It's terrorism, plain and simple

Republicans and this man are one and the same

Make no mistake--the DeVos family backed morons who protested in our state capitol by waving their guns and swastikas and confederate flags on the floor of our legislature today (no links, I won't dignify them with one) are not patriots and they most certainly are not good Americans.

They are terrorists.  Period.

Fuck Donald Trump,
emaycee

Costume parties

Let them have their play date...

A republican from Arizona is telling those protesting stay at home directives to start dressing up as healthcare workers.

Setting aside the scumbag piece of shit you have to be to suggest such an action, they might as well.  Hell, they're always dressing up in camouflage and pretending to be soldiers--might as well have dress up day every day.

Fuck Donald Trump,
emaycee

What is life

244 years from our better angels to our fucking idiots

Watching all the republican idiots claiming that their liberties are more important than my life got me to thinking about Thomas Jefferson and the Declaration of Independence, wherein he states that, "We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights, that among these are Life, Liberty, and the pursuit of Happiness."

There was a reason Jefferson listed Life first--because when you're dead, the other two don't really fucking matter.

Fuck Donald Trump,
emaycee

Friday Night Jukebox, Vol. CCLXXVII--The Call: The Walls Came Down

There was a time in the early eighties (tell us about the good old days, Grandpa!) when there were several really good bands going who weren't afraid to make political statements with their music--bands like U2, the Alarm, and this week's band, The Call.  It gave a little bit of hope to those of us who feared the Reagan devolution would haunt us for years...and unfortunately still is.

The Call formed in 1980 in Santa Cruz, California (not too terribly far from where I grew up), and after doing my weekly half-assed research, was pleasantly surprised to find they'd had a little longer and more successful career than I would have thought.  Over the course of their twenty year career, The Call released eight studio albums, five of which charted.  They also released two live albums and four compilations, as well as seven singles.  Their song "Let the Day Begin" was used by Al Gore for his 2000 Presidential campaign, and another song, "I Still Believe" was featured in the movie Lost Boys.  Sadly, their lead singer and bassist Michael Been passed away from a heart attack in 2010.  The remaining members have gotten together for a couple of one off affairs in the last few years and the band released a three LP compilation just last year.

"The Walls Came Down" was released as a single in 1983 from their second albums, Modern Romans.  The single would reach #74 (with a bullet!) on the Billboard Hot 100, while the album would chart at #84.

From the start, "The Walls Came Down" injects itself in your veins with its jangly guitars and thumping bass...and it doesn't quit for the next three and a half minutes.  Michael Been speaks, sings, and screams with an urgency that conjures the times themselves--while the walls didn't really come down, they fucking should have.  I suspect, but wasn't able to verify, that the song has religious overtones (horns blowing, walls coming down, singing of a congregation) which, much like many a gospel influenced pop tune, only adds to its power.  The song closes with about a minute of the band providing sing-song lyrics that make you feel as if you're gonna grab your sledgehammer and walk right up to that wall and knock it down yourself--and any time a song can provoke you into action, you know it's a rock solid slice of pop music.

Lyric Sheet:  "I don't think there are any Russians/And there ain't no Yanks/Just corporate criminals/Playin' with tanks..."

Enjoy:

Fuck Donald Trump,
emaycee

The old lie

Just as bullshit now as it was a hundred years ago

Mike Huckabee and Laura Ingraham took time on a recent show of hers to proclaim how important it was to reopen America, healthcare and science experts be damned, to preserve our way of life.

I'm pretty sure they're more concerned with preserving their way of life because I don't know about you but my way of life is forty years of living paycheck to paycheck and then probably dying much younger than I should have because we lack decent national health insurance like nearly every other advanced nation. 

But I tell you what--Huckabee and Ingraham are more than welcome to put on their big boy and big girl pants and truck on down to the movie theater to sell popcorn or the hair salon to give a perm or flip a few burgers so folks can get their free refills.

