Joanne Dixon

Open Thread for January 2, 2022

Posted by Joanne Dixon at 7:27 am Open Thread, Personal, Politics

Jan 022022

Yesterday, I woke up and was delighted to see that the comment system is working. Some of us who have been using it for years at other sites are going to appear with different names – I will be Underwriter505 – which may take a little getting used to. But a least it will work and we won’t have to approve evry comment manually. Thanks all for your patience and understanding. We got comments from most who normally comment, and it seemed to go smoothly. Mitch could probably comment in Disqus, except tht he still can access the site, even just to read it, so I’ll still be entering his comments (and did, for both posts). I succeeded in making both Naeless (dmhlt_66) and Lona (Lona Goudswaard) moderators and administrators for Disqus (both already were for PP) – all before sunset. Then I turned to more routine tasks, like setting out meds and preparing posts.

Cartoon – (I really hope I’m wrong about this.)

Short Takes

Crooks and Liars – Crookie’s Trend Of The Year: Alt Names For You-Know-Who
Quote – We found out this year that “The Former Guy” refuses to be referred to as “former.” This did create a problem for his legal team, who kept trying to say you can’t indict/sue/bring to court a “former” so-called “President” while never once using the term “former” because your nightmare of a client won’t let you?
Click through for this article and links to some of the other Crookie awards. I particularly approve the “Mensch of the Year” award.

Politico – Bernard Kerik provides batch of documents to Jan. 6 select committee
Quote – Bernard Kerik, the former New York City Police commissioner and ally of Trump attorney Rudy Giuliani, also provided a “privilege log” describing materials he declined to provide to the committee. Among the withheld documents is one titled “DRAFT LETTER FROM POTUS TO SEIZE EVIDENCE IN THE INTEREST OF NATIONAL SECURITY FOR THE 2020 ELECTIONS.” … Trump ultimately opted against that strategy, but his consideration of the option is one of the key questions the panel is probing as part of its broader investigation into attempts to overturn the election.
Click through for a story you probably missed – I know I did – I don’t recall ever even hearing his name. But this may help.

Wonkette – Missouri Gov Mike Parson Vows Reporter Who Found Sh*tty Coding In State Website Will PAY
Quote – Thing is, there wasn’t any “hacking” involved, as Krebs on Security explained at the time, since the SSNs were almost right out in the open to be seen by anyone with specialized software, like a common web browser. “The newspaper said it found that teachers’ Social Security numbers were contained in the HTML source code of the pages involved. In other words, the information was available to anyone with a web browser who happened to also examine the site’s public code using Developer Tools or simply right-clicking on the page and viewing the source code.”
Click through for details. I see “Kill the Messenger” is alive and well among those who want to drag us back to the Dark Ages in every possible way.

Food For Thought:

Video Thread 1/1/2022

Posted by Joanne Dixon at 12:03 pm Open Thread, Politics

Jan 012022

Glenn – Ghislaine Maxwell Found Guilty by NY Jury. Prosecutors Should Now Explore Cooperation.

Meidas Touch – SHOCK: Trump’s cronies allegedly threatened Stephanie Winston Wolkoff’s life for speaking out?!

No Dem Lift Behind – NDLB’s Richard Ojeda on “The Treason Caucus”

Farron Balanced – Judge Slaps Down Capitol Rioter Who Tried To Use ‘Marjorie Taylor Greene Defense’

Puppet Regime – Is Democracy a Charade?

Karen The Hissing Emu Learns To Cuddle (I robably left out something important – but I really wanted to put in this Karen.)

Beau – Let’s talk about Rand Paul and voting…. (We – democrats – thought this fallacy was obvious. Sadly, it needs to be pointed out.)

Open Thread for January 1, 2022

Posted by Joanne Dixon at 6:55 am Open Thread, Personal, Politics

Jan 012022

The problem with trying to stay current through newsletters is that at certain times they all ask for donations at once. Yesterday, I had received almost 200 emails just by noon. And one has to read at least the sender and subject line in order to avoid throwing out something important. Eventually it went down to a trickle, but it did end up exceeding 200.

