Joanne Dixon

Open Thread April 7, 2022

Posted by Joanne Dixon at 7:04 am Open Thread, Personal, Politics

Apr 072022

Yesterday, I heard from Carrie B that her granddaughter-in-law is facing a double mastectomy and is equesting prayers (or however you communicate with the universe) for good results. Also that it is PatB’s wedding anniversary (48 years – Wow!) so we won’t see her comments for a day or two. I’m reminded of a fellow whom Virgil and I met in AA – he used to say, “Life is so daily,” and how right he was. Also, I got an email from Medicare that the second CoViD booster can be taken four months after the first one … which is the information I was waiting for to put it on my calendar.

Cartoon

Short Takes –

Vice (Motherboard) – Police Records Show Women Are Being Stalked With Apple AirTags Across the Country
Quote – Multiple women who filed these reports said they feared physical violence. One woman called the police because a man she had a protective order against was harassing her with phone calls. She’d gotten notifications that an AirTag was tracking her, and could hear it chiming in her car, but couldn’t find it. When the cops arrived, she answered one of his calls in front of the officer, and the man described how he would physically harm her.
Click through for details. Did anyone NOT see this coming?

Smithsonian – Libraries
Quote – Books Online – Most books available here are in the Public Domain unless otherwise noted, and are therefore free to download, use, re-use, and re-mix without regard to copyright. Due to the nature of library collections however, it can be difficult to determine copyright status.
Click through and consider bookmarking. If you have this site and Project Gutenberg you can access just about anything that is in the pubic domain. And if you want to quote from them, you can copy/paste and not worry about typos. I have a bookshelf wall and, between them, these can replace most of it. Sigh.

PolitiZoom – Don’t Knock The US/EU/NATO Sanctions. Here’s Why
Quote – Don’t get me wrong. I get the drift here. The biggest bitch about sanctions since day one is that they are not a quick fix, they take months, if not years to ripen enough to have any real effect on the russian people, which is what you’re after, popular pressure on the regime. But things are different this time, for a couple of reasons.
Click through for full analysis.

Food For Thought (see also today’s Beau video):

Video Thread 4/6/22

Posted by Joanne Dixon at 11:38 am Open Thread, Politics

Apr 062022

Glenn Kirschner (Jonathan Capehart) – “The Supreme Court Can’t Be Trusted to Police Itself.” (and 2 more shorts)

American Bridge – Ron DeSantis Breaks Law to Shield Appointee Tied to Sex Crimes Investigation

VoteVets – Profiteers

Now This News – Why the Filibuster Has to Go, By Adam Jentleson

Ojeda Live – Top 5 Most Evil Televangelists

Randy Rainbow – GAY! – A Randy Rainbow Song Parody

Beau – Let’s talk about gas, insulin, and republican strategy….

Open Thread April 6, 2022

Posted by Joanne Dixon at 7:30 am Open Thread, Personal, Politics

Apr 062022

Yesterday, our spring winds started. So did the spring fund drive of my reguar radio station (I’m sure there’s no connection), so I switched over to the one in Denver. Colorado Springs is not seeing any precipitation, nor is Denver (which, though it’s not warm, is having a red flag fire danger day, while up in the mountains there is a winter storm warning, and about 50 miles north a ski area is closed. At least out governor is well aware that climate change is a thing, but there is a limit to what he can do, and so much damage has already been done. Sure, at this altitude we don’t have o worry about sea level rise, but that is far from the only consequence.

Cartoon 06 0406Cartoon.jpg

Short Takes –

Robert Reich – Why Biden’s plan to tax the super rich is moving from unlikely to likely, and why it’s really really important
Quote – Last week Joe Biden unveiled two tax proposals that would revive Teddy Roosevelt’s original vision, and could possibly slow or even reverse America’s march toward oligarchy: (1) a minimum income tax that Biden calls a billionaire tax but would in reality apply to households with a net worth of $100 million or more, and (2) a separate tax at death on gains from appreciated assets, even if the assets are not sold. The odds are growing that at least one of these proposals will get through the Senate in April or May via “reconciliation” requiring only a bare majority (i.e., all fifty Democratic senators plus the vice president). I’m told Joe Manchin is mostly on board (which means the other Democratic holdout, Kyrsten Sinema, will sign on as well).
Click through for the full essay, including some cartoons. I do hope his analysis is correct (not his analysis of the economy, we know that’s correct, but his analysis of the bills’ chances.)

