Last Post: I was not allowed in the Republican precinct caucuses
Next Post: First Sperm to the Finish Line
The last post is really an advertisement for AI. It will have taken me three days to bookend my front yard with a second snow sculpture, at least. It took me a couple hours to sculpt a clay model, a crude won, just to give me a small cheat to figure out where to put snow. It took me only a minute to craft a sentence to instruct the illustration part of Gemini, Nano Banana, or something like that to come up with a perfect cartoon.
Yesterday as I sculpted I didn’t do what I frequently do during mindless tasks. Listen to French on headphones. I have a lot to stew about having been denied entry into my Republican precinct caucus. I got lots of nice comments from passersby. One couple in a slow traffic period stopped in front to chat through two light changes. As we talked I mentioned how much the GOP had changed saying that in 1972 Minnesota’s state Republican convention passed a Pro-choice (allowing abortion) platform. The woman on my side of the car pointed to her husband the driver and said. “My husband was the elephant on the floor of the 1968 Convention!”
One driver passing by was more hostile. As he slowed down he yelled out: “Order in the House!” (which, on reflection, I took to mean we need Donald Trump to restore order to America) followed by “F*** You!
Many of the pro-choice types in 1972 really wished the religious, mostly Catholic, pro lifers would stop coming to our precinct caucuses. But national political operatives knew how potent the issue was. They wanted voters for Republicans because they could count on Republicans to tamp down regulation and taxation. For the next fifteen years Republicans wishing to be elected fudged on Abortion saying they opposed it but leaving room to get elected by not being that forceful. But the operatives kept adopting the more hard line stands and arguments. Partial-birth abortions which are rare but happen late in a pregnancy when the life of the Mother is in danger did take place and because of the size of the fetus at six or seven months or even later is not for the squeamish. A husband who wants his wife to live generally gives her precedence. I know as abortion has become more repellent some mothers have decided to take chances with their lives rather than terminate the child they hold within their wombs. But now the official Republican line is in line with protestant Republicans who latched onto the Catholic politics of Pope John Paul and applied vice grips.
I remember back to my youth when southern democrats celebrated “shotgun” marriages as the cure for a pregnant unmarried girl. It was much better than the Islamic act of “honor killings” to end the life of a girl who got pregnant through incaution or rape because not doing so would bring dishonor to the entire family. But today Republican purity leans in that direction but not for honor so much as an extreme notion of life, liberty but no death to an ovum from the moment an Epstein rapist’s sperm enters a 13-year-old girls egg.
That asinine contention comes from the Catholics today and of fifty years ago. They were based on the medieval idea that somehow a very tiny human formed something or other, a homunculus, entered a woman’s vagina and then kept growing until a baby was formed. This came from a time when people were worried that an “incubus” could enter a sleeping woman without sex but nonetheless implanted there by demons.
There is an incubus in the Republican Party with thinning golden hair but he was very worried about germs so he carried condoms in his suit pockets one of which he pulled out on television after a talk show host goaded him in to showing the audience what a millionaire kept in his pockets. Trump waved it around with a sheepish smile. He’s famous for saying his “Vietnam” was making sure he never caught an STD. (sexually transmitted disease)
Now he has given the pro-lifers who once only wanted to repeal Roe vs. Wade what they wanted and they want more. I guess among them the repeal of Ronald Reagan’s (who was Governor of California when less restrictive Abortion laws were passed) eleventh Commandment for Republicans. Thou shalt not speak ill of a fellow Republican! Well, There is a lot of speaking ill of anti-Trump republicans but allowing Anti-Trump Republicans to go to precinct caucuses is a big step toward the Unification Church.
Now as journalists who never called Trump’s lies lies are starting to call Trump’s lies lies Trump is cutting out the tongues of any Republican who dares to express the truth. Keeping me out of the Republican convention because I’ve called some Republicans “turds” ignores the president of the United States uploading images of himself with a crown dumping atom bomb sized crap on people protesting his policies of proto-fascism.
