Open Thread – Page 172 – Politics Plus

Open Thread February 28, 2023

Posted by Joanne Dixon at 7:04 am Open Thread, Personal, Politics

Feb 282023

Yesterday, I mostly recuperated from the weekend. Yeah, my life is – what should I say – inside out? – now. Fridays are the days i dread and Mondays the ones I look forward to. I did get an order in to the store I couldn’t order from last time – they have updated their website again, and this update actually works. Si I’ll have an order come in today. Other than that, if you have heard that the US has placed new sanctions on Russia, this time prohibiting US coffeemakers (among other things) from being sent there, and are wondering WTF, wonder no more. Modern coffeemakers contain computer chips whichcanbe extracted and used to repair broken weapons. And apparently they still have some people there smart enough to do that. Laugh if you will. May as well. (That may even be part of the point.)

Cartoon

Short Takes –

Colorado Public Radio – From baseball phenom to Colorado community leader: The life and legacy of William ‘Bay Bay’ Richardson
Quote – For decades William Richardson touched the lives of hundreds of young people in his close-knit Colorado community, but many of them had no idea that before then their longtime coach and mentor had already made his mark on Black history, American history and sports history. For a time even his own children were unaware of all that he’d accomplished and the sacrifices he’d made in his young adult years to play the game he loved — baseball. In honor of Black History Month, this never-before-told story chronicles Richardon’s journey from a pitcher in the Negro Baseball Leagues, sports leagues born out of America’s racial segregation era, to a Colorado community leader.
Click through for full story. I don’t like to use thwo short takes the same day from the same source, but this one just popped up, and it may help to alleviate the bad taste the other article will leave you with.

Colorado Public Radio – What we know about the stalking case involving Black ranchers in El Paso County
Quote – It is unclear at the moment why the sheriff’s office didn’t assign someone else to investigate the claims, because the Mallerys have also complained about Gerhart, claiming he was complicit in intimidating them and trying to force them off of their land. Gerhart stated in the affidavit that he was the subject of four of the Mallerys’ complaints against El Paso County Sheriff deputies in the last two years — all of which were dismissed. In total, Gerhart said the Mallerys filed more than 15 internal affairs complaints against deputies.
Click through for full story. As you read, think about the Black History article I shared yesterday concerning white comfort. (I did not simply assume the Clarks are white – I searched and confirmed it.) I know whom I believe.

Food For Thought

Video Thread 2/27/2023

Posted by Joanne Dixon at 11:59 am Open Thread, Politics

Feb 272023

Glenn Kirschner – Jack Smith goes on offense, asks judge to preemptively order Mike Pence to testify before grand jury

Ring of Fire – Kyle Rittenhouse Hit With New Lawsuit From Man He Shot In Wisconsin

Robert Reich – The Biggest Economic Lies We’re Told

Puppet Regime – ChatGPT vs Puppet Regime

Tiny Kitten Meets His New Brothers And Falls In Love

Beau – Let’s talk about how social media is changing….

Open Thread February 27, 2023

Posted by Joanne Dixon at 7:23 am Open Thread, Personal, Politics

Feb 272023

Yesterday, I got to see Virgil. I passed on greetings, and He said to tell y’all they are appreciated. Today he seemed to have grasped that he willnot be getting out of prison alive, but he asked me – and I know it wasn’t s much as every five minutes, but it was often – how long we had been married (39 years this May) and also, though much less frequently, how old he is (79 – will be 80 in July.) He didn’t appear at all frustrated by not knowing, at least. I left at exactly the right time – five minutes later and the glare would have been too much.Neither visitors nor inmates are allowed watches, but there are a few windows in the room, and they face roughly west, so that if there is sun the light hitting the floor (snd eventually the wall) acts like a makeshift sundial. Six stripes on the south wall means time to go. Once we get back to DST it shouldn’t be a problem – visitation ends early enough that I’ll be fine staying until it’s over – and that will happen for my next visit on March 12. Now, in November, it appears there may be what we called in the military a fire drill, but using an ethnic slur which I won’t repeat. My state has passed legislation to keep DST, as has Ohio. Missouri and Texas have not. California voters have passed a referendum, but the legislature has yet to act. Needless to say, Australia will not be affected by us. For anyone in the US, I highly recommend a bit of research on your state between now and November.

