Saturday, December 3, 2022

GET ME REWRITE: GOP gears up to fight crime and inflation by unleashing tidal wave of anti-trans bills

 
Headline:  NPR, 11/28/2022
The focus on trans students underscores the extent to which schools, perhaps more than any other area of American life, have emerged as the front line for restrictions on trans rights. Of the more than 126 bills introduced so far in 2022, some 63% have centered on schooling.
The bills largely draw inspiration from Idaho, which in 2020 became the first state in the nation to ban transgender women and girls from kindergarten through college from competing on teams that align with their gender identity. That ban is currently blocked by a court injunction. N

Related posts:
GOP gears up to fight crime and inflation by promoting climate change denial.  (11/19/2022)

Meet the GOP troglodytes of the United States Senate: Jerry Moran (Kansas)

 
 And the white guys just keep on comin'!


Quote from Topeka Capital-Journal, 11/16/2022


US Senate Hall of Shame
John Boozman, R-Arkansas.  (11/30/2002)
Tom Cotton, R-Arkansas.  (11/30/2022)
Marco Rubio, R-Florida.  (11/30/2022)
Rick Scott, R-Florida.  (11/30/2022)
Mike Crapo, R-Idaho.  (12/1/2022)
Jim Risch,  R-Idaho.  (12/1/2022)
Mike Braun, R-Indiana.  (12/2/2022)
Chuck Grassley.  (11/2/2022)
Roger Marshall.  (11/3/2022)

Meet the GOP troglodytes of the United States Senate: Roger Marshall (Kansas)

 
 And the white guys just keep on comin'!



Quote from Topeka Capital-Journal, 11/16/2022


US Senate Hall of Shame
John Boozman, R-Arkansas.  (11/30/2002)
Tom Cotton, R-Arkansas.  (11/30/2022)
Marco Rubio, R-Florida.  (11/30/2022)
Rick Scott, R-Florida.  (11/30/2022)
Mike Crapo, R-Idaho.  (12/1/2022)
Jim Risch,  R-Idaho.  (12/1/2022)
Mike Braun, R-Indiana.  (12/2/2022)
Chuck Grassley.  (11/2/2022)

Agnes Fiscus McMillen (1935-2022) Warren High School class of 1953


 1953 Dragon yearbook

Peterson Blick Funeral Home

1967 Warren City Directory

1983 Warren City Directory
  • Fiscus Esther Mrs retired h5 Cottage Place North Warren
  • McMillen Agnes nurses' aide Warren State Hospital h145 Follett Run Road

The popularity of Agnes as a baby name is graphed here.  Let's take a look at Esther.

If never a contender for 'big name' status, Esther has been a steady presence on the baby names chart.  She peaked at #32 in 1904 and again in 1939, then went into a slow and modest decline, bottoming out at #348 in 1970.  Since then her popularity has been trending upward, as she has worked her way back into the top 200. 

Other class of '55 members (24):
2022

2021
Roger Siggins.  (3/3)
David Swanson.  (1/2)

2020

2019
Rose Quiggle Barney.  (7/23)

2018

2017
James Rose.  (12/17)
Mary Sperry.  (4/11)
James Graziano.  (3/28)

2016
Martin Gage . (12/5)
Lester Nero.  (9/8)

2015
Cleo Stack Yaegle (10/24)

MacIver Institute plays a round of "Scary Black Man"

 
Headline:  MacIver Institute, 12/2/2022

As if this is a daily occurance
State Street in Madison is beautiful during the holidays. Lights line the trees along the roadway and traffic signs are draped in holly. The shops, quirky and inviting all year, seem especially alluring as Christmas approaches; each one could contain that perfect gift. 
One could spend hours browsing, walking, stopping for lunch in a cafĂ©, and just generally enjoying the most bustling street in the most eccentrically vibrant city in Wisconsin…until, of course, gunshots ring out and dump coal on an otherwise perfect afternoon.
Mug shot accompanies text.

One could also offer some perspective.

