On Voting

My vote is not a statement of purity. I don't vote (or not vote) as a means of putting myself above anybody.

I vote to exercise my right to pull the one small lever of power granted to all of us by the US Constitution.

There are no perfect candidates. No perfect office-holders. No perfect humans aspiring to lofty positions in my government.

There are people running for office who hold beliefs and espouse philosophies similar to mine - and they're the ones I try to identify and then vote for.

A Thought

Martin Buber

“Why did God create atheists?”

God created atheists to teach us the most important lesson of all - the lesson of true compassion.

When an atheist performs an act of charity - visits someone who is sick, helps someone in need, cares for the world - he's not doing it because of some religious teaching. He doesn't believe God commanded him to perform this act, because he doesn't believe in God at all.

So his actions are based on his sense of morality.

Look at the kindness he bestows on others simply because he knows it's right.

When someone reaches out for help don't say, "I’ll pray that God will help you." Instead, for that moment, you should become an atheist – imagine there is no God who could help, and say, "I will help you.”

Today On Abortion

So why do women want abortions?

1. Not your business
2. None of your damned business
3. Mind your own fuckin' business

Today's Reddit

If I had the money, this would be on every highway in every red state.

Trump killed border security
byu/santuccie indemocrats

Not News

Color me unsurprised.

Guess Where Marjorie Taylor Greene Has Suddenly Gotten Popular?

The Georgia Republican has amassed a fan base in Russia.

Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene’s conspiracy theories, vitriolic language, and xenophobia have made her a darling of the right and a pariah on the left—and now, she’s gained admiration from Russian state television.

Greene’s attempts to block aid to Ukraine, her criticisms of NATO, and her beliefs that the United States should withdraw from the alliance have drawn plaudits from TV hosts in Russia, The Daily Beast reported Friday.

“She believes that Americans should help Putin win. Yes, you heard that right. To help him win in Ukraine,” says host Evgeny Popov in one clip.

It’s a new development for Greene, who previously was mocked in the country for confusing gazpacho with Gestapo and claiming that Jewish space lasers caused the California wildfires. Russian TV even said her words were proof of “mental debilitation” in Western politics. But Greene may be happy to know that her echoing of Russian propaganda in the House of Representatives has paid off, despite the fact that the issue of aid to Ukraine has divided the Republican Party. It looks like former Representative Ken Buck was right on the money when he called her “Moscow Marjorie.”

Some experts have even suggested that Russia is buying off American politicians just like they do in Europe. Greene wouldn’t be the only Republican to spew Kremlin talking points, but she seems to be the most popular so far. As the new darling of Russian state TV, she’s filling a void left by Speaker Mike Johnson, who in recent days has come out in support of aid in Ukraine after months of blocking it. Johnson was so beloved on Russian television for blocking aid to Ukraine that one TV host called him “Our Johnson.”

Green also appears to have usurped erstwhile Fox News host Tucker Carlson, whose February interview with Putin fell flat, ending Russian TV’s love affair with him.

Russia’s praise of Greene, and other conservative personalities before her, is just further proof that post–Donald Trump, a large part of the Republican Party has pledged its allegiance to Vladimir Putin.

So Far So Good

... but

a) don't count on the weather

b) don't count on ending the shit in Ukraine any time soon (it could happen, but don't count on it, cuz Russia will go on fucking with everything as long as Putin stays in place

Hang On A Mo

It seems Trump's angel has a few problems.

The company Trump got to back his appellate bond isn't quite on the level. I know that has to come as quite a shock, but yeah - there are problems.

Let's Review

Leeja Miller explains.

A Song

And So Begins The Task --Stephen Stills with Judy Collins

And so begins the task
I have dreaded the coming of
For so long
I wait for the sun
To remind my body
It needs restin'

And I must learn to live without you now
I must learn to give only part some how

Camping on the edge
Of your city I wait
Hoping someday
You might
See
Beyond yourself

The shadows on the ceiling
Hard
But not real
Like the bars that cage
You within yourself

And I must learn to live without you now
I must learn to give only part some how
And I must learn to live without you now
As I cannot learn to give only part some how

All of these cages
Must
And shall be set aside
They will only
Keep
Us from the knowing

Actors
And stages
Now fall before the truth
As the love
Shared
Between us
Remains
Growing

And I must learn to live without you now
As I cannot learn to give only part some how

Today's DIP

Deceptive

Image

Persuasion