I know you guys are probably getting tired of Twitter, but …

Oh Lord, now we’re going to start putting random words in quotation marks?

I am pretty sure that Jeff Flake says bad things about the president pretty much right out in the open. But, that still leaves me to question this “mike” dude.  Is “mike” a euphemism for dope or something? Is that what Jeff Flake was on?

I think Trump meant mic, as in microphone.  But you never know.

I think maybe he put toast in quotation marks because … oh hell, your guess is as good as mine.

Well, it appears that General H. R. McMaster thinks Trump is a dope.

National Security Advisor H.R. McMaster mocked President Trump’s intelligence at a private dinner with a powerful tech CEO, according to five sources with knowledge of the conversation.

Over a July dinner with Oracle CEO Safra Catz — who has been mentioned as a candidate for several potential administration jobs — McMaster bluntly trashed his boss, said the sources, four of whom told BuzzFeed News they heard about the exchange directly from Catz. The top national security official dismissed the president variously as an “idiot” and a “dope” with the intelligence of a “kindergartner,” the sources said.

Of course, the White House and Oracle deny the claims. I mean, denied that McMaster said it at the dinner.  They could not, however, deny the truth of the statements.

Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick, a man far too concerned about what’s happening in women’s bathrooms than just casual curiosity would deem necessary, has made a proclamation:

I hate when he steals our super-secret playbook.

Pointing to major Democratic wins in Virginia earlier this month, the high-ranking Republican from Houston told fellow party members in Waco Thursday they have a challenging election year ahead of them and the GOP should take nothing for granted, reports the Waco Tribune.

“Recently in Virginia, Republicans turned out in record numbers, but it made no differences. A blue wave prevailed,” said Patrick …

Patrick takes away health care for Texas children, does the instant bidding of his corporate donors, sucks up to Trump, refuses to even discuss Texas education spending, and wasted an entire legislative session over transgender folks and where they can and cannot take a leak. By the way, has it occurred to Patrick that it would be a whole lot more productive the keep Republican men out of either bathroom?

So, huddle up team.  Grab some voter registration cards and a clipboard and let’s go get ’em. Nobody tell Dan Patrick what we’re doing, okay?

Fort Bend County Sheriff Troy Nehls has taken down his threatening Facebook post and is hiding out.

The owners of the truck have not.

The woman responsible for the “F–Trump” bumper sticker added a new decal on her white truck — this time referencing Fort Bend County Sheriff Troy Nehls, according to her Facebook post.

 

Your move, sheriff.

Sheriff, you know that exploratory committee you formed to test the waters for your congressional race?  They need to start hunting for your brain instead.

I had an indignant Republican neighbor ask me last night, “what am I suppose to tell my niece if she sees that word on that truck?” Well, I suspect the same thing you say to her when she sees it on a bathroom wall or, if you want to play haughty with me, when the President speaks about women and uses the p word.

Thanks to everybody for the heads up.

OK, I’m breaking the silence on this one.  I believe the behavior of many men, including Roy Moore, Donald Trump, Kevin Spacey, Bill Clinton, Harvey Weinstein, and thousands more to be appalling.  To expose this behavior is necessary to cure this ill in our society.  #metoo is a strong message to all Americans, especially men and the boys that come behind them.  However, a social contract comes with that solemn responsibility.  Women who accuse men of harassment and abuse MUST be truthful.  We must believe what women say is their experience.  The other side of that contract is that if a women accuses a man of such abhorrent behavior, it must be the true.

Which brings us to Leeann Tweeden, who, this week in an emotional nationally televised statement and followup interviews accused Senator Al Franken of sexual harassment by forcing himself upon her and kissing her.  A photo was then released of Franken supposedly groping her.  Then the truth came out:

https://youtu.be/rJidGI-NMd0

Tweeden is well known for horsing around with men, sexual innuendo, and semi-nude modeling as well as appearing in a number of sexually charged scenes with men.  She’s played grab ass with men on and off stage, and rubbed all over them.  Her shock at being kissed by Al Franken in a skit rehearsal where they were rehearsing…wait for it…a kiss, rings pretty hollow.

She regularly appears on right wing media, and Roger Stone, one of Trump’s henchmen and all around dirtbag, spoke of the attack against Franken hours before it became public.  Ray Charles, were he alive, could see the coordinated attack on Franken to damage a Democrat and distract from the actual predators, Roy Moore, Donald Trump and others now being revealed.

These issues are serious; deadly serious.  Since the beginning of time men have abused and forced themselves on women.  They’ve been disrespectful and even criminal.  To expel this behavior from our society, we must believe women and teach young men to respect them.  The requirement of this, though, is that the accusations against men must be true.  If they’re not true, like Tweeden’s fabricated attack against Franken, cheapens and politicizes a critical issue.  When this happens, everyone, men and women, must call this out for what it is.  Otherwise, we make no progress.  We cure no ill.

It’s a feast of fetishes at Republican Central today.

Former Oklahoma State Senator and a member of Donald Trump’s campaign team, Ralph Shortey, just made his stand on family values.

Former Oklahoma state Sen. Ralph Shortey has agreed to plead guilty to one count of child sex trafficking in exchange for three other charges to be dismissed, Shortey’s lawyer Ed Blau confirmed Saturday.

Shortey was charged in federal court with two counts of child pornography, production of child pornography and child sex trafficking.

The New York Times today reported that malls weren’t the only haunts for Judge Roy Moore.  He also like to hang out at the YMCA.

And, the Washington Post discovered that Tony Perkins, of the religious right Family Research Council knew that a Republican from Ohio was fondling young men but he did nothing about it.  After receiving complaints from a family who attended a Family Research Council convention and unnamed “others.” Perkins sent the Ohio Republican, Wesley Goodman, and email asking him to drop out of the race for the state house.  Goodman refused and won the GOP nomination and the election.

The result?

Goodman, 33, abruptly resigned this week after state legislative leaders learned of what the House speaker called “inappropriate behavior related to his state office.” Local media outlets have reported the behavior involved a consensual sexual encounter with a male visitor in his legislative office.

Emails and documents show a small circle of people discussed the complaints about Goodman before he went on to later misconduct at the statehouse.

In Ohio, supporters of Goodman’s campaign wondered why they were not alerted to his past behavior.

Because if you have a choice between a pedophile or a Democrat, Republicans would vote for the pedophile anyway.  So why bother them with truth?

Do I sound bitter?  I am.

Thanks to SGray for the heads up.