I've been having some problems renewing my account with the Weebly service that powers this website.  I seemed to get it straightened out two weeks ago -- but just received a weird email that suggests it's not renewed and could be shut down in 24 hours.

It seems like this weird email is a scam, but because of the very recent problem it may not be.  I'm trying to get to the bottom of this -- but IF for some reasons it's real and the site does get shut down, know that that's the issue.  And so, please keep checking back until it's back up and running.

I understand why people, whoever they are, bristle at being called stupid and ignorant.  No one likes being called stupid and ignorant.  If you asked an adult what 2+6 equals, and they said 15, and to be fair you gave them another chance and asked what state New York City was in, and they answered Montana, and you said they were stupid, they would probably get offended at you and call you an elitist.  And they would do that even if “you” were a 10-year-old child.
 
So, I get it, people don’t like being called stupid.
 
And to be clear, I am not calling anyone reading this stupid.  For starters, I don’t know who is reading this.  And also, if you’re reading this and have gotten this far, I think you’ve passed the test for not stupid.  But mostly, the only examples I gave for stupidity was asking what 2+6 equaled and what state New York City was in – so, if you knew the answers to just one of those, I wasn’t referring to you.
 
But here’s the thing –
 
When you base your beliefs on literally NOT KNOWING who the person is that's telling you about the things that you believe in, then it's hard to make a case that you're not acting out of ignorance.
 
But that’s the base of the Republican Party.  And now Trump is wearing the mantle proudly.  That’s precisely what QAnon is.  And that’s not me being all commie “lib” and making things up, it’s actually in the name they support.  “Anon.”  Anonymous. 
 
It is utterly baffling that the foundation of today's GOP is based on following conspiracy theories from someone who They Have No Idea Who the Person Is.
 
Literally.  Which is its very point.
 
The foundation of the GOP – now being pushed by Trump himself – is actually, truly based on literally NOT KNOW if the leader of QAnonymous is a man or woman.  Or a teenage child screwing around in his basement.  Or hers.  Or if he or she is even American or a Russian spy or North Korean or Mexican.  Or NOT KNOWING, literally, if this anonymous “Q” has computer privileges in a lunatic asylum.  Or if the person is actually half a dozen people taking turns.
 
They may say they know who the anonymous “Q” is, but of course they don’t and can’t because he or she – or it, since it might be an Artificial Intelligence program, for all they know (and they can’t argue that it’s not, because…they literally DON’T KNOW).  And even if they say, well, we do know that he’s a Deep State member of the CIA – they don’t know, because they can’t know.  Because it’s literally anonymous. 
 
It's also fictitious.  Indeed, there’s far more evidence that the mythical “Q” is not “Deep State CIA” but two, everyday people – Paul Furber, a computer programmer and software journalist from South Africa, and Ron Watkins a guy who’s the administrator of a deeply far-right website (and who recently lost horribly in an Arizona GOP primary for Congress, finishing last – than there is evidence that he is…well, anything else.
 
And yet this is what the base of today’s Republican Party and now suckled by Trump believes in.
 
They may go to great lengths twisting themselves in knots explaining why the mythical non-Paul Furber and non-Ron Watkins must remain anonymous…but that doesn’t change the fact, the reality that he, she, they or it is, in fact, anonymous.  And they literally DON’T KNOW who he, she, they or it is.
 
And to repeat, as clearly and simply as possible – when you base your opinion and beliefs and absolute certainties on literally NOT KNOWING who the person is that's telling you about all those things you believe in with the deepest core of your very being, then it's hard to make a case that you're not acting out of total, willful ignorance.
 
And all it takes to dispute any of this is to simply explain who the actual person “Q” is that has helped form the core of their unalterable opinions.  That’s all.  The problem is QAnon is anonymous.
 
The problem is deeper, because it goes back over half a century.
 
For many decades, the Republican Party has fought against education.  They slammed Democratic Presidential nominee Adlai Stevenson for being “an egghead.”  (In other words, smart.)  They slammed Democratic President John Kennedy for being advised by his “Harvard Mafia.”  (In other words, smart.)  Richard Nixon had students on his Enemies List.  (In other...oh, you know.)  And more, it goes on and on.  Because when you can keep your base from being educated, it’s easier to manipulate them.  Easier to make them believe anything – because you’ve spent 60 years telling them to distrust education.
 
