prat
noun: prat; plural noun: prats
1. an incompetent, stupid, or foolish person; an idiot.
2. a person's buttocks.
This clown.
This ridiculous, obnoxious, contemptable, capering buffoon.
This is the face of the Republican Party today.
This ass, right here.
No ideas, only obstruction.
No leadership, instead only bluster, bombast, and threats.
Arrogantly self-righteous. Violently xenophobic. Confidently uneducated. Inordinately proud of their own miserable ignorance. Wrapped in the flag of dogmatic nationalism, mindless patriotism, and self-righteous piety. Waving a gun and their Bible -- without respect or understanding for either.
This is what the Republican Party has become: Lauren Boebert.
By now I'm sure you've heard about Boebert's bigoted "joke."
Boebert was in Colorado, and told her audience that she was getting into an elevator at the Capitol when she saw a Capitol Police Officer running toward the doors "with a look of fear."
Oh no! What could it be! Why was the officer afraid for Lauren Boebert? Why?!
In the story, Boebert responds to the officer's panic for her wellbeing by saying, "I looked to my left and there she is: Ilhan Omar!"
Ilhan Omar!
A Muslim!
Beobert dropped the punchline: "And I said, 'well, she does not have a backpack, we should be okay!'"
The audience laughed, of course.
Hardee har har.
Omar, who as a child refugee escaped civil war, terrorism, and genocide in Somalia, who came to America specifically because her family believed in the promise of this country, freedom, justice, civil rights, peace, equality, safety, all those things that Republicans like Lauren Boebert claim they revere, the black Muslim woman is a suicide bomber! She can't be trusted!
She's not really an American.
Ha ha! See?
Isn't that hilarious?
Because vile jokes based on racist stereotypes are goddamn funny, right?
Well, they are to Republicans anyway. Q.E.D.
Patriot: the person who can holler the loudest without knowing what he is hollering about.
- More Maxims of Mark, Johnson, 1927
Bobo "apologized" for her "joke."
But, of course, the apology was bullshit, a trap.
Boebert only wanted to get Omar on the phone so she could spew more hate. And when Omar hung up rather than listen to it, Republicans declared victory and bemoaned Omar's "intolerance."
This is what bullies do.
This is what the Republican Party has become.
They attack and harass and terrorize those they defines as "weak," and when they're caught and called out, they declare themselves to be the real victim.
That's what the Republican Party has become: A rabble of dimwitted goons, bullies, thugs, who perpetually play the victim and pander to the lowest, most base elements of our society.
It's not just Boebert.
It's Steve King's comment today.
It's Marjorie Taylor Geene.
It's Donald Trump.
It's Kevin McCarthy.
It's the craven cowardice of an ideology based on hate, fear, and cheap laughs.
And until the GOP takes responsibility for their own shitty behavior, until Republican leaders (so called leaders anyway) step up and hold members of their own party accountable for their unacceptable hate, until they expel these vile racist dimwitted pandering thugs from their caucus, then those like Lauren Boebert are the face of the Republican Party.
Lincoln would have beaten these miserable goons with a hickory axe handle.
Which is why those who think like Lauren Boebert murdered him.
Fellow citizens, we cannot escape history. We, of this Congress and this administration, will be remembered in spite of ourselves. No personal significance, or insignificance, can spare one or another of us. The fiery trial through which we pass will light us down in honor or dishonor, to the latest generation.
- Abraham Lincoln
Their preening delight in their own boorish behavior and ignorance is downright chilling.
ReplyDeleteThe reason they have a preening delight is that no one ever punishes them, with jail, punches, kicks, hickory axe handles or that 2nd Amendment they are so sexually obsessed with. Bullys will continue until they are cracked...and HARD!
DeleteThis behavior is both part of Conservative sociopathic (diseased) mind, AND a deliberate strategy of PsyOps, psychological warfare that our host should know something about.
