Things are tough all over

 Benjamin Netanyahu wants Israelis to know that the war he started with Iran is hard on him, too.  Did you know that his son Avner's wedding has been postponed?  Again?  He is reminded of the Blitz, in which 43,000 British civilians died.  So far 24 Israeli civilians have been killed, and an estimated 263 Iranians.  But spare a thought for Bibi, whose catering deposit is non-refundable.

Other Israelis were quick to respond to their prime minister's -- what's the equivalent of stolen valor?  Stolen grief?  "I have been in the hellish dungeons of Gaza for 622 days now," wrote Anat Angrest, whose son Matan has been a Hamas hostage since October 7, 2023.  Journalist Amir Tibon said, "There are no surprises with Netanyahu.  Even in moments when a personal example is most needed, he is first and foremost concerned with himself."  

No wonder he gets along so well with Trump, who amid mass arrests and vanishing social safety net programs whines that he can't cheat at golf every day.  Periodically he reminds his cult of the life of luxury and ease he gave up to serve them with scam after scam (Trump phones!) and punish the people who demand a few crumbs from the billionaires' table.  He's working so hard, and it hurts him right in the heart that lazy people want another holiday:  

"Too many non-working holidays in America.  It is costing our Country BILLIONS OF DOLLARS to keep all of these businesses closed.  The workers don't want it either!  Soon we'll end up having a holiday for every once [sic] working day of the year.  It must change if we are going to, MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN!"

What could he have meant?  The parades that shut down cities like New York and Chicago every March 17?  Mardi Gras, a perfectly good Tuesday wasted in New Orleans?  That day after Thanksgiving that we've agreed to spend fighting over discount X-Boxes at the mall?   Confederate Memorial Day, April 28 in Alabama, Florida, Georgia and Mississippi?  Don't be silly.  They're all part of our rich heritage.  You've guessed it:  he wants to cancel Juneteenth because it became a holiday under Joe Biden (grrr!), who was so bad and so old he didn't know what his autopen was signing.  Celebrating the end of slavery is divisive.  What do real Americans care?  

It couldn't be worse, right?  Wrong.  I never heard of a pod person -- sorry, that should be podcaster -- named Theo Von but he's important enough to have the vice president as a guest.  These two good ol' boys yukked it up about how Frederick Douglass was gay and that's why he wanted to end slavery, so men would "get off work early."  See?  They trashed Juneteenth and Pride Month at the same time!  That's called multitasking.  Have you seen pictures of Harriet Tubman?  I'll bet she was really a man, like Michelle Obama.  

Speaking of multitasking, The Leader turned his "thoughts" again to the 2020 election before lumbering off to Bedminster National Golf Course and Cemetery:

Of course that election, where Joe Biden beat him like a gong with his treacherous autopen, never leaves his sweaty dreams.  Now he wants a "Special Prosecutor" to do something, possibly turn back time.  Who knows?  "Grossly Indescribable" would be a good title for an account of the Trump years, unless someone claims it for a Sex Pistols tribute band.

You can't argue about the border crossings, though.  It's virtually impossible to get into the United States unless you're a white South African fleeing majority rule.  Pouria Amirshahi, a member of the French parliament for the Green Party, was denied a visa because he was planning to meet with progressives to discuss the horrors of Trumpism.  He didn't put that on his application, but he is a founder of La Digue (The Dike), which seeks to "counter the spread of neo-fascism" in liberal democracies, so probably a terrorist.  He looks scary.

Is the war on immigrants a big pink squirrel designed to distract the MAGA hordes from other assaults on their lives like higher prices and lower air quality standards?  How can you even ask?  Yesterday the Florida attorney general was found in contempt by US District Judge Kathleen Williams for ignoring her order to stop enforcing a law making it a crime for undocumented immigrants to enter the state (with an exception for Cubans, I assume).  Today James Uthmeier announced he wants to turn a disused airport in the Everglades into "Alligator Alcatraz," a prison for "illegals" surrounded by dangerous reptiles.  It sure makes Trump's plans for plain old Alcatraz in San Francisco Bay look pussy, doesn't it?  He can threaten escapees with sharks but these 'gators are real!  Tear 'em up!  Maybe feed Judge Williams to one.  MFGA!

"Equal" is a word that crops up constantly in the history of this country, from Jefferson's "all men are created equal" to "equal justice under law" to "separate but equal," but the Libertarian Party is having none of it:

In New Hampshire it's 1950 and "communist" is the worst thing you can call someone, even if the word has been emptied of meaning.  

Even after the official end of slavery, white America expended tremendous effort to keep the races apart, from separate schools and hospitals to separate drinking fountains and swimming pools.  In those years a separate culture flourished without any help from us.  What a bunch of hypocrites we are to begrudge them a holiday of their own, an anthem of their own.  When "Lift Ev'ry Voice and Sing" is performed at the Superbowl, you'd think the Chinese army had landed on the White House lawn.

Thanks to Jeff Tiedrich for this picture of Joe Biden flying on a commercial jet to Galveston, where he spoke at the African Methodist Episcopal Church.  Check out the man standing between the reporter and the flight crewman.

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It was not my intent to be flippant about the hostages still held by Hamas, but the unspoken assumption of the attack on Iran seems to be that they are dead.  I hope I'm wrong.