Yesterday morning on CBS, James Baker was interviewed about a number of issues including the escalation of war threats between the idiot in the White House and the idiot running North Korea. The issue he focused on, though?  The “ticking debt bomb”.  He warned of the unsustainable level of debt that is almost 100% of GDP (a measure used by economists), asserting that we must cut “entitlements” to get it under control.  I asked myself, “Is that really true?”  I’ve taken a simpleton’s approach to this question, just using math, not political spin.  For the purpose of this discussion, I’m going to ignore defense and other discretionary spending – that’s a whole other kettle of fish and a subject for a future post, probably after I’ve been drinking.

So I looked at a couple of things:  First, I assume entitlements to Baker mean Social Security (more…)

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Clay Bennett, Chattanooga Times Free Press

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Clay Bennett, Chattanooga Times Free Press

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You remember former east Texas Republican congressman Steve Stockman, right?  Of course you do!  He said Obama wanted Ebola to spread.  He has his own mugshot.  And he was all that stood between Louie Gohmert and the coveted title of Texas’ Freakiest Man.  (You can see ten pages of my writing about him by clicking right here.)

Well, the devil finally caught up with Ole Steve.

Steve Stockman, who served two stints in the U.S. House of Representatives, spent part of Friday in federal court.

Stockman, a Tea Party favorite who courted controversy thorough two congressional terms, was brought into court Thursday shackled and handcuffed.

He is accused of conspiring to violate federal election laws during his last term in office. It’s a felony that could send him to federal prison if he’s convicted.

As Stockman stood before the judge Thursday afternoon, prosecutors alleged that the former Congressman had conspired with two former employees to funnel hundreds of thousands of dollars to his personal use.

That made my whole weekend.  The Tea Party Duke of Divisiveness in shackles.  I’m almost giddy, dammit.

Here’s an exchange you’ll enjoy.

When the judge told Stockman he needed to obtain an attorney by Friday, the following exchange ensued:

Stockman: You said 2 o’clock tomorrow? I should have counsel by two?
Judge: Yes.
Stockman: I’ll have to hustle with that.
Judge: Yeah, you will. These are serious charges.

Oh, I hope so.  I really do.

Thanks to Bubba for calling me with the heads up.

Cheeto Jesus is apparently eying Big Bend National Park for his border wall because it’s federal land.  The problem is that God already beat him to it:

Apparently to our, uh… (urp) president, if he can’t see it from Cheeto Tower, it’s all flat to him.

Stupid.

One gratifying shift we’ve seen in the chaos since January 20th is the rejuvenation of the Fourth Estate – the press.  In the last 20 years we’ve seen the press devolve into the 24 hour news cycle, infotainment, and simply blatant partisanship which willfully misinforms the electorate.  At the same time, that same electorate has become less and less engaged, seemingly divorced from reality and facts.  American Idol and The Voice get higher participation than elections that actually matter.  The election of the worst candidate for the presidency in US history has changed that.  His withering attacks on facts, truth, decency, compassion, AND the press have finally awoken a sleeping giant.  Major news outlets have geared up and are actually digging for the facts, digging for the dirt, going after lies and the liars who speak them, and aggressively fact checking.

My response to this?  It’s about goddam time (sorry Momma).  Where the hell have you all been (besides working on your SEO and re-marketing strategy)?  To demonstrate this awakening, The Washington Post recently altered their longstanding logo, to wit:

During the Oscars broadcast, The New York Times aired its The Truth is Hard ad, which is powerful:

Even Fox Noise has backed off of at least some of its perpetual GOP cheerleading.

The result of the press waking up is that our system of government has begun to actually function again.  Cheeto Jesus stupidly accuses President Obama of wiretapping him (on Twitter), and the press relentless pursues the story until even HE admitted he got that BS story from Brett Baier of Fox Noise.  He claims that busloads of fraudulent Massachusetts voters went to New Hampshire to commit voter fraud, and the press runs down the facts exposing that as false.  Now, I’m not naive; even an army of reporters would be hard pressed to run down every one of CJ’s lies since he spews a bushel basket full on a daily basis, but with a functioning press, his big lies are quickly debunked, or at least vigorously challenged.  So, instead of spewing more lies and misinformation at the daily press brief, all of Sean Spicer’s time is spent answering a barrage of questions about his boss’s most recent incendiary lie.

As ugly as this is, our republic is still hanging together.  And it’s critical to our survival.  With the rise of the alt-right propaganda machine, the actual Fourth Estate must continue to beat back lies with truth.

Y’all, quit messing with Louie Gohmert’s Wikipedia page. Seriously, y’all. It’s upsetting him.

Texas Republican Rep. Louie Gohmert’s Wikipedia page was hacked on Wednesday, with the hacker altering the page to ask if he even had the capacity to serve.

The introduction part of Gohmert’s page was rewritten to say “Gohmert also prides himself on being the stupidest member of Congress.”

He’s not the stupidest person in Congress.  After all, he is a graduate of Baylor Law School and a former district court judge.  However, he is the damn goofiest member of congress.  Please keep that straight.

Honey, to be honest, you don’t need to decorate his wiki page with statements like that – just read his page and be covered in the awesome wonderfulness of goofy pride.

Sample –

Despite being an advocate for gun rights and supporting a proposal that allows mentally ill individuals to possess firearms, in early 2017 Gohmert expressed fear that he might become the target of gun violence similar to that experienced by former Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords and refused to hold public town hall meetings.

Or –

In a 2012 meeting of the House Natural Resources Committee, Gohmert stated his strong support of a trans-Alaskan pipeline, as a means for caribou to have more sex.

Head on over and find your personal favorite.

Thanks to Steve V for the heads up.