Lately there have been quite a few stories about people taking up residence in a property they don’t own, a practice known as “squatting.” And it’s not just catching on here, but in England as well. Yes, Chef Gordon Ramsay had to deal with squatters in one of his pubs (and I’ll bet there was a lot of profanity used in the process).
So, why the sudden interest in squatting? I’m glad you asked…or I asked…either way I’m glad the question was asked. Otherwise, this was going to be a really short Lexicon entry. It’s easy to blame it on President Brick Tamland’s economic policies being so shitty it puts the toilets at Chipotle to shame, but there’s a bit more to it.
And that means I get to talk about it.
squatting
What the Left thinks it means – people taking over properties for necessity
What it really means – people deciding to say “fuck property rights because reasons”
The history of squatting is long and distinguished. And by distinguished, I mean absolutely fucking nuts. Long story short, people have taking up residence in other people’s homes for centuries and there have been various ways to deal with them. Usually, these methods involve violence, but then lawyers and politicians got involved, so things had to change.
Hence, the creation of squatter’s rights. Yes, the same geniuses who couldn’t find their ways out of a non-existent paper bag decided people who openly break the law needed rights that would prevent them from being prosecuted for…breaking the fucking law. Every state has its own set of laws/guidelines/mere suggestions on squatting, but the result is the same: people taking something that doesn’t belong to them and not compensating the owner in any way.
Hmmmm…sounds like theft to me, kids!
Unfortunately, not everyone agrees. Squatting is rampant in Georgia, Texas, and Florida, and the laws (until recently) have put the onus on the property owners to jump through bureaucratic and legal hoops to get squatters to leave. And when you consider the squatters are stealing income from the property owners by not paying rent, that puts quite a burden on someone who is just trying to abide by the law.
Hmmmm…sounds like gun control laws, kids!
More to the point, however, is a notion Leftists have tried to push in recent years, that being housing is a human right. That has opened the door for people to assert squatting rights to inhabit buildings. But we’re not talking run down apartment buildings in bad neighborhoods or buildings on the verge of being condemned here. It seems squatters want to live in nice places. And since these nice places are often owned by greedy landlords or companies, it’s clear the squatters have the clear moral authority to take over these properties and make them into…well, unsafe hovels to be honest.
That’s where political ideology comes into play. With law enforcement in different parts of the country being weaker than the plot of a Michael Bay movie, squatting has become one of those ho-hum crimes. You know, like robbery, purchasing a child for sexual purposes, and violence. (And that’s just in California!) And guess who’s been at the forefront of all of this?
Leftists. Every. Damn. Time.
But don’t you make any bad comments on Facebook or they’ll throw not just the book at you, but the entire fucking library!
Anyway, a lack of enforcement makes squatting that much easier because trying to evict them is considered a civil matter instead of a criminal one, so the police are less likely to help. (Need I remind the men and women in blue we’re dealing with property theft here, not just some squabble between people?) Throw in the probability of fraud in the form of non-enforceable contracts or even non-existent contracts, and squatting becomes more criminal in nature.
But since the victims of these crimes are property owners (who Leftists think can just give up some of their property to those less fortunate because compassion), the Left doesn’t see the problem. At least, not until they find their luxury homes overrun with Phish groupies whose only source of income is investing their belly button lint in the NFT market.
For those of you unfamiliar, NFT stands for Nobody’s Fucking Trading.
Through this class warfare, the Left is able to perpetuate the idea of righteous takeover of other people’s properties under the notion of a right to housing. However, there’s a flaw in that thinking because of the nature of rights as compared to entitlements, which the “right” to housing is closer to being. A right is something you already have, like the right to free speech, gun ownership, and voting. You simply need to exercise it.
On the other hand, an entitlement is something you’re owed for one reason or another, like a pension or Social Security. With entitlements, there is a debt to be paid or a wrong to be righted. With housing, there is no real debt, wrong, or other obligation that can be addressed by a property owner giving up some or all of his/her property.
Hence, the Left pushing for people to feel entitled to other people’s shit, but shrouding it in the notion of a right. Most Americans take rights pretty seriously. Not as seriously as anything Taylor Swift is doing these days, mind you, but it’s still up there. By framing housing as a right, it cranks the level of seriousness to 11, and we’re more likely to treat it like a right.
Which is just what the Left wants.
After all, the Left believes government is the source of all good in the world, the ultimate arbiter of right and wrong, and the only way to achieve justice. If enough people believe housing is a right, there’s a good chance someone’s going to ask that all important question, “Where are my car keys?” Oh, and the other question, “Why isn’t our government doing anything about this?” Then, just like Oprah with a new scam to get wine moms to buy stupid shit with her name on it, government swoops in to save the day!
Only, the exact opposite happens.
Where things get really messy is when you consider the impact on contract law. Whenever there’s a transfer of property of any kind, there’s going to be a written agreement between/among the parties involved. And, yes my Leftist friends, this is a contract, and it can be legally enforced. When Leftists decide squatting is okay, they’re also saying, “We don’t give a fuck about that contract you have!” And as we’ve seen with other ventures (can you say “Obamacare”?), as long as the Left thinks they can do something better, they’re going to do it, whether you’re involved or not. After all, they’re smarter than the rest of us. Just ask them!
Yet, these same Leftists can’t figure out how this idea can backfire on them, or when it actually has. Remember the fuss Leftists made about Ron DeSantis and Greg Abbott sending illegal immigrants to “sanctuary cities”? If you think about it (and I have because I have a life that makes Boo Radley look like a bon vivant), the same approach can be applied to squatters. From what I’ve heard, Martha’s Vineyard has plenty of space and people willing to help! And if anyone asks, say you self-identify as an illegal immigrant!
But if we want a more realistic, yet less humorous solution, I have one: make squatting a criminal offense, like Ron DeSantis did. I’m sure Leftists are going to fight this in court because, well, that’s what they do whenever someone passes a law to unfuck a situation they created, but it will be interesting to see how the Left’s lawyers are going to argue theft, fraud, and property destruction are civil matters. Have your popcorn ready for those arguments, kids!
