national news

Big Lie: alive and festering

By John Kanelis / johnkanelis_92@hotmail.com

The Big Lie, the one fomented by Donald Trump, is alive and festering in Maricopa County, Ariz.

What gives? Well, a group of conspiracy theorists is ramrodding a supposed “recount” of votes cast during the 2020 presidential election. The Arizona vote ended up narrowly in President Biden’s total, giving him the state’s electoral votes.

The conspiracy nuts are looking for justification to turn the results over in the state’s most populated county. My prediction? They won’t find anything, at least not legitimately.

However, there is not a damn thing legitimate about what is happening in Arizona and in Maricopa County.

The Big Lie purveyors, who hang on the lie promoted by Donald Trump that the election was “stolen” through vote fraud, are on the hunt for anything they can use to give validation to the phony assertion about fraud that did not exist.

The so-called “audit” of the ballots is being done by individuals and organizations with zero election experience. They are Trumpkins in disguise. They have stooped to looking for evidence — and this is fantastic! — of “bamboo” in the paper used in ballots to confirm specious assertions of manipulation by nefarious forces in Southeast Asia.

We are witnessing a ridiculous attempt spurred on by a ridiculous former POTUS to overturn the results of a fair, legal and free election.

Sheriff Goes Ballistic After Arizona Recounters Demand Access To County Passwords | HuffPost

There will be nothing constructive gained from this form of idiocy, other than to confirm that those who are seeking to overturn the results are, indeed, certifiable idiots.

They are being fed The Big Lie. They consume it willingly and seemingly with glee. They stand behind a man elected to the presidency and then defeated in his re-election bid only because they adhere to the nonsense and the lies he throws out there.

Now they are messing around with an electoral process that has been deemed “the most secure in U.S. history.” Who made that assertion? Donald Trump’s choice to protect the electoral system, Christopher Krebs, who then got “rewarded” for doing his job by getting fired by the Liar in Chief. Someone has to explain to me how that makes a lick of sense.

So it is that the Big Lie is alive.

It is festering.

national news

GOP has gone to hell

By John Kanelis / johnkanelis_92@hotmail.com

There’s no nice way to say it, so I’ll just fire away.

The Republican Party has gone head first into the shi**er. It’s gone to hell. It no longer represents anything other than fealty to a hate- and fear-monger, an ignorant buffoon who had no business being elected POTUS.

Donald Trump’s vise grip on the once-great political party is shameful in the extreme.

The party has devolved into an organization that now stands and cheers for an alleged sex trafficker in Rep. Matt Gaetz, embraces the lunacy of QAnon queen and conspiracy theorist Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene … and then boos and jeers actual Republicans such as Sen. Mitt Romney of Utah and Rep. Liz Cheney of Wyoming.

The House Republican leadership is set to boot Cheney out of her GOP caucus chairmanship. The party rank-and-file has turned its back on the 2012 GOP presidential nominee, Romney. What do these two politicians have in common? They voted to impeach and convict Donald Trump of inciting the Jan. 6 insurrection on Capitol Hill.

And so the party now slobbers all over Donald Trump’s shoes and demands that other politicians do the same.

What in the name of governance happened to this group of individuals? They have been taken hostage by an imbecile.

Wow! I … am … stunned.

national news

Why not help families?

By John Kanelis / johnkanelis_92@hotmail.com

Someone will have to explain to me in simple terms just why the Republican caucus in Congress is so adamant in opposing the family portion of President Biden’s infrastructure relief package.

Senate GOP leader Mitch McConnell has declared that the acceptable price tag for an infrastructure bill has increased to $800 billion, which is up from the $568 billion price tag proposed initially by the GOP.  But he wants any legislation to focus on roads, bridges, rail lines … you know, the “traditional” infrastructure items.

McConnell ups acceptable price tag for infrastructure package (msn.com)

Biden wants to expand the definition of infrastructure to include benefits for families. Providing health care. Waiving the cost of attending community college. Raising the minimum wage.

Why is that such a terrible thing in the eyes of Republicans?

Surely they cannot believe that the government has no role to play here. Or can they?

Biden is set to meet with congressional leaders on Wednesday. It’ll be a bipartisan affair. The president will get to employ his formidable negotiating skills and perhaps parlay his relationships with the likes of McConnell into some form of compromise.

He needs to start with putting the GOP leadership on the record about whether they want to help families. Or do they want to kick them aside in favor of fixing potholes?

I happen to believe we need to go bigger rather than smaller.

Sports news

What happens now?

