Glenn Kirschner – Twitter executives testify at congressional hearing; make Jordan, MTG and others look foolish
The Lincoln Project – Last Week in the Republican Party – February 7, 2023
Political Voices Network – Joyce Vance: Trump’s House of Cards Crumbling! New Twist in Navarro’s Trial, & Barr Exposed!
Robert Reich – The Dangerous Reality of Police Traffic Stops
2-Pound Great Dane Puppy Has To Start Walking Before He Gets Too Big
Beau – Let’s talk about the male scale….
Yesterday, I placed and received a grocery order. I had tried to place it the night before, but I couldn’t get the site to take my substitution instructions, and this morning was no better. So I switched stores, and got the order placed (not identical because there are things each carries that the other doesn’t – but close enough.) It had snowed, and it was pretty cold – there was wind, which would blow flakes around, but wasn’t going to help if the snow had gotten heavy by freezing up. Oh well, today and he next few days should be much warmer, and it will be mostly gone for Sunday when I go to see Virgil. Also, if you want to learn more about “the balloon,” other balloons, and what we were able to learn from this one, Heather Cox Richardson has more information that I expect the main stream media to present … since some brain cells are required to digest it all, and the MSM doesn’t generally cater to folks who have those.
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Crooks and Liars – Not Just Ginni: John Roberts’ Wife Prompts SCOTUS Ethics Questions
Quote – According to the letter, [Kendal] Price [a co-worker of Mrs. Roberts] was fired in 2013 and sued the firm, as well as Mrs. Roberts and another executive, over his dismissal. He lost the case, but the litigation produced documents that he sent to Congress and the Justice Department, including spreadsheets showing commissions attributed to Mrs. Roberts early in her headhunting career, from 2007 to 2014. Mrs. Roberts, according to a 2015 deposition in the case, said that a significant portion of her practice was devoted to helping senior government lawyers land jobs at law firms and that the candidates’ names were almost never disclosed.
Click through for details, which are not as dramatic as those surrounding the Thomases, but are every bit as unethical.
The Nib – Black and Red
Quote – [W]hen the Bolsheviks took power… America’s northern cities saw themselves transformed by the arrival of the black proletariat…. At least 500,000 black southerners migrated north between 1914 ans 1920.
Click through for graphic article. The title refers to black people and red politics (before the right commandeered the color red.)
Food For Thought
Glenn Kirschner – Prosecutor Mark Pomerantz pursued racketeering indictment of Donald Trump, DA Alvin Bragg said “no.”
Meidas Touch – MAGA Governor UNLEASHES HELL on Her Own State as it CRUMBLES (did anyone listen to her response to the State of the Union address? I couldn’t. I was actually pretty wrung out after the SOTU.)
Politics Girl – To My Fellow White Americans… (I don’t know why she soometimes posts twice – I’ve been reposting the newer one.)
Liberal Redneck – State of the State of the Union
Guy Who Only Liked Dogs Cat-sits For The First Time
Beau – Let’s talk about the 5th Circuit Ruling….
Yesterday, of course, I received many emails including or linking to post mortems on the State of the Union address. Just about all of the ones I saw were highly of favorable. Robert Reich’s was reserved for paid subscribers, and in advance of the address he had expressed a wish to hear something which Joe did not say, so I’ll be looking for a more public message from him. I picked the one from the New Yorker, not because it was necessarily the most insightful, but because it speaks from an unusual angle. See what you think. The weather prediction was for snow last night – not a long storm but fairly heavy while it lasted. We shall see. (I did manage to get trash and recyclables to the curb, BTW.)
Cartoon – 09 Quincy RTL
Short Takes –
Democratic Underground (True Dough) – Tricks that Cops use
Quote – I have been taught to yell “stop resisting” and “drop your weapon” after firing a gun, because bystanders will remember you said it and their memory will automatically reverse the order of these events to make it make sense. Their tstimony will support yours, because of this.
Click through for thread. Yes, it’s a Twitter thread, but it has been posted as screen shots, not as an embed, so no one should have any difficulty seeing it, and it’s extremely revealing. As are many of the comments.
The New Yorker – Joe Biden, Once Again, Lucks Out with His Enemies
Quote – Biden, it seemed, had carefully prepared for their antics. Had he scripted their reaction, he could not have asked for a better foil than Marjorie Taylor Greene, the former QAnon promoter who flirts with white supremacy. Greene arrived for the State of the Union dressed for the TV cameras in an all-white fur-trimmed outfit that made her seem like a villain in a Disney movie. “Liar!” she stood and shouted at Biden, after he accused some members of her party of wanting to “sunset” Medicare and Social Security in the name of fiscal discipline. Unfazed, Biden challenged her and the others who were jeering him to prove that Republicans did not actually support such a thing. When they then rose to their feet to applaud, alongside Democrats, his pledge not to cut either Medicare or Social Security, Biden claimed it as a victory for the bipartisan dealmaking that he wants to be remembered for. “We got unanimity!” he exulted.
Click thrugh for full opinion. Of course, speech writers are largely responsible for the wroding of any Presidental address. But there was a good deal which was unscripted in theis one. For some of them, alternatives may have been pre-planned depending on the audience. But not for all. We have a President who can think on his feet under pressure.
