Ficus Fan

Avid reader, love scuba diving and travel. Retired and fighting 2nd cancer.

[Ficus Fan @FicusFan]

@clownplanet369 @King0243_PJC She was not a yacht girl, that's Kate. Meghan was not associated with Epstein, you are making it all up.

[Ficus Fan @FicusFan]

@grok @Lifve12 @geonBAEeee They are filming a movie. Red White and Royal Wedding (them). The characters are Alex Claremont Diaz (dark hair) son of the US President and Prince Henry of England (blond).,The actors are: Taylor Zakar Perez (dark hair), Nicholas Galitzine (blond). Most likely they get married.

[Occupy Democrats @OccupyDemocrats]

BREAKING: Senator Mark Kelly incinerates Pete Hegseth as “totally unqualified” to be Defense Secretary as the former Fox News host launches a sham military investigation into him.

It's American war hero versus drunk MAGA zero...

“I don’t know Pete Hegseth well. I sit on the committee that ultimately had to confirm him, so I know a little about his background. He’s totally unqualified,” Kelly said on “Jimmy Kimmel Live."

“Nothing against journalists, they play a very important role in our society, but he is not qualified for this job," Kelly continued. "And from what I can tell in talking to some of my Republican colleagues, I mean, he just wants to please the president."

In truth, Kelly was being far too kind to Hegseth. The man was never a "journalist," he was a hack talking head whose job was to spread lies and right-wing propaganda on behalf of Rupert Murdoch's corrupt idealogical project.

Hegseth went after Kelly and five other Democratic lawmakers for releasing a video urging members of the U.S. military to refuse illegal orders, calling them the "Seditious Six." Of course, there is nothing "seditious" about encouraging our troops to uphold the Constitution. That's their entire job. Hegseth is simply operating as Trump's attack dog after the president melted down over the video and called for the lawmakers to be executed.

"It is right out of the playbook, you know, the playbook of authoritarianism. That's what they do. They try to suppress speech," said Kelly. "Every one of us has First Amendment speech rights, and I think the president is infringing on those and he is sending, he is sending a pretty strong message. You do not want to cross him, and your loyalty should be to him. It should not. It should always be to the Constitution."

The Pentagon has accused Kelly of "serious allegations of misconduct" and stated that they will be conducting a "thorough review" of him. Hegseth himself personally insulted Kelly, saying that "you can't even display your uniform properly."

“He can go after me under the Uniform Code of Military justice, which is the law in the military, which is kind of wild, because we recited something in the Uniform Code of Military Justice, and he is going to prosecute me under the Uniform Code of Military Justice,” said Kelly. "It is so ridiculous, it's almost like you can't make this sh*t up."

Still, Kelly is unfrightened and undeterred. He refuses to back down and plans on fighting this every step of the way.

If it weren't so enraging, it might be comical just how much this escalating feud encapsulates the true values of the MAGA movement. On one side we have a former decorated naval pilot and astronaut defending the Constitution. On the other we have an alcoholic sexual predator without a shred of morals or courage working to ingratiate himself to a fascist president.

Republicans go blue in the face claiming that they care about our troops, but time and again they throw them to the wolves on behalf of Trump.

Please retweet and ❤️ if you stand with Mark Kelly!

[Ficus Fan @FicusFan]

@OlenaRohoza NO!!!!!

[Ficus Fan @FicusFan]

@jlounsbury59 @Matt_Pinner Me too. Don't know what a mix tape is.

[Ficus Fan @FicusFan]

@NickyGspot93 @jocelynebenezra He may be in a fight with the RWRB producers for more money, or top billing, who knows.

He routinely takes gay rolls, and has no problem with them. If there are problems they will work them out next month when they arrive for shooting.

[Ficus Fan @FicusFan]

@Geniustechw Score: 1 no encyclopedia

[Ficus Fan @FicusFan]

@Loxamillion @Rimmesfk Boston Red Sox, not NY.

[Ficus Fan @FicusFan]

@Dani_Dabbles Probably why they had such good chemistry in the movie.

[Ficus Fan @FicusFan]

@PaceyWilliams @TeeLaCream1 @PopCrave Red White & Royal Baby(ies)

[Black OP Fella. 🇺🇸🇺🇦. @Jkuda2]

@OccupyDemocrats FO nazi boy. You and the orange tacoturd are POS traitors.

[Occupy Democrats @OccupyDemocrats]

BREAKING: Lieutenant General Mark Hertling of the U.S. Army goes viral with a BRUTAL response to Pete Hegseth’s deranged speech, says that the military “will not execute illegal orders.”

MAGA really kicked the hornet’s nest this time…

“But there were also soldiers and, well, all ranks of services, in that audience that said, wait a minute,” Hertling told MSNBC’s “Morning Joe.”

