Open Thread for September 16, 2021

 Posted by at 6:37 am  Open Thread, Politics
Sep 162021
 

Yesterday, I discovered that Bob Woodward’s new book, “Peril” (co-written with Robert Costa), is so packed with bombshells that I’m not going to be able to cover it properly. And it’s not even out until next week. I’m sure to be making allusions to it from time to time, though. Especially in the video thread.  But the high point of the day was seeing a dear friend who picks up for me the one prescription I can’t get delivered.  Thanks to the pandemic, including now Delta, that’s the only way I get to see her.

Cartoon –

Short Takes –

HuffPost – QAnon Followers Threaten Hospital After Outspoken COVID Denier Dies Of COVID
Quote – Lin Wood — a far-right attorney Twitter permanently banned earlier this year after he predicted the execution of then-Vice President Mike Pence by firing squad — seized upon [Veronica] Wolski’s hospitalization to boost his own publicity. He used social media to urge his followers to contact staff at the hospital and demand Wolski be treated with ivermectin. Hundreds of people have since called and emailed the hospital, according to NBC Chicago. Some have threatened violence. In a post on Telegram after Wolski’s death, Wood told his followers they had a “responsibility” to stop “medical murders” and to “go to war.” Hospital staff reportedly called the police in response to bomb threats.
Click through for details. Sigh. “The party of personal responsibility” strikes again.

Crooks and Liars – Alabama Man Dies After 43 Hospitals With Full ICUs Turned Him Away
Quote – A reminder, if one were even needed at this point, that with all these COVID patients in ICU beds across the country resources are stretched to their limit. In Alabama things are especially dire, as they no longer have any ICU beds. When Ray DeMonia suffered his cardiac event they searched in vain for an ICU bed for him, finally finding one in Mississippi. But it was too late.
Click through for story. It’s a little cooloer as I type this, but it’s not cold enough for me to be cool with my blood boiling.

The Hill – Trump’s 2020 gains in rural America offset by Biden’s urban dominance
Quote – “We’re becoming more diverse, we’re becoming more urban, and most of that is happening outside of places Trump won,” said William Frey, a senior demographer at the Brookings Institution. “Even though Trump did better than he did in 2016 in some of those bigger places, the groups he was getting are shrinking parts of those populations.”
Click through for more. I would point out, first, that this data is based on the last election, and secondly, that if we don’t have voting laws in place nationwide that provide for actual majority rule, it doesn’t much matter.

Food for Thought –

Also, for those observing Yo Kippur, may the fast be easy and the day blessed.

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Video Thread 9/15/2021

 Posted by at 11:35 am  Open Thread, Politics
Sep 152021
 

Glenn Kirschner – California Recall Election Results Being Attacked by Larry Elder BEFORE the Election is Even Held

Meidas Touch – MAGA is getting CRAZIER because they are LOSING… And they KNOW IT! (I hope he’s right – I think.)

politicsrus – Abortion Part 2mp4

When will these attacks on American democracy end?

Ring of Fire – AOC Brutally Mocks Sarah Palin

Robert Reich – The $3.5T Bill Corporate America Is Terrified Of

Beau – Let’s talk about trying to debunk a claim about Delta….

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Open Thread for September 15, 2021

 Posted by at 7:18 am  Open Thread, Personal, Politics
Sep 152021
 

Yesterday, I changed my mouse battery – twice – because the first “new” battery didn’t work. That may have been the high point of the day – which is fine with me!

Cartoon –

Short Takes –

The 19th – Texas is pushing the most anti-trans bills in the country. Advocates fear deadly consequences.
Quote – “We just have a fraction of the data and can see that we’re in crisis,” said Victoria Kirby York, deputy executive director of the National Black Justice Coalition. “It’s past epidemic, and these state legislatures are making things worse.” … As greater numbers of anti-trans bills have been introduced across more states within the last two years, more trans homicides have taken place in those states. Last year, 56 percent of trans homicides took place in states that attempted to pass anti-trans legislation, per a review of ACLU and Human Rights Campaign data by The 19th. Still, research proving any direct link between the deaths and the legislation is lacking.
Click through for story. There have always been trans people and I don’t remember it being an issue when I was a child or a teen or a twenty-something. I do remember Christine Jorgensen, however. (I don’t remember her getting death threats, though yes, she did get some harassment, but it wasn’t amplified, nor was it legitimized.)