Cartoon

Short Takes –

Crooks & Liars – Beltway Media Still Doesn’t Understand Where Right Wingers Get Their Ideas
Quote – In 2016, Stephen Gossett of Chicagoist recounted the history that these Times reporters don’t seem to know: “There is a very simple two-part explanation as to why this happened: President Obama’s adopted hometown is Chicago; and Chicago struggles with gun violence. So its not surprising to find an example that stretches all the way back to Obama’s first presidential campaign.”
Click through for article. Yes, Obama is still the bogey-an for way too many people, and probabloy some arenot even MAGAs.

Medium – 5 Reasons Why White People Are Afraid of Disposing of Their White Comfort
Quote – White comfort shows up everywhere, for instance, in the workplace when keeping Black people a way from senior positions, discriminatory hiring practices. Also, in schools that refuse to teach Critical Race Theory, states that ban books, and the way white people avoid discussing race relations and racism. All of these instances, are sensitive to white people because it pricks them into their skin like a needle; they feel like they are being attacked because they are being asked to be held accountable, and face the reality of the changing world that is being inclusive of everyone but them for once.
Click through for article. White privilege, white fragility, white comfort – they are very similar, though there are subtle differences. All are so subtle yet all-pervasive that many white people don’t know they exist, and often actively fight the idea that they exist. People of color know that if they say or do anything which distirbs white comfort, even someting as innocuous as being in a particular place, their risks extend all the way up to death.

Food For Thought

Video Thread 2/26/2023

Posted by Joanne Dixon at 11:51 am Open Thread, Politics

Feb 262023

Glenn Kirschner – Grand Juror did NOTHING wrong by giving interviews about Trump criminal investigation in Georgia

The Lincoln Project – Freedom

Ojeda Live – Marge the Trainwreck Tweets for a National Divorce!?

Armageddon Update – G.O.P. = Grifting On Purpose

Dog Who Wasn’t Supposed To Survive Is Completely Transformed By Love

Beau – Let’s talk about divorce, nationally….

Open Thread February 26, 2023

Posted by Joanne Dixon at 7:06 am Open Thread, Personal, Politics

Feb 262023

Yesterday, the radio opera was “Lady Macbeth of Mtsensk” by Dmitri Shostakovich. It was based on a novella of roughly the same name, as unfair as that name is to the protagonist, who is essentially reacting to being abused, not only by her husbamd, but by her father-in-law, and then by an employee of the family business with whom she has an affair which essentially begins with a rape. No, murder is never justified, but it really is not hard to have empathy for her. There is a revised version from 1962, which the composer felt was different enough to rename it “Katerina Izmailova,” but it’s the original version (and the original title) which is usually heard today. The opera is one of many of his works which got him into deep doodoo with Stalin (he used to keep a fully packed suitcase by his front door so that if the secret police came in the middle of the might he’d have some possessions to take with him.) As always, I’ll comment when I get back from seeing Virgil.

Cartoon

Short Takes –

Crooks & Liars – Why Hasn’t Russia Destroyed Even One US HIMARS System In Ukraine?
Quote – The HIMARS (High Mobility Artillery Rocket System) has been credited with changing the trajectory of the war. Though Ukraine only has about 20 of these systems sent from the United States, Russia seems to have no counter. And many have wondered why Russia has not managed to destroy a single one of them
Click through for article and video. I don’t know much about Czech history or culture. I would not have expected this. But, upon reflection, it fits very well with the little I do know. (And it’s most amusing.)

