Glenn Kirschner – Judge Chutkan to decide whether to impose gag order on Trump to protect witnesses/promote fair trial
The Lincoln Project – Strong in a Crisis
Farron Balanced – Jimmy Kimmel Torches Trump In First Monologue Since Writers Strike
John Fugelsang on Christianity (old but good)
Litter Of Kittens Found Living In Someone’s Wall
Beau – Let’s talk about the BBC report and Ukraine….
Yesterday, I received confirmation for my visit to Virgil. I also learned that, on Monday, a train derailed on I-25 “near Pueblo” and that I-25 is closed indefinitely. I looked deeper and discovered that in this case, “near Pueblo” means at about exit 106, and that, when it derailed, it took a railroad bridge with it, dumping the bridge remnants onto the interstate. I normally use the interstate from Exit 128 to Exit 99, so I expect to need an alternate route. (I suppose I can be grateful the train didn’t explode.) I’ve been looking at road maps, and it’s pretty clear that the safest route which I can depend on it being there is via Cañon City. Virgil was in Cañon City for a few montjhs last year, so I know the route, or most of it, and the part I don’t know is US 50, so it should be well marked. An extra half hour should probably do it. Of course that also means I’ll be home later than usual, so please don’t worry. I’ll do my best to be extra oprganized in advance as much as possible so I don’t have to cut into sleep time.
Cartoon –
Short Takes –
The Daily Beast – Dad of Palestinian Boy Stabbed 26 Times in Chicago Reveals Last Words (hanky alert)
Quote – The Chicago landlord suspected of stabbing a Palestinian-American six-year-old 26 times had a “good” relationship with the boy and her mother before the killing, the child’s father told The Daily Beast on Sunday…. “[Wadea Al-Fayoume, the boy] “He is an angel. Basically a small angel in the form of a person. To this minute, I cannot believe how this could have happened,” the father, Oday El-Fayoume, told The Daily Beast. “My ex-wife and son knew him, and they had a good relationship. It is hard to picture this man holding a knife about to stab my son. I keep thinking that my son was probably running towards him before getting stabbed, trying to give him a hug.”
Click through for story – which you probably have heard, since it is egregious, so it’s all over. I should also provide a barf bag alert, because I can already hear the gun crazies yelling, “See! See! Guns aren’t the problem!”
The 19th – This Latinx geologist and TV show host is disrupting stereotypes of who can be a scientist
Quote – On a sunny day, perched on slanted beige rocks of the San Andreas Fault line, Michelle Barboza-Ramirez is dressed in a white sun hat, with retro sunglasses and dangly flower earrings, discussing how plate tectonics transformed the Los Angeles landscape as the camera rolls. “Take a look behind you. These rocks are tilted. Like hella tilted,” they tell Blake de Pastino, a fellow host of the popular PBS show “Eons.” The camera pans to the background. “If you didn’t know anything about geology, you’d see them and you’d be like, ‘Wow, that’s so weird that these rocks formed sideways.’” This conversational tone makes Barboza-Ramirez, who is a paleontologist and geologist, relatable to viewers.
Click through for article. Don’t get confused that Barboza-Ramirez’s pronouns are they/their. There is actually only one of them. (Not that there shouldn’t be more – Latinx scientists, that is.)
Food For Thought
Glenn Kirschner – Federal judge “punishes” Rudy Giuliani in defamation suit for “flagrant” violation of court orders
The Lincoln Project – Submission
Thom Hartmann – The Trials of Donald Trump…Will Democracy Be a Victim?
Scared Ketchup – Trump’s Tiny White Balls 2
Pittie Rescued From Highway Finally Wins Over His Cat Brother
Beau – Let’s talk about 2 friends and a question…. (hanky alert)
Yesterday was one of those days I just couldn’t seem to get ahead. Sometimes that happens – but it doesn’t give me a lot to talk about, nor time to talk in. Not being Seinfeld, or one of his writers, I can’t really get any content out of it. Maybe that’s not a bad thing.
Cartoon –
Short Takes –
Crooks & Liars – GOP Activist Who Couldn’t Wait For RBG To Die Shoots Wife, Kills Self
Quote – Fun fact: Alembik first received national attention after he tweeted that “Ruth Bader Ginsburg can’t die soon enough,” and of course, now he’s dead…. I’m glad his wife was not killed. Btw, we need common sense gun laws. Everyone in his orbit seemed to know that he was struggling with mental health issues — and he had a gun. In fact, he had a concealed carry permit, or at least he did in 2007
Click through for story. Personally, I”m wondering what’s wrong with people who said he was always smiling. That’s not a smile. (Not to be confused with “alembic,” which was a medieval Arabian still used in alchemy.)
Western Slope Now – Ouray’s new via ferrata!
Quote – A via ferrata is a protected mountain pathway consisting of a series of rungs, rails, cables, and bridges embracing the rock face…. the via ferratas became a civilian attraction in Europe by the 1950’s and have moved into the USA only within the last decade…. This course climbs 1200 feet across 12 pitches, with trails intermixed between.