Most people LOATHE confrontations and will not stand up for themselves and certainly not others. Rethuglican PsyOps is meant to break us all down and demoralize any resistance to their tyranny. This is standard in all totalitarian movements, Fascist or Communist, for at least 100 years.
The only way to stop them is for "We the People" to stand up and use every means available to take our country back from this hideous ideology that already has majority control of almost all of social institutions.
Lets start with a baby step: Say "God Bless Biden" all over the internet, on bumper stickers, flags, letters to the editor etc. Even if you don't like Biden for being a corporate Democrat, it's a start to punching back.
Start from here: GOD BLESS BIDEN!
Uh... WHY bring ANY god into it? Saying "God Bless Biden" isn't going to change their behavior. MANY folks don't believe in any gods at all. I mean - if there IS a god... WHY isn't this god helping Biden already? Why does this god allow all these people to whom he supposedly said killing was NOT allowed to do this crazy shit all the time? Oh, right, AFTER they actually die, they'll suffer. Riiiiggghhhht. We need to keep pushing fact and reality... they won't listen to that, either, but at least it WILL be standing up to them rather than pushing religion.
DeleteWHY?
DeleteBecause it offers a positive moral message in the face of hate.
Because it is NOT about changing THEIR minds but changing OUR OWN MINDS: breaking this cycle of submission, victimhood, passive acceptance of oppression that most people have fallen into. It is a psychological punch thrown at a bully.
Because it is poke in the eye to the "God Bless America! God Bless Trump!" scumbags.
Because the VAST MAJORITY of all humans believe in a spiritual power, and that belief can be highly motivating. We need to motivate people to stand up and push back.
Because the world does NOT function on "reason and logic". It functions on emotion and rhetoric, with reason and logic providing a mental toolkit for expressing our emotional rhetoric.
Because the enemies of freedom and human dignity have always used God of any kind as a weapon to advance their agenda. We should reclaim God/spirituality and advance goodness and justice.
Because pandering to the loudmouthed atheist minority has played right into the hands of the extremists for decades, allowing them to take control of religious institutions and drive out the open-minded majority. See how many churches have lost followers? That leaves the extremist unchallenged. It does not eliminate religion.
Because God/spirit is something inside us that we manifest into the world through our thoughts and actions. Not something that comes from the sky, or from the blunt force of man-made religious dogma. "Leave God out of it" means leaving ourselves out of it. That's called "surrender".
Because "God Bless Biden" or some other message forces us to put forth our own power, challenging the evil "out there" and challenging our own passivity which lets evil win.
Why do atheists have to take God out of everything?
I am an absolutist on the separation of church and state. All beliefs should be respected but extreme beliefs that bring harm to others should not be allowed to be put into action. That's what the right wing Dominionists are doing in league with the whole conservative movement, and why they must be stopped.
No belief system (and atheism IS a belief system) should force others to convert to it's way of thinking. Ever.
Atheism is a belief system the same way bald is a hairstyle.
Delete"Lincoln would have beaten these miserable goons with a hickory axe handle."
DeleteI'd pay to watch that.
Abe Lincoln, Moron Hunter.
You ruin your whole argument with "...even if you don't like Biden for being a corporate Democrat". Faint praise. Even fainter support.
DeleteKeep your god to yourself. The vast majority actually don't believe in any higher power and we need LESS religiosity, not more. This Country started with No National Religion in it's founding documents and let's keep it that way.
DeleteAs always, absolutely spot on. Thank you. Have a wonderful rest of your Sunday. ~ Sandi
DeleteWell said, as usual.
ReplyDeleteThere is no bottom for these bottom feeders is there?
Imagine poor Abe hearing these deficient humans referring to "The party of Lincoln"
ReplyDeleteLincoln would be a RINO by there understanding
DeleteLincoln would have been, by modern day definitions, a liberal or leaning left. We former Republicans didn't so much change parties as the parties changed thier ideologies and moved away from us.
Delete"Nattering Nabobs of Negativity"(Spiro Agnew)
ReplyDelete"Nattering Nabobs of Negativity"(Spiro Agnew)
ReplyDeleteThe best argument to vote for a Democrat is a Republican.
