Joanne Dixon

Open Thread for October 3, 2021

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

Oct 032021

Yesterday, when I got up, I had internet. Yay! That meant I could have opera. Every Saturday all year round, someone broadcasts a full opera. But it isn’t always my local station, whoch only broadcasts the New Yorkk Metropolitan Opera, roughly November theough May. The rest of the time it is broadcast on WFMT out od Chicago. They mke it available to any station who wants to broadcast it too, but it costs money which my local station doesn’t have. But it can be streamed on WFMT. So I did. Not, of course, before coming here to make sure everyone knew I was all right.

Cartoon –

Short Takes –

Mother Jones – Trump Extremists Brought Numerous Guns on January 6, Evidence Shows
Quote – Kellye SoRelle, a lawyer who represents the Oath Keepers organization and is close with Rhodes, told Mother Jones in an interview that an Oath Keeper member transported a cache of firearms by truck from North Carolina to the Comfort Inn Ballston shortly before the assault on the Capitol. The member who transported the weapons then stayed at the hotel to oversee the stockpile, SoRelle said. (That Oath Keeper member has not been charged; although Mother Jones corroborated various details from SoRelle’s account, we were unable to confirm that member’s identity.) SoRelle herself may be a subject of growing scrutiny from federal prosecutors; as Mother Jones was first to report recently, the FBI seized SoRelle’s personal phone on September 7 as part of an ongoing “seditious conspiracy” investigation focused on January 6.
Click through for what details there are. It actually sounds like we only know about a fraction of the guns which were there. Film at Video Thread (or at the link.)

The Hill – Where Things Stand With The Democratic Agenda: A Pause, A Reset And Maybe Hope
Quote – Afterward, Biden told reporters he was in no rush to pass his agenda, saying that whether passing both bills takes “six minutes, six days or six weeks ― we’re going to get it done.” In a sense, this week’s drama represents a triumph for progressives and party leaders over centrists. Sen. Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.), the Democrat who has been most vocal in opposition to the Build Back Better bill, still has a lot of leverage ― but not as much as he did before.
Click through for the story and analysis. The Hill is about as liberal as Joe Scarborough … but even The Hill is talking about “hope” like it’s the good thing that it is.

Wonkette – David Brooks Actually Right About Thing, Wants To Build Back Better Too
Quote – David Brooks is actually right this time. Sort of. He’s about the most right David Brooks is capable of being. Brooks published a column yesterday about the Build Back Better reconciliation bill titled “This Is Why We Need to Spend $4 Trillion.” It seems fair to say that if David Brooks, a man who cannot figure out how to politely say “It’s ham” to a friend bewildered by sub shop options, can figure out that this bill is actually necessary, anyone ought to be able to.
Click through for the rest of the take. This is by Robyn Pennachia

Food for Thought –

Video Thread 10/2/21

Posted by Joanne Dixon at 11:55 am Open Thread, Politics

Oct 022021

Glenn Kirschner – Defendant Dawn Bancroft’s Threats, Judge Emmet Sullivan’s Concerns & Trump’s 1/6 Criminal Liability

Meidas Touch – We SUED Marjorie Taylor Greene (and won) [It that even a legal use of campaign funds?]

The Lincoln Project – Who They Are

MSNBC – FBI Investigating Fire Attack On Texas County Democratic Party Office

Woman Repairs Butterfly’s Broken Wing With A Feather

Beau – Let’s talk about Milley undermining Trump….

Meidas Touch has a bunch of new podcasts up which they are callin “Family Feud” episodes … mostly, as far as I can tell, 45 minutes long. It will take me a while to find ou whether there are any short ones … but given Republicn a consistency, I’ll hope they’ll peep (Wink, nudge,)

Personal Update for October 2, 2021

Posted by Joanne Dixon at 9:25 am Open Thread, Personal, Politics

Oct 022021

Good morning, all – I’m alive, but my imternet died. I called a friend whose internet works and asked her to sent an email, and she was able not only to do that but to get to my provider’s troubleshooting website (she doesn’t use the same one) and learn there was an outage in my are ant they hoped oet it fixed by 11 pm/ They didn’t. They didn’t get it fixed by midnight.If they had, I would have gotten something up. At that point, I really needed sleep, and jusa got up. Thankfully, it is back! I will have at least a partial Video Thread, because I alreadt=y had some picked and ready. I also already had the cartoon picked, so here it it.