As for me, they can go fuck themselves--if they want to preserve their way of life they can go right ahead without me.  I'm not dying for two rich assholes.

Fuck Donald Trump,
emaycee

Bye Don 2020, Vol. II

Fuck Donald Trump,
emaycee

The Wolverine Queen

Me, when somebody invades my six feet of space

In another sign that republicans might not be all that bright, the bozos in the Michigan rallies protesting Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer's stay at home directives have taken to calling her the Wolverine Queen, apparently not realizing that a wolverine is A) the mascot of the most popular university in the state, and has B) according to Wikipedia  "...a reputation for ferocity and strength out of proportion to its size, with the documented ability to kill prey many times larger than itself."

Leave it to republicans to come up with a nickname that makes their enemy sound even greater than she is--they must be taking too many lessons from the orange shit gibbon Donald Trump....

Fuck Donald Trump,
emaycee

Idiot wind

It's a wonder that they still know how to breathe

In a striking display of stupidity, even for republicans, both Mitch McConnell and former South Carolina governor Nikki Haley said this week that in light of the financial problems of states due to the coronavirus pandemic, the federal government should not bail out the states and let them go bankrupt.

I'm neither a U.S. Senator nor a former governor, but even I understand that if just New York and California, two of the biggest economies in the world, went bankrupt the U.S. economy would fall off a cliff faster than it did even for Trump's pandemic.

Not even counting the chutzpah both displayed (both Kentucky and South Carolina are leeches sucking the blood from their more successful counterpart states that subsidize them like California and New York), such abject idiocy is more than enough to make sure that McConnell is relieved of his duties as Senate Majority Leader and to disqualify Haley as a Presidential candidate when she throws her hat in the ring in 2024.

At the very least, both should be laughed off the national stage.

Fuck Donald Trump,
emaycee

Friday Night Jukebox, Vol. CCLXXVI--Jimmy Buffett: Margaritaville

This week's tune is another of those songs that I came to appreciate much more as I got older than I did when it was first released.  Whether that was born of the wisdom that comes with age or just the broadening of horizons I don't know...but I'd bet on the latter. 

[Blogger's Note:  If you're like me and generally ignore links, you can skip this.  However, if you like to read about the artist's career, please note that the Wikipedia entries for Jimmy Bufffett read more like press releases than encyclopedic histories of his career.  My advice:  don't bother.]

Jimmy Buffett got his start in Florida in 1964, working clubs for years to sharpen his skills before releasing his first album in 1970.  He had his first chart success in the late 70's and has had a constant string of LPs and commercial sales since.  For his career he has released thirty albums (his thirtieth released just this year), one of which hit #1, and nine others which broke the top ten.  He's also released 12 live albums, 9 compilations, 67 singles, and had forty-four concert tours.  Buffett is also something of an entrepreneur, cashing in on the success of his biggest single to open themed restaurants, casinos, and clubs in addition to foods and footwear (among others).  Buffett has also penned a couple of best-selling books...and being the good guy that he is has a number of charitable works to his credit.

"Margaritaville" was released in 1977 from his album Changes in Latitudes, Changes in Attitudes.  It was the biggest single of his career, reaching #8 (with a bullet!) on the Billboard Hot 100, while the album would be the first hit LP he would have, peaking at #12 on the Billboard 200.

In "Margaritaville," Jimmy Buffett weaves a couple of snapshots in time in the life of a lost, but good-natured, drunk.  Buffett sings with compassion for his character, though a hint of his embarrassment sneaks through his vocals.  The music favors the Caribbean flavored country folk that marks so much of Buffet's work, though in this instance he uses it effectively to add a little pathos to his tale.  The kicker comes with the drunk's realization that while many folks think there's a woman to blame, he knows his problems are his own fault.  It's an affliction that's common to many of us, but isn't often easy to see through the rose-colored glasses most of us view our lives through.  The song in popular culture has become sort of an anthem for sitting back and drinking Margaritas which is unfortunate--while I've never understood the whole Parrothead (Buffett devotees) movement, or been much of a fan of most of his other songs, with "Margaritaville" he shows once again how every now and again we mortals can carve a slice out of heaven and add a few words with a bit of tune and make a little magic.

