Open Thread July 15, 2022

 Posted by at 6:45 am  Open Thread, Personal, Politics
Jul 152022
 

Yesterday, I woke up with the wasp sting virtually gone. I can still see a tiny mark, but the swelling and the pain are gone. I really dodged a bullet there. I also emailed a request to visit Virgil Sunday. I don’t usually leave it this late … but now thathe is in an informary – that is not normally supposed to be a permanent assignment – he could be moved again at any time and I wouldn’t be told.So I need to track him on line and wait longer than I like to to minimize the chances of his being oved between the time I reserve a visit and the time of the visit itself. It’s no wonder I use a pop-up reminder system with sound to keep track of when I need to do what. )I try to use sounds related to what the reminder is for, but that’s not always possible.) Bottom line, I hope to visit Virgil Sunday, but won’t know for sure until sometime today.

Cartoon – 15 0715Cartoon.jpg

Short Takes –

CPR News – Mesa County DA says he will seek to revoke Clerk Tina Peters’ bond
Quote – Mesa County’s District Attorney Dan Rubinstein said he will seek to revoke the bond of Mesa County Clerk and Recorder Tina Peters after she traveled out of state in violation of her bond. Rubinstein said Peters violated the conditions of her bond when she left for Nevada without permission this week. Peters was speaking at an event with the Constitutional Sheriff and Peace Officers Association.
Click through for what is getting to be a bigger story every day. Apparently there really is no limit to how low Republicans will sink (except those few Republicans, like the DA, who stll have ethics.) And now there’s ben a third arrest.  You might think I’d be a bit embarrassed that this happened in Colorado, but actually, I’m proud it was caught.  Just because it wasn’t caught elsewhere doesn’t mean it didn’t happen.

The 19th – The cost of giving birth with insurance: $2,854, a new study says
Quote – The out-of-pocket costs represent insurance-related bills related to pregnancy, labor and delivery, and postpartum care. The researchers analyzed a dataset of health insurance claims data from 2018 to 2020, comparing women between the ages of 15 and 49 who gave birth to those who didn’t. The data does not account for transgender and nonbinary people who may have given birth. In total, pregnancy and childbirth for someone with private insurance costs about $18,865. Most of that is paid by the insurance plan but can result in higher insurance premiums down the line. So though the $2,853 figure is just one fraction of the overall cost, it represents the bills new parents have to pay on their own for a single birth.
Click through for details. Yes, pre-natal and at least some post-partum care were included. But it’s still ridiculous – the $2,854 figure is just the co-pays. The real figure is betwen $18 and $19 THOUSAND. I’ve never seen ay data on suicides in pregnant people … but I guarantee if I were in that position, it would certainly occur to me.

Food For Thought


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Video Thread 7/14/22

 Posted by at 12:06 pm  Open Thread, Politics
Jul 142022
 

Glenn – J6 hearing: more evidence of Trump’s crimes AND more evidence of persistent unfairness & injustice

Meidas Touch – BREAKING: Trump caught WITNESS TAMPERING by Jan 6 committee, referred to Justice Department

The Lincoln Project – Herschel Walker’s Green New Deal

The Ring of Fire – Majority Of Republicans Side With Mike Pence Over Trump In Election Feud

Ojeda Live – Ojeda BLASTS Republicans for Rooting for Suffering as an Election Strategy

Beau – Let’s talk about Trump, Biden, and baby formula….

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Open Thread July 14, 2022

 Posted by at 7:05 am  Open Thread, Personal, Politics
Jul 142022
 

Yesterday, after a better night’s sleep, I finally caught up on reading and responding to comments here. Apologies for the delay. I wanted to take out trash and recyclables, but I discovered the hard way yhat some wasps had decided the trash polycart was a perfect place to hang out.. I managed to get the trash I had talek out inot the cart by using my critch (which I always take along outdoors for balance, whether I nned it for any other reason or not) to open the lid, but since they were on the side oppisite the handle, and if I had pushed it down to the curb I’d have been pushing it right through thm, I decided discretion was the better part of valor (and they picj up trash every week – it’s recyclables I have to make sure to get the right week for.) To deal with them I will need bug spray, long sleeves, high neck, a mask, and gloves, and that’s not going to happen n the daytime. The sting feels better now (which is an improvement overe the last wasp sting I got – it hurt for days just as badly as it hurt when it happened), but it has swollen some and may not be finished.

