Fascism – Politics Plus

Open Thread April 2, 2024

Posted by Joanne Dixon at 5:58 am Open Thread, Personal, Politics

Apr 022024

Yesterday, it literally took me more than four hors to payy just one medical bill with a credit card. A big part of that was that the bill showed a single figure which I had to go through 11 MSNs (formerly EOBs) where i found more than 10 line items for this particular service, not all of which were from this provider, and the only way I could find out which were was by trial and error adding p combinations until I foundthe combination that matched the bill. That took about three hours. Then I spent 15-20 minutes making a PDF of just the claims which applied to this provider,because it would have taken even longer to do it later, and w=even paying by credit card on line I willl eventually have to provide documentation to my HRA. The outher hpur was spent fighting with the provider’s billing agency’s website. I wasn’t expecting that, and after spending all that time just putting the information tpgether, I was not in a good mood to begin with. And then I had to get back to my email inbox, which was pretty well stuffed.

This is a “Missouri leads the way” story, which I can now put up because Nameless’s computers (yes, that’s plural – everything was down) are fixed. It’s not the Missouri government, of course – it’s individual Democrats working together to unsure there is a Democrat in every race.

This is a very moving story about an extraordinary person, who has a warning for all of us.

Open Thread October 12, 2023

Posted by Joanne Dixon at 5:59 am Open Thread, Personal, Politics

Oct 122023

Yesterday, a little-known conversation from many years ago (which was recently quoted by Steve Schmidt) popped up in my mind to haunt me. I can’t say it any better then Steve did, so I’ll quote him: “There is an extraordinary account of a late night meeting that took place between FDR and Canadian Prime Minister William Lyon Mackenzie King in the White House from Nigel Hamilton’s “FDR at War“ trilogy. The two leaders talked late into the night. King returned to his room and wrote down the details of the conversation. FDR outlined to King his vision for what would come after victory in World War II. He said something chilling from the perspective of 2023. He said that nothing lasts forever, and that included his vision for the future. He told King that he hoped it would endure for as long as everyone who was alive on the day the war was won was still alive. The youngest of those people are 77 years old today.” Well, I am 78, and I’m still here. So is Mitch, whio is a bit older. The rest of us who think here are younger (as was TC). I wish all of us long lives free of world war. Also yesterday, Steve Scalise defeated Jim Jordan to be the nominee for speaker. We shall see whether Republicans can come together on this or any nominee. Oh, and The New Yorker had an article on dizziness/vertigo in their daily newsletter. I haven’t had any symptoms for months, but I “printed” it anyway (to my C drive for now – I’ll copy to a portable hard drive eventually.)

Cartoon –

Short Takes –

The Daily Beast – ‘Violence-Ready’ Militia Group Says Jan. 6’ers are Idiots
Quote – A male-only movement in the U.S. dressed up as a sports club catering to white men is taking over the right-wing social scene—and promising some dangerous results…. The clubs advertise as sporting groups designated for white-only men, but their real objective, Ritzmann tells The New Abnormal, “is to essentially train a white supremacist militia.”… [Ritzmann] says “Day X” could look similar to the events at the Capitol on Jan. 6, but adds of the rioters, “they have [been] discussed as being a bunch of idiots who don’t know how to storm a building properly. And they discuss this in a, let’s say, indirect way, because they don’t want law enforcement to focus on them.”
Click through for details. The podcast the article references is also on the page,. and I listened to the whole thing so you wouldn’t have to. The part which expands on the artile starts at approximately 18:40 and ends at 36:35. I also encourage anyone who has not seen Rachel Maddow’s podcast “Ultra” to look it up (and everyone who has seen it to refresh their memory.) It was not easy then to bring America together to oppose fascism, and it won’t be easy now. When I said we needed Joe Biden to be another FDR this was not what I had in mind. But apparently, it comes with the territory.

