GOP Fascism – Page 2 – Politics Plus

Open Thread May 22, 2023

Posted by Joanne Dixon at 6:13 am Open Thread, Personal, Politics

May 222023

Yesterday, I had an uneventful drive both ways and enjoyed (as I always do) my visit with Virgil. We played Scrabble again – finished three games and almost finished a fourth (which we knew we wouldn’t finish whwn we started it, so we relaxed the rules to save time – accepted foreign words not in common use and some acronyms – I was wishing we’d done that sooner, because at one poit in one of the first three games I had 2 F’s along wirh an A and an O, and oh, how I wanted to use “FAFO.”) Anyway, Virgil returns all greetings. When I got back I noticed I have some deep purple irises blooming in a flowerbox at the far corner of my front yard. I’m supposed to have one more day before it starts raining again, so maybe I can get out there and brng a couple in. Only one iris has showed up in the bed by the porch, and right now it has zero buds, and isn’t very tall, but looks healthy otherwise. I scraped a little dirt away to try to get some sun on the rhizome, which hs necessary for them to bloom. We had had so much rain last week that the earth was still soft, and so much dryness today that I could use my fingers without getting muddy. I don’t know whether I did it soon enough or well enough – we’ll have to wait and see. I do want to share a delightful graduation photo of Mary Trump’s daughter Avary, which she posted oon Twitter and someone shared at DU. Mary Trump’s father was a decent human being,unlike the rest of the family that we know of, so of course she is too and I assume her daughter as well.

Cartoon – 22 abraham-lincoln

Short Takes –

Media Matters – Conservative pundits are increasingly open about who they think should be killed
Quote – The two stories illustrate a growing trend in right-wing media to argue that the deaths of marginalized and criminalized populations are not only justified but actually desirable, whether those killings are carried out by the state or by vigilantes. Bloodlust is nothing new in right-wing media. From the proto-fascist Father Charles Coughlin through Rush Limbaugh and Bill O’Reilly to former Fox News host Tucker Carlson, conservative pundits and writers frequently fantasize about violence aimed at their political opponents or marginalized people. In 1989, Donald Trump, who was a media personality for decades before entering politics, called for the execution of the wrongly convicted Central Park Five, a group of Black and Latino teenagers railroaded into false confessions by the New York Police Department. The conservative ecosystem made a celebrity of Kyle Rittenhouse — who killed two people and injured a third during an August 2020 Black Lives Matter demonstration in Kenosha, Wisconsin — and tried to justify the killings of Trayvon Martin, Ahmaud Arbery, and Eric Garner.
Click through for article. I think I agree that it’s getting worse, but for me it’s just an impression since I, as the saying goes, “don’t watch Fox for the same reason I don’t eat out of the toilet.”

https://crooksandliars.com/2023/05/republicans-take-next-step-book-ban-laws
Crooks & Liars – Republicans Take Next Step In Book Ban Laws: Jailing Librarians
Quote – Terrorizing librarians is the obvious point. If they face terrible consequences from putting any books on shelves that someone might find “harmful,” they’re more likely to avoid any risk of that in the first place. Or to put it another way, the censorship will stop before the material is on the shelf.
Click through for story. I knw, I know, this has been going on for centuries And it’s stil awful, and it’s never going to be anythng other than awful.

Food For Thought

Video Thread 4/30/2023

Posted by Joanne Dixon at 11:53 am Open Thread, Politics

Apr 302023

Glenn Kirschner – In closing arguments, Proud Boys BLAME DONALD TRUMP for the Jan. 6 attack on the US Capitol

Thom Hartmann – Distressing Truth Scientists Don’t Want To Tell You

Farron Balanced – Donald Trump Gives Jim Jordan The WORST Compliment A Politician Could Get

Parody Project – CALLOUS MAN – A Parody of Piano Man

Hissing Feral Cat Becomes A Couch Potato

Beau – Let’s talk about true propaganda….

Open Thread April 12, 2023

Posted by Joanne Dixon at 7:13 am Open Thread, Personal, Politics

Apr 122023

Yesterday, In The Public Interest (ITPI – a group which opposes any privatization of anything which ought to be a pure government function) reported that in two red states, Kansas and Texas, the legislatures had defeated measures which would in some way privatize public schooling. This is welcome news. Still, I can’t get the thought out of my head that one motivator for taking this the action at this time was the desire to keep tight state control over what children are allowed to learn. In his play, “Murder in the Cathedral,” which dramaizes the death of Thomas Beckett, T. S. Eliot wrote the line “The last temptation is the greatest treason:/ To do the right ting for the wrong reason.” I’m not sure that is 100% true, but there is truth in it.

