally in Butler, though.  His cult followers may not be too bright, but stupid isn’t a crime.  They are perfectly allowed to support the candidate of their choice and shouldn’t have to worry about being shot for it.  The same goes for Biden supporters who shouldn’t have to be afraid that if they put a Biden sign on their lawn, a rock will come through their window and a family member might get hurt.

Since the shooter is dead, we may never know why Thomas Crooks climbed on that roof and took a shot at Donald Trump and his supporters.  Of course, the Republicans, Q Anon, and Fox News will blame Joe Biden, Barrack Obama, and Hillary Clinton.

If you watched a video of the assassination attempt, you will see that the first words out of Donald Trump’s mouth to his supporters were “Fight.  Fight.  Fight.”  It was just like that January day in 2021, when he told his supporters that if they wanted to hold onto their country they had to go to the Capital and “Fight like hell.”  Donald Trump understands that “Those who live by the sword, die by the sword.”  He just believes that he has enough followers who will “fall on their sword” to protect him.  Don’t allow him to milk this event to attract supporters.  He brought it on himself.  He inherited the Whirlwind, and he deserves to die, not at the hands of an assassin, though, but in a gallows, as the result of a guilty verdict in a court of law for the treason he committed on January 6, 2021.

Too soon?  …or not soon enough?

Peace & Love, and all of the above,

Earl

While the Cat’s Away…

by earlthepearl137

Recently, I watched a YouTube showing of Club Random with Bill Mahr and his guest Penn Jillette of Penn & Teller fame.  Penn doesn’t drink or smoke, but that didn’t stop Bill, who was quite comfortable in his man cave.”  The setting, obviously, was casual, and the conversation went on for an hour and a half.  It was so much more interesting than the short interviews you might see on a talk show, where the only purpose of being on the show was to promote a book or a movie.  Bill and Penn covered a plethora of interesting subjects, and the one that I found most interesting was the one Penn told Bill about the first appearance of Penn & Teller on the Tonight Show.

Today, Penn & Teller are record-breaking performers in Vegas. They’re such Vegas icons that the venue where they perform is the Penn & Teller Theatre.  They also travel around the world doing their unique magic show.  But, one time, a long time ago, they were just starting out and they got asked to audition for the Tonight Show with Johhny Carson.  At the time, an appearance on the Carson Show was THE big break that launched many successful careers.  It was like how a book will shoot to #1 on the Best Seller list if Oprah recommends it.

So, Penn and Teller, packed up the material they would need to do a magical performance on the Tonight Show.  They auditioned their Water Tank trick and Johnny loved it, except for one bit of it where Teller appears to be dead.  That, he thought, was in bad taste.  He wanted them to change the act.  They didn’t want to, because they felt that was the core of the joke.  It took guts on their part to risk losing the opportunity of a Tonight Show gig by not giving in.  Then Johnny compromised.  He liked their routine but didn’t want it performed in full when he was there.  So, he booked Penn & Teller to be on The Tonight Show during a week when he was on vacation and Jay Leno was guest hosting.  Win, Win.  Except when that day came, Penn & Teller had trouble shipping their huge water tank, so they wound up doing a different trick, one that Johnny would have allowed while on a night when he was hosting.

So, tonight I was watching Kathryn Hahn guest-hosting Jimmy Kimmel Live.  Her first guest was Seth Rogen.  They’re old friends and they were really having a good time talking to each other in an interview situation.  Then, they finally got around to plugging his new animated movie, Sausage Fest.  They showed a clip from the movie, and the audience got to see that in the movie, animated food products have sex with other food products.  Then, they brought out a tray of food and Seth started moving the various food stuffs into sexual positions with other food.  It quickly got outrageous and raunchy, while being funny as hell.  Then it dawned on me.  Did Seth Rogen pitch this idea to Jimmy Kimmel, and Jimmy did the same thing that Johnny Carson did to Penn & Teller so many years ago?  Did Jimmy like the bit, but find it too risqué for a night when he, himself, was hosting, so he scheduled it for a night when there was a guest host.  I’m almost sure that’s what happened, and I’m almost sure that this probably happens quite frequently.  Really good guests who might “push the envelope” further than the regular host can convince the sponsors to accept, are saved for nights when there is a guest host, and there is less likelihood of blowback from a sponsor.

“When the cats away, the mice will play,” is the old expression, except that now, the cat is planning his away time, so that the show can have time to explore the boundaries of both their envelope and that of their audience.

Now, I won’t be skipping my favorite late-night shows, when there is a guest host.  I’ll be hoping to catch another edgy act pushing the envelope while the cat’s away.

Peace & Love, and all of the above,

Earl