US News (orange box added)

Related posts:
How did Ron Johnson win a third term? He played to voters' base instincts.  (121/13/2022)Don't expect to see any of these white faces from the retrograde MacIver Institute at a Tony Evers press briefing.  (12/14/2021)

GET ME REWRITE: Colleges hop in bed with sports-betting companies

 
HeadlineNew York Times, 11/20/2022
PhotoWikipedia
Bottom:  12/2/2022 email blast from NOLA.com

From the New York Times:
Other schools, too, have struck deals to bring betting to campus. After Louisiana State University signed a similar deal in 2021 with Caesars, the university sent an email encouraging recipients — including some students who were under 21 and couldn’t legally gamble — to “place your first bet (and earn your first bonus).”

2024 primary and caucus dilemma: Demographically, South Carolina is a better choice than Iowa to be the first in line

 

New York Times, 12/2/2022
At a daylong gathering of the D.N.C.’s Rules and Bylaws Committee in a Washington hotel ballroom, members voted to recommend supporting a 2024 Democratic presidential primary calendar that would begin in South Carolina on Feb. 3, followed by New Hampshire and Nevada on Feb. 6, Georgia on Feb. 13 and then Michigan on Feb. 27. 
That plan reflected a framework Mr. Biden delivered to the committee on Thursday that emphasized racial and geographic diversity.

Who'll be the first in line?  (12/2/2022)

Friday, December 2, 2022

Dear FiveThirtyEight, A picture is worth a thousand words. Best, Retiring Guy


 In this case, 1554 words.

Headline:  FiveThirtyEight, 12/1/2022

Welcome to the gerrymandered Wisconsin 3rd congressional district.  The GOP doesn't do this kind of shit just for fun.


Meet the GOP troglodytes of the United States Senate: Chuck Grassley (Iowa)

 And the white guys just keep on comin'!




US Senate Hall of Shame
John Boozman, R-Arkansas.  (11/30/2002)
Tom Cotton, R-Arkansas.  (11/30/2022)
Marco Rubio, R-Florida.  (11/30/2022)
Rick Scott, R-Florida.  (11/30/2022)
Mike Crapo, R-Idaho.  (12/1/2022)
Jim Risch,  R-Idaho.  (12/1/2022)
Mike Braun, R-Indiana.  (12/2/2022)

Meet the GOP troglodytes of the United States Senate: Mike Braun (Indiana)

 And the white guys just keep on comin'!

ExcerptFox59, 11/18/2022 

Best response to Braun's backtracking.

US Senate Hall of Shame
John Boozman, R-Arkansas.  (11/30/2002)
Tom Cotton, R-Arkansas.  (11/30/2022)
Marco Rubio, R-Florida.  (11/30/2022)
Rick Scott, R-Florida.  (11/30/2022)
Mike Crapo, R-Idaho.  (12/1/2022)
Jim Risch,  R-Idaho.  (12/1/2022)

GET ME REWRITE: In places like Hudson, Wisconsin, Tony Evers won 53.2% of the vote in the 2022 governor's race


HeadlineWisconsin State Journal, 12/1/2022

This text that accompanying a video:  
In a picturesque corner of western Wisconsin, a growing right-wing conservative movement has rocketed to prominence. They see America as a dark place, dangerous, where democracy is under attack by a tyrannical government, few officials can be trusted and clans of neighbors might have to some…

In this sense of the word, shouldn't it be spelled with a "K"? 

Remember the ongoing festival of media hand-wringing and pearl-clutching leading up to the election, summed up in this headline?


So why are we still getting stories about bands of crazy, frothing whiners who wallow in nutburger conspiracy theories?  Where are the stories about the many local and county officials and advocacy groups who worked incredibly hard to insure what turned out to be most successful and trouble-free election?

Why continue to give these folks an elevated platform?  (The story appeared on the front page, above the fold, of the Wisconsin State Journal.)

Unfortunately, the folks who deserve our kudos probably don't want the attention, fearing it will scald them with another pot of boiling froth from the crazies.

2024 primary and caucus dilemma: Who'll be the first in line?

 
Perhaps Minnesota and Michigan should flip a coin.


Politico, 11/30/2022
Minnesota’s Democratic-Farmer Labor-Party Chair Ken Martin sent a two-page memo to Democratic National Committee members Wednesday evening urging them to not select Michigan as the early primary state from the Midwest in 2024 and beyond. Michigan and Minnesota are seen as the leading contenders to nab the influential perch, after Iowa’s first-in-the-nation status came under harsh scrutiny for its handling of the 2020 caucuses, spurring Democrats to move to change the order of future primaries and elevate a new Midwestern state.