In the meantime, property owners need to keep up on what’s going on at their properties and follow the rules so the government knows who owns a property. Granted, this won’t stop squatters and their Leftist enablers from trying to pull a fast one, but it will make it a lot harder for them to convince the government and police they have a valid claim to the property. Make it as tough on them as they would make it on you if you had a squatter.
And, at least for now, stop short of booby trapping the property. Fences make good neighbors, but shrapnel wounds…not so much.
Tag: ron desantis
First in the Nation
Tonight is the start of the 2024 Election cycle with the First in the Nation Iowa Caucuses. There will be a record set tonight. And it wont be on the turn out side.
No the record for tonight will be the coldest Iowa Caucus to date. The windchill will make into the -30s below zero tonight. Bitter cold.
Who will be the winner of the Iowa Caucus? This is the biggest question on the minds of political pundits and any interested in watching the political results.
It will not be any one of these: Asa Hutchinson, Ryan Binkley, or any other lesser known candidates out there who think they have a chance. These will all get less than 1% of the vote tonight.
It will not be Vivek Ramaswamy. Although he is good on a few massage points. He is not a Christian and that does turn a lot of people off from him. Especially here in the Heartland. But he is likely to get 5% of the vote.
It will not be Nikki Haley. She bashed Iowa while campaigning in New Hampshire. Calling their primary vote corrects what happens in Iowa. This was a bad move on her part. And will turn off a lot of potential Iowa voters from her message. But she will do better than Vivek.
That leaves us with President Trump and Ron DeSantis. Both have strong supporters and many endorsements.
President Trump has been leading all the polls since the beginning. So much that he hasn’t even bothered to participate in the earlier debates. The Trump base is unshakably loyal to the 45th President. And he will do well in the Iowa Caucus.
Ron DeSantis has a good ground game in Iowa. He has the endorsement of the Iowa Governor and others. But he is seen as weak by many and untested in the national arena.
The winner of the Iowa Caucus will be one of these two men. Given the majority support that Trump has he could easily pull it off. However, given the record cold temperature tonight. Many might say “Well Trump has it in the bag. I’m gonna stay home.” This just might be enough to push the DeSantis team to victory.
I will be at my local precinct caucus tonight. I will be voting for my candidate of choice. I will be running for elected positions within my precinct and county.
And I will be keeping an eye on the results.
Leftist Lexicon Word of the Week
To take our minds off the recent fighting in the Middle East, the economic turmoil at home, and the possibility of another season of anything involving the Kardashians, let’s read a book. That is, if those evil mean illiterate nasty Republicans let you!
Over the past year or so, parents have been finding out there’s more being taught in schools besides the 3 Rs (which, if you want to get technical, is really an R, a W, and an A), and it’s pissed them off a little bit. Then again, who needs to learn math, English, and science when there’s albino bisexual midget quadriplegic slam poetry to learn?
As a result of these revelations, Republican governors like Ron DeSantis and Kim Reynolds have rolled out what the Left has called “book bans.” Leftists also proudly proclaim “We Read Banned Books” if the Facebook and The Social Media Network Formerly Known as Twitter posts and laminated stickers are any indication. The Right has pushed back saying they’re not book bans because the books are still available, just not to certain students.
So, what’s the truth? As you might expect, it’s a lot more gray than you’d think.
book bans
What the Left thinks it means – efforts by the Right to ban books because they don’t like them and want students to be ill-informed
What it really means – keeping creepy shit out of the hands of those unprepared to deal with the subject matter
Recent American history has not been kind to fans of the written word, such as your humble correspondent. We’ve seen books burned, trashed, destroyed, and otherwise maligned by people whose intentions may have been good on the surface, but were really just the motivations of some crazed dickweed with a Paul Bunyon-sized ax to grind. For a long time, it was the more religiously-bent among us who enjoyed making a bonfire out of Bonfire of the Vanities, but around the 1990s, the Left started getting into the act, not with torches, but with Political Correctness.
It started with Huckleberry Finn, a literary classic that entertained young and old alike since its initial publishing. But when PC became a thing, the book fell into disfavor for its frequent use of a term I won’t repeat here because a) it’s offensive, and b) I’m not Michael Richards. After raising a stink about the word, Leftists sought to remove it from schools to fight racism. Context and time period didn’t matter because even though the words were written several decades before these dipshits were born, they were offended now! And back then, just like today, when something offended them, it had to be eliminated. Fortunately, cooler heads prevailed and the adventures of Huck and Jim were safe.
That’s the kind of book bans the Left doesn’t want us to talk about or acknowledge. They want us to think about the Right burning books or wanting Harry Potter books removed from school libraries because concerned parents think it promotes witchcraft and the occult. While the overt push for book bans is still being done, quiet book bans are also taking place, either through complete disinterest in the subject matter or author or through a shame campaign forcing people to choose between reading some books and being on “the right side of history.” Unfortunately, shame works all too well, especially in today’s society where we’re more narcissistic and status-conscious than ever before. And if it’s not something about Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce, it just ain’t important, amirite?
In the current sense, book bans are being done by both sides, just for different reasons. The Left wants books (and sometimes even authors) memory-holed for not staying in lock step with the current ideology. The Right…well, let’s just say they have a slightly different reason, namely the absolute stuff being passed off as elementary school and young adult literature. Such as Gender Queer, a graphic novel geared towards young adults that shows illustrations of how to give a blow job.
At this rate, the 3 Rs are going to include have to make room for one or two more, such as rimjobs. (Author’s Note: if you don’t know what one is, don’t look it up. Trust me on this.)
And then there is This Book Is Gay, also geared towards middle school students, with mentions of the gay dating site Grindr. (And I must repeat, this is being geared towards middle school students, something definitely not appropriate for anyone under 18.) Having been a middle school student once, I know for a fact I wouldn’t have been ready for that kind of subject matter because I was just getting used to the changes in my own body, as well as the emotional and intellectual maturity going on. Today’s kids are even less prepared than I was to handle it. They may be more accepting of it, but that doesn’t mean they’re ready for it.