Lyric Sheet:  "But there's booze in the blender/And soon it will render/That frozen concoction that helps me hang on..."

Enjoy:

Fuck Donald Trump,

emaycee

This is what they'll sacrifice

Take a good look at the young woman in the picture above these words.  Her name is Skylar Herbert, and she was the first child to die in Michigan from the coronavirus.  She was five years old.  Her parents are first responders.

A conservative guess would be that she lost seventy years of life.  Her parents lost countless years of the unbridled joy she would have brought them.  Her mother and father's lives have been irreparably worsened.  Their world will never be the same because of the incompetence of Donald Trump and his administration.

Slylar Herbert is what Donald Trump, the republican party, Fox News, and all the "freedom" protesters are willing to sacrifice to re-elect Donald Trump and keep Corporate America, Wall Street, the DeVos family, and the Koch family happy.

Never forget.

Fuck Donald Trump,
emaycee

Dillweed

Drink to me, drink to my healthy...but fuck yours

When he's not busy writing the least funny comic strip in the history of comic strips (Dilbert) or giving advice to misogynistic white males on how to get laid that will guarantee they won't get laid, Scott Adams fancies himself something of a political commentator.  This week he said that even though he's in the highest risk group for dying from the coronavirus (those above sixty years of age), he thought the risk of reopening the American economy was worth it.

Want to guess how much Scott Adams is worth?  A cool $75 million.

So what he's saying is not that he's willing to sacrifice his life for the reopening of the American economy, but that he's willing to sacrifice yours.  Because I can guarantee you that $75 million is going to buy the best medical care in the universe if he should get COVID-19...not to mention that it will also ensure that he can stay inside for years and not go anywhere near the rest of us plebes if need be and not have an economic care in the world.

The rich ain't like you and me--they can buy their way out of a pandemic.  The rest of us just die.

Fuck Donald Trump,
emaycee

Breaking up is (not so hard) to do

We'd be better off without them

I've floated the idea before that eventually our differences would become too great and the United States would break up like the old Soviet Union did, but I never thought I'd see it in my lifetime.  I'd still say the odds are very slim, but one has to wonder in light of the alliances being formed by blue states to make plans to reopen their economies if this isn't being discussed in at least whispers in blue state governors' offices.

Donald Trump is completely incompetent and utterly unhinged, and that's a bad recipe for people who actually give a shit about their constituents.  And if the country falls into a depression-like economic downturn?  As long as republicans hold the White House and the Senate their constituents would likely be in deep shit.  How long before they push the eject button?

It may still not be very likely, but it's becoming increasingly possible.

Fuck Donald Trump,
emaycee

Bye Don 2020, Vol. I

Fuck Donald Trump,
emaycee

Sacrifice? We don't need no stinkin' sacrifice

Probably also funded by the DeVos Family and the Kochs

Keeping in mind that the protests against Gov. Gretchen Whitmer's Stay At Home Directive here in Michigan earlier this week A) Feature a vast minority of Michiganders, numbering in at least the hundreds, B) Were bankrolled by the DeVos Family and the Koch Brothers (oops, forgot one of them died) Brother, C) For some odd ass reason thought that the flag of traitors from the Confederacy was good window dressing, and that D) Governor Whitmer's approval rating right now is in the mid-60's, which is twenty points higher than the orange shit gibbon in the oval office, can we just thank the stars that these morons weren't around when America was fighting World War II?

I mean if you can't handle six weeks of not being able to get a haircut or buy a juniper bush, how the hell would have have fought off four years of the greatest threat to America's freedom in our history?

If it were up to their clown show, Hitler would be calling the shots here in America.

