Open Thread March 27, 2024

 Posted by at 6:25 am  Open Thread, Personal, Politics
Mar 272024
 

Yesterday, one of the stories reminded me of my mother’s Uncle Fred, who died before I was born, so I never met him, but was told a story about him. Fred was a civil engineer, and some people made fun of him because he predicted the Golden Gate Bridge could never be built. Well, he was wrong. But he was also right, because what he meant was that it could not be built as planned without unacceptable loss of life (and to him one life lost was unacceptable. Eleven were lost during construction, and it could have been worse. A safety net saved 19 from certain death.) I think I would have liked Uncle Fred.

Everyone calls this the “hush money” case. But it’s really basically criminal only because it is really an “election interference” case. I did see someone refer to it as the “hush money/election interference” case – probably a good idea.

A new ad from VoteVets. Short, not sweet, but extremely accurate. (I had to turn the sound on, it was muted – you may also. But the CC is perfect so you may not care.

Building bridges is a dangerous business. So is fixing them when they need maintenance. But I doubt whether anyone would have predicted this.

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Open Thread March 15, 2024

 Posted by at 5:31 am  Open Thread, Personal, Politics
Mar 152024
 

Yesterday, I looked up the radio opera for tomorrow, which is Puccini’s “Turandot.” It’s a lovely opera, with very effective music, including “Nessun dorma,” which became Pavarotti’s signature aria, and has been recorded now by almost evereyone (I’ve even heard a recording of Sarah Brightman singing it.) But tonight, Rocky Mountain PBS will air Jake Heggie’s “Dead Man Walking,” starting at 8:00 pm and running until 11:00 pm. And that I just cannot miss. It is part of the Live in HD series, so it was recorded in October, and will be the same cast I heard in January. The three leading women I know well, and have not just heard but also seen them all, two of them in person, but I had to look up the bass/baritone. This is kind of a signature role of his. He spent some years corresponding with a death row prisoner in Texas – until the man suicided after SCOTUS turned his last appeal down. So I may end up sleeping though all or part of “Turandot” after all. We shall see.

Mary Trump writes about the Hur hearing. There are video clps all over of Jerry Nadler and Jamie Raskin handing Hur his posterior – you have probably seen some. Eric Swalwell and Adam Schiff also got in on the act. Enjoy.

Although he technically is, being a human male over 18, I hate even seeing Kyle Rittenhouse called a “man,” To me, “little punk” is more appropriate.

I’m linking this instead of embedding it … but it’s only a minute. It’s a new ad made by VoteVets, and they have managed somehow to get Fox to commit to airing it on Fox & Friends (one of TSF’s favorite shows.) So backlash can be expected. I applaud VoteVets for doing this.

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Open Thread February 3, 2024

 Posted by at 6:12 am  Open Thread, Personal, Politics
Feb 032024
 

Yesterday,it was pretty quiet again, though there was a grocery delivery. I may be getting the hang of how to ask for help getting them in the house, or I may just have been lucky in who was assigned, but either way, it went smoothly.

VoteVets is up in arms, almost literally (quite literally if you can count words and images as weapons of war.) Yes, the link I’m providing is to a donation page, but at least at this page you can watch it without YouTube ads popping up. If you’re not aware of the kerfuffle from MAGA after they released their previous ad, this one may make you furious.

I don’t know how well I’ll be able to keep up with black history this month, but I don’t think I could have passed this up in any month. It’s good, very good, to see the “backbone of the party” receiving some the recognition which it so richly deserves.

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Video Thread 8/21/2023

 Posted by at 12:08 pm  Open Thread, Politics
Aug 212023
 

[I think Glenn means “in to” rather than “into” – and hope that gives you a chuckle. It did me.]
Glenn Kirschner – Trump to turn himself into GA authorities. Here’s how DA Fani Willis CAN give Trump a speedy trial.

PoliticsGirl – This Must Stop

VoteVets – AWOL

Armageddon Update – Year Of The Weasel!

Tiny Stray Kitten Follows Guy Home And Never Leaves

Beau – Let’s talk about Santos, fundraising, and another indictment….

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Video Thread 7/28/2023

 Posted by at 11:44 am  Open Thread, Politics
Jul 282023
 

Glenn Kirschner – Rudy Giuliani admits in court filing that HE LIED about GA election workers Shaye Moss & Ruby Freeman

The Lincoln project is so hot just now that some of them will have to take their time to get posted)
The Lincoln Project – Last Week in the Republican Party – July 25, 2023

VoteVets – Travel Ban

Farron Balanced – Ted Cruz Picked A Fight With Barbie And Lost

Tiny Kitten Becomes An Adventure Cat Like His Brother

Beau – Let’s talk about the Senate and NATO….

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Video Thread 5/15/2023

 Posted by at 11:49 am  Open Thread, Politics
May 152023
 

Glenn Kirschner – NY Prosecutor who investigated Trump’s crimes SCHOOLS Jim Jordan on subpoenas AND the rule of law

MSNBC – U.S. faces as nationwide teachers shortage

Farron Balanced – Charges Against George Santos Are WAY Worse Than Expected

Armageddon Update – Grab ‘Em By The Money!

