Recent Comments

1. about 22 hours ago on F Minus

   That would have been so cool when I fractured the middle finger on my right (and writing) hand in 10th grade!

2. about 22 hours ago on Doonesbury

   I love that “Flyzabad Office.” … Are there Fleazabad and Liceabad offices as well?

3. about 22 hours ago on Doonesbury

   Woodrow Wilson’s wife ran the President’s office for a while. But that was before commercial radio, much less television.

   Uncle Kenny’s remark about Trump’s cabinet is a good one. I suspect that Vance would invite a few of them to leave asap if he became President.

4. 1 day ago on Prickly City

   continued from above (still from Wikipedia)

   The Acts were supported by the Federalist Party, and supporters argued that the bills strengthened national security during the Quasi-War, an undeclared naval war with France from 1798 to 1800. The acts were denounced by Democratic-Republicans as suppression of voters and violation of free speech under the First Amendment. While they were in effect, the Alien and Sedition Acts, and the Sedition Act in particular, were used to suppress publishers affiliated with the Democratic-Republicans, and several publishers were arrested for criticism of the Adams administration. The Democratic-Republicans took power in 1800 because of backlash to the Alien and Sedition Acts, and all but the Alien Enemies Act were eliminated by the next Congress. The Alien Enemies Act has been invoked several times since, particularly during World War II. The Alien and Sedition Acts are generally received negatively by modern historians. The U.S. Supreme Court beginning in the mid-20th century has indicated that aspects of the laws would likely be found unconstitutional.

   (end of Wikipedia quote)

   I simply note that there are huge differences between the present Supreme Court and the mid-20th century Supreme Court.

   I also note that the present Republican party will do everything it can to maintain power which they can do more easily than the Federalists of 1800.

   Damas y caballeros, ¡bienvenidos a la Nueva Venezuela!

5. 1 day ago on Prickly City

   The following is from Wikipedia:

   The acts were mentioned by former president Donald Trump during a campaign rally held at Madison Square for the 2024 presidential election, indicating that he would use them to remove illegal immigrants on “day one” if he were to win the presidency by invoking the acts.

   “Trump is promising deportations under the Alien Enemies Act of 1798. What is it?”. NPR. Retrieved November 7, 2024.

   “Trump Plans to Use 18th-Century “Alien Enemies Act” for Mass Deportations". Vanity Fair. October 15, 2024.

   “Trump headlines Madison Square Garden rally after vulgar, racist remarks from allies”. Reuters. Retrieved November 7, 2024.

   he Alien and Sedition Acts were a set of four laws enacted in 1798 that applied restrictions to immigration and speech in the United States.[a] The Naturalization Act of 1798 increased the requirements to seek citizenship, the Alien Friends Act of 1798 allowed the president to imprison and deport non-citizens, the Alien Enemies Act of 1798 gave the president additional powers to detain non-citizens during times of war, and the Sedition Act of 1798 criminalized false and malicious statements about the federal government. The Alien Friends Act and the Sedition Act expired after a set number of years, and the Naturalization Act was repealed in 1802. The Alien Enemies Act, as amended, is still in effect as 50 U.S.C. ch. 3

   The Alien and Sedition Acts were passed by a Congress controlled by the Federalist Party, and they were directed against the other party at the time, against Democratic-Republicans, the party typically favored by new citizens. Only Democratic-Republican journalists were prosecuted by these laws. Publicity from Sedition Act trials caused massive criticism and contributed to the Federalists being removed from power in the 1800 election.

   continued …

6. 1 day ago on Prickly City

   He stated the obvious, and explicitly said it was not a suggestion. The Supreme Court basically has given the office of the US President carte blanche to do whatever the President wants (that is not explicitly forbidden in the Constitution). That ruling did not exist when Trump was in office. I personally have no doubt that we will see Trump’s cadres imprisoning those who have opposed him on (what irony) trumped up charges.

   Certainly his MAGA followers in their “Made in China” hats will expect this. We see comments from US citizens about executing Democrats.

   You never mention those folks. Why is that? Can’t you read or otherwise follow the news? Do you only listen to your fellow dwellers in your echo chamber?

   Sometimes I wonder if a MAGA hat works the opposite of what the loonies’ tin-foil headgear is supposed to do.

7. 2 days ago on Close to Home

   It’s all Bleeb’s fault!

8. 2 days ago on Prickly City

   Trump thought the immigration problem was so important that he told his minions (republican congress) to not pass a bipartisan bill to address said problem… so that he could carp about other people not fixing the problem. Kind of like certain plant based intellects here.

9. 2 days ago on Prickly City

   Measles: tenfold drop in cases from 1960 to 1970

   https : / / www. statista. com/statistics/186409/cases-of-measles-in-the-us-since-1950/

   From the Mayo Clinic:

   1967:

   The first mumps vaccine is licensed by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA). Mumps had been a common cause of deafness. But the mumps vaccine makes this less common. About 162,000 cases of mumps occurred each year in the U.S. in the 20th century compared with 621 cases in 2020.

   1971:

   The measles, mumps and rubella vaccines are combined into the measles-mumps-rubella (MMR) vaccine in the U.S.

   for those whose brains have not been eaten by memes

   more facts

   https : / / ourworldindata. org/vaccination

10. 2 days ago on Prickly City

    During the period from 1910 to 1960, every year saw more than 1000 polio cases, with a peak of over 57,000 in 1952.After 1968, the number of cases per year was always less than 50 and frequently zero.

    Why? The polio vaccines administered to school children such as myself.

    https : / / ourworldindata. org/grapher/reported-paralytic-polio-cases-and-deaths-in-the-united-states-since-1910

    From The Economist:

    Mr Kennedy has a long history of promoting debunked health theories and claims about vaccines, most damagingly about the risks of inoculating children. He has said that “there’s no vaccine that is safe and effective” and has advised parents not to follow guidance by the Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), one of the health agencies that could soon fall under his direction.

    I’ll be kind and blame the worm that lived in his brain instead of the more likely pure stupidity.