Orange Verse (LXIV): My Favorite Book

Happy Holy Week!

Religion and Christianity are the biggest 

things missing from 

this Country and I 

truly believe that we 

need t0 bring them 

back fast. I think 

it's one of the biggest 

problems we have that's 

why our Country's going 

haywire we've lost religion 

in our Country. All 

Americans need

 a Bible in their home 

and I have many. 

It's my favorite book. 

Buy My Bible!

It's a lot of peoples' favorite book. 

This Bible is a reminder that the 

biggest thing we have to bring 

back in America to Make America Great 

Again is our religion. 

Religion is so important, 

so missing, but it's gonna come

 back and it's gonna come back strong 

just like our Country is gonna come back strong. 

Only $59.99!

In the end we do not answer to 

bureaucrats in Washington we 

answer to God in Heaven. Christians 

are under siege. We must protect

 content that is pro-God we love God and 

we have to protect anything that is pro-God. 

We must defend God in the public square 

and not allow 

the media or 

the left-wing 

groups to silence, 

censor, or 

discriminate 

against us. 

We have to bring

 Christianity back 

into our lives 

and back 

into what will 

be again a 

Great Nation. 

Our Dads Were Cool!

Our founding fathers did a 

tremendous thing when they 

built America on Judeo-Christian 

values. Now that foundation

 is under attack perhaps

 as never before. What can 

we do Stand Up Speak Out 

and pray that God will bless 

America again. I'm proud 

to endorse and encourage 

you to get this Bible. 

We must 

Make America Pray Again. 

Did I Say Only $59.99?

Pray, 

get educated, 

get motivated, 

and stand with me 

and the legions 

of Americans 

asking God to 

bless our Great 

Nation and to 

bring our Great 

Nation back and 

to Make America 

Great Again.

Order Now!

 I'm proud to partner 

with Lee in this offering 

he's a very special man 

both as a talent 

but maybe even more 

so as a human 

being he's very very 

special and I

think you should all 

get a copy of God 

Bless the USA 

Bible now and help

spread our Christian 

values with others. 

Supplies Are Limited! 

 There you have it. 

Let's Make America Pray Again 

and God bless you and 

God bless the USA.

Wondering on Wednesday 3/27/24

 

Ready... Set... Wonder!

I'd be hard-pressed to tell anyone what my favorite book is, and I'd be hard-pressed to think of a book that I'd want to own 'many' copies of.  I wonder how many of you are in the same boat? And I wonder how many people really believe that the Bible is Donald 'Orange Jesus' Trump's favorite book and that he has 'many' copies of it, even if you count the individual copies in each of his residences. The fact that, for his infamous upside-down Bible photo shoot, he had to borrow someone else's leads me to believe he's not being truthful. 

I also wonder who it was who declared Lee Greenwood's 'God Bless the USA' America's most recognized patriotic anthem? Aren't the folks trying to sell us on this idea the same people who were apoplectic about folks not being respectful in the right way when the actual most recognized patriotic anthem - the National Anthem - was played? And I wonder, aren't they the same people who think we don't need no stinkin' Black National Anthem - but somehow, we need this country anthem put above the real thing? 

I also can't help wondering how big a licensing deal this is... how many pieces of silver does the OJ earn per book sold? And is Lee Greenwood fairly compensated for the use of his song?

I noticed on the God Bless The USA Bible website that you can also purchase a 'Make America Pray Again' hat, and I wonder if the OJ will pretend he originated that phrase. That's what he said with 'Make America Great Again,' even in the face of overwhelming evidence that he was wrong.

Of course, the GBTUSA Bible is not just a Bible - it also includes the Pledge of Allegiance, the US Constitution, the Bill of Rights, and even the Declaration of Independence. I wonder what the founders would think of the OJ packaging those documents together, or him saying "We have to bring Christianity back into our lives and back into what will be again a great nation."

In other head-scratching news, I'm having a hard time keeping track of how many reporters have asked city of Baltimore officials, state of Maryland officials, and Biden administration officials how long it will take to rebuild the Francis Scott Key Bridge, which collapsed after being struck by a cargo barge around 1:30 AM on Tuesday.  I wonder if they were all instructed to ask that?

And I wonder, I do, whether the folks asking the question have bets on the answers? Who'll get the answer first, who'll get the shortest or longest timeframe, maybe even which of their guesses will come closest to the official answer. In the first 36 hours after the accident, I'd be a bit skeptical of anyone who thinks they have the answer.