Jeff Tiedrich – holy shit, Donald Trump gave classified Israeli intel to Putin — probably more than once
Quote – let’s take a closer look at a thing I mentioned at the end of yesterday’s post. Donald Trump fucking loves to collude with Russia. Trump desperately wants to be Vladimir’s bestie. he does everything he can to stay in Putin’s good graces. why? is it because Donny dreams of opening a Trump Tower in Moscow? is it something more insidious, like kompromat? in the end, it doesn’t matter. what matters is that Donald Trump is a Russian asset.
Click through for article. Yes, Jeff has a pottymouth, but he tends to be accurate in both facts and interpretation.

Food For Thought

Open Thread September 10, 2023

Posted by Joanne Dixon at 5:51 am Open Thread, Personal, Politics

Sep 102023

Yesterday, the radio opera was “The Ballad of the Canal” by Yin Qing. It is not a “Chinese Opera” which is a genre all its own. It is a western style opera in Chinese, with Chinese subject matter and roots in Chinese folk music. It does borrow some from the Chinese Opera genre, but that is but one element among others such as bel canto and singspiel. It centers around life during the Ming Dynasty around the Beijing-Hangzhou Grand Canal, the longest canal in the world (and, at 1104 miles, likely to remain so). There is a main plot, but the opera is hughly episodic, and thus can juxtapose characters from various social classes effectively. IIRC, when I was in school, this format was referred to as “a slice of life.” The performance was recorded in 2022. It was very easy to listen to, and not all that hard to follow. The brief interviews with the performers about their characters before it started and during intermission helped.

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Short Takes –

Wonkette – Fani Willis Roasts Jim Jordan’s D**k Over Open Fire
Quote – We are going to resist the temptation to share every hilariously shady comment, every time she just brutalizes Jim Jordan…. Quoting established case law, Willis writes that Jordan’s subpoenas are only valid if related to a real task of Congress, and investigations only for the aggrandizement of the investigators, or to punish those being investigated, are indefensible. “This unprecedented action serves no legitimate legislative purpose and would set a dangerous precedent for future Congresses… the American people deserve better,” she wrote, quoting directly from a letter written by [checks notes] Jim Jordan to Bennie Thompson, chair of the House January 6 Select Committee, back in 2022. That’ll set the tone for you. But it gets so much nastier.
Click through for full (NSFW) article. I doubt whether Jordan will ever learn not to leave himself wide open like that. Not if he hasn’t learned by now. (Oh yes, and it’s Substack now.)

The Daily Beast – How ‘Free Speech’ Warrior RFK Tried to Bully a DailyKos Blogger
Quote – “In truth, Mr. Kennedy gave a speech for peace and freedom in Berlin on Aug. 29, 2020, initiated by the group Querdenken—a democratic movement whose name means ‘lateral thinking’ and who vehemently oppose all forms of fascism and extremism,” the Barnes-written document reads, referring to Kennedy’s rant about Bill Gates and 5G. “Despite requests from Mr. Kennedy, Defendants have failed and refused to take down the Defamatory Article.” The problem with this argument is that The Daily Beast and numerous other organizations have extensively documented Querdenken’s extremist affinities and associations. Not only does it indulge in QAnon conspiracies and fawn over Russian dictator Vladimir Putin, but the U.S. State Department has highlighted its “anti-Semitic rhetoric and views,” and a top police official in the German city of Bremen has described it as “a serious threat to public security.”
Click through for details. “DowneastDem,” IMO, is entitled to wear this as a badge of honor. Kennedy’s siblings all (publicly) disagree with his claim not to be or associate with Nazis. (As do I – but I don’t have the standing.)

Food For Thought
I’d save this for a day when TFG is testifying – except that I’m not crazy enough to believe he will ever testify.

Video Thread 8/12/2023

Posted by Joanne Dixon at 12:10 pm Open Thread, Politics

Aug 122023

Glenn Kirschner – Jack Smith subpoenas Trump’s Twitter account; this will be evidentiary gold for prosecutors

The Lincoln Project – The DeSantis Method

Robert Reich – Is Donald Trump a Fascist?

