Friday Homestead Dispatch

Week Number Twenty-Three

I thought these men were just greedy. But no. It’s worse than that. They’re zealots, and the only thing they believe in is themselves. They’re so used to getting what they want, to being told yer that the word no doesn’t even exist in their language, at least not when directed at them. The very idea that they could want something and not have it is something they can’t process. All light, all gravity, bends around that. — Rob Hart, Paradox Hotel

Bits and Bobs of Good News:

— Although money nor much else can make up for a life lost, a federal jury on Monday ordered a man who was charged in the Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol to pay $500,000 to the family of a D.C. police officer who was assaulted during the riot and later killed himself. The officer was Jeffrey Smith of the Metropolitan Police. The man charged is David Walls-Kaufman who was also charged criminally with parading, demonstrating, or picketing in a Capitol building.

— A Democratic Socialist, Zohran Mamdani, won the Democratic mayoral primary in New York this week over alleged sexual predator Andrew Cuomo, who was backed by millions from corporate interests, super PACs, and billionaire donors such as Michael Bloomberg and Bill Ackman. Even Bill “Blowjob” Clinton thought Andrew would be the swellest candidate.

And in an article yesterday in the Guardian, Mamdani, in his first major interview since his upset victory, said his brand of campaigning and leftist political stances can translate to anywhere in the US. “I think ultimately this is a campaign about inequality, and you don’t have to live in the most expensive city in the country to have experienced that inequality, because it’s a national issue. And what Americans coast to coast are looking for are people who will fight for them, not just believe in the things that resonate with their lives, but actually fight and deliver on those very things,” he said.

— Two days after the summer solstice — the longest day of the year — two dozen volunteers with No More Deaths left 364 one-gallon water bottles in a stretch of the Altar Valley, about 33 miles southwest of Tucson. Sunday's water drop was part of a larger effort to engage people about No More Death's work and included nearly a dozen first-time volunteers.

— This week, Senate Parliamentarian Elizabeth MacDonough ruled against several provisions in the Senate GOP’s megabill related to public lands, including Senator Mike Lee’s (R-UT) attempt to sell between 2.2 and 3.3 million acres of public lands managed by the U.S. Forest Service (USFW) and Bureau of Land Management (BLM). The fight is not over as Senator Mike Lee (R-UT) will do whatever it takes to privatize public lands…also, more info here from the AZ Daily Star.

MacDonough has also determined that dozens of provisions do not pass muster to be included in the megabill, in most cases because they represent policy changes with only incidental effects on the budget. Unfortunately, Republicans who are frothing at the mouth to punish the poor have rewritten several of them to pass muster, including the changes in SNAP benefits. Read about all of them here.

— I’m not sure this is necessarily ‘Good News” but the irony of it makes it newsworthy. Kat Cammack, Florida MAGA congresswoman who opposes abortion and co-chairs the House pro-life caucus, went to the emergency room in May 2024 where doctors determined she needed a shot of methotrexate to help expel her pregnancy. But since Florida’s six-week abortion ban had just taken effect medical staff were worried about losing their licenses or going to jail if they did. AND THEN, she has the audacity to blame fear-mongering on the LEFT for the reluctance of hospital staff to give her the drugs she needed to end an ectopic pregnancy that threatened her life.

— Dem Rep. Greg Stanton, Arizona, took Kari Lake to task during a House committee hearing this week. “You lost … you embarrassed yourself and our state by lying—again and again, for years. You lost to Gov. Hobbs in 2022. You lost badly to Sen. Gallego in 2024. AZ has another election for governor next year...can you do us all a favor and run again?” Delicious.

1.
HCR wrote yesterday that on his social media site, Trump’s account called for Israel to abandon its trial of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu for bribery, fraud, and breach of trust, calling it a “ridiculous Witch Hunt.” Trump claimed that Netanyahu was a partner in “something that nobody thought was possible, a complete elimination of potentially one of the biggest and most powerful Nuclear Weapons anywhere in the world, and it was going to happen, SOON!” Trump called for the trial to be “CANCELLED, IMMEDIATELY, or a Pardon given to a Great Hero.” He continued: “It was the United States of America that saved Israel, and now it is going to be the United States of America that saves Bibi Netanyahu.”

