Valentine Edition
Some consideration was given to posting a romantic picture of a couple kissing. If you know me, you know I have those pictures in my archives… somewhere. I couldn’t do it, though. The disaster taking place in the US is far too overwhelming to ignore and, honestly, if we’re serious about loving our country then we’ve got to start lowering our heads and showing Felonious Punk and his minions that we’re not going to stand for the decimation they’re inflicting on our country.
Yes, I did take care of Kat and the kids, though I didn’t know in time that G has decided to cut sweets from his diet. Oops, sorry about that. Politics have entered their lives as well, though. Each day, I’m hearing of assaults on their dignity and intelligence. The kids have no problem standing strong for what they believe, and, trust me on this, you do not want to cross Kat, especially while sitting in her salon chair. No one in our family is milquetoast and letting anyone trample our rights is not in our DNA.
One thing certain today is that we’re getting no love from the White House. All probationary workers, primarily new hires replacing people who retired at the end of last year, were all summarily dismissed yesterday. One notice in particular caused my heart to sink:
Please understand that NPS employees are critical to maintaining the safety of the parks. Among other things, these are the folks who warn visitors when bears, moose, and bison have been spotted at popular places in the park. They let you know where the weather has made certain places unsafe. They come and get your ass when you fail to return on time or have an emergency. The NPS was already understaffed and this inevitably makes the parks a more dangerous place to visit.
Your food’s not getting any safer, either. Now that the nutjob from hell has been confirmed as Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS), your food is not safe, your ability to get vaccines is not safe, and research into emerging diseases could disappear. WE ARE ALL AT RISK. When the Secretary said that he’s “planning a purge of the health department,” he was talking about cuts to every program under the department’s purview. How does that play out?
Dr. Ralph Abraham, Louisiana’s surgeon general, wrote that the state would no longer use media campaigns or health fairs to promote vaccinations. Since so much of the state is rural and under-educated, those campaigns are critical to making sure children are vaccinated before starting school. Should other states respond similarly, the health of the country could be in danger.
Not that we already aren’t treading on uncertain ground. Some people didn’t know they had a bird flu infection, a study of veterinarians suggests. You would think that, since they’re the ones working most directly with animals that might be infected, vets would be on top of their own risk factors. That’s tough to do when one is unaware of having any symptoms at all. Not only does that put the vets at risk, it means they are more likely to transmit the disease themselves.
What made me sick about yesterday’s confirmation vote is that after Sen. McConnell joined Democrats in voting against the confirmation, Felonious Punk not only insulted the senior senator from Kentucky but questioned the senator’s childhood bout with polio. WTF!? Does the presidork even understand what polio is? There’s no playing around with that disease! Thousands of children died annually before there was a vaccine. I’m not a fan of Sen. McConnell’s politics and he’s done some horrible things in the past, but damnit, this shows the petty vindictiveness of the idiot sitting in the White House.
There are some other issues you shouldn’t ignore this morning.
- NATO is in disarray after the US announced that its security priorities lie elsewhere. Blame the VP for this one. Comments he made yesterday told NATO that the US “might not always be there” to help Europe in times of conflict. Read into that what you want. The US might not help fund European defense. The US might disappear entirely. There are multiple threats sitting between the lines.
- Punk signed a plan for reciprocal tariffs on US trading partners, ushering in economic uncertainty. If you thought the three percent increase in inflation last month was bad, it’s about to get a lot worse. Do you realize how many of your favorite food products are imported? Chances are high that imported foods take up more than half of your grocery basket.
- Federal funding freeze disrupts rural organizations supporting foster youth and job growth. Rural counties are especially dependent on government grants for a number of programs. Without those programs, more small towns are likely to see a frightening rise in drug use, disease, and a loss of population. Never mind that people in these areas largely voted for Punk. He doesn’t care who or what he hurts. He doesn’t care at all.
- Hamas says it will free 3 more hostages. That could resolve its ceasefire dispute with Israel. So, the threat of starting Armageddon tomorrow is at least temporarily on the back burner. Don’t ignore the situation, though. Punk is anxiously waiting for any excuse to drive Palestinians out of Gaza, potentially triggering WWIII. This situation places the entire world at risk.
- FEMA Quietly Eases Rules Meant to Protect Buildings in Flood Zones. Check your homeowner’s insurance. A lot of people don’t realize that they live in flood zones until disaster hits. FEMA’s rules provided strict limitations on where, when, and how buildings could be built within flood zones. Without those rules, the cost of damage in future floods is likely to skyrocket.
- After Abortion Bans, Infant Mortality and Births Increased, Research Finds. The article is a couple of days old. I put off posting it because, by and large, an old man like me doesn’t have any business sounding off on the topic of abortion. However, as state legislatures scurry to limit women’s access to healthcare and force doctors and hospitals to second-guess their procedures, people die.
There’s more, but I’m already over 1,000 words, and it’s the time of morning when things start happening faster than I can type. The news alerts won’t leave me alone. Here’s the eternal question: WHAT ARE YOU GOING TO DO ABOUT IT? Sitting at a keyboard complaining doesn’t change much of anything. I’m currently of the opinion that protests don’t matter unless they are large enough to completely consume a government building. There’s an economic blackout scheduled for February 28, and that movement seems to be gathering some steam, but don’t think for a second that anyone in the White House is going to care. Bringing about economic collapse is playing into their hands.
We need to stand up and get in people’s faces. That’s going to mean breaking protocol and possibly a few laws. Politicians ignore what isn’t directly and immediately affecting their lives. Therefore, we have to give them something that is impossible to ignore. Fill the hallways. Fill their offices. Block access to their vehicles. Give them no rest or measure of privacy until they turn this shit around.
Congress goes into recess later today. In theory, they are supposed to spend next week in their local offices meeting with constituents. Many of them won’t do that; they’ll jet off to a place that isn’t nine freakin’ degrees in the morning. Those politicians should be met at the airport by angry crowds because they are not representing the people who elected them. Politicians who are in their offices next week need to find their buildings overflowing with angry constituents demanding that the unprecedented takeover of our government be stopped, by any means necessary.
And if that doesn’t work…
Grab your guns by the Second Amendment and use them in the manner the founding fathers intended. Take the country back.
Just remember, we’re dealing with someone who went on a rant about how magnets don’t work. Don’t expect anything sane or reasonable from the White House. It’s not coming.