As much as I criticize the Right for the crazy shit they do with regards to books, they actually have a point here. To make matters worse for the Left, DeSantis, Reynolds, and others aren’t actually banning the aforementioned books, but rather suggesting they be kept in more appropriate libraries with the option for parents and/or students to request they be checked out from said libraries. And they aren’t prohibiting parents from buying these books themselves.
If that’s a book ban, it has to be one of the shittiest ever.
On the other side of the coin, the Left’s current brand revolves around “cancel culture” so it’s not that much of a stretch to think they’re fine with banning books they don’t like. Just ask J.K. Rowling, once a Leftist darling whose books inspired Leftists to pretend Donald Trump was Voldemort, but then became a pariah for daring to think…women are women and trans women aren’t! How revolting!
Along with Rowling, you can add authors like Ayn Rand, Dr. Thomas Sowell, Larry Elder, Tammy Bruce, and a laundry list of Right-leaning writers who have been removed from Leftist minds by virtue (or in this case vice) of not being Leftists and, therefore, not worth their time. Amazing how the Left’s version of diversity excludes the intellectual kind.
More disturbing to me, however, is the cavalier nature of the Left redefining book bans to include what DeSantis and Reynolds are doing. But, as with most things Leftist, it’s being done for multiple purposes…or is that purposi? Anyway, the point is the Left has a vested interest in painting those parents and politicians who don’t think little Johnny should be learning how to assfuck his best friend along with his ABCs as extremist whackjobs.
The most obvious motivations are political. After all, the LGBTQIA+2R14X-ROCKINTHEUSA community is firmly in the back pockets of the Left, both figuratively and literally, so Leftists want to make them happy. Gotta keep those coffers full, right?
Which leads into another motivation: to create more of the LGBTQIA+APOLLO13CUBS2 community to perpetually keep the coffers full. The Left’s real anger over the book bans isn’t that the books are being banned, but rather that the subject matter of those books and where it’s being placed in public schools got revealed. And they would have gotten away with it if it weren’t for those meddling kids…err…parents. If nobody found out, Leftists would have been able to keep it going and create an assembly line of kids who parrot Leftists squawking points without even so much as a second thought.
Including those who continue to parrot the “Republicans are banning books” lie.
The Left have caught themselves in a trap of their own making. On the one hand, they’re putting these books into public school libraries without telling anyone outside of their ideological and work bubble to ensure they get there. Then, when called out on it, they lie by omission by conflating books like Gender Queer with other controversial, yet far more innocuous, books. But when parents and groups like Moms for Liberty show up to school board meetings and try to read from these books, the board tries to shut them down and Leftists go after the parents. If there’s nothing wrong with the books, why try to silence those who want to share the intellectual wealth, as it were?
Because it’s never about the books themselves. It’s always about the ideology.
I’m of the mindset that the best way to handle controversial topics is to bring them into the light of day. Not only does it offer the best possible way to provide a way forward and foster understanding, it exposes the bad faith actors. Although the Right still has their book banning assholes, the Left is doing their best to keep pace. Blaming Ron DeSantis, Kim Reynolds, or any Republican Governor for taking steps to keep inappropriate subject matter out of the hands of kids not yet ready to process it exposes the bad faith actors on the Left and only serves to make their arguments against said Governors weaker by compassion.
And, no, “because DeSantis is a meanie head” isn’t an argument. Even if you stomp your feet and threaten to hold your breath.
Why Ron DeSantis Is Super Hitler
Sorry for the clickbait title, but I assure you it’s going to make sense here in a bit.
To put it mildly, Leftists have a serious hate boner for Florida Governor and prospective 2024 Presidential candidate Ron DeSantis, mainly because he beats them at just about every turn. Whether it’s taking on Disney, passing laws to protect females and children from the machinations of the trans rights movement, or just generally being a likeable guy, DeSantis have proven to be more formidable than the Left thought.
So, they’re pulling out the Hitler Card.
Normally, this sort of bullshit would fall into Godwin’s Law territory, but the Left takes it to an entirely new level. Not only do Leftists pull out the Hitler Card like a blackjack dealer working straight commission, but they don’t even wait to play it! As of this writing, DeSantis hasn’t announced he’s running for President, but that hasn’t stopped Leftists from comparing him to Hitler.
Just like they did to Donald Trump.
And George W. Bush.
Come to think of it, the Left has a habit of painting any Republican to the right of Liz Cheney in the worst possible light they can. And why not? It’s worked on everyone from George H. W. Bush to Donald Trump. Hell, they even made John McCain and Mitt Romney, two of the most milquetoast Presidential candidates since the invention of milk and toast, into people not even their mothers would support.
But there’s a second part to this practice. After a while (i.e. when those evil Republicans start doing stuff Leftists like), the harsh criticism goes away and the Left starts to soften their stance. Suddenly, the worst person since, well, Hitler is an okay person now. And it’s not as if these candidates have changed that much, either. The change is politically motivated (duh), and it depends greatly on as few people as possible noticing it as possible.
Guess who has a long memory.
With the prospect of a DeSantis run, Leftists are even starting to soften their opinions on Donald Trump. Granted, it’s softened from “Trump is literally Hitler” to “Trump is bad, but DeSantis is worse.” So…progress, I guess?
But here’s the thing (and I have to admit I didn’t think of this until a conservative on Twitter mentioned it). The more the Left uses the Hitler Card, the less effective it becomes. After all, not every Republican candidate can be Hitler (not that the Left won’t try to make that argument, mind you), so there’s diminishing returns to consider. Plus, if Hitler is your #1 most evil guy ever, where do you go from there? Aside from puling out the Hitler Card again, there isn’t much else you can do.
Hence, the title of this piece.
