Glenn Kirschner – AG Garland moving toward a prosecutorial decision on Trump’s Mar-a-Lago classified documents crimes
MSNBC – Chris Hayes: Three Reasons Democrats Avoided A Red Wave In The Midterms
Farron Balanced – Executive Throws Trump Under The Bus During Tax Fraud Trial
Real Subtitles? – A disastrous press conference.
Feral Cat Holds His Foster Mom’s Hand
Beau – Let’s talk about who outside the US won the midterms….
Yesterday, thanks to Crooks and Liars, I found a new parody video site. It’s a hoot – it shows genuine non-English-speaking clips nd adds parody CC. The first one I saw (which will be in today’s video thread) showws a Putin press conference (note to Americans – 10cm is approximately 4″ – that should give you a feel for the numbers.)
Cartoon –
Short Takes –
PolitiZoom – Read A Beautiful Tribute To Joe Biden, Penned By A Former Republican
Quote – Democrats can be obtuse. And we had some terrific candidates, which in a sane world, which the years leading up to the 2020 election emphatically were not, we might have put together on a dream ticket. One such dream ticket would have been Elizabeth Warren in the top spot with Pete Buttigieg as her VP. That would have been a fine use of our talent. But it never would have flown against Trump. Biden was the only one who could do it[.]
Click through for full tribute (what I have quoted isn’t even part of it.) It’s well worth your time
Civil Discourse – Democrats Hold the Senate—and the Ability to Appoint Federal Judges
Quote – At the end of the Obama administration, there were 104 judicial vacancies in the district courts and the courts of appeal, plus the one at SCOTUS. That’s unheard of. Appointing federal judges is one of the most important jobs of the presidency, shaping a legacy that lasts well beyond a president’s time in office. Ronald Reagan’s appointments had an impact for decades, with 15 or so of them still on the bench. On the floor of the Senate, after Barrett’s confirmation, McConnell said with glee, “A lot of what we’ve done over the last four years will be undone sooner or later by the next election. They won’t be able to do much about this for a long time to come.”
Click through for full article. Of course Joyce is a lawyer, so this is the first thing she thinks about, probably for every Federal election. But it’s one of the first things I think about also, for exactly the reasons Mitch McConnell shared. He is a wily old – mmphmm, bird.
Food For Thought
Glenn Kirschner – Trump asserts he used DOJ/FBI to stop vote count in 2018 to help DeSantis become Florida governor
MSNBC – Rep. Adam Kinzinger: We Need To Make An Uncomfortable Alliance For Democracy. (It looks clear to me he is talking about “up and down” – authoritarianism vs. small-d democracy – not “left and right. That’s exactly why the alliance will be “uncomfortable.” But it wasn’t clear to people commenting where I saw the clip first. So I decided to mention it.)
Farron Balanced – Judge Won’t Let Struggling Conservative Outlet OAN Escape Defamation Lawsuit
Mrs. Betty Bowers – LIVE from Kari Lake’s Campaign Headquarters
People Rescue 700-Pound Moose From Railroad Tracks (I heard you. And with so many of my sources taking a breather, this appears to be a good time to add more rescue stories.)
Beau – Let’s talk about elephant, zebras, and drought….
Yesterday, the radio opera was Charles Gounod’s “Romeo et Juliette,” recorded in China. Juliette’s opening aria, “Je veux vivre,” has been sung by finalists on many, many Miss America telecasts (I don’t know whether that still holds – I haven’t watched any pageants for a long time.) In any medium, this is a difficult story to tell, in large part because the protagonists are so very young – Juliet is not yet 14, and Romeo not much older. Any 13-year-old who can manage to sing that music, and project it throughout an opera house, should not be allowed to do so, because that much that young will harm the growing voice. (Anyone remember Charlotte Church? Hear of her lately? Well, in 2022 she appeards as”Mushroom” on The Masked Singer and took second place.) I know this is an unpopular opinion, but I have always thought the DiCaprio-Danes movie version came closest to nailing it – I thought at the time it was because they looked so young, but looking back, while their appearance helped, what really sealed the deal was their youthlul blocking and body language. Through most of history children were expected to behave like miniature adults; it’s only in the last hundred years or so that some cultures have recognized there are actual stages of development from child to adult, and it isn’t realistic for a child or a teen to behave adultly. If they try, they are going to appear awkward.
