Open Thread for December 10, 2021

 Posted by at 6:57 am  Open Thread, Personal, Politics
Dec 102021
 

Yesterday, I got a package of jewelry supplies, checked it against the invoice, and got it all put away. I got my clothes and shoes put together. I think I’m ready, and I still have today in case I think of something undone. Tomorrow I go to see Virgil. Sunset will be, at most, 3 minutes earlier than it was 2 weeks ago. Soon – before the solstice – it will start to get later each day.

Cartoon –

Short Takes

Wonkette – DC National Guard Commanders Aren’t Going To Let Mike Flynn’s Brother Pin This Sh*t On Them
Quote – Walker and Matthews say they begged to deploy the National Guard troops from 2:30 in the afternoon on. According to Walker, who is now the House Sergeant at Arms, the IG Report incorrectly states that Army Secretary Ryan McCarthy and Mayor Muriel Bowser were on that call, but they were not McCarthy has said he authorized the DCNG to deploy within the hour. But this memo tells a different story, much more like the one Walker told Congress way back in March. It recounts that Mike Flynn’s brother Gen. Charles Flynn, who served as deputy chief of staff for operations on Jan. 6, and Lt. Gen. Walter Piatt, the director of Army staff, were against deploying the guard because of “optics,” and counseled Walker to have the guardsmen replace DC cops directing traffic so that only DC police would respond to the riot.
Click through for story. Good for them. I never assume that just because a person is a close family member of a criminal, that they condob=ne the crime, much less participate in it – look at the Gosar family and Mary Trump. But in this case there is evidence. Charles need a Court Martial.

The 19th – The federal government is making a new investment in women-owned small businesses
Quote – The Small Business Administration, the federal agency that supports entrepreneurs, is putting a greater focus on women business owners than ever before in the agency’s history, following two years that have decimated small businesses and brought into stark relief the barriers still facing the fastest-growing group of owners.
Click through for details. Gotta have good news sometimes or we’d all wither up and die.

CBS News – 60 Minutes speaks with ex-NSA contractor Reality Winner about leaking a document to the press
Quote – Reality Winner explained the sequence of events that led to her decision to leak a classified government document to the media, a decision that would go on to cost her four years behind bars. Winner said she was concerned that, “the truth wasn’t true anymore,” and spoke to what she says was an atmosphere of confusion and mistrust that plagued America in early 2017. “The public was being lied to,” Winner explained. She says despite having taken an oath to protect classified material, she had “pledged service to the American people” and wanted to end the perceived “confusion,” about alleged Russian interference in the 2016 U.S. elections.
Click through.  All the clips are there, but separately, so if you want to watch the whole thing, you can do so in convenient 15-minute chunks. Spoiler: There really was Russian interference in the 2016 elections, at more levels than you would think.

Food for Thought –

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Video Thread 12/9/21

 Posted by at 11:36 am  Open Thread, Politics
Dec 092021
 

Glenn Kirschner – Judge Sets Bannon Trial for July; Mark Meadows on the Verge of Being the Next Contempt Referral

Don Winslow – #SubpoenasNow

Meidas Touch – Shannon Watts responds to Judge Jeanine blaming liberals for school shooting

The Lincoln Project – Last week in the Republican Party…

Really American – Nunes RESIGNS To Run Trump “Media Empire”

Brent Terhune – Fox News Christmas Tree on Fire

Beau – Let’s talk about information silos and theories…. Oh my.

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Open Thread for December 9, 2021

 Posted by at 7:26 am  Open Thread, Personal, Politics
Dec 092021
 

Yesterday, after a week when it was hard to find videos and articles, I found so many that tomorrow’s calumns are practically done already. Well, that’s a good thing for me, since I see Virgil on Saturday, but I hope it won’t result in feeling like old news. If there’s something you don’t see today, it may already be scheduled for tomorrow.

Cartoon – 09 1209Cartoon.jpg

Short Takes

Crooks and Liars – Dana Milbank Proves Biden Coverage Is As Negative As Trump’s
Quote – Yep. Turns out, Biden’s press coverage for the past four months has been as bad as — and for a time worse than — the coverage Trump received for the same four months of 2020. Let that sink in. Joe Biden is being treated the same as Trump, whose criminal behavior was a daily occurrence in plain view.
Click through. You mau not have even realized that this is measurable. But it is.