By John Kanelis / johnkanelis_92@hotmail.com

Medina Spirit has tested positive or an anti-inflammatory drug and could be disqualified from the Kentucky Derby race he won this past weekend.

This is a big deal for one reason. The horse’s trainer, Bob Baffert, is one of the legends of horse racing. He’s won a ton of Derby races. Including with the most recent two Triple Crown winners.

As for the drug that Medina Spirit took — allegedly! — I am left to wonder if it gave the horse an unfair advantage over the field. I tend to think not.

I don’t usually get wrapped up in horse racing until the same horse wins the Derby and then the Preakness. Then I get interested in the Belmont Stakes to see if the steed can win the Triple Crown.

This thing with Medina Spirit, though, is troubling, given the nature of the substance he allegedly consumed and whether it affected the outcome of the race.

medical news

Thanks, doc; I’ll wait

By John Kanelis / johnkanelis_92@hotmail.com

Dr. Anthony Fauci says that increased vaccination rates mean that we can move around indoors with relaxed mask and social-distancing requirements.

Well, I gotta say it: No thanks, doc. I’m going to keep wearing my mask and keeping my distance from strangers until we get the “all clear!” from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the Food and Drug Administration and, well, from you.

I get that we want to return to normal life as we knew the meaning of the term. However, I am going to keep my mask handy, ready to slip on when I go to indoor locations populated by complete strangers.

Dr. Fauci is President Biden’s senior medical adviser. He is a brilliant epidemiologist, the leading national and arguably the top worldwide expert on infectious disease. If he says it’s OK for businesses and local governments to relax their precautions, I’ll accept that.

However, I am not going to take the bait just yet.

We have a ways to go before we can declare the COVID virus a goner. Until we do that, I’ll keep wearing my mask.

But … thanks for the words of encouragement.

State news

Anti-abortion bill nears reality

By John Kanelis / johnkanelis_92@hotmail.com

If I were to declare my opposition to a strict anti-abortion bill headed for approval in the Texas Legislature, would you consider me to be “pro-abortion”?

If you say “yes,” you would be wrong.

Still, I do oppose legislators’ effort to enact a strict law that makes it illegal for a woman to terminate a pregnancy just six weeks after conception.

Does that mean I favor abortion? That I would counsel a woman to get an abortion if she asked for my opinion on this intensely personal matter? That I oppose the U.S. Supreme Court’s recent rulings that have declared abortion to be perfectly legal in this country?

No on all three counts.

What troubles me about the Texas legislation is the idea that a woman cannot make this decision for herself. That she cannot consult with her spiritual counselor, her partner, other members of her family, that she cannot pray to God for strength and guidance as she ponders what to do.

No, that a group of equally fallible human beings are going to declare that any effort to end a pregnancy after six weeks — when, as I have understood, women often don’t even know they are pregnant — is just plain wrong.

Human beings should not be left to pass judgment on other humans’ most wrenching decision. To my way of thinking, a woman who chooses to end a pregnancy stands alone. There can be no other decision that comes to my mind that is more wrenching than that.

The Texas Tribune reports: Abortion rights advocates say the legislation is among the most “extreme” measures nationwide and does not exempt people pregnant because of rape or incest. Beyond the limitations on abortion access, the bill would let nearly anyone — including people with no connection to the doctor or the woman — sue abortion providers, and those who help others get an abortion in violation of the proposed law. People who support abortion funds and clinics could also be hit with lawsuits, and lawyers warn those sued would not be able to recover some of the money they spent on their legal defense.

Texas House passes fetal “heartbeat” bill banning abortion at six weeks | The Texas Tribune

If only government officials could adopt a concept uttered by President Bill Clinton who once declared his intention to make abortion “rare … but still legal.”

national news

Liz Cheney: no martyr

By John Kanelis / johnkanelis_92@hotmail.com

Frank Bruni is a superb columnist for the New York Times.

He is passionate about many issues dear to progressives, especially marriage equality; I mean, he is a gay man who writes frequently about the issue … and does so with superb rhetoric.

That all said, I believe he is mistaken when he implies in his latest column that Rep. Liz Cheney is positioning herself as a martyr of some sort. I don’t believe that’s happening.

Cheney is likely to lose her House Republican caucus chairmanship because she voted to impeach Donald Trump in January for inciting the infamous riot at the Capitol Building.

She remains what she always has been: a conservative Republican who voted overwhelmingly in favor of Trump’s agenda. That isn’t good enough to save her leadership post. The Trump cult that comprises most GOP House members want her gone.

So she’s going to keep harping against Trump. Good for her! Is she pretending to be something other than a conservative GOP lawmaker? I don’t see it.

