Open Thread – Page 283 – Politics Plus

Open Thread for December 14, 2021

Posted by Joanne Dixon at 6:46 am Open Thread, Personal, Politics

Dec 142021

Yesterday was quiet enough. I frittered away some of it by looking at sales offered by a couple of my favorite supplers. The one at the knitting supplier awas particularly impressive – knitting needles originally offered at %25-$30 going for $2.99 ( and that’s not an inflated price range – I have paid that much before for needles made from rosewood.) Anyway, I did manage to get things posted – as if you couldn’t tell.

Cartoon –

Short Takes

The New Yorker (Borowitz) – Chris Wallace Ecstatic About Never Riding Elevator with Tucker Carlson Again
Quote – Stressing that his decision to leave Fox “wasn’t about money,” Wallace said, “At CNN+, I’ll never have to ride an elevator with Tucker Carlson, and you can’t put a price tag on that.”
Click through for the happiest photo of him that I for one have ever seen. I’m just as sure this is true as I am that he didn’t really say it out loud. But Andy seems to channel people very well.

ITPI – Yes, this Florida school actually raised test scores by installing street lights
Quote – What I [Jeremy Mohler] love about the community school approach is that it looks at public education as what it truly is: a public good. Meaning, it benefits the common good if all of us have access to it.
Click through for story. This is the kind of activism that “Beau of the Fifth Column” (who shows up in the Video thread daily) advocates more than any other. It certainly points up the difference between a real community and a community merely called so on account of proximity.

Heather Cox Richardson – Letters from an American – December 12, 2021
Quote – Tonight the Select Committee to Investigate the January 6th Attack on the U.S. Capitol released a report urging Congress to hold Trump’s White House chief of staff Mark Meadows in contempt of Congress after he has refused to honor a congressional subpoena…. Anyone out there who is concerned that they have not heard much from the January 6 Committee will take heart from this comprehensive document, concerning, as it does, only one witness. The committee must have an astonishing amount of material and a number of talented personnel to produce such a report.
Click trough for a whole lot more. Anyonne can subscribe to her for free, or buy a paid subscription and get more. Not every letter is a powerhouse – but when they are, they really, really are.

Food For Thought:

Video Thread 12/13/2021

Posted by Joanne Dixon at 11:56 am Open Thread, Politics

Dec 132021

Glenn Kirschner – Federal Appeals Court Rules Against Trump; Announces “Direct Linkage” Between Trump & Capitol Attack

MSNBC – Brian Wiliams’s Farewell (It ends around 3:40 but I can’t cut off the end. Watch the rest if you want to.)

Thom Hartmann – Democracy’s Only Hope Is With BRAVE Progressives! [Thom says we are among the brave – we are paying attention. Not that those of us who see it don’t need to do more.]

politicsrus – Kentucky HD

Crooks and Liars – Jen Psaki (This is even more blunt than usual, and I applaud.)

If Smart TV Commercials Were Honest | Honest Ads

Beau – Let’s talk about the FDA, an FOIA, and 75 years….

Open Thread for December 13, 2021

Posted by Joanne Dixon at 6:47 am Open Thread, Personal, Politics

Dec 132021

Yesterday, sunset turned around. It was later than it was the day before. Good news for me. I’ll be watching sunrise also now. Additionally, I got the very few Christas cards I won’t be sending electronically ready, stamped, and into my mailbox for pickup. I hope the USPS dpesn’t get too upset with me – there re only 7, but they are all hand cancel I did look up proper postage on the USPS website to make sure I had enough.

Cartoon – (from 2013 – It was then true, up unil 2016)

Short Takes

New Mexico Political Report – State House passes redistricting map supported by Indigenous communities
Quote – Supporters say Native American communities are traditionally undercounted in the U.S. Census and therefore underrepresented in the House of Representatives. They further pointed to the history of disenfranchisement for Native Americans, who only gained the right to vote in New Mexico elections in the late 1940s or, in the case of the Navajo people, the 1960s.
Click through for map. This might be even better news if it were a more populous state – but good news is good news. State houses and senates are the places our bench is built. Incidentally, the new Congressional district map being sent to the governor for signature was co-sponsored by Democrats and no Republicans voted for it … so it’s almost certainly fair.