Oh, wait....

Fuck Donald Trump,
emaycee

Un-American

In the water is wet, the sky is blue news of the day, emergency funds for small businesses were dumped heavily into red states and the scraps were left for the blue.  This was done to help red state Senators in the upcoming elections.

What kind of piece of shit devises a policy such as this, and what kind of piece of shit actually votes for candidates who support this un-American and heinous handing out of favors which leaves Americans to suffer because they didn't vote a certain way?

Never mind--republicans do.

It's reached a point where looking at any republican is akin to looking at a maggot infested turd floating in a pool of phlegm.

Fuck Donald Trump,
emaycee

Republicans are fucking nuts

Forget MAGA--this one here should be their slogan

Mehmet Oz went on Sean Hannity yesterday to proclaim that sending kids back to school amidst the coronavirus pandemic would "only" result in a 2-3% increase in the U.S. mortality rate and was an appetizing opportunity.  Keep in mind that with a population of 328 million people, this would mean, on the low end at 2%, approximately six and one-half million dead Americans.  If Oz only meant school children, the again low estimate would be 1.1 million dead children.

Exactly who would this be appetizing to?  Fucking cannibals?

While Oz later walked back his statement (kinda sorta), my guess is this is a shot across the bow--republicans want to know what amount of dead Americans is acceptable so they can aim high and finish low and look like world beaters.  Unfortunately for them, for most Americans the acceptable number of deaths is zero.

Oops!  Too late!

Remember these kind of statements the next time republicans scream about being pro-life.  They're anything but.

Fuck Donald Trump,
emaycee

Racist much?

Conservative Christianity at its finest...

Hundreds of people from Michigan, bankrolled by the DeVos family, converged on our state capital in Lansing today to protest Governor Gretchen Whitmer's stay at home directive.

Everything you need to know about this rally can be explained by the shirt of the man in the photo--the vast bulk of the deaths in Michigan are occurring in overwhelmingly black Detroit and the rally is strictly, completely, and totally about their racism. 

Fucking period.

Fuck Donald Trump,
emaycee

Victory is the best revenge

This one's for republicans

Despite republicans best efforts to depress the vote in order to secure victory in the Wisconsin State Supreme Court election...we fucking won.  And it was a rout--at last count, Jill Karofsky was beating conservative incumbent Dan Kelly by better than eleven points.

There isn't anything quite like the thrill of victory...

Fuck Donald Trump
emaycee

You couldn't drag me away

Real Americans will be voting for Joe Biden this November

As they showed in Wisconsin, republicans will do anything to cheat this November so as to maintain their fragile grip on power, up to and including making Americans risk their lives just to exercise their right to vote.

What they don't understand is how committed we are to voting--even if I get coronavirus and die, I would consider if the most heroic and patriotic action I've ever taken in my life just to cast my vote for Joe Biden.

That's how bad Donald Trump has been for America.

Fuck Donald Trump,
emaycee

Friday Night Jukebox, Vol. CCLXXV--Jeff Buckley: Hallelujah

Embarrassingly enough, my introduction to this week's tune came when a contestant sang it on American Idol, which was the last season I watched the show before deciding that I didn't have enough time to listen to good artists performing good tunes, let alone mediocre singers singing bad songs....

Jeff Buckley picked up his first guitar when he was five years old and never looked back.  He was a session musician in L.A. in his early twenties, learned his chops playing clubs in New York in his mid-twenties, and at the ripe old age of 28 recorded his first studio album, which sadly, would also be his last.  Buckley was preparing to record his second album when he drowned accidentally (no traces of alcohol or drugs were found in his blood) in Tennessee.  Despite his shortened career, Buckley regularly shows up on best of lists, including #39 on Rolling Stone's list of the greatest singers ever.  He has had numerous tribute songs written for him, and since his death there have been ten compilation (including a rough draft of the album he was working on when he passed) albums released, seven live albums, and a box set.  Despite his short career, Buckley was able to secure quite the legacy.