ReplyDeleteThe Racism is stununing!
ReplyDeleteThank you for saying what so many of us feel -- and with excellent spelling and grammar. It is so frustrating that the Democratic Party isn't speaking up as forcefully. Anyway, thanks.
ReplyDeleteI've held on to the hope that my party would once again reflect the values of Lincoln, Roosevelt and Eisenhower. I now know that is a fantasy that I won't live to see.
ReplyDeleteIn the political party that claims to champion “family values”…
ReplyDelete…you get bonus points as a heroic patriot of patriotic patriotism, if you are a racist, sex offender, uncharitable bigot, thief, and/or violent criminal. You are vilified, if you don’t pander to the party-line false narrative… or you do choose to actually engage with objective reality in any meaningful way. The Republican Party has become absurd, perverse, and insane. In my opinion, it is irredeemable.
Racist bitch!
ReplyDeleteI think the Democratic Party should stop genuflecting at the altar of Iowan bigotry & white supremacy.
ReplyDeleteIowa has four Congressional districts.For 15 years 1/4 of Iowa sent xenophobic Jew hating white supremacist Steve King to Congress. Stop allowing Iowa to set the political narrative.
No idea what horrible thing fell out of King's rotted brain this time, but with Iowa state legislators threatening teachers with felonies for teaching, we have bigger problems than a washed-up, has-been contractor with an ancient bulldozer's musings.
DeletePalin 2.0 and 2.05
ReplyDeleteI so wish I had the patience and quickness of mind to "discuss" some of these issues with some I know. I just get flustered and tongue tied over the outrageous comments and beliefs.
ReplyDeleteI so wish I had the patience and quickness of mind to "discuss" some of these issues with some I know. I just get flustered and tongue tied over the outrageous comments and beliefs.
ReplyDeleteHear James Earl Jones recite that quotation from Abraham Lincoln at about 7:00 in this rendition of Copland's "A Lincoln Portrait"
ReplyDeletehttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0dW1pFvbnNk
Right on as usual
ReplyDelete... Same as it ever was...
ReplyDeleteNattering Nabobs of Negativity (Spiro Agnew)
ReplyDeleteThere is a part of me that would like to dump Boebert in a refugee camp where people are fleeing oppression and where she is unable to fend for herself and has to rely on the mercies of those she hates so much.
ReplyDeleteApparently the Republican party worships ignorance. Respect and civility are regarded as "woke", and science is regarded as negative and elitist. Sadly, since low population states having disproportionate power and gerrymandering, this is not only the face of the Republican party, but of the USA if they regain control of Congress.
ReplyDeleteAs a Colorado resident I will do/contribute whatever it takes for her district to kick her out the door. But don't let the fact that you don't live here as a reason not to help, too.
ReplyDelete"Fellow citizens, ..."
ReplyDeleteI can only hear this recitation in Gregory Peck's voice.
https://youtu.be/ahWeXfTsjuA?t=254
There was a time when America was the Home of the Brave and the Land of the Free. Sadly, to those of us who have served alongside our American comrades, that mo longer seems to be the case.
ReplyDeleteI love the way you describe her!
ReplyDeleteDammit Jim, you write well, the last line especially.
ReplyDeleteJim, we’ll said!! Unfortunately, the Republicans will never call them out. They’ll just keep spewing hate.
ReplyDeleteAnd up next - Dr. Oz! Running in a state he doesn't even live in. The guy who said 2 or 3% of primary school children dead from the pandemic would be acceptable losses.
ReplyDeleteIn Tagalog "bobo" means stupid. In other words, it's a perfect nickname for this racist idiot. Good one Jim!
ReplyDeleteIt hit me today. A vote is like a drop of water. One drop doesn't go very far. Put those drops together you get a stream. Add more you get a river. Add enough you get a flood. The next time somebody says "my vote won't count"invite them to be part of a flood.
