Open Thread March 19 2026

 Posted by at 6:00 am  Open Thread, Personal, Politics
Mar 192026
 

Yesterday, there was a hearing in committee for Markwayne Mullin, nominated to replace Kristi Noem. I’m just going to reproduce in full what Rand Paul asked him. (You may remember that in 2017 Paul was beat up so severely that he was hospitalized. And I do not agree with his proposed amendment, and you won’t either, but I do agree with him on Mullin):

“Recently, Senator Mullin, if you have time to listen, you were confronted by constituents that were angry because you voted against my amendment to stop all funding for refugee welfare programs,” said Paul. “Instead of explaining your vote to continue these welfare programs for refugees, you decided to transfer the blame. You told the media that I was a ‘freaking snake’ and that you completely understood why I had been assaulted. I was shocked that you would justify and celebrate this violent assault that caused me so much pain and my family so much pain. I just wonder if someone who applauds violence against their political opponents is the right person to lead an agency that has struggled to accept limits to the proper use of force. You have never had the courage to look me in the eye and tell me that the assault was justified, so today you’ll have your chance. Today, I’ll give you that chance to clear the record. Tell it to my face, if that’s what you believe. Tell it to me today. Tell the world why you believe I deserve to be assaulted from behind, have six ribs broken, and a damaged lung. Tell me to my face why you think I deserved it. And while you’re at it, explain to the American public why they should trust a man with anger issues to set the proper example for ICE and Border Patrol agents.”

Also yesterday afternoon, the Senate was debating the SAVE Act, but I have no details yet. (I doubt they decided anything – I would have seen or heard that.) Also, we had a high temperature of 80°F (~27°C) and for today, tomorrow, and Saturday are expecting 84°,85°, and 89° respectively – in an area known for snow storms happening (off and on, granted) November through May

Judicial fireworks – Harry Litman said he has never seen an attorney escorted out of a courtroom by marshals before. Talk about no nonsense!

Maybe I should save this from All Rise News for Sunday. On the other hand, the sooner people can get vaccinated as a result of the, the better.

And there’s this from Press Watch, which could turn out to be good news. We’ll need to watch, and wait, and see. But we can hope.

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Open Thread March 18 2026

 Posted by at 5:55 am  Open Thread, Personal, Politics
Mar 182026
 

Yesterday was not the Equinox – but for all intents and purposes (don’t you just hate it when someone says “for all intensive purposes”?) it was here – we had 12 hours each of day and night. Also, I note that Ken Burns has endorsed Sherrod Brown. Not a surprise in one way, because Burns is wicked smart. And he kind of knows everyone – for instance, he knows the Vinman twins from when they were about ten years old. And he hasn’t been silent about national politics. But (and this is probably my ignorance) I’m not aware of his having made a statement about state politics before – and it’s not a state he has lived in. Kudos to him for this. I hope his endorsement hits hard. Also the Nance/Kaarbo Warcast pointed out that, with Israel striking Lebanon, a million people are leaving southern Lebanon – and that this could easily reinvigorate Hezbollah. I would like to point out that Kegsbreath’s no rules, no quarter approach is not only in violation of national and international law, but it is also a good way to lose both the war and the peace. It makes people hate a country. And if, after making the mistake, a country does not make transformational and very public reform happen, it will never be safe again. And the incompetence – it would just be absurd – except that people are dying. All kinds of people. On the other side, the Iranians (technically the Shia Muslims, but Iran is Shia majority) have their own concept of a Messiah – the “twelfth Imam” – who will one day return (and why not now?) And we can expect a shortage of generic drugs to happen fairly soon. And so much more. This one might be worth watching, long as it is.

And other things happened. For one thing, it dawned upon me (probably way too late) that the forms of identification mentioned in the abominable “SAVE Act” do not include a Certificate of Naturalization – nor a Consular Notification of Birth Abroad, nor a Certificate of Citizenship (for people who were entitled to a Consular Notification but their parents did not get one for them before they turned 18.) I sent an email to Senator Hickenlooper’s office, but it was pretty late, and, since they were supposed to be considering it yesterday afternoon, possibly too late. I wish that I, or anyone, had thought of it earlier. I am a birthright citizen, which means I did not have to do anything but breathe to have citizenship. I have the utmost respect for those who had to work for it.

