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The slip-slide began when neither Bush nor Cheney was held to account for the war crimes they committed and the corruption they enabled and the torture they endorsed. Since then, extreme Republicans have correctly imagined that they will not be held to any real account. Barring a racketeering case against Trump in Georgia, it looks as if most of his crimes, hiding in plain sight, will also go unpunished. So it’s no surprise, sadly, that Hawley understands that he can get away with this kind of behavior. A friend wrote, of Gaetz’s contempt towards General Milley earlier this week, that he looked like a Venus Fly Trap. So true and in so many ways.

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Oh—before that, it was Reagan’s “Iran Contra Arms for drugs” escapade. SERIOUSLY—if that didn’t bring down a White House, you know there is no limit. Fake wars, fake weapons of mass destruction—the GOP killed democracy when “Citizens United” sailed through the Supreme Court.

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Smirking little ivy League trust fund bitch w/ a hankering for power,

if Satan's on call, ask the prince of darkness, I'm sure he knows Howlie well.

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Lawrence, I like your images. I understand the varied history of the use of the pejorative “bitch,” but I wonder is it possible to use a masculine pejorative that encompasses all the characteristics of a man who is dishonest, malicious, spiteful, overbearing, difficult, objectionable and unpleasant? Or is it too difficult or impossible to find and use a masculine pejorative instead of the feminine pejorative “bitch”? In essence, the smirking Josh Hawley is not only dishonest, malicious, spiteful, overbearing, difficult, objectionable and unpleasant, but also, he is the lowest of the low…an odious woman. But I digress. Despite my playing around with semantics, I otherwise agree with your condemnation of Hawley, and mean no personal slight.

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You are absolutely correct, and I do apologize; please substitute

rat bastard for b****h, and add on all your excellent adjectives.

Calling Joshie masculine is also problematic, though.

How's this: 'What a Dick?'

Yours,

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That would be "dick," unless you were referring to him being a Nixon or a former vice-president. But even then, you are implying that a part of the male body is odious, something with which I think most people (not all) would disagree. Also, as long as I'm being picky, bastards aren't all bad, perhaps most are nice. I think we can agree that rats are disgusting, though a friend, when I was young, had one as a pet. Once I became accustomed to it's pink tail, I found it rather charming.

Selecting epithets isn't as easy as it used to be. Which can be an improvement.

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Must admit, my only relevant point was and is:

Fuck Hawley, his entire ilk, and the train

they rode in on.

Semantics tend to be kinda subjective, particularly

in my case.

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well said, Lawrence. thank you for getting us away from the whole pc name-calling controversy (a little diversion that's taken us all away from the main point)...ind3eed, fuck Hawley and his ilk. but, having said that, then what? the fact is, he CAN operate with impunity and he KNOWS it. I am extremely pessimistic about the future of this country. the many people I talk to who want to become expats is pretty astonishing; I'd be one of them if I didn't realize that, at 72, the whole thing is unfeasible. but I'm absolutely terrified about what's gonna happen in 2022 and 2024. 2020 and the stuff that was going on all year (covid, et al) allowed the scumbags (and yes, I know, I'm calling the extremely useful and valuable condom a bad name, but let it lie, please) only enough room to improvise and look what's STILL going on. in the future, they'll have ample time to PLAN. I find this terrifying. a close friend has a nephew who's a sergeant in the NYPD and he tells her that he's beginning to go crazy with all the MAGA hats and disgusting t-shirts he has to encounter on a daily basis. as a sergeant, he has the power to make some of it stop, but he's very, very upset to find that guys he thought were pretty ok are coming in with t-shirts that read "rump 4ever" and "justice for Babbitt" (he tells them that "she got her justice," which indeed she did).

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Hey David, I'm class of 1950 myself, and the person I love most in this world, (after my kids, grandkids ) is my younger, 58 y/o brother,

who loves Bibi, Hannity, DeSantis '24, the whole 9 yards, and I still

love him more than words can say; I just don't try to change his mind, period. That's just how it is; my teenaged kids are highly ambivalent about bringing babies into their futures, & that's their call.