Cartoon –

Short Takes –

Robert Reich – Is the GOP becoming the American fascist party?
Quote – We are witnessing the logical culmination of win-at-any-cost Trump Republican politics — scorched-earth tactics used by Republicans to entrench their power, with no justification other than that they can. Democracy is about means. Under it, citizens don’t have to agree on ends (abortion, health care, guns, or whatever else we disagree about) as long as we agree on democratic means for handling our disagreements. But for Trump Republicans, the ends justify whatever means they choose —including expelling lawmakers, rigging elections through gerrymandering, refusing to raise the debt ceiling, and denying the outcome of a legitimate presidential election.
Click through for article. Yeah, I know, the question answers itself. But he puts the evidence together nicely and neatly. Including the distinction between ends v. means, which is as important as the distinction between left and right v. up and down.

Raw Story – Lauren Boebert accused of ‘coverup’ after son’s car accident
Quote – Noble D’Amato, a 19-year-old friend of Rep. Lauren Boebert’s son Tyler, has accused the Republican congresswoman of covering up details of a vehicle crash that left him injured. D’Amato told Denver news site Westword that he was riding shotgun with Boebert’s son on September 17 when Tyler flipped the SUV he was driving. D’Amato suffered “multiple concussions and a severely lacerated hand.” “I still have problems with my hand,” D’Amato told the site. “My thumb almost got cut off. It prevented me from getting a welding job, because I can’t hold a TIG torch anymore. I’m a personal-care provider now.”
Click through for details. It used to be a truism that “It’s not the crime, it’s the coverup.” I’m afraid, for today’s Republican fascists, neither matters much, if at all. I’d love to be wrong in this case, as the kid appears to deserves justice.

Food For Thought

Video Thread 4/11/23

Posted by Joanne Dixon at 11:55 am Open Thread, Politics

Apr 112023

Glenn Kirschner – As defendant Trump’s threats to judge & DA continue, it’s time for the judge to order him to STOP!

Thom Hartmann – Frightening Truth About GOP’s Fascist Descent Exposed

Ring of Fire – Trump Holds Emergency Prayer Call Following Arraignment

Twitter – Justin Jones and Joan Baez singing “We Shall Overcome” at the airport together

Beautiful. Justin Jones and Joan Baez singing “We Shall Overcome” at the airport together. Two legends & inspirations uniting & sending a strong & powerful message. Tennessee Republicans truly messed with the wrong person. pic.twitter.com/bLLvsHt6yw

— Victor Shi (@Victorshi2020) April 9, 2023

Terrified Puppy Completely Transforms When She Meets Another Dog

Beau – Let’s talk about the GOP in North Carolina and Tennessee….

Open Thread April 9, 2023

Posted by Joanne Dixon at 7:00 am Open Thread, Personal, Politics

Apr 092023

Yesterday, the radio opera was Puccini’s “Tosca,” an opera which strikes very close to home in multiple circumstances … including the circumstances the United States is currently in politically (and legally.) The title character is a beautiful, celebrated, passionate, insecure, and rather naive singer who is in love with the tenor, a political activist. The chief of police, the de facto dictator (at least of the city), who is such a jerk that Napoleon looks good to the activists, has the hots for her. He also knows her lover, Mario, is an activist, and therefore wants him dead for both reasons. There is torture, there is extortion, there is desperation, and by the end of the opera all three are dead. It’s quite a trip. It wasn’t the first opera I saw live, but I was quite young when I saw it first – about 18. It was on a Saturday. The previous evening, I had been to a get-together with the professors and other students in the Classics Department (my major.) One graduate student was kind of pushing me to accept an alcoholic drink (but I had driven to the occasion, and would have to drive home), and at one point he said, “Don’t you want to be happy?” I replied, “I am happy already,” “What?” he replied. “How dare you be happy without artificial means?” It was funny, and we both laughed, but it wasn’t so funny the next day when he had been found a suicide. I learned about it maybe an hour before I was to leave for the opera with the friend who had invited me. It really hit home. To this day I cannot see or hear or think about “Tosca” without remembering. I also can’t help loving “Tosca.”

Cartoon –

Short Takes –

Crooks and Liars – ‘You Bet!’: Peter Doocy Taken To The Woodshed By John Kirby
Quote – “Proud of the fact that we got more than 124,000 people safely out of Afghanistan? You bet,” Kirby shot back. “Proud of the fact that American troops were able to seize control of a defunct airport and get it operational in 24 hours? You bet. Proud of the fact that we now have about 100,000 Afghans, our former allies and partners, living in this country and working toward citizenship? You bet!”
Click through. there’s a video if tou can stand Doocy’s voice – I can’t. I’m sharing this for John Kirby’s remarks. For an operation which was deliberately set up – by Trump** – to fail, there is indeed a lot to be proud of.

