Glenn Kirschner – Regarding the indictments of Trump and company, Georgia DA Fani Willis says, “We’re ready to go.”
The Lincoln Project – The GOP is Racist
MSNBC – Trump braces for Jan. 6 indictment as Capitol officer blasts him as ‘a hitman’ – Inside w/Jen Psaki
Puppet Regime – MBS: A Barbie girl living in a Saudi world
Squirrel Visits His Rescuer Every Day For Years
Beau – Let’s talk about AMOC amok, currents, dates, and water….
Yesterday, as I had predicted, I slept in hard. And woke up feeling pretty good, both physically and attitude-wise. Today is a new month, and I already have all the cartoons checked – Of the 31 TC had for this month in 2015, 29 are usable, and I have already made the other two. On to September!
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Short Takes –
Wonkette – DA Fani Willis Said The Fun Will Begin In August. Guess What Month Starts Tomorrow, Donald Trump?
Quote – Just as last week’s indictments were coming down, news was coming out of Atlanta that they were starting to put up barricades around the courthouse. Why? Because it’s Fuck Around And Find Out Summer! Plus, Willis had already said the fun was going to start in August. Now, there are a couple more fun new developments on that front…. And speaking of Fani Willis, she talked to reporters this weekend, and here is what she said:
Click through for article. It is Substack, so click on “continue reading” when it pops up, scrolling down first if necessary. I figure if we must have news involving TFG, we may as well have a little fun with it. Also, Substack videos can be weird, so I made a rough transcript of the one near the end: “First, [I made] a commitment to the American people but most importantly the citizens of Fulton County that we are going to be making some big decisions over the election investigation and that I would do that before September First 2023. [With what we’ve] accomplished over the last two and a half years, we’re ready to go.”
Common Dreams – What Florida Students Could Learn From PragerU Kids
Quote – A cartoon Booker T. Washington distorting the history of the Civil War. A narrator explaining that embracing climate denialism is akin to participating in the Warsaw Uprising. An instructional video telling girls that conforming to gender stereotypes is a great way to embrace their femininity. A dramatization of the supposedly civilizing, benevolent era of British colonial rule in India. These are just some of the episodes of PragerU Kids—an offshoot of right-wing propaganda organization PragerU—that Florida has just approved for use in its public school classrooms, reflecting and potentially accelerating the state’s hard conservative turn.
Click through for details. The title does not mean what I first thought it meant, which would have been something like, “PragerU kids may be baby MAGAts, but there is still something positivie to be learned from them.” Instead, it means something more like “Horrible things that Florida could be learning from PragerU propaganda if someone doesn’t put a stop to it.” You mey remember during the Vietnam war we mocked the remark “We had to destroy the village to save it.” But – if one thinks, not of the people of Florida en masse but of Floridas educational structure – this may be a time when that is actually true.
Food For Thought
Glenn Kirschner – Trump indicted again; CNN defamation suit dismissed; Georgia preparing to indict. SO MUCH LOSING!
The Lincoln Project – DeSantis Trade School
This ad, made by Eric Swalwell, is only on TwitterX by itself. I have cut evrything before it starts, but I don’t have edit privileges to cut after it stops.
MSNBC – Swalwell – “We’re going to call you a creep.”
Farron Balanced – Biblical Plagues Descend Upon Republican Controlled Florida
When Everyone Else Gave Up On This Pittie, This Guy Didn’t (“This Guy” – Luke – may be the real Wizard of Oz.)
Beau – Let’s talk about Alabama and SCOTUS….
Yesterday, I got to see Virgil, and we got to play cribbage. The cards were still elderly and not in good shape,but Virgil managed to get three triple runs of three, and one quadruple run of three, and I managed to get a couple of quadruple runs of three, over the course of the afternoon. I also got a hand which consisted of only 3s, 6s, and 9s (IIRC it was one 9, one 6 and three 3s – it was a beast to count but a nice score.) Lona, Virgil loved the photo you sent for him (the same one you put in a comment ast weel. He is allowed to tape a few things up on the wall and it is now one of them. Thank you so much! And of course he returns everyone’s greetings. My main computer has been dragging all day,so I was late getting out the newsletter, and even later posting this. I had to run CCleaner – once in the “Health Check” mode and once in the regular cleanup mode just to keep going. And I think I forwarded the letter for the Substack I am using today out yesterday by mistake. So if you get that, check to see where the quotes fit. At least today is Monday, and I’ll be sleeping in hard.