*rumps Trump's mental illness makes Brigadier General Jack D. Ripper seem sane. Even Kubrick and Southern would've been hard pressed to imagine the level of insanity now on full display in the White House.

As Springsteen wrote in 2020, what we thought was the end of seeing *rump’s face ever again, is more true than ever before. “There’s no art in this White House. There’s no literature, no poetry, no music. There are no pets in this White House: no loyal man’s best friend, no Socks, the family cat.”

Rebecca Solnit posted the quote from “GOD” above on Facebook and also said, “To which I'd add love for justice, for truth, for equality and equality under the law, for the earth, for community, for kindness, for human rights, for accountability, for education and public health and public libraries and public lands, for the collective good…”

2.
I wrote on Facebook this week that Zohran Mamdani's win over establishment Dems in the New York primary for mayor gives me hope for a newer generation to get us out of the current mess. This coming from an old white guy who yells at clouds...

I also wrote that Deja Foxx, only 25, is the most focused, clear-eyed, educated, and forward-thinking debater on stage. Voting in the primary is coming up July 15.

There were many thoughtful comments made, most favoring Grijalva over the less experienced Foxx.

What is your take?

3.
I just learned of Maziar Bahari yesterday, thanks to Jon Stewart’s latest podcast. He is an Iranian-Canadian journalist, filmmaker and human rights activist who was incarcerated by the Iranian government from June 21, 2009 to October 17, 2009.

I learned more about Iran in an hour and a half than I would ever know listening to any propaganda from the U.S. or Israel. Stewart even directed a movie called Rosewater, that I’ve yet to see, about Bahari’s time as a Newsweek journalist leading up to his incarceration.

Worth every minute…

Tiny Tidbits of Goddamn!

— Just when you think Mitch McConnell has left the room, the Kentucky Lantern, and many other news outlets, reported McConnell attended a closed meeting whereas Thom Tillis (R-NC) warned other GOP Senators in the room the BIG BILL could prompt major electoral losses due to cuts in Medicaid. The turtle exclaimed, “I know a lot of us are hearing from people back home about Medicaid. But they’ll get over it.” 1 in 3 Kentuckians’ health care is with Medicaid.

— And then one sometimes thinks, “Gee, maybe those Republicans aren’t as racist as I’ve been yelling to the clouds,” Representative Andy Ogles (R-TN) referred to Mamdani in a social media post as “little muhammad,” calling him “an antisemitic, socialist, communist who will destroy the great City of New York.” He also said, “He needs to be DEPORTED. Which is why I am calling for him to be subject to denaturalization proceedings.”

— In just another fucked up move, the Gestapo, er, I mean the Supreme Court ruled on Thursday that Planned Parenthood and one of its patients cannot sue South Carolina over its effort to deny funding to the group, reasoning that the relevant federal statute does not authorize such suits.

— U.S. Capitol Police zip-tied a group of peaceful senior citizen protesters on Wednesday, including several people in wheelchairs, during a protest over proposed cuts to Medicaid spending. They saved the Republic!!

— RFK Junior is a moron. Drug-addled, more likely.

I’ll wrap up this morning with words from another old guy, Robert Reich, who is much shorter than me but with a larger megaphone.

My simple advice to congressional Democrats: Wake the hell up. According to polls, most Americans don’t want a Trump Republican budget that slashes Medicaid, food stamps, and child nutrition in order to make way for a giant tax cut mostly for the wealthy.

Most don’t want tariffs that drive up the prices they pay for food, gas, housing, and clothing. Most understand that tariffs are taxes paid by American consumers. Most don’t want a government of, by, and for billionaires. Most believe in democracy and the rule of law and don’t want Trump trampling on the Constitution, acts of Congress, and federal court orders.

Not only should Democrats be making noise about all this, they should stop relying on so-called “moderates” to speak for them. The nation is in clear and present danger. Democrats must stand up for American ideals at a time when the Trump regime is riding roughshod over them.

Democrats need Zohran Mamdani and other young politicians with fight in their hearts and rage in their bellies who can show that Trump is bad for working people and terrible for America and the world, and who can point the way forward.

We need a new generation of leaders who are the voices of democracy, freedom, social justice, and the rule of law. A new generation that gives meaning to the “we” in “we the people.”

Instead of fretting over Mamdani, the Democratic Party should embrace him as the future.

And now…