St. Patricks day is fast approaching. If you need Irish gear, we recommend going to the Cyphernaut store and peruse their selections. They have an Irish harp design and a shamrock design that you can place on t-shirts, mugs, stickers, etc. Pretty cool stuff! Erin go bragh!
The coronavirus has gained the attention of the world recently with more than 65,000 cases reported globally and almost 1,5000 deaths. America’s Impeached CEO/Dictator Donald Trump even took an aggressive stand by issuing travel restrictions with China where the virus originated. But many feel that the travel ban could backfire. While we applaud this act of preparedness, health officials and the CDC say that the flu is much more dangerous and has already claimed 10,000 lives in the U.S. since October.
But there is one deathly scourge that continues to be ignored by the corporate media and the corrupt, conservative Republican corporate lackeys in Congress who continue to look the other way and do nothing. That menace is none other than gun violence. In America, gun violence kills far more people than coronavirus every year (36,000 gun deaths each year with more than 100,000 shot and injured) but yet the corporate media chooses to gaslight us and continue to scare the sheeple with the occasional and over-hyped biological threats. Over-hyped is a strong word but look at the numbers. According to the CDC, 445 people are under investigation in the U.S. for coronavirus. There are about 325 million people in America, so that means that 0.00013692307 percent of Americans have the virus. In China, which has almost 1.4 billion people, there are 60,000 confirmed cases. So, that means that 0.00428571428 percent of the Chinese population have the virus. There are already questions concerning the numbers being reported from Chinese officials.
This is par for the course for the Republicans and their cohorts in the corporate media. Would Trump ever consider signing an executive order banning assault weapons? Are you kidding???!!! The Republicans love using viruses as way to scare the sheeple. Look at the 2014 election, when the GOP announced to everybody that Ebola was coming to get them. Ebola can only be transmitted if you’re in direct contact with bodily fluids of an infected person, but that didn’t bother the Republicans from lying their asses off to get their permanently scared constituents to vote for them to ‘save the day’. We’ve seen how much more corrupt they’ve become since then with their whitewashing of Trump during his impeachment trial and the complete collapse of the now corrupted Department of Justice.
Since Republicans refuse to do anything about our biggest crisis, we here at the Bucket have a foolproof method of gun control. Sure it’s a bit crude but you know what, so are today’s right wing conservative gun nuts. So, just in time for Valentine’s Day, if you love guns more than life itself:
Or in simpler terms: Go F*ck Your Gun! We guarantee it will be a mind-blowing experience and we might finally be able to pass some decent legislation making America safe and sane again before the next round of mass shootings.
The election primary season is kicking off and the Democratic needed a solid beginning to send a strong message to America’s Impeached CEO/Dictator Donald Trump that his days as ‘dear Leader’ of this country are numbered. But instead of serving up a caucus the Iowa Democrats served up a caucusf*ck. Apparently, an app the administrators had a “reporting issue” and wasn’t functioning properly and brought the integrity of the results into question. It’s the weekend but the precise results are still in doubt with Pete Buttigieg and Bernie Sanders both claiming victories. Talk about serving up red meat to Trump. You just know that the orange haired megalomaniac and his flying monkey sycophants at Fox News, a.k.a. the Republican Propaganda Network, will continually point to the incompetence displayed during the caucus as proof that Democrats will do anything to ‘rig an election’ and cannot be trusted. And all this after a superb performance by House Democrats, led by Adam Schiff and Jerry Nadler, in proving the guilt of Trump in his impeachment trial.
At least the Iowa fiasco is pushing forth a movement that just might get rid of the troublesome caucus forever and install a primary system in its stead just like almost every other state. There are several annoying anomalies on the Democratic primary side (superdelegates, anyone), and if the Dems finally decide to move into the 21st century and kill off the caucus and superdelegates, then that would probably increase their chances in future elections. Plus, there’s no way Iowa should be the first voting event of the presidential elections season since its demographics are so homogeneous. Here’s hoping at least that the Democrats learn something from this debacle.
We knew before the impeachment process began that the Republicans would acquit America’s CEO/Dictator Donald Trump of any wrongdoing (with Spiff Romney being the lone Republican to vote to convict – note: we’ve given Romney a lot of crap over the years but he got it right this time; Good job!) but it doesn’t make it any easier to take it. To their credit, the Democrats, led by Adam Schiff, did an exceptional job of proving Trump’s guilt in the quid pro quo bullying of Ukraine for dirt on Joe Biden in exchange for foreign aid. Which makes it infuriating to watch the self-proclaimed ‘morally superior’ GOP make a complete sham out of the proceedings. The charlatans didn’t even want witnesses called! Polls indicated that 75 percent of Americans thought witnesses should be called. What’s a trial without witnesses! Well, apparently it’s completely normal in Trumpland, where the Kansas City Chiefs play their games in Kansas City, Kansas instead of Kansas City, Missouri and Donald Trump is a master meteorologist.