Increasing the hysterical ante against DeSantis creates the possibility of him being portrayed as Super Hitler, which is the only logical step from him just being Normal Hitler. Then what? The next Republican candidate is going to be Super Duper Hitler? Then, do we move on to Super Duper Mega Extreme Hitler? Before you know it, we might be looking at a Super Duper Mega Extreme Crunchy Gordita Extra Value Meal With a Side of Seasoned Potatoes and a Soft Drink For Only $6 Hitler.
And that would be silly. I mean, you’d be lucky to get a Super Duper Mega Extreme Crunchy Gordita Extra Value Meal With a Side of Seasoned Potatoes and a Soft Drink for anything less than a ten-spot in today’s economy.
More to the point, though, is the fact painting every Republican candidate as Hitler doesn’t help Leftists in the long run, especially when they reverse course when they think no one is watching. There was only one Adolf Hitler in history and we should keep it that way. Just because you’re ideologically opposed to a candidate doesn’t make them evil by default. Once you get to know them and review their policy ideas, then it’s okay to call them evil.
Just kidding about that. There are very few politicians in America right now that I would consider evil. Misguided? Absolutely. Scummy? Of course. Dumber than a bag of hammers that self identifies as a box of rocks? Hell to the yeah! And, no, none of them can hold Hitler’s jock strap. Although why anyone would want to hold it is beyond me, but you do you, boo!
To any Leftists reading this (or having it read to you, as the case may be), knock it off with the “DeSantis is Hitler” shit. You’re not convincing anyone, you make yourselves look like historically illiterate idiots, and you’re not making your candidate look any better. Granted, trying to make Puddin’ Head Joe and Kamala “Word Salad” Harris look good is like polishing dog shit, so the only option you see is to cut down the opposition, but that’s not the same as putting forward a reason to vote for a ticket. You want me to consider Biden/Harris 2024? Give me a reason that doesn’t involve making the Republican candidate look like the most evil figure in history.
But if that’s too hard for you, just try to keep the drool off Puddin’ Head Joe’s suit, okay?
2023 State of the Onion Address
My fellow Americans. Oh, and you, too, Leftists.
2022 was an interesting year for the media. Sure, they still haven’t figured out how to get their favorability ratings above Hitler, Stalin, and Nickelback, but they really tried.
Just kidding. They still suck.
What made 2022 so interesting for the media was how many stories they got wrong, either on purpose or by accident, and how quickly (relatively speaking) they corrected these errors. One thing they weren’t shy about, though, was labeling news stories “conspiracy theories.” It’s gotten to the point parody news sites were doing better journalism than the serious ones.
The merging of opinion and news continued unabated, as did the elevation of certain stories/narratives along with the suppression of others. And, surprise surprise, much of the latter was done under the auspices of battling misinformation. Well, the problem was these fuckknuckles were too busy creating misinformation to bother with doing even basic reporting.
Let’s start with COVID-19. From the jump, media squawking heads put down anyone who wasn’t 100% behind getting the jab, wearing more masks than a Halloween costume model working straight commission, and worshiping at the altar of Saint Anthony of Fauci. Even negative stories about the good doctor, like the fact he supported gain of function research after saying repeatedly he didn’t, were turned into cudgels with which to beat the infidels.
And by infidels, I mean the people who were right to be skeptical about how cultish the pro-vax side had gotten. I have seen Macy’s Thanksgiving Day parades with less marching in lockstep than I saw during the height of COVID. And, yes, that sentiment remains today, even as more and more shit comes out about how full of shit the pro-vax side was. Even they could see the writing on the wall and started trying to play off their stridency as a “whoopsie doodle”!
And the media not only played a role in creating the “vax or you’re scum” environment, but unironically tried to get us to forgive and forget as though nothing major happened.
And the media wonder why people don’t trust them.
If I could offer some perspective (and I can because this is my post), a lot of it comes down to how far the media are willing to lie to us about what we’re seeing right in front of our eyes. We saw the start of a regime change within Twitter, which ruffled Leftist and media (but I repeat myself) feathers to no end. Elon Musk went from eco-friendly visionary to reactionary maniac hellbent on pushing right wing narratives. All because he saw what so many of us saw: Twitter wasn’t enforcing its own rules with any degree of fairness or obvious logic. Even now, most media types are ignoring or dismissing the Twitter Files instead of following up to either prove or disprove the information within them.
Oh, but the screamingly obvious that even Ray Charles can see (which is pretty damn impressive for a dead guy) has to be a figment of our imaginations.
Then, on the other ends of the impressiveness spectrum, we have media whore…I mean darling Taylor Lorenz. Words cannot express just how low my opinion of her journalistic skills is. The best way I can say it is if my opinion was any lower, it would bore through the Earth and come out the other side without stopping. Yet, because she starts shit, gets hit, and cries about it all, the media put her on a pedestal and gave her Most Favored Victim status. Whenever the topic of toxic online culture was brought up, you can be Ms. Lorenz was there to pick up a paycheck and pimp herself even more than a self-employed prostitute.
This isn’t to say the media on the Right was any better. Remember the “red wave” that was supposed to happen during the midterm elections? The one that was a lock and would cause Leftist heads to explode from sea to shining sea? Yeah…about that. So much bravado lead to so few seats being picked up by the GOP. And it didn’t help matters that media heat magnet Donald Trump used the same high quality judgement in picking candidates that he used to pick Cabinet posts. Trump went through staffers like most people go through chewing gum.
Although most Trump-backed candidates won (mostly because they were in safe Districts or were running unopposed), the media had a field day focusing on the more spectacular dumpster fires like Dr. Oz, who was as much of a Pennsylvanian as Gavin Newsom. This is because the media love a shitshow, and Trump’s presence in 2022 was a 25/8 shitshow because 24/7 just wasn’t long enough.
But there is a downside to all the media attention spent on Trump: Trump Derangement Syndrome. I’ll admit I was late to the party on this, thinking it was just a meme the Right used to mock the Left. After the media coverage from 2022, I’m a believer. It’s real, and it’s seriously affecting the brains of the media. Granted there’s not much to affect in the brains of most reporters, but even a mild case of TDS was enough to turn them from frothing-at-the-mouth Trump haters to…well, even bigger frothing-at-the-mouth Trump haters.