“When they were writing down the same kind of checklist that I was writing down, saying, wait a minute, we can't do that, or we shouldn't do that, or this is a true violation of what we are as professionals or, hey, I've got women in my ranks who are performing admirably,” he continued. “Why should I kind of lump them all together like the secretary did? Or I'm certainly now going to debate with myself, what am I going to say if I'm asked to go on the street and conduct illegal actions?”

During Hegseth's rambling, peacocking speech, he railed against "woke" policies in the military, attacked "fat" soldiers and leaders, and called for imposing "male standards" on all troops. He called for hazing recruits and said that drill sergeants will be allowed to "put their hands on” them.

At the same event, Donald Trump gave a slurred, incoherent speech and talked about using American cities as “training grounds” for armed forces. The event attendees were high-ranking military officials and generals who were forced to fly in from around the globe and the fascist rubbish spewed by Hegseth and Trump was a total waste of their time.

“And I guarantee you that the people in that audience will not execute illegal orders. We have been saying that for a long time,” said Hertling.

“But at the same time, all of them, not only were they personally embarrassed, but they were embarrassed for their services that had, you know, sit in that audience and listen to this kind of stuff,” said Hertling.

“That's the worst part of all this. You know, there's a saying in the military that's a great leadership dictum: ‘You praise in public and you discipline in private,’” he went on. “This was a disciplinary approach in public with cameras, so the whole nation could see. And it was an attempt at separating the military institution from the people that they defend.”

Clearly, voters made a historic mistake putting these MAGA freaks in charge of the most powerful military in the history of the world. Next election, we undo that error for good.

Please retweet and ❤️ if you felt safer with Democrats in power!

[Occupy Democrats @OccupyDemocrats]

BREAKING: MAGA world explodes in rage over a report that Pope Leo XIV is going to replace the New York cardinal who compared Charlie Kirk to "Saint Paul" with a pro-immigrant, anti-gun bishop.

And it gets even better...

According to "Letters from Leo," a Substack run by former Democratic nominee for Congress Christopher Hale, a large swath of Catholics are furious that Cardinal Timothy Dolan went on Fox News last week and called Charlie Kirk a "a modern-day St. Paul." He also referred to Kirk as a "a missionary, an evangelist, a hero."

Paul is one of the most important figures in the history of the Christian faith, responsible for large, crucial segments of the New Testament. Charlie Kirk was a racist demagogue who raked in tens of millions of dollars pushing hateful, divisive rhetoric. The two men could not have been more dissimilar.

Hale writes that many Catholics are "appalled that Dolan would elevate Kirk to saintly status" because of his "divisive and hateful track record." Kirk was Evangelical, not Catholic, and Hale states that his "incendiary rhetoric" was clearly "at odds with Catholic social teaching."

In his piece, Hale also points out that Kirk called Leo's predecessor Francis a "Marxist who calls himself the head of your church." No cardinal should be heaping praise on a man who attacked the leader of his church, but clearly Dolan is more interested in the culture war than in upholding his duties to the Church.

Kirk also went after Leo, stating that he "was retweeting George Floyd propaganda" before he became Pope. Clearly, Kirk had no respect for the Catholic Church, which has increasingly come into conflict with MAGA over Donald Trump's cruel anti-migrant policies.

Hale also slammed Kirk for his racist remarks including his shockingly bigoted assertion that Black women "do not have the brain processing power… to be taken really seriously" and have to “steal a white person’s slot" through affirmative action. Kirk also smeared MLK Jr. as "awful" and "not a good person."

Hale went on to contrast Dolan's skin-crawling, fawning discussion of Kirk with Pope Leo's far more evenhanded, yet still compassionate approach. While Leo has avoided discussing the murder personally in public, the Holy See Press Office stated that he is "is “holding Charlie Kirk and his family in prayer,” and that he “expressed concern about political violence."

Crucially, the Pope Press Office also urged people to "refrain from rhetoric and instrumentalization that lead to polarization rather than dialogue." That kind of rhetoric is exactly what Cardinal Dolan is engaged in. By elevating Kirk to the level of sainthood, Dolan is tacitly endorsing all of the vile things that Kirk said over the course of his life.

"Catholics are left in dismay, wondering how any church leader could see a man who sowed so much division as a latter-day Paul," Hale writes about Dolan.

Thankfully, Dolan submitted his "obligatory retirement letter" to Pope Francis earlier this year when he turned 75. Pope Leo will now get to pick his successor.

According to Hale, the "top candidate" is Bishop Daniel Flores who is stationed in Texas and has carved out a reputation for himself by confronting gun violence and the border "crisis."

"Don’t tell me that guns aren’t the problem, people are. I’m sick of hearing it," Bishop Flores tweeted after the horrific Uvalde mass shooting. "The darkness first takes our children who then kill our children, using the guns that are easier to obtain than aspirin. We sacralize death’s instruments and then are surprised that death uses them."