Democratic Underground (littlemisssmartypants) – A “brilliant story about…JustinPearson” from Tennessee.
Quote – When I was a young organizer, we would often sit in [Memphis City Schools] board meetings…. This particular night I noticed a young man who was sitting and waiting to speak…. Once he got to the podium the room completely shifted…. He challenged the Board to answer for why they had such low expectations for his school and his community…. That kid is an adult now and that adult just got expelled from our house floor making national news….
Click through for the full story. I’m not crying, you’re crying. If they hold special elections, his district – both districts – should vote them back in and keep doing so as long as necessary. And then elect both to Congress (Along with Gloria Johnson.)

Food For Thought

Video Thread 3/13/2023

Posted by Joanne Dixon at 12:08 pm Open Thread, Politics

Mar 132023

Glenn Kirschner – Mike Pence CALLS OUT Donald Trump at Gridiron Dinner? Will Pence now testify about Trump’s crimes?

Thom Hartmann – Is This Healthcare or a Crime?

Ring of Fire – Biden Baits Republicans Into A Trap On Medicare Funding

Armageddon Update – DeSantis DeStruction

Stray Cat Waits For This Guy At Work Every Morning For 2 Years

Beau – Let’s talk about Fox, a Zoom call, and the New York Times….

Open Thread February 25, 2023

Posted by Joanne Dixon at 7:11 am Open Thread, Personal, Politics

Feb 252023

Yesterday, It warmed up above freezing and the snow is mostly gone from where it needs to be gone. Today (and tomorrow) should be warmer. I did listen to the concert “For Ukraine: A Concert of Rememberance and Hope.” It began with a video message from Olena Zelenska (Debra Lou Harder read out the English subtitles.) I was choked up before the first note (which was the first note of the Unkrainian National Anthem, BTW.) If you saw “Amadeus,” you’ll remember several chunks from the Mozart Requiem, and of course everyone recognizes Beethoven’s Fifth Symphony. They are actually less familiar to the performers than to the audience – opera orchestras don’t generally play sumphonies, and opera choruses seldom sing Requiems, though top rank vocal soloists do, at least on occasion. The “Prayer for Ukraine” was part of the first Met concert for Ukraine. Yes, this is alot of music analysis. But as someone cited from Heine, (it may have been the Ukrainian ambassador to the UN, or one of the two Ukrainian soloists), “When words leave off, music begins.” They posted the program on line (part of it – they cut out the advertising.) And – speaking of Ukraine and music …

Cartoon –

Short Takes –

The Daily Beast – Broadway Star Ben Platt Condemns ‘Evil’ Neo-Nazis After ‘Parade’ Protest
Quote – The show, a Broadway transfer from the Encores! concert series, is based on the true story of a Jewish factory superintendent, Leo Frank, who was falsely convicted of killing 13-year-old employee Mary Phagan in 1913, and who was kidnapped from prison and lynched two years later…. [A] masked activist from the National Socialist Movement, a neo-Nazi hate group, tried to leaflet theater-goers outside the Bernard B. Jacobs Theatre so they could “find out the truth” about the ADL (Anti-Defamation League), as well as Parade. “You’re paying 300 bucks to go fucking worship a pedophile, you might as well know what you’re talking about,” the masked person said.
Click through for article. This is bad enough – but the same people who staged this outrage have also designated today as a “National Day of Hate.” At least in many large cities, it’s being reported that law enforcement is providing extra protectio to synagogues.

Letters From An American – February 19, 2023
Quote – Today is the anniversary of the day in 1942, during World War II, that President Franklin Delano Roosevelt signed Executive Order 9066 enabling military authorities to designate military areas from which “any or all persons may be excluded.” That order also permitted the secretary of war to provide transportation, food, and shelter “to accomplish the purpose of this order.” … On March 2, 1942, General John DeWitt put Executive Order 9066 into effect. He signed Public Proclamation No. 1, dividing the country into military zones and, “as a matter of military necessity,” excluding from certain of those zones “[a]ny Japanese, German, or Italian alien, or any person of Japanese Ancestry.”
Click through for Letter. There is Nick Anderson the basketball player, and there is Nick Anderson the cartoonist, but the Nick Anderson to whom Heather refers is neither of them. He is a young reporter for the Washington Post. I can’t provide a gift link – my cousin is all out of them for this month. Here’s the paywalled link. But hHeather does a gret job and you may not need or want it.

Food For Thought