"Hallelujah," Buckley's cover version of the song originally written and performed by folk legend  Leonard Cohen, was on Buckley's only album, Grace, released in 1994.  It was not released as a single, but after its appearance on American Idol immediately went to #1 (with a bullet!) on Billboard's Hot Digital Tracks in 2007, some thirteen years after its release.  It would also reach #2 on the British charts that same year.  It is ranked #259 on Rolling Stone's list of the 500 Greatest Songs of All-Time.  While Grace had little commercial success upon its release, it has become something of a classic, going on to sell over 2 million copies, and being ranked #303 on Rolling Stone's list of the 500 Greatest Albums of All-Time.

(Sad) Fun Fact:  Though Buckley only met him once, his biological father Tim recorded nine albums through the late 60's and early 70's, and was most known for his folk recordings.  He died from a heroin overdose at the all too young age of 28 in 1975.

Beginning with a beautiful minute and a half guitar solo that evokes angels playing rock and roll harps, Buckley proceeds to sing "Hallelujah" with all the reverence one would expect of a man singing for his very soul before God.  I don't know that there's that much I can add to the lexicon already written about the song, but with the majestic lyrics of Leonard Cohen and the heaven sent vocals of Buckley it all adds up to a masterpiece.  Just listen to it--it's as close to perfection as we mortals are likely to ever get.

Lyric Sheet:  "Well, I heard there was a secret chord/That David played and it pleased the Lord/But you don't really care for music do you?"

Enjoy:

Fuck Donald Trump,

emaycee

Worst Chief Justice ever

Justice might be blind, but we know the motherfucker can hear

As if John Roberts fealty to Corporate America and his kowtowing to the third of Americans that make up the republican base weren't enough to have future historians excoriate his leadership for its craven lack of either sympathy for his fellow humans' plight or its utter cowardice, mere days after leading a partisan decision that forced Wisconsinites to risk their lives to vote the Supreme Court has announced that to protect its health, beginning in May all hearings will be held via videoconference.

The unmitigated gall of these pathetic losers is enough to make a maggot puke.

Fuck Donald Trump,
emaycee

Midnight in Washington

Fuck Donald Trump,
emaycee

Apparently, not all rich people suck

A little good news for a change

I'd be the first to admit I've never been much of a Bon Jovi fan (my youngest son makes up for me, though), but after reading how he and his wife started Soul Kitchen in 2011, a restaurant (there are now three of them) devoted to helping those in need that has no prices on its menus, but where people pay either through donation or according to their means (if at all), I just might start.

Even better was reading how last Sunday, instead of hunkering down in his home like most wealthy folks (his net worth is north of $400 million), Jon Bon Jovi was in his restaurant fucking cleaning the dishes to help make sure that those many families whose economic lives have been turned upside down by Donald Trump's incompetent handling of the coronavirus pandemic could eat.

That is a class act.

Fuck Donald Trump,
emaycee

Digging their own graves

It's hard to see, in light of the coronavirus stimulus packages being heavily weighted toward corporations and the utterly craven and disgusting behavior (seriously, read the piece at the link--I truly thought it impossible to hate the rich anymore than I already do, but apparently I was mistaken) of the wealthy, how we either pass a wealth tax or else grab our pitchforks and start lighting our torches.

I mean, it's one thing when you lose your job during a recession and have to go through hard times for a few months, and it's completely another when your friends and family are dying and your kids are going hungry...while rich folks are lining their pockets with your tax dollars and fleeing for their estates in gated communities.

It's only going to be a matter of time before the wheels start coming off the limousines.

Fuck Donald Trump,
emaycee

MAATWC

Foraging for food in the U.S.A., courtesy of Donald Trump

Economic stimulus packages around the world:

• U.K.--80% of workers' salaries
• Denmark--75% of workers' salaries
• South Korea--70% of workers' salaries
• Netherlands--90% of workers' salaries
• Canada--Two thousand a month
• Australia--One thousand a month
• U.S.--One time $1200 check that no one seems to know when it will arrive

Donald Trump and the republican party...making America A Third World Country!