The Hill – Five things to watch in the California recall election
They are – 1. What’s turnout like?
2. Does Democrats’ strategy pay off?
3. Were the polls right?
4. What does the result tell us about the state of politics in California and nationwide?
5. How does scrutiny affect Elder?
Click through for discussion of one or more. By the time you read this, it will be over (though mayme not couted.) Even those of us who don’t live there can learn from watching.

Wonkette – Anti-Maskers Try To Pull A January 6 On School Board, Swear Selves In As Replacements
Quote – Last week, a ragtag group of people who don’t even have children in California’s Poway Unified School District invaded a closed school board meeting, as part of a rally organized by dark money-funded astroturf group “Let Them Breathe,” and refused to leave. Police declined to force them out and instead suggested the school board adjourn the meeting instead. You know, for their own safety.
Click through. I’m not trying to terrify Colleen, especially on e recall election day, but this is all over the news and I can see why. These people have what a former boss of mine ised to refer to as “brass balls the size of church bells.”

Food for Thought –

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Video Thread 9/14/2021

 Posted by at 11:37 am  Open Thread, Politics
Sep 142021
 

Glenn Kirschner – As Feds Prepare for the Pro-Trump DC Rally on 9/18, We’re Learning More About the “Failures” of 1/6

The Lincoln Project – 24 years (Of course the vast majority of rapists are not on the streets but in their victims’ homes.)

The Franklin Project – School Board Bullying IMO this fallout of January 6 is scarier than Sep 18.

politicsrus – Newsom HD – I had to push a couple to tomorrow since the recall is today.

Really American – Recall The GOP

Eyepop Productions – Boatlift This was made in 2011, and I saw it then on PBS – so it’s actually no longer untold – but many people aren’t aware of it.

Beau – Let’s talk about Biden, mandates, reactions, and Orwell….

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Open Thread for September 14, 2021

 Posted by at 7:01 am  Open Thread, Personal, Politics
Sep 142021
 

Yesterday, I received a grocery delivery. It was all there – and no substitutions – and I was smart enough for once to put out an insulated backpack on the porch for frozen stuff that melts rather than just thawing. So I got it all in with I’m pretty sure no loss. So I have a sense of accomplishment.

Cartoon –

Short Takes –

The Hill – Dodd, Frank urge Biden to reappoint Powell
Quote – In a Monday op-ed for The Hill, former Sen. Chris Dodd (D-Conn.) and Rep. Barney Frank (D-Mass.) argued that Powell’s reappointment would give Biden “strong support” to pass a multitrillion-dollar infrastructure and social services plan — what they called the “most important issue facing us today…. We believe the national interest will be best served by President Biden reappointing Jerome Powell to chair the Federal Reserve System,” Dodd and Frank wrote.
Click through for more. Yes, it’s THAT Dodd and THAT Frank. They have earned enough respect for me to listen and pay attention when they speak, whether or not I end up agreeing.

HuffPost – Texas Embalmer Shares Nightmare COVID Experiences: ‘Unlike Anything I’ve Seen Before’ TRIGGER ALERT
Quote – These folks were so swollen they were completely unrecognizable. We were also getting sent a lot of people who had died from COVID in nursing homes back at that time, and many of them had not been dead very long at all…. The blood tends to settle out because it’s no longer flowing and it’ll gravitate to the dependent part of the body. The longer a body sits, the more blood clots that they develop. I was having people that had only been dead for a few hours and there were major clotting issues. The clots were the size of pancakes ― you never, never see those with someone who didn’t die of COVID.
Click through if you can take it (it gets worse). I won’t say we have been lied to, but we have definitely not been fully briefed on what CoViD does to the human body. I can see why not … but I still thik it was a mistake.

Mother Jones – 59 Percent of Republicans Say It’s Important to Believe Trump Won the Election
Quote – Donald Trump definitely did not win the 2020 presidential election, but nearly six in 10 GOP voters polled by CNN say it’s at least somewhat important for Republicans to continue believing that he did.
Click through for the story. Fortunately it’s short.