The fact is that Republicans even admitted that Trump is guilty and they’re still voting to acquit him. Lamar Alexander said Trump did the quid pro quo but it’s not impeachable. Linda Murkowski said pretty much the same thing, saying what Trump did was “shameful and wrong”, but that she couldn’t vote to convict. So basically, in the warped mind of a conservative, lying about sex is impeachable and asking for foreign aid on a political rival is a-okay. Just put little baby Donald in time-out and he won’t do it again. But Trump is already reported plotting revenge on all the people who wronged him.
Chief Justice John Roberts did nothing to dispel his perception of being a partisan hack. Remember Roberts fully approved of the Citizens United verdict that gave unlimited power to corporate America to contribute to campaigns. And despite his voting for Obamacare, we knew he was still a true conservative Republican. He could have intervened and insisted on witnesses, but he didn’t. He seemingly has no qualms on presiding over a travesty of justice. Great example there, Chief Justice Roberts!
The GOP keeps whining that the Democrats are trying for a coup, which is a complete projection of what the Republicans have done since the 2016 election which they stole thanks to Russian election interference and suspension of the rule of law for selecting a Supreme Court justice (Merrick Garland) in the Senate by Moscow Mitch McConnell, a.k.a. Turtle Boy. Even Karl Rove admitted during Dubya’s fiasco of a presidency that he was determined to have the same kind of Republican hegemony that existed between 1865 and 1932 when Mark Hanna was the chief political operative and only two Democrats served as president during that span (Grover Cleveland – two non-consecutive terms, 1885-1889, 1893-1897; Woodrow Wilson 1913-1921). Now with thisclusterf*ck of a trial, the Republicans have pretty much deemed that Trump can do whatever the hell he wants to do and not suffer any kind of consequences and there’s nothing anyone can do about it. This despite the fact that since 1988, Republicans have only won the popular vote in presidential elections once. We agree with the many people who are saying that just like the 2016 election, the megalomaniac Trump will never accept the results of the 2020 election if he loses and America will have yet another constitutional crisis involving Trump and the Republicans.
So, in true right wing, conservative Republican, authoritarian fashion, life in the United States can now be summed up by the mantra, Trump über alles. Enjoy your fascism, America – oh… and Heil Trump!
With all the drama of the impeachment unfolding on a day to day basis, the Democratic presidential primaries have been pushed to the back burner.
Bernie Sanders, Joe Biden and Elizabeth Warren continue to be the front runners, with Mayor Pete Buttigieg, Michael Bloomberg, Andrew Yang and Amy Klobuchar still hanging on with the Iowa caucuses just a week away.
One name that is amazingly still in the race despite anemic poll numbers is the curious case of Tulsi Gabbard. It has been suggested by Hillary Clinton that she’s a Russian agent, which has caused Gabbard to sue Clinton for defamation. Former candidate Kamala Harris scolded her for her criticism of Obama and her fellow Democrats. Is she a Russian plant? We don’t know, but her vote of ‘Present’ during the historic impeachment vote certainly didn’t quash the rumors and she announced she won’t seek re-election for her congressional seat in heavily Democratic Hawaii. As a matter of fact, Ms. Gabbard is now the most disliked Democrat. Why would any sane, rational person who has been conscious the past three years vote against impeachment, especially when the evidence is so overwhelming that the President abused his power and obstructed Congress (not to mention obstructed justice as the Mueller report volume 2 concluded)? Trump certainly approved of her vote.
So, what’s Tulsi’s game then? Is she a contrarian who just likes to criticize others in her party to bring attention to herself? She does support Bernie Sanders, who is a social democrat. She has strongly advocated most of the progressive Democrat’s issues in the past. But then again lately, she does seem to talk a lot like a Republican. She has also been sympathetic to Syrian dictator Bashar Assad. Ms. Gabbard appeared regularly on Fox News during the Obama administration and cozied up to Trump and Steve Bannon.