Also, late breaking from Axios: “Wins in Arizona and Nevada kept President Biden’s party in charge of the upper chamber while control of the House still hangs in the balance.” To be clear, add Wornock and we will actually have 51-49.
Cartoon –
Short Takes –
The Warning – American politics remains broken
Quote – American politics was broken before the Tuesday election. It remained broken on Wednesday morning. The MAGA extremist threat did not dissipate by failing to achieve its aims. The GOP/MAGA class of 2022 was a dangerous group of unfit extremists that has no parallel in modern American history. Collectively, their presence on US ballots from sea to shining sea amounted to indisputable evidence of national decay irredeemable cynicism, factionalism and cowardice.
Click trough for partial analysis. My feeling is that gross Republican misjudgment saved the election for us, and that the fact that control of both houses is so close should be terrifying. So I’ll be using the scary closer for a while yet.
Washington Post (gift link) – She decoded Nazi messages and helped win World War II. Now she’s 101.
Quote – The goal of the WAVES women was to save American lives by sinking German subs before they could attack Allied shipping. At first, news of a destroyed U-boat was cause for celebration. But it became more painful as the war dragged on and its human cost became more evident. Once, Parsons helped decode a congratulatory note to a German sailor at sea upon the birth of his son back home. A few days later, she learned the father’s submarine had been sunk, with no survivors. “To think that we all had a hand in killing somebody did not sit well with me,” she said. “I felt really bad. That baby would never see his father.”
Click through for full story. I’m still trying to feature some good news daily if possible. I am sure Pat B and I (both sea service veterans) are not the only ones who can appreciate her work. It can’t have been easy.
Food For Thought
Glenn Kirschner – Mike Pence reveals in his book that he refused to report/covered-up Donald Trump’s election crimes (While I agree that was wrong – who was he going to tell? Bill Barr? Jeffrey Clark? Anyone else in Donald Trump**’s Justice Department? Yes, he could have talked to Biden’t DOJ once it existed. Or, yeah, a Federal judge.)
MSNBC – Huma Abedin: Everything Has Now Changed For Biden
Thom Hartmann – You Won’t Believe What Far Right Did To Stop Midterm Votes For Democrats (sorry it’s so long.)
Ring of Fire – Trump Staffers Admit To Treating Him Like A Toddler To Appease Him
Liberal Redneck – 2022 Midterm Results
Beau – Let’s talk about the economic power of the parties…
Yesterday, The Colorado District 3 race was still not yet counted. Boebert has moved into the lead by about 400 votes, but there are thousands not yet counted, and many of not most are from blue counties, or counties that went blue. The Frisch campaign is doing what it can to help “cure” votes (i.e. reach out to voters who forgot to sign their ballot envelop or made some other small error – most of these can be corrected by text message, but the voter haas to know it’s needed – and sometimes to be nagged a little. The deadline for that is the 14th, which is also the deadline to receive military absentee ballots.) They are also still in need of funds for the curing task , so if your heart is in it, you can go to Adam’s web page and help. (I did – a very small one – and also to Rev. Warnock.) I also finished up the cartoons for November, and took a look at the Denver NPR radio station’s “Christmas Carol Countdown” – which they are running like sports playoffs, which seems to me to be a good way to make the lmaximum number of people unhappy, but what do I know. Finally, I solved The New Yorker’s “Name Drop on the first clue. I almost went to the second clue, buthen I thought, if I’m right, I’ll never forgive myself.
Cartoon –
Short Takes –
The Warning – Tim Ryan’s must-watch political speech
Quote – Tim Ryan is precisely the type of person Teddy Roosevelt spoke of in his speech detailing the obligations of citizenship in a republic…. Tim Ryan inspired people. He did it with conviction, decency and grace. He is not a savior, but he is a man of the highest integrity and character who stood tall…. [The speech] was delivered without notes, and entirely from the heart. This guy is the real deal.
