On this day, August 12,
In 1492, Columbus arrived in the Canary Islands on his 1st voyage West;
In 1553, Pope Julius III ordered the burning of the Jewish Talmud (not very nice);
In 1812, the Duke of Wellington triumphantly entered the city of Madrid, Spain;
In 1851, Isaac Singer patented the sewing machine;
In 1867, President Andrew Johnson fired Secretary of War Edwin Stanton, in defiance of Congress. This act would lead to his impeachment, the very 1st President to be impeached. He was later acquitted at the Senate trial;
In 1877, Thomas Edison successfully recorded himself on his phonograph, singing “Mary Had A Little Lamb”;
In 1908, Henry Ford built the very first Model T automobile;
In 1930, Clarence Birdseye patented his method for freezing food;
In 1941, the modern day surrender monkey Marshal Phillipe Petain, pledged his support for the German occupation of France;
In 1945, Emperor Hirohito made the decision to surrender the Japanese Empire to the United States, ending World War II;
In 1974, California Angels pitcher Nolan Ryan struck out 19 batters, as the Angels beat the Boston Red Sox 4-2;
In 1992, Canada, Mexico, and the United States completed their negotiations for the North American Free Trade Agreement; and,
In 2004, New Jersey Governor James McGreevey came out as a homosexual.
That is a lot of stuff going on in a very hot, lazy Summer month. Hopefully today will be a little quieter.
“I am prepared to stay here as long as it takes. I’ve been to a squillion meetings to talk about this stuff that could’ve been an email! I’d rather have a back alley colonoscopy than go to another meeting! It’s time to vote!”
–Senator John Kennedy (R. La.), on his frustration at Senate Majority Leader John Thune’s refusal to force a vote on the SAVE America Act.
Kentucky Governor Andy Beshear (D.) is condemning President Trump’s language and demeanor. Though he has yet to declare his candidacy, Governor Beshear is running for President in 2028. Governor Beshear called Mr. Trump “rude” and ‘crude”, insisting that the rest of the world thinks all Americans are vulgar.
Mr. Trump really should watch his language. He should quit calling his political opponents “Nazis”, “authoritarians”, “wanna be dictators”, “liars”, “literally Hitler”, “a threat to our democracy”, and . . . oh, wait a minute. Never mind.
“Totally. This is one where it just is a matter of basic fundamental fairness. I don’t see how you get to the idea that any one voter should have a greater vote than another voter.”
–Mary Pete Buttigieg, responding to a question of whether he would support scrapping the U.S. Constitution’s method for electing the President (aka The Electoral College).
Mary Pete does not understand The Electoral College. And he also does not understand the Supreme Court, as he is also calling for expanding the Court to 13 justices (under a Democrat President, of course!). He does not like The Electoral College because it allows Republicans to win elections. And he does not like the Supreme Court, because its decisions are now adhering to the Constitution, as opposed to inventing “rights” favored by Democrats.
“What we are all participating in here is a settler colony on stolen land. This is a government that represents the settlers, and the capitalists, and the other neoliberal fascists that live amongst us.”
–An unidentified, masked man, speaking at the St. Paul, Minnesota City Council meeting, urging the abolition of private property.
U.S. Senate candidate Abdul El-Sayed (D. Mi.) was asked by reporters how he would pay for his “Medicare For All” program. He could not answer the question.
It seems that U.S. Senate candidate James Talarico (D. Tx.) illegally voted in multiple elections. Uh, oh.
Mr. Talarico is running a television advertisement in which he asks a group of “Republican women” if they intended to vote for a Democrat this year. All the “Republican women” raised their hands. One problem. Voting records reveal that all of these “Republican women” were Democrats, voting year after year in Democrat primaries, and giving money to Democrat candidates. Uh, oh again.
“Our church was really active in LGBTQ rights in the ’90s. We caught some attention by letting an atheist join our church in the 2000s, and then in the 2010s, again stirred some controversy by housing an undocumented family [i.e. illegal aliens], a mother and son, who were close to being deported by ICE. That was the tradition that I was brought up in. It’s what led me to teach public school students on the west side of San Antonio, led me to run an education nonprofit and then led me to run for office. And so, again this idea that Christianity is just another word for causing trouble.”
–James Talarico.
Mr. Talarico went on to condemn “Christo fascism” which he contends subverts democracy. What is “Christo fascism”? According to Mr. Talarico, it consists of abortion bans, refusing to permit gender affirming care for minors (i.e. genital mutilation surgery), school choice programs, and permitting the posting of the Ten Commandments in public schools. Mr. Talarico called all these actions “dangerous”, particularly to the “marginalized and oppressed in our State.”
What a bunch of hooey! James Talarico is full of it!
“I don’t want to be a lifelong politician. My view of public service is something you do for part of your life, not all of your life. That’s why I’ve said that if I’m elected to the U.S. Senate, I will serve no more than two terms. Because I think the value of our system is that it is constantly renewed by new ideas, fresh ideas, and fresh people.”
–Senator Mark Warner (D. Va.) (1996).
“I’m running for Senate to lower health care costs, to prepare our workforce for the economy of the future, and to protect our free and fair elections. This moment demands forward-looking leadership and a record of getting things done.”
–Senator Mark Warner (D. Va.) (2026), announcing his run for a 4th term in the United States Senate.
Mark Warner has run for the Senate 5 times (he lost in 1996 to incumbent John Warner (R. Va.)). He became Virginia’s Governor, and then ran for, and was elected to, the United States Senate. He has been involved in politics since the late ’70s. Sounds to me like Mark Warner is a “lifelong politician”.
Just curious, Senator. You have been in Congress for 18 years. How come you have not accomplished any of the things you claim to support. Where is your “record of getting things done”?
Mark Warner is a liar. He has always been a liar. He ran for Governor on a promise to not raise taxes. The very first thing he proposed was to raise taxes. And he proposed it again, and again, and again, until finally taxes were raised. He promised if elected to the U.S. Senate to only serve 2 terms. He is running for a 4th term. He will probably be reelected, given the Virginia Republicans’ incompetency. But Virginia will be the poorer for it.
“Global warming is an evil product of capitalism. It is wrapped up in buzzwords like ‘technological advancement,’ ‘market competitiveness,’ and ‘fiscal responsibility,’ but what we’ve learned is the climate crisis is America’s celebration of white supremacy.”
–Gubernatorial candidate Francesca Hong (D. Wi.).
Yes, yes, yes. It is all the fault of white folks.
“If you are white and considering running for office, find a BIPOC person in your community who is also interested and support them instead. That is intersectionality and that is co-conspiration.”
— Nada Elmikashfi, Chief of Staff to gubernatorial candidate Francesca Hong (D. Wi.).
Miss Elmikashfi is a perfect fit for Francesca Hong, as Francesca Hong hates white people too. She has expressed her regret that she married a white man, and that her son’s white heritage gives her an uncomfortable “proximity to whiteness”.
Saudi Arabia, Pakistan, and Turkey signed a mutual defense pact. Hmmmm.
Barbra Streisand is really, really, really angry at Republicans for their treatment of Anthony Fauci. Barbra Streisand is always really, really, really angry.
GFK
Observations From The Fifth Estate 