Crooks and Liars – Fox Viewers Paid To Watch CNN Changed Their Minds After 30 Days
Quote – The results: Not only did CNN and Fox cover different things during the September 2020 survey period, but the audience of committed Fox viewers, which started the month with conservative predispositions, changed their minds on many issues.
Click through for methodology and result numbers, as well as a link to the Washington Post story. This may be the absolute best news of the year. Now if we can only figure out how to use it.

Mother Jones – What Can Indigenous Worldviews Bring to Space Exploration? As It Turns Out, a Lot.
Quote – Language and thought have influenced SETI and science writ large, said Rebecca Charbonneau, a historian at the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics. During Europe’s Scientific Revolution, the philosopher Francis Bacon described nature as something to be subjugated, she said: “a thing for mankind, in his words, to control. And that’s kind of formed the basis for the way we think about science.”
Click through for thoughtful analysis. If there is carbon-based life (and/or non-carbon-based life – possibly even more important) anywhere we are likely to reach. this kind of thinking is an absolute necessity As good as we are at self-sabotage, however, I’m not convinced we can get there.

Food For Thought:

Video Thread 4/5/22

Posted by Joanne Dixon at 11:42 am Open Thread, Politics

Apr 052022

Glenn Kirschner – NYT: President Biden says Trump is “a Danger to Democracy” and “Should be Prosecuted”

The Lincoln Project – Genocide

Meidas Touch – Trump’s Fake News Rally FACT-CHECKED in real time!

American Bridge – Ron DeSanits: At War with the LGBTQ Community

Ojeda Live – Republicans and Their Aversion to Education

SNL Cold Open 4/2/22

Beau – Let’s talk about some good climate news….

Open Thread April 5, 2022

Posted by Joanne Dixon at 7:24 am Open Thread, Personal, Politics

Apr 052022

Yesterday was thankfully quiet. I took my time getting these posts ready for today, and di some knitting along the way. My space heater in the computer room died, but I had recently gotten another one, planning to use it in the living room, but hadn’t placed it yet. Now I’ll be bringing that one to the computer room So that worj=ked out. Just after finishint today’s video thread, I found a new Randy Rainbow which will be in tomorrow’s video thread. Oh, and I heard from Mitch – many if not all of you probably did too. I told him to rest and just let me know when he was ready for more PP emails.

Cartoon

Short Takes –

Letters from an American – April 1, 2022 (not a joke)
Quote – But Republicans since the 1980s have rejected that “Authentic American Center” and argued instead that the way to build the economy is by putting the weight of the government on the “supply side.” That is, the government should free up the capital of the wealthy by cutting taxes. Flush with cash, those at the top of society would invest in new industries that would, in turn, hire workers, and all Americans would rise together. Shortly after he took office, President Ronald Reagan launched government support for “supply side economics” with the first of many Republican tax cuts.
Click through for history, along with the current economic picture. Could it possibly hurt to start talking about “demand-side” economics, using that term?

AP News – Black Democrats try to revive party in Trump territory
Quote – In years past, Democrats in the region usually tried to win over independent and moderate voters by running white establishment candidates. That approach produced little. Now they’re hoping to mobilize voters who haven’t been involved in the process, especially Black, Latino and younger people.
Click through for details. This is a long shot, but it is not insanity. Insanity would be doing again what has failed for us so many times over and expecting a differesnt result.

Law & Crime – Federal Judge Refuses to Grant Ghislaine Maxwell a New Trial Following Sex Trafficking Conviction, Finds Juror ‘Testified Credibly and Truthfully’
Quote – “For the reasons stated above, the Court concludes that Juror 50 testified credibly and truthfully at the post-trial hearing. His failure to disclose his prior sexual abuse during the jury selection process was highly unfortunate, but not deliberate,” U.S. District Judge Alison Nathan wrote on Friday. “The Court further concludes that Juror 50 harbored no bias toward the Defendant and could serve as a fair and impartial juror.”
Click through for story. You may or may not have known ths was happening (I didn’t.)

