Video Thread 8/18/22

 Posted by at 12:10 pm  Open Thread, Politics
Aug 182022
 

Glenn Kirschner – Lindsey loses in court; Rudy’s now a target in GA criminal probe; Trump says FBI took his passports?

Please note: after this video was recorded, the Department of Justice reportedly indicated that Trump’s passports were not seized. So Donald Trump may have . . . lied about that? Shocking, said absolutely no body. – Glenn Kirschner – 08/15/2022.

Meidas Touch – Military Veterans Facing Toxic Exposure REACT to President Biden Signing PACT Act

The Lincoln Project – Last Week in The Republican Party – August 16, 2022

Ring of Fire – Rest Of The World Is Freaking Out That Trump May Have Leaked Nuclear Secrets

Mrs Betty Bowers – “Religious Freedom is Neither”

Beau – Let’s talk about thr ultimate American test…. (Spoiler” There are a hundred questions avaiable, but the examiner chooses ten for any given applicant or group of applicants. Six is passing. I got 7 [and two more half right, which would not count, but would not need to.])

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Open Thread August 18, 2022

 Posted by at 6:51 am  Open Thread, Personal, Politics
Aug 182022
 

Yesterday, it was quiet enough that I was abke to get everything moved on the porch – not necessarily to where it is going to be, but enough that I could completely finish sweeping off the dust and dead leaves.That is a definite achievement (although it may not quite rise to the level of BFD.) After that, I decided to call it a day.

Cartoon –

Short Takes –

Robert Reich – The Origins of Trumpism (Part 4): Gingrich
Quote – January 7, 1995 – The press is declaring Newt Gingrich [who has just taken over as House majority leader] the new king of Washington and according him the celebrity normally reserved for new presidents at inaugurations. I couldn’t help thinking how different it would be had Bob Michel remained. Bob Dole has taken over the Senate and is trumpeting his victory as well. Gingrich and Dole seem to have taken command of the United States government. In our system, power is found where the public seems to have conferred it, and the two of them are credibly claiming to have most of it.
Click through for the full column, which comprises two quotes from his diary. One thing Gingrich did when he became Speaker was to remove the requirement for members to maintain a residence in DC. Because it’s easier to diss and defame someone who isn’t your neighbor. That requirement was one of the last checks on the loss of decency.

The 19th – Experts debunk monkeypox myths as misinformation spreads
Quote – Daniel Uslan, co-chief infection prevention officer at UCLA Health and clinical chief of infectious diseases… said… that he is not aware of recorded cases where handshaking is the suspected route of transmission. But skin-to-skin contact with someone who has an open lesion can still occur if those lesions are on the hands, [Stephen Abbott, medical director at Whitman-Walker’s Max Robinson Center] noted — and some lesions are so small that patients don’t notice them
Click through for other misinformation, much of which is based on fear of non-binary people.

Food For Thought

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Video Thread 8/17/22

 Posted by at 11:48 am  Open Thread, Politics
Aug 172022
 

Glenn Kirschner – John Bolton’s dangerous disregard for the national security threat posed by Donald Trump

Meidas Touch – Beto O’Rourke STUNS in town hall TURNING Republicans into Supporters (one at a time, yes … but they may spread it.)

Crooks and Liars – 72-year-old Ukrainian takes out a Russian 014 military column

Ojeda Live – Is Donald Trump the Most Dangerous Opposition Our Nation Has Ever Faced?

Brent Terhune – Nuclear Documents

Beau – Let’s talk about Cracker Barrel and sausage….

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Open Thread August 17, 2022

 Posted by at 7:19 am  Open Thread, Personal, Politics
Aug 172022
 

Yesterday was pretty quiet. And restful. My biggest physical achievement was taking a bag ou to the trash (from the porch) and a bag out to the recyclables (from the house.) I don’t expect to be putting either bin out this week – possibly recyclables next week if I get very ambitious, but I have a lot else going on, so maybe not. Also it was cooler, on account of rain. Lots of floods – mostly fladh floods – all over Colorado. My house has 99 problems, but flash flooding isn’t one of them. I’m on top of enough of a hill thatit’s beyond unlikely a flash flood would flood here. I tried to rest wnough to have more energy today – but we’ll see. Did everyone catch Al Franken as guest host of Jimmy Kimmel Live last night? If not, there should at least be some cuts up here. Katie Porter was a guest. How can you top that?
https://www.youtube.com/jkl/videos

Cartoon – 17 Hendrix loaded

Short Takes –

Mother Jones (MoJo Wire) – We Didn’t Deserve Freya the Walrus
Quote – But as Freya’s legend grew, more and more folks wanted to see her up close. As the New York Times points out, the Oslo Fjord is full of water-going recreationists in the summer, and people started swimming with Freya, taking her picture, and even throwing things at her—so much that she had begun chasing off paddle boarders and kayakers. The Norwegian Directorate of Fisheries warned the public to stay away from Freya, for their safety and hers. Last week, officials said they were weighing several options, including relocating Freya, but warned she might have to be killed if people wouldn’t listen.
Click through for sad story. Some of us, I think, did deserve her – but those who did not were, and are, out of control.

AP News – Some Capitol rioters try to profit from their Jan. 6 crimes
Quote – Facing prison time and dire personal consequences for storming the U.S. Capitol, some Jan. 6 defendants are trying to profit from their participation in the deadly riot, using it as a platform to drum up cash, promote business endeavors and boost social media profiles…. The Justice Department, in some instances, is trying to claw back money that rioters have made off the insurrection…. Many rioters have paid a steep personal price for their actions on Jan. 6. At sentencing, rioters often ask for leniency on the grounds that they already have experienced severe consequences for their crimes.
Click through for many examples – but they all sound like the apocryphal dude who murdered both his parents, then begged the court for mercy because he was an orphan.

