I honestly thought this was an April Fool’s gag. These GOP guys, they are such jokers. So I did some research. The bill was filed FRIDAY, so either they got their dates wrong, or they are even more delusional than we thought. Among all the critical things they should be acting on, like, aid to Ukraine, Gaza and, you know, stuff overflowing on the back burner,  Rep. Guy Reschentaler (R-PA) and his six co-sponsors are asking Congress to change the name of Washington Dulles International Airport to….wait for it….Donald J. Trump International Airport. The six geniuses with this burning issue keeping them awake at night include the local Ft. Bend zero Rep. Troy E. Nehls,  Reps. Andrew Ogles and Chuck Fleishmann (TN), Paul Gosar (AZ) and Michael Waltz (FL). You know there had to be a Florida Man in this band. We are living in an April Fools Groundhog Day movie. And the hits just keep on coming.

Remember a while back when I mentioned Alfredo’s note about Podcaster Ted Cruz? Well, it gets better (or worse, depending on your point of view).

When we left off, I mentioned how iHeartMedia sent $214,752.98 to Cruz’s SuperPAC, Truth and Courage PAC last February, and how it was the senator’s cut from advertising during their airing of his 3-per-week podcasts. Well, things got said and all of a sudden iHeartMedia has assured the complaining watchdog group, The Campaign Legal Center, that this money has absolutely nothing to do with the media group’s business relationship with Ted Cruz or with his “Verdict With Ted Cruz” podcast.

But as mentioned in this online radio news source, Inside Radio, iHeartMedia has denied that this is “digital revenue,” explaining that this was a simple contribution to the PAC.

There was no Quid, no Pro, and no frickkin’  Quo.

My question is simple: couldn’t they have rounded the donation up to $215,000? And what’s with the 98 cents?

The CLC’s question is perhaps a little more to the point: how is this contribution to the Super PAC in any way legal because iHeartMedia is a federal contractor? According to the Federal Election Act of 1971, a federal contractor is barred from making contributions to SuperPACs.

So it’s not compensation for Cruz, because Cruz donates his time. On the other hand, the donation is illegal because federal contractors cannot make them.

And this is year 2 of the arrangement. In 2023, iHeartMedia “donated” $630,850 American to Cruz’s PAC that Ted Cruz also did not solicit.

Well, that’s good. $5,000 is the contribution limit for solicited donations. Good thing he didn’t ask for it, or he’d be in REAL trouble – like iHeartMedia appears to be in now.

Just a couple of Fake News stories on this holy day to Christians (and Catholics, separated out by TFG’s campaign spokesperson). The egg art drama is one thing, ho hum, but the better is the OUTRAGE that Joe Biden would rise up to proclaim Easter Sunday as Trans Visibility Day. The enlightened followers of Fox, Newsmax and TFG are all abuzz, but seem to be missing critical facts. Such as, Trans Visibility Day was designated in 2009. It was not Easter, however, most of us know that Easter Sunday moves around. We seemed to have gotten through 2013 okay when the two coincided. Good thing we don’t have to worry about it again until 2084.

For giggles, I checked out a website that lists all holidays on a date. You might be surprised to know March 31 is also:

National Crayon Day, Cesar Chavez Day, National Baked Ham with Pineapple Day, Dance Marathon Day, Hug a Medievalist Day, National Farm Workers Day, National Tater Day (!), Bunsen Burner Day (for you lab rats out there), She’s Funny That Way Day (honoring funny ladies), and my favorite Clams on the Half Shell Day. Who knew?

So enjoy your Ham with Pineapple, Happy March 31st!

Enough is enough.  TFG, who has done, and continues to do more to destroy our country than anyone in US history, should have his bail revoked and jailed until trial.  Not only has he made fascism and authoritarianism acceptable in polite society, he is intentionally stepping over the limits of the law by defaming and threatening judges, their staffs, prosecutors, and witnesses.  Worse, he regularly defames their families with intensely personal and childish attacks insulting everything from their looks to their politics, which are definitely off limits and none of his fucking business.

Last week, almost immediately after NY judge Juan Merchan, who’s presiding over TFG’s hush money case, imposed a limited gag order against him, he attacked the judge’s 30 something year old daughter, calling her a “Trump hater”, among other vile accusations.  Yesterday, he posted a video of a pickup truck festooned with Trump flags including a tailgate mural of Biden hogtied in the bed of the truck.  The post went viral instantly, blowing up the internet.  Contrary to normal conduct, his lawyers are actively enabling this behavior by filing a continuous stream of idiotic motions demanding that TFG be given special rights because being forced to not threaten others is required because doing so is “election interference” and a violation of his “First Amendment rights”.