Food For Thought
Glenn Kirschner – Chinese spy balloons, Jim Jordan, and the debasement of the House & Senate Judiciary Committees
The Lincoln Project – Built Back Better
Farron Balanced – Trump Threatens To Help Democrats If Republican Voters Reject Him
Armageddon Update – Book Banning
Bearded Dragon Comes Running When His Mom Calls Him
Beau – Let’s talk about a laptop and a change of strategy….
Yesterday, President Biden delivered the 2023 State of the Union address. For the first time, the mother of a black person shot and killed by police was present. Today the 19th has the story. Until I can get the link up, here’s the link to the back story. In case it takes me too long, here’s the link to The 19th front page, where it will surely be included. I did watch the speech live. I was a little surprised at how wek=ll the Republicans behaved – not 100% courteous, but at least they didn’t riot or do anything physical. There were certainly some very touching stories. Joe of course was 100% polite. I thought he did well at hitting his accomplishments. I hope it sinks in. I didn’t hang around the the Republican response. I was abit wrung out by the speech, plus I had a pretty good idea what she was going to say.
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Crooks & Liars – Hunter Biden Goes On Offense, Demands Rudy Get ‘Laptop’ Probe
Quote – Among the letters, which were obtained by NBC News, was one sent … asking the Justice Department’s National Security Division for an investigation into “individuals for whom there is considerable reason to believe violated various federal laws in accessing, copying, manipulating, and/or disseminating Mr. Biden’s personal computer data,” including Rudy Giuliani, who was Trump’s lawyer at the time.
Click through for story. C&L basically says “It’s about time.” I would suggest that the action coming now was prompted by the fact that the House is now in a position to take action, as opposed to just spreading disinformation, so now it’s necessary. And I might add, just think how strong a person has to be to ignore all that crap for so long.
The New Yorker – Sending Help Instead of the Police in Albuquerque
Quote – In the southeastern corner of Albuquerque, near a wide mountain pass that opens onto an expanse of arid high plains, Sean Martin and Isaiah Curtis drove toward a Blake’s Lotaburger, a regional fast-food chain. Behavioral-health workers with Albuquerque Community Safety, a new city department, they respond to calls, mostly from 911, about nonviolent crises involving mental health, homelessness, or substance use. A.C.S. responders are trained to connect people from some of the city’s most vulnerable populations with professional help. In doing so, they also reduce those residents’ interactions with local law-enforcement agencies, which in recent years have had the second-highest fatal-shooting rate among major American cities.
Click through for details. THIS is the kind of police reform – defunding if you will, but actually reallocation of funding – that we have been agitating for. It’s been a pleasure watching New Mexico turn bluer after having Susanna Martinez for Governor (sort of like having Jeanine Pirro for Governor.) There are steps back of course, but the trend is positive.
Food For Thought
Glenn Kirschner – House Republicans FINALLY focus on what’s important to ordinary Americans – Hunter Biden’s laptop?! (I’ve seen the suggestion that it tells us they are trying to get Hunter to suicide. Let that sink in/))
NBC News – U.S.-China situation isn’t ‘1:1 comparison’ with last Cold War: Buttigieg
Twitter (shared by PoliticsGirl) White Comfort
This TikTok from @highlyvibey really got me thinking about how our society has socialized us to prioritize “white comfort”. A term I’m not even sure I’d heard before. pic.twitter.com/wgMdkBNJxC
— PoliticsGirl (@IAmPoliticsGirl) February 5, 2023
Farron Balanced – Republicans In Congress Swap Out Flag Lapel Pins For AR 15 Pins
Cat Does The Funniest Thing When His Parents Get Him A New Brother
Beau – Let’s talk about legislation in Massachusetts and ethics….
Yesterday, “Choose Love” managed to get a donation request ou for Turkish and Syrian victims of the earthquake. I’m not on their mailing list (at least I wasn’t), so they must have worked with other groups to get it out so fast, and therefore you may also have received it. In case you didn’t and want to help, here’s a link. I went from there by clicking on the logo to a page which has an “About us” link which provides some credentioals, including the number by which they are registered as a charity in the U.S., so anyone who is dubious can investigate further. OXFAM also came though with a request. Tonight, of course, is the State of the Union address. I plan to watch it, but if you don’t wish to, or aren’t able to, Robert Reich’s prediction is a short take today.
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Short Takes –
Robert Reich – The state of Joe Biden’s union: The return to democratic capitalism
Quote – America’s postwar industrial policy spurred innovation. The Department of Defense and its Defense Advanced Research Projects Administration developed satellite communications, container ships, and the internet. The National Institutes of Health did trailblazing basic research in biochemistry, DNA, and infectious diseases…. Large corporations sought to be responsive to all their stakeholders — not just shareholders but employees, consumers, the communities where they produced goods and services, and the nation as a whole.
Click through for full opinion. Benjamin Franklin’s warning – “if you can keep it” – comtinues to echo through my mind.
The New Yorker – The Hunt for Russian Collaborators in Ukraine
Quote – The most obvious cases are those in which a person took up arms against Ukrainian forces or was involved in spying or sabotage to aid the Russian war effort. But assessing culpability can get murky at the level of local governance. “We’re looking for people who worked for the benefit of the Russian occupation,” Kravchenko told me. “But does that apply to a welder or carpenter who maintained buildings or equipment for the occupiers? Or people responsible for critical infrastructure?” There wasn’t an easy answer or policy, he said.
Click through for story. At least we didn’t have to get bombed and invaded before finding ourselves in the situation of having to wonder whether our friends, family, and beighbors are collaborators.
Food For Thought