Cartoon –

Short Takes –

WaPo (gift link) – Opinion | An expert in political violence urgently warns: The worst is coming
Quote – Greg Sargent: You’ve written that the Republican Party has a “militia problem.” Can you describe it?
Rachel Kleinfeld: For the last few years, we’ve seen an uptick in Republican parties at the local level — though occasionally at the state level — using militias for security at party events, having militias vote on party business, in one case in Michigan having militias introduce legislation. You’re seeing a lot of photo-ops with militia members — things that normalize their interaction with the democratic process. These militias are being used to threaten other Republicans who aren’t part of this antidemocratic faction.
Click through for complete interview (no paywall with the link I have used) I’m worried too. And I don’t have the ghost of a viable suggestion.

The Warning – Steve Schmidt – Arrest Trump
Quote – He must be arrested and charged by the Government of the United States. He must face criminal trial. The era of special treatment for the Queens hustler must come to an end. His appalling dispensations have helped shatter trust and confidence in the American justice system at a moment in which the collapse of faith, trust and belief in American institutions has reached such a dangerous low that extremism has been embraced as an answer…. There are some who say that a trial of Donald Trump may become a catalyst for violence and mayhem. Perhaps. That would be terrible, but in the end, the civil authorities will have to do what is necessary to restore order. The American people must not live at the point of the militia’s gun. We won’t.
Click through for argument. Schmidt knows how to say the quiet part out loud. Let me try my hand at it – every sane American should now be able to comprehend (and empathize with) the feelings of a woman who has been violently raped and whose rapist is still at large.

Food For Thought (a hope rather than a statement –   Ojeda)

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Video Thread 7/13/22

 Posted by at 12:05 pm  Open Thread, Politics
Jul 132022
 

Glenn – Steve Bannon’s ruse rejected by Trump appointed judge; Trump still using the big lie to sow division

Meidas Touch – Texas Paul DEBUNKS new Deranged Hunter Biden Conspiracy Theory

The Lincoln Project – The GOP’s Crazy Candidates

Robert Reich – The Secret to the GOP’s Assault on Your Rights | Robert Reich

Brent Terhune – The worst drag race I ever been to

Beau – Let’s talk about dominoes from the Colorado….

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Open Thread July 13, 2022

 Posted by at 6:48 am  Open Thread, Personal, Politics
Jul 132022
 

Yesterday, I of course watched the hearing. It doesn’t appear there will be another this week, but rather probably next week. The last two witnesses today were, I thought, impressive, although who knows what it takes to impress MAGAts. It’s not exactly the Committee’s mission to address political violence in general (as opposed to political violence in the service of Trump**) in the hearings, but I certainly hope it will be addressed as they draft legislation. Political violence at low levels (i.e., without a dominant leader common to the groups involved) can lead to fascismut as surely as a narcissistic ambitious dictator can. Besides the eharing, I didn’t do much else. I did a load of laundry comprising a few sweaters which are machine wash/dry flat and that’s about it.

Cartoon –  This reminds me of an anecdote about a sweet elderly lady who had had massive surgeries bu never lost hersense of humor. She called one of her scars “Market Street.”

Short Takes –

Letters from an American – July 10, 2022
Quote – Democratic president Joe Biden appears to be centering his presidency around the idea of rebuilding the middle class through government investment in ordinary Americans. This is a major shift—a sea change—from the past 40 years of Republican policy saying that the economy would prosper if only the government slashed taxes and regulation, leaving more money and power in the hands of business leaders, those “makers” who would invest in new industries and provide more jobs. Watching the effect of his policies is a window into what works and what doesn’t.
Click through for more, and why ir matters politically.

The 19th – What will happen if Obergefell is overturned? Queer legal experts are scrambling
Quote – A concurring opinion by Justice Clarence Thomas in the Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization case that ultimately overturned Roe indicates he wants to reexamine whether other rights based on substantive due process have been interpreted correctly. “In future cases, we should reconsider all of this Court’s substantive due process precedents,” Thomas wrote. Other opinions written by conservative justices show division over how the court should handle similar civil rights issues in the future.
Click through for more legal thinking. Don’t forget Pastor Niemoller’s famous poem – no one is safe.

