Friday, September 19, 2025:  The Worst Domestic Terrorists

So let me add to the previous post. A National Institute of Justice study on domestic terrorism found that "since 1990, far-right extremists have committed far more ideologically motivated homicides than the far-left or radical Islamic extremists, including 227 events that took more than 520 lives." "In this same period, far-left extremists committed 42 ideologically motivated attacks that took 78 lives.

The Cato Institute came to similar conclusions. Their study found that terrorists motivated by extreme sectors of right leaning ideology killed six times more people that those on the far-left of the political spectrum. Since 1975, 391 murders were motivated by extreme right ideology compared to 65 backed by extreme left ideology.

This information was posted on the DOJ web site up through the September 10 attack on Charlie Kirk after which it was taken down so that Trump could spread his vitriol and lies about progressives and democrats.

So despite actual facts on domestic terrorism, Trump in a September 12th interview on Fox, claimed that "the radicals on the left are the problem, and they're vicious and they're horrible and they're politically savvy."



Thursday, September 18, 2025:  How Can You Tell If A Republican Politician is Lying? Their Lips Are Moving

The blatant lie spewing from the Whitehouse these days is that the "radical left" is somehow the culprit in the Kirk murder. Sorry folks, not so. Progressives strongly believe in democracy, but few would propose violence as a way to resolve our differences. For example, there is no organization called ANTIFA just like there is no organization called MAGA and all you have to do is look back at January 6th and see that is was not the left but the right wing seditionists that tried to take down our government.

So let's look at one statistic. If democrats are all about violence, then it seems to me that they would own majority of the weapons used in today's violence. But alas, that is not the case.

Based on data from mid-2024, the gun ownership rate among Republicans and Republican-leaning independents is more than double that of Democrats and Democratic-leaning independents.

Ownership rates by political affiliation:
Republicans and Republican-leaning independents: 45% say they personally own a gun.
Democrats and Democratic-leaning independents: 20% say they personally own a gun.

Factors associated with gun ownership:
The disparity in gun ownership across "red" and "blue" states is also influenced by other demographic factors that align with political geography, as identified in research by the Pew Research Center and Gallup.

Gender: Men are more likely than women to own guns. Among Republicans, 60% of men and 33% of women report owning a gun. Among Democrats, 29% of men and 12% of women are gun owners.

Geography: Rural residents are more likely to own guns than those in urban areas.
         Rural areas: 51% ownership rate.
         Urban areas: 20% ownership rate.

Region: The South has higher rates of gun ownership (40%) compared to the East (19%).

Ideology: Political conservatives (45% ownership) have a much higher rate of gun ownership than liberals (16% ownership).

Finally, how about Trump's Gestapo Squad - ICE. The violence inflicted by these goons on people whose only crime is looking for a better and safer life is criminal. Then there is Donald Dumbster's post on social media that Chicago was "about to find out why it's called the Department of WAR." I could go on and on with examples of how the right wing adherents promote and participate in violence like the "Unite the Right" march in Charlottesville, Virginia, but the list is long and depressing.



Tuesday, September 16, 2025:  Martyrs Are Not Saints

Despite the attempt to make Charlie Kirk a martyr, he is just another casualty in a society and world that sees violence as the answer to every grievance. However, given his notoriety, his murder has provided some timely insight into the right-wing evangelical community. The right-wing evangelicals claim to be Christians, but I fail to see how in anyway they emulate Jesus's life or his teachings.

Jesus was a Jewish pacifist. He did not create "Christianity". As a faith, Christianity evolved from a Judaic sect into a distinct religion based on Christ's teachings. Unfortunately, over the course of its history and like many good things, Christianity's leaders and followers have managed to screw it up royally. I doubt Jesus would recognize and certainly would not approve of the evangelical rhetoric that is currently saturating the right-wing media and internet following Kirk's murder or for the that matter most of Kirk's right wing rhetoric.


Sunday, September 13, 2025:  Let The Right-wing Memes Begin

Charlie Kirk was killed, murdered if you like. He was not assassinated. As I suggested in my last post, it was not some left-wing, progressive activist that killed him, but rather an internet addicted twenty something white male.

The right-wing influencers keep searching for something, anything that will let them hang Kirk's killing on progressives. They desperately want something that will allow them to stoke the hate they so love to promote. But alas, the guy who killed kirk grew up in conservative family in a politically conservative part of our country. Like the guy who shot Trump, we may never really sort out his motivation, but I am guessing it really had little to do with politics – left or right. Kirk was just a high profile opportunity to become famous.