So, really . . . what is Ms. Gabbard’s deal? What’s her motivation? What the hell is she up to? We here at the Bucket think it’s something more egotistical. We think that the enigma that is Ms. Gabbard sees that the stairwell to the Democratic nomination is blocked and will be for many years to come with every Democrat currently still running polling well ahead of her. Like Reagan and Trump, (both former Democrats), the possibility exists that she could get the Republican nomination if she switches parties. Her vote against Trump’s impeachment certainly endeared her to Trump’s nutbag supporters and her approval is very strong from conservative males (gee, go figure that! . . . see the saga of Sarah Palin). Plus, she’s from a heavily Democratic state. Look at all the fawning Democrats do over moderate Republicans from heavily Republican states who side (or appear to side) with Dems (the late John McCain, Susan Collins, Spiff Romney) and you’ll get it. You have to have a gynormous ego to run for president, and Ms. Gabbard certainly is developing a colossal one. Since she has absolutely no chance to win the Democratic nomination in 2020, here’s our bold and fearless, purely comedic conjecture prediction for Ms. Gabbard: she runs for President as a Republican in 2024. Remember: we predicted a Ralph Nader landslide in the 2004 election so . . . yeah . . . we’re . . . probably . . . wrong.
The impeachment trial has started and as predicted it’s pretty much like we expected. The Democrats, led by the impressively competent Adam Schiff are presenting the undeniable mounds of evidence that prove that America’s CEO/Dictator Donald Trump is guilty of abuse of power and obstruction of Congress and should be convicted and removed from office. The Republicans, on the other hand, are whining and crying like the f*cking crybabies they are, trying to protect their dear Leader.
The Senate rules for the impeachment are strict but not unreasonable considering the implications involved. Senators are not allowed to use their cell phones or electronic devices. They’re not allowed to get up and move around. They must sit and listen to the evidence presented so that they can make an informed decision. But are the GOP senators doing that? Of course not! All we hear is them doing what Republicans always do; scoff at any laws and do whatever the hell they want to do. Laws are fine for other people, but not Republicans! Senators have been seen leaving the chambers, talking, and even sleeping. Yes and . . . surprise, surprise . . . Chief Justice John Roberts, who is forced to observe “the living consequences of the Roberts Court’s decisions, and their corrosive effect on democracy, are plain to see”, is pretty much letting the Republicans get away with it.
What we find especially annoying is the conservative Republican complaint that it is boring. They used this tactic during the impeachment hearing and now the GOP is using it in the Senate. Even poor, widdle Spiff Romney is bored. Oh, boo, hoo, hoo! So, here’s the deal. Republican senators, who get paid a boat load of money, can’t focus enough for eight to twelve hours a day and do their jobs when most of us have to do precisely that each and every day of our adult lives. It’s called doing your job! Look at all the emergency first responders like firefighters or policemen who work several hours, even days straight, to get a job done. Look at all the service personnel, like plumbers, A/C repair people and electricians who have to work and focus for several consecutive hours straight each and every day to keep people with modern conveniences like running water, comfortable temperatures and electricity. Look at our military personnel who work long grueling shifts on bases and ships each and every day. And we’re supposed to feel sorry for you pampered assholes because you have to focus like adults and listen to evidence. What a crock of shit! The Republicans are proving again to the nation what they truly are: whiny, sucky, over-privileged crybabies!
With Trump’s impeachment trial getting started, the Republicans are still trying to get some distraction action going. News of a yet another migrant caravan has reached the headlines in the last week with people crying hysterically that the immigrants are coming to get us. Trump certainly knows his audience; nothing gets the right wing, authoritarian screaming mimis riled up more than immigrants ‘coming to take our jobs’.
We’ve had this photo-toon in our graphics bin for a little while, but with the Trump flak generator spewing forth drivel and spam on an hourly basis, it kind of got lost in the shuffle of the impeachment drama. But the very first Americans, like Geronimo, also had an immigration problem with people who stole their land, murdered their citizens and swindled them for fun and profit.
Like we’ve mentioned many times before, the fact is we’re all immigrants to North America. The Native Americans have been here the longest, but even they migrated tens of thousands of years ago. Truly, if any people have the right to protest about immigrants taking their land, it’s the Native Americans. Since the history books of our childhood don’t really explain this narrative properly, we recommend the book Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee by Dee Brown.
These are trying times not just for the United States, but for the entire world. Tensions are high in the Middle East with America’s assassination of Iran’s general Qassem Soleimani and Iran’s retaliatory attack on U.S. bases in Iraq, not to mention Iran’s accidental shooting down of a commercial airliner. There is the impeachment saga of Donald Trump and his continuing attempts with help from his flying monkey lackeys in the Senate at distracting Americans (see Iran attack).
But probably the most gut wrenching events happening now are the wildfires in Australia. We’re environmentalists here at the Bucket and it’s depressing to see the loss of so much wildlife to these raging fires, which are exacerbated by climate change. Estimates are that possibly one billion animals have been killed by the conflagrations which are consuming wide swaths of eastern Australia. Some threatened species like the tiny dunnart, potoroo and glossy black-cockatoo are being pushed to the brink of extinction. The damage is devastating and heartbreaking.
