I went with my parents, sister, and brother in law to watch Rachel Maddow speak last night. It was essentially a speaking tour for her book Prequel. The book essentially chronicles different anti-semitic and fascist waves in the United States and the ordinary people that stood up to fight them. As you might imagine, most of these stories are stories we never taught in history class and it is shameful for two history teachers (my father was also one) to sit and be dumbfounded with stories we had never heard before.

She called us a blue dot in a sea of red. We know all too well what the stakes are what life could look like if we fail. Obviously, many of the questions turned to the worry over what is happening and what might happen if we don’t succeed. Her advice was to stay in lieu of fleeing for a safe haven.

Two separate conversations I had prior to the evening made this point a lot more clear. The first one is that I obviously make myself known by doing this. I comfort myself in that I am but small potatoes in the vast internet. However, they could track me and know where I stand.

On the heels of that conversation, my brother in law told us that someone he knew had a conversation with him and knows he is more liberal. The guy flat out told him when the civil war comes he won’t hesitate to put him down since he now knows my brother in law is on the other side.

What we know is that the rhetoric is all designed to dehumanize us. If you can successfully make us less than human then you can successfully shut down the part of the conscience that doesn’t allow people to harm others. Maddow made the point that the best thing we could do and is reach out and make connections now. Go beyond what we normally would do. If we normally text then make a point to call. If we normally call then make a point to see them in person. If we see them in person then see them in person more often.

I think she was exclusively talking about loved ones and friends that are likeminded individuals. She didn’t say that specifically, but that is how I interpreted her plea. I think the idea is there would be someone looking for you (and us for them) if that time ever comes. I certainly can’t argue the point, but another thought entered my mind as she discussed this.

If the goal of the right is to dehumanize us then our goal should be to rehumanize everyone. Yes, I just made up a new word, but these times demand some invention. They say in hostage situations that it is harder for the aggressor to eliminate the hostages if they see them as people. If they know their name and see that they have feelings.

The overall takeaway is that average and ordinary people throughout history have thwarted the onslaught of fascism. Fascism always has an allure to some people. The allure of an all-powerful leader that can push back against the complex forces that “keep us down” can be alluring. Of course, that’s true until we become one of those that stand in the dear leader’s way. I don’t have all of the answers as to how to defeat fascism. However, the idea of doing it together seems much more palatable than doing it separately.

The Felonious Grifter went to Washington, D.C. today to strategize with his captive audience (also known as The Republican Party). It went pretty much as you might suspect, according to NOTUS (News Of The United States).

Aside from one source who is quoted: “Like talking to your drunk uncle at the family reunion,” my one favorite takeaway was his own comment to Steve Scalise who, in 2017, was shot and critically wounded by a guy who left the to go window with one taco short of a combo.

“I saw him [Scalise] in the hospital. I can tell your wife really loves you, Steve, because some wives wouldn’t care.”

There is no doubt in my mind at all that TFG was speaking from personal experience.

Do you remember the movie “The Magnificent Seven”? I sure do, racist tropes and all. Some may know that the film’s screenplay was based on a 1954 Japanese flick called “Seven Samurai” which depicted a bandit-ravaged Japanese village that hire a non-aligned samurai (a ronin) to defend them. He in turn enlists 6 others. They win in the end, but at a cost.

Besides the number 7, that movie has nothing to do with today’s screed.

With today’s conviction of President Biden’s son we are reminded that the progeny of politicos are as imperfect as their parents – or any other human for that matter.

Take, for example, Michael Patton Guest, son of Congressman Michael Guest (R MS-03). Guest the younger was arrested for assault on a police officer, disorderly conduct, and underage drinking in Nashville this past February.

Then we have Tyler Jay Boebert, 18, son of Congressman Lauren “Beetlejuice” Boebert (R CO-3). Tyler was arrested, also last February, for multiple car break-ins and property thefts. He was released without bail. Another product of a broken home.

The only son of Catherine Templeton, currently running in a primary election against Congressman Nancy Mace (R SC-01), was arrested last April by Mount Pleasant, SC police and faces a felony charge of assault and battery. Brooks Hampton Templeton, 18, was booked into the Charleston County jail. He spent about 4½ hours in custody before being released on bail for $30,000.

The son of Congressman Steve Womack (R – AR-03), James Womack, 35, was booked into the Washington County, Arkansas jail this past January. Charges include fleeing, criminal mischief, possession of a controlled substance and multiple moving violations. For the criminal mischief charge, bail was set at $10,000.