Farron Balanced – Trump Messes Up His Own Name And Age During Arraignment

Blind Puppy Grows Up And Gets A Blind Puppy Of His Own

Beau – Let’s talk about Trump in the zone….

Video Thread 8/7/2023

Posted by Joanne Dixon at 12:02 pm Open Thread, Politics

Aug 072023

Glenn Kirschner – Just 24 hours after being told by judge not to threaten witnesses, Trump appears to violate order

The Lincoln Project – Uh oh, 3.0

Thom Hartmann – Did the DeSantis Campaign Approve Nazi Symbol “Political” Ad?

MSNBC – ‘Exciting, blustering nutjobs’: Money problems, chaos seen in state Republican Parties

Cat Dumped For Being ‘Aggressive’ Transforms Into A Lovebug

Beau – Let’s talk about Texas, definitions, and people….

Open Thread July 30, 2023

Posted by Joanne Dixon at 6:02 am Open Thread, Personal, Politics

Jul 302023

Yesterday, the radio opera was “Li zite ‘ngalera” by Leonardo Vinci, neither of which/whom I had ever heard of (Of course I know who Leonardo da Vinci is, but this is an 18th century namealike.) It is a comedy; the title translates to “The Newlyweds;” the libretto is in the Neapolitan dialect (Neapolitan composers as a group are credited with re-shaping operas in the direction of the form we recognize from the 19th and early 20th centuries.) The plot is easily described: Carlo leaves his fiancee Belluccia for greener pastures; she follows him disguised as a man; she ends up cutting him out with his new flame and s couple of other girls and he ends up back with her. But “easily described” is not the same thing as simple. I can see, and you likely can too, all kinds of complications, not even including the one that Belluccia’s father is furious with Carlo, and she has to save his life from her Dad. It premiered in 1722. Handel had left Italy (where he studied Italian opera) in 1710 for the court of Prince George of Hanover (later George I of England), but since he wrote a good number of Italian and Italian-style operas in England and was very successful until “The Beggars’ Opera” hit one out of the park (causing Handel to switch to oratorios), it’s not impossible that he knew it. I didn’t hear any influence on Handel in the music, but I did hear the beginnings of the recitativo-aria pattern which was standard by the time of Mozart. (I also heard some “gender-bending” which was pretty standard in opera at the time. Carlo sung by a woman may have been an attempt to replace a castrato role, but that would not explain the presence of a female character sung by a tenor.) The production is from La Scala from this year.

Since Pat B is away for the weekend on a family outing, I am going to slip in a couple of TJIs which I would ordinarily have sent her.
TJI #1 – (A response to DeSaster’s word salad while being questioned about his travesties of education policy) DeSantis was trying to wrap himself in the Cloak of Invisibility but instead slipped on the Hoodie of Absurdity. – Kareem Abdul-Jabbar
TJI #2 – Justice Alito secured his place in history as the Court’s cranky old man yelling at Americans to “get off my lawn!” – Robert Hubbell

Off to visit Virgil – will post when I return as always.

Cartoon –

Short Takes –

AP News – Biden openly acknowledges 7th grandchild, the daughter of son Hunter and an Arkansas woman
Quote – “Our son Hunter and Navy’s mother, Lunden, are working together to foster a relationship that is in the best interests of their daughter, preserving her privacy as much as possible going forward,” Biden said in a statement. It was his first acknowledgement of the child. This is not a political issue, it’s a family matter,” he said. “Jill and I only want what is best for all of our grandchildren, including Navy.”… The president, who has made a commitment to family central to his public persona, has faced increasing criticism from political rivals and pundits for failing to acknowledge the granddaughter. According to a person familiar with the matter, he was taking the cue from his son while the legal proceedings played out. The person spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss private matters.
Click through for story. I could have told you that Joe would do this just as soon as Hunter taking responsibility for his actions got to the point it has now reached. And not a moment sooner. (And I can also tell you with no additional evidence but with complete moral certainty that he is incredibly relieved that the time has come. Joe’s primary motivator is love – it’s that simple.)