AP News – Recall effort against Seattle socialist appears to fail
Quote – If Sawant survives the recall, it would be a boost to Seattle’s far left, which experienced setbacks in last month’s general election when business-friendly candidates won the mayor’s office and a council seat. Sawant was benefiting from votes in the mail-in election trending her way in later counts. After the initial count Tuesday night 53% were in favor of ousting Sawant.
Click through for numbers. Of course it isn’t over till it’s over. but this looks good for now. I certainly hope she survives.

The Hill – California governor to use Texas abortion law tactics to target assault rifles
Quote – California has had a ban in place on the manufacture and sale of specific assault-style weapons, The Associated Press noted, adding that a federal judge overturned the ban in June, ruling that the law was unconstitutional. The state is appealing the judge’s ruling, in which he likened an AR-15 rifle to a Swiss Army knife, claiming the former is “good for both home and battle,” according to the AP.
Click through for details. You may have seen this, but The Hill appears to have all the background in place, which helps immensely to gauge his chances of success.

Food For Thought:

Video Thread 12/12/2021

Posted by Joanne Dixon at 12:27 pm Open Thread, Politics

Dec 122021

Glenn Kirschner – NY AG Tish James Subpoenas Trump; Will he Testify or Plead the 5th?

Thom Hartmann – Generals LIED To Congress About Trump’s Jan 6th Coup! (Politico is pretty right leaning, so this message has particular credibility)

Rebel HQ – AOC Bluntly Drops Truth On Coward Republicans

Ring of Fire – Trump Supporters Harassing People Door To Door Looking For Voter Fraud

John Fugelsang – Caffeinated – 10 Facts About ‘Illegals:’ A Guide for Racist Idiots

Puppet Regime – Xi’s Xmas Surprise

Beau – Let’s talk about the thing we missed in Crenshaw’s speech….

Open Thread for December 12, 2021

Posted by Joanne Dixon at 7:21 am Open Thread, Personal, Politics

Dec 122021

Yesterday, I visited Virgil.The sun wasn’t that bad in the morning, although I think I will start looking at the almanac hor how the time of sunrise moves. From four weeks ago to two weeks ago, the sunrise got ten minutes earlier. From two weeks ago to this visi, sunset got a total of two minutes earlier, and all of that was in the first few days – it’s been the same for nine days in a row. So I’m sort of expecting it to start getting later instead of earlier in a day or two. The days will still get shorter until the soltice, but all of that will come from the sunrise getting later, and none from the sunset getting earlier. The visit was good, and Virgil returns all greeting with thanks.

Cartoon –

Short Takes

From an email from Democracy for America:
[On Thursday,] at the direction of Mitch McConnell, Joe Manchin, and Kyrsten Sinema moved forward with a one-time exemption to the filibuster to raise the debt ceiling.
That’s right, Senators Joe Manchin and Kyrsten Sinema, who have both previously stated that they would not support any filibuster exceptions under any circumstances, even to protect voting rights, just made an exception to the filibuster.
If Manchin and Sinema are going to make an exception to the filibuster when McConnell wants to, they should be bending over backwards to make that same exception to protect voting rights.
Join DFA as we tell Manchin, Sinema, and all Senate Democrats: If you’re willing to make an exception to the filibuster in order to raise the debt ceiling, you must make that same exception to protect voting rights.

Law & Crime – Our First Look at Josh Duggar Immediately After Child Porn Conviction and Months Ahead of Sentencing
Quote – Other court records indicate that the jury began deliberations at 12:17 p.m. on Wednesday. They asked for a recording of an interview with Duggar himself to be re-played — and it was, in its entirety — before jurors retired to deliberate once again. Court recessed for the day around 5:00 p.m. The jurors returned for about an hour and a hate Thursday before returning a verdict at 10:07 a.m.
Click through for more. This story just begs for snark, and both Wonkette and Crooka and Liars did not disappoint – but it’s also serious, so I decided to cover it from this source.

