Florida Bans Transgender Athletes in 11th Hour Move

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Thursday April 29, 2021 · 3:21 AM PDT

2021/04/29 · 03:21

Near the end of the legislative session, the Republicans in the Florida Legislature snuck a ban on transgender female athletes into a bill dealing with charter schools. While the Democrats cried foul, the measure passed and is headed to to Gov. DeSantis who has already voiced support.

story

The action will undoubtedly touch of retributions from business and other groups, including the NCAA which will refuse to hold post-season events in the state.

Maybe Not a Hopeless Cause - Sen. Doug Jones

albo

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Monday May 25, 2020 · 8:06 PM PDT

2020/05/25 · 20:06

Doug Jones, Democratic Candidate for Alabama Senator 2017

Sen. Doug Jones special election victory in Alabama has largely been written off as a fluke since he won against an alleged child abuser, and then it was still too close for comfort. Obviously, the state has not been friendly to Democrats since the racists left the party for the more friendly Republican climes during the civil rights era. Nevertheless, there may be an opening, and perhaps throwing a few dollars his way may not be a bad decision.

As you probably know, Trump has been weighing in on the Republican primary by absolutely trashing his former Attorney General Jeff Sessions and supporting former Auburn football coach Tommy Tuberville. In Alabama, college football is king, and University of Alabama fans will have a hard time supporting an Auburn football coach. They are that silly about football there.The campaign is nasty and whoever comes out of the primary will likely be damaged. The disgruntled voters may not swing to Sen. Jones, but they might sit out this election, which is the next best thing.

Sen. Jones has been more than just a Democrat in name. This is from a piece written about him last year:

Trump’s nomination of Brett Kavanaugh to the Supreme Court? Jones said Kavanaugh’s accuser Christine Blasey Ford was "credible and courageous" and voted against the judge. The president’s border wall? Jones is “happy to defend” voting against Trump's national emergency using military funds to build it. As for impeachment? The senator is plainly troubled by the president’s conduct and sounds open to the possibility of voting to oust him. www.politico.com/…

When push came to shove, Sen. Jones in fact voted to remove Trump.

Alabama is about 24th in population, so it will not be one where a huge amount of spending is projected. I believe there is a bigger bang for the buck for spending here.

I now, I know, this may be just wishful thinking. But what if it is not? What if Covid-19 makes a big return and people finally blame the Republicans for the disaster? What if the Republicans in fact tear themselves apart? Doug Jones has been a good senator; can we help give him a chance to pull off a stunner?

Here’s a link to his campaign: dougjones.com

Pat Robertson says Alabama’s abortion law is extreme and has “gone too far”

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Thursday May 16, 2019 · 5:58 AM PDT

2019/05/16 · 05:58

From CNN:

Televangelist Pat Robertson said he thinks Alabama went "too far" with a controversial abortion bill that could punish doctors who perform abortions with life in prison.

"I think Alabama has gone too far," he said Wednesday during an episode of "The 700 Club." "There's no exception for rape or incest. It's an extreme law and they want to challenge Roe v. Wade."

He continued: "But my humble view is that this is not the case we want to bring to the Supreme Court because I think this one will lose." www.cnn.com/...

When the anti-women crowd has lost Pat Robertson….

Trump Has Only the BestFriends

albo

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Tuesday March 12, 2019 · 12:40 PM PDT

2019/03/12 · 12:40

The liplock is in the article link below

The Miami Herald has been doing some fantastic work on Trump’s relationship with the spa owner/Presidential friend whose chain of “day spas” has been the subject of prostitution, sex trafficking, and Chinese influence peddling. Miami Herald

In the latest installment, they have printed a copy of a photo with, incredibly, Trump kissing her. On second thought, maybe nothing is incredible anymore.

Isn’t it time for more of the mainstream media to follow the Herald’s lead and examine this sordid story?

(By the way, this is why local independent journalism is still so important.)

The Continuing Relevance of "Cabaret"

albo

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Monday August 13, 2018 · 8:59 AM PDT

2018/08/13 · 08:59

I saw a stage production of “Cabaret” over the weekend. As most everyone knows, this is a story set in Berlin in the early 1930s as the Nazis were coming to power. It shows how the poison of that ideology infected society causing one character to choose between the love she felt for one character and her need to continue her life in Berlin. She asks the question “What Would You Do?” Since the man she loved was Jewish, she felt she had to reject him. The man felt that no harm would come to him because he was German. The emcee was evidently bisexual or gay, and at first seemed to laugh off the Nazis…until they came for him. I am probably giving short shrift to the story of Sally Bowles and Cliff Bradshaw which further reflected the crumbling of German society.

The musical was first produced in 1966 and has had several revivals as well as a motion picture. I was struck at the parallels between what was happening in Germany and what is occurring now. One could simply replace the word “Jewish” with “minorities” or “immigrants” and the story would be the same.

Just as Hitler and Nazis denigrated Jews with the foulest of names, so too does Trump refer to immigrants as “infesting” America and coming from “shitholes” in an effort to dehumanize these people trying to better their lives as immigrants have always done. He has no compunction in separating families and, following the script of “Cabaret”, is apparently trying to strip away citizenship already earned. The sight of Nazis feeling empowered to openly march and spread their putrid views and incitement to violence further reflects this parallel.

I love musicals. But it is rare that one can cause me to sadly reflect on what is happening but may also drive me to speak more forcefully about what is happening. Even though “Cabaret” (as well as its literary antecedents) was produced over 50 years ago, it is more relevant than ever.

A Photo Op for Putin?

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Monday July 23, 2018 · 8:42 AM PDT

2018/07/23 · 08:42

After Germany invaded France and captured Paris, the German leader went to Paris and posed in several locations gloating over the accomplishment. Russia has launched an invasion against this country aided by an either complicit or clueless leader who is doing much of Putin’s bidding including weakening the defensive bulwark of NATO. In a few months, are we going to a similarly-smirking Putin posing in front of the Washington Monument?

Rubio trolling?

albo

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Tuesday June 12, 2018 · 10:36 AM PDT

2018/06/12 · 10:36

Worst casting choices for Miami Vice reboot

Marco Rubio on Twitter:

One more thing about KJU. While I know @potus is trying to butter him up to get a good deal, #KJU is NOT a talented guy. He inherited the family business from his dad & grandfather. He is a total weirdo who would not be elected assistant dog catcher in any democracy.

Didn’t Trump inherit his business from his father? Isn’t Trump a total weirdo? Isn’t it odd that Trump won the electoral college?

Is Rubio doing some high level trolling here, or just a complete moron?

Our Genius Energy Secretary Has Method to Prevent Sexual Assault - Fossil Fuels

albo

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Thursday November 02, 2017 · 11:48 AM PDT

2017/11/02 · 11:48

In the continuing saga of Energy Secretary Rick Perry proving he may be the dumbest Cabinet Secretary in history (sorry Ben Carson), he has found a way to prevent sexual assault — using fossil fuels to generate electricity in Africa. At Politico, Perry explains his reasoning

Energy Secretary Rick Perry suggested on Thursday that increasing fossil fuel use to spread electricity across Africa would help prevent sexual assaults there.

Perry, who traveled to South Africa last week to tout the Energy Department’s partnerships there, said he spoke with a young girl who wanted electricity so she could read without relying on the light of a fire “and have those fumes literally killing people. But also from the standpoint of sexual assault.”

“When the lights are on, when you have light that shines — the righteousness, if you will — on those types of acts,” he told an Axios event. www.politico.com/...

This is insane on so many levels.

Soldier Appears to Protest Something

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Monday October 09, 2017 · 11:48 AM PDT

2017/10/09 · 11:48

I wonder what the soldier behind Pence is protesting.

Boo Hoo Bolton

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Tuesday August 29, 2017 · 11:11 AM PDT

2017/08/29 · 11:11

Politico reports that war monger John Bolton has lost his access to the President, and he seems to throwing a fit. www.politico.com/...

Former U.N. Ambassador John Bolton once enjoyed regular access to President Donald Trump, but can no longer get a hearing with him. “I requested a meeting with him and I was turned down,” Bolton told POLITICO, though he declined to offer further details.

Bolton went public with his complaint in an op-ed published Monday in National Review in which he laid out a blueprint to exit the Iran nuclear deal because he couldn’t deliver it to the president himself.

The story reports that Bolton had been considered for secretary of state and national security adviser. I guess he did not have enough ties to Big Oil or V. Putin for either of those jobs. Even after Flynn’s departure, he was given another bite at the apple.

He was briefly considered again as national security adviser after Michael Flynn’s ouster, and was then offered a position as deputy national security adviser when K.T. McFarland, who initially held the position, was nominated as U.S. ambassador to Singapore. Bolton turned down the position, and McMaster ultimately chose Ricky Waddell for the role.

So, he was turned down again, and in a fit of huffiness refused the position as national security adviser.

We are all better off for it.

Another Republican Criticizes Trump

albo

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Thursday August 17, 2017 · 12:01 PM PDT

2017/08/17 · 12:01

From the Daily Beast, another Republican senator, another Southerner, criticizes Trump.

Sen. Bob Corker (R-TN) delivered a stinging rebuke of President Trump on Thursday, telling reporters in his home state that the president has yet to show the “stability” or “competence” necessary to be a successful leader. “He also recently has not demonstrated that he understands the character of this nation,” Corker said. “He has not demonstrated that he understands what has made this nation great and what it is today. And he’s got to demonstrate the characteristics of a president who understands that.” www.thedailybeast.com/...

Getting kind of hard to avoid the rats jumping off.

Removing Confederate Monuments is Not "Changing History"

albo

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Wednesday August 16, 2017 · 9:10 AM PDT

2017/08/16 · 09:10

I speak as a white man who grew up in the segregated South. Memories of the Civil War were still strong, and log-dead Confederate soldiers and leaders were still lionized. People stood up at high school football games when the band struck up “Dixie.” The Confederate flag was used as a rallying cry and symbol of defiance against the civil rights movement. It is with that background that I feel qualified to discuss the civil war monuments.

Removing the Confederate monuments is not “changing history” as the white supremacists, neo-Nazis, and their apologists claim. Those monuments were not placed where they are to be simply historical. They were placed where they are to honor the memory and actions of the men they represent. History has recorded the deeds of these so-called heroes. At the very least they led a rebellion against their country, a rebellion that cost over 600,000 American lives and which was rooted in the defense of the institution of slavery. The individual actions of some of the actors, including Nathan Bedford Forrest, are also well-documented and disgusting. See https://opinionator.blogs.nytimes.com/2014/04/11/remember-fort-pillow/

They are correct, however, in the idea that removing the monuments is trying to “change culture.” It is challenging the culture that believed the Civil War was a “noble cause.” (Those words sicken me today.) It is trying to change a culture that ignores the unspeakable harm that slavery caused. It is trying to change the culture that led to the era of Jim Crow laws that sought to hold back a people for over a century and which effects still ripple across the landscape today. It is trying to change a culture that has led to the very need for the Black Lives Matter movement.

I don’t care what is done with the monuments – melt them or place them in a museum. Just get them out of place of honor. They do not deserve it, and we should not grant it.

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