Food For Thought:

Video Thread 4/4/22

Posted by Joanne Dixon at 11:51 am Open Thread, Politics

Apr 042022

Glenn Kirschner – Legal Recap, March 2022: From Resignation of NY Prosecutors to DOJ Expanding Criminal Probe of Trump

The Lincoln Project – Trump and Russia: Partners in Crime

Thom Hartmann – Didn’t Putin Call for Regime Change in America?

The Ring of Fire – Biden Pushes For Wealth Tax On Obscenely Rich Americans

Rebel HQ – Mitch McConnell PROVES He’s A Partisan Hack

Cracked – If Insurance Companies Were Honest

Beau – Let’s talk about mom and social constructs…

Open Thread April 4, 2022

Posted by Joanne Dixon at 6:46 am Open Thread, Personal, Politics

Apr 042022

Yesterday, I actually managed to place a grocery order in themorning and schedule it for this evening. And it actually came a little after six (I asked fror a window from 6-8) and by 8 I hadeverything that neded to be put away, put awat. And no substitutes. A couple of things missing or shorted, and the dishwashing liquid leaked over a bunch of things, but didn’t actually destroy anything, just made them icky to put away.

Cartoon 04 MLK loaded

Short Takes –

Crooks & Liars – Fortenberry, Convicted Liar And Thin-skinned Bully, Resigns
Quote – Nebraska Republican Congressman Jeff Fortenberry is a convicted liar who has now resigned. Good. But he has never been held accountable for abusing the power of his office to hunt down and threaten the jobs of people who criticized him with a joke. You might remember his Chief of Staff made national news for threatening a state university professor for LIKING a Facebook post of a sign calling him Fartenberry.
Click through for more. While he heeds to be held accountable (and probably won’t) for his bullying, this is still good news. One down, 193 (or thereabouts) to go.

Letters from an American – March 31, 2022
Quote – Today, Judge Mark E. Walker of the Federal District Court in Tallahassee, Florida, struck down much of the new elections law passed by the Florida legislature after the 2020 election. This is the first time a federal court has sought to overrule the recent attempts of Republican-dominated state legislatures to rig the vote, and Walker made thorough work of it…. “This case is about our sacred right to vote,” Walker wrote, “won at great cost in blood and treasure. Courts have long recognized that, because “the right to exercise the franchise in a free and unimpaired manner is preservative of other basic civil and political rights, any alleged infringement of the right of citizens to vote must be carefully and meticulously scrutinized.”
Click through for story and sources. While we can’t depend on this not being appeales, not on keeping the ground gained if it’s appealed, it is still hopeful. Heather, BTW, has been on a roll. I’ll be sharing more of her in the next few days.

CPR – CU Boulder to host UN human rights summit on climate change
Quote – The University of Colorado Boulder will host a global climate summit in partnership with UN Human Rights. Thought leaders attending the gathering will examine climate change as a human rights crisis. CU Chancellor Phil DiStefano talked about the “Right Here, Right Now Global Climate Summit” in front of alumni and students in Washington, D.C. earlier this week. The idea for the summit came out of the UN climate change conference that took place in Glasgow last year.
Click through for story. This kind of thing is why Colorado MAGAts refer to the city of Boulder as “the People’s Republic of Boulder,” which certainly says at least as much about them as it does about Bloulder.

Food For Thought:

Video Thread 4/3/22

Posted by Joanne Dixon at 11:47 am Open Thread, Politics

Apr 032022

Glenn Kirschner – Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas, Conflicts of Interest & the Need for an Impeachment Inquiry

Meidas Touch – Rep. Raskin TROLLS GOP with ‘cocaine-fueled orgies’ slam

The Lincoln Project – Compromised

RepresentUs – Wisconsin Election Officials Face Death Threats

The Ring of Fire – Missouri Republicans Demand Citizens Repay Unemployment Benefits (Legally, the government s correct – but it’s also true that, yes, they COULD legally forgive it – and, morally , should.)

Brent Terhune – A Madison Cawthorn Party

Beau – Let’s talk about why the public’s opinion doesn’t count….

Older Entries Newer Entries