Ah, but will that stop the right-wing nut cases from spreading lies to support their hate agenda? Nope! Haters gotta hate, so the memes will start.


Thursday, September 11, 2025:  A Predictable Tragedy

Does the assassination Charlie Kirk prove his points on the Second Amendment?

"You will never live in a society when you have an armed citizenry and you won't have a single gun death. That is nonsense. It's drivel. But I am, I, I — I think it's worth it. I think it's worth to have a cost of, unfortunately, some gun deaths every single year so that we can have the Second Amendment to protect our other God-given rights. That is a prudent deal. It is rational. Nobody talks like this. They live in a complete alternate universe"

According to a Snopes fact check, Kirk made this statement during an April 5, 2023, TPUSA Faith event that took place on the Salt Lake City campus of Awaken Church. The Internet Archive's Wayback Machine hosts an archived YouTube video (unavailable on YouTube's website) showing the entire event. The quote begins at the 1:16:21 mark. Meanwhile, the PodBean account for the Awaken Church also hosts the audio from the same function, with the quote occurring at the 41:30 mark.

Kirk believed "The Second Amendment is there, God forbid, so that you can defend yourself against a tyrannical government."
So here is my problem. Kirk played an integral role in the forming of the tyrannical Trump government – one that disregards every law designed to reign in executive overreach and sends armed troops into our cities to use against American citizens. So what if the shooter saw this as defending us against Trump and his tyranny. If so, then Kirk was correct in his interpretation of the "right to bear arms" and would that make the shooter a villain or a hero?

Like a broken record, Trump once again blames the "radical left". If a drain backed up in the Whitehouse, I am sure Trump would blame the "radical left". Trump, the coward who promotes violence against our government, sends the military into our cities, and cuts of foreign aid that will ultimately kill hundreds of thousands. Sadly, the MAGA folks continue to buy his bullshit. The facts surrounding the political based gun violence of late do not support Trump's blame game and there is real likelihood that the shooter in the Kirk case will turn out to be some screwed up young male who wants to become infamous.


Wednesday, September 10, 2025:  Epstein et al
I hope that someday a good percentage of the MAGA base will emerge from their Trump stupor and realize that there is no "deep state" in the Federal Government, only loyal civil servants and that the real bogeymen are a bunch of rich SOBs in the private sector. This fiction of a deep state was created to take the focus off the true enemy of the people – the rich and powerful.

I believe that the pursuit of the Epstein files is a legitimate attempt by MAGA and others to find the real evil that exists in this world. Hopefully the files will help the MAGA faithful realize that it is not the hardworking federal employees they should be after, but rather the rich, the powerful, the corporations, and the banks. They are the real enemy of the people. I am sure that if the list of Epstein's clients ever comes out, it will consist mostly of men who fall in the top .01% club. Men who have enough money to buy off anyone who they see as a threat to their riches and their perverted lifestyle.

Oh, and there is a reason your favorite boy is fighting tooth and nail to keep the Epstein files under wraps. Think about it.


Monday, September 1, 2025:  MAGA - Soccer Balls And Laser Lights
Have you ever watched a group of 5 and 6 year old kids playing soccer or a cat chasing a laser light? Basically, it amounts to "wherever the ball or laser light goes, they go". It is not much different than watching the MAGA folks chase the latest "woke grievance" proffered up by the right wing media and pundits – In this case, The Cracker Barrel Logo.

A short time after Cracker Barrel announced its new logo, a cohort of right-wing voices decided that it was, wait a minute… "woke". Those voices never really explained how a plain logo with the restaurant's name was woke, but the accusation was made, the MAGA mob was mobilized, and word went out: "The Barrel must be broken." Like a gaggle of 5 year old kids chasing a soccer ball or a cat chasing a laser light, they went at Cracker Barrel with a vengeance.

To quote David French, "The process of stoking (MAGA) outrage has another effect: It crowds out the news cycle. Most Democrats I know would be shocked at how little the average Republican knows about Trump's actual conduct and his actual wrongdoing. Republicans can, however, cite chapter and verse about left-wing outrages and left-wing overreactions to Trump. That creates a reality where they simply can't conceive of how any reasonable, rational person would vote Democratic or oppose the president and his policies."

So as our once great country goes down the tubes, the MAGA crowd spends its time chasing woke soccer balls and Fox news laser lights.