And speaking of having the answer, I wonder how many more weird explanations we're going to hear for the bridge collapse? It was the risks posed by our open border - or wait, it was DEI hiring policies - or wait, it was Israel attacking the US, No, wait - it was the US attacking itself -  or maybe it's the beginning of World War III. 

That's my favorite theory, so far anyway. I wonder, will anyone top it?

What's on your wondering mind tonight?

Wondering on Wednesday 3/20/24

Ready... Set... Wonder!

Huh... A billionaire can't pay his bond, and can't find people to help him; I wonder how that happens? And I wonder whether at least some of the companies that won't help aren't helping because they simply don't want to be involved with him, rather than because they really can't help him? I'm also wondering, a bit, why the family doesn't tap their Russian connections, where they used to get 'all the money they need' for the business, or why Jared doesn't message his BFF, the Saudi Crown Prince, for help?

Speaking of help, the GoFundMe to raise money towards the penalty has crossed the $1.5M threshold, with over 26,000 donors contributing to the cause. I really wonder who contributes to something like this - it takes a special kind of person to want to donate money to help a billionaire meet his legal responsibilities, I think.

Dartmouth men's basketball players voted to unionize earlier this month after they were deemed to be employees of the school by a regional National Labor Relations Board office. Needless to say, that prompted a whole lot of discussion on what this means more broadly for the NCAA: how will athletes be paid, how much, and would it be only for their season, or for the entire year, what about NIL, and so on. 

Me? I can't help wondering what the $3.6B in scholarships given to 180,000 DI and DII student-athletes is for, if it's not payment for their services?  

And since we're talking about the NCAA, I also wonder why it insists on opening Pandora's Portal of Program Doom before the seasons are officially over? It happens with football, and now basketball. What on earth is the point of encouraging players to end their season before their season ends?  

Finally, I wonder whether NCAA executives have considered changing careers?  They would make, um, "perfect" additions to pretty much any political office, right? They have all the critical experience: they know how to grab as much money as possible from sponsors and donors, make ridiculous rules that even they don't understand, ignore how those rules impact their constituents, and wait for someone else to fix the mess for them, like they're doing with NIL. If that's not a perfect fit, I don't know what is. 

Back to the billionaire. Donald 'Orange Jesus' Trump, a man alleged to have shared our national secrets with members of his residence/private club, is now eligible to receive national security updates as the presumptive Republican nominee. Given his propensity for blurting out whatever the hell crosses his mind, creating alternative facts at the drop of a hat, and his um, alleged inability to differentiate what's his and what's government property, I'm wondering if we should limit what's shared to only weather forecasts with national implications.

Think about it: the forecasts are specific as to locations, risks, potential damage, and populations impacted. Depending on the situation, forecasts even include global modeling. Surely, they should count as 'national security,' right? I wonder - only a little bit, though - what else a narcissist like the OJ would need. Shouldn't knowing how many of his followers, how many "real Americans," are in the path of a storm, or at least within the Cone of Uncertainty sponsored by Sharpie, be enough? 

Trump is suing George Stephanopoulos (and ABC News) for defamation because Stephanopoulos called him a rapist during his incredibly embarrassing interview with Rep. Nancy Mace (R-SC). In the interview, Stephanopoulos repeatedly said that Trump was "found liable for rape" by a jury, which is untrue; the jury in the first E. Jean Carroll case found that he did not commit rape under the definition in NYS law at that time. It was Judge Lewis Kaplan who determined that Trump committed rape 'as commonly understood.' 

I wonder if George has considered that he could lose this case? After all, his interview was dripping with malice, towards Trump and Mace. I also wonder if he has second thoughts about inviting a Congresswoman on his show, specifically because she publicly talked about her own rape, specifically to shame her about her political decisions? And the one I wonder the most about: did his wife welcome him home with open arms after that grotesque interview?  I sure as hell hope not.

One last little bit of wondering on this one, now that NY has changed the definition of rape to match what Judge Kaplan said people understand 'rape' to mean, is someone responsible for updating the myriad references to sexual assault in the NYS criminal code before this change goes into effect in September? Are sentencing guidelines being updated? Are DAs receiving training on how to present cases to grand juries? 

What's on your wondering mind tonight?

TGIF 3/15/24

It's been a while since I've posted - life and stuff interrupting. I'm sure you all know the drill. I'm happy to get back into the swing of things, starting with today's good week/bad week lists. 