Food for Thought –

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Video Thread 9/13/2021

 Posted by at 12:18 pm  Open Thread, Politics
Sep 132021
 

Glenn Kirschner – Insurrection Updates: More Guilty Pleas & FBI/DOJ Upping the Ante to Seditious Conspiracy

Thom Hartmann – Incels, Turtle Love & More Bizarre Tales Of the Right-Wing

Ring of Fire – Teachers Desperately Try To ‘Deprogram’ Children With Q Supporting Parents

Armageddon Update | I’m Suing A Zygote’s Mom

Vote Vets – Texas Veteran, Former United States Marine Sergeant, Katherine Wyatt, Discusses Texas Abortion Ban

Rocky Mountain Mike – Delta Quarantine

Beau – Let’s talk about triage at a gas station….

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Open Thread for September 13, 2021

 Posted by at 6:31 am  Open Thread, Personal, Politics
Sep 132021
 

Yesterday was pretty quiet. For a while in the afternoon rin poured and thunder roared, which at least kept the temprature down. My energy, however, remained low.

Cartoon –

Short Takes –

The New Yorker – The Agent
Quote – Yemen was a particularly difficult place to start a terrorist investigation, as it was filled with active Al Qaeda cells and with sympathizers at very high levels of government.
Click through if you will. It’s quite long because it’s quite in depth, and it’s hair-raising. I chose that quote because you could make it present tense, substitute “the United States” for “Yemen” and “Y’all Qaeda” for “Al Qaeda,” and it would be true.

Law & Crime – Judge Refuses to Let Jacob Chansley Out of Jail Ahead of Sentencing, Calls Him a ‘Mascot’ for QAnon and ‘Hopes’ He’s Really Had a Change of Heart
Quote – The federal judge who has presided over Jacob Chansley’s criminal case doesn’t appear to be entirely convinced that the so-called “QAnon Shaman” of Jan. 6 has had a change of heart and renounced the sprawling conspiracy theory for which he is a “mascot.” Senior Judge Royce Lamberth, a Ronald Reagan appointee, said in a memorandum opinion and order unsealed Friday that Chansley will not be allowed to get out of jail ahead of sentencing for obstruction of an official proceeding.
Click through for story. Hey, it’s something.

The Guardian – Six US Capitol police officers could face discipline for 6 January actions
Quote – Investigators were able to identify officers involved in 26 of the cases [out of 38 investigations], the statement said, and found no evidence of wrongdoing in 20. Of the other six, it said, three are cited for conduct unbecoming, one for failing to comply with directives, one for improper remarks, and one for “improper dissemination of information”.
Click throughfor little detail but much privacy. We did know some of the officers were more accommodating than needed be. We can hope these are they.

Food for Thought –

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Video Thread 9/12/2021

 Posted by at 12:17 pm  Open Thread, Politics
Sep 122021
 

Glenn Kirschner – is late. So I threw in the kitten vid.

Meidas Touch – E. Jean Carroll says she has SLAM DUNK sexual assault case against Trump

Now This News – George W. Bush Compares Domestic Extremists to 9/11 Hijackers (or, When you’ve lost W…)

Really American – Texas Abortion Law Targets The Poor

MSNBC – What You Need To Know About The Planned Sept. 18th Rally – The white dude doesn’t convince me, and I’m glad to see he doesn’t convince the others either.

Cracked – If Dentists Were Honest | Honest Ads

Kitten Who Needed An Incubator To Survive Grows Up To Be A Spitfire – Personal story – I had a cat give birth on my bed (while I was in it.) She had 5 kittens, but rejected the last two. One was still in the placenta and not breathing, but the other was (mostly) out of the placents and was breathing, but cold. I warmed him in my hands, found a doll bottle, and tried to feed him a little milk (I had no KMR and no time to waste.) He took very little, if any, but it got all over him. In despair, I laid him down by MomCat to try to figure out what to do next. To my surprise, she perked up – “What’s this” – and started bathing him. I guess he must have smelled better and tasted good from all that spilled milk. Anyway, after that, he never looked back. In fact, he became her favorite of the litter. Totally by accident … but someone else might be able to use it sometime.

Beau – Let’s talk about VP Harris and bail….

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