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Short Takes –
Letters from an Americn – July 29, 2023 (Saturday)
Quote – I had intended to write about Bacon’s Rebellion today, since on this date in 1676, Nathaniel Bacon published the Declaration of the People of Virginia, outlining the rebels’ demands —and, let’s be honest, also because I am giddy with relief at finishing the final stages of the new book and eager to be doing actual history again—but President Joe Biden gave a surprisingly interesting talk in Freeport, Maine, yesterday that hit my in-box today just as I was sitting down to write about Bacon…. As he spoke informally to a small audience, he seemed to hit what he sees as the major themes of his presidency so far. The talk included an interesting twist…. “We’re seeing changes… across the world in fundamental ways. And so, we better get going on what we’re going to do about it, both in foreign policy and domestic policy.” … If I were writing a history of the Biden administration 150 years from now, I would call out this informal talk as an articulation of a vision of American leadership, … So I guess I got to write about history today, after all.
Click through for full column. Yes, it’s long. But it’s possible to skim it and then go back to particular points. And if it’s going to be important in 150 years – it’s important now.
The Hill – Here are the Republicans who have met requirements for the first debate
Quote – But before candidates can get on the Aug. 23 debate stage, they must first qualify by meeting several requirements set by the Republican National Committee (RNC). Candidates need at least 40,000 unique donors to their principal presidential campaign committee, including at least 200 from 20 or more states and territories each. The presidential contenders also must be polling at 1 percent or higher in at least three authorized national polls — or at 1 percent or higher in two national polls together with one “early state poll” from two separate “carve out” states recognized by the RNC: Iowa, New Hampshire, Nevada and South Carolina. Perhaps the most contentious requirement is the RNC’s ask that candidates sign a loyalty pledge to support whomever becomes the eventual Republican nominee.
Click through for those who have, and a few that have not. I’m almost sorry that Pence hasn’t made it (at least not yet) I have a couple of barrettes, each with a fly on it, and that would be an occasion to wear one or the other.
Food For Thought
Glenn Kirschner – New indictment shows criminal cover-up: Trump co-conspirator says “boss” wants “servers deleted”
The Lincoln Project – Barbie Freakout
Long, but it’s Lawrence – and he has lots to say.
MSNBC – Lawrence: We now know who the star witness in the Trump docs case will be
Farron Balanced – Jack Smith Just Flipped A Crucial Trump Ally
This Cleftie Kitten Is A Teeny-Tiny Superhero
Beau – Let’s talk about the imagery and legacy of Jan 6….
Yesterday, the radio opera was “Li zite ‘ngalera” by Leonardo Vinci, neither of which/whom I had ever heard of (Of course I know who Leonardo da Vinci is, but this is an 18th century namealike.) It is a comedy; the title translates to “The Newlyweds;” the libretto is in the Neapolitan dialect (Neapolitan composers as a group are credited with re-shaping operas in the direction of the form we recognize from the 19th and early 20th centuries.) The plot is easily described: Carlo leaves his fiancee Belluccia for greener pastures; she follows him disguised as a man; she ends up cutting him out with his new flame and s couple of other girls and he ends up back with her. But “easily described” is not the same thing as simple. I can see, and you likely can too, all kinds of complications, not even including the one that Belluccia’s father is furious with Carlo, and she has to save his life from her Dad. It premiered in 1722. Handel had left Italy (where he studied Italian opera) in 1710 for the court of Prince George of Hanover (later George I of England), but since he wrote a good number of Italian and Italian-style operas in England and was very successful until “The Beggars’ Opera” hit one out of the park (causing Handel to switch to oratorios), it’s not impossible that he knew it. I didn’t hear any influence on Handel in the music, but I did hear the beginnings of the recitativo-aria pattern which was standard by the time of Mozart. (I also heard some “gender-bending” which was pretty standard in opera at the time. Carlo sung by a woman may have been an attempt to replace a castrato role, but that would not explain the presence of a female character sung by a tenor.) The production is from La Scala from this year.
Since Pat B is away for the weekend on a family outing, I am going to slip in a couple of TJIs which I would ordinarily have sent her.
TJI #1 – (A response to DeSaster’s word salad while being questioned about his travesties of education policy) DeSantis was trying to wrap himself in the Cloak of Invisibility but instead slipped on the Hoodie of Absurdity. – Kareem Abdul-Jabbar
TJI #2 – Justice Alito secured his place in history as the Court’s cranky old man yelling at Americans to “get off my lawn!” – Robert Hubbell
Off to visit Virgil – will post when I return as always.
