Newly elected House speaker Mike Johnson is a Christian nationalist (Southern Baptist), a right-wing Evangelical. He thinks Gilead is a wonderful place to live.
Mike Johnson’s election clearly shows that the MAGA wing of the Republican Party and its fascist leader Donald Trump are in control of the GOP.
Our democracy will not survive the re-election of disgraced felon Donald Trump. We are on the threshold of the collapse of the United States and its democratic institutions.
Ohio Governor Mike DeWine and his wife deliberately lie in their “Vote No on Issue 1” TV ad. Not a difference of opinion — lies, lies, lies.
Mike Johnson wants to criminalize abortion and arrest, prosecute, and imprison women who have one.
Israel continues to slaughter innocent Palestinians in Gaza. Joe Biden says nothing of substance as hundreds of Palestinian children are bombed and killed every day. It seems Biden is intent on letting Israel get their pound of flesh from largely innocent people.
Apple raised its monthly streaming fee by 43 percent to $10. Other streaming services are doing the same, forcing users to jump from one service to the other to manage costs. So much for streaming being “better” and cheaper.
I am no longer a Democrat. I may, on occasion, hold my nose and vote Democrat, but I no longer support the party.
American bombs, bullets, and armament are killing innocent people in Palestine. The West is outraged over Hamas’ use of Iranian weaponry, but silent over Israel’s use of American designed and manufactured weapons of mass destruction. All of us have blood on our hands.
Despair. That’s what I feel right now. I see little to cheer about these days.
Bonus: Gastroparesis is an incurable stomach disease. I plan to have a pyloroplasty procedure done in November. Last ditch effort to lessen the nausea and vomiting. It would be nice to have just one day when I didn’t have to worry about what I ate or running to the bathroom to vomit. Where’s God when I need him? 🤣 It is what it is, but I’m tired and worn out from daily battles with nausea, vomiting, bowel pain, and loss of appetite. Some days, in moments of despair, I find myself thinking, “I don’t want to do this anymore.”
Bruce Gerencser, 66, lives in rural Northwest Ohio with his wife of 45 years. He and his wife have six grown children and thirteen grandchildren. Bruce pastored Evangelical churches for twenty-five years in Ohio, Texas, and Michigan. Bruce left the ministry in 2005, and in 2008 he left Christianity. Bruce is now a humanist and an atheist.
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I also have that “don’t want to do it anymore” feeling most days, mornings being worst. I wake and remember I’m needed and I suck it up for one more day. It really is “one day at a time”.
I was also a Democrat because my Parents loved Roosevelt. He had that Dutch name you know, and he got credit for ending the depression and my family’s grinding poverty. Nowadays I consider party loyalty similar to religion, both being a poor substitute fo thinking.
The Palestine/Israel conflict is beyond sad and old Joe appears to be doing as he has his entire career. His sense of right and wrong seems to be controlled by his politics. Biden urges restraint but in the next breath calls Israel a victim and Palestinians terrorists so the USA needs to give Israel more money for weapons. It’s a bizarre idea that more weapons could possibly help Israel, already armed to the teeth, against ragtag volunteer resistance fighters armed with crude weapons, only slightly better than clubs and spears. I wonder how many of our countrymen know that The USA has been giving Israel TEN MILLION Dollars a day for decades that they can use as they wish. No wonder they have a lot of weapons huh? Really, ten million dollars every single day and it is a grant which means they don’t have to pay it back. That’s why Palestinians and others in the middle east blame the USA for Israel’s belligerence. They blame USA for funding their oppression by Israel and it’s pretty hard to disagree with them.
Hope your surgery works Nausea is one of the worst feelings.
Good luck with your surgery. I hope it brings a little bit relief to the symptoms.
Bruce–I hope your surgery goes well. For your recovery, I will channel my grandmother’s chicken soup.
