Video Thread 6/8/21

 Posted by at 1:00 pm  Open Thread, Politics
Jun 082021
 

Glenn Kirschner – a recap of May

Don WInslow Films – Well, he nails Sinema, but I’d rather have her than a Republican 9and no, she isn’t one – she [and Manchin] both vote with the Democratic caucus more often than not. Sadly, the “not” votes are generally more visible.)

The Republican Accountability Project – a coule of weeks old, but aged well – too well.

Ring of Fire – Mo Brooks

RebelHQ – DANGEROUS Trump Speech You Can’t Ignore – good analysis of the need to cover garbage pople who are also dangerous

Beau – I’ve seen him upset before – but not this upset. (And with good reason.)

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Open Thread for June 8, 2021

 Posted by at 7:00 am  Open Thread, Personal, Politics
Jun 082021
 

My mechanic and I (I say “my mechanic,” but it’s actually a team) are in consensus that a new battery was needed, so I am calling and emailing around to find one that can be delivered. I’m ot committed as yet, but it’s still a relief to feel that I know what I need to do and have started doing it.

 

Cartoon

Short Takes

The Borowitz Report – Putin Says He Has No Intention of Reinstating Trump
MOSCOW (The Borowitz Report)—Calling recent speculation “absurd,” Vladimir Putin said that he has “no intention whatsoever” of reinstating Donald J. Trump as President of the United States.
Speaking to reporters, the Russian President bristled at the suggestion that he would reinstall Trump in the White House “this August or any other month, for that matter.”
Click through for details. I certainly hope this is straight news!

MSNBC – The GOP’s base is preparing for a holy war — and Democrats need to pay attention
Yes, another opinion piece – one which it’s hard to disagree with if one is paying attention and is honest. Quote:
The sentiments that these Republicans share differ at times in the particulars — not all believe, for example, that the Democratic Party is a front for blood-drinking, Satanic pedophilia, but many do…. If one believes a priori that one’s opponents are thieves, would-be totalitarians, drinkers of children’s blood, wresting back power becomes in and of itself a moral imperative, regardless of the means.
Click through for the full piece.

The New Yorker – How Nasty Was Nero, Really?
Fake news is not news. It’s been around forever. I’ve been defending Nero for a while now – along with Marie Antoinette, Richard III, and Hillary Clinton. Not one of them was guilty of the arson, murder, incest, or miscellaneous crimes he or she was accused of. Can we hope that Hillary’s reputation will fare any better than that of the other three? Here’s a quote:
Opper told me, “They had a term for it—vituperatio, or ‘vituperation,’ which meant that you could say anything about your opponent. You can really invent all manner of things just to malign that character. And that is exactly the kind of language and stereotypes we find in the source accounts.”
Click through for details. Why is it relevant now? Well, look what Qpublicans are saying about us.

Food for Thought:

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Video Thread 6/7/21

 Posted by at 1:00 pm  Open Thread, Politics
Jun 072021
 

Glenn Kirschner – “Lawlessness begets lawlessness”

Now This News – Paxton Smith Reflects on Her Viral Abortion Speech

Ring of Fire – Scholars Warn That Republicans Have Launched A Total Assault On Democracy

Thom Hartmann – Is the GOP Insanity Being Driven By Trump or 40 Years of Madness? – Our Tom has been saying this for years.

Rocky Mountain Mike – “Bye Bye Blog”

Beau – Let’s talk about coming together under China and good news….

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Open Thread for June 7, 2021

 Posted by at 7:00 am  Open Thread, Personal, Politics
Jun 072021
 

Well, hail. Yes, that’s what we had yesterday. Oh, yeah, and thunder and lightning too. i did some research on mobile battery replacement, but I also sent off an email to my regular mechanic for advice. (They’ve never steered me wrong.) I will keep everyone posted.

 

Cartoon ( Lona) –

Short Takes

The New Yorker – The Republicans’ Wild Assault on Voting Rights in Texas and Arizona   More and more people are trying to talk about this – you’ll see that in the video thread too. I wish I was confident it would reach the people who need to hear it. Here’s a quote:
Texas was already the most difficult state in which to cast a ballot, according to a recent study by Northern Illinois University. In 2020, voter turnout there was among the lowest in the nation. Even so, with nonwhites making up more than sixty per cent of the population under twenty, Texas is on its way to becoming a swing
Click through for the rest

The Daily Beast is on the same topic too. A quote:
Joe Biden wanted to convene a Summit of Democracies in his first year as president. COVID complicated matters, and the summit won’t happen before next year at the earliest. But even with the great strides the administration has made in taming the pandemic, a new question looms:
By the time the Summit of Democracies takes place, will the United States qualify to attend?
Click through for the full article

Politico is also on the trail … but eschewing sweeping generalzations for concrete specifics.
Republicans want to change state election laws. Here’s how they’re doing it. Here’s a quote –
Together, Texas and Georgia show which areas Republicans are focused on after Trump’s 2020 loss. Texas’ mail voting policies were already very tight, but both states sought to make their absentee policies stricter. Both states specifically targeted new voting policies piloted by big, blue counties in 2020. And Republicans in both states sought to impose new limits on election officials — and expose them to new criminal penalties for wrongdoing.
Click though for the rest.

