First Things First

"If you’re okay licensing my second amendment right, what’s wrong with licensing your first amendment right?"

-- Indiana state rep Jim Lucas (R-Seymour) on his bill to license journalists

Well, for starters. There's the whole pesky U.S. Constitution thing.

The First Amendment says, "Congress shall make no law...abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press."

The Second Amendment says, "A well-regulated militia..."

That seems pretty darn clear.

Even the Founding Fathers -- in clear language -- grasped from Day One that there should be NO law trespassing on the freedom of the press, yet knew it was proper to regulate guns.

It's not a hard concept. Also not hard: a gun can literally kill a person. Being a journalist can't. That's why the Founding Fathers understood regulating weaponry.

"58 killed, 489 Wounded in Journalism Massacre" is not a headline we will ever see.

Hey, should we license state senators? To protect us from bills as mind-numbingly awful as is, Mr. Lucas is making a sad case for it.

On the other hand, rather than make argument why we shouldn't license weaponry, it's nice to see that Mr. Lucas accepts the idea, and indeed wants to expand the idea of licensing.  Whereas that doesn't actually work with other Amendments, merely because they're Amendments, I'm encouraged that by his reasoning, he hasn't put a limit on how far 2nd Amendment gun licensing should go.

​Clearly, Jim Lucas (R-Seymour) is trying to grab on to the flapping coat tails of Trump and his former governor Mike Pence when the president bizarrely tweeted on Wednesday about "challenging" the license of NBC (which is literally impossible because networks are not licensed) and then later saying, "It is frankly disgusting the press is able to write whatever it wants" -- which was roundly excoriated by analysts and politicians on both sides of the aisle for being profoundly un-American on every conceivable level.

Other than pandering to a far right base, it's hard to imagine Mr. Lucas is even possibly trying to accomplish, other than dancing democracy and freedom towards the edge of fascism.

But then, Mr. Lucas is the same fellow who infamously posted his How Not to Be a Rape Victim advice to women -- before deleting it under a mountain of scorn. His response to that was saying:

“I am not a polished politician, but just an average person that got involved in politics to make a positive difference in the lives of everyone.

Well, he's right about the first part. But is failing monumentally on the second.

Fuel Me Once, Shame on You

Yesterday, the White House social media account posted a video online along with a note that read --

“FREEDOM FUEL HAS ARRIVED. “The FIRST Freedom Fuel Network gas station has LANDED in Philadelphia, lowering the price at the pump to $3.47 for our 47th President. President Trump is leading the charge to lower gas prices this summer -- putting more money in your pocket.”​

Yes, really.  

But it’s even worse than this.  And  yes, that’s possible.  Someone did a bit of research and found that “The Freedom Fuel Network" is made up of just 25 gas stations and was registered on June 23, 2026 to Corporation Trust Company, an entity which (and I’m sure this will shock you) "Trump has used himself before.”

Oh, so many thoughts come rushing to mind.  Very few of them polite. All of them under the heading of “Are they insane???”

First of all, someone actually thought of this as an idea.

Second, someone actually thought it was an idea worth mentioning to others, rather than laughing and thinking, “I should send this to The Onion.”

Third, someone actually thought this was a good idea.

And fourth, enough people actually thought this was an idea seriously worth going forward with and truly making public as a real thing.

I have no idea if that first person was Trump.  While it seems like it, so on brand, whoever it was, a) didn’t get fired, and b) at some point, at the very least, Trump had to sign off on it.

Okay, and fifth, Trump has dementia, which is degenerative.

Fine, what’s past is past.  It’s out there in the open.  The damage is done.  So, let’s start a new list to deal with – whatever you want to call it -- this thing.

1. The national average price of gas before Trump's Iran War was $2.98.  Dd no one in the room point this out or at least make clear that that’s 49-cents a gallon more than this “really exciting news!!”, which makes the really exciting news a whole lot less exciting.  In fact, when you try to convince people that gas that’s 49-cents higher than before Trump’s war in Iran began is a really exciting thing -- it highlights how high gas had skyrocketed because of that war.  All the worse when Trump ran on the promise to bring down the price of gas. 

2. When President Biden left office, the national average price of gas was $3.12.  Did no one check that.  Touting with excitement that gas when Joe Biden left office was 35-cents lower than right now in Trump’s administration seems one of the worst things Trump would even want people to know. – other than the national average price of gas when Barack Obama left office was $2.31.