Ilhan Omar once referred to Obama as a “pretty face” who “got away with murder.” I think her description parallels what could be said about Mike Johnson: His fellow Republicans settled on him because he can pursue (and, in fact, has pursued) their awful ideologies and practices while “going stealth” because he’s a “nice guy.” He’s the perfect “front man” for the Christian Nationalist-MAGA scheme to turn this country, and world, into Gilead.
The symbiosis between the MAGA/Trump supporters and the religious right was inevitable because they both fundamentally don’t believe in democracy. And the selection of Mike Johnson shows that they are no longer just a wing of the Republican Party: they ARE the Republican party.
That said, I remain a registered Democrat because, although too many party figures are duplicitous or simply ineffective, what few slivers of hope I can find are in some of the candidates who run in primaries (e.g. Bernie Sanders and Elizabeth Warren for President, Maya Wylie for Mayor in NYC). And, in my state, you can’t vote in a primary unless you’re registered with a party.
Thanks, Bruce, for these insights and interpretations of events in the day, I always value your opinions highly, probably because I almost always completely agree with them. As for speaker, since the extremists were happy to burn down the house, an electable candidate had to come from the far right, someone they would accept. Emmer would have been so much better, but the extremists, including tfg, wouldn’t have it. I think the “moderates” folded because they wanted to restore function to Congress. What I have learned from Trump and his minions is just how absolutely idiotic the American Constitution and political system is, one vastly favoring rural voters in midwestern and western states, who are by far the most likely to fall for scenes of cities on fire due to black activism and crime, and of borders overrun with illegal criminals. These things point to real issues, to be sure. The other thing I have learned is just how few elected officials actually want to govern with any efficacy: they’re in it for the money and celebrity, and so value clickbait over substance, will sell the country out in a second if it keeps them in power. Ah, one could go on. I too am no longer a Democrat. But there is nothing effective I can be. Hence, one reason for despair.
Joe Biden did say something of substance about the Israel-Hamas conflict, he warned them not to do what the U.S. did after the 9-11 attacks. That’s good advise, since the 9-11 reaction was very much like an anaphylactic reaction. Ok I can see the eye roll when I swoon over Biden, (I also get this at home…)
Troy’s hot take : I wonder if Israel’s defense purposely ignored intelligence that a Hamas attack was coming so that they could bring down the hammer.
I also wonder if the American republic can survive a second non-consecutive Trump term. Contrary to some pundits (James Carville, Cenk Uygur, Bill Maher) Biden’s age won’t affect his re-election, though meh economy or a recession might. Yes, a fascist that tried to overturn an election, stole documents, paid off a porn star from the oval office etc. is viable because it is just two teams the quarterbacks don’t matter (much). Trump would immediately become a lame duck, though that does afford him certain freedoms to cause trouble. He also knows what all the buttons do and would surround himself with sycophants that wouldn’t keep him in check. Scary, though I think we’d make it.
Best wishes on your stomach surgery. Having people who care about your wanting a good outcome is as good as any prayer, and you’ve got it.
I hope the surgery helps you.
I fear for our democracy. This new speaker is a terrifying Christian Nationalist who thinks I as a female am a second class citizen. He supported the Big Lie and therefore in my opinion is anti-democracy. We are ruled by madness.
Wishing you a short procedure and an enduring positive outcome, Bruce.
I went for an ablation awhile ago now and it was tough in the beginning but I recovered and no longer have any irregular heartbeats. I am still nuts, you know but one step at a time!
I’m kinda evangelical now about intermittent fasting and giving the body a chance to do its own Ernest Ainsley thang, and HEEEEall! Just hold the big black book as you shout this in the mirror and whack yourself up the side of the head and I guarantee you that within seconds your whole life will be better. Oh, and send me some brotherly support$. Bless ya…
Bruce: “Where’s God when I need him?”
Zoe: You looking for me? God clears her throat. Wrong pronoun. grin
Hope the surgery helps bring some sort of calm to your nausea and vomiting Bruce.
Best wishes with the surgery. Bruce. I hope it brings some relief from the nausea.