Food For Thought

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Video Thread 7/12/22

 Posted by at 12:04 pm  Open Thread, Politics
Jul 122022
 

Glenn – Trump & Bannon collude in an attempt to give Bannon a bogus defense to his criminal contempt charges

Twitter – Ohio Senate candidate Tim Ryan campaign ad

CNN – Jeffrey Clark raid footage

Ojeda Live – A Recounting of Herschel Walker’s Lies

The Funniest Conversations People Have Overheard In Courthouses (9 min and worth every secod)

Beau – Let’s talk about Sweden, Finland, and NATO….

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Open Thread July 12, 2022

 Posted by at 6:41 am  Open Thread, Personal, Politics
Jul 122022
 

Yesterday, having done the research on who picks up donations and who doesn’t, I scheduled a pickup with the Vietnam Veterans of America. The earliest date I could get was August 25, but that will work out actually – I can add to it in bits and pieces. It’ll be the first pickup but I’m sure it will not be the last.

Cartoon –

Short Takes –

CPR News – A 150-year-old San Luis Valley farm stops growing food to save a shrinking water supply. It might be the first deal of its kind in the country
Quote – Farmers and ranchers across the San Luis Valley face a deadline: Their underground water source is drying up from a combination of overuse and a decades-long drought driven by climate change. To restore a balance of supply and demand, farmers and ranchers across the valley need to drastically cut how much water they pump out of the ground, according to the Colorado Division of Water Resources. If they don’t, the state has threatened to step in and shut off hundreds of wells, which local water managers say would devastate the valley’s agriculture-driven economy.
Click through to understand the dilemma. When I first came to Colorado in 1976, it was to Alamosa in the San Luis VAlley. That is where Virgil and I met and got married. We only left because we couldn’t find work there. CPR says this story is “hopeful and heartbreaking.” I concur.

Robert Reich – How to handle radical Republicans
Quote – Can we get real? There is nothing conservative about these so-called “conservatives.” They don’t want to preserve or protect our governing institutions — the core idea of conservatism extending from Edmund Burke to William F. Buckley and Barry Goldwater. They are radicals, intent on wrecking these institutions to impose their ideology on everyone else. The Supreme Court’s Republican appointees have all but obliterated stare decisis — the conservative principle that the Court must follow its precedents and not change or reverse them unless clearly necessary, and with near unanimity…. Meanwhile, Senate Republicans, led by Mitch McConnell, are abusing the filibuster and undermining the legitimacy of the Senate.
Clickt through for suggestions. I agree there is nothing conservative about “conservatives” – and there hasn’t been for decades. “Radical” is certainly more adequate, refernceing the “roots” of government and society (which they want to completely tear up.) But radical slao has a positive meaning – wanting to reform government and society from the roots up – so I’, loath to give that th them. “Reactionary” may be the most accurate. Or “extremist” – except that they like that one.

Food For Thought

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Video Thread 7/11/22

 Posted by at 11:58 am  Open Thread, Politics
Jul 112022
 

Glenn – Cipollone testifies for hours about & against Trump. Next up Bannon? Elmer “Oath Keeper” Rhodes

Meidas Touch – Texas Paul SLAMS Marjorie Taylor Greene’s Newest MAGA Conspiracy Lunacy

The Lincoln Project – Boris (Sure wish we could emulate the Brits.)

MSNBC – The Common Signs Of Mass Shooters | The Mehdi Hasan Show

Mrs Betty Bowers – Is America Really a Christian Nation?

Beau – Let’s talk about Democratic messaging…. (I have been saying, “Well, Democrats do address our messages to sane people,” which includes reasonable, informed people. And there are just not enough of them. And we look at Republicans who use lies to gin up first fesr and then anger in their base. Well, gining up fear about Republican poliies does NOT require lying – and, sadly but truly, we need to start doing it, and loudly Look – it’s not disingenuous or deceitful when it’s the truth!)

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