Yet, for all the intense scrutiny the media gave to every Trump foible, the media couldn’t wait to look the other way when it came to President Puddin’ Head Joe. On nearly a daily basis, the PHJ Administration embarrassed themselves, being over their heads in a political mud puddle in the Sahara. Whether it was Puddin’ Head Joe’s invention of nonsense words (which was and is attributed to stuttering) or Vice President Kamala Harris laughing at the most inappropriate times like she was huffing nitrous oxide on the daily to Administration officials being more tone deaf than William Hung, it was a 947 ring circus solely staffed by clowns on the daily.
But no mean tweets, amirite, kids?
Want proof? I have three words for you: Hunter Biden’s laptop. The media coverage of this story was more scarce than a Japanese fishing village when Godzilla came to town for a weekend bender. Instead, they were playing defense for Puddin’ Head Joe and Hunter “I’m Not a Crackhead, But..Wait, What Was I Saying” Biden at every turn, usually by…you guessed it, bringing up Trump. Let me give you media types some free advice: when your main defense of a politician you like revolves around smearing a politician you hate, your dude fucking sucks!
With the 2024 Presidential election right around the corner, the media are focusing on who they believe the next Republican candidate will be, and that person is…Donald Trump. Or Ron DeSantis. You know, whomever they want to shit on that day. Be prepared to see a lot more of what’s happened since 2016 to continue, only at a louder and more shrill volume. If current trends continue, media complaints about Trump and/or DeSantis are going to only be heard by dogs before the first ballot gets cast.
So, buckle up, kids. This year is going to be off the charts, and not in a good way!
Leftist Lexicon Word of the Week
After every election, political leaders, pundits, and squawking heads try to figure out why the two major parties performed the way they did. Leftists, in their infinite (lack of) wisdom, came down hard against one factor they feel helped Republicans retake the House of Representatives: redistricting.
Oh, they still talk about gerrymandering (and still get it wrong when they do), but this time they’re really drilling down on the fact Republican Governors like Ron DeSantis got favorable results from redistricting, i.e. Democrats going down like the New York Yankees in this year’s Major League Baseball postseason. But unlike Leftists, the Bronx Bombers can’t blame DeSantis for a poor performance. Then again, it might just work…
In either case, the Left is trying to get us to believe redistricting has negative connotations, so naturally it’s up to us to uncover real reason Leftists hate redistricting all of the sudden.
redistricting
What the Left thinks it means – a tactic used by Republicans to draw favorable Congressional Districts so more of their candidates win
What it means – a process that is not only legal, but done by both major parties so more of their respective candidates win
Every 10 years, the US government conducts a census, which helps give it a better idea of demographic trends in certain areas. This information gets parlayed into a number of other decisions, including how to draw Congressional Districts. As population surges and ebbs, the shape of each District can change depending on who gets to determine how each District gets to be drawn. Although it varies from state-to-state, the majority of states allow the party in power at the state level to draw the Districts, and it’s supposed to be done in a non-partisan manner.
Yeah, and I have some cryptocurrency in FTX that’s worth billions.
Instead of drawing logical and appropriate Districts, politicians tend to draw them like a drunk Lindsay Lohan with an Etch-A-Sketch. (For you Leftists out there reading this, the link I just posted provides examples of actual gerrymandering, so you can finally figure out what it means. You’re welcome.) And when the party in power controls how the sausage gets made, the Congressional Districts are going to look like a fever-dream combination of Salvador Dali, M.C. Escher, and Pablo Picasso after an LSD bender with Jim Morrison.
Or in simpler terms, like the hosts on “The View” but more logical.
Because of the way most states handle redistricting, control of state legislatures and gubernatorial positions becomes essential. Although the 2022 elections brought the gubernatorial numbers close to even, Republicans still control the majority of state legislatures. In other words, Republicans still have the power to draw districts or Democrats flip more states, whichever comes first before the next census in 2030.
If trends continue, that means 8 more years of Leftist seething over Republicans having any control over elections whatsoever. Provided our good friend Uncle George Soros doesn’t decide to pull more shenanigans to rig who counts the votes, of course…
Thus, we’ve arrived at the real reason why Leftists hate redistricting all of the sudden. Even in the states where they have the ability to affect change, they lack the control in the entire country to enact their ideological goals. And it means they have to deal with…REPUBLICANS IN CONGRESS! The horror!
Why, it’s almost as if…Leftists don’t want people to be in control of who they elect…unless it’s one of their approved candidates! But I’m sure that’s not true. Only a bunch of emotionally stunted insecure adult-babies would think that way, right?
So, how do we address the problem of drawing Congressional Districts the shape of Olive Oyl with a bad case of scoliosis? Some states have non-partisan committees that meet to agree upon redistricting, and some states even allow the committee’s recommendations to be vetoed. Simple, easy, and fair, right? In theory, yes, but when politics gets involved, the practice may not always follow the theory.
Let’s take one of the hot spots from the midterms, Arizona. Under the state guidelines, there are 25 seats available, with 10 going to Democrats, 10 to Republicans, and 5 to unaffiliated citizens. If the 20 politically-affiliated members are deadlocked, logic would suggest all decisions would come down to which side persuaded the 5 unaffiliated members.
That would work…except the GOP tends not to be so monolithic in approach. Yes, the state that gave us conservative stalwart J. D. Hayworth also gave us John McCain, which means the Arizona GOP can have more identities than Sybil. That tends to work in favor of Democrats, whose hivemind approach makes ganging up…I mean carefully considering the drawing of district boundaries a lot easier on them.
Even if you’re not sold on the partisanship angle, here is the most recent finalized redistricting map the commission put together. If this is the best a crack team of officials can come up with, maybe we should assume they’re all on crack and move on from there.