Cartoon –

Short Takes

Crooks and Liars – Eric Swalwell Neutralizes Internet Threat Radicalized By Tucker Carlson
Quote – If this whole Congressman thing doesn’t work out, Swalwell should definitely look into work as a detective or federal agent. He clearly has the skills necessary to get someone to straight up incriminate themselves and confess! Egads.
Click through for snippets from the conversatin. Much of it is small – I used my on-screen magnifier and had no difficulty.

Newsweek – Betty White, Iconic TV Star Dies at 99, Weeks Before 100th Birthday
Quote – “Even though Betty was about to be 100, I thought she would live forever,” White’s agent, Jeff Witjas, told People in a statement. “I will miss her terribly and so will the animal world that she loved so much.”
Click through – By the time you read this the article will be a lot longer and more detailed.

Reuters – ‘Miracle’ that no loss of life in Colorado urban wildfire -Governor
Quote – The fire was driven by wind gusts of 105 miles per hour, which caused flames to leapfrog over highways and entire neighborhoods on Thursday, authorities said. The winds created a “mosaic” burn pattern that saw untouched homes standing next to those left in ashes. Officials said on Friday that winds had died down and snow was arriving, and that they did not expect the fire to pose any more danger.
Click through for more. Snow is nice for putting out the fire, but not so nice if one doesn’t have a roof over one’s head. Nolloss of life, hiwever, is indeed wonderful

Food For Thought:

Video Thread 12/31/2021

Posted by Joanne Dixon at 11:40 am Open Thread, Politics

Dec 312021

Glenn Kirschner – House Select Committee Plans Public Hearings, Interim Report, Potential Criminal Referrals for Trump

Meidas Touch – Stephanie Winston Wolkoff Reveals Melania Trump’s LEAST FAVORITE Trump Kid

No Dem Lift Behind – LIARS’ FEUD: Richard Ojeda on Candace Owens’ latest lying scandal

Thom Hartmann – What Will You Do When Trump’s True Believers Try Again? (Spoiler – It really is all about race)

Ring of Fire – Cori Bush Pushes For Republican Traitors To Be Expelled From Congress

Really American – Let’s Go Darwin: GOP Cultists REJECT Science

Beau – Let’s talk about Burlington and LAPD…. Beau has been red hot, and I need to double up a bit. These two are related so it seemed appropriate.

Beau – Let’s talk about the X factor at Burlington….

Open Thread for December 31, 2021

Posted by Joanne Dixon at 6:54 am Open Thread, Personal, Politics

Dec 312021

Yesterday, I heard back from BlueHost, and it appears I need some documenttion I don’t have. So I’ll be working without their help at this time. Oh well. We will get through. I’ll work on getting what I don’t have, or a reasonable substitute.

Cartoon –

Short Takes

Crooks and Liars – Mom And Son Kept Off Plane– Because Of Knives Hidden In Toy
Quote – TSA officers at the Philadelphia International Airport stopped a Cortland, NY woman and her young son from boarding a plane yesterday — because of two knives sewn into the middle of a stuffed Darth Vader Bear. Say what?
Click through for details. Although much is unanswered. This is just weird enough to make one wonder.

CPR – Multiple grass fires burning in Boulder County, evacuations in effect
Quote – The entire population of Superior is being evacuated as grass fires sparked by high winds and downed power lines rapidly grow and threaten structures. Two fires, the Marshall fire and the Middle Fork fire, ignited in Boulder County on Thursday morning. The county is experiencing gusts of wind reaching up to 80 miles per hour. Boulder County’s emergency managers advise people to evacuate if they see fire.
Click through – We expect this in the summer. Not so much in December.