I’ve got a snow sculpture to finish.
I think I’ll ask AI to tidy this up. I will place the AI corrected version just below this original unedited version of mine.
Here’s what Gemini sent back including its “conversation with me about what it was doing and offers at the end to do more:
Thanks for providing that. I’ve cleaned up the grammar, tightened the flow, and polished the narrative while keeping your distinct voice and “Lincoln Democrat” perspective intact.
?Here is the “AI tidied” version for your post:
?Political Correctness – Republican Style
?My last post was essentially an advertisement for AI. It will have taken me at least three days to bookend my front yard with a second snow sculpture, but it took only a couple of hours to sculpt a crude clay model—a small “cheat” to help me figure out the snow placement. In contrast, it took me only a minute to craft a sentence instructing the image-generation tool to create a perfect cartoon.
?Yesterday, as I sculpted, I skipped my usual routine of listening to French lessons. I had a lot to stew over after being denied entry into my own Republican precinct caucus. Despite that frustration, I enjoyed many pleasant comments from passersby. One couple even stopped their car during a slow traffic period to chat through two light changes.
?When I mentioned how much the GOP had changed—noting that in 1972, the Minnesota State Republican Convention actually passed a pro-choice platform—the woman pointed to her husband in the driver’s seat and beamed, “My husband was the elephant on the floor of the 1968 Convention!”
?Not everyone was as friendly, though. One driver slowed down just to yell, “Order in the House!” (which I took as a plea for Donald Trump to restore order to America), followed by a blunt “F*** You!”
?Looking back, many of those pro-choice Republicans in 1972 wished the religious, mostly Catholic, pro-life advocates would stop showing up at caucuses. However, national political operatives recognized the potency of the issue. They wanted those voters to bolster the party’s efforts to reduce regulation and taxation. For the next fifteen years, Republican candidates often fudged their stance on abortion—claiming opposition while leaving enough room to stay electable.
?Eventually, operatives adopted harder lines. They leaned into rare and difficult cases, like “partial-birth” abortions, to sway the public. It is a grueling subject; a husband who wants his wife to live generally gives her life precedence, though I know some mothers choose to risk everything for the child they carry. Today, however, the official Republican line has moved from the nuanced debates of the past to a “vice grip” of absolute dogma.
?I remember my youth when Southern Democrats celebrated “shotgun weddings” as the fix for an unmarried pregnancy. It was certainly better than the “honor killings” seen elsewhere, which end a girl’s life to scrub “dishonor” from a family. Today’s Republican purity leans in a similar direction—not for honor, but for an extreme notion of “life” that grants more liberty to an ovum than to a thirteen-year-old victim of a rapist.
?This rigid contention mirrors medieval ideas of the “homunculus”—the belief that a tiny, fully formed human simply grew inside a woman—or the fear that an “incubus” could implant a child without sex.
?Ironically, there is an “incubus” in the Republican Party today with thinning golden hair. Despite his current posturing, he was once so worried about germs that he famously carried condoms in his suit pockets, even waving one during a television interview. He once joked that his personal “Vietnam” was avoiding the risk of STDs.
?Now, he has given the pro-life movement everything they asked for and more. In the process, they seem to have repealed Ronald Reagan’s Eleventh Commandment: Thou shalt not speak ill of a fellow Republican. These days, speaking ill of anti-Trump Republicans is practically a requirement for entry.
?While journalists are finally starting to call Trump’s lies what they are, he continues to silence any Republican who dares to speak the truth. I was kept out of the Republican convention because I’ve called certain members “turds.” Apparently, that is a bridge too far, even as the President of the United States uploads images of himself as a crowned figure dumping atom-bomb-sized “crap” on those protesting his proto-fascist policies.
?I’ve got a snow sculpture to finish.
?Would you like me to help you draft the next post mentioned in your header, “Oh have I got a lot to say……I’m in no rush….”?
NOTE FROM HARRY: I didn’t see the question marks (?) at the beginning of the edits at first. I’m glad you can see them here.