And no, pointing this out is not “elitist.”  It’s wanting everyone to be as smart as they possibly can.  Which is the opposite of elitism.  Indeed, it’s what most people want – to be as smart as possible.  And even more, to have their children grow up even smarter than them.
 
But the Republican Party has finally been able to coalesce their 60-year War on Education down to its core, to do the opposite – getting their base to not have to learn anything.  To believe what they literally DON’T KNOW.  To believe absolutely anything they spoon feed them.  Including that the dead JFK, Jr. is going to come back to life and run with Trump.  And that Anderson Cooper eats babies.
 
If that’s not you, if none of this is you, then great.  Wonderful.  I am not talking about you.  You know that a person should not believe unquestioningly what someone who you literally DON’T KNOW tells you.  You know that JFK, Jr. is not coming back from the dead to run with Trump.  You know Anderson Cooper doesn’t eat babies.  You know it’s good to actually learn and ask questions and want more of that for your children.
 
But the foundation of today’s Republican Party, pushed now by Trump is not that.  It operates on the concept of believing what someone tells them who they literally – literally – DON’T KNOW.
 
Not knowing is the definition of being ignorant of it.  And we all are ignorant of different things, myself included, which is why we read and discuss and do our best to learn.  But making ignorance the core of your belief and on what you base your unalterable opinions is not that. It’s something very different.  It’s willful ignorance.
 
And that is the foundation of today’s Republican Party, that believes in QAnon, who they literally DON’T KNOW anything about.  Nothing.  Whether the voice behind the curtain telling them what to think and how to believe is a man, woman, child, tag-team, American, Russian, South African, Artificial Intelligence machine or even Trump’s once-mythical, 400-pound guy living at home in his parents’ basement.
 
We often see so many extremists on the far right explaining that one reason they hate “the libs” is because they look down on them.  I would suggest that it is they who are looking in the wrong direction and are totally missing the point.  That taking pride in willfully not knowing where your beliefs and opinions actually come from is a bad look for anyone.

It is utterly baffling that the foundation of today's GOP is based on following conspiracy theories from someone who They Have No Idea Who the Person Is.

Literally.

On Friday night, Elton John gave a concert outside at the White House on the South Lawn.  He called it "A Night When Hope and History Rhyme.”   Afterwards, President Biden and the First Lady joined John on stage -- and made a presentation that the musician was clearly not expecting, and just as clearly overwhelmed by.  Here's the touching video.  That he's being honored for this particular reason is all the more notable -- for Elton John and the decision to give him the medal.

​On this week’s Al Franken podcast, his guest is Cecile Richards, former president of Planned Parenthood.  She and Al discuss the Dobbs decision and its impact on the Midterms

​From the archives.  This week's contestant is Wiley Newbold from Morgantown, West Virginia.  And I wave the white flag.  I could hear the hidden song -- and hear it easily.  But I just didn't have a clue what it was.  Nor did contestant...though he did an admirable job on his own working his way through the possibilities to guess it.  And it's a well-known enough song.  As for the composer style, I'm sure some will guess it.  But it's a style that overlaps with a few people, and I just didn't get it.

Jon Stewart's podcast has been back for a few weeks now, and his Apple TV+ show will be returning for its second season soon.  So this week, we jump back into the Stewart Podcast World where his guest is Geoffrey Berman, a former US attorney from the Southern District of New York—and author of the new book Holding the Line: Inside the Nation’s Preeminent US Attorney’s Office and Its Battle with the Trump Justice Department.  As the site says, “they dig into how Bill Barr tried to have Berman fired, why nailing down powerful guys like Trump is so hard, and whether better guardrails could protect our democracy. Berman also happened to be Jon’s neighbor growing up in New Jersey, so they reminisce about old neighborhood gossip.”
 
I can’t embed the audio, but if you click on the link here, it will take you to the website, where you just click on the “Play” arrow underneath the photo.