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Short Takes –
AP News – Biden openly acknowledges 7th grandchild, the daughter of son Hunter and an Arkansas woman
Quote – “Our son Hunter and Navy’s mother, Lunden, are working together to foster a relationship that is in the best interests of their daughter, preserving her privacy as much as possible going forward,” Biden said in a statement. It was his first acknowledgement of the child. This is not a political issue, it’s a family matter,” he said. “Jill and I only want what is best for all of our grandchildren, including Navy.”… The president, who has made a commitment to family central to his public persona, has faced increasing criticism from political rivals and pundits for failing to acknowledge the granddaughter. According to a person familiar with the matter, he was taking the cue from his son while the legal proceedings played out. The person spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss private matters.
Click through for story. I could have told you that Joe would do this just as soon as Hunter taking responsibility for his actions got to the point it has now reached. And not a moment sooner. (And I can also tell you with no additional evidence but with complete moral certainty that he is incredibly relieved that the time has come. Joe’s primary motivator is love – it’s that simple.)
Letters from an American – July 28, 2023
Quote – On Wednesday, soldiers of the presidential guard overthrew Niger’s democratically elected president, Mohamed Bazoum, and replaced him with a military general, Abdourahmane Tchiani…. Niger is a key player in the struggle to establish democracy in Africa, and Bazoum’s overthrow is part of that larger story. Niger is a landlocked country about twice the size of Texas in the center of the Sahel region in Africa, a dry grassland region that crosses the continent from the Atlantic to the Red Sea…. That region has also been plagued by violent Islamic groups, and strongmen promising to restore order have launched successful coups in the countries of Mali and Burkina Faso, which are Niger’s neighbors. (When Vice President Kamala Harris went to Ghana in March, her visit was partly to shore up democracy in that country, which is on the edge of the Sahel region and under pressure from militants in Sahel countries.)
Click through for details. Reuters had this story and so did MSNBC, though not in the headlines. I didn’t see it anywhere else, though I didn’t look everywhere, and of course, Heather has all the history. I find this scary on a level with Trump**.
Food For Thought
Glenn Kirschner – Chris Christie says Mark Meadows appears to be cooperating with federal prosecutors against Trump
The Lincoln Project – If the Shoe Fits
A lot of crap at this site – but this one could slmost have been made by the Lincoln Project
Tell It like It Is PAC – Trump’s Choice
Puppet Regime – Putin’s moment of truth has come
Bald Dog Turns Into The Fuzziest Teddy Bear
Beau – Let’s talk about a trillion trees and the GOP….
Yesterday, President Joe signed an executive order establishing military Offices of Special Trial Counsel, which will be responsible for all prosecutions of sexual assault, domestic violence, and other violent crime – taking those prosecutions out of the chain of command (under which so many cases have died.) About damn time. And good forJoe! Of course MAGA s furious. Also, a superseding indictment came out in the Trump** documetns case, over which people who are interedted in law and crime are salivating. And my area had a little power failure. Annoying – but didn’t last long, and it came with lightning which came with rain and cooled things down a bit. I had had to break out a couple of the knitted bands I keep (wet) in thr refrigerator and put one around my neck and one around my forehead while all the fans were stopped.
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Short Takes –
Associated Press News – Biden chooses former Maryland Gov. Martin O’Malley to lead the Social Security Administration
Quote – President Joe Biden on Wednesday nominated former Maryland Gov. Martin O’Malley to lead the Social Security Administration…. “Governor O’Malley is a lifelong public servant who has spent his career making government more accessible and transparent, while keeping the American people at the heart of his work,” Biden said in a statement. “As Governor, he made government work more effectively across his administration and enhanced the way millions of people accessed critical services.”
Click through for details. I haven’t heard his name for a long time, but Iseem to recall my impression was positive.
The 19th – Newly disabled people aren’t given a ‘how-to’ guide. Disability doulas are closing those gaps.
Quote – Stefanie Lyn Kaufman-Mthimkhulu began doing disability doula work long before they ever heard the term. From the time they were in middle school, they remember “being responsible for big, intense crisis situations” with their friends. Throughout high school, a close friend self-injured. Kaufman-Mthimkhulu would drive to her house and listen. They would also take care of their friend’s wounds, spend time watching bad TV shows and eat ice cream. What they didn’t do is blame or shame their friend. Now, years later, disability doula work is a core part of both Kaufman-Mthimkhulu’s personal practice and their job as director of peer support organization Project LETS, which works to organize community-based mental health support for people with disabilities.
Click through for story. I applaud their work. I hope they are allowed to continue and to grow.
Food For Thought
