Glenn Kirschner – Jim Jordan tries to interfere in Trump’s NY case, DA Alvin Bragg SCHOOLS Jordan on the Constitution!
Politics Girl – Trump Arrest
MSNBC – Judge rules Trump lawyer must testify in special counsel probe of classified documents
TYT – Georgia Rep. Completely CRUSHES Republicans (hanky alert?)
Reasons My Cat Wouldn’t Survive In The Wild
Beau – Let’s talk about the GOP getting news from the budget office….
Yesterday, well, actually a few days ago, so you may have seen it, Disney fired a shot at DeSantis by announcing that Disney World will be hosting a “major summit on gay rights” in September. And Steve Schmidt made a rare exception and released his entire column to unpaid subscribers, I presume because the ignorance of the Constitutional law displayed by Republicans, including members of Congress, impelled him. I’d bookmark this one, or print it out, for when I encounter talking points which make out the Constitution to be whatever Republicans want it to be.
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Robert Reich – What connects Trump’s likely arrest with the bank bailouts?
Quote – Thiel and other wealthy self-described “libertarians” want Trump to be re-elected president in 2024…. Charges of hypocrisy have been leveled at Thiel and other wealthy depositors who claim to be libertarians but were rescued by the government. There was nothing hypocritical about it. Thiel and others like him aren’t really opposed to government, per se. They’re opposed to democracy. They prefer an oligarchy — a government controlled by super-wealthy people like themselves.
Click through for story. I might suggest that it is indeed htpocritical to call yourself a libertarian when you are in fact an oligarchist. But there’s certainly a precendent in Ayn Rand.
Civil Discourse – A nightmare for women in Idaho could be coming to all of us soon
Quote – Bonner General Health wrote that it was forced to take the step because of physician shortages and a downturn in births. Then it explained the context in which it was being forced to shut down its labor and delivery unit: “Idaho’s legal and political climate – Highly respected, talented physicians are leaving. Recruiting replacements will be extraordinarily difficult. In addition, the Idaho Legislature continues to introduce and pass bills that criminalize physicians for medical care nationally recognized as the standard of care. Consequences for Idaho Physicians providing the standard of care may include civil litigation and criminal prosecution, leading to jail time or fines.”
Click through for details. Translation: When government tells doctors how to practice medicine, that is a threat to ALL doctors practicing ANY kind of medicine, and they will go elsewhere. If this spreads, the ENTIRE United states could lose ALL its doctors and medical facilities.
Food For Thought
Glenn Kirschner – Judge ORDERS Trump lawyer Evan Corcoran to testify AGAINST Trump, and appellate court agrees!
Thom Hartmann – Fascist Bullies Don’t Stop… Unless We Stop Them
Ring of Fire – Trump’s Biggest Legal Problem Isn’t Getting Enough Attention
MSNBC – Supreme Court hears case on Navajo Nation water dispute
Abandoned Puppies Are All Grown Up And Looking For Their Forever Homes
Beau – Let’s talk about the water situation out west…. (Most of the snowpacks are above normal. There is ONE which is at only 80%. It is the one that feeds the arkansas River. The Ark is rhe river I would drive along after turning left at Pueblo when Virgil was in Las Animas. I feel like Rick – “Of all the basins feeding all the rivers, the one that is below normal is mine.”)
Yesterday, there was a very odd story out of Russia – first a bit of background: “eternal flames” are not unknown here, but apparently in Russia there are a gazillion of them, relics of the Soviet era. In a town in the Moscow region but not Moscow, a fifth-grade boy apparently had had enough of the one there, and literally estinguished it. Using a fire extinguisher of the type that are required in cars there), he didn’t spray it (which would not have worked) but tossed it into the flame. An explosion ensued and the flame was gone. I guess there are bunches of dissatisfied people just about everywhere, and some will go to ridiculous lengths to make it known.)
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Crooks and Liars – Dark Money Groups Sue To Remain Anonymous
Quote – At the heart of the lawsuit is the argument that anonymous political speech is protected by the First Amendment. Terry Goddard, a former Arizona attorney general and the driving force behind the Voters’ Right to Know Act, said the arguments against disclosure aren’t new — and have been rejected by courts.
Click through. Because of course they do. If you were pouring money into taking away other people’s money so you could kep more of yours (and keep getting more), you’d not want anyone to know who you are either.
ABC News – What is gender dysphoria and what does transgender youth care consist of?
Quote – Across the country, Republican lawmakers have introduced legislation that restricts transgender health care for minors. At least eight states have passed laws or policies restricting this care, and 23 more state legislatures are considering similar legislation of their own. Medical experts say that understanding transgender identities, gender dysphoria and how gender-affirming treatments work is key to understanding the impact these bans may have on patients.