I am fine, Virgil is fiune, and returns all greetings.

Video Thread 10/1/21

Posted by Joanne Dixon at 11:39 am Open Thread, Politics

Oct 012021

Glenn Kirschner – Why Weaponizing the Law is a Losing Republican Strategy; Republicans Seek to Defund Federal Police

politicsrus – Get Up Stand Up HD

Meidas Touch – Trump Cult KILLS

MSNBC – FBI And Homeland Security Dept. Warn Of Domestic Extremists

Really American – Republicans Try And Humiliate Military Leaders

Puppet Regime – Boris Johnson’s AUKward Phone Call

Beau – Let’s talk about the debt ceiling and calling the bluff….

Open Thread for October 1, 2021

Posted by Joanne Dixon at 7:28 am Open Thread, Personal, Politics

Oct 012021

Yesterday, I put everything physically in place to go quickly in the morning. I’m not expecting to need to take off my sweater then I leave. After tomorrow, it’s supposed to warm up some here, but not, for the next week, to ever break 80°F.

Cartoon –

Short Takes –

The Hill – Jan. 6 panel subpoenas 11, including Pierson, other rally organizers
Quote – Each of the 11 individuals is identified by the committee as having been involved with the Women for America First-sponsored rally where Trump spoke on Jan. 6. “You assisted in organizing the rally held on the Ellipse in Washington, D.C. on Jan. 6, 2021, in support of then-President Trump and his allegation of election fraud. President Trump spoke at the January 6th rally shortly before the attack on the Capitol, urging the crowd to ‘fight much harder’ and to ‘stop the steal,’” the committee wrote in letters to each.
Click through for names. Note that the Congressinal select committee, while it has powers, does not have judicial powers. It can’t indict, or try, or convict, or sentence. The best it can do is to refer its findings to those who can do those other things.

Wonkette – Huzzay! We Shan’t Have A Government Shutdown Tonight! Probably!
Quote – This is where we reassure you that for years now, Congress has passed continuing resolutions to keep the government funded at current levels, often on the day a shutdown would otherwise kick in, and the only times there’s been an actual shutdown have been when the threat to force a shutdown was telegraphed well in advance. Then again, this is 2021, so we can’t completely rule out the possibility that once the CR is passed by the Senate, the entire House side of the US Capitol may be spirited away by Tralfamadorians in flying saucers, leaving President Joe Biden without a bill to sign. But that seems at least only a 30 percent possibility at the moment.
Click through for story. Every publication has its own house style (some more distinctive than others), and also individual writers’ treatments of the house style. This article is by Doktor Zoom. By the time you see this, you will know whether or not a CR has been passed.

Food for Thought –

Video Thread 9/30/21

Posted by Joanne Dixon at 11:30 am Open Thread, Politics

Sep 302021

Glenn Kirschner – Trump’s de facto “All-Of-Government” Corruption Policy Exposed by Republican DHS Whistle Blower

Meidas Touch – The FUNNIEST Trump impression you’ll hear all day!

MSNBC – Colorado Secretary Of State Sues To Strip GOP Official Of Election Powers

RepresentUs – Senate dysfunction might crash the economy (Here’s the petition link) http://represent.us/debtceiling

Political Voices Network – Did You Hear The Liz Cheney Interview? You Need To! (I won’t go so far as to say you need to watch the whole interview – but this 2 minute clip – Yeah.)

Robert Reich – The Real Reason the Economy Might Collapse

The Lincoln Project – Last Week in the Republican Party

Beau – Let’s talk about a fact check of the US duty to help Haiti….

Open Thread for September 30, 2021

Posted by Joanne Dixon at 7:01 am Open Thread, Personal, Politics

Sep 302021

Yesterday, I focused on getting prepared to go see Virgil tomorrow. I also heard from Pat B that she will be missing tomorrow. I promise a post, but I don’t promise a full one. I also promise a video open thread, but it may be short as well.