All I can do is try to clean up as much shit down here whilst I can,

and hope nothing is ever really written in stone.

and pray for the future.

about

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David, we agree on this, wholeheartedly. I would leave the U.S., but at 87, it's even less feasible. From what I read of the LAPD, there may be more officers in its ranks wearing (in private) MAGA hats than those not. It's probably true to varying degrees throughout the country. There are many cities where fire fighters and law officers refuse vaccine mandates.

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You said "good on you" to David, who thinks women should "get real," which puts you and I at opposite ends of the spectrum. I think I'll leave it at that.

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It's left

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remazz, I do agree with you that "bastards aren't all bad, perhaps most are nice." Having been born out of wedlock is not as stigmatizing as it was for eons.

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I never understood why bastards, who had nothing to do with the conditions of their birth, were considered differently--nobody has anything to do with who their parents were. "Sins" of the parents being cast on their child makes no sense, but the concept of sin is dictated by religions, as are too many (most?) of our laws, certainly all dealing with sex, the anti-abortionists are punishing women for having sex (at least for not having it with them.) I won't turn this into a discussion of religion.

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👏👏bravo!

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c'mon ladies. get fucking REAL for once.

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It seems to this male that their points are very "real," (whatever that means). The problem womens still face in these supposedly evolving times indicate that, indeed, you are not the only person who "feels this way." Alas.

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Andrea, you weren't "playing...with semantics," but making an important point, which opened this male's eyes to what I'd too long not recognized.

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what's so wrong with "bitch?" This shit is really getting out of hand and if someone 's objecting to " bitch," we might as well do the shooting at each other in a circle" thing. And I'm willing to bet these same people were fine with"bitch" last year. There's evolving and there's regressing. This is regressive, idiotic and completely anti-intellectual (yeah, that's what I said). If anyone wants to obsess about this kind of horseshit, swell. but I'm not playing...I can't possibly be the only one who feels this way. And it's a perfect example of why it's impossible for a "united left" to accomplish one single fucking meaningful thing....

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Yeah, my PC 17 y/o daughter is disgusted by my 'shit mouth,'

and I now act accordingly, treading lightly, etc.

David, you sound like a member of my old fashioned family.

Good on you.

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whew. thanks. I'm really, believe it or not, trying to offend anybody. I just don't want any of us to lose the actual thread going down the rabbit hole of which words are verboten as of whatever very recent date. I'm an old man and need folks to cut me a little slack. and yes, I'm PROBABLY half kidding. but I also know I'm among friends. and for the record, anyone who's ever had a dick and been, say, 13 or so knows that dicks can be remarkably stupid, tactless and unreliable.

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Yi yi yikes! Sounds like you,David, are the one obsessing. Being male I understand why you might resent someone objecting to your using the word bitch. Thanks for the laugh about how refraining from the use of “bitch” equates to regression in your world.

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Don't blame it on the Ivy League. This is a power-hungry man who went to Yale and Stanford. Had access to two of the top universities in the US, studied there and still came away with a profound lust for power at all costs. His raised fist is an iconic display of arrogance and intent. Focus on the intent: the South will rise again. God help us.

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Hey Maggie, Thanx, and I appreciate your thoughts.

I guess what I was trying to get at is WHO gets that access to powerful

institutions; had an uneducated, impoverished child had that same power lust,

he'd be a dealer, or a successful thief; he wouldn't have had the ability to schmooze his

way to the Supreme Court, or Congress and beyond.

Perhaps it's the inequality of access that bothers me, but I do often times

go overboard w/ hyperbole.

Yours,

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well Lawrence, obviously so do I.

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BTW...does anybody know anything about those videos of insurrectionists getting those tours on January 5? I haven't heard anything about them and assume it's deliberate on the part of the DOJ.

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And I appreciate your thoughts as well. I don't need to object to your use of "bitch" for a male as Andrea Haynes has nailed that to the wall! Bastard, dick or prick or low-life would suit this bastardly, low-life, opportunistic, asshole.

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Bravo. Maggie👏👏

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Another spoiled little rich jagoff who never broke a sweat or worked a day in his life, this little pissant has a million dollar education and a ten-cent heart.

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What did he know and when did he know it about the Insurrection?

For which he expressed open & public support?

A traitor & criminal

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Just like Trump!

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I said it on January 6 and I’ll say it again: Josh Hawley is the most dangerous politician in America.

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October 5, 2021
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God & Goddess help us all.