Insider – The Securities and Exchange Commission’s chief litigator is joining the US attorney’s office handling January 6 cases
Quote – Bridget Fitzpatrick, the SEC’s chief litigation counsel, is poised to leave the commission to become the top deputy to US attorney Matt Graves, according to multiple people familiar with her plans. For Fitzpatrick, the move marks a return to the US attorney’s office where she once specialized in public corruption prosecutions.
Click through for story. The DU member who tipped me to this story commented that “Now might be a good time to learn the lessons those of us hyper-focused on Voting Rights learned – when Garland got Ms. Clarke over the finish line at DOJ as head of the Civil Rights Division. He hires, takes his hands off the leash, and releases his pit bulls.” He could well be correct. I hope so.

Food For Thought:

Video Thread 12/30/2021

Posted by Joanne Dixon at 11:43 am Open Thread, Politics

Dec 302021

Glenn Kirschner – The Law’s Perception Problem; When Will Justice Come for Meadows, Giuliani, Clark, Trump & Others

Meidas Touch – Did Donald Trump LEAK Melania’s nude photos??!

Crooks and Liars – “The former Senator was not mincing words.”

The Lincoln Project – Last Week in the Republican Party

Really American – GOP Embraces “Fresh” Faces Of Hatred

Brent Terhune – Storming the Burger King Remember he’s a satirist)

Beau – Let’s talk about questions and the Potter case….

Open Thread for December 30, 2021

Posted by Joanne Dixon at 6:44 am Open Thread, Personal, Politics

Dec 302021

Yesterday, I got in touch with BlueHost (It requires both BlueHost and WordPress to run PoliticsPlus) The passwortd TC had given me had been reset, so I got directions on what to send to whom at BlueHost to get credentials of my own, amd sent it all off off. I may not need help from BLueHost to update the comment system, but eventuually I will need them, and I value their advice. So progress is being made (even if it looks a little like sausage is being made,) Thanks to everyone for your feedback. We will get where we are going – and we’re not suffering all that much in the interim, which is a great comfort. Oh, and I also took out trash and recyclables. What with the holiday I don’t even know for sure whether there will be pickup tomorrow, but I have no problem leaving the polycarts/ wheeliebins/whatever they are called out until the contents are collected.

Cartoon –

Short Takes

Law & Crime – Federal Jury Convicts Ghislaine Maxwell of Sex Trafficking and Enticing Minors for Jeffrey Epstein’s Abuse
Quote – After a whirlwind trial slated for six weeks wrapped up in half of that time, a federal jury on Wednesday found Ghislaine Maxwell guilty of sex trafficking and conspiring to entice minors for years of Jeffrey Epstein’s abuse. Maxwell stood trial for six federal offenses for conduct spanning from 1994 to 2004, roughly breaking down into alleged violations of the Mann Act and a distinct federal anti-sex trafficking statute. She was convicted of five of them, adding up to the possibility of several decades imprisonment for Maxwell, who turned 60 years old on Christmas Day.
Click through for details. Is it just ne, or is it easier to get an convicion on a woman than it is on a man? (Not tht she isn’t guilty, but that there are so many men who are guilty and still at liberty.)

Reuters – Russia shuts Memorial Human Rights Centre in ‘one-two punch’
Quote – Russia’s Memorial Human Rights Centre was ordered to shut by a Moscow court on Wednesday, a day after its sister organisation – Russia’s oldest human rights group – was forced to close. The Human Rights Centre [kept] a running list of individuals it classifies as political prisoners, including Kremlin critic Alexei Navalny. The list includes Jehovah’s Witnesses and Muslims convicted of terrorism that Memorial says were victims of “unproven charges based on fabricated evidence because of their religious affiliation”.
Click through for the story. Autocrats are not even pretending any more.

AP News – Judge refuses to dismiss alleged Proud Boys leaders’ charges
Quote – “Defendants are not, as they argue, charged with anything like burning flags, wearing black armbands, or participating in mere sit-ins or protests,” Kelly wrote in his 43-page ruling. “Moreover, even if the charged conduct had some expressive aspect, it lost whatever First Amendment protection it may have had.”
Click through for more. I don’t know anything about Judge Kelly (like, for instance, who appointed him), but he appears to understand the First Amendment very well.

Food For Thought: