Ironic how anti-vaxxers co-opted the foundation pro-choice advocates created

"My body, my choice" was the key phrase for decades for those seeking to protect a woman's right to safe, legal, termination of a pregnancy (including those gone sideways and become deadly to the mother).

Ironic, then, that "My body, my choice" was co-opted by anti-vaxxers and anti-maskers at the height of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Which means, in no uncertain terms: Loss of right to bodily autonomy - e.g. not being allowed to terminate a pregnancy - is exactly the same loss of right to bodily autonomy to say no to a vaccine, or no to wearing a mask.

They're ALL protected by the 4th and 14th Amendments. So, congrats anti-vaxxers - you've just seen your rights eroded.

COVID-19 mask mandates in Wisconsin and elsewhere spark 'my body, my choice' hypocrisy

By Marcie Bianco AUGUST 3, 2020

Abortion Stories on Social Media Show the Wide Spectrum of Why People Get Them

By Fortesa Latifi MAY 17, 2022

‘My Body, My Choice’: How Vaccine Foes Co-Opted the Abortion Rallying Cry

By Rachel Bluth JULY 5, 2022

Rules for Fighting Back Against the Lies and Bullshit

1. Always be polite. Always record it.  This becomes especially important if you are actually attacked and need to prove something in court.  
   The agenda of right-wing tools is to provoke the their enemies into descending to their level.

   The rwNJ assholes want you to be violent, because it validates their sense of persecution. Also - and this is as creepy as it is stupid - they think you are soft and they can hurt you without repercussions. Do not descend, as it will make them fail and make them batshit crazy, and if you can make them lose their cool by being the sane one, then you win. If they blow their shit and attack you, you can show them “peaceful does not mean pushover” and smash them (exactly as they had hoped to trick you). They are insane, already, so be calm, let them scream. Post the vids of who is the uncivil shit. Always have a friend nearby as witness, ready to openly and obviously record belligerent behavior. Give the asshole a chance to change course. You don't want to get sued for “secret taping.”  That's illegal in some areas.
2. Money talks. Don't like the DNC? That's fine; I don't fucking care.  There are a shit ton of options, but you have to throw money at them. Go to ActBlue and pledge $5 to $10 per month to anything that strikes your fancy.  Want a Constitutional Amendment blocking “corporate personhood”? There's organizations for that.
3. Donate monthly to NPR.  The last bastion of real independent journalism. It's sick how much time and energy they have to waste proving they are, in fact, real fact-based journalists.  Donate money, since the oligarchs/GOP have been trying to destroy them for years.
4. Find anything in your area the GOP/rwNJ have been attacking and donate money to it.  If they are attacking it, that means you need it.
5. Watch CNN.  They do actually still ascribe to the principles of journalism and are done putting up with bullshit and fake civility.
6. Make sure you can vote. Get out and make sure your neighbors can vote. You'd be horrified how many people have been denied this right for stupid reasons that were easy to sort out, if they had only known ahead of time.
7. Call bullshit out as bullshit. This is important - one way the rwNJ corporate media succeeds is by controlling the message, usually by simple deluge. Call out bullshit when you smell it, so that anyone else coming along later sees it called out and has a chance to recognize the bullshit, too.
8. If you find yourself in a business with Fox or other propaganda media on the television, turn on your phone video recording and politely ask the manager to change it to anything not propaganda media.  If they comply politely, tell the world. If they decline politely, tell the world. If they turn into assholes, tell the world. Be polite! Always have a friend nearby as witness, ready to openly and obviously record belligerent behavior. Give the asshole a chance to change course. You don't want to get sued for “secret taping.”  That's illegal in some areas.
9. Follow the money. If someone is selling you a line of shit, how does he benefit from it? Who sold him that line of shit? How do they benefit from selling it? Who pays them to sell that shit? Who distributes their shit? Cut the flow of money, cut the flow of shit. Tell Coca-Cola and Kroger to stop advertising on Fox News or Rush Limbaugh, or asshole-blog-swill-du-jour, and that while they continue to advertise you will shop elsewhere. That you will advise your friends to shop elsewhere. Backtrack the money, and find the oligarchs - people like the Kochs, the Soroses, the Putins, or (I can't believe I'm throwing in this towel) the Rothschilds.  Find the ROOT CAUSE and dismantle THAT, and the rest sorts itself out.

Trump voters are more likely to catch COVID-19

I've been very cynical about how humans have handled the COVID-19 infection. Anyone who pays attention knows that former-President Trump poo-pooed the pandemic, and that right-wing propaganda media talking heads continue to tell people things like it's a hoax (it's not), or that masks don't prevent the spread of disease (they do), or that the vaccines are dangerous (they really aren't).

So, here it is August, 2021, and we're seeing another huge spike in infections across the United States.

After nearly two years of COVID-19 in the wild, meaning nearly two years of lies and falsehoods f rom the GOP and right-wing, I wondered if there was a correlation between infection by population and voting for Donald Trump.

Guess what? There kinda is.

18 of the 25 US states with the highest rate of infection, per 100,000 residents, voted for Trump.

Electiongeddon2020 Refuting Trump's Big Lie

Ah, yes, the "40+ judges all refuse to accept real evidence" claim. Some of those judges appointed by Trump. In at least ten states, including the District of Columbia.

And then it was finally killed by the Supreme Court, of which six (6) justices are Conservative appointees, including three (3) of them by TRUMP HIMSELF.

Because, sure, it's all a grand conspiracy against The Donald, and it's so evil how everyone eventually turns on him, no matter how inconsistent or insane he behaves.

Yeah, no. I've avoided going here, but it's been dragged here, so the belief that one man is special above all others, and everyone who stands against him is clearly part of some evil plot is the very definition of a cult. Congrats, Donald Trump is a cult leader (seriously, he fits so many of the key characteristics, including loyal worshippers who explain away his every flip-flop).

Donald Trump And His Lawyers Are Making Sweeping Allegations of Voter Fraud In Public. In Court, They Say No Such Thing


Trump Cries Voter Fraud. In Court, His Lawyers Don’t.
Pressed by judges, some attorneys representing Trump back away from claims

Trump Campaign Has ‘No Credible Or Reliable Evidence’ Proving Voter Fraud, Nevada Court Rules

Trump’s legal team cried vote fraud, but courts found none

Why Trump’s lawyers can lie to you but not to a judge


Trump Lawyer to Pennsylvania Judge: Nope, I’ve Got No Evidence of Voter Fraud

Post-election lawsuits related to the 2020 United States presidential election



Trump and his allies filed more than 40 lawsuits challenging the 2020 election results. All of them failed.


But, hey, you know, everyone is out to get The Donald, because they're all jealous of him. Or something. Yeah, I don't get it either. The "does that even make sense?" test fails time and again when I try to listen to right-wing talking points. (Seriously? Blood-drinking pedophiles? Because, sure, millions of cops, teachers, law enforcement officials, and generally decent human beings all NEVER EVER noticed. Yeah. And space aliens live at Area 51.)

Don't stand with batshit crazy people

I get being passionate about what you believe in, but some people have gone completely over the edge and checked out of reality.

No one broke into the Capital Building on January 6, 2021, by accident. They all traveled from great distances, at the behest of the most corrupt President in history, who had just spent months whining about how the American people fired him, and then he sent them off to raid the Capital Building, with intent to harm "his enemies."

They all went thru a long series of bad choices, before finding themselves unlawfully in that building. And now they're being arrested, and losing their jobs.  And I don't feel bad for them. You don't get to make a long series of bad choices - lots of opportunities to change direction - culminating in illegal and destructive acts, and get sympathy for being stupid. It's called "personal responsibility."  You fucked up, buttercup, suck it up.

(source)

(source)

If you're on the side of batshit crazy, then you're on the wrong side.

Inauguration Day 2021

I have a bad feeling about the United States Inauguration Day 2021.  Personally, I think Rep. Nancy Pelosi needs to be in California that day.  This is because Vice President Kamala Harris and President Joe Biden are sworn in during the same ceremony, one right after the other, which means they are in the same place, at the same time.

Speaker of the House Pelosi is next in the chain of command, should shit happen.

Lunatics willing to storm the Capital Building are willing to plant Very Large Bombs in DC that day, possibly nuclear, if the lunatics can get ahold of them.  They're batshit crazy enough to consider everyone in DC - especially the "anti-Trump" Republicans - to be a "traitor," and President Trump (sexual predator, traitor) has already announced he won't be there, so their demagogue isn't there to be a meat shield.

I really want the day to go well, with no violence anywhere.  But, I doubt it will, and the GOP will be there afterwards to fuck America more.

(source)

(source)

(source)

Road of Kings - Made for Boys

 Oh, for fuck's sake. They're not even pretending to be the least bit discrete. 

GOP lying whiners worse than ever

 It's 2020, and the GOP are even more fucked up.

The Lincoln Project are either "anti-Trump" Republicans,  which automatically makes them better human beings than "pro-Trump" Republicans, or they are Republicans that decided any party that Nazis, white supremacists and domestic terrorists are willing to embrace as "our kind of leaders" is absolutely fucked up.

So, below is a snippet from a Politico article, and here is my color commentary:

We have "not-as-far-right" Republicans harassing "Nazi-embraced-far-right" Republican's employees.

We have "Nazi-embraced-far-right" Republicans whining about being picked on, and either:

* Lying about who is "picking on them" - that is, deliberately lying that "not-as-far-right" Republicans are a "leftist mob" (by any sane definition,  the Lincoln Project people are still hard right);

OR

* It's really proof the "Nazi-embraced-far-right" Trump Republicans are so fucking far off the cliffs of hard right, that the "merely hard right" Lincoln Project people are - by comparison - "leftist";

OR

* (and this is really the most likely) BOTH.

The Horrific Trend of COVID-19

Today is Nov 11.

10 million cases of COVID-19 confirmed in the United States. That's 20% of the global cases, in a country with 4.25% of the global population.

The US 240,000 deaths, with global 1.28 million dead from this virus - about 20%. Imagine that.

Trump and the Republicans own those deaths.


CNN COVID-19 Tracker
https://www.cnn.com/interactive/2020/health/coronavirus-us-maps-and-cases/

Population
https://www.worldometers.info/world-population/us-population/

All the President’s Lies About the Coronavirus
https://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2020/11/trumps-lies-about-coronavirus/608647/

Gun Owners: Now is your time to rise and Resist Trump. The irony.

Dear "I need a gun in case the government becomes a tyranny" gun owners. The time has come. Ironic that many of you are so deeply confused, that you're actually part of the problem, worshipping Trump, and awaiting your "call to arms" to help him stage his coup d'etat.


Trump plotting a coup d’etat?
http://njtoday.net/2020/11/10/trump-plotting-a-coup-detat/


Can Trump really stage a coup? Experts weigh in on whether it's possible
https://www.salon.com/2020/11/10/can-trump-really-stage-a-coup-experts-weigh-in-on-whether-its-possible/


The Trump administration is staging a coup d’état. Where are you, Republicans?
https://www.reddit.com/r/politics/comments/jrymb0/the_trump_administration_is_staging_a_coup_d%C3%A9tat/


#Electiongeddon2020

Electiongeddon2020 - Biden is President - Get Over It

"It can't be that the object of our cult worship (Trump) lost and won't continue to be our fearless, self-absorbed leader! Therefore, there must - MUST - be some evil conspiracy involving hundreds of millions of people, all out to get our Godman Trump!"

Because, yeah, that totally makes sense outside some deranged horror novel.

#Electiongeddon2020

 

Spreading COVID-19 in the United States

The United States of "You call that a pandemic? Hold my beer!"

I was looking at the CNN COVID-19 spread webpage again today, and got annoyed how the logarithmic chart they use makes it look like the spread is slowing down (not their intention, but most people don't understand logarithmic charts).  So, I dug around to find one that shows it in linear scale, instead.

Then I thought I'd mock it up, to really try to spell it out for the slow kids in the classroom.

"You can't cure stupid."  - Old axiom

"...but maybe a virus can kill it."  - COVID-19 corollary

Just don't be an asshole about it

Yeah, see, it's not the first part that's the problem. It's the second part.

Put another way, if I walk around saying "Go fuck yourself!" you think I'm kind of a jackass, right? Now, imagine if I'm a jackass carrying a gun, or possibly carrying a deadly virus.

Yeah, see, a jackass that can commit mass murder!

And this is literally the problem with everyone laughing at this meme - they get so self-absorbed and self-congratulatory about the first part, they completely miss the part about how they're shouting to the world 

"I'm a jackass! You will respect me!"

Being a jackass doesn't make anyone special.

Doesn't work that way, luv. Doesn't work that way.

The Safety of Being White, United States 2020

As a white person I can do all of these things without thinking twice:

I can go birding (#ChristianCooper)

I can go jogging (#AmaudArbery)

I can relax in the comfort of my own home (#BothemSean and #AtatianaJefferson)

I can ask for help after being in a car crash (#JonathanFerrell and #RenishaMcBride)

I can have a cellphone (#StephonClark)

I can leave a party to get to safety (#JordanEdwards)

I can play loud music (#JordanDavis)

I can sell CDs (#AltonSterling)

I can sleep (#AiyanaJones)

I can walk from the corner store (#MikeBrown)

I can play cops and robbers (#TamirRice)

I can go to church (#Charleston9)

I can walk home with Skittles (#TrayvonMartin)

I can hold a hair brush while leaving my own bachelor party (#SeanBell)

I can party on New Years (#OscarGrant)

I can get a normal traffic ticket (#SandraBland)

I can lawfully carry a weapon (#PhilandoCastile)

I can break down on a public road with car problems (#CoreyJones)

I can shop at Walmart (#JohnCrawford)

I can have a disabled vehicle (#TerrenceCrutcher)

I can read a book in my own car (#KeithScott)

I can be a 10yr old walking with our grandfather (#CliffordGlover)

I can decorate for a party (#ClaudeReese)

I can ask a cop a question (#RandyEvans)

I can cash a check in peace (#YvonneSmallwood)

I can take out my wallet (#AmadouDiallo)

I can run (#WalterScott)

I can breathe (#EricGarner)

I can live (#FreddieGray)

I CAN BE ARRESTED WITHOUT THE FEAR OF BEING MURDERED (#GeorgeFloyd)

White privilege is real. Take a minute to consider a Black person’s experience today.

#BlackLivesMatter

*I copied and pasted this ... please do the same.

Humans don't think - they EMOTE

Humans are ruled by Emotion, and maybe, once in a while, sometimes bother to think. 

Exhibit A: Social Media

Yes, I said it this way first. A friend, who still has a Facebook account helped me create the image.

I've pointed out before that humans don't think for shit.  (Actually, my entire blogging career is pretty much about that, so I've close to a thousand examples where I point that out.)

I kept trying to walk away, and not care, but I fucking care, and there's so much stupid in the world, I just need to shout at it.

Perhaps it is time to move on?

Borusa: You have access to the greatest source of knowledge in the universe.

The Doctor (Tom Baker): Well, I do talk to myself sometimes.

Source

I saw a LOT of Fourth Doctor episodes as a kid. I suspect it affected my thinking for the better.

Sometimes I listen to myself. If I am the chaos element that appears only in time of need, perhaps - like G+ - my time has run its course. That is, this manifestation was what *I* needed, as well as you. Perhaps it is time for me to change, to let this account close, and find new ways to express myself. Perhaps it is time I channeled my voice more directly into the meat world. That my time here has helped me hone my methodology of expression and refine my own values. If all goes well, you will see me, but recognize me only in your heart :)

REMEMBER:

You have value.

Use your damn brain.

Find your voice

I will always be part of you.

I love you.

(model unknown)

L L A G L

So, one day I write "ttyl" to this guy I've known for a while now, and he replies "llagl".  So I'm googling it, and apparently it's Welsh for "slack."

So, I ask him "LLAGL?"

He says "Live Long And 'Prosper' *cough* *cough* "

Uh-huh.

So, I think, he's got a weird sense of humor, and...  ah. I think I got it, but I ask him, to be sure.  Yep, I got it.

So, if you see "LLAGL," it could mean

Live Long And Get Laid

So, now you know, and now it's on a blog post, and maybe - just maybe - the crawlers will pick it up, and if you see "llagl" somewhere, you'll get the joke, too.

The GOP seem to attract the morally bankrupt

In case you're wondering about why the Jeffrey Epstein case is so troubling for the GOP -

Republican anti-abortion activist Howard Scott Heldreth is a convicted child rapist in Florida. (Search the Florida Sex Offender Registry and he shows up, but I can't find a direct link to the flyer.) ("Online research shows that Heldreth was arrested after an incident at Ohio University and charged with two counts of rape and one count of kidnapping." Source.)

Republican County Commissioner David Swartz pleaded guilty to molesting two girls under the age of 11 and was sentenced to 8 years in prison.


Republican judge Mark Pazuhanich pleaded no contest to fondling a 10-year old girl and was sentenced to 10 years probation.

Republican anti-abortion activist Nicholas Morency pleaded guilty to possessing child pornography on his computer and offering a bounty to anybody who murders an abortion doctor.

Republican legislator Edison Misla Aldarondo was sentenced to 10 years in prison for raping his daughter between the ages of 9 and 17.

Republican Mayor Philip Giordano is serving a 37-year sentence in federal prison for sexually abusing 8- and 10-year old girls.

Republican campaign consultant Tom Shortridge was sentenced to three years probation for taking nude photographs of a 15-year old girl.


Republican racist pedophile and United States Senator Strom Thurmond had sex with a 15-year old black girl which produced a child.


Republican pastor Mike Hintz, whom George W. Bush commended during the 2004 presidential campaign, surrendered to police after admitting to a sexual affair with a female juvenile.


Republican legislator Peter Dibble pleaded no contest to having an inappropriate relationship with a 13-year-old girl.


Republican Congressman Donald "Buz" Lukens was found guilty of having sex with a female minor and sentenced to one month in jail.


Republican fundraiser Richard A. Delgaudio was found guilty of child porn charges and paying two teenage girls to pose for sexual photos.


Republican activist Mark A. Grethen convicted on six counts of sex crimes involving children.


Republican activist Randal David Ankeney pleaded guilty to attempted sexual assault on a child.


Republican Congressman Dan Crane had sex with a female minor working as a congressional page.


Republican activist and Christian Coalition leader Beverly Russell admitted to an incestuous relationship with his step daughter.


Republican congressman and anti-gay activist Robert Bauman* was charged with having sex with a 16-year-old boy he picked up at a gay bar.


Republican Committee Chairman Jeffrey Patti was arrested for distributing a video clip of a 5-year-old girl being raped.


Republican activist Marty Glickman (a.k.a. "Republican Marty"), was taken into custody by Florida police on four counts of unlawful sexual activity with an underage girl and one count of delivering the drug LSD.


Republican legislative aide Howard L. Brooks was charged with molesting a 12-year old boy and possession of child pornography.


Republican Senate candidate John Hathaway was accused of having sex with his 12-year old baby sitter and withdrew his candidacy after the allegations were reported in the media.


Republican preacher Stephen White, who demanded a return to traditional values, was sentenced to jail after offering $20 to a 14-year-old boy for permission to perform oral sex on him.


Republican talk show host Jon Matthews pleaded guilty to exposing his genitals to an 11 year old girl.


Republican anti-gay activist Earl "Butch" Kimmerling was sentenced to 40 years in prison for molesting an 8-year old girl after he attempted to stop a gay couple from adopting her.


Republican Party leader Paul Ingram pleaded guilty to six counts of raping his daughters and served 14 years in federal prison.


Republican election board official Kevin Coan was sentenced to two years probation for soliciting sex over the internet from a 14-year old girl.


Republican politician Andrew Buhr was charged with two counts of first degree sodomy with a 13-year old boy.


Republican politician Keith Westmoreland was arrested on seven felony counts of lewd and lascivious exhibition to girls under the age of 16 (i.e. exposing himself to children).


Republican anti-abortion activist John Allen Burt was charged with sexual misconduct involving a 15-year old girl.


Republican County Councilman Keola Childs* pleaded guilty to molesting a male child.


Republican activist John Butler was charged with criminal sexual assault on a teenage girl.


Republican candidate Richard Gardner admitted to molesting his two daughters.


Republican Councilman and former Marine Jack W. Gardner was convicted of molesting a 13-year old girl.


Republican County Commissioner Merrill Robert Barter* pleaded guilty to unlawful sexual contact and assault on a teenage boy.


Republican City Councilman Fred C. Smeltzer, Jr. pleaded no contest to raping a 15 year-old girl and served 6-months in prison.


Republican activist Parker J. Bena pleaded guilty to possession of child pornography on his home computer and was sentenced to 30 months in federal prison and fined $18,000.


Republican parole board officer and former Colorado state representative, Larry Jack Schwarz, was fired after child pornography was found in his possession.


Republican strategist and Citadel Military College graduate Robin Vanderwall was convicted in Virginia on five counts of soliciting sex from boys and girls over the internet.


Republican city councilman Mark Harris, who is described as a "good military man" and "church goer," was convicted of repeatedly having sex with an 11-year-old girl and sentenced to 12 years in prison.


Republican businessman Jon Grunseth withdrew his candidacy for Minnesota governor after allegations surfaced that he went swimming in the nude with four underage girls, including his daughter.


Republican director of the "Young Republican Federation" Nicholas Elizondo molested his 6-year old daughter and was sentenced to six years in prison.


Republican benefactor of conservative Christian groups, Richard A. Dasen Sr., was charged with rape for allegedly paying a 15-year old girl for sex. Dasen, 62, who is married with grown children and several grandchildren, has allegedly told police that over the past decade he paid more than $1 million to have sex with a large number of young.


Republican state senator Ralph Shortey from Oklahoma admitted to being involved in sodomy with a 17 year old male prostitute and transporting child pornography.


Republican Speaker of the House Dennis Hastert in jail for the payments he made to cover up raping his wrestlers when he was a high school coach.


Republican Judge and campaign official for President Donald Trump, Tim Nolan, indicted for human trafficking and forcing a minor (9) to engage in sexual activity and giving alcohol to minors (results from the court pending).


(info courtesy of /u/frying_dutchman)


I'm not sure what "/u/frying_dutchman" is - is that a reddit thing?


I got it from a friend, who got it from https://www.facebook.com/grey.grooters/posts/2545722932152298

People saying stupid things about guns

Yep, that about covers it. I mean I have an entire series about the bloody stupid things people say about guns.

Not reaching my audience anymore and it sucks

...and to the surprise of no one, my blog Stats have tanked since the demise of G+.  Sigh.  The entire fucking point of linking this blog to G+ was to have a nice, easy way to reach people and let them know the blog existed, posts were going live, and content was flowing.

Thanks a lot Google management team. You suck.