Open Thread August 2 2026

 Posted by at 6:00 am  Open Thread, Personal, Politics
Aug 022026
 

Yesterday,the radio opera was “L’Eliser d’Amore” (“The Love Potion) by Gaetano Donizetti. It’s a comedy, and not just because it has a happy ending. It premiered in 1832 abd kas kiterakky never been out of the repertory. Normally, I’m not crazy about productions which change the time or the country an opera is set in – because there’s always something that doesn’t fit the history and/or culture of the new setting) – but, years ago (so many years that I was not yet married) a production was televised set in the 1860’s in the American southwest in the 1860s – and it was spooky how well it fit. The southwest did not have peasants – but it did have cowboys. And it had traveling snale oil salesmen. And there was a war on. (And of course, a young woman who owns a farm or a ranch could be just about anywhere, any time.) Since then, I have never heard it without remembering that production. (And it didn’t hurt that the tenor was very easy on the eyes.)

I would never have thought of this, but I’m glad someone did. (I did think of taking bayyet to address balance issues – and it worked – but didn’t last because I didn’t keep it up. Marine bases didn’t have barres installed then – and I’d be very surprised if they do even now.)

This chick is lucky to be a penguin – it it were an animal which could be cuddled gy humans, it would be cuddled within an inch of its life, it’s so adorable. (No disrespect is meant by calling it “it” – penguins cannot be gendered by humans visually, and it needs to be old enough for a blood test to check its DNA, and it isn’t yet.)

This is long for a Sunday, and it’s also not yet actual good news but potential good news. But, having spent a couple of years as a regular visitor to a couple where the wife had advanced Parkinson’s, it hits home to me.

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Open Thread August 1 2026

 Posted by at 6:05 am  Open Thread, Personal, Politics
Aug 012026
 

Yesterday, Malcolm described the Iran War situation as one of two things: either all combatants (and non-combatants, including some new ones) think the war is a game of Risk – or they think it is a Tom Clancy novel. I’m not familiar with either the game or the author’s works – but it doesn’t sound good. Also, he put out a second show, a special edition – mostly about a newly resuscitated 500-year-old territorial dispute between Spain and Morocco for part of the Sahara. NO ONE HAS INVADED SPAIN. Although the Evil Emperor clearly wants to take down the government of Spain.

This is long – and it’s going to be even longer, because it’s a series. It will be coming out on Fridays, which means you will be seeing it on Satirdays – unless you subscribe to Robert Reich‘s Substack yourself. Someof it may well bore you – because it is fundamental, and y’all are already up on foundations. But it’s still good to look at them from a different angle. I do take issue with his statement that economics are not separate from politics. He sees them as two sides of the coin. I see them as married – with no reason why they can’t divorce and marry something else.

From The Conversation. I know that I want the truth from news sources – whether that truth is excellent, horrifying, or anything in between. I’m inclined to think that may well have been influenced by the fact that my recreational reading, from age 8 up, was authors like Agatha Christie, Erle Stanley Gardner, Rex Stout, and Ellery Queen – adding in my teens Ngaio Marsh, Matjorie Allingham, Josephine Tey, and too many more to list here. But that might be just my imagination. I really so not understand people who either don’t care whether what they believe is true or not – or who will embrace anything as truth because they want it to be true. And it boggles my mind how many of them there are.

I finally got Drop Site News sending to my new email address. My bad, I should have done it sooner. This is quite a story. Apparently the Mango Monster has gotten a bee in his bonnet about a Russian spy station which used to exist, but was closed in the early oughts and pretty well demolished. The site now has a school. I am still trying to wrap my head around as to why Russians would call a spy station in a Spanish-speaking country “Lourdes”. Saint Bernadette might has thoughts about that. Anyway, after the Soviet one was demolished, a Chinese one went in to a completely different area. All this and more is at the link, including a couple of supplemental videos.