Letters from an American – July 28, 2023
Quote – On Wednesday, soldiers of the presidential guard overthrew Niger’s democratically elected president, Mohamed Bazoum, and replaced him with a military general, Abdourahmane Tchiani…. Niger is a key player in the struggle to establish democracy in Africa, and Bazoum’s overthrow is part of that larger story. Niger is a landlocked country about twice the size of Texas in the center of the Sahel region in Africa, a dry grassland region that crosses the continent from the Atlantic to the Red Sea…. That region has also been plagued by violent Islamic groups, and strongmen promising to restore order have launched successful coups in the countries of Mali and Burkina Faso, which are Niger’s neighbors. (When Vice President Kamala Harris went to Ghana in March, her visit was partly to shore up democracy in that country, which is on the edge of the Sahel region and under pressure from militants in Sahel countries.)
Click through for details. Reuters had this story and so did MSNBC, though not in the headlines. I didn’t see it anywhere else, though I didn’t look everywhere, and of course, Heather has all the history. I find this scary on a level with Trump**.

Food For Thought

Open Thread June 18, 2023

Posted by Joanne Dixon at 6:11 am Open Thread, Personal, Politics

Jun 182023

Last week’s opera was the last one from the Metropolitan Opera until December. But WFMT will carry on through the summer with recordings of live performances from all over the world. Yesterday, the opera was “Fidelio,” the only opera ever composed by Beethoven, from the Vienna State Opera. The announcer today said it was based on a true story from the French Revolution; that was the first I’d heard of it, so I won’t swear to it. But it’s about the wife of a man who was politically fighting a fascistic governor, who has kidnapped him and thrown him into the (unfinished) basement of his private prison. It’s been two years, and everyone thinks him dead except his wife, who dresses as a man to get a job at the prison. She doesn’t find him until the evil governor’s boss send him a message that he’s coming to inspect the prison. The governor panics and orders the jailer to dig a grave in the basement, the wife offers to help, and there he is. The line that’s often quoted occurs when the governor is about to kill him and the wife comes between them and says “First kill his wife.” (She is armed and the governor falls apart and leaves, as does the jailer, from kinder motives.) But the line that gets me every time is when they are left alone and he, still in shock, says “Leonora! What have you done for me!” to which she replies, “Nothing, my Florestan. It was nothing.” Then they go up and out, and the governor’s boss and the chorus sing in praise of marriage. And with all that in my head, I’m off to see Virgil. As always, I’ll post a comment when I get back

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Short Takes –

Robert Reich – The Five Elements of Fascism
Quote – How do we describe what Trump wants for America? “Authoritarianism” isn’t adequate. It is “fascism.” Fascism stands for a coherent set of ideas different from — and more dangerous than — authoritarianism. To fight those ideas, it’s necessary to be aware of what they are and how they fit together. Borrowing from cultural theorist Umberto Eco, historians Emilio Gentile and Ian Kershaw, political scientist Roger Griffin, and former U.S. Secretary of State Madeleine Albright, I offer five elements that distinguish fascism from authoritarianism.
Click through for all five. Many lists have more than five – but all of the lists nail Trump** and his MAGAts as pure fascists.

HuffPost – Biden Is Having A Very Productive Presidency, And This Win On Drug Prices Shows Why
Quote – If you want to understand why the Biden administration gets so little credit for its accomplishments ― and why, perhaps, it deserves to get a little more ― pay attention to a little-noticed policy announcement from last Friday. The announcement was a list of 43 prescription drugs that are covered by Medicare and whose prices have risen faster than the rate of inflation. The list included relatively well-known drugs like Humira, which treats a variety of inflammatory conditions, plus some more obscure medications like Leukine, which helps cancer patients undergoing chemotherapy stave off infection.
Click through for details. And pass it on

Food For Thought