Having said that, I’m not completely down on the idea of the non-partisan committee drawing up Congressional Districts. I just think the idea needs to be tweaked a bit. For example, do we really need 25 people to make a decision like this? Fuck no! Pick one person at random from the active and eligible voting base in each District, or in the cases of states that only have one District, 3 to 5. Since it’s random, the political fuckery will be lessened.
From there, each member has to review the existing map and be able to speak to why it is the way it is. The more these members learn about the districts, the more likely they’re going to find out where the bullshit is. After a certain amount of time (say, a week), they convene to discuss what they’ve found and how to redraw the Districts if needed. When there are disputes arising from practical concerns, the committee as a whole votes on it with majority rule. In case of a tie (because this is going to happen), the Districts in question stay the way they are.
In the case of ideological concerns causing redistricting trouble, though, those will automatically be non-starters. We’re trying to draw Congressional Districts, not play a live action game of Risk here.
I will admit there are bound to be flaws in my idea (and I’m sure people will let me know how much of a dumbass I am for even thinking up the idea), but compared to what we have now, it’s bound to be better.
Trump and 2024
Donald Trump is officially running for President in 2024. And as a supporter of the former President in 2016 and 2020, I don’t know how I feel about him running again. Especially when he warned Governor DeSantis not to run.
No, Mister President that’s not how its done. We need the best to run for the high office. If that is you then you are already there. If that is someone else, they need to also put their hat in the ring.
In 2016 and in 2020 Donald Trump was the best man for the job and the needed man for the job. The election of 2016 defied all predictions and brought about the needed change in our nation’s capitol. And opened the eyes of the country to the deep corruption that exists in Washington DC.
In 2020 we saw how dangerous the Left really is to our Republic when the election was stolen with fake ballots and the Republicans did nothing about it. The Left does fear Trump that much to steal a Presidential election so blatantly.
So does that make Donald Trump the best candidate still in 2024? I don’t know. The jury is still out on this one. And there is a lot of time between now and the Republican National Convention where the nominee will be determined.
I for one, do want other Republicans to toss their hats into the ring. The more the better. That way we can find the best fit for the job and the times. And we will be able to win the Presidential Election in 2024 despite any attempts by the Left to steal it again.
Scenes From a Midterm – 2022 Edition
After what seemed to be an eternity, the 2022 midterm elections have come and gone. Joe Biden saw his shadow, which means only six more weeks until the 2024 Presidential elections get underway.
Since everyone else is offering their hot, warm, tepid, and cold takes on the midterm elections, I figure I’d throw my two cents in there because I’m an unoriginal bastard. Anyway, here’s what I saw.
Neither major party seemed motivated to win. Oh, sure, Democrats and Republicans gave the impression they were in it to win it, but the feeling I got was they didn’t have their hearts (or their donors’ hearts) in it this year. When you look back at the political ads, and I did because I have no real life, they were…lazy. Republicans talked about the Biden economy and wanting to fight inflation (without any clear plans on how to do it aside from “cutting spending”) and Democrats talked about abortion, health care, and education (without any clear plans on what to do with them aside from “Republicans bad”). Oh, I heard so many uses of the word “extreme” I could have sworn we fell through a wormhole and landed back in the 1990s. Way to get out the vote, kids!
Nevada and Arizona still can’t get their shit together. As of this blog post (please check local listings for temporal references near you), both Nevada and Arizona are still counting ballots. Given the elderly population in Arizona, I can understand delays, but I refuse to believe a state where gambling and prostitution are cottage industries are having this much trouble with numbers. Something is up, and I think it’s time we take a long hard look at what these states are doing and figure out how they’re fucking up this bad.
Both major parties came out as winners, kinda. Sure, Republicans seem to have control of the House of Representatives, barring Nevada and Arizona taking over any other states’ recounts, so that’s a win for the GOP. Democrats will retain control of the Senate and didn’t lose as many House seats as recent history would have us expect, so that’s a win for the Dems. Whether you’re a “red tsunami” or “Vote Blue No Matter Who” backer, you have to feel a little disappointed your team underperformed in the clutch.
Joe Biden’s argument for reelection begins in January 2023. With the legislative branch split, the likelihood of gridlock is greater than the rate of inflation. Which is bad why exactly? Oh, wait, I’m going off topic. Anyway, if Joe Biden wants to make the case for reelection in 2 years (and if he’s even on the ticket then), a divided Congress is an opportunity to actually prove he can reach across the aisle. You know, as he claimed he could do when he ran in 2020? If he can do that, Republicans are going to have a rougher time running against him. And speaking of Republicans…
The GOP is Ron DeSantis’s party now, not Donald Trump’s. When you look at the numbers, most of the candidates Trump endorsed won election (with a couple of notable exceptions that we’ll be talking about later). Beyond that, though, there is a chunk of the Republican Party who would love to get past Trump, and the man who can do just that is Ron DeSantis. His 2024 Presidential aspirations may still be up in the air, but DeSantis has solidified his position as Trump’s heir apparent, but with fewer Twitter tirades and stupid policy and staffing decisions. How do I know? Because the Left has focused their venom on DeSantis more than Trump in recent weeks. Leftists see DeSantis as a threat, which he is, so they’re trying to undercut him as much as they can. You know, like they did with Trump in 2016. How’d that work out for ya?
The Left still obsessively hates Trump. Aside from the repetitive squawking points I mentioned earlier, I noticed a lot of campaign ads for Democrat candidates invoked Donald Trump’s name as a means to paint their opponents as evil mean nasty poopyheads. Here’s a news flash: Trump wasn’t on the ballot anywhere, but he took up so much space in Leftists’ minds he’s opening up a new Trump Casino. Even though they’re adding Ron DeSantis as a target, the Left is still full-blown Brokeback Mountain with Trump.
