Joanne Dixon

Open Thread for August 26, 2021

Posted by Joanne Dixon at 7:22 am Open Thread, Personal, Politics

Aug 262021

Yesterday, I put together a pdf on everything I know about my mother’s relatives, for my second cousin, the amateur genealogist. Much of it is family lore, and there are a lot of gaps when it comes to actual information, like names and dates. But he’ll be insterested. He recently passed on (through his sister) that my great-grandfather August, who served the Union in the Civi War (a fact which he, and I, had known for over 20 years) only enlisted after getting drunk with some old army buddies (I assume from some German army – “Germany” didn’t exist as a unified state at that time.) But that’s OK. He served honorably, and did it on the right side. I also did some shopping, including making a grocery delivery order for today.

Cartoon –

Short Takes –

The Guardian – Tennessee woman drowns seconds after filming rising floodwaters
Quote – Victoria Almond said her brother and mother held on to a utility pole but let go when they saw a house floating towards them. When her brother emerged after being pulled briefly under the water, she said, their mother was gone.
Click through for story. It’s also a story, in a way, that it’s not American media in which I found this. (Apparently the Washington Post did carry it.)

Common Dreams – 63% of US Veterans Support Afghanistan Withdrawal: Poll
Quote – “Veterans know the cost of war, so it should come as no surprise that they strongly back President Biden’s decision to end the war in Afghanistan,” Mary Kaszynski, director of government relations for VoteVets, said in a statement. “Veterans strongly believe President Biden is right—it is time to go.”
Click through for details. There is also a link to VoteVets own coverage.

Vox – What full FDA approval for Covid-19 vaccines really means
Quote – Full approval grants the vaccine manufacturers permission to advertise their products and allow them to continue selling them after the public health emergency around Covid-19 ends. For doctors, full approval also allows them to use vaccines off-label, potentially as booster shots.
Click through for other technicalities, implications, and hopes.

Food for Thought –

Video Thread 8/25/2021

Posted by Joanne Dixon at 12:10 pm Open Thread, Politics

Aug 252021

Glenn Kirschner – Proud Boy Enrique Tarrio Sentenced to Prison But the Fed Prosecutors Might Not Be Done With Him Yet. Ask an American what the word “jurisdiction” means, and, unless you are asking an attorney or a cop or an amateur student of crime (in fact or fiction),you may get a blank stare. (And then people complain about the “justice system” – as if there were one, not hundreds.)

Don Winslow Films – #VoteRacistTrumpOut

Really American – Governor Abbott downplays COVID, gets Sick

The Hill – Jen Psaki CALLS OUT Fox News reporter for misrepresenting what she said

PBS – The Pandemic That Lasted 15 Million Years. Well, this is a fine kettle of fish (and other species.) There is A LOT of information in it so you may want to come back to it.

PUPPET REGIME – The Delta Skelter Song

Let’s talk about Trump’s most presidential act….

Open Thread for August 25, 2021

Posted by Joanne Dixon at 7:02 am Open Thread, Personal, Politics

Aug 252021

Yesterday, I finished helping a friend get a post up at another blog, and received an email from a second cousin asking for some family info. I answered,, we had a little back and forth, and I will be scraping my memory for what I can and looking for paperwork for a while. I promise not to get overtired or frazzled doing this. I also finished the second sleeve on my crochet project, and, since I make up as I go, the last seam – all that’s left is the bottom border, which can be worked in the round.

Cartoon –

Short Takes –

Crooks and Liars – Don’t Worry, Rachel Maddow’s Not Going Anywhere
Quote – As re-upping negotiations dragged on, sources said, she expressed interest in possibly leaving the cable channel and moving into the streaming and podcasting space, in part to have more time with her family.
Click through for more. Looks like we just dodged a bullet that I for one did not know was coming.

The Hill – Lawsuit uses Jan. 6 to challenge secrecy of Congress
Quote – The panel ruled that the Constitution’s Speech or Debate Clause prohibited such lawsuits against Congress. But one of the judges, Karen LeCraft Henderson, wrote a concurring opinion in which she said, “I believe, in the right case, the application of the Speech or Debate Clause to a common law right of access claim would require careful balancing.” [Kel] McClanahan, [a lecturer at the George Washington University law school], said he saw Henderson’s opinion as an opening to raise the issues around legislative branch transparency in court.
Click through for details. The suit is not being brought by a known watchdog group like POGO or Roots Action or others, but by a “public interest law firm,” whatever that is. This could be interesting.

Law & Crime – North Carolina Court Immediately Gives Former Felons Right to Vote in ‘Historic’ Ruling Against Law with Racist Origins
Quote – “The court as of today is granting plaintiffs’ request for a preliminary injunction that prohibits the state defendants from refusing to register to vote any person on community supervision, whether a state felony conviction or a federal conviction,” Bell said during the phone call announcing the court’s history-making ruling. The text of the opinion itself was still pending as of this writing.
Click through for story. You may have seen this – it is definitely an eyebrow raiser, especially in North Carolina.

Food for Thought –

Video Thread 8/24/2021

Posted by Joanne Dixon at 12:04 pm Open Thread, Politics

Aug 242021

Glenn Kirschner – Giuliani Criminal Associate Igor Fruman to Plead Guilty; Phone Subpoenas for Members of Congress

Don Winslow – Is It Fake News (He uploaded a large number over the weekend – some are likely recuts, and some are very short, but I’ll be posting some gradually because they are good.)