ReplyDeleteThat's it, isn't it.
DeleteKeeping this gang of lunatics in office depends on folks who are in the "my vote doesn't count" camp as well as the "all politicians are the same" and "I didn't get every campaign promise that I wanted" tribes.
Funny that the people who vote for these vile, racist, (insert category)phobic, ignorant twits never think that THEIR vote doesn't count - they ALWAYS show up at the polls.
You, sir, are required reading for me. Between Heather Cox Richardson's daily observations and your own, like these recaps, I am reminded how fortunate I am to live where I have such resources available. The cacophony of unexamined opinions and unfocused rage seems to get the press. Nuance, not so much.
ReplyDeleteI admire your ability to maintain your momentum and prodigious output, your sanity, and your willingness to continue to serve a noble cause (maybe not simultaneously or in that particular order). That's what this is, right?
Thank you, Jim. Keep on.
Unfortunately, those that will escape history are the legions that not only refuse to be decent citizens, but consciously and intentionally elect the worst people they can find.
ReplyDeleteWell said!!
ReplyDelete“Never believe that anti-Semites are completely unaware of the absurdity of their replies. They know that their remarks are frivolous, open to challenge. But they are amusing themselves, for it is their adversary who is obliged to use words responsibly, since he believes in words. The anti-Semites have the right to play. They even like to play with discourse for, by giving ridiculous reasons, they discredit the seriousness of their interlocutors. They delight in acting in bad faith, since they seek not to persuade by sound argument but to intimidate and disconcert. If you press them too closely, they will abruptly fall silent, loftily indicating by some phrase that the time for argument is past.”
ReplyDeleteJean-Paul Sartre, 1944
I wish you wouldn't be so fucking nice to the bobo prat. I guess facefuck has suspended your Stonekettle site as all I see from you anymore is photos of bees, (not that there is anything wrong with bees, your photos are great).
ReplyDeleteExtremely well said, Jim!! Some people don't learn, either from history or the present, and those, are really crappy citizens. It's so far beyond appalling that I have no clue where we are now. smdh
ReplyDeleteKeep on keepin' on, Chief. Your posts help keep me sane. Or, at least, as sane as I can be given the state of this "union".
The Racism is just gobsmacking in its overtness!
ReplyDeleteI have met Ilhan Omar at a campaign event. She is highly intelligent, respectful of all people, charismatic and very, very nice. I am proud to have voted for her in each election she has run in. Boebert, Greene, Stefanik are the "Real Housewives of the KKK"
ReplyDeleteSo true, and yet as a Democrat I'm kinda of regretting the 2022 midterms. People love the shit that Republicans are selling, and by people, I mean like 50% of us.
ReplyDeleteI wouldn't so much define or label her as a prat. She, and quite a few more, well LOTS more, do fit that definition, But I rather like a word from the old AOL Chat rooms and message boards, a SNERT. A Snot Nosed Egotistical Rude Teenager. The behavior continually reminds me of an angst ridden teenager in the throes of puberty.
ReplyDeleteSNERT
DeleteHeh Heh Heh Heh��
Hear, hear!!
ReplyDeleteYou can fight with words. Words that originate from a common source (such as Greek and Latin) bear weight. In the field of English grammars, I personally would compare the structure of perfect language usage as difficult to understand as Calculus...and certainly as much so as Trigonometry. I took a correspondence course in English Grammar back in 1975 when I could have cheated easily. But I was humbled by the rules governing English. Great Britain, and England in particular, carries a heavy weight in upholding the language. If it weren't so, no one in the Britain would speak with a dialectic brogue.
ReplyDeleteAnd some people downplay the role Nixson's Southern Strategy played in the modern Republican Party. Lie with dogs......
ReplyDeleteI used to think that the GOP couldn't get worse than Sarah Palin. Apparently they interpreted that as a challenge.
ReplyDeleteEvery time I hear or see Palin's name, I can remember vividly the on-camera interview she gave after the election with the dude slicing open turkey necks behind her.
Delete