Cartoon –

Short Takes –

HuffPost – Alabama Wants To Use Its COVID Relief Funds To Build New Prisons
Quote – Sandy Ray, the mother of an inmate killed in a state prison in 2019, came to the Statehouse Monday and showed lawmakers a photo of her son’s battered face following an altercation with guards. New prisons might help, she said, but there needs to be broader changes, otherwise it’s, “still going to be the same problems in the new buildings.” “They are still killing people in the prison system and it’s worse than it was in 2019 when my son died,” she said.
Click through for story and rationales.

Mother Jones – In California’s Water Wars, Nuts Are Edging Out People
Quote – Irrigating the valley’s farms takes 89 percent of the region’s water (compared to just 3 percent for residents). Embedded in what’s essentially a desert, San Joaquin’s vast agriculture industry relies on two sources for this liquid sustenance: snowmelt from the Sierra Nevada mountain range that forms the state’s eastern spine, and underground aquifers that have developed over millennia. Farm operations receive the great bulk of the melted snow, shunted through a complex of dams, canals, and aqueducts. But because of climate change, the annual Sierra Nevada snowpack has shown a declining trend for years—and will likely dwindle further over the next several decades, a growing body of research suggests.
Click through for details. This is a serious story, and I hope y’all will pardon my frivolity, but what drew me to this story was the applicability of the title to the entir country. (Wing) nuts are edging out (normal) people everywhere one looks.

NM Political Report – Chipmunk subspecies only found in the White Mountains could be listed as endangered
Quote – The three units proposed for critical habitat include Nogal Peak, Crest Trail and Sierra Blanca. The lands are both federal and tribal. The tribal lands belong to the Mescalero Apache Tribe. The critical habitat includes Ski Apache Resort in the Sierra Blanca unit. According to the notice published in the Federal Register, the chipmunk has been seen at Ski Apache Resort on Lookout Mountain and the summer activities at the ski resort, including maintenance, can negatively impact the chipmunk. The Fish and Wildlife Service has had conversations with the Mescalero Apache Tribe, according to the notice.
Click through for more. Greedy and powerful people don’t give a tinker’s dam about unintended consequences … which is why we have to.

Food for Thought –

Video Thread 9/29/21

Posted by Joanne Dixon at 12:28 pm Open Thread, Politics

Sep 292021

Glenn Kirschner – House Investigation of 1/6 Insurrection Issues 4 Subpoenas. Here’s an Overview of the Legal Issues

Meidas Touch – Rep. Dingell on Standing Up to “Hateful Bully” Marjorie Taylor Greene

Really American – Republicans Opposing Paid Sick Leave In Infrastructure

Liberal Redneck – Review of Kyrsten Sinema (Excerpt)

“Mangy Fetlocks” – A Message for Trumpsters About Their Car’s Warranty

Beau – Let’s talk about how white people should respond to racism they see….

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PHP is a programming language used to build websites. We have it at all through our hosting partner, BlueHost. In order to update it, we have to go through Bluehost. During his life, TomCat was the only one who had access to our account there. I (JD) am now the only one. I have been to BlueHost and investigated updating our PHP to 8.3 or even to 8.1. I found instructions to do so - in fact, I found two conflicting sets of instructions. I went through one set of the steps and got the message that Our site could not handle 8.3, but that it had successfully updated to 8.1. I then went back here to see what it looked like. But I couldn't get in - either as an administrator or as a reader. It was just gone. I had to reach BlueHost by phone. It was determined that Politics Plus is in fact not compatible with any version of PHP newer than the one we have. BlueHost therefore uninstalled it for me, and the site came back to normal. Of course, like everyone else, I care about security. But I also am aware that TomCat elected to use different providers for several of the services that BlueHost provides, for instance backups. We are backed up daily - but not by BlueHost. However, out PHP is through Bluehost. I feel that if they are not worried about the older version, I am not going to worry about it. I believe that our security here is all or mostly through WordFence, whom I trust.