The Right still can’t get out of its own way. Even though the “red tsunami” was more of a light sprinkle, there was a lot of dumbfuckery afoot that hurt the party as a whole. I mean, a Trump-backed candidate lost to a stroke victim who has more hoodies than Kevin Smith. How does that happen? Herschel Walker didn’t exactly lose, but he’s heading for a runoff against Raphael Warnock, who could have been defeated with a stronger candidate. And if what I’ve been hearing is true, Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell spent tons of money on non-Trump candidates while leaving some Republican candidates out in the cold. I can understand party leaders (and McConnell for that matter) wanting to get past Trump, but the kind of strategy employed in 2022 shows me the Republicans keep stepping on their own dicks and have no intention of stopping, even if it means losing winnable elections.
Beto O’Rourke and Stacey Abrams are still losers. ‘Nuff said.
And with that, there’s nothing more to be said!
Leftist Lexicon Word of the Week
The latest battleground for the fight over illegal immigration is a lot further north than you might expect. I’m talking about the Leftist haven, Martha’s Vineyard. It turns out Texas Governor Greg Abbott and Florida Governor Ron DeSantis decided to fly several immigrants to Martha’s Vineyard to show them a better life. You know, Leftist utopias where everyone is super educated and live incredibly well? Away from conservative hellholes where racism, sexism, xenophobia, and homophobia are rampant and the people are uneducated rubes?
Well, let’s just say Leftists aren’t greeting their new immigrant neighbors with open arms. In fact, Leftists are circulating the idea the aforementioned Governors with brass balls the size of, say, Pluto are guilty of human trafficking. And by circulating, I mean repeating the same squawking points with steadily increasing volume and frequency. As we’re about to find out, the squawking point has a deeper origin than even the Left has considered.
human trafficking
What the Left thinks it means – Republican Governors sending asylum seekers to other parts of the country against their will
What it really means – Leftists not understanding the issue, like, at all
Illegal immigration has a number of facets that often get glossed over in the debate on what to do with the immigrants we catch, and human trafficking is one such facet. And it’s not a once-in-a-while problem, either. The 2021 numbers show a stark picture of the scope of the human trafficking problem, but those are just the cases we know about. Government agencies from ICE to Customs and Border Protection and non-government organizations like the ACLU are sounding the alarm and efforts to reach as many people as possible are evident to anyone who’s used a convenience store bathroom can tell.
Good thing Leftists aren’t trying to demonize and/or eliminate ICE and the Border Patrol, right? Oh, wait…
So, what exactly is human trafficking? There are a number of definitions floating around there, but the general consensus involves the exploitation of people for sex, work, or services through coercion, deception, or force. For the purposes of this discussion, though, I want to use the definition provided by the United Nations:
Human trafficking involves the recruitment, movement or harbouring of people for the purpose of exploitation – such as sexual exploitation, forced labour, slavery or organ removal. Victims can be children or adults, boys, girls, men or women, and are trafficked by the use of improper means such as the threat or use of force, fraudulent schemes, deception, or abuse of power. It can occur within a country or across borders. Human trafficking is therefore characterized by an act (recruitment, transportation, transfer, harbouring, or receipt of people), specific means (threats or use of force, deception, fraud, abuse of power, or abusing someone’s vulnerable condition) for the purpose of exploitation (for example sexual exploitation, forced labour, slavery or organ removal).
To the Left, what DeSantis and Abbott are doing fits the UN’s definition of human trafficking perfectly because, as they frame it, they are exploiting the immigrants for political points. And since they’re being flown to different parts of the country, it’s a slam dunk, right?
Not so much. One of the aspects of the UN’s definition is recruitment. Both Abbott and DeSantis have been vocal in their efforts to try to stem the tide of illegal immigration, with Abbott taking specific action to enforce immigration law which the federal government doesn’t seem to want to do. And considering Florida and Texas are two of the top 3 states of reported human trafficking cases, I’m thinking DeSantis and Abbott might just have a vested interest in not encouraging any activity that would make those numbers worse.
In fact, it’s not Republicans who are rolling out the red carpet for illegal immigration. It’s the Democrats. By framing every immigrant as either escaping horrible conditions or wanting to make a better life here, they have done to illegal immigration what Glamour Shots did for housewives in the 80s and 90s: using tricks to hide or soften the imperfections and give a beautiful, albeit distorted, view of the subject.
Now, consider what impact that has on human trafficking. The Left makes no distinction between Raul who crosses the border illegally to find work and Pedro who crosses the border illegally to make money by exploiting people of all ages to fill the needs and wants of his clients. Maybe it’s me, but I think there’s a huge fucking difference here. Both are breaking the law, but only one of them drags other people with him into exploitation.
No wonder the Left wants people to think DeSantis and Abbott are the evil ones here. Well, that, and the fact they’re both Republicans who aren’t afraid of Leftists not liking them. If Leftists admit there are bad actors (and I’m not talking about Brie Larson) mixed in with the “good guys” coming across the border…illegally, it would not only ruin the rosy picture they’ve been painting for decades, but it would lend credence to what DeSantis and Abbott have been saying. And Lord knows Leftists hate to admit they were wrong.
There’s another reason the Left is freaking out about illegal immigrants heading to Martha’s Vineyard: DeSantis and Abbott are forcing Leftists to live by their own ideas. Remember when Leftist communities were fighting each other to get attention for being “sanctuary cities”? Well, it’s easy to make such proclamations when you aren’t dealing with a steady influx of illegal immigrants. You know, like Martha’s Vineyard? Once the immigrants start arriving, the Leftist welcome mats start disappearing, along with the signs saying “No person is illegal.”
The late comedian George Carlin made an observation about homelessness that has some application here in the form of the abbreviation NIMBY, which means Not In My Back Yard. Leftists talk a great game when it comes to helping people (usually in the form of more government), but they don’t always walk the walk when presented with the opportunity, as the citizens of Martha’s Vineyard have now.
Annnnnnnd they decided to ship their new neighbors to a military complex because…reasons?
Your compassion is underwhelming, Leftists.