Atlanta Black Star weekly puts together a column called “The Narrative, which matches up news stories with a common theme – which may or may not be obvious

2fer

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Open Thread July 31 2026

 Posted by at 6:00 am  Open Thread, Personal, Politics
Jul 312026
 

Yesterday, I ranted about what the Do”J” is doing trying to convict Comey. Today, I learned Glenn Kirschner is even more pissed than I am. (He described the credibility of an anonymous witness mentioned in the prsecution documents as “lower than whale shit.” I might just add, inmy own experience between 50 and 60 years ago – we did use the tern “86.” It meant to “throw out” as one would a useless piece of paper into a wastebasket. That’s all.

Well, this is interesting (referred by Dose of Democracy). It does go along with his support of Native Americans, which has been consistent and pretty much passionate – and which is the reason I’ve been saying “If we must have one far-right justice on the Court, let it be Gorsuch.”

Apparently ProPublica has learned that there is something else that AI is food for – it can find bugs in software faster than Microsoft can fix them.

The Conversation addresses a case in the Texas court system which could change our national definition of the word “terrorism.” I’m not comfortable with it – the possible change reminds me of the McCarthy era -which resulted in entire generations thinking they know what “communism” is – and being wrong.

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Open Thread July 30 2026

 Posted by at 6:00 am  Open Thread, Personal, Politics
Jul 302026
 

Yesterday, I didn’t do much other than wade through email. Virgil called, which was nice. I did get some knitting done. Today’s pet video is another spliced one – which I will be calling a 2-fer.

From ProPublica. You can talk about unintended consequences – and I am pretty sure this was not intended – but the Mango Moron and the desoicable Russell Voght probably both see it as a feature, not a bug.

From Adam Klasfeld. This pisses me off royally. Yrd, every profession, including medicine, contains people who, though highly educates, are dumber than rocks. (And no amount of intelligence guarantees courage comes with it.) Anthony Fauci is not merely an intelligent MD; he is also a fighter and a hero. And he’s older than I am – and under this stress is beginning to look it. This persecution needs to end – yesterday.

Talking Points Memo: James Comey is far from perfect – but he doesn’t deserve this. The detail that made me curse out loud was that,on a trip with his wife, they made a stop at the grave of their son who dies when still an infant. Thhey were under (illegal) surveillance the entire time. The in-person surveillance lost track of him, but the electronic surveillance picked it up and went there after the Comeys left – and took a photo of the flowers they left at the grave.

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Open Thread July 29 2026

 Posted by at 6:03 am  Open Thread, Personal, Politics
Jul 292026
 

I have come to the conclusion that there is nothing I can do witr Paint software (and probably any other non-Wordpress or non-Bluehost software) to keep the inages from overflowing, even if I reduced them to 100 pixels (roughly the size of a postage stamp.) Instead, I don’t even know whether I need to make them 800 pixels or smaller,ut I do, then put them into the draft, preview it and watch them spred out beyond reason, then go into our library and scale them there. After which, I need to “refresh” the draft and preview again and see them fill (but not overflow) the space. At least it appears to work. Please, anyone and everyone, let me know it it’s not working for you.

This is Dropsite News from Saturday. It came only to the old email. I didn’t delete it but also didn’t read it then. Monday I read it and decided that in a time when I know there are many in the US feeling like nothing they can do makes a difference, we needed to see it. Though it would not work with every insult, I admired the power of embracing the opponent’s insult.

This is what VoteVets thinks of our “strategy” in the Middle East. Yeah. A second thing the Mango Moron and Kegsbreath have in common (besides both being playground bullies in adult bodies) is thet neither can read the room – or in this case the Theater – with the reuly that they are completely unable to construct – or even imagine – an actual strategy ( or even to recognize one when they see it. And Iran clearly has one. Or more.) Veterans with combat experience, particularly in the Middle East and pretty much regardless of rank, are all saying the same things about this war – just with different framing.

IANAL, but I think I can safely say Jim Jordan is out of his ever-hating mind if he thinks he has a case here. Of course, heANAL either – Harry Litman makes that painfully obvious.