To their credit, both state Democratic party organizations have a diverse staff.  See for yourself:  Michigan, Minnesota.

Related post:
What white people want or what America wants.  (12/1/2022)

Scott Walker's tweet doesn't align with the GOP's recent history

 
Headline Fox News, 7/20/2018

Thursday, December 1, 2022

GET ME REWRITE: It's not a plan, it a need. DeSantis needs Trump's racist, antisemitic, homophobic, transphobic, insurrectionist base of voters in order to win in 2024

 
Ron DeSantis:  Not afraid to burn in hell.

Headline:  Rolling Stone, 11/30/2022

Other DeSantis posts:
2022
When it comes to the GOP attacking Black candidates, it's deja vu all over again.  (11/11/2022)
Ron DeSantis brain drain. (11/8/2022)  
Meet Ron DeSantis, Florida death merchant.  (11/2/2022)
What's wrong with this picture?  (6/29/2022)
So this is the best the GOP has to offer (Death wish for American democracy).  (6/23/2022)
Florida high school principal to senior class president: "Don't say gay!"  (5/24/2022)
Baby, scratch my back: Florida GOP governor Ron DeSantis math textbook ban is good thing for Virginia GOP governor Glenn Youngkin's bottom line.  (4/26/2022)
It can happen here.  (1/18/2022)
Ron DeSantis fiddles while Florida burns with the omicron variant.  (1/10/2022)

2021
Dear insane fuckup Ron DeSantis, Nobody should die from the virus due to heavy-handed anti-vax mandates from a crazed, power-mad governor. (11/24/2021)Meet the University of Florida Board of Governors.  (11/5/2021)

Meet the GOP troglodytes of the United States Senate: Jim Risch (Idaho)

 
And the white guys just keep on comin'!


Headline:  Idaho Statesman, 

Risch does the chicken dance.
Meanwhile, Sen. Jim Risch last month declined to commit to a public stance on the same-sex marriage bill in response to an Idaho Statesman inquiry. But on his Senate website, Risch, 79, stated that he would support an amendment to the U.S. Constitution that would define marriage as between one man and one woman. 

US Senate Hall of Shame
John Boozman, R-Arkansas.  (11/30/2002)
Tom Cotton, R-Arkansas.  (11/30/2022)
Marco Rubio, R-Florida.  (11/30/2022)
Rick Scott, R-Florida.  (11/30/2022)
Mike Crapo, R-Idaho.  (12/1/2022)

Meet the GOP troglodytes of the United States Senate: Mike Crapo (Idaho)


QuoteIdaho Statesman, 

Here's an example of how politically crazy the Idaho landscape is.

Washington Post, 9/26/2022


US Senate Hall of Shame
John Boozman, R-Arkansas.  (11/30/2002)
Tom Cotton, R-Arkansas.  (11/30/2022)
Marco Rubio, R-Florida.  (11/30/2022)
Rick Scott, R-Florida.  (11/30/2022)

No, really, it's not a story about Donald Trump!


But we can easily fix that!

Top headlineNew York Times, 11/29/2022
Bottom headline and graphic:  Providence Journal, December 8, 2015

Yup, from 2015.  We have no one to blame but ourselves -- those of us who voted for the buffoon, those of us who couldn't bring themselves to vote for Hillary Clinton, those of us who sat on our hands.  We created this monster,.

First day of Advent

 
Photos by Retiring Guy
Calendar design by Retiring Guy's wife


Good Housekeeping, 11/30/2022

Related reading:

Voter suppression in action: Highlights of Georgia's anti-voter law (2021)

 


New York Times
The result is a funnel effect in Georgia. Voters have a far smaller window to cast ballots, which has led to hourslong lines around metro Atlanta, a Democratic stronghold, even though fewer people are voting ahead of Tuesday’s runoff race than in the early 2021 elections. Democrats fear the restrictions will hamper a turnout machine they spent years building — which delivered victories for Mr. Warnock, Jon Ossoff and Joseph R. Biden Jr. two years ago. 
On Monday afternoon in Alpharetta, Ga., a northern suburb of Atlanta, the wait time to vote was 150 minutes, according to a website that tracks lines at polling places. At the same precinct, the wait was 90 minutes on Wednesday. Early voting ends on Friday.
Georgia Republicans call it the Voter Integrity Act.