Meidas Touch – DeSantis ad

The Lincoln Project – DeSantis Lies

Really American – Vaccine Conspiracy Theories Making Variants Worse

Now This News – Maj. Danny Sjursen on His Experience in Iraq and Afghanistan

Beau – Let’s talk about balance and advice for the unvaccinated….

Open Thread for August 24, 2021

Posted by Joanne Dixon at 6:51 am Open Thread, Personal, Politics

Aug 242021

Yesterday, I was mostly able to rest. I know it looks like I did a lot of work, but most of the stuff more or less fell into my lap. I was able to do some crocheting (I’m working on a top for a friend who helps me out a lot – with rides when my Dodge was falling apart to picking up prescriptions that I can’t have mailed to sending her sons over to deal with my yard. And more. I like to show I’m grateful.

Cartoon –

Short Takes –

AP News – Rev. Jesse Jackson, wife Jacqueline hospitalized for COVID
Quote – Jesse Jackson, 79, is vaccinated against the virus and received his first dose in January during a publicized event as he urged others to receive the inoculation as soon as possible. He and his wife, 77, are being treated at Northwestern Memorial Hospital in Chicago.
Click through for details (including some unrelated ones). Of course Jesse is fully vaccinated. I’ve not seen credible confirmation that Jacqueline is, but it would surprise me if she were not. Prayers still won’t hurt.

The Hill – Arizona elections officials launch bipartisan assault on GOP audit
Quote – Hobbs, Richer and others who object to the Senate-ordered review have been particularly critical of Cyber Ninjas and its chief executive, Doug Logan, who spread misinformation about the 2020 election before the firm was hired. The Senate signed Cyber Ninjas, a firm with no experience in conducting election audits, without a bid process, even though an experienced election audit firm had offered its own services.
Click Through for story. It’s nice that this is bipartisan. I have worked with many Republican County Clerks and Secretaries of State who took their jobs seriously and did not cheat. I’m glad there are still some around.

The New Yorker (Borowitz Report) – F.D.A. Withdraws Approval from “Whatever Drug Rand Paul Is On”
Quote – The agency emphasized that it did not know what drug the senator was taking, or whether he was taking any drug at all, but asserted that it was withdrawing its approval out of a concern for public safety.
Click through – This is the same day they approved the Pfizer CoViD vaccine. They are on a roll!

Food for Thought –

Video Thread 8/23/2021

Posted by Joanne Dixon at 11:54 am Open Thread, Politics

Aug 232021

Glenn Kirschner – A Colorado Election Official, A Security Breach, An FBI Investigation & My Pillow Guy’s Safe House. Oh, sure, it’s funny to Glenn – it’s not his state.

Meidas Touch – DeSantis ad

Don Winslow – My Letter to Republicans

The Lincoln Project – DeSantis Lies

Really American – Vaccine Conspiracy Theories Making Variants Worse

Armageddon Update: FUBARistan

Kitten Abandoned at Playground Rescued by Sweetest Guy

Beau – Let’s talk about the Saigon analogy….

Open Thread for August 23, 2021

Posted by Joanne Dixon at 6:38 am Open Thread, Personal, Politics

Aug 232021

Yesterday, I got to see my husband for the first time in a year and a half. Not only he but the staff also made me feel welcome. But it was still a long day, what with 2+ hours driving each way and an almost 5 hour visit. I put some details into a comment in yesterday’s Open Thread, so will try not to repeat myself. And this Open Thread will be short.

Cartoon –

Short Takes –

PolitiZoom – FUX News Is Literally Poisoning People
Quote – Rachel reported tonight that in addition to having to deal with a collapsing healthcare system, Mississippi suddenly found today that an incredible 70% of the calls coming into their poison control center were from people who had ingested a drug called Ivermectin. What the hell is Ivermectin? It’s a livestock drug used to deworm horses! And why would a shitload of Mississippi residents suddenly start ingesting a livestock deworming drug?
Click through for more. This loaded quite slowly for me yesterday, but it did load.

Law and Crime – A Federal Judge Struck Down One of the Most Widely Prosecuted Offenses in Immigration Law, Slamming ‘Racist’ Origins
Quote – Gustavo Carrillo-Lopez was indicted in 2020 for a felony under 8 U.S.C. § 1326. That specific felony is one that has been on the books for nearly a century: reentry into the U.S. after having been deported. Carrillo-Lopez argued that his indictment should be dismissed because the statute violates his equal protection rights under of the Fifth Amendment of the U.S. Constitution. Despite the statute’s long history of use in cases like Carrillo-Lopez’s, his argument prevailed before U.S. District Judge Miranda Du.
Click through for story. I’m sure this is not the end of it, and it could be inteesting to watch where it goes.

AP News – Beshear critics vow to work with governor to fight pandemic
Quote – Top Republican lawmakers are promising to work with Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear to fight COVID-19 after a court ruling cleared the way for new limits on the Democratic governor’s emergency powers.
Click through for details. I’ll believe the headline when I see it happening.

Food for Thought –