Yesterday, Fair Fight Colorado announced that a ballot measure has been announced in Colorado to join the redistrict fight. Colorado has officially declined to transfer Tina Peters into federal custody. And CPR also told the state that we lost a (D) state Senator last week, in a 5-car crash on I-70.
In one way it could be called good news that there is yet another prominent Reagan-appointed judge who cannot abide Metamucillini, but it’s not good news that he has therefore resigned. I do get it, and he articulates it very well, and of course he couldn’t stay – but that’s also one less judge who can be trusted at a time when he admits trust in the government, and particularly the DOJ, is at an all-time low – and for good reason.
At least I am getting to “The Week Ahead” on Tuesday this week. She apologizes for it being long, and also says it’s incomplete. So fasten your metaphorical seat belts. Here we go.
Politizoom is the only place I saw this story, and it didn’t arrive until a bit after 8 pm (7 pm Pacific), so it’s as hot a story as you are ever likely to see here. My uncle lived in Stockton until I was about 12 or 13, so that caught my eye, but it was “Child’s birthday party” that really hit me. Four dead, three of them children, and ten injured.
Yesterday, I saw Virgil. Snow had been predicted for the day, but the prediction changed the day before to just cloudy all day with a high expected of 29°F (I think that’s about -2°C but I did the math in my head, so feel free to correct me if it’s wrong.) The sun was visible in Pueblo, but frankly it wasn’t much warmer if at all, and prison visiting rooms in CO are always beyond chilly. Not that that stopped us from having fun with cribbage. Virgil had the best hand of the day – a triple run of 3 (15 points), and one of the other two card made 15 with the card there were 3 of, so that was 6 more points for a total of 21. It’s tough to beat that, though of course it is possible (just not today.) The drive was pretty easy both ways – a good thing since I had only about 3 hours of sleep Saturday night. Don’t expect me to reply to comments early today. Upon return, my inbox was full of mail, but mostly cyber Monday stuff. Move On is starting to plan for a third No Kings event next year, but it’s in the planning stage – no date has been announced. I did find one article and one video which struck me as noteworthy.
I was going to start this take with “Speaking as a veteran” – but I realized that I’m really not sure whether I’m speaking as a veteran, or just as a decent human being who has priorities. Either way, I want to point out that most people (including all decent people) grasp that active duty military and veterans deserve our respect because they are willing to risk their lives for their country (which is also our country.) And if that is so, how much respect do we owe to Afghans who have not just been willing to, but actually risked their lives – for their country in the long run, but by aiding our country in the short run? I have read letters and articles written by American military who were the recipients of aid from Afghans. These letters/articles are always passionate; they are filled with examples of things these Afghans have done to help or save the writers, and they have usually been written at times when the US government have been (at best) slow walking giving them aid, giving them admission here, or some other thing which they have, in fact if maybe not on paper, earned. These letters and articles have made me passionate too. To accept assistance from someone who is putting their life on the line to keep our troops from being massacred, because they believe in us – then throwing them under the bus- is something a decent person would not do to an animal, let alone another human being. No, Afghans who have helped us are not all perfect – they are human – and humans are not perfect – but punishing all of them for the bad actions of one is disgraceful. It is inhuman. And it is un-American.
This is the video. It’s under a half hour. Joyce’s experience is mostly in DOJ (when we had one) while Ryan knows more about war crimes and international law. Both are IMO easy to listen to.
Yesterday, the radio opera was “Arabella” by Richard Strauss, who is much better known for “Salome,” “Elektra,” and “Der Rosenkavalier.” Arabella is about the two daughters of a Count and Countess who are deep in debt and figure they can just barely manage to come up with one dowry, but two are an impossibility, so the second daughter Zdenka, has to dress as and pretend to be a boy (“Zdenko”). I can just hear MAGA screaming – or at least I would if anyone in MAGA were able to appreciate opera. But I digress. It’s essentially a comic farce, with a happy ending for both daughters and their parents. It’s also the last opera of the summer season – next Saturday the Met will be back, and hopefully I can just listen on the radio again. I say “hopefully” because the toad in the White House has cut public radio and TV funds enough that two announcers have left and the station manager is leaving as of tomorrow, and the Met costs. So I may be depending on WFMT all year now. Either way, there’s a lot for me to be excited about in the new season. Anyway, I’m off to see Virgil now and will check in when I return.
Also referred by The Smile, from a local TV station on Chattanooga. No information on how her skull got fractured – unless her blindness and he running everywhere might be a factor.
This from the East Idaho News is late – it happened a few days before Thanksgiving – but good news (and referred by The Smile) is always welcome, right? I can’t skip the ad on the video but it’s not terribly long and I think it’s worth it.
Yesterday, I really felt like I needed a day off. And my inbox didn’t help – it was crammed, but mostly with Black Friday crap. I didn’t give in to that impulse completely, but this is short compared to usual. Tomorrow I will go see Virgil, andof course check in when I get home.
This is a Black Friday deal, but it’s from Andy Borowitz. And it will give you a smile whether you are in the market or not.
This is today’s news video. Substack videos are mostly long (too long for PP), but this one is just 4½ minutes. Malcolm Nance has thoughts on the shooting of the National Guards.
This is an unusual animal to befriend in distress, but some people have a big enough heart and don’t have a phobia.I couldn’t do it – but I can applaud it.