2024 primary and caucus dilemma: What white people want or what America wants

 New Hampshire:  89.1% white.  Nevada:  46.6% white.   USA:  59.1% white.


Politico, 11/29/2022
States like Michigan and Minnesota are trying to push in, while Nevada is making a play for first-in-the-nation status over New Hampshire. The committee has still left open the possibility of adding a fifth calendar to the slate, while it’s also been suggested that two states could hold their contests on the same day. It’s unclear just how much will change.  [bold added]
They're excited in Vegas!



Wednesday, November 30, 2022

Dear GOP, This is what happens when you have a clown running your show. Best, Retiring Guy

HeadlineFox News, 11/9/2022

Political life is just a fantasy for Ronna.
Republican National Committee Chair Ronna McDaniel says she feels ‘very good’ about Republicans’ performance in the midterms because they will stop the ‘disastrous’ Biden agenda and ‘wave goodbye’ to Rep. Nancy Pelosi (D) as speaker of the House.

Reality check: 
 
The Hill, 11/9/2022
“There is a broader issue, and think about this: We have the worst inflation in four decades, the worst collapse in real wages in 40 years, the worst crime wave since the 1990s, the worst border crisis in U.S. history, we have Joe Biden, who is the least popular president since Harry Truman, since presidential polling happened, and there wasn’t a red wave,” Thiessen said. 
“That is a searing indictment of the Republican Party. That is a searing indictment of the message that we have been sending to the voters. They looked at all of that, and looked at the Republican alternative, and said ‘no thanks.'
Related posts: 
Ronna McDaniel handpicked to lead the Trump Cult.  (1/9/2021)
Bubble World UPDATE. Ronna Romney McDaniel appears not to be paying attention.  (11/9/2017)

Meet the GOP troglodytes of the United States Senate: Rick Scott (Florida)

 
Marco Rubio, R-Florida.  (11/30/2022)

Meet the GOP troglodytes of the United States Senate: Marco Rubio (Florida)

 
Quote:  Florida Phoenix, 11/18.2022


Religious liberty?  Just a dog whistle.  Here's a case of Marco Rubio going off the deep and standing up for religious bigotry and discrimination.
“This bill does not protect religious liberty. Nuns running orphanages will find themselves in court if it becomes law. That’s outrageous. No faith-based organization will be immune from the insanity. Christian. Jewish. Muslim. Everyone.

US Senate Hall of Shame
John Boozman, R-Arkansas.  (11/30/2002)
Tom Cotton, R-Arkansas.  (11/30/2022)

Meet the GOP troglodytes of the United States Senate: Tom Cotton as Norman Bates (Arkansas)


Another homophobic white man. 

Quote:  

Arkansas Times, 4/2/2015
Appearing yesterday on CNN, Senator Tom Cotton (R) urged critics of Indiana’s “religious freedom” law to get “perspective,” suggesting the treatment of LGBT people in Indiana compared favorably to countries where gay people are executed. 
“I think it’s important we have a sense of perspective,” Cotton said. “In Iran they hang you for the crime of being gay.”

US Senate Hall of Shame
John Boozman, R-Arkansas.  (11/30/2002)

Meet the GOP troglodytes of the United States Senate: John Boozman (Arkansas)

 
Quote:  KY3


US Senate Hall of Shame

Meet the GOP troglodytes of the United States Senate: Tommy Tuberville (Alabama)

 
QuoteYellow Hammer, 8/1/2022

Tuberville, in a statement released to AL.com, said the issue of same-sex marriage has already been decided by the U.S. Supreme Court, and believed the legislation was unnecessary. 
He also said it “fails to protect constitutional religious liberties” that the Supreme Court “has reaffirmed for all Americans” under the landmark 2015 decision in Obergefell v. Hodges, which made same-sex marriage legal.
US Senate Hall of Shame