Glenn Kirschner – Proud Boys subpoena Trump to testify at seditious conspiracy trial. What could possibly go wrong?
The Lincoln Project – We’ll Name Them
Ring of Fire – Hunter Biden’s Lawyers Use Trump’s Legal Arguments Against House Republicans
Parody Project – King of the Con (This one actually had me singing along.)
Kitten Cries So Someone Will Rescue Him
Beau – Let’s talk about an alert to leave and some intelligence news….
Yesterday, The radio opera was “Don Carlo” by Verdi, based on a play by Schiller (another playwright whose work inspired multiple operas, the best known besides this one being “Maria Stuarda” by Donizetti and “William Tell” by Rossini.) All three of those are based on actual historical characters, but hoo boy, is the history – and in this one characterization – off. And probably wrongest with Don Carlo himself.He is depicted as maybe a little hot-headed, but enlightened and idealistic. In reality, the best decription of this Spanish prince would be the line from “Greater Tuna” – “Vera, that boy ain’t right.” The one character in Don Carlo whom Schiller invented is Rodrigo, Marquis of Posa. He is the nicest and best human being in the opera. Well, we can’t have that in aplay/opera including the Spanish Inquisition, so he gets killed near the end. He does get the most beautuiful aria to die to in the opera, in fact one of thee best I’ve ever heard. So there are plenty of audience tears to water his imaginary grave. King Philip gets a nice aria too, and basses love to sing it, but given the context it strikes me as a bit ridiculous. His wife was engaged to his son first, and they had a chance to meet, and being two young healthy and attractive people (at least in theory) they naturally fell in love. Their marriage is supposed to be part of a peace treaty between Spain and France. When twice-widowed Philip decides to marry her himself, and for the sake of her country’s peace she agrees, I mean, what did he expect? Now, after all these years he’s whining “She never loved me.” Dude, you should be grateful that, not loving you, she was faithful to ypu in spite of all temptations. Such a Republican fantasy world. Possibly the most interesting character (at least the real-life one) is the Princess Eboli. She doesn’t come across as terribly nice in the opera, but she does come across as strong, and she was that, along with being beautiful She lost an eye in her early teens playing with a bow and arrows – not something one would exoect a girl to do – and wore an eye patch the rest of her life, and was considered the most beautiful woman in Europe anyway. In Spain even today, she’s kind of a feminist icon. She gets two arias, one just to entertain the court, flashy and tells a story, but not personal, and the big one in the last act, after she has betrayed the queen and confessed to doing so, which is right from the depths of honesty and contains, not one, but two mood swings. Ah, well. In actual news, one of out lost submarines (which the Navy refers to as being “on Eternal Patrol”) has been found, off the coast ofJapan’s largest island, just about where it disappeared in 1944. There’s more information here.
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PolitiZoom – Trump Thanks GA For ‘Total Exoneration’ Which Didn’t Take Place.
Quote – Once again we gather together, friends, to ask the eternal question: Is Donald Trump really that stupid or does he think that we are? Or, could it be both?… [A]pparently Trump didn’t get [the] memo. He’s off on a mad tangent now, that the redacted report which was released today is a “total exoneration” of him, because it doesn’t mention him by name. Whut?
Click through for details. I think he knows very well what the situation is and is just hoping to convince others. Why, since convincing others won’t stop prosecution? No – but it very well could get his dupes to take up arms.
The 19th – We asked lovers of Black literature to curate a Black resistance reading list. Here’s what they chose.
Quote – Each year, the Association for the Study of African American Life and History, a group [Carter G.] Woodson founded, provides a theme for Black History Month. This year’s theme is Black resistance, which the group hopes will highlight the myriad ways Black people have used “to advocate for a dignified self-determined life in a just democratic society in the United States and beyond the United States political jurisdiction.” One way that Black people have always resisted oppression was through the use of the written word. During enslavement, reading, writing or teaching enslaved people to read and write was a crime punishable by torture, imprisonment or death.
Click through for full list. I wish I had had a list like this when I was in high school. i lived in a very white neighborhood until the age of five, and then moved into another one where I grea up. And went to very white schools. So white that I cannot remember anyone even mentioning black people until I read Huckleberry Finn and a couple of Rex Stout’s “Nero Wolfe” novels. At least all three of those were positive about black people – and “Huckleberry Finn” was also dismissive of whites who thought themselves superior, so I guess it could have been worse. And at least I did support the civil rights movement from the day I knew there was suxh a thing.
Food For Thought
Brilliantly created by our very own SoINeedAName:
Glenn Kirschner – Georgia grand jury report re: Trump’s election crimes concludes witnesses lied, recommends charges.