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Open Thread July 27 2026

 Posted by at 6:07 am  Open Thread, Personal, Politics
Jul 272026
 

Yesterday, I saw Virgil. and we played Cribbage. He asked me to thank you, Lona, for your birthday wishso – Many Thanks. Also yesteray, Heather Cox Richardson posted more 1-minute videos in her “250 to 250” series, which she might continue through December – since July 4 is past.. I have been sharing very few on individuals – not that that means I haven’t been leaving out some major events, because I have. I said when I started I would not possibly be able to share all of them. If you want to see what you are missing, all of them from the beginning (and last week was week #9), are at her YouTube channel – mixed in among her readings of  her “Letters from an American”, her “Politics Chats,” and other videos, but they are clearly marked.

From The Root. Sorry, kids, humans – especially professors – are generally smarter than AI.

I for one never think about judges working on Saturdays. However – court doesn’t need to be in session for them to be working – and if thre was ever a time and place for a judge who respects his oath of office to be working overtime – the time is now and the place is here.

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Open Thread July 26 2026

 Posted by at 6:00 am  Open Thread, Personal, Politics
Jul 262026
 

Yesterday, the radio opera was La Nozze de Figaro – usually translated as “The Marriage of Figaro” – but I think it should be “The Wedding of Figaro.” There is a difference. But after 240 years – and with the original French play using “Le mariage…”, I guess we’re stuck with it. It does always take me back to when Virgil and I got married – by a JP with no one but him and us present – a friend was asking me beforehand about our plans, and when I told her, she said, “Oh, I get it – you don’t want a wedding, you want a marriage.” I couldn’t have put it better. My parents did the same thing, and if my father hadn’t died so young, I’m confident their marriage would have lasted at least as long as ours. Off to see Virgil now. Will check in upon return

66 billion is one heck of a lot of trees. And what we might br ablr to learn from them could be amazing.

I have never thought that rodeos had any positive aspecta. Well, I stand corrected. (or to be accurate, sit corrected.)

I certainly found this one heartwarming. (and it is on loop – though it’s long for ABC – it’s not repetetive. I’m in awe of the work that was required to put it together.

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Open Thread July 25 2026

 Posted by at 6:00 am  Open Thread, Personal, Politics
Jul 252026
 

Yesterday, I did get my yarn untangled and separated, and finished one cuff. We’ll see whether I can finish the second one today. Not that there’s any rush.

Archived from In The Public Interest. What is it with Oligarchs and Water? In Iran they’ve bombed desalinization plants, depriving people of water at any cost. Here, they’re privatizing it so they cn make money from exorbitant pricing. Human life is apparently just an annoying bug that gets in their way.

Atlanta Black Star. Yes, I am posting a lot about Nolan Wells. The Black news outlets also are. Somebody white needs to, and I guess it’s I.

This link is to the YouTube of the Jim Acosta Show “Oh, Schmidt, it’s Friday” with Steve Schmidt. Accessing it through Substack took me to YouTube, and, looking back to Substack I couldn’t find a transcript. YouTube has one. I wanted to call attention to the Apricot Antichrist changing the status of the last four combat deaths in Iran to just deaths. Frank Figliuzzi also addressed this, and wondered whether the change would cheat thair families out of compensation. Having served 10 years as a disbursing officer handling military pay, I can’t say, because so much has changed – not just the numbers, but the categorization of different kinds of compensation. I can adjust for inflation what would have happened then, but have no idea how it works now. Back in the day, anyone stationed in a combat zone received “Hostile Fire Pay” of a flat $65 per month (adjusted for inflation, $513.88.) The family of any one in service who died while in service anyhow, anywhere, would receive from SGLI (Servicemens’ Government Life insurance of $2,000.00 (adjusted for inflation $15,811.65.) I have no idea whether either HFP or SGLI still exist, or, if not, how they have been replaced, if at all. But, regardless of compensation, this is still a case of stolen honor. And it’s despicable.

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