HuffPost – Tucker Carlson’s Jan. 6 ‘Agent Provocateur’ Is A Big Tucker Fan And An Amateur Cardinals Mascot
Quote – But the man is no fed. He is mainly known to St. Louis Cardinals fans as “Rally Runner,” HuffPost has learned, and he sprints around the outside of Busch Stadium during home games. Based on the man’s Facebook posts, he appears to have a fairly difficult life and has a tenuous relationship with reality. And he’s a huge Tucker Carlson fan.
Click through for more facts, and, sadly, more insanity (disturbing but valuable to grasp what we are up against.)

Food for Thought –

Video Thread 12/11/2021

Posted by Joanne Dixon at 12:14 pm Open Thread, Politics

Dec 112021

Mark Meadows In Contempt of Congress & With No Viable Executive Privilege, It’s Indictment Time

The Lincoln Project – Protect America

politicsrus – Protect Democracy HD

Rebel HQ – NDLB’s 2022 lineup is ready to send the GQP packing!

This Scene From The Titus Show Stuck with Trae Crowder Ever Since it Aired

Really American – Republicans COWER in Fear of Trump

Beau – Let’s talk about altering the Supreme Court…

Open Thread for December 11, 2021

Posted by Joanne Dixon at 6:45 am Open Thread, Personal, Politics

Dec 112021

Yesterday,I did the lst odds and ends of preparing for the drive.I sllao colected little advance material. Then I got to bed early. I will definitely pass greetings to Virgil today, I will drive carefully, and I will let you know I got home safe – it may not be the instant I get in the door as I’ll be eager to change clothes, but as soon as I get to the computer.

Cartoon –

Short Takes

Wonkette – When Will We Finally Accept That Trumpism Was Never About Economic Anxiety?
Quote – The Tea Party was a white, middle-class movement, and while not overtly violent, it was the product of racist backlash to Obama’s election. Republicans exploited the backlash, tip-toeing around the racism, for their immediate political gain. They cocked the weapon and handed it over to Trump, but we give him too much credit when we assume that if he hadn’t won in 2016, the problem would have gone away. (We can only imagine the violent backlash against Hillary Clinton.) A reported six out of every seven January 6 insurrectionists charged with crimes had no previous affiliations with extremist groups, such as the Proud Boys, the Oath Keepers, or the Three Percenters militia. This wasn’t a surprise to University of Chicago historian Kathleen Belew, who told Gellman: “January 6 wasn’t designed as a mass-casualty attack, but rather as a recruitment action.”
Click through for more. I’ve often thought that, had Hillary won, her Presidency would have been much like Obama’s, only with more backlash, because misgyny is deeper and stronger than racism. That doesn’t mean I don’t wish she had won – I do wish that, with all my heart. But it would not have derailed Trump**.

Crooks and Liars – Kelloggs To Permanently Replace 1400 Striking Workers
Quote – The decision follows months of bitter disagreement between the company and the union. The rejected offer would have provided cost of living adjustments in the later years of the deal and preserved the workers’ current healthcare benefits. But workers say they deserve significant raises because they routinely work more than 80 hours a week, and they kept the plants running throughout the coronavirus pandemic.
Click through. I don’t knowingly cross a picket line. Thankfully, one of the comments included a link to an article of everything they own.

Mother Jones – Baristas in Buffalo Just Formed the First Starbucks Union in the United States
Quote – In a watershed moment for the recent wave of pandemic-inspired labor organizing, workers at a Starbucks in Buffalo, New York, voted [December 9] to form the coffee chain’s first union in the United States. Despite months of opposition from party leadership, 19 workers at the Elmwood location in Buffalo voted in favor of unionizing in the election, conducted by the National Labor Relations Board. Only eight opposed.
Click through for story – If I had had to guess way in advance where this wou;d happen … Buffalo would not have been my first guess. But whatever. More power to them!

Food for Thought –

Video Thread 12/10/21

Posted by Joanne Dixon at 12:03 pm Open Thread, Politics

Dec 102021

Glenn Kirschner – Former Minneapolis Office[r] Kim Potter on Trial for Fatal Shooting of Daunte Wright: A Trial Preview

Don Winslow – #StopTheMisinformation (It isn’t really fair to blame this on the media. They were lied o by people who should have known if anyone did. I think it was Meadows himself who was responsible for this.)

Thom Hartmann – Is The Time Limit on Democracy Running Out (“MY” Congressman recently btagged about accepting some himd of honor from Viktor Orbán. Just sayin’.)