The vast majority of Baby Boomers (aka “Boomers”) in America were raised on reruns of “The Little Rascals.” Everyone knew Spanky, Alfalfa, Buckwheat, and Uh-huh.

If you knew them (oh, OK, and Darla and Janet), you knew about their hijinks on display every Saturday morning.

And you knew about The He-Man Woman Haters Club. It was an exclusive club with a club house and a males only membership restriction.

And an oath:

“We, the He-Mans Woman Haters Club promise not to fall for this Valentines business because girls are the bunk.”

Those who saw that episode all know how it ended: Darla Hood came along and darned if she didn’t ruin the whole thing.

Fast forward eighty-seven years, and here we are again, only this time it’s Captain Bonespurs, Hillbilly, MAGA Mike, and Hulk Hogan. All he-men who are in agreement that, yes, girls are definitely the bunk.

Then Kamala Harris came along and darned if she didn’t ruin the whole thing.

Whoever told this woman, this lowly woman of mixed race, that she could tread now where only he-men could go before?

My sources tell me that Catwoman may have had something to do with it.

I know it’s somewhat of a task similar to shooting ducks in a barrel – or shooting a puppy in a gravel pit for that matter – but it seems that pointing out contradictions among MAGA Republicans has become a national pasttime.

To wit, the odd juxtaposition of two opinions that Veep wannabe JD has taken vis-à-vis childbearing.

First, on the position that women who haven’t borne children have no place in the formulation of our nation’s future, we have JD’s glib 2021 comment that the country is being run by “a bunch of childless cat ladies who are miserable at their own lives and the choices that they’ve made and so they want to make the rest of the country miserable, too.” 

That is to say, if you yourself have not procreated, you should have no say in the future of our country.

Juxtaposed to that is Vance’s vote last month against the Right to IVF Act. That act, if it had ever passed, would have guaranteed the continued existence of In Vitro Fertilization Clinics in all of the States.

So, in JD’s mind, if you can’t have children (and don’t forget, it still takes two to tango), that is no different than if you won’t have children. And in either case, this disqualifies you from having a say in the country’s future.

That’s some pretty strong stuff.

Continuing on in this same vein, does this also mean that childless people in general have no business in deciding the future path of the country? Does this mean that they should be forbidden to vote?

People are saying that ol’ JD is a pretty good writer. When he writes, they say, it’s poetry. But apparently, when he speaks, it’s pure caca del toro.

When Joe Biden stepped aside in his re-election campaign last Sunday, practically the first thought that came to mind was, “I hope they have a plan.”

Well, apparently, they had a plan. The transition was as smooth as you could make it. Very quickly, a sufficient number of delegates confirmed their votes for Harris in order to put a lock on the nomination. A historical influx of campaign cash came in from first-time donors. Tens of thousands of campaign volunteers signed up.

People were all in.

Sen. Joe Manchin (I – WVA) was the only one to try and muddy the waters by threatening to re-register as a Democrat and oppose Biden’s nominated successor.

But that fizzled after almost an entire day, and any further gathering of buzzards didn’t happen.

Another worrisome issue was MAGA Republican litigation. We’ve been witness to enough legal efforts to usurp electoral results that not to expect lawsuits from them over our “ol’ switcheroo” was a fantasy.

But so far, the only thing we’ve seen from MAGA Republicans is a complaint to the Federal Election Commission. And we all know what typically happens to these complaints. Nothing, until after the general election. Then, generally nothing after that.

But I’m still waiting for that shoe to drop. Why no lawsuits have been filed – to my knowledge anyway – is a mystery. Are they waiting for the last minute? Are they still thinking about it? Has someone told them that as a political party, we can nominate whomever we damned well please, and they have no case?

I haven’t unbuckled my seat belt yet. There may still be some turbulence ahead.

Toons for tomorrow are set up and scheduled. Apologies, I did not have time to do my usual scouring so it is a short and sweet Friday. It was another crazy week of highs and lows. My excuses are pretty extensive. Since last Friday’s post, I have done two marimba gigs with my bandmates, taken a red eye to Boston via Seattle, spent several days visiting my ailing 97 year old mother, taken an almost redeye back to Portland last night/this morning, and am preparing to return to the airport hotel tonight for an early morning flight to Berlin via Chicago and Frankfurt. I’d better buy some carbon offsets for my travel this summer, I still have a trip back east for a nephew’s wedding in late August.

Back in an earlier life, I was a fisheries biologist with NOAA/NMFS at the Northeast Fisheries Center lab in Narragansett, RI. In those days, we did lots of cooperative research on Georges Band/Gulf of Maine with Poland, Russia, Germany and France. I spent a lot of time on the Polish RV Wieczno, and in the summer of 1977, visited many of my Polish shipmates in their home country. It was a memorable 25th birthday trip, believe me! I am excited to travel with my friend KW of Polish descent who worked in Berlin and Poland for the German Marshall Fund in the 90s. We’ve talked about doing this since we met 9 years ago, and it’s finally happening. I will even get to reunite with Marianna, my Polish counterpart from the research cruise days, for 3 days in Gdansk. It will be a very different Poland than I visited 47 years ago.

We will also spend time in the Tatras, Zakopane and Krakow for 3 nights each, and will meet up with a friend of KW who is coming to Krakow from Ukraine. I am excited to hear what the people in Berlin, Poland and Ukraine are thinking about our crazy election season, and will post when I get back. I did not want to drag a computer along, and you know how cell phones are…

So, no Toons from me until August 16th. Maybe Half Empty can put up a few, he’s really good at feeding them to  me!!!!

Na Zdrowie!!!

I’ve had it with the cries of foul. The cries that exchanging the old man with a young fresh face is so unfair that it must be illegal.

I observed previously that while some Democrats (myself included) were of the opinion that Biden shouldn’t quit, MAGA Republicans held that as a sincere belief. It was a fait accompli: Biden is the target and no one else.

From the linked article:

They’re stuck with Biden. If Biden doesn’t want to go, you can’t drag him out. He’s got the delegates to win.

and,

“President Trump just wins” if Biden steps aside; but [that won’t] happen. “I think President Trump wins either way”.

If you don’t like it when something happens, don’t ask for it.