Open Thread – Page 170 – Politics Plus

Personal Update March 8, 2023

Posted by Joanne Dixon at 6:57 am Open Thread, Personal, Politics

Mar 082023

Yesterday, I decided whuch urgent care to visit, and went there – unfortunately I ended up walking completely around the building before finding the right door. I didn’t have to wait long. The doctor thought maybe a lipoma, maybe an abcess (I don’t think it’s an abcess – for one thing it’s not hot enough and for another all the abcesses I have seen [granted mostly in cats] hurt more constantly. This spot hasn’t hurt to speak of since last week at this time.) She sent me for an ultrasound and drew a line around the spot, which endeared her to the ultrasound tech (the spot today is the shape of a grand piano lid, except that the distance from thr bottom line nearest the keys to the rounded top is only 4 cm – less than 2″ (Last week this time it was about the size and shape of a standard playing card with the corners rounded off – seems it only increases in size when pain is present.) He did not find any fluid or underlying mass, so it’s still a mystery. I did just manage to pick up my prescription on the way home, and still get home – well, a couple of minutes after sunset, but with almost a half hour of “civil twilight” to spare. But I was exhausted. I have put up a half-sized video thread, using just videos where I have more than one in the queue from the source, in order not to get too behind or have to cut something good. Otherwise, see y’all tomorrow.

Cartoon –

Video Thread 3/7/2023

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

Mar 072023

Glenn Kirschner – Documentary: “Who Killed Robert Wone?” The quest for justice, and a call for the public’s assistance

The Lincoln Project – Remember Reagan

MSNBC – The new georgia law is straight up autoritarian

Arnold Schwarzenegger on Twitter – Long – but every second is necessary.

This is my message to anyone who has chosen the path of hate. Please listen. pic.twitter.com/P0VCDqPeb6

— Arnold (@Schwarzenegger) March 6, 2023

This cat talks human. But just one word.

Beau – Let’s talk about Biden’s first potential veto….

Open Thread March 7, 2023

Posted by Joanne Dixon at 6:53 am Open Thread, Personal, Politics

Mar 072023

Yesterday, I got the email that my prescription is ready, and the verdict from my doctor that (he doesn’t know either, and the) I should stop by an urgent care facility and have them look. So today I will be doing that. So, today, I have a couple of unusual articles, and tomorrow, there may be only a personal update, or maybe a personal updant and a video thread – those are a little easier to put together than the Open Threads. Oh, and I also got the confirmation to visit Virgil this coming Sunday.

Cartoon –

Short Takes –

Mother Jones – Finally, a Peek Into the Arctic Seed Vault That Could Save Humanity
Quote – The Global Seed Vault in the Norwegian Arctic, which opened in 2008, is closed to the public and shrouded in mystery, the subject of numerous internet doomsday conspiracy theories. Now, to celebrate the vault’s 15th anniversary, everyone is invited on a virtual tour to see inside the vast collection of tubers, rice, grains, and other seeds buried deep in the mountain behind five sets of metal doors. The deep-freeze, designed to last forever, is co-managed by the Norwegian government, the Crop Trust and NordGen, the genebank of the Nordic countries. The seeds could hold answers to agricultural challenges posed by climate crisis, invasive species, pests, changes in rainfall patterns and rampant biodiversity loss are studied, and it opens three times a year to accept new deposits from other seed banks around the world. Scientists say they hope people will learn more about their work through the virtual tour—without running the risk of falling prey to a polar bear.
Click through for story, and for the link to the tour, which is over the words “invited on a virtual tour to see inside the vast” – not highlighted, but there is a thin red underline.

Justice News – Readout of Attorney General Merrick B. Garland’s Trip to Ukraine
Quote – At the Opening Session of the conference, the Attorney General provided remarks in which he discussed, among other things, the Justice Department’s role in collaborating with the Ukrainian Prosecutor General and the moral and personal responsibility he feels in pursuing accountability. “Just over twelve months ago, invading Russian forces began committing atrocities at the largest scale in any armed conflict since the Second World War. We are here today in Ukraine to speak clearly, and with one voice: the perpetrators of those crimes will not get away with them,” said Attorney General Garland.
Click through for this news. I had no idea this happened while it was happening (not that anyone did outside of those with a need to know), but I’m glad it did. The meing included Ukrainian and Polish law enforcement, and possibly others. The print is very small – instead of using the magnifier, since there was so much of it, I copied the text ans pasted it into a blank document where I could adjust the font size.

Food For Thought

From 2021, but very pertinent

Video Thread 3/6/2023

Posted by Joanne Dixon at 12:07 pm Open Thread, Politics

Mar 062023

Glenn Kirschner – Donald Trump announces he WILL continue to run for the presidency even if he’s criminally indicted

The Lincoln Project – It’s Time

Robert Reich – Debunking “No One Wants To Work Anymore”

Brent Terhune – They Cancelled Dilbert

This Pregnant Pittie Foster Story Is The Happiest Thing Ever

Beau – Let’s talk about cookies, college, and cons….