Farron Balanced – Trump Lawyer Offers Dumbest Explanation Ever For Stolen Classified Document Folder
Really American – Chip Franklin SKEWERS Donald Trump for his obsession with public execution.
Brent Terhune – Satanic Ritual at the Grammys
Abandoned Lamb Runs To Human Mom
Beau – Let’s talk about Ohio, trains, coverage, and a lack of answers….
Yesterday, the sun was shining and the temperature got up to the mid-40’s, so I was able to get to the mailbax and get my package and a letter from Virgil with some paperwork. He wanted me to see it because he didn’t understand it, and he wasn’t able to explain it to me on the phone. In all honesty, i don’t know how much of his failure to understand it was because he didn’t want to. It was the results of his parole board hearing from fall of 2022. That was either his second or third hearing, and he was turned dow (again) for exactly the reasons I keep telling him about – and which, when we discuss them, he admits I’m right. The bottom line is that, between his old head injuries, his years as an active alcoholic, now the incipient dementia, and I think there must be at least a little bit of not wanting to, he does not have the discipline to create a parole plan which would satisfy the board. (And if he did, he would not have the discipline to carry it out.) That’s the bottom line. On acount of his age they also looked at types of special release programs, so it isn’t like they are not trying. However, before he can qualify for consideration for that he must have served 20 years or more, and he doesn’t have quite 12 years yet. Also, they note that what his physical and mental issues are do not fall into a category such that they cannot adequately care for him. He doesn’t need heavy pain meds, or MRIs,or any kind of treatment which requires special equipment or special knowledge. They are actuall better positioned to care for him than I would be – their staff doesn’t have mobility or energy issues (it’s a full time job for me to take care of myself). There is actually nothing in these documents which I haven’t gone over with him before, multiple times. And I expect to be going over it multiple times again. He might be able to remember it if he wanted to – or he might not – but he doesn’t, so he won’t.
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Mother Jones – Meet the Religious Crusaders Fighting for Abortion Rights
Quote – If state courts don’t grant the plaintiffs relief, their decisions may indicate a judicial bias in which the freedom to exercise one’s chosen religion only applies if it is congruent with the court’s religious preference. On the flip side, if courts judge these religious freedom cases in a manner consistent with how the US Supreme Court has been interpreting other religious freedom cases in recent years, the lawsuits could roll back some of the nation’s harshest abortion restrictions in the states where they are being argued, and serve as an instructive guide for religious groups in other states to follow. “If the recent understanding of free exercise holds,” Micah Schwartzman, a constitutional law professor at the University of Virginia, tells Mother Jones, “I think there are really powerful claims in these abortion cases.”
Click through for full story. Frankly, it bothers me that decent people need to cite their – our – religious beliefs in order to bring decency to government. GFovernment should have no truck with any religious beliefs – those are personal. But if we must fight fire with fire, then we must.
The Nib – The Black Radical You’ve Never Heard Of
Quote – In his 1884 book “Black and White,” [T. Thomas] Fortune railed against the concentration of wealth as the enemy to black and white laborers alike. “I am opposed to aristocracies and so-called privileged classes, because they are opposed to the masses. they make inequalities, out of which grow all the miseries of society, because there is no limit to their avarice, parsimony, and cruelty.”
Click through for full graphic. I certainly had never heard of him. Has anyone? Maybe it’s time we did.
Food For Thought
Glenn Kirschner – DOJ won’t charge Matt Gaetz for alleged sex-trafficking: how fed prosecutors make charging decisions
The Lincoln Project – Last Week in the Republican Party – February 14, 2023
Thom Hartmann – Is Neo-Fascism Taking Over America?
Rocky Mountain Mike – Bang Bang (Joe Biden Shot It Down) – Featuring Mary in Ann Arbor
Feral Cat Hated Everyone Until She Fell In Love With Another Kitty
Beau – Let’s talk about McConnell pushing Scott out there…
Yesterday, when I checked around noon, the sun was bright, and a ggod deal of snow had melted, although the temperaure had not yet reach freezing (and would not all day.) I would have had a dry path from my door to the driveway, but not all the way to the mailbox. So the small package which was delivered Tuesday had to wait. Freezing temperatures shouldn’t hurt it as long as it’s dry. Also, it occurred to me that tday, February 17, is my PEBD (Pat will remember that acronym.) In plain English, it’s the day I signed the contract which both entitled and obliged me to report to Officer Candidate School to learn to be a Marine officer. The acronym stands for “Pay Entry Base Date,” I took my oath that day, and all my pay raises based on longevity went into effect that day in whatever year. And that original day was 57 years ago this year. Amazing. One more thing – I doubt anyone missed thepartial release of the Special Grand Jury report in Georgia, but just in case, here it is.