Click through for article (and video – which does have CC, so there’s a transcript if you click on the three dots to the right of the line that has “share” in it.) Personally, I needed a hanky. BTW Robert REich also cited this speech, along with Fetterman’s victory speech.
Press Watch – It’s not a fluke, it’s a rot: Why the political media blew the 2022 election
Quote – Ever since they started handicapping the 2022 election – which means almost all the way back to 2020 – leading political reporters and pundits consistently predicted a midterm shellacking for Joe Biden and Democrats. It’s almost like they were looking forward to it…. After the Dobbs decision, they briefly entertained the notion that things might go another way. But then they dismissed it entirely…. This is not something that can be fixed with a little tweaking, and weak stabs at contrition. What we need is a wholesale revisiting of the rules of modern political journalism.
Click through for analysis. It’s right on point, and it’s very refreshing.
Food For Thought
Glenn Kirschner – Republican controlled House can NOT stop DOJ criminal investigations of Trump & his co-conspirators
The Lincoln Project – Who We Are
Ojeda LIVE – The MAGA-ploy in Wisconsin
MSNBC – Symone Sanders: People Need To Give Stacey Abrams Her Flowers
John Fugelsang – Jimmy Carter can Stop Trump!
Beau – Let’s talk about a future message from your daughter…. (Not what you’re probably thinkng, not aimed at us, but… hanky alert.)
Yesterday, we got some additional election results and we did not get others. Some of the results were good. Others not so much. And some of the undecided races are IMO nervewracking (Boebert’s district is still too close to call.) One thing that we do know is that the Georgia Senate race is headed to a runoff, which is the second-best news we could have from Georgia. We do know that Georgia Democrats are very good at getting turnout for runoffs – that is how Rev. Warnock got into the Senate in the first place. I’m sorry that it means more work (and more anxiety) for Georgia Democrats, but it is better than a simple loss, and it gives me hope. I did find a good news story (at least I think and hope so – one never knows what a fascist is going to spring on one), along with one which makes me want to scream. I do have a couple of new nicknames to share (for people I SO wish would just go away so the nicknames would not be needed) – “Pumpkin Spice Lardass” and “DeSanctimonious.” The latter is being credited to the former, but I seriously doubt whether he knows any five-syllable words. Oh, and I got the Name Drop right again – but only because I’m not only so old, but because I was raised by my Mom who was born in 1906 and her Mom who was obviously even older (I called a refrigerator an “icebox” until I was in my 20’s. I had some other paleologisms too.)
Cartoon (Pat B is in her local parade today) –
Short Takes –
Axios – Russia announces retreat from key Ukrainian city of Kherson
Quote – Kherson was the only provincial capital captured by Russia since it invaded Ukraine in February. Its liberation would represent a remarkable victory for Ukrainian forces. It marks another major setback for Moscow in the nine-month war, coming after Ukraine recaptured a major portion of Kharkiv Oblast and made significant gains in Kherson Oblast in earlier this fall Russian forces will also cede all of the territory captured on the western bank of the River Dnipro and will organize defensive lines on the opposite bank of the river.
Click through for article. I cannot guarantee that this is good news, but it certainly seems promising..
Crooks and Liars – Man Allegedly Shoots Neighbor Dead Because He Thought He Was A Democrat
Quote – An Ohio man died of multiple gunshot wounds, and according to the 911 call, the victim’s wife said that the armed neighbor murdered her husband because he thought he was a Democrat. The chilling 911 call reveals that Austin Combs had confronted Anthony Lee King, 43, over his perceived party affiliation on multiple occasions.
Click through for the (literally) gory details. I have heard many times people in AA saying, when someone started a sentence with “I thought…” “Did your sponsor tell you you could think?” Seems appropriate to me for MAGAts – except, who is going to tell them? Who would they listen to?
Food For Thought