The son of Sarah Palin, former Republican Governor of Alaska and former Republican candidate for Vice President of the United States, Track Palin, 29, was arrested in 2018 in Wasilla, Alaska for domestic violence and resisting arrest.

The daughter of House Democratic Whip, Congressman Katherine Clark (D MA-05), Riley Dowell, 23, was arrested for defacing the bandstand at Boston Common with “NO COP CITY” and “ACAB” (shorthand for “All Cops Are Bastards”) during a protest in January of 2023.

The daughter of Congressman Ilhan Omar (D MN-05), Isra Hirsi, 21, who attends Barnard College in Manhattan, was arrested this past April for trespass on the campus of New York University. Isra was on the campus “standing in solidarity with Palestinians facing a genocide.”

These seven lawless sons and daughters were all caught in the act just as President Biden’s son, Hunter, was. They, like any other citizen will be processed in our system of justice for their mistakes without fear or favor, just as The President’s son was.

Civil disobedience and civil disorder are all treated the same in this country.

They do carry different messages, though.

Hunter Biden’s conviction today reminds us again, but not for the first time as seen by the seven cases above, no one is above the law.

Ever wonder why Sam Alito flew an “Appeal To Heaven” flag at his New Jersey beach house? The common wisdom is that he flew it because he was simpatico with the cause of the January 6 rioters, just like the inverted American flag he flew outside his home in Alexandria, Virginia, where DC gentry go to bed at night.

But look under Alito’s Pine Tree Flag. What the H-E-Double-Hockey-Sticks are those two other flags?

I have answers.

The odd one with the stylized sun in a navy triangle is the world famous LBI Flag.

Oh. You’ve never heard of the LBI Flag? LBI stands for Long Beach Island. That’s a barrier island just north of Atlantic City, where Justice Alito maintains a vacation home.

It’s a long, thin island, so it therefore has a long beach. Get it?

Not to be confused with the three artificial islands offshore of Long Beach, California. Those islands were built by a consortium of 5 oil companies (3 now) and were named after the 3 Apollo 1 astronauts who died in a fire in the command module.

Right name, wrong coast.

That flag cannot be flown in Alexandria because it’s not an island, nor on the coast.

The other flag, a pennant really, has a big “2022” on it and a logo in the upper right corner that reveals its origin. It’s the NLCS championship flag from the Philadelphia Phillies.

So what do we make of that? How do they all relate? One possibility is that they don’t relate at all: they are as what one would find at the bottom of Mrs. Alito’s purse: an unmatched earring, a restaurant mint, and used Kleenex tissues.

Another possibility is that they all represent things you can’t fly over your home in Alexandria. The Phillies flag is a no-no in a town where the Nats play across the river. The LBI flag is so strange that non-islanders will wonder if it might be Satanic. And we all know why the Pine Tree Flag wouldn’t fly, so-to-speak, in liberal Alexandria, it being the latter-day symbol of January 6 insurrectionism.

Or it could be totally innocent. LBI flag aside, the Phillies pennant combined with the Pine Tree Flag may be a public prayer that that the Phillies be triumphant against their World Series rivals, the Houston Astros.

Appeal denied.

Speaking of blowhards, did you know that Alex Jones has agreed to liquidate his assets and pay the $1.4 billion that he owes to the parents of Sandy Hook victims? NPR has it here.

Is this the end of a very short career of lies, hate, grift, and conspiracy? Only time will tell. My one hope is that he doesn’t experience a resurgence in popularity when President Enrico Tarrio presents him with a Medal of Freedom at his 2044 State of the Union Address.

But seriously, here is a compendium of photos to mark the high- and lowlights of the passage of Alex’s time of celebrity on this mortal coil.

Here is Alex Jones at his first gig in Waco at the ruins of the Branch Davidian complex just after he accosted a CBS reporter who Alex thought was an FBI agent.

Here is Alex Jones at his desk during his stint as an Austin Access television commenter and later, a KJFK radio host before he was fired.

Here is Alex Jones as a feature in a 2009 documentary film about conspiracy theorists

Not to be mistaken for the previous WWE group of the same name.

Here is Alex Jones in his ursine display of personal health hawking Anthroplex for $29.99 a bottle. (It’s got zinc!)

Here is Alex Jones spewing outright lies and hatred on a megaphone in Newtown, Connecticut.

Here is Alex Jones awarding attorney Mark Bankston his “Perry Mason Moment” during his testimony in court.

Here is Alex Jones experiencing Chapter 7 in a tearless crying jag on TV last Saturday.

And here is the UK’s version of Alex Jones (Charlotte Alexandra Jones). She’s a nice woman who presents on the BBC.

No relation.