Open Thread March 6, 2023

Posted by Joanne Dixon at 6:49 am Open Thread, Personal, Politics

Mar 062023

Yesterday, I was looking through videos for the video thread. Beau has been really hot lately, but I can’t share all of his because he’s doing 3-4 a day now and I wouldn’t have room for anything else. So I’m going to briefly sharethe information from one here. Last month, the 18th-19th, there was a “revival” in Kentucky (he didn’t specify, but “revival” sounds like Talibangelicals) and apparently someone who was there had an active case of measles. The possibility exists of new cases popping up just about everywhere in the US. I’m sure no one who reads here was there, and y’all already stay away from Talibangelicals, but it might be harder to avoid people who don’t systematically avoid Talibangelicals. The incubation period is 21 days, which would be March 11 or 12 (but of course anyone who caught it during that time frame would then have their own 21-day period.) If you ever go anywhere, or live with anyone who does, or have guests, check your immunizations and please be careful.

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Short Takes –

Letters From An American – March 3, 2023
Quote – Today (March 3) the Democrats on the House Judiciary Committee demonstrated that they will actively fight back against Republicans’ false narratives…. Rather than permit them to establish a false narrative, the top Democrat on the Judiciary Committee, Jerrold Nadler (D-NY), and the top Democrat on the weaponization subcommittee, Stacey Plaskett (D-Virgin Islands), today released a deeply researched and footnoted 316-page report that shreds the Republicans’ story…. In a section of the report titled “An Analysis of Witness Testimony Shows That Committee Republicans Are Working to Advance a Politically Motivated Messaging Campaign Unsupported by the Evidence,” Nadler and Plaskett show how the witness testimony directly rebutted the Republicans’ talking points. Under examination, the witnesses disproved that the Department of Justice was trying to pad its case numbers regarding domestic violent extremism, that it had diverted resources from child abuse cases to pursue January 6 offenders, and that the FBI had overreacted to threats of violence against school administrators and local political officials, all Republican talking points.
Click through for more good refuting of bad and ugly. I am for statehood for Puerto Rico and DC, but danf, maybe the Virgin Islands first. Stacey Plaskett needs and deserves a VOTE in the House. And we need her.

Crooks and Liars – 58 Years Later, Black Vietnam War Hero Gets His Medal Of Honor
Quote: [Biden] continued, “And although the men who were with him on that June day immediately nominated Captain Davis to receive the Medal of Honor, somehow the paper — the paperwork was never processed, not just once, but twice. But, you know what Captain Davis said after learning that he would finally receive the Medal of Honor? Quote, ‘America was behind me.'”
Click through for more detail. I have read that he was named after Paris in the Iliad. I feel that Davis was a FAR better soldier than Paris – but it’s complicated, and Paris did, in a way, get the “last laugh.”

Food For Thought

Video Thread 3/5/2023

Posted by Joanne Dixon at 12:01 pm Open Thread, Politics

Mar 052023

Glenn Kirschner – NY prosecutors talk with Kellyanne Conway about Trump’s hush money crimes; payoff of Stormy Daniels

MSNBC – Lawrence: Why were some FBI agents ‘inclined to believe Trump’?

Armageddon Update – Red States Vs. Blue States

Patrick Fitzgerald – Three Times a Failure

The Ginger Tabby Who Fell In Love With A Shredded Box

Beau – Let’s talk about China’s peace plan and Russia’s reaction….

Open Thread March 5, 2023

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

Mar 052023

Yesterday, the radio opera was “La Favorita,” by Donizetti. It is from way, way back (although new enough to have pretty good sound; it’s not as old as, say Caruso), as were all the historic broadcasts offered from which to pick the “Listeners’ Choice.” Pavarotti is in it, as is Shirley Verrett (one of my favorites.) I voted, but I don’t remember for what – my preference was not that strong. Now, if one of them had been”The GreatGatsby,” from1/1/2000 … but it wouldn’t have won. Sigh. Back on topic – the “favorite” is a royal mistress who has now fallen in love with a former monk who has become a soldier in the army of the king whose mistress she is. That’s complicated enough, but just to make if more interesting, the king’s queen is the daughter of the father superior of the monastery which the favorite’s new love has just left (not amicably.) A setup like that is not going to end happily, but then, it’s opera. Even Bugs Bunny knew operas don’t end happily. Some of the characters are historical people, others not so much. The time is the mid-1300s and the king is Alfonso XI of Castile (who did exist.) I guess i should add here that my side pains are pretty much non-existent today … I just haven’t made up the energy loss yet.

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Short Takes –

Crooks & Liars – Expert Spells Out How Russians Bought The Republican Party
Quote – But the Russian scheme to pick our political leaders went much, much deeper than Trump, according to Dr. Ruth May. A Professor of Global Business at the University of Dallas and an expert on Russia, her expertise includes the reversal of market-based institutions in Russia under Vladimir Putin, and exposing Russia’s attack on our American democracy in the 2016 presidential election.
Click through for article and a video. I would have liked a little more detail, particularly since there’s not really anything we didn’t know. Dr. May is highly credentialed, so I don’t doubt that due diligence has been done here, but it’s not really visible.

ProPublica – 94 Women Allege a Utah Doctor Sexually Assaulted Them. Here’s Why a Judge Threw Out Their Case.
Quote – It was years, Mateer said, before she learned that her experience was in a sharp contrast to the conduct called for in professional standards, including that doctors use only their fingertips during a breast exam and communicate clearly what they are doing in advance, to gain the consent of their patient. Eventually, she gave her experience another name: sexual assault. Utah judges, however, have called it health care. And that legal distinction means Utahns like Mateer who decide to sue a health care provider for alleged sexual abuse are treated more harshly by the court system than plaintiffs who say they were harmed in other settings.
Click through for details. I try to give hanky alerts and trigger alerts – but this one needs a blood pressure alert.

Food For Thought