Today is Thursday, May 18, 2023. It’s late here since I was on the phone with my Cherry Hill friend’s wife, “Rachel,” for almost two hours, recounting our latest 18-day road trip.

So I’ll just report on one news item, the loopy exchange between Rep. Jamaal Bowman (D-NY) and that Christian nationalist Marjorie Taylor Greene (MTG), who complained during the verbal scuffle with the Democratic congressperson who is Black that she felt “threatened” by him, even though she was just as animated as he was in trying to get her idiotic points across on the Capitol steps. Like all racists, MTG believes that if anyone who isn’t white walks up to you and gregariously points out the facts while laughing at your stupidity must be threatening your life. This stupid, stupid woman must be thrown out of Congress along with her pal, George “Lying” Santos. This bitch had the temerity to state in a press conference that Jamaal Bowman is a person who should be watched, which is providing red meat to her ignoble MAGA supporters. How dare this ridiculous woman put out such lies about a fellow lawmaker? Haven’t we had enough of this MTG shitshow?

Videos taken at the confrontation between the two House members show that Bowman was not threatening at all as the two debated about “saving the party” and immigrants, in which MTG made some very silly claims. Bowman responded to the nonsense spouted by MTG, saying “Unfortunately, white supremacists historically – this is what they do. They try to dehumanize Black people, Black skin, and Black humanity, so they can be more targeted for harm. She’s not even using a dog whistle, she’s putting a target on my back.”

Another story concerns the Mouse roaring back at the fascistic governor of Florida by the name of Ron “DeSant-ASS,” as the huge company cancels plans for investing $1 billion in building a corporate campus in central Florida that would have housed 2,000 employees, according to an email to employees today, against the backdrop of its ongoing legal battle with the Neanderthal governor who will regret the challenge he undertook in fighting America’s preeminent entertainment juggernaut. This could be the first indication that DeSant-ASS has overstepped his authority in taking on the corporate giant.

This political war between the governor and Disney has now resulted in the state losing jobs and potential investment, which can’t be a good thing for the soon-to-be-announced Republican candidate for president. A Republican who represented Miami, former Congressman Carlos Curbelo, criticized the governor for taking on Disney, saying, “This is the first obvious negative consequence of an overly aggressive approach to governing and to politics.”

Another disturbing trend in red states like Florida and Texas is the staggering number of anti-LGBTQ+ legislation and antitrans bills that are being passed in state legislatures at an alarming rate. The Texas legislature just passed a ban yesterday on gender-affirming care for kids under 18, which includes hormone treatments and gender-affirming surgeries, though such procedures are rarely performed on children. Republican Governor Greg Abbott is expected to sign the punitive bill.

On the other hand, in the “Sunscreen” State, DeSant-ASS signed a similar ban in his state yesterday. This ban goes one better than Abbott’s mean bill, in which the bill imposes felony penalties on health care providers who administer gender-affirming care to children under 18.

Both laws are part of the GOP’s coordinated national campaign against LGBTQ+ rights in state legislatures which is pretty disgusting, in my opinion. Under the bullying aegis of DeSant-ASS, Florida alone has passed more LGBTQ+ legislation this session than it did in the last seven years, while Texas is on track to pass more than double the number of similarly anti-LGBTQ+ laws than it did over that same period.

This type of punitive legislation could force many families of trans children in Florida and Texas to move, thus decreasing the size of the states’ populations and tax base. Thank God advocates are now challenging parts of the Florida law on an emergency basis in court, arguing that it violates parents’ fundamental rights to make medical decisions for their children and that it violates the Constitution by discriminating against transgender children. A hearing in the case is scheduled for Friday. Let’s hope that this restrictive law will be successfully challenged in court, thus dealing another blow to the bullying governor.

Tomorrow Elliot and I are meeting with our Bayside friend “Gene” at 8 p.m. to catch up with all of the news of our trip and of the recent passing of our dear friend “Mark.” So I might not be here because of that. Just wanted to let you know of the possibility.

Have a good weekend.

Stay safe and be well.