HuffPost – Explainer: How Unusual To Charge Parents In School Shooting?
Quote – A 2019 assessment by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security found that guns came from the home of a parent or close relative in 76% of school attacks where firearms were used. In about half, the firearms were easily accessible. But laws aimed at restricting gun access are not always enforced and vary in strength, experts say. “Our laws haven’t really adapted to the reality of school shootings, and the closest we have are these child access prevention laws,” said Kris Brown, president of the Brady gun control advocacy group
Click through for multiple examples and rationales.

Wonkette – Fox News Presents Holiday Classic ‘How The Black Lives Matter Stole Christmas’
Quote – Because we know how to look things up for ourselves, we were able to go to the Black Lives Matter website and learn about the Black Christmas campaign, just to see how full of shit Hegseth is. It’s so innocuous, if you’re not a mouthbreathing white racist. It has sections for #BuildBlack and #BuyBlack and #BankBlack, and it indeed encourages people to spend their money with Black-owned businesses and banks, instead of propping up white supremacist systems.
Click through. A news clip about the tree will be in today’s Video Thread.

Food for Thought –

(Nashville  has extra room now after rmoving the caricature og Nathan Bedford Forrest.)

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Video Thread 12/8/21

 Posted by at 11:34 am  Open Thread, Politics
Dec 082021
 

Glenn Kirschner – House Postpones Flynn & Luna Testimony; Flynn Should be Returned to Active Duty and Court-Martialed (I’ll bet Miles Taylor could tell us what a “body man”s duties were – and I’ll bet it had something to do with adult diapers.)

The Lincoln Project – Pearl Harbor Rememberance Day

CNN – Meadows SPOOKED, Subpoena Coming Next? (If he thought he could “make a deal,” he has no idea who the committe members are.)

RepresentUs – This Is What Corporate Welfare Looks Like

politicsrus – Democracy Is Hard Earned

Six13 a capella – West Side Chanukah Story (I really do think Lenny must be smiling down. BTW you can close it when they start talking – pitching – at the end.)

Beau – Let’s talk about a letter from Texas…..

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Open Thread for December 8, 2021

 Posted by at 7:19 am  Open Thread, Personal, Politics
Dec 082021
 

Yesterday still pretty calm.  I did “bite the bullet” and glued and crimped end caps on 20 strands of  very light, very slick, and very thin (about 3/16″) jewelry ribbon for pendants  Because they were so slick, I had to glue them in place and let them dry before crimping, or they would have slipped right out.  Since I didn’t graduate from Hogwarts, I couldn’t temporarily make me smaller, or them larger, so they’d be easier to handle.  But I certainly wished I could.  I did get it done, though.

Cartoon –

Short Takes

Politizoom – Thomas Massie Comes Clean About the Republican Party. We Owe Him
Quote – There was an amusing little dust up on MSNBC [a few] night[s ago]. Bulwark editor Charlie Sykes was asked to comment on Thomas Massie’s egregiously tone deaf Christmas card photo of la famille armed for bear, in light of four children being murdered at school last week in Michigan. Sykes called the display a “dick pic” which caused the host to flutter and respond, “Sorry, everybody, I’m not sure we can say that, Charlie!” This was family hour, after all. But Sykes is spot on in his assertion that, “He’s basically trying to show off. He’s trying to trigger to get the reaction.”
Click through if you like. The analogy is exactly on target.

Stuff That Needs To Be Said – Yes World, It’s That Bad Here in America—and Worse
Quote – But here on the ground this malignant sickness has a face, one that is far too familiar – So yes, it’s the staggering cruelty of those holding the power here—but just as much it’s the people we know and live alongside who are so gladly empowering them.
Click through for the full description. See if it doesn’t resonate with you. It certainly does with me. I may just put the link in my email signature in lieu of Rocky Mountain Mike.

The New Yorker – Should We Believe the Stories of Men Mistaken for Gods?
Quote – Who can make a god is as fascinating a question as who can kill one, and Anna Della Subin tries to answer both in her new book, “Accidental Gods: On Men Unwittingly Turned Divine” (Macmillan). Setting Cook alongside the likes of Haile Selassie, Hernán Cortés, Prince Philip, General Douglas MacArthur, Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi, and even President Donald Trump, she considers why some men are made into gods, by whom, and—the most interesting of the mysteries about Cook and all of his putatively divine kin—to what ends.
Click through for more, including anecdotes. Without reading the book, I’m pretty sure the correct answer is “No.” Or maybe “Hell, no.” (And reading through did not change my mind.)