Flores has also pushed back against Trump's immigration policies—

“I feel that as a (bishops’) conference, we must express ourselves more strongly when it comes to the dignity of immigrants, to say that they are not criminals, that they are vulnerable families and we need to invite all the governments involved, not just the U.S., to defend the migrant as a human being, to not cast the person aside as someone who doesn’t matter and is a problem,” he said to the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB).

Flores would be a massive improvement over Dolan, who seems to have missed his calling as a far-right podcaster. His record is littered with disturbing remarks. He rushed to defend American police in the wake of the George Floyd protests, and stated that while "black lives matter" "all lives matter" and "police lives matter" too. He also argued against removing statues of Confederates and slave owners. The sooner he's replaced, the better.

Please retweet and ❤️ if you hope that Pope Leo replaces Cardinal Dolan ASAP!

[TizzyWoman 🗽 ☮️ ~ Keep moving forward @tizzywoman]

“We do not have time to waste, and we do not have the privilege to be fearful.” - @rosieperezbklyn

Honored with the Hispanic Heritage Award, Rosie reminds us that true leadership is rooted in courage, community, and legacy.

#HispanicHeritageMonth
#DemsUnited

[Protect Kamala Harris ✊ @DisavowTrump20]

🚨NEW: David Letterman calls out ABC for firing Jimmy Kimmel: “You can’t go around firing somebody because you’re fearful or trying to suck up to an authoritarian - a criminal- administration in the Oval Office.“

RETWEET if you stand with @Letterman!

[Occupy Democrats @OccupyDemocrats]

BREAKING: The Actors Guild and the Writers Guild unleash scathing responses to the MAGA-fueled firing of Jimmy Kimmel and Donald Trump’s blatant war on free speech.

We have entered dark, dark times…

“Suppression of free speech and retaliation for speaking out on significant issues of public concern run counter to the fundamental rights we all rely on,” stated SAG-AFTRA on behalf of its actors.

“Democracy thrives when diverse points of view are expressed,” they continued. “The decision to suspend airing Jimmy Kimmel Live! is the type of suppression and retaliation that endangers everyone’s freedoms. SAG-AFTRA stands with all media artists and defends their right to express their diverse points of view, and everyone’s right to hear them.”

The Writers Guild of America West and Writers Guild of America East united for their statement—

“The right to speak our minds and to disagree with each other – to disturb, even – is at the very heart of what it means to be a free people,” they said. “It is not to be denied. Not by violence, not by the abuse of governmental power, nor by acts of corporate cowardice.”

“As a Guild, we stand united in opposition to anyone who uses their power and influence to silence the voices of writers, or anyone who speaks in dissent,” they continued. “If free speech applied only to ideas we like, we needn’t have bothered to write it into the Constitution.”

“What we have signed on to – painful as it may be at times – is the freeing agreement to disagree,” they went on. “Shame on those in government who forget this founding truth. As for our employers, our words have made you rich. Silencing us impoverishes the whole world.”

Yesterday, ABC announced that it would be pulling “Jimmy Kimmel Live!” off the air indefinitely after he made some incredibly tame remarks about the death of Charlie Kirk.

“We hit some new lows over the weekend with the MAGA gang desperately trying to characterize this kid who murdered Charlie Kirk as anything other than one of them and doing everything they can to score political points from it,” said Kimmel.

In truth, we still don’t know what the alleged shooters political ideology is, but it is true that Republicans have been clamoring to exploit this murder for political gain. Kimmel’s cancellation proves it. Donald Trump has been calling for Kimmel to be taken off the air for ages because Kimmel has consistently criticized and mocked him. The Kirk remarks provided the pretext for what ABC has long wanted to do: cave to Trump to curry favor with the White House.

The firing is rendered even more farcical when one considers Kimmel’s comments last week in which he called the killing “senseless.” He also posted an Instagram message sending love to Kirk’s family as well as victims of gun violence across the country. He has been nothing but empathetic and gracious throughout this tragedy and still conservatives are out for his blood.

The irony in all of this is that Kirk was supposedly a “free speech warrior” but now his death is being used to justify an all out assault on free speech. Republicans don’t actually care about principles or decency. All they care about in the MAGA era is the raw exercise of power against their political enemies.

Please retweet and ❤️ if you stand with Jimmy Kimmel!

[Protect Kamala Harris ✊ @DisavowTrump20]

🚨NEW: Donald Trump has threatened to prosecute ABC reporter Jon Karl In an unhinged tirade for asking a question he did not like. The assault on free speech and the 1st Amendment continues under this Administration.

RETWEET if you stand with @JonKarl against Trump!

[Ficus Fan @FicusFan]

@Rezi31237553 In movie 3: to fathers

[Protect Kamala Harris ✊ @DisavowTrump20]

This is Capitol Police Officer Caroline Edwards. She was knocked unconscious by Donald Trump's mob on January 6th, but later continued to fight for our democracy. She is an American hero.

RETWEET to thank Officer Edwards for her bravery!

[Ficus Fan @FicusFan]

@Damaan4u33 No !!