BE CONCERNED…very concerned

As the 1/6 House Select Committee‘s hearings on the 1/6 Insurrection roll along, I find myself thinking about a survey taken back in January, at the start of the year.

NOT only do something like 71% of Republicans – roughly 52 million voters, according to a University of Massachusetts/Amherst poll, taken on January 6,2022, claim to believe that the Orange Despot won the ’20 election – despite indisputable evidence to the contrary, but the Republican Party has committed itself unequivocally and relentlessly to promoting this false claim ever since.

This array of voters fervently believe that the Dems and its elected officials conspired to steal the ’20 election. 

This delusion is becoming increasingly more evident by the fact of the number of Republican candidates who won primaries for governor, US Senate, US House, and other statewide posts in elections conducted in 18 states during the first five months of this year.

Most recently, we witnessed a fiasco called Texas Republican Party Convention; on June 18th, the 5,000 delegates to the convention adopted a platform declaring that “We reject the certified results of the 2020 presidential election, and we hold that acting President Joseph Robinette Biden Jr. was not legitimately elected by the people of the United States.”

The “stolen election conspiracy” has, in effect, become the adhesive holding the dominant Trump wing of the party in complete lock-step!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

One of the most dominant things that ALL this has done is it has changed the playing field for the party establishment…people who once were of clear logic and reason, now have ‘blurred vision!‘ 

One of the strongest factors attributed to the belief in conspiracy theories is an association with a belief that the “economy is getting worse.”

Well, kids, if you’ve been paying attention to the last three months – the ‘economy is getting worse.’

From stoking resentment to creating a “big lie” that reinforces his camp followers’ willingness to commit violence, Donald John Trump continues on a trajectory.

FOUNDATIONS UNDER ATTACK!!!

The orderly transfer of power.

Watching the fourth set of hearings by the 1/6 House Select Committee yesterday the above fundamental process is what continued to jump through my mind – repeatedly – as I absorbed the testimonies from actual witnesses, involved in the ’20 election.

The fourth hearing investigating the 1/6 attack on the Capitol focused on the elaborate efforts by the Orange Despot and his allies to hijack !!! one of the foundations of democracy.

The hearing demonstrated the human costs of the waves of threats and intimidation set off by Trump and his cohorts as they pressured state officials and election workers to find a way to deprive Biden of his victory.

Trump led a campaign that played out in two related ways: applying direct pressure on Republican officials in swing states to reverse his loss, and pursuing a plan to name “alternate” slates of electors intended to tilt the Electoral College result in Boy Orange‘s favor.

The hearing yesterday amounted to the most comprehensive picture to date !!! of a vile president who directed an attack on democracy itself and repeatedly reached into its essential machinery – the administration of free and fair elections.

Over nearly three hours, the committee demonstrated how the Orange Despot and his circus clowns – including his personal lawyer, Rudy “Ghoul Man” Giuliani, and his chief of staff, “Mayberry Mark” Meadows – sought to persuade state officials to avoid certifying vote counts !!! to give Trump a victory.

Trump also sought to persuade lawmakers to create the slates of alternate electors, hoping that Pastor Pence might use them to subvert the normal democratic process when he oversaw the official count of electoral votes on 1/6.

In addition, the panel presented evidence tying Representative Andy Biggs of Arizona and Senator Ron Johnson of Wisconsin to the plan…two who NEVER take off their clown makeup!

The most impactful periods of the hearing, at least for me, was when the committee offered testimony from four public servants who stood up to the former president, rejecting his increasingly desperate pleas for help – often at great personal expense.

Rusty Bowers, the speaker of the Arizona House of Representatives, testified in sordid details.

Bowers, a Republican, told the committee that he rebuffed Trump’s attempts to get him to create slates of pro-Trump electors in his state, explaining to the former president, “You are asking me to do something against my oath, and I will not break my oath.”

His defiance and honesty, however, came at a cost.

Bowers told the committee that after bucking Trump, a truck was driven through his neighborhood playing a recording that declared him to be a pedophile. Bowers, who spoke about the Constitution in reverential and spiritual terms, had tears in his eyes as he described his gravely ill daughter enduring some of the harassment outside their house [she passed away last year!!!].

I’ll close with this: WHEN IS ENOUGH…enough!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

BACK INTO PARALYSIS

I’m NOT referencing the US of A…yet.

Like most of you, the old Lobsterman has had my eyes/ears transfixed on the 1/6 House Select Committee’s hearings over the last couple of weeks.

But, news is breaking this afternoon that Israel’s governing coalition will dissolve Parliament before the end of the month, bringing down the government and sending the country to a fifth election in three years.

News is breaking all-over international outlets.

Not surprising, ideological diversity is being reported has the main cause for the breakdown of the government.

Have you ever noticed that the above reported cause/reason for the fracture of the Israeli government is like a tick…depending on one’s surroundings – it’s everywhere – disruptive, and NEVER easy to get rid of?

NOTHING is clear, with any absolute certainty, at this point.

At the moment, it appears elections are expected to be held in the Fall, the snap election will be Israel’s fifth since April 2019.

Pay attention to this space…

h/t: Jerusalem Post.

THE RECKONING

At any moment, the Supreme Court seems poised to overrule Roe v. Wade, the 1973 decision that established a constitutional right to abortion. 

What it represents is a single decision, even if it’s a judicial earthquake that would eliminate a constitutional right that’s been in place for 50 years, that would NOT by itself disprove a general trend.

NO matter the current cascade of uproar over the past three months, it is increasingly hard to know just what is meant by public opinion.

Especially, when one factors in the deep tribalism on many crescent issues as abortion.

I’m personally, these days, of the belief it almost impossible to gauge what folks believe when they talk to pollsters…what people tell pollsters.

The views of political elites??!

The actions of elected lawmakers??!

Fear, I believe, smothers one’s soul and conscience more than any other characteristic in 2022!!!

The perfect examples of Fear are Biden and Pelosi wanting to have it BOTH ways!!!!!!!!!!!!

What can be said, without reservation, the current Court is NOT tied to public opinion.

HAPPY FATHER’S DAY

One of my favorite sayings…EVER…is by an unknown individual to me.

I’ve used it countless times, in/on a variety of occasions…

Any man can be a father, but it takes someone special to be a dad.

GINNI is a BAD GIRL

Where there is smoke, there must be fire.

It is with this knowledge in mind that the 1/6 House Select Committee and ALL persons of reason in Washington should do something about Ginni Thomas, who has been asked to testify before the committee investigating the attack on the Capitol.

The reason is straightforward. Ginni, the wife of Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas, worked with allies of the Orange Despot to try to overturn the ’20 presidential election.

It’s been reported Ginni has let be known that she was looking “forward to talking to” the committee and couldn’t wait “to clear up misconceptions.”

Right!

Like Superman is real!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

This week we’ve learned from the 1/6 committee that Ginni sent email messages directly to Johnny Eastman, the unstable conservative lawyer [and former law clerk for Justice Thomas] who essentially devised the insane plan to try to overturn the ’20 presidential results!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Holy James Madison!

Every lawyer that I have known, and know, has been guided by a strong code of ethics that states that they should avoid even the appearance of impropriety.

Even if we’re to believe that Ginni’s interactions with Eastman are innocent [allow me: they’re so clearly NOT], why didn’t her husband, who sits on the highest court in the nation, discourage his wife from her political advocacy for appearances sake??!

I don’t know about you, but I can’t even name another SCOTUS spouse.

And that’s how it should be.

Ginni’s husband’s job is too important to democracy for her to be involved in any form of advocacy outside of a PTA or neighborhood HOA meeting.

Ginni needs to be hauled in!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Simply put, she needs to be questioned urgently and immediately.

PRIME TIME was TOO BIG!!!

In a sentence, my Boston Celtics, simply, were NOT ready!!!

And, let me quickly add, as they are currented assembled, this is NOT the crew to do it…translation: getting the job done…a championship.

Don’t get me wrong, I’ve loved the season they’ve given me…especially from mid-January until last night.

Many of the moments were NOT predicted – totally unexpected by yours truly; but as the weeks rolled by – the old Lobsterman’s hopes started to grow…and grow.

Crash landings are NOT pleasant to witness.

The Golden State Warriors proved they understood the moment, and are still incredible to watch as they administer “big-boy” basketball, winning the NBA championship with a 103-90 Game 6 victory at the TD Garden.

A missed opportunity in less than 3 hours.

ALL the talk, immediately after the game about the foundation being set with the current make-up of players on the rooster is absurd, as I look at this team.

Listen, I’m NOT suggesting massive changes, just some subtle tinkering by GM/Director Brad Stevens through the upcoming draft, as well as Free Agency – keeping in mind the Celtics already sit above the luxury tax.

This series will be tough to contain, let alone swallow in the coming weeks…

Why??!