Food for Thought (OK, I know it’s silly) –

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Video Thread 12/7/21

 Posted by at 11:50 am  Open Thread, Politics
Dec 072021
 

Glenn Kirschner – All the President’s Lackeys: Bannon, Clark, Eastman & the Others. Watergate vs. the Insurrection

MSNBC – Biden Breaks Down How Build Back Better Act Will Lower Cost For Families Dealing With Diabetes

Meidas Touch – SCOTUS Poised to Strike Down Legal Precedent from Roe v. Wade

Rebel HQ – Ethan Crumbly’s Parents Face Justifiable Consequences. I’m not sure how long I have been saying “Responsible gun ownners should take the lead in drafting legislation to regulate gun ownership and use – because, if they don’t, the rest of us will, and they won’t like it,” but it’s been since before I was married, an our next anniversaty will be our 38th. It was so long ago that the NRA was still considered a responsible organization.

Really American – Madison Cawthorn Claims Women Are “Earthen Vessels” (but Chip has a good idea)

politicsrus Christmas Greeting (Yes, it’s early, but you’ll need time to get your figgy pudding on)

Beau – Let’s talk about not talking about race…. Most of the time I agree with Beau, and he’s right on the institutional level. But he’s wrong on the individual level. On the individual level, it’s more like, yeah, if you don’t have pancreatic cancer for example, you don’t need to talk about it in order not to be hurt by it. But if you are being eatne away by pancreatic cancer, not talking about it won’t make it go away.

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Open Thread for December 7, 2021

 Posted by at 6:33 am  Open Thread, Personal, Politics
Dec 072021
 

Yesterday also quiet. Not that I got a whole lot done. I was trying to rest, and more or less did.

Cartoon –

Short Takes

Daily Kos (David Neiwert) – Right-wing so-called ‘journalists’ exploit Waukesha tragedy, drawing neo-Nazis there to protest
Quote – Ngo also disingenuously proffered as evidence a post by Brooks he described as “about how to get away with running people over on the street”—even though the post in question was actually written by an ex-Minneapolis police officer who encouraged drivers to run down BLM protesters, and Brooks had posted it as evidence of violent police attitudes. Of course, there is still zero evidence that Brooks ever participated in any BLM march or engaged in any protest organizing.
Click through for details. I am honestly more sick of fake journalists than I am of fake news itself. And don’t think there aren’t any on the left. We have to be responsible for moderating our confirmation bias … because RWNJs certainly will not moderate theirs.

The Nib – Why Are Everyone’s Catalytic Converters Being Stolen?
Quote – But catalytic converters have been round for nearly 50 years. So why is this happening now? The economic downturn caused by the pandemic might be one factor. Another is the soaring price of the precious metals that put the catalyst in catalytic.
Click through. Yes, this is what you might call a “graphic article.” But try to find a non-graphic one which lays out this information so clearly.

The 19th Explains: Women may soon qualify for the draft. Here’s what you need to know.
Quote – Kara Dixon Vuic, who studies gender and the U.S. military at Texas Christian University, said the passage of this amendment would be “huge, though largely symbolic” when it comes to the fight for women’s rights and gender equity in the military. “Right now, the only legal difference between what men and women do as civilians is men sign up for selective service,” said Vuic, who is currently writing a book on the history of military draft eligibility in the country. “It’s not that women don’t have to; it’s that they can’t.”
Click through for the scoop. I have always felt that if one really wants to be treated equally, then one must accept being treated equally. As obvious as that soounds, it seems to be a difficult concept when it comes to feminism. Perhaps that at least partially explains why misogyny is more powerful than racism (as the 2016 election proved.)

Food for Thought –

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Video Thread 12/6/21

 Posted by at 12:01 pm  Open Thread, Politics
Dec 062021
 

Glenn Kirschner – From Trump’s False Claim of Exoneration to Jeffrey Clark Pleading the 5th: A Legal Recap of Nov 2021

Thom Hartmann – War on Christmas Causing North Pole Labor Shortage?

Ring of Fire – Moms For Liberty Group Smacked Down In Tennessee For Suggesting Slavery Was A Positive Achievement

Cracked – If Crowdfunding Sites Were Honest

A football (or as we would say in the US, “soccer”) team in Russia (St. Petersburg) teamed up with local shelters to put some adoptable dogs into the spotlight at a game.

Beau – Let’s talk about a low to no snow future….  (I’ve been worried about this for several years now.  It’s been hard to watch happening.)

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