When it comes to human trafficking, though, we need much more than words and stickers on bathroom mirrors. Yet, I’m not sure America is quite ready for the discussion and action needed to make real change. Both sides of the political spectrum have a vested interest in keeping the illegal immigration and subsequently the human trafficking issues alive to retain power over their respective voting blocs. But we’re dealing with human lives here, and there shouldn’t be an ideological divide. Yet, here we are.
And the Left isn’t helping matters any by throwing around accusations of human trafficking against two of the Republican Governors who have given the the most fits in the past few years. At the rate it’s going now, Leftists are going to wear out the “human trafficking” label like they’ve worn out the “fascist” label by overusing it to the point of irrelevance.
Then again, if you had as horrible a record on human trafficking as the Left does, you’d want to bring everyone else down to your level, too.
Should He Stay or Should He Go?
One of the most pressing political questions on people’s minds right now (aside from how much Nancy Pelosi has had to drink) is whether former President Donald Trump will run for President in 2024. That may be a closely guarded secret, even moreso than the Nancy Pelosi question. A lot of people are sure he’s going to run while others are convinced he’s either not going to run or will be in prison by 2024, thus making it a moot point.
The fact is no one knows for sure. I’m not even sure if Trump knows yet, but in the interest of whipping up more wild speculation online, I did some thinking on the subject and I think I have some points to consider. Granted, I’m not inside the former President’s head, so I can’t say for certain what you’re about to read is accurate, but I can tell you it’s bound to be a lot more accurate than any reporting done by Vox. (A low bar, sure, but hey, I gotta start somewhere.)
He’s Running
1) His base is still pretty strong – Contrary to Leftist belief, Donald Trump still remains pretty popular within Republican and conservative ranks. The fact he still polls higher than most candidates after being out of office is a testament to his staying power within the GOP. And his supporters are still on board the Trump Train, no matter what. Honestly, I’d have to go back to Ronald Reagan to find a Republican with that kind of supporter loyalty, which is a testament to Trump.
2) He’ll be running against a weak field on both sides – Let’s face it. Neither major party has a deep bench going into 2024. On the Left we have President Joe Biden, who I’m not sure knows he is President, and possibly Vice President Kamala Harris, whose word salads make Biden look like William F. Buckley. Although there may be more challengers to the left of Biden and Harris, they may not jump into the race out of fear of being Bernie Sanders-ed. On the other side of the aisle, no one seems to be jumping out as a front runner. There is talk of Florida Governor Ron DeSantis being a front-runner for the Republicans, but as of yet, there has been no confirmation he’s running. That leaves Donald Trump to fill the void.
3) Unfinished business – In recent decades, we’ve gotten used to Presidents serving two terms, which makes it easier for Presidents to postpone certain pet projects until later in his Presidency. With Joe Biden winning in 2020, that interrupts or completely scuttles Trump’s plans…or does it? If Trump feels he has more to do, he may throw his hat into the ring as a means to get things done, and with 4 more years, it will be interesting to see what he takes on and how quickly it gets done. Operation Warp Speed may get left in the dust.
4) Sticking it to the Left – If there’s one thing Donald Trump is good at, it’s tweaking the Left. If you though Leftists’ heads exploded the first time, wait until Trump runs again, even if it’s just to get a predictable response out of them. If life gave out achievements like video games do, Trump would get the Trolling Leftists achievement without even really trying.
5) New voting laws for old voter fraud – In the aftermath of the 2020 election, some Republican-lead states enacted new voting laws, much to the chagrin of the Left. In spite of their caterwauling, Republicans put together some pretty solid proposals to restrict voter fraud where possible while taking some of the Left’s concerns about access to the polls into consideration. Since Trump’s post-Presidency legacy has revolved around voter fraud, he may use this as a platform to reenter the Presidential race and whip up support for this pet project.
He’s Not Running
1) Been there, done that – Trump has already been President once, and it’s caused a lot of headaches for him and his family, due in no small part to Leftists. At this point, even he has to wonder if it was worth it the first time around. To run again and possibly win opens up old wounds, rekindles old rivalries, and creates another level of emotional strain. Being President even once isn’t wussy work, and it takes a strong resolve and a stronger family to do it twice. Since he’s been President once, there may not be a desire to do it again.
2) The DeSantis factor – I know I mentioned Ron DeSantis earlier as not being in the race yet, but the possibility of him entering the race can’t be discounted yet. Since becoming Governor, DeSantis has shown many of the positive traits Trump supporters love while mitigating some of the negative traits that hurt Trump. From a strategic standpoint, if DeSantis can deliver the Trump agenda without the drawbacks, it may be better for the former President to step aside and delegate authority.
3) He’s a known entity – One of the things that frustrated the Left in 2016 was how Trump was able to beat Hillary Clinton. Although he’s spent a lot of time in the public eye (sometimes for the wrong reasons), there were still a lot of question marks surrounding his political savvy. In 4 years, though, many of those question marks have been answered because we’ve seen how he governed. He no longer has the element of surprise he did in 2016. Without it, he is more vulnerable.
4) The Agony of Defeat – It’s no secret Donald Trump has an ego, as do most politicians. What sets him apart from most politicians is how much of his ego is wrapped up in what he’s done or able to do. It was evident from when he was dealing in real estate in the 80s, when he was starring in “The Apprentice,” and when he was sitting in the White House. As such, the 2020 election loss stung him. This sets up a conflict within himself should he run again. His ego will not accept him losing a second time, but it may force him to run again to avenge the loss. Regardless of the decision, the possibility of losing again may be a deciding factor in whether he runs in 2024.
5) Voter fraud is still a concern – In spite of the aforementioned new voting laws, Leftists still have ways to play the system, thanks to our old friend Uncle George Soros. As we saw in 2020, it’s not only important to have the votes to win, but to have people in place to certify you have the votes to win. That’s where Uncle George has placed a lot of his faith (and more than a few dollars and candidates). Even with the new laws, voter fraud may be a concern, one that Trump may not be able to overcome.
I’m sure there are some factors I’ve missed, but I think I’ve hit enough of the big ones to get people to think and offer up their own wild-ass speculations!