Cartoon – 17 0217Cartoon.jpg
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The 19th News – An Oklahoma judge just transferred a lesbian mom’s parental rights to her son’s sperm donor
Quote – Legal experts warn that the case could have substantial implications for marriage equality nationwide. Advocates battled a number of cases to enshrine same-sex marriage protections after the Supreme Court granted those rights nationwide in 2015. Among those fights was the right of parentage. The 2015 Supreme Court case Pavan v. Smith found that it was unconstitutional to treat queer couples differently than heterosexual couples when it came to presuming parentage. If married heterosexual couples were presumed to be parents of children born during their marriage, the same must be true for LGBTQ+ couples. However, laws vary state to state.
Click through for story. This case is so unusual I would hope it would not be much of a precedent – but with MAGAts you never know.
Letters from an American – February 12, 2023
Quote – On February 12, 1809, Abraham Lincoln was born in Kentucky. Exactly 100 years later, journalists, reformers, and scholars meeting in New York City deliberately chose the anniversary of his birth as the starting point for the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP)…. The spark for the organization of the NAACP was a race riot in Springfield, Illinois, on August 14 and 15, 1908. The violence broke out after the sheriff transferred two Black prisoners, one accused of murder and another of rape, to a different town out of concern for their safety.
Click through for full letter. The NAACP is still around; over a hundred years later, it is needed as much as it has ever been.
Food For Thought
Just one from a remarkable set of photos – Five-year-old girl recreates photos of influential black women.
Glenn Kirschner – Mike Pence will fight a grand jury subpoena to testify about Trump’s election crimes, & he will lose
Twitter – Shannon Watts. It was just a matter of time before there was a two-time survivor.
A survivor of the Sandy Hook School mass shooting in 2012 is a student at Michigan State University: “I am 21-years-old and this is the second mass shooting I’ve lived through. We can no longer allow this to happen. We can no longer be complacent.” pic.twitter.com/Jcafl57tmZ
— Shannon Watts (@shannonrwatts) February 14, 2023
Thom Hartmann – Biden’s Shocking Net Worth Revealed!
Liberal Redneck – Ohio Train Derailment and Corporate Greed
Brent Terhune – Chinese Spy Balloon
Pittie Begs His Mom To Keep A Pittie Puppy Half His Size
Beau – Let’s talk about Trump’s laptop problem….
Yesterday, yes, the ground was white. And the sun was shining. And the snow which was being predicted for this time next week had disappeared from the forecast. Just another day in Colorado weather. Also, I learned that Sarah Silverman is a contender to be the new host of The Daily Show. Apparently, in her first “Guest host” appearance, she skewered Fox (among other things.)
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Robert Reich – The death of shame
Quote – Shame once reenforced social norms. Through most of human history, survival depended on extended families, clans, and tribes. To be shamed and ostracized for violating the common good often meant death. Charles Darwin, in his book The Expression of the Emotions in Man and Animals, thought shame may have evolved as a way to maintain social trust necessary for the survival of a group and, therefore, of its members…. But today, shamelessness has gained a certain elan. Audacity, insolence, and impudence are welcomed. Irreverence is celebrated. We hoot when someone gives society the bird. Many Americans love Donald Trump’s loutishness.
Click through for full opinion. I remember during the eighties some psychologists working with addiction decided that shame was a contribuying factor to addicton, and encouraged and facilitated eliminating it. I don’t remember ever being comfortable with that. Certainly what anthropologists call a guilt culture is more advanced than a shame culture – but for a guilt culture to work, a sufficient number of its members must be ethically advanced enough to accept responsibility. When has that ever happened, outside of a few small, self-selected communities?
CPR News – What one ‘red flag’ case in Denver says about how the city removes guns
Quote – The first time John walked into Richard’s townhome he found a night-vision scope pointed at the door. The place was littered with pistols and rifles. There was a trip-wire attached to shotgun and flash-bang shells. Soon, Richard started showing off a pistol — pulling back the slide and trying to chamber a round — all while pointing the barrel at John. The family had always been familiar with guns and John himself is a concealed carry permit holder. Still, he was alarmed. “Very alarmed,” John explained. “Anybody would’ve been.” Richard had recently shot his own computer with one of his pistols, his brother said. And he had previously made “vague implied threats” to the board of his homeowners’ association, though no one had wanted to file criminal charges, according to court records.
Click through for details. Note that this is specifically about Denver. You cannot assume this transfers to all of Colorado. Too many Sheriffs, including mine, have refused to enforce red flaglaws. When you see on the map which accompanies the story that there have been enforcements in El Paso County, assume that they have occurred within the City of Colorado Springs rather than in any unincorporated portion of the county, such as where my home is.
Food For Thought