Food for Thought:

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Video Thread 6/6/21

 Posted by at 1:00 pm  Open Thread, Politics
Jun 062021
 


Glenn Kirschner with a “Top Five” list o Don McGahn’s testimony

Meidas Touch – More Jason Kande

Armageddon nUpdate – One of Titus’s best. Touching even. It he talks too fast for you, slowing it down to 75% usually helps a lot.

VoteVets now has two ads each aimed at a specific state … and the two states are West Virginia and Arizona. Let me see … what do those twp states have in common?

Beau – Let’s talk about Trump, Facebook, and the future….

Keith – I don’t know who he is talking to that thinks Democrats are afrais to arrest Trump**. I don’t see that at all. I’ve heard things like it in the past (over much less consequential actions0, but I’m not hearing it now. And if too hasty arrest causes any case, or any charges, no matter how small, to be tossed out in the courts, Keith is going to look awfully stupid. I love Keith but some one with more prosecutorial knowledge than I needs to sit him down and have a talk.

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Open Thread for June 6, 2021

 Posted by at 7:00 am  Open Thread, Politics
Jun 062021
 

Yesterday was too overcast tto play with electricity, but if I can’t get it started today, I’ll rearch tonight and get a battery delivered tomorrow.

 

 

Cartoon –

Short Takes

Lucian Truscott is a sixth great grandson of Thomas and Martha Jefferson. He recently published in his newsletter blog a picture of himself with his sixth cousin, Shannon Lanier, a sixth great grandon of Thomas Jefferson and Sally Hemings. You can read the accompanying article at the link. I also took the liberty of adding his newsletter to our blogroll (on the left). You might also enjoy an article there entitled “Court-martial Flynn’s worthless seditious ass.” I certainly did. But there are many others as well.

The Hill – Experienced staff promote effective lawmaking
Yes, this is an opinion piece, but that doesn’t automatically make it fluff. And, yes, it’s a principle that most people who have ever worked at a so-called “low-level” job know intuitively: nothing that gets done is done by those at the top. Important accomplishments are never one-person jobs. It’s a point I’ve alluded to many times, most recently in connection with President Biden’s appoiontments. But it is more broadly applicable. And the authors of this are just the guys who have the facts and the statistics to prove it.
Members of Congress are wrestling with the 97 bipartisan recommendations put forward last year by the newly reestablished Select Committee on the Modernization of Congress. Among them are proposals to increase legislative staff pay. Supporters argue that salary increases are needed to recruit and retain the best legislative aides. Yet, the public is skeptical about spending more on Congress, which they judge as not doing a very good job.
At the Center for Effective Lawmaking, we know that with respect to congressional staff, we get what we pay for. We find that retaining experienced legislative staff is crucial to Congress doing its job better, in terms of lawmaking effectiveness.
Click through for more.

This is the 77th anniversary of D-Day. In looking for some kind of retrospective, I discovered that there is a National D-Day Memorial in Bedford, VA, which is just winding up a three-day commemoration. I don’t think anyone who reads here is close enough to Bedford to vvisit (besides the fact that it’s already 2/3 over), but you can find more information if you click through. And I find it gratifying that it exists.

Food for Thought:

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Video Thread 6/5/21

 Posted by at 1:00 pm  Open Thread, Politics
Jun 052021
 

Glenn Kirschner -DeJoy and Gaetz Sounds like a “Subpoena Duces Tecum.” I was served with one of those once. But the defendant accepted a bargain, so I didn’t have to go.

The Lincoln Project – The Real AntiFa (Just in time for D-Day)

MSNBC – Trump really thinks ….

Ring of Fire -Chauvin’s request for probation and time served. I frequently have nits to pick with Farron … but today he is right on.

Thom Hartmann “Is It Too Late For Democracy?”

Now here’s a product I could really get behind. (Wish it were real)

Beau – “Let’s talk about what Paxton Smith can teach Republicans….”

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Open Thread for June 5, 2021

 Posted by at 7:00 am  Open Thread, Personal, Politics
Jun 052021
 

Well, I got some charge into the battery, but I didn’t get the car started, and I ran out of time (and energy.) But I’m encouraged enough to keep trying. If I can’t get this done myself, I’ll have to find a roadside Assistance provider who will bring me a whole new battery. Thanks to the stimulus, I can afford that, it just pains my frugality (which I apparently inherited from my father, or so my mother often said.)

Cartoon –

Short Takes

Crooks and Liars – Stanford Law Withholds Diploma After Student Satire Triggers Federalist Society
Well, this is embarrassing. I mean, anyone can make a mistake, but tis is my school and the mistake is egregious and public. Here’s the header of the flyer Which Lainched a Thousand Snowflakes:

You can click though fror the details. They say it’s a two-minute read. (And ends with the news that the hold has been lifted. Thank God.)

Also from Crooks and liars – I can’t find anyone else carrying this story, and that’s a shame. Every American should know about this.

CNN – San Francisco’s ‘CAREN Act,’ making racially biased 911 calls illegal, is one step closer to becoming a law
This is great news, as far as it goes – it’s just a bill (or whatever they call it in a City/County – San Francisco is both), not a law (ordinance?) But oh, how it needs to be! And enforced!

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