Opinion | Is Liz Cheney a Martyr — or Just a Hack in Holy Drag? – The New York Times (nytimes.com)

DC riot

McCarthy makes it clear: He is a Trump toadie

(AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)

By John Kanelis / johnkanelis_92@hotmail.com

Kevin “The Snake” McCarthy has thrown in with a Donald Trump sycophant in the intramural fight among Republican caucus members in the U.S. House.

The California lawmaker, the leader of the GOP caucus, said today he is backing Rep. Elise Stefanik in her bid to oust Rep. Liz Cheney from the Republican Caucus chairmanship.

McCarthy says he supports Stefanik for House GOP conference chair | TheHill

What did Cheney do to incur McCarthy’s wrath? All she did was vote to impeach Donald Trump after the ex-POTUS incited the insurrection of The Sixth of January. Cheney had the temerity to stand strongly in favor of the U.S. Constitution, which the terrorists who stormed the Capitol on Jan. 6 threatened directly. And, yes, Donald Trump was the instigator.

This is a disgraceful display from the House GOP leader. He makes me sick.

As for Stefanik, a New York Republican, she makes me sick, too. Her only credential is that she is a Trump toadie, a suck-up, a Kool-Aid swilling member of the Trumpkin Corps of acolytes who believes the election was “stolen” by some mysterious, nefarious cabal.

This internecine war among Republicans isn’t likely to end with Cheney’s expected ouster from the leadership of her party’s House caucus. Nor should it.

As for “leader” McCarthy, well … he makes feel like throwing up.

local news, State news

Ham-handedness rules

(Photo by OLIVIER DOULIERY/AFP via Getty Images)

By John Kanelis / johnkanelis_92@hotmail.com

There is something that borders on ham-handed governance that troubles me about the Texas Legislature’s apparent desire to punish cities that take money away from police departments in response to the Black Lives Matter movement against police brutality.

Why is that? It’s because the Legislature is trying to tell communities — the folks who govern their own affairs — how their elected officials should do their jobs.

According to the Texas Tribune: The Texas House on Friday passed a bill to financially penalize the state’s largest cities if they cut their police budgets. The measure was sent to the Senate after two days of heated debate and emotional speeches, with the bill authors calling to “back the blue” and the opposition decrying the bill as political propaganda.

Texas cities that cut police funding could face financial penalties | The Texas Tribune

Let’s call it what it appears to be: a political payback ploy launched by Republicans who control the Legislature against cities run by politicians who lean Democratic.

I want to stipulate in the clearest terms possible that I oppose efforts to “defund the police” in response to what has happened in communities across Texas and the nation. I believe there is ample room for reform and I want the cops to keep the money.

If the Princeton City Council — in a highly unlikely event — were to “defund” the cops, I would be among the loudest protesters calling for the ouster of every one of them. That, however, would be their call, which thus would give voters like me a chance to respond accordingly.

The Legislature has no business dictating to cities how they should spend taxpayer funds dedicated to certain municipal services, such as police protection.

Texans don’t want the state to adopt this kind of ham-handed policy … do they?

national news

Liz Cheney: My new hero

(Photo by Marc Piscotty/Getty Images)

By John Kanelis / johnkanelis_92@hotmail.com

Man, it is hard to believe that I am actually pulling for Liz Cheney to fend off this idiotic challenge to her leadership post within the House Republican leadership hierarchy.

The Wyoming lawmaker is being vilified by the Trumpkins who have seized control of the party. Her offense? For voting to impeach Donald J. Trump after the then-POTUS incited the insurrection against the government as it was certifying the results of the 2020 election that went for President Biden over their guy, Trump.

I wouldn’t vote for Rep. Cheney if I lived in Wyoming. She is too much of a right-winger to suit my taste. On this single matter, I find myself rooting for her to survive the challenge launched by the likes of Trump-loving loons Rep. Matt Gaetz of Florida and Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene of Georgia.

The House GOP caucus has been virtually silent about Gaetz, who’s being investigated for alleged sex trafficking. As for the QAnon queen Greene, I ain’t hearing much worry from the GOP on her, either.

So now we have Liz Cheney trying to fend off the GOP hyenas. I would much rather have a Republican Party that fuels its existence on the basis of policy differences rather than its fealty to a lunatic like Donald Trump.

I’m pulling for Liz Cheney. If she loses her House GOP caucus post, I hope she keeps her throat cleared and continues to tell her colleagues that they are making a terrible mistake in backing the purveyor of The Big Lie.

Commentary on politics, current events and life experience