Click through for details. Yes this article is lightweight. That’s fine with me. Ouray, named for a Ute chief, is an adorable little town, sadly in a very red part of Colorado. There’s a small hotel where Lillie Langtry once stayed. The website has a short video which includes some lovely scenery.
Food For Thought
Glenn Kirschner – Colorado Judge REFUSES to dismiss lawsuit to disqualify Trump from running for president
The Lincoln Project – Even Fox
MSNBC – Gold Star father Khizr Khan: Trump ‘incapable’ of leading U.S. again
Steve Shives – If Republicans Said the Quiet Parts Loud to Workers (long, but WOW! It hits EVERYTHING. You or someone you know might need it to pass on to make a point.)
Kitten Grows Up Wrestling With Huskies
Beau – Let’s talk about Santos and more to come….
Glenn Kirschner – In NY fraud trial, Trump prepares to make mean faces at former lawyer turned witness Michael Cohen
The Lincoln Project – Appeasement
PBS – Amanpour & Company – Historian Heather Cox Richardson: GOP “Has Become an Extremist Faction”
It’s all good, but I cut off some at the beginning that I thought was more fammiliar to make it more watchable length-wise, and get straight to the nitty-gritty.
Liberal Redneck – Liberal Redneck – RFK Jr. Runs as Independent (ad in middle – ignore or skip)
Giant Dogs Get New Baby Brother To Look After
Beau – Let’s talk about Trump being worried about another candidate….
Yesterday, I got to thinking that a House of Representatives with no Speaker, at a time when we have no budget, and have our foreign policy focused on the Middle East shooting war, is pretty damned convenient for Russia. Ukraine is holding strong so far, but there’s going to come a point when it will need resources badly. Is anyone investigating, or contemplating investigating, Matt Gaetz for being a Russian agent? Yes, I know he’s a pedophile and is himself intellectually and emotionally an adolescent (and will probably never grow up.) But that doesn’t mean he can’t be useful to Russia. Au contraire. See the Food for Thought below.
Cartoon –
Short Takes –
The Root – What In The Actual Hell: CVS Abortion Med Mixup Led To Black Woman’s IVF Termination
Quote – [Timika] Thomas and her husband had trouble getting pregnant and after two ectopic pregnancies, Thomas had to have her fallopian tubes removed. Even though their insurance didn’t cover IVF, they decided to do it and pay out of pocket anyway. Thomas’ doctor prescribed a vaginal suppository to replace the injections required to jumpstart her hormones. After taking two of her required doses, she immediately knew something was wrong…. “They just killed my baby. Both my babies, because I transferred two embryos,” [Thomas said.]
Click through for story. This would be unacceptable, no matter how the pregnancy occurred, but for an IVF pregnancy it’s exponentially worse. IVF is expensive, so expensive that it’s a last resort among fertility treatmernts. It often doesn’t “take” for multiple attempts. The best analogy I can come up with is – one is like you studued and worked hard, took the SAT or whateve they are using, sweat blood over your essay, and got turned down. the other is like you decided when you were five you wanted to go to a particular college and started saving monet from your allowance and odd jobs. You applied in your seniot year of high school and wewre turned down. You alloied in the first year after graduation and were turned down again. the second and third year after graduation you applied again and were turned down both times. Finally, in the fourth year after graduation, you applied and were accepted. Two days before freshman orientation the college burned down.
PolitiZoom – Anti-WOKE: Even Your Name Can Get Book Banned
Quote – Imagine if you will having had a successful career as a children’s book author. Your work has been widely acclaimed, published in a dozen languages and you’ve won lots of awards. Your work includes several series including a pair of them about siblings – one from the perspective of a little girl named Stella and the other from her little brother named Sam. The Stella series which ran from 1999 to the last book about Stella and Sam building a doghouse was published in 2013. including one about the adventures of a little girl named Stella and her brother…. Does the book delve into topics that might, only might mind you raise “content” questions about whether topics like human sexuality or race relations or religion are “age appropriate?” Nope, as I’ve stated it’s about a pair of siblings building a dog house. So by now you’re wondering why the hell this book wound up on a “we’ve got to BAN these books from the library” list in the first place. The author’s name is Mary-Louise GAY.
Click through for article. Yes, compared to the first short take, this is small potatoes indeed. But it still hurts people. And the people most harmed are among the most vulnerable.
Food For Thought
Glenn Kirschner – DA Willis says Jim Jordan is “abusing” his authority & “obstructing” her RICO prosecution of Trump
The Lincoln Project – Good Night America – very soft, and no CC, so here’s transcript:
Mom: Hey, honey –
Child: what, mommy?
M: You asked me to wake you up to tell you the results of the election
C: Who won?
M: Trump. Trump won.
C: You said he could only be President two times.
M: (Whisper) Not any more
Mob chanting: I can’t make it out. It sounds to me like M-R-U or N-R-U but I can’t make sense of that.
Ring of Fire – Furious Sean Hannity Delivers Most Ironic Rant Ever On Fox News
Patrick Fitzgerald – The Longest Time (Donald Trump / Billy Joel Song Parody)
Bunny Thumps At Mom When He’s Mad
Beau – Let’s talk about an update and what we know….