Put that on your fucking red hats.

Fuck Donald Trump,
emaycee

Sign of the day

From a liquor store in California:

Anyone who has ever spent time working in retail understands exactly how much this sign speaks truth to power.


Fuck Donald Trump,
emaycee

Sweet songs never last too long

Exactly-odo, Quasimodo--only John Prine

It hasn't been the best week for my musical heroes and their families--sadly, John Prine joined Bill Withers at the Great Rock and Roll Concert in the Sky yesterday, due to complications from COVID-19.  As if I didn't have enough reasons to hate Donald Trump...

I discovered John Prine thanks to a great review in Rolling Stone in 1978 for his album Bruised Orange.  While he'll primarily be remembered for his songwriting skills (which were formidable), I'll remember him for his sense of humor and self-deprecating wit as well.  John Prine was one of those rare artists who never let his success go to his head, and always seemed more like a guy you'd like to have as your next door neighbor than a Songwriting Hall of Fame musician.

This one really hurts--the joy I got from listening to John Prine these now forty some odd years is immeasurable.  While Prine likely had several songs that could be called signature songs, this one was the first to showcase both his gift with words and his gigantic heart.  It also contains one of my favorite lines ever written in a song:  "Sam Stone was alone/ When he popped his last balloon/Climbing walls while sitting in a chair...."  Enjoy:

Fuck Donald Trump
emaycee

Killing their own

This year's republican national convention?

A woman in Texas who was a Donald Trump supporter and just a few weeks back posted on her Facebook page that the coronavirus was a hoax and was what the beginning of socialism looked like died today from...the coronavirus.

This is what Donald Trump has wrought--he doesn't care if his supporters get killed by believing the horseshit he's shoveling, just so long as he can soothe his own ego and help his chances of getting re-elected.  And his supporters will still believe he's the chosen one.

In the immortal words of Forrest Gump, "Stupid is as stupid does."

Fuck Donald Trump,
emaycee

Friday Night Jukebox, Vol. CCLXXIV--Chuck Berry: Johnny B. Goode

My introduction to this week's tune was from my father, who was quite the dancer, and who, it dawned on me this week, probably liked Chuck Berry as much as he did because virtually every song Berry performed was just so goddamned danceable...

Chuck Berry is another in a long line of artists featured here on Friday Night Jukebox whose career accomplishments are just a bit long for a one paragraph summary...but what the fuck, chutzpah is my middle name (no, it's not).  Often called the "Father of Rock and Roll," Berry's career began in 1953 in my old hometown of St. Louis, MO and lasted up until his death in 2017 (he actually released his final album the year he died, at the age of 90).  Berry's influence was immeasurable--he set standards for guitar playing, showmanship, and songwriting that are emulated to this day.  His musical output was prolific--for his career he released twenty studio albums, thirteen live albums, eight EPs, and 36 compilations.  He also released 53 singles, seven of which hit the top ten, including one number one.
Berry was among the first inductees to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, and has just about every accolade a music performer could earn.  Unfortunately, Berry also had a bit of a dark side, spending time in reformatory school when he was younger (for armed robbery), and twice spending time in prison for income tax evasion and improper relations with women who weren't of age (somehow, though, he did manage to stay married to his wife for 69 years).  Despite his failings, if it hadn't been for Elvis Presley, Berry quite likely would have been the King.

"Johnny B. Goode" was released as a single in 1958, and would reach #8 (with a bullet!) on the Billboard Hot 100.  It was #7 on Rolling Stone's list of the "500 Greatest Singles of All-Time" and has also been chosen by the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and the Grammy Awards in tributes to the greatest songs of all time.