TFG regularly and loudly complains that he’s being singled out while falsely claiming that Biden is behind all the prosecutions, including the state cases.  That’s all bullshit, of course, except for the being singled out part; but it’s not like he says.  He is definitely being singled out, allowed WHILE ON BAIL to freely travel, use social media to attack his perceived enemies, shoot off his mouth, spread vicious lies about witnesses, attorneys, judges, and their families, and generally be a 24 karat gold asshole.  No other indicted felon on bail would be allowed to do anything close to what he does on a daily basis.  Yesterday, former federal prosecutor Joyce Vance said that if anyone else had posted a picture of Biden being kidnapped the Secret Service would be knocking on that individual’s door within hours.  TFG gets a pass because he’s, well, TFG.  She also said this about TFG conduct:

“Actions have consequences. Judges have the ability to compel good behavior from defendants on bond pending trial in their court. They can go so far as taking away their guns once they’re indicted or prevent them from contacting and threatening witnesses and victims. They should tell him he can’t threaten the President of the United States. It’s time for the courts to stop bending over backward to protect Trump. He’s entitled to all the constitutional protections any other criminal defendant receives, but he’s not entitled to more.”

TFG is a threat to the nation, to individuals personally, and to the rule of law.  And we know why he’s doing what he’s doing – he’s trying to run out the clock to the election, AND is working hard to intimidate witnesses and the jury pool in 4 different jurisdictions.  It’s simply go to stop.  As Vance says, the courts are bending over backwards to accommodate his behavior.  Judge Cannon is actually in the bag for him as well as more than a few of SCOTUS justices.  It’s up to the state or federal judges to take action.

Take custody of this shitbag and confiscate his phone.  Let him sit in jail wearing an orange jumpsuit until his trials.  If they do that, I’ll guarantee his lawyers will then stop the delaying tactics.  Time to return to the rule of law.  Jail him. NOW.

Because this sketch by Steve Cousineau couldn’t wait until next Friday.

“Passage from the tRUMP bible…Sermon on the Con.”

So, just a programming note for those that regularly read this section. I am working with one good eye and have surgery planned in about a week. I mention that only to mention that I know there are grammatical errors and typos that are passing through. I literally cannot see them. I catch a few with the squiggly red lines, but some will get missed.

I am a fairly dedicated Catholic, but this is the first year I have participated in a Holy Thursday mass. Our parish actually has a tradition where the priest washes the feet of twelve regular church members that represent different eras of ministry and/or leadership. I was honored to be one of them this year.

Sacred scripture mentions Jesus washing the feet of his disciples before the last supper. The idea is that anyone that wants to exalt themselves will be humbled and anyone that humbles themselves will be exalted. I’m quite certain I’ve read that somewhere, but us Catholics have been accused of not knowing their Bible.

The triduum includes Holy Thursday, Good Friday, and the Easter vigil. The theme of threes continues as we see Jesus demonstrating love, humility, and service all at the same time. I couldn’t help but think of the current state of affairs in the presidential election.

Humanity is an imperfect thing. Everyone has at least one significant character flaw and Joe Biden is no different. This is often when we separate politicans and political stances with the actual quality of the person. George W. Bush did some very questionable things and that is probably putting it mildly. The same could be said about Barack Obama.

My regular readers know this already. This is more for those stumbling to this for the first time. Forget policy and ideology. I defy any of them to name one positive quality that Donald Trump possesses. You can’t. He’s not honest. He’s not humble. He’s not faithful. He’s not kind. He’s not giving or generous. He’s not just. He’s not wise or intelligent. He is not compassionate or empathetic. He’s not courageous or selfless.

Setting aside politics, I could identify some of those qualities in every president in our history. Even then ones we might decry as ineffective, corrupt, or both have some of these qualities. It can be difficult to separate the man from what the man does. Sometimes we aren’t meant to, but Bush II had a genuine conversion experience. He was faithful and on balance a good man outside the political arena.

The exact same things could be said of Barack Obama. It is not a coincidence that the Bushes and Obamas got along so well after both left office. I can’t imagine any past president spending any time with Trump willingly. There is certainly an importance in what people believe and what values they bring to the party. There is also an importance in whether any particular candidate is a good and honest person when you ask them to make a crucial decision under pressure.

Politicians have made a lot of hay around the so-called 3 AM phone call question. Yes, the Biden team has an issue here with their candidate being even slightly off his game. I just don’t see how anyone can feel comfortable with Trump on the other end. I’m just not seeing it. I don’t get it. Maybe a Trump voter can come in and explain it to me.