3. Just 25 stations??!!  How on earth did anyone in that room – and I include Trump – think that virtually any Americans would be excited that this gambit would “put more money in your pocket”??  Who in the world is “your” supposed to be??  (Never mind that buying gas actually takes money from your pocket.  It puts money in the pocket of the gas station owner.  If they meant that this leaves more money in your wallet than you’ve been paying for the past four months of much-higher prices, okay, but that’s not a great selling argument.)  More to the point, was no one in the room aware that there are, in fact, 50 states?  So – at best – the American public would grasp that it is literally impossible for half the country to not even have just one of these “Freedom Network” gas stations.  By the way, there are about 190,000 gas stations in the country, the crackerjack Trump team is 189,975 gas stations short.  Freedom!

4. Okay, I left out one thing.  It's not just that the "FIRST" Freedom Fuel Network station has "LANDED" in Philadelphia -- but, as it happens, all 25 gas stations in the network are in the Greater Philadelphia area!  So...yeah, America! Across this great nation of 340 million strong, put all that Freedom Fuel money you'll save into your pockets!  When you drive through Philly.  And stop at one of the patriotic 25 Freedom Fuel stations!  While supplies last.  Fun Fact:  there are 1,100 gas stations in the Greater Philadelphia area.  Freedom!

5. Thinking that paying a lower price – even if in all those other 189,975 gas stations (outside of the greater Philadelphia area) and even if was at the exact same price as when Trump’s war of choice in Iran began, rather than being a half-dollar more per gallon -- would excite Americans about a huge supposed-savings they were about to make, it ignores the reality that Americans know they have already been paying hugely more for gas the past four months, money that’s gone, lost, out of their pocket forever, and so they aren’t “saving” anything.  And that total which Americans have already paid extra for gas since Trump's Iran War began is about $40 MILLION.  Gone, lost, out of their pocket forever.

6. Question:  So, this “Freedom Fuel Network” of 25 gas stations -- who is part of this?  Is it just Trump grifting?  Or is the federal government in the gas station business now in some way??  Because, if so, I'd like find out if I should check the "Oh, my, God, it's socialism and communism!!!!!" box.

Freedom!

As someone wrote very wisely from experience on social media --

This is Trump’s entire con in a nutshell:

Try to fix a problem that isn’t a problem.

Make it a problem.

Deny you made it a problem.

“Fix” the problem with propaganda instead of a solution.

Make the problem worse.

*

And by the way, describing this as Trump “in a nutshell” is about as perfect a phrase for Trump and his administration as it gets.

This idea is totally ludicrous.  And someone actually thought that it made sense.  This is Trump gold sneakers on steroids.  This is Trump Water, Trump Steaks, Trump Air rolled into one.  At best, Trump agreed to it.  At worst,  it was his idea, and everyone around him fell in line and fell on their swords, and said, “Yes, sir!  Great idea, sir!  We’ll do it, sir!”  Which is all that most of those incompetents in his circle are qualified to do.  What they’re there to do.

It’s what got us the destroyed East Wing of the White House.  The destroyed Reflecting Pool.  The disaster of the “Freedom 250” anniversary celebration of America.  The ongoing disaster of Trump’s Iran War.  And so much more.

Freedom 250.  Freedom Fuel.  Freedom Fuel Network.  It’s time for MAGOPs to dig back into their bag of Freedom slogans and bring back Freedom Fries.

​Freedom!

 Slap the name on it and see who salutes.

The only way this makes any sense is if what they meant was "Free?  Dumb!"

It turns out that Freedom under Trump is very expensive.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1sgdrN8Ut8Q

Having a Voice

We have yet another clip from the Australia version of The Voice, which keeps having especially fun performances.  And this is a young woman singing a completely different arrangement of Boy George’s massive hit “Karma Chameleon” -- made all the more interesting (and the whole reason I’m posting this) because one of the judge’s is…Boy George.  There’s a lot in here that’s fun and funny and interesting, with even a few surprises.  Including – as she says in a “background” introduction, wondering whether Boy George will even recognize the song.  Along with the “behind-the-scene” comments at the end.  And I will add that I’ve seen a bunch of videos of this Australian version, many on which Boy George is a judge, and -- contrasted with his onstage outlandish image -- I’ve been so impressed and surprised how thoughtful, kind, and involved he comes across (as well as talkative…).  And that will be clear here.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xQ61wAk0o00