But the most frustrating thing about it is that the conservative leaders in Australia, much like their conservative counterpart Republicans in the United States are big time climate change deniers. Prime Minister Scott Morrison has received a boatload of flack for his handling of the crisis. He actually took a vacation to Hawaii while Australian citizens grappled with the fires. Of course, Morrison blamed it all on a “breakdown in communications”. He was also roundly booted from a town in New South Wales where citizens, fed up with the government inaction, heckled him thus driving him away from their town. In our estimation, Morrison deserves every bit of criticism. His and other corporatists attitude is to protect the fossil fuel industries at all cost and to ignore the obvious results of climate change, flippantly dismissing bushfires as something Australia always have had, this year it’s just a little more severe. But Australia’s summer temperatures have broken records for the last several years and the hot, dry air is only making the bushfires that much worse.
The crisis is real and Australia is in danger of losing not only its unique land wildlife but also its diverse sea life as well. The Great Barrier Reef is also in tremendous peril. The leaders of the world need to stop being greedy and consumed by materialism and the pursuit of capitalistic wealth. Like we’ve said over and over here, there is no planet B! If the living plants and creatures on this world die, we die! Since humans have commandeered this planet, it’s our responsibility as its ‘smartest’ species to make sure all life survives. Capitalism is killing life on this planet. It’s time for our leaders to pull their greedy fricking heads out of their greedy fricking asses and pass laws, a.k.a regulations, against polluting industries throughout the world.
Gee . . . we couldn’t have seen this coming. America’s CEO/Dictator and petulant man child Donald Trump has decided to start a war with Iran because he needs a distraction from being the third president in U.S. history to be impeached. This week, on the orders of our megalomaniac-in-chief, Qassem Soleimani, the highest ranking General in the Iranian military was killed by U.S. bombing in Baghdad. Iran, not surprisingly, has vowed vengeance which pretty much means that another war in the Middle East is inevitable.
We’ve observed quite a few wars in the past sixty years and we already recognize the corporate media falling in line with the warmongering Republican’s position and the military industrial complex’s ‘war is good business’ mantra. The media is touting the ‘elite’ Iranian military groups like Soleimani’s Quds Force, a part of their Revolutionary Guard, much in the same way they touted the ‘elite’ Republican guards in Iraq during the lead up to the Gulf War and the Iraq War; fearsome dangerous forces akin to the Nazi stormtroopers. However, in both wars, American troops had little trouble dispatching the ‘elite’ forces in short term armed conflict. It was the long protracted stays in Iraq and Afghanistan, the quagmires, which created problems. But at the same time, it also made many defense and military contractors very wealthy.
What’s especially frustrating is that with the U.S. at war, it’s pretty much guaranteed that impeaching Trump will be a difficult proposition. Many presidents, (including Bill Clinton during his impeachment in 1998), have pulled this kind of shenanigan as a distraction to impending domestic political crisis. This might also help Trump in the 2020 election since the general rule of thumb is that you never change presidents in the middle of a war, which is why Dubya won a second term, despite being a disastrous president. Bush’s repetitive screed of ‘9/11, terror, war, re-elect me’ certainly scared his conservative Republican sheeple to vote for him again in 2004, which is the only time since 1988 a Republican has won the popular vote for president.
Maybe this will be the event that finally breaks the enigmatic bond between Trump and his sheeple followers. After all, he did promise no more wars and to reduce American troops in the Middle East. However, we have no doubt that the evangelicals will view this action as joyous because it puts them one step closer to their precious rapture. Of course, sane, reasonable, intelligent people worldwide will view it quite differently; yet another reprehensible action by a deranged sociopath and his delusional followers who shouldn’t be anywhere close to the corridors of power.
In an amusing story to end out the year here at the Bucket, Russian President and object of America’s CEO/Dictator Donald Trump’s man crush, recently beat a team of influential Russian ministers, business and musicians in a friendly hockey game in Red Square by the score of 8-5, scoring half his team’s points. All we have to say is – of course, his team’s going to win and of course he’s going to score half the points. Russia’s authoritarian propaganda machine constantly promotes Putin’s athleticism and virility. The bare chested Putin riding a horse braving the elements has become cliche. So yeah. . .we’re totally sure that game was played fairly. That hockey game was kind of like letting your boss win at company picnics or get-togethers. Can you imagine if someone came along and checked Putin into the boards or blocked his shots? That person would soon have a new address in Siberia or maybe get treated to an extra special polonium-210 cocktail.
We’re sure Trump completely loves the Russian propaganda spiel. We’re also sure that this is how Trump wants Americans to view him; as a virile, unbeatable man who should be worshipped and treated as a god, as evidence by his recent tweeting an obviously Photoshopped picture of his head on Sylvester Stallone’s body. As Charlie Brown would say, “Good Grief!”
