Kentucky Jelly

The first thing to know about Kentucky Jelly is that it tastes terrible on toast. I bought some the last time I was in Louisville, KY, and the KY Jelly i bought there was so bad I called Johnson and Johnson to complain. They told me that you were supposed to rub the KY Jelly on your Johnson and Johnson, and that it was not intended to be taken orally. That was confusing to me, since I am used to taking my right-wing politics orally from “Moscow Mitch” McConnell and that nutty Rand “Brillo Pad” Paul. I get that their ideology is aimed at a different orifice, and I have been advised that neither of them use KY on their own dogma except to make the ground glass stick better; ther state legislature doesn’t use any lubricant either, even in cases of rape or incest; however, judging from the sheer decibel volume with which their politicians take the national stage, I assumed that Kentuckians must be doing a great job of something, somehow, or somewhere …right?  Well, not really. Out of 50 states, Kentucky ranks:

  • 44th in Health Care
  • 36th in Education
  • 29th in Crime
  • 29th in Environment
  • 48th in Financial Stability
  • 50th in Constitutional Abortion Law

In all fairness, the people of Kentucky actually do rank first in the nation …when it comes to sending horse’s dicks to Washington; however, considering that the total population of Kentucky is less than one half that of New York City, it should amaze us that they have somehow been able to scrape up, not one, but two US Senators who thumb their noses at the rule of law, defy ethics committees, trade favors with Russian Oligarchs, and provide deep cover for coup attempts on our Democracy — after the same fashion, Kentucky’s state lawmakers have demonstrated that they don’t give a tinker’s damn about upholding our Constitution either …Kentuckians do all this in the name of “freedom?”

So why does this very small, poor, radicalizes state have such an outsized say in our national debate?      Continue reading

The Clarence Thomas Question: Classic or Pube Zero?

In late 2021, the State of Texas passed a clearly unconstitutional state law restricting women’s rights to abortion. In December of that year, the Supreme Court met in an informal session to hear arguments from opposing attorneys representing a lawsuit challenging that Texas abortion law. Sessions such as this one, often referred to as the “shadow docket,” invite the attorneys to preview their opening arguments and outline the salient points of their respective cases. While the stated purpose for these sessions is to allow the court to decide which cases merit being heard, the so-called “Roberts Court” has been under fire in recent years for seeming to use the “shadow docket” to cherry-pick cases that pander to right-wing causes, while ignoring cases that do not. The Supreme Court doesn’t allow cameras, but I was able to listen on the radio as the Justices discussed whether or not to consider the Planned Parenthood vs State of Texas lawsuit.      Continue reading