A Jim Crow–Era Murder. A Family Secret. Decades Later, What Does Justice Look Like?
Quote – It’s like “legal archaeology,” Burnham says. The students read old newspapers, travel to Southern towns to obtain court transcripts, and speak with surviving families. “It’s really not enough to say, ‘Those were horrible days,’ and let them pass,” Burnham told the Northeastern Law magazine in 2010. “The details matter. These stories are important, and to the extent these people are still around, their stories deserve to be told.”
Click through for story. I don’t really have words. I’m thankful for this project – but then I look at the complete erasure of reality DeSatan is perpetrating in Florida. I hope these stories do not disappear like the family photographs mentioned.

Food For Thought

Video Thread 2/25/2023

Posted by Joanne Dixon at 11:53 am Open Thread, Politics

Feb 252023

Glenn Kirschner – Special Counsel Jack Smith fights PROACTIVELY for Mike Pence’s testimony before the grand jury

The Lincoln Project – Responsible

Ring of Fire – Trump Will Reportedly Accept Subpoena From Proud Boys

Brent Terhune – National Divorce

Guy Rescues A Stray Cat Every Time He Leaves The House

Beau – Let’s talk about China aiding Russia….

Open Thread February 25, 2023

Posted by Joanne Dixon at 7:11 am Open Thread, Personal, Politics

Feb 252023

Yesterday, It warmed up above freezing and the snow is mostly gone from where it needs to be gone. Today (and tomorrow) should be warmer. I did listen to the concert “For Ukraine: A Concert of Rememberance and Hope.” It began with a video message from Olena Zelenska (Debra Lou Harder read out the English subtitles.) I was choked up before the first note (which was the first note of the Unkrainian National Anthem, BTW.) If you saw “Amadeus,” you’ll remember several chunks from the Mozart Requiem, and of course everyone recognizes Beethoven’s Fifth Symphony. They are actually less familiar to the performers than to the audience – opera orchestras don’t generally play sumphonies, and opera choruses seldom sing Requiems, though top rank vocal soloists do, at least on occasion. The “Prayer for Ukraine” was part of the first Met concert for Ukraine. Yes, this is alot of music analysis. But as someone cited from Heine, (it may have been the Ukrainian ambassador to the UN, or one of the two Ukrainian soloists), “When words leave off, music begins.” They posted the program on line (part of it – they cut out the advertising.) And – speaking of Ukraine and music …

Cartoon –

Short Takes –

The Daily Beast – Broadway Star Ben Platt Condemns ‘Evil’ Neo-Nazis After ‘Parade’ Protest
Quote – The show, a Broadway transfer from the Encores! concert series, is based on the true story of a Jewish factory superintendent, Leo Frank, who was falsely convicted of killing 13-year-old employee Mary Phagan in 1913, and who was kidnapped from prison and lynched two years later…. [A] masked activist from the National Socialist Movement, a neo-Nazi hate group, tried to leaflet theater-goers outside the Bernard B. Jacobs Theatre so they could “find out the truth” about the ADL (Anti-Defamation League), as well as Parade. “You’re paying 300 bucks to go fucking worship a pedophile, you might as well know what you’re talking about,” the masked person said.
Click through for article. This is bad enough – but the same people who staged this outrage have also designated today as a “National Day of Hate.” At least in many large cities, it’s being reported that law enforcement is providing extra protectio to synagogues.

Letters From An American – February 19, 2023
Quote – Today is the anniversary of the day in 1942, during World War II, that President Franklin Delano Roosevelt signed Executive Order 9066 enabling military authorities to designate military areas from which “any or all persons may be excluded.” That order also permitted the secretary of war to provide transportation, food, and shelter “to accomplish the purpose of this order.” … On March 2, 1942, General John DeWitt put Executive Order 9066 into effect. He signed Public Proclamation No. 1, dividing the country into military zones and, “as a matter of military necessity,” excluding from certain of those zones “[a]ny Japanese, German, or Italian alien, or any person of Japanese Ancestry.”
Click through for Letter. There is Nick Anderson the basketball player, and there is Nick Anderson the cartoonist, but the Nick Anderson to whom Heather refers is neither of them. He is a young reporter for the Washington Post. I can’t provide a gift link – my cousin is all out of them for this month. Here’s the paywalled link. But hHeather does a gret job and you may not need or want it.

Food For Thought