Fulton County, GA District Attorney Fani Willis, who brought the RICO case against former president Donald 'Orange Jesus' Trump, his former Chief of Staff Mark Meadows, and several other co-defendants, dodged a bullet when Judge Scott McAfee ruled that she can stay on the case, provided she fires her former romantic partner Nathan Wade. I never really understood why Willis was the one accused of receiving financial benefit from the pair's relationship; it seems to me Wade was the one who had a financial interest in it, with his firm earning some $650,000 from the case since he signed on.

I think Judge McAfee had a good week; he reached a reasonable conclusion here, and on his decision to dismiss, without prejudice, a handful of charges due to a lack of specificity. Importantly, he didn't mince words criticizing Willis for her insanely poor judgment. I mean, where I used to work, we trained everyone in the company from the lowest person on the totem pole to the CEO and our Board of Directors, on why a boss/employee relationship is wrong; I can't imagine she didn't intuitively know that.   

Oh - by the way, Wade resigned from the case, "in the interest of democracy, in dedication to the American public, and to move this case forward as quickly as possible."

*****     *****

The OJ and President Joe Biden officially became the presumptive nominees of their parties, each having secured enough delegates to win the nomination on the first ballot at their respective party conventions this summer. To me, that's not news, but it seems news to newspeople. who now get to say extra words when talking about the candidates. Like tens of millions of voters, I wish we had different choices. 

*****     *****

In my heart of hearts, I wish this was a fake picture, but of course, it's not. 

I mean, the guy in the middle triumphantly autographed Bibles after a tornado struck Alabama, leaving 23 people dead and thousands dealing with the aftermath. And grinned, with an upraised thumb, while Melania stood next to him holding a baby orphaned in a mass shooting. There's really no reason to be shocked at him posing, grinning as usual, with a newly-autographed poster of a murdered college student. 

What's appalling, though - in addition to her smiling family surrounding the autographing OJ, is that he spelled the victim's name wrong - on a poster telling everyone to Say Her Name. This stuff can't be made up - it really can't. 

*****     *****

President Biden gave what could have been his last State of the Union address last week. According to the official time-keeping, which starts when the President addresses the Speaker of the House, he spoke for one hour, seven minutes, and 17 seconds. If you didn't watch the speech and happened to see or hear the news more than once in the days since then, you might think the only thing he said was "She was killed by an illegal," and the only other highlight was that he didn't say the OJ's name 13 times. We are done such a disservice by the media, we really are.

*****     *****

Shockingly, former Vice President Mike Pence has announced he will not endorse the OJ - and he "will never" vote for Biden. I say 'shockingly' because Pence raised his hand when Brett Baier asked which of the GOP presidential candidates would support Trump "if he were convicted in a court of law."

TGIF, everyone.

In Case You Missed It (v120)

I thought I'd have gotten more posts done, but in hindsight, I think my frustration with the week's news got the best of me.

Here's what made it out, starting as we usually do with a recap of the Sunday School classrooms.

It was not the best week for several of the hosts, or some of the guests, for that matter. Here's House Speaker Mike Johnson, the very religious man, talking down to Kristen Welker on the subject of the Mayorkas impeachment (which failed, by the way).

Johnson previously said he's very much against a one-party impeachment, as we saw in a clip. He said three times, "The founders of this country warned against single-party impeachments. 

You guys know why. Because they feared it would bitterly and perhaps irreparably divide our nation.

What they're doing with Mayorkas is not that, and it's not a 'policy disagreement,' either. "It's very different, Kristen, in many ways." Let me mansplain "the many ways."

For one, the House has methodically, slowly, deliberately gone through the impeachment process, impeachment inquiry, impeachment investigation on Mayorkas and – and President Biden himself. We've involved three different committees of jurisdiction: Judiciary, Oversight, Ways and Means. We –we have followed the facts where they have led. Not for political purposes. Not because we take pleasure in this. It's, again, a heavy thing to look at the impeachment of a president or a Cabinet secretary. But these facts require it.

I snickered - I mean, wasn't that the same speech Adam Schiff and Nancy Pelosi gave?

Senate and House Republicans decided it was more important to show allegiance to someone who's not in office than it was to do something - anything - about the so-called crisis at the border. And I decided it was more important to Rant and Rave than it was to do laundry.

The same people who pretend they don't need to do anything because the other guy can do something. Unless of course he does, in which case they'll challenge his every move, doubt his every motivation, and keep everything ground to a halt so they can claim they can't get anything done because the other guy, blah bippity blah bippity blah blah blah.

And later 

Yep. The Orange Jesus, the OJ. The man who led the charge against the Soros Deep State, the unelected bureaucrats who he thinks should be 'his' people, who should do whatever he wants, regardless of, you know, laws on the books, or what Congress wants to do on our behalf, regardless of what they're required to do. (And who, by the way, the OJ has promised to fire.)