Rescue Wolf Kept Crying For His Mate… (hanky alert)

Beau – Let’s talk about the GOP budget, veterans, and the diner….

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Open Thread March 22, 2023

 Posted by at 6:55 am  Open Thread, Personal, Politics
Mar 222023
 

Yesterday, someone over at DU pointed out that the closest thing we have to a precedent for charging a President or a former President is the “arrest” of Grant for speeding (in his horse-drawn carriege.) I had forgotten about it, but, yes, this really happened. Grant, however, accepted accountability and paid the ticket. Since this happened in the open, there were no walls, but who would not wish to have been a horsefly on site in order to have seen it?

Cartoon –

Short Takes –

Robert Reich – The Undeserving Rich
Quote – Markets depend on who has the power to design and enforce them — deciding what can be owned and sold and under what terms, who can join together to gain additional market power, what happens if someone cannot pay up, how to pay for what is held in common, and who gets bailed out. These are fundamentally moral judgments. Different societies at different times have decided these questions differently. It was once thought acceptable to own and trade human beings, to take the land of indigenous people by force, to put debtors in prison, and to exercise vast monopoly power.
Click through for full article. Is the idea of “The Deserving Rich” a real thing? I think not. But it’s been around for a long time. If you remember Jesus’s remark about the rich getting into heaven is like a camel getting through the eye of a needle, you may remember his listeners were sghast, and aske, “If they can’t get in, then can anyone?” The name “Prosperity Gospel” may be new but the illusion is not.

The 19th – Nearly 300,000 women served during the Iraq War. Two decades later, they remain ‘the invisible veterans.’
Quote – Theresa Schroeder Hageman, a political science instructor at Ohio Northern University who served as a nurse in the Air Force from 2005 to 2010, said that she’s noticed that veterans like herself who served during the post-9/11 conflict years don’t always claim the veteran status. Schroeder Hageman said she cared for active-duty and veteran patients at one of the country’s largest Air Force hospitals, but she was never deployed overseas. “Sometimes I don’t claim the status because I didn’t deploy, so I feel less than, which is silly,” Schroeder Hageman said. “You think, ‘I’m not a real vet.’ Some women who were deployed but didn’t serve outside the wire will say they’re not a real vet.”
Click through for story. I would say to vets like Schroeder Hageman, “Claim it. It may get ignored. Claim it anyway.”

Food For Thought

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Open Thread November 11, 2022

 Posted by at 6:55 am  Open Thread, Personal, Politics
Nov 112022
 

Yesterday, we got some additional election results and we did not get others. Some of the results were good. Others not so much. And some of the undecided races are IMO nervewracking (Boebert’s district is still too close to call.) One thing that we do know is that the Georgia Senate race is headed to a runoff, which is the second-best news we could have from Georgia. We do know that Georgia Democrats are very good at getting turnout for runoffs – that is how Rev. Warnock got into the Senate in the first place. I’m sorry that it means more work (and more anxiety) for Georgia Democrats, but it is better than a simple loss, and it gives me hope. I did find a good news story (at least I think and hope so – one never knows what a fascist is going to spring on one), along with one which makes me want to scream. I do have a couple of new nicknames to share (for people I SO wish would just go away so the nicknames would not be needed) – “Pumpkin Spice Lardass” and “DeSanctimonious.” The latter is being credited to the former, but I seriously doubt whether he knows any five-syllable words.  Oh, and I got the Name Drop right again – but only because I’m not only so old, but because I was raised by my Mom who was born in 1906 and her Mom who was obviously even older (I called a refrigerator an “icebox” until I was in my 20’s.  I had some other paleologisms too.)

Cartoon (Pat B is in her local parade today) –

Short Takes –

Axios – Russia announces retreat from key Ukrainian city of Kherson
Quote – Kherson was the only provincial capital captured by Russia since it invaded Ukraine in February. Its liberation would represent a remarkable victory for Ukrainian forces. It marks another major setback for Moscow in the nine-month war, coming after Ukraine recaptured a major portion of Kharkiv Oblast and made significant gains in Kherson Oblast in earlier this fall Russian forces will also cede all of the territory captured on the western bank of the River Dnipro and will organize defensive lines on the opposite bank of the river.
Click through for article. I cannot guarantee that this is good news, but it certainly seems promising..

Crooks and Liars – Man Allegedly Shoots Neighbor Dead Because He Thought He Was A Democrat
Quote – An Ohio man died of multiple gunshot wounds, and according to the 911 call, the victim’s wife said that the armed neighbor murdered her husband because he thought he was a Democrat. The chilling 911 call reveals that Austin Combs had confronted Anthony Lee King, 43, over his perceived party affiliation on multiple occasions.
Click through for the (literally) gory details. I have heard many times people in AA saying, when someone started a sentence with “I thought…” “Did your sponsor tell you you could think?” Seems appropriate to me for MAGAts – except, who is going to tell them? Who would they listen to?

Food For Thought

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