Talking Points Memo from the weekend, yes. But you’ll want to see it – exactly because the Saffron Sauron won’t want you to.

Steve Schmidt from Monday – relining this. I’ve been reliving this since the girls’ school in Iran was bombed. I don’t know which is worse – the coverup then, or the pride and bragging now.

From Common Dreams. File under “No shit, Sherlock.” That’s probably unfair to a lot of civilians who don’t know what “No quarter” or even “Take no prisoners” actually mean. Both mean the same: Kill everyone, even civilians and anyone who wants to surrender. And yes, when the “Secretary of War” says it out loud and publicly, it’s a war crime. Brcause, unlawful order or not, there are some who will follow it.

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Open Thread March 17 2026

 Posted by at 6:00 am  Holiday, Open Thread, Personal, Politics
Mar 172026
 

Yesterday, I got an email from Johns Hopkins University, which just receives an Oscar for its (Netflix) documentary “All the Emppty Rooms,” which refers to the bedrooms of children who after school shootings did not come home. That documentary will be screened in DC on March 25 at their Bloomberg Theater on W Penn Ave. I sent an email to Indivisib;e Colorado and said that we have nine days to get Coloradans to either sign a petition or send individual emails to our Congressional delegation, and particularly to the Republican House members, to pressure them to go watch it. We’ll see if anything comes of that. I don’t have cable, but I assume if any of my readers is a Netflix subscriber, you can see it that way. Also, Glenn Kirschner did a (40 minute) video with Adam Klasfeld on the Halkbank case. I have mentioned it, but it has been pretty much under the radar – a $20 Billion money laundering case involving a bank in Turkey which is somehow tied to US sanctions on Iran and also to the Apricot Antichrist’s “bromance” with Erdogan. Glenn summed it up by saying, “I keep saying it is inexplicable because i look at it, as I do everything, through my justice glasses. But – if I take them off – of course it is perfectly explicable.” So you all probably don’t need to watch, but I’ll give the link anyway. Also – the Prime Minister of Denmark stated that the US is no longer Denmark’s most important ally. Denmark’s most important allies are the Scandinavian nations, the European Unon, and Canada. (I might add that there is an election in Denmark in a week. And that Denmark has always shown up for us in every conflict since WWII.) I got that last tidbit from Jacob Kaarsbo who works with Malcolm Nance (and who is Danish) on the daily war report. That whole report today made me want to repeatedly beat a wall with my head, so I’m not giving that link, but if you want it, say so in a comment and I will put it in a reply, or in an email if I have yours.

An update from Joyce Vance in the Fulton County election records seizure case. I don’t know about anyone else, but the moment the DOJ put their hands on those records I wrote this off on the basis that those records had already been corrupted and would no longer be valid for any purpose whatsoever. But apparently Fulton County thought it was worth taking to court.

A respected reporter writing about an FCC chair who royally disrespect reporters and the media they rode in on. And a couple more stories. Feel free to keep scrolling.

This from Axios was very brief when I collected it yesterday – but sometimes these alerts get fleshed out over time. It concerns me because – although in this regime there are NO adults in the room, she appears to be the closest thing to one that there is. Think about Miller getting promoted into that position. That truly scares me.

Dog

Did anyone watch the Oscars? I didn’t – I think the last time I did was the year Halle Berry won Best Actress. and thst’s been d minute. But Liza Donnelly (a New Yorker cartoonist who is involved in politics as a citizen) did, and linked to what she says is “the one speech from the Oscars that you actually need to listen to.” And I would bet she is right. Here’s that link.

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Open Thread March 16 2026

 Posted by at 5:47 am  Open Thread, Personal, Politics
Mar 162026
 

Yesterday, Malcolm Nance‘s daily update reported that all eight of the US military whom we have lost were reservists. Not one of them was on active duty before the war – all eight were called up for the war. This report – the one for day 16 – has a lot of strategic speculation (you might say “what ifs”) which appear to me to be well worth knowing – some are speculative, some deduced. And this video, at just over 40 minutes, is shorter than most of them. So I’m sharing the link. Also, Trinette was by – for once I was ready. Always great to see her.

Common Dreams: Well, this is not good. IANAL – but I think I heard somewhere that a lower court decision does not become a legal precedent until it is upheld by a Circuit appellate court. On the other hand, who knows what the Fifth Circuit will do – this is Texas, after all.

The new cartoon doesn’t really inspire me – but the captions for the old one impressed me. I do think the top prize should have gone to the last runner-up – but see what you think.

This from The Hill in not all that interesting, but it was probably the slowest news day I’ve ever seen (I hope it wasn’t just the calm before the storm!). So slow I’m going to throw in a story about a T-shirt.

This link is to a Video with JoJo from Jerz and Harry Dunn. Harry is wearing a Tshirt which you can’t see all of – within the first 30 seconds he pulls it up enough that you can see more of it, but there is still at least one “book” that you can’t. I managed to collect the “titles” of all but the very bottom “book”(s) so here they are:
DREAM LIKE MARTIN
FIGHT LIKE MALCOLM
LEAD LIKE HARRIET
THINK LIKE GARVEY
BUILD LIKE MADAM CJ
CHALLENGE LIKE ROSA
WRITE LIKE MAYA
EDUCATE LIKE W.E.B.
If I ever wore Tshirts, I’d want one – but I wear long sleeves when it’s cold and sleeveless when it’s hot – and there doesn’t seem to be any in-between for me.

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Open Thread March 15 2026

 Posted by at 6:00 am  Open Thread, Personal, Politics
Mar 152026
 

Yesterday, the radio opera was Madame Butterfly by Puccini – the first opera I ever saw – I was 8 years old. It’s one of three operas for which Puccini selected the subject after seeing a play in a language he didn’t speak but was still able yo understand everything happening (the other two were Tosca and La Fanciulla del West.) He figured correctly that an operatic subject selected on that basis would make the opera more accessible. I don’t know that I would recommend it as a first opera today, though – Butterfly’s line in the first act “Oh, I am very old – I am fifteen” has taken on too much additional weight in the shadow of the Epstein files.

The work that Ray Brown is doing has never been more important than it is now. He makes me proud to be a Coloradan

I was not surprised to read that mariachi runs in the family – rather, I would have been surprised if it didn’t. Mariachi just does. And not only mariachi. Look at the Romero family of guitarists – now in its third generation.

Technically, I suppose this is not a “good news story.” But it made me smile. (And I still wouldn’t go to a Chick-Fil-A myself.)

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Open Thread March 14 2026

 Posted by at 6:00 am  Open Thread, Personal, Politics
Mar 142026
 

Today being Pi Day, and the rest of the news being so grim, a mathematical puzzle might be in order.

Yesterday, I discovered something – I knew Jim Acosta was on Substack, and I knew that S teve Schmidt was sometimes a guest of his, but I had no idea that Steve was going to be a regular guest every Friday, nor that they were calling this “Oh, Schmidt, It’s Friday.”  (Gotta laugh so you don’t cry, right?) Apparently the US death toll is up to 11 now. Or was yesterday.

From The Root. I figure that what Black people need to know, we all need to know.

It appears the shooting I mentioned yesterday, and another shooting, and a hacking, were not home-grown but Iranian retaliation. Robert Hubbell expands on this with multiple citations. He then goes into other ramifications of the war, also with citations.

From the Contrarian – a history and definition of Concentration Camps – so that if anyone tries to tell you they aren’t, you can prove that they are.

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Open Thread March 13 2026

 Posted by at 6:00 am  Open Thread, Personal, Politics
Mar 132026
 

Yesterday, another mass shooting, this one at a synagogue in West Bloomfield Township, Michigan. The only casualties were the shooter (killed) and a guard (wounded, not too seriously.) And we have a president who apparently would rather confess to a war crime than be credibly accused of a crime of pedophilia. Think bout that. i desperately hope that, wherever he is, TomCat is having a better birthday than our day. Happy Birthday, TC. We still miss you.

ProPublica discusses the school bombing (which I trust no one here attributes to anyone other than us) in the context of a program initiated during the Biden administration which, if it hadn’t been cut into smithereens, might have prevented it. (On the other hand, Kegsbreath might have ignored it.)

Common Dreams addresses a different atrocity. This one involving a ship, is clearly an atrocity (the school bombing might have been an error – not that I believe that for an instant.) But a ship cannot possibly have been mistaken for a military base.

From Ukrinform. Someone joked this week that the Saffron Sauron “has started World War Two and a Quarter.” I don’t think it’s that funny really – but it does make a point.

Belle War

Dog

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