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October 6, 2021
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Doris, how about, “If Trump had a brain, he’d be Josh Hawley. Better? 😉

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Yesterday a Fox "News" headline popped up on my smart phone saying (I paraphrase), "Biden launches war against parents." Of course, I did not open the article, but now I suppose that it referred to Garland's memo. If so, the problem isn't just Hawley, but is the right-wing media.

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https://youtube.com/watch?v=07II_EJlcYg&feature=share

Clang! Clang! Clang Went Josh Hawkey! On you-tube by Randy Rainbow

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Another classic!

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Thank you. I needed that! :-)

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I think they call his type of problem, inbreeding. Wrecks havoc in the dog world when greed exceeds care.

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Pencil necked rube who need to go back home

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Today’s LA Times had an article on the problems school boards are facing. It caught my eye that one California board had a protester rendering the Nazi salute.

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And there we have it.

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Josh Hawley is a poster child for those who grow up wealthy, irresponsible, and well-connected. He reminds me a bit of the League of British Fascists who populated the Far Right in prewar Great Britain. These are pretenders to some form of what they consider to be a 'natural aristocracy', the proverbial progeny who were born on third base and think they had a triple. Hawley is proof of the adage that no one is more gullible than someone who invests his time and energy in trying to prove that he is something better than what he already is, by virtue of breeding, education, noble birth, or whatever. Those who are born to great wealth often spend their lives seeking justification for the inordinate good luck that fortune has bestowed upon them. This is why, man-for-man, and life-for-life, it is often the rich and wellborn who see their lives dissolve in mediocrity and worse. One need only look so far as the British Royal family to see the process of dissolution at work where the progeny of strong monarchs enter into a lifetime of decline from the moment of birth, and examples abound that are too numerous to mention. Josh Hawley attained academic honors early on, but one has to wonder, given his current behavior, whether his earlier successes owed to his wealth and social status. None of his success was achieved in the hard sciences, where others from less stellar backgrounds have long made their mark. Instead, Hawley easily fit into the Old Boys Club of law, and of course, politics.

Now, Hawley pretends to be the champion of the Great Unwashed, a wealthy populist offering his raised fist in encouragement to the worst political event in our nation's history, short of the South's secession from the Union. But really, the two are really on a par; neither of them except the democratic ideal that voting and majorities have political legitimacy. Instead, their tools are deception and manipulation, and their goal is absolute power with no accountability whatsoever.

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One of the problems is that there's a certain caliber of person (Hawley) who would even want to seek office in a time when the fabric of the country is unraveling. These are the princes and princesses of darkness who eagerly join the cabals of D.C. corruption and cronyism. The people who actually want to serve a constituency are hammered by endless pressures to raise funding, and then are bought and bossed, and when they achieve office are confronted with a deluge of daily death threats on their own lives, and the lives of their families, even children, and they very quickly become indifferent to the urgent needs of average Americans. Few decent folks can stomach these pressures—and they shouldn't have to. We need to get big money out of politics so that true civil servants among us can step up and work on behalf of 'the many'. What happened to a government by the people, for the people, was that greed and self-interest took over completely. As such, we can expect more Hawleys to run and hold office and further impact our destinies. The corrupt are tailor made for perpetuating the corruption. Great piece, Lucian.

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Josh H is A narcissistic sociopath like his idol DJT As a young teenager I was inspired By John F Kennedy’s book Profiles in Courage and his generation’s heroism and sacrifices during WWII. now we have Profiles in Perfidy exemplified by Hawley and the GOP with a few exceptions (Liz Cheney). Let’s hope America can find the moral courage to renew our ideals and recover our courage to preserve and protect our constitutional democracy. Freedom requires responsibility. Without responsibility a Hobbesian anarchy emerges.

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Ironically, and assuming he paid any attention in law school, he knows what CRT is - and isn’t - and that nothing even close to it is taught in HS. In many states the approved curriculum even ignores race and slavery and teaches that the South was justified in revolting against the nation. His cynicism knows no bounds.

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I hope the select committee is gathering plenty of evidence on this guy. From the outside looking in, he certainly seems enamored to be the leader of white supremacy and domestic terrorist organizations. I don't know what draws people to such violent and horrific groups, but this person appears to have all the necessary attributes of that ilk of being.

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When a mass works to demonize “other people,” they end up becoming the demons.

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