Fun Fact:  In 1977 NASA launched two space probes called Voyager in search of extraterrestrial life (both of which will be cruising through space long after we're gone).  Both crafts contained a golden record which consisted of the sights and sounds of our planet--including "Johnny B. Goode" by Chuck Berry.

And the odds of me having something novel to say about one of the greatest singles in the history of rock and roll?  Zero.  Suffice it to say, excellent guitar, excellent songwriting, excellent storytelling, and chock full of joy.  Oh--and you can dance to it.

Lyric Sheet: "His mother told him, "Someday you will be a man/And you will be the leader of a big ol' band/Many people comin' from miles around/To hear you play your music when the sun go down/Maybe someday your name'll be in lights/Sayin' 'Johnny B. Goode tonight!'"

Enjoy:

Murderer

He might as well have pulled the trigger himself

The litany of errors made by Donald Trump in the face of the coronavirus pandemic is truly mind boggling, and to know that the absolute best case scenario is over 100,000 Americans dead because of Trump's utter incompetence should be enough to make every American vomit.

As once again we see that the only life republicans care about is one that's still inside a womb, it's high past time that Donald Trump is called what he has become:  a murderer.

When his term ends next January, instead of a cushy pension and a seven figure book deal, his worthless ass should be going to prison for murder.

Fuck Donald Trump,
emaycee

Ain't no sunshine today

A true working class hero

I'll never forget my introduction to Bill Withers--my Uncle Bob was visiting and someone asked him (it might have been my sister, but I wouldn't swear to it) if there was anything on the radio that he was really enjoying these days and Uncle Bob delivered a fine soliloquy on Bill Withers' "Lean on Me" (featured here on FNJ) which had quite the impression on me.  A few years later when I began managing my first music store, a customer brought back a "warped" LP of his greatest hits, which I began to play in the store...and play and play and play.

Bill Withers went to the Great Rock and Roll Concert in the Sky today, and for me, his loss is immeasurable.  He was my introduction to the wonderful world of R & B.  But, as someone in one of the many posts I read on his career today stated, his music will thankfully be with us forever.

My kid brother was also a fan and he sent me the following video today, of Withers' great hit "Ain't No Sunshine" which I'd never seen and is a powerful testament to just how talented Bill Withers was.

Enjoy... and rest in peace, Mr. Withers:

Fuck Donald Trump,
emaycee

Gag orders

If you can't handle the heat, get the fuck out of the kitchen

In a long line of chilling aspects of the coronavirus pandemic (not the least of which is the utter incompetence of the Trump administration), one that has come to light (at least for me) in the last few days is the increasing calls to muzzle criticism...with many of them coming with explicit threats:

• A doctor writing in the Daily Kos noted how he and his fellow healthcare providers are being told to not criticize the hospitals they work for for supply shortages or the inability to adequately protect their workers from the spread of COVID-19...doctors and nurses have been asked to delete posts and tweets under threats of their losing their jobs.
• In an ill-advised but unsurprising move (the NFL is full of racist, old, rich men who worship the moron Trump), the National Football League has decided to still hold its annual draft later this month.  The kicker?  Its idiot sycophant commissioner, Roger Goodell, threatened disciplinary action against any team publicly criticizing his decision.
• While it's understandable that Google would be monitoring ads for scams offering coronavirus cures and elixirs or ones that are disseminating misinformation, it is certainly not understandable to ban ads that are critical of the Trump administration's epic failure to protect Americans from the virus...especially when still allowing the Trump campaign to run highly politicized ads.

Desperate times may call for desperate measures, but the last thing we as a nation need right now is the curtailing of criticism to save corporate bottom lines at the expense of dispensing information that can slow the spread of coronavirus and/or keep Americans safer and healthier.

These kind of gestures reek of totalitarian states like Russia and North Korea, and certainly are not a reflections of a nation that is supposed to be a beacon of freedom to the rest of the world.

Fuck Donald Trump,
emaycee