Food For Thought

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Video Thread 8/16/22

 Posted by at 11:42 am  Open Thread, Politics
Aug 162022
 

Glenn Kirschner – Why Donald Trump’s possible violation of the Espionage Act must be prosecuted

Meidas Touch – Navy Vet REACTS to Trump’s Acts of Espionage

The Lincoln Project – Peril

Robert Reich – Why Does Krysten Sinema Want to Keep This Tax Loophole Open? [What has happened is that it was replaced by a 1% excise tax on stock buybacks. That is not as good as closing the loophole, but at least it hits corporations rather than normal people. It was John Hickenlooper’s idea and CPR is very proid of that but I’m unimpressed. It is approximately the same amount of money coming in.)

Brent Terhune – They stormed Mar-a-Lago

Beau – Let’s talk about Pennsylvania, Perry, and subpoenas….

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Open Thread August 16, 2022

 Posted by at 6:58 am  Open Thread, Personal, Politics
Aug 162022
 

Yesterday, I felt much better than I did Sunday – so much beter that I was able to move tuff on the porch around a little more, and sweep off somw of the dust and dried leaves.

Cartoon –

Short Takes –

The Conversation – War in Ukraine highlights the growing strategic importance of private satellite companies – especially in times of conflict
Quote – My research focuses on international cooperation in satellite Earth observations, including the role of the private sector. While experts have long known that satellite imagery is useful during a conflict, the war in Ukraine has shown that commercial satellite data can make a decisive difference – informing both military planning as well as the public view of a war. Based on the strategic value commercial satellite imagery has held during this war, I believe it is likely that more nations will be investing in private satellite companies.
Click through for more information. This does change things.

The Daily Beast – Why Putin’s Private Army Is Snatching Kids From Their Moms
Quite – Four witnesses told The Daily Beast that large numbers of children had been seen in gold and diamond mines controlled by the Wagner Group since a spate of massacres killed scores if not hundreds of artisan mine workers—and forced many more to flee—in the Central African Republic (CAR). “I counted up to 20 children in a gold mine controlled by Russian fighters near Bambari [in the central part of the country],” Sylvestre, a 27-year-old artisanal miner based in Bambari, told The Daily Beast. “One of those I saw is someone here in Bambari whose mother had said he had been kidnapped by Russian soldiers.”
Click through for full story. Who does Russia think it is? Alabama?

Food For Thought

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Video Thread 8/15/22

 Posted by at 12:16 pm  Open Thread, Politics
Aug 152022
 

Glenn Kirschner – Search warrant shows Trump’s classified documents crimes. It’s time to hold him accountable

Meidas Touch – BREAKING: Top Republicans lie and claim NUCLEAR SECRETS ‘planted at Mar-a-Lago’ and NOT A BIG DEAL

The Lincoln Project – Last Week in the Republican Party Augugt 9, 2022

No Dem Left Behind – The U.S. Economy is Doing Great Globally…

MSNBC – News from Mallory McMorrow – “What Happened In Kansas Is Going To Happen Here In Michigan.”

Beau – Let’s talk about China extending their exercises….

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Open Thread August 15, 2022

 Posted by at 7:04 am  Open Thread, Personal, Politics
Aug 152022
 

Yesterday, I finally got to see Virgil. He had a new haircut and is looking good. I unfortunately had to leave early, but I didn’t feel terribly bad about that because this facility has a 7 and a half hour visiting day, and the longest anywhere else is six hours – the last one had only a 3 hour partial day, and I stayed long enough to exceed that. The reason for my leaving was a pain which I have always called a stitch in the side, but in looking ut up, I see that a side stitch is abdominal, and mine is not that – it is definitely above my waist. It is connected to the diaphragm somehow, because a deep breath temporarily worsens it. But it’s not exercise related – unless moving a couple of small tables is considered exercise – I certainly wouldn’t consider it so. It requires noticeable effort for me because of my miscellaneous mobility issues, but exercise? No. Whatever it is, it responded to ice and compression. A couple of other aches were also acting up, though not as badly, so after sending the weekly email I took a break.

Cartoon –

Short Takes –

The Conversation – Faced with a rise of extremism within its ranks, the US military has clamped down on racist speech, including retweets and likes
Quote – A blue ribbon committee called the Countering Extremist Activity Working Group was quickly commissioned in April 2021 to evaluate the extent of the problem. The group found about 100 substantiated cases of extremism in the U.S. armed forces in 2021. The latest instance occurred in July 2022, when Francis Harker, a National Guard member with white supremacist connections, was sentenced to four years in prison for planning an anti-government attack on police. Harker, who carried a picture saying “there is no God but Hitler,” was planning to attack police officers in Virginia Beach, Virginia, with Molotov cocktails and semi-automatic rifles.
Click through for story. It has always been necessary for anyone serving in the military -an anyone employed by the Government in any way – to limit heir use of free speech. Back in the day, however, the concern was that someone might mistake personal views for government policy. Now the concern is that worng use of free speech could get spmeone killed – or the government overthrown. Of course the military must clamp down. Hate speech IMO is not part of appropriate free speech.

Demoocratic Underground (Our 5 Eyes Program Has Been Compromised.)
Quote – Some of the documents retrieved [from Mar-a-Lago] were revealed to be SIGINT intelligence which is what 5 eyes falls under. Donald Trump is a threat to our national security and needs to be indicted sooner rather than later. The International press is shocked at this scandal unlike some of the press in the US.
CLick through for the short article, and/”or here for the background on FYEV

Food For Thought

 

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