In his kingdom, everyone loves him, works for him, bows to him, kisses his ring (blecch), and if they don't, well, they're part of the Soros Deep State that's trying to subvert him and drive our country down a path that is decidedly not leading to the MAGA Camp. 

I'm not at all afraid of the Soros Deep State - but the other one, the orange one, scares the crap out of me, and - and it's hiding in plain sight.

Tuesday's Extra Credit was the Jake Sullivan show. He's the administration's National Security Advisor and - at least on Sunday - a man possessing the patience of more than a handful of saints. I have to say, at least a couple of the classroom discussion leaders made themselves look like fools, although I'm sure they thought they did a great job. 

Kristen Welker (MTP) was not the only host to try and get Sullivan to divulge the who, what, where, when, and whys of our continuing retaliation against Iran-backed terror groups and Houthi rebels, after asking him to address MAGA accusations we "telegraphed" our fist retaliatory strikes. I. Kid. You. Not. 

I wasn't sure this was a serious question, but she wasn't the only one who asked it, so I guess it was? 

But wait - there's more! Here's how the interview closed.

Okay. Let me ask you, finally, Jake: Our new NBC news poll, which we were just discussing, found only 29% approve of President Biden's handling of the war in Gaza. Sixty percent disapprove of his handling of foreign policy, overall. Should the President be factoring the public's disapproval into his foreign policy decisions?

Obviously, he said no, but part of me wanted him to say, "Why yes - yes he will!" just to see the look on her face. 

I was scratching my head on a few things when it was time for Wednesday's Wondering. Among the things on my mind? Primaries, and how the media handles them, and how Nevada handles them.

The primary was meaningless, you see, because Nevada has both a Republican primary, which doesn't result in delegates being awarded, and a Republican caucus two days later, which does. Obviously, I can't help wondering why the state GOP thought it was a good idea to have both; the Dems don't. 

Haley lost to 'none of these candidates' - the first time any candidate has lost to 'none' since the option became available in 1975.  My last bit of wondering on this is simply this: why don't we all have that ballot option?

Why don't we have that option? I might explore that in another post...

So, that's a wrap - you're all caught up on last week's posts. 

Go, Niners - beat the Chiefs! 

Wondering on Wednesday 2/7/24

Ready... set... wonder!

When the media reports that Joe Biden "easily won" a Democratic primary, I wonder why we don't know who he defeats. I know other candidates are in the race, but you'd think the media was totally unaware, given how infrequently they're mentioned.  And I wonder why they always mentioned other folks on the Republican caucus and primary ballots (at least until yesterday's meaningless primary in Nevada). 

The primary was meaningless, you see, because Nevada has both a Republican primary, which doesn't result in delegates being awarded, and a Republican caucus two days later, which does. Obviously, I can't help wondering why the state GOP thought it was a good idea to have both; the Dems don't. 

Haley lost to 'none of these candidates' - the first time any candidate has lost to 'none' since the option became available in 1975.  My last bit of wondering on this is simply this: why don't we all have that ballot option?

This morning, former president Trump woke up for the first time having been told he's not special - he's just a citizen, like the rest of us. And I wondered, briefly, if there's any ketchup left at Mar-a-Lago. Nah, I'm kidding - I know there's not. Seriously though, I do wonder what the Supreme Court will do if Trump files an appeal of the Yes, You Have No Immunity decision by Monday's deadline. I sincerely hope that they don't take up the appeal on this one, but we can't be sure of that.

In my Ranting and Raving post yesterday, I included a link to an article in which Tennessee's Rep. Mark Green was named as the guy who called Trump 'Orange Jesus'. I don't wonder if someone said it, and it doesn't matter to me whether it was Mark Green, or Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, or someone else. What's more concerning, and what causes my wondering, is the number of people who seem to believe the name fits.

Yesterday, the House failed to impeach Alejandro Mayorkas, the DHS Secretary. Rep. Al Green of Texas left his hospital bed and, with some medical people tagging along, cast the tying vote, which was enough to kill the measure. The final tally was 214 -216, allowing another vote later. Speaker Mike Johnson said that the vote was a "setback" and that "democracy is messy," and "sometimes when you're counting votes, and people show up when they're not expected to be in the building, it changes the equation." I'm wondering how big Rep. Al Green's smile was after hearing that!