The Celtics seemingly had control of the series. They won two of the first three, and at times looked dominant. They were the younger, stronger, better team [reality proved that assessment totally wrong!] and New England sports fans – past and present – looked forward to seeing franchise flag #18 raised to the Garden rafters.

Growing up can be a long haul!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

THE FED’S CREDIBILITY

LOW!

As I watched so-called experts yesterday, after the announcement by Fed chair Powell came down, more than NOT were extremely reserved in their individual opinion(s)/comments of Jerome Powell and the central bank.

The Federal Reserve took its most aggressive step yet to try to tame rapid and persistent inflation, raising interest rates by three-quarters of a percentage point and signaling that it is prepared to inflict economic pain to get prices under control.

The next 6-12 weeks [it surely will go even deeper into the year] should be more exciting than a ‘fun ride’ at Cedar Point Amusement Park.

Yesterday’s rate increase was the central bank’s biggest since 1994 and could be followed by a similarly sized move next month, suggested Powell, underscoring just how much America’s unexpectedly stubborn price gains are unsettling Fed officials.

Powell acknowledged that it was becoming increasingly difficult for the Fed to slow inflation without causing a recession as outside forces, including the war in Ukraine and factory shutdowns in China, threaten to curb the supply of goods and commodities like oil.

To state the obvious, if the Fed has to quash demand to an extreme degree in an effort to bring it into line with limited supply, it could make for a slump that leaves businesses shuttered and people unemployed.

Make sure your household has the appropriate supply of peanut butter in the “lazy Susan.”

NOT IN 28 YEARS…

Will there be an increase in interest rates by three-quarters of a percentage point today?

The Federal Reserve is expected to do just that…

Ever since the government reported last week that inflation had exploded in May, economists and investors have been on high alert to see how the Fed would respond to the threat of surging prices.

We’ll get our answer sometime – probably – this afternoon.

Within the last hour and 45 minutes, more and more Wall Streeters are saying that an increase of three-quarters of a percentage point is the most likely outcome by the Fed.

h/t: CNBC.

RUDY’S TEAM v. TEAM NORMAL

Boys and girls, children of ALL ages, please cast your attention to the center ring.

Whether one is into the ‘golden age’ of our fractured democracy or NOT, you simply can’t take your eyes and ears off the main entertainers of this current set of circus clowns…you can’t! nor shouldn’t!!!

According to recorded snippets of Trump Campaign Manager Bill Stepien’s testimony before the 1/6 House Select committee that were aired at Monday’s hearing, Team Normal consisted of folks like him who acknowledged that there had been absolutely NO mass election fraud and that the Orange Despot had lost the presidency fair and square.

By contrast, Team Rudy, captained by an increasingly erratic Rudy “Ghoul Man” Giuliani, was stocked with the TrumpWorld players who were either untethered from or unwilling to bow to reality.

These dead-enders, within Team Rudy – people like the attorneys Sidney “Bruce” Powell and Lin “Are My Test Scores Back?” Wood, along with the unforgettable Trump asylum adviser Peter Navarro – were committed to peddling the defeated president’s voter fraud B.S., NO matter the cost, let alone the insanity of it.

ALL the above being said, don’t be fooled by the so-called leader of Team Normal – Billy Stepien.

In the 17 months after the 1/6 Insurrection, Stepien has served as a consultant !!! to the former president’s Save America PAC and signed on to work !!! with Trump-backed candidates who have peddled, or have at least flirted with, the election-fraud fiction.

Two of these candidates are currently challenging Republican incumbents, Representative Liz Cheney and Senator Lisa Murkowski, whom Boy Orange has targeted for removal for their respective votes to impeach and convict Trump over his role in the 1/6 attack.

Allow me to put this ALL another way…

Altar boy Billy S. is apparently comfortable with the Orange Despot‘s basic plan to burn down the nation by advancing conspiracy theories about a rigged election!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Full Disclosure & True Confession Time: In two separate hearings, with more to come, we have heard blistering testimonies to more acts of corruption, deceit, and criminal activities committed from inside the former White House; corruption on a scale beyond belief that makes Nixon look simply like a frat boy gone wild; and, yes, it’s been good to shine a harsh bright light on these integrity-resistant miscreants, but I have to admit I’m clueless !!!!!!!!! where it ALL will lead to, as far as a justifiable resolution.

Even with ALL of the above going, countless numbers of current politicians and every-day folks are displaying complete and total commitment to the emperor without his orange underwear.