Click through for details. I’m counting this as a women’s history month article. That’s because I have a theory that LGBTQIA+ phobia ia all based in misogyny. Anything other than straight male is othered. (And if we could eliminate all fear of LGBTQIA+, misogyny would remain.) But we must keep trying. All of us.
CPR – The beloved musical ‘1776’ is coming to Denver, and its cast is as diverse as the Second Continental Congress was not
Quote – A reimagined take on a Broadway classic is coming to Denver, and it’s challenging audiences to think about our country — who we are and why — with a new perspective…. When it premiered on Broadway in 1969, the musical “1776” won three Tony Awards, including Best Musical. This iteration of the musical still depicts the Second Continental Congress meeting in the summer of 1776 to write the Declaration of Independence. But, this new production — by directors Jeffrey L. Page and Diane Paulus — features a diverse cast reflecting many representations of race, gender, and ethnicity. That is to say, it’s not all white guys.
Click through – in a way this is fluff – which is why I made it an extra – but I bring it up not because it’s Denver, or because it’s a musical I love, but because of the inclusivity.
Food For Thought
(I wish this were actually from Campbell’s. But “Customer Service” ia a private account, a person or geoup that loves returning the finger to those who give it to “woke” products.)
Glenn Kirschner – Trump TROUBLES: NY AG Tish James, Georgia DA Willis, NY DA Bragg ALL breathing down Trump’s neck
The Lincoln Project – Last Week in the Republican Party – March 21, 2023
Farron Balanced – Dozens Of Trump Employees Hit With Subpoenas From DOJ
Trae Crowder (Puttin on Airs) – The Ridiculous History of People Putting Animals on Trial
Stray Cat Starts Showing Up At Couple’s New House
Beau – Let’s talk about what happens if Trump gets indicted….
Yesterday, I learned from The Daily Beast that PBS has completed and is airing an episode of its “American Masters” series about Dr. Fauci. My recollection is that most of those have been about people in the arts; if so, I find this noteworthy. It was first aired Monday, but could be aired again or available on Passport.
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Democratic Underground (bigtree) – No one should minimize the anticipated arrest of this former president for lesser crimes
Quote – There’s no precedent to the former leader of the U.S. facing criminal prosecution which will likely include felony charges. Trump will also be the first major presidential candidate under indictment seeking office…. Manhattan prosecutors are also deliberating whether to charge Trump with falsifying business records in the first degree for falsifying a record with the intent to commit another crime or to aid or conceal another crime, which in this case could be a violation of campaign finance laws. That is a Class E felony and carries a sentence of a minimum of one year and as much as four years. [emphasis mine]
Click through for essay. this is an opinion piece, so it may or may not align with your opinion. Certainly not all the comments align with it, some vehemently.
Colorado Public Radio – She marched with Dr. King, and her work for civil rights marches on to this day
Quote – When Minister Glenda Strong Robinson of Longmont skipped class in 1968 to march with Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., there were many things that she couldn’t have foreseen: That the Memphis sanitation workers’ strike she was supporting would become iconic in civil rights history. That Dr. King would be assassinated within days. And that 55 years later, she would receive a lifetime achievement award in his honor.
Click through for history. I don’t doubt there are women like this in many states, possibly every state, and perhaps the dheeer numbers are a factor in why we just don’t hear about them.
Democratic Underground (Baked Potato) – Drug Enforcement 
Agency (DEA) Finds A Tunnel From Mar-A-Lago to Palm Beach Airport
Quote – Described by DEA spokesperson Rollie Wokenshire as “… a rather robust tunnel system, comprising a light railroad, incandescent lighting, great air conditioning, and cutouts with a latrine and multiple dining areas… this tunnel had it all, including a decadent gold-tone livery on the main engine, enclosed in wreaths, marked ‘John Baron Express’.” … Trump’s current TV lawyer, Jim Quessadilla, recently bloviating on MSNBC stated, “President Trump would never travel by rail, end of @#&% story.”
Click through for all the punch lines. I thought a little satire might be a refreshing extra.
Food For Thought
Glenn Kirschner – McCarthy & Jordan attempt to shut down NY DA Alvin Bragg’s criminal investigation of Donald Trump
Thom Hartmann – How the GOP Weaponized Hate
Ring of Fire – Can Red States Ever Recover?
MSNBC – Trump files motion to deem Georgia probe unconstitutional (I’m sure we’ll hear mor about this – maybe already have.)
Hairless Husky Who Didn’t Want To Be Touched Finally Grows All Her Hair Back
Beau – Let’s talk about missing uranium….
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?
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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