Not to be outdone by the mess in the lower chamber, the Senate failed to advance the bipartisan immigration bill, which fell 49-50, with both Rs and Ds voting 'no.' And, it postponed a vote on a bill that would provide aid to Ukraine, Israel, and Taiwan. I'm wondering if the actions we've seen over the last few days are what people are talking about when they say America looks foolish and inept in the eyes of the world.

There's always more, but that feels like a good place to stop. What's on your wondering minds these days?

Ranting and Raving (v10): How Deep is the Deep State?

I shouldn't be shocked that "leaders" like Sen. Mitch McConnell (R-Why Didn't I Retire?) would cave to the pressure and stop supporting the immigration bill that the Senate has been working on, for months - although I was surprised it took him only three hours to do so.

I am definitely not shocked that my Congressman, Brandon Williams (R- MAGA Truffle Farm), is going along with the rest of the cult in the House and declaring the bill "dead on arrival" even though it's supported by the Border Patrol union.  And 

Heck, I'm not really even shocked that evangelical House Speaker Rep. Mike Johnson (R-Last Best Hope to Lead) suggested that the union supports the bill because it gives the members a raise; after all, we know his coat has only one color.

But I should be mad, and I am, and you should be, too.

We should all be mad at, and sick and tired of, elected officials pissing and moaning about all of the problems we face, and how horrible things are in the country right now, and how the American people are almost as concerned about everything as Sen. Susan Collins is on any given day, and how the whole world is going to hell in a handbasket because Joe Biden is the president, Democrats control the Senate, and the House GOP majority is so stinking small that (dear lord, It's The Big One, 'Lizabeth) they might have to (gasp!) work with the Democrats to get something done. Clutch those pearls, baby!

Good lord, give me a break already.

The same people who pretend they don't need to do anything because the other guy can do something. Unless of course he does, in which case they'll challenge his every move, doubt his every motivation, and keep everything ground to a halt so they can claim they can't get anything done because the other guy, blah bippity blah bippity blah blah blah.

Or, they'll propose something so extreme even they know it won't pass muster in the other chamber - not that they care - because they can say, look, we did something, and everyone's ignoring us and so it's their fault that nothing's getting done, blah bippity blah bippity blah blah blah.

And all this time, for the last several years, we've been told that if only the 'deep state' - the George Soros-funded shadow government that's keeping the unelected, unmanaged, Democrat bureaucrats in place - was not in control, everything would be better and America would be great and people would be happy and our margins of victory would, you know, actually be margins of victory. 

And yes, you always blame the nonagenarian, Hungarian-American who fled Nazin Germany as a child for everything wrong in our country - that's the MAGA way. Well, you can blame Hollywood. Or black football players. Or white female singers. Or school librarians. But you can never speak ill of the Orange Jesus. That's right - Rep. Mark Greene (R-Not Half as Smooth as Tennessee Whiskey) or maybe another one of his ilk, referred to Donald Trump as the Orange Jesus.

Yep. The Orange Jesus, the OJ. The man who led the charge against the Soros Deep State, the unelected bureaucrats who he thinks should be 'his' people, who should do whatever he wants, regardless of, you know, laws on the books, or what Congress wants to do on our behalf, regardless of what they're required to do. (And who, by the way, the OJ has promised to fire.)

In his kingdom, everyone loves him, works for him, bows to him, kisses his ring (blecch), and if they don't, well, they're part of the Soros Deep State that's trying to subvert him and drive our country down a path that is decidedly not leading to the MAGA Camp. 

I'm not at all afraid of the Soros Deep State - but the other one, the orange one, scares the crap out of me, and - and it's hiding in plain sight.

Hell, it isn't deep at all - it's as shallow as a droplet on a rose petal in my garden. And, not only does it not subvert his will and desires, it actively, openly promotes them - they don't even hide it anymore. Maga Campers - the Deep State soldiers - ignore us, and rub our noses in it when they do.  

We elect these folks to state and national office because we're looking for solutions to the problems we've all been complaining about - often, for years. But now, they do the bidding of an unelected, unmanageable, in-it-for-himself, convicted sex offender who never should have been in office in the first place, and who should never be in office again? 

Really? Is that what they think is the right way to do their jobs? Is that any way to run a country?

It's like we shouldn't even bother having an election this year, since the OJ can just issue pronouncements from his gold-plated golf cart and his minions will all scurry off and do his bidding. (Not to mention, no one can steal the election if we don't have one, right?)

Where's the accountability?  What happened to country over party? How on earth do we find ourselves where we are right now?

What the actual hell? 

What the ever-loving actual hell.