Trinette got this from a friend and forwarded it to me – something to post on your front door in self-defense.
Yesterday, I hope everyone had a pleasant and a peaceful day. I know I did
Ordinarily I don’t post petitions but this one is on a proposal which is new and shocking – “Doug Burgum, Trump’s hand-picked Interior Secretary, … wants to treat our public lands like a ‘balance sheet’ — turning America’s natural treasures into collateral for national debt.” This could be worse than selling them outright. If a sale were to be proposed, we would at least have an opportunity to protest. As collateral, they could just disappear. Of course Democratic Conservation will request a donation, but that is not mandatory.
Wednesday evening, Joyce Vance did a “catch-up” letter on legal news, much of which I had missed, so I’m linking today in case you missed it also.
Heather Cox Richardson wrote about the origins of Thanksgiving specifically as a national holiday (communal giving of thanks at the time of harvest date back as far as history can tell us, and probably much farther), which has its roots in the Civil War. You can read it, or you can scroll down and watch/listen to (most of) it.
Yesterday, I had about as many emails as usual, but far more than usual of them were selling things, so I ended up with less than usual to read. It was a nice break. And there was this one – Hoo Boy, is this a powerful endorsement! (It came in an email but I’m linking straight to the ad itself.) Also, this news broke. I apologize for putting a damper on your holiday.
Robert Reich: “How to Get Rid of Citizens United.” Starting at the state level.:
From Mediaite, referred by “Daily Dose of Democracy.” I suspect all it really means is that the Kumquat King now has enough of his own installed that he no longer needs outside help to fire people.
Ordinarily I don’t repost John Pavloviyz. But this is not his usual – it a piece of NSFW satire that I think everyone can relate to. I personally particularly enjoyed “No one cares how many followers you have. (Trust me, followers are overrated anyway.)”
n Sunday, Richard Ojeda (remember him from when I was posting a separate video roundup daily? He’s now running for Congress, and I hope he wins. He’s a fighter) publicly defended the six veterans unlawful order video, and of course pissed off MAGA. His response appeared yesterday. Also yesterday, The Smile reported that AOC has donated 1600 turkeys to hungry people in her district. Tell me again how both sides are the same. Also, my “Daily Dose of Democracy” newsletter said that Marjorie Taylor Greene’s resignation is just the first of what will be a bunch. You would think a MAGA President would be aware how whiny MAGA members are, but apparently not. An unnamed GOP rep said “”This entire White House team has treated ALL members like garbage. ALL…” and threatened the loss of the majority by the GOP before the midterms. Hey, from his mouth to God’s ear!
From Democratic Underground. Not exactly news – but I love it. I love what it says – and even more what it doesn’t say.
From Common Dreams. Only 70%? Sorry, but that’s not even close to where it should be (heck, more people disapprove of Citizens United than of a shooting, killing war for no reason.) Venezuela is not Iraq – there was some excuse for falling for that one. This time – not so much.
Yes, Wednesday is a bit late for “The Week Ahead.” But it wouldn’t surprise me if it is still unfolding. This week is another big one.
Yesterday, Judge Cameron Currie dismissed both of the James cases – Comey and Letitia. Comey should be off the hook (although it was dismissed without prejudice) because the statue of limitations is up. There is, per Harry Litman, a possible argument that a Latin term in the opinion sets the calendar back a little, which could affect the statute of limitations. James’s was also dismissed without prejudice, so she could be indicted again (and likely will be, unless it turns out that the statute of limitations has run out for her also, which even Joyce Vance isn’t certain of – since it’s the Orange Oligarch.)
The F* News on the meeting between Zohran Mamdani and the Apricot Antichrist, which went surprisingly well. Even jaw-droppingly well. I’m so allergic to Trump**[*] I really can’t bear, not just his face and voice, but even his words, even when he appears to be making sense, so I really didn’t take much away from this, but it’s such a black swan event it’s hard to ignore.
I did not have this on my Bingo card. But now that Democratic Underground has reported it, I cannot say I am surprised. The only paperwork they actually pay attention to is the skin colors paint sample
This from Common Dreams is regarding Senator Mark Kelly, one of the six who made the video about not obeying illegal orders. Yes, they can do this. Any service member, officer or enlisted, who stays active long enough to receive retirement pay is subject to recall to active duty. That is why those retirement checks are funded in the DoD budget, and that’s a huge figure in it. Not all the DoD budget goes to $200 hammers and planes that don’t fly. I get why, if they are subject to recall, they must be paid from DoD funds, but very few people, including active duty service member and probably even some retirees are aware of that, and it makes the DoD budget look far worse than it is. Retiree pay is definitely fraud or waste, but if some creative Democrats could come up with a way around this, It could be an incredible public relations victory. Failing that, efforts to make the facts about retiree pay more widely known could also help. I was in the USMC for 10 years, most of which was spent directly working with military pay, and I did not find this out for at least 8 of those 10 years. Back to the court-martial suggestion – if this were going to be a civilian court, even now, I would, and I suspect Kelly would, say “have at it.” But I don’t have as much faith in a Court Martial. (Neither does Steve Schmidt, and he says so quite bluntly.)
Off Topic – sort of – The one-woman play “Ann” about Ann Richards is streaming on demand now and will be through next year. Of course it is political – but not current politics – which is why I say Off Topic. But it is a fun escape if you have a couple of hours to spare.
