Open Thread – Page 39 – Politics Plus

Open Thread July 17 2025

Posted by Joanne Dixon at 6:00 am Open Thread, Personal, Politics

Jul 172025

Yesterday, I had a good night’s sleep the previous night. I suspect because, though heaven knows I have plenty of stuff to worry about, major changes in my medications aren’t among them. Also, this from John Pavlovitz caught my eye, and since it’s in the periphery of politics rather than being actually political, I decided to put it in as an extra. It just makes sense that authoritarian men (and women) are weak, since they need the assurance of authoritarian power. Egalitarians would naturally be stronger, because by definitions they (we) have faith in their (our) own judgment.

This from Lever News has a few popups, including, ironically, one for a popup blocker. But they all closed and I could read the whole article. However, I went to archive.is for those who don’t like popups – and, also ironically, the archived version has a frozen popup – it only hides most of the title and part of a photo, and the article is intact. Either should work.

This is from the “Wolves and Sheep” Substack, which is not part of but does have a relationship to Bowers News Media, to which I do subscribe. It doesn’t state much, if anything, which isn’t obvious if you think about it. But who has time to think in this chaos? And there’s alwaus a need for Captain Obvious, because the obvious, exactly because it is obvious, can be difficult to see as obvious, as opposed to being a given (and therefore safe to ignore.) I for one am grateful that someone – someone on our side – is not ignoring it.

Open Thread July 16 2025

Posted by Joanne Dixon at 6:06 am Open Thread, Personal, Politics

Jul 162025

Yesterday, after blood work last week, I saw my doctor again. Everything is pretty much smooth – even my blood pressure was 120/78. I don’t get readings that good at home. So my next appointment is in May ’26 for an annual. Also, I don’t know whether I have mentioned that, in Colorado, the names of the four seasons are Almost Winter, Winter, Still Winter, and Construction – but I certainly found that to be true today. Getting to the clinic I had to cope with four constructions sites – and that’s not counting the one I’ve been coping with since I’ve been using this location. One was only about half a block from my house. I did make it in time – and came home a different way – also with construction going on. So I’ll be giving Trinette a heads up, since this coming Sunday is the one she’s due to come over.

I found this Intercept article to be illuminating. Not just because I was not aware of the existence of the phrase it addresses (although I am aware of how much and how compulsively Republicans distort the meaning of any verbiage they think they can distort to produce anger and fear), but mainly because the response by Mamdani provided such a good example of how to resist that particular technique – and the kind of knowledge one needs to have (or get) in order to grasp what is really going on and do it right.

At this point in the coup, I’m ready to suggest that no Republican office holder should be allowed to go anywhere or do anything without eliciting some kind of Democratic response. f they are taking away people’s lives, livelihoods, and every smidgen of joy from anyone they don’t like, they really do not deserve any smidgen of joy in their own lives. Too bad about their families. They are hurting others’ families.

A lot of the time I don’t even bother to read emails with “notes” from Substack. For some reason I did – and one of them was this. You’re welcome to read all the responses – but the point of the short video is that all it takes to turn a Republican in a Democrat is an open mind, a tutorial on fact-checking, and applying that tutorial. Yeah, I know, the open mind is the hardest part. But it can happen.

Robert Reich is asking everyone who gets his emails to share this video as widely as possible. I’m not sure it will get through to any of those who need it the most, but I’m sharing it anyway, because why not do what he requests.

Open Thread July 15 2025

Posted by Joanne Dixon at 6:00 am Open Thread, Personal, Politics

Jul 152025

Yesterday, Wonkette decided to quote La Marseillaise in its “TABS” email (the first of the day with links to other sources and just a little snark in the description) and threw in the clip from “Casablanca.” That scene is always a gut-punch for me, yet somehow in a good way, sort of like grand opera. (The young actress whose tears in the scene are so memorable was in real life a refugee. Those tears were real, and may not even have been scripted.) Also yesterday, this came out from Colorado Public Radio. Not that it’s news that we have crazy people in Colorado (particularly in the same Congressional District that Tina Peters is in.) Personally I would say he should never have been granted bail. And finally, July 17 – the 5th anniversary of John Lewis’s death, is July 17 (Thursday). National protests will be held. Here’s a link to find and RSVP to one.

This is good advice from Robert Reich – although I don’t think I’m quite capable of following it to the letter. I don’t feel I’m on the front line, but in more of a supporting role (which is nothing new. Most of the time I was in the Marine Corps the only women allowed in combat zones were nurses, and the Corps has no nurses, or for that matter, doctors. Medical personnel serving Marines are in the Navy.) The first Woman Marine assigned to a combat zone had been my platoon leader in basic training, and she had an administrative specialty, which is a command specialty, but not a combat specialty. Still a support role.) Support is important, but is less likely to make those filling it feel gung ho. But it is something i can do.

Joyce Vance writes primarily about measles and measles vaccinations here. But measles is only one part of the picture of disease, and disease itself is only one part of the picture of public health. There are also things like guns, floods, fires, toxic chemical exposure both knowingly and unknowingly (in which I would include recreational drug use), transportation crashes, other hazardous products, and more. I can’t imagine authoritarians caring a rodent’s posterior about any of them.

Open Thread July 14 2025

Posted by Joanne Dixon at 6:00 am Open Thread, Personal, Politics

Jul 142025

Yesterday, Virgil and I talked unusually long before starting to play cribbage. I kind of unloaded about some of the things the Fascist regime is doing and planning to do. He is unlikely to remember any of it, of course, but it made me feel better. Also, when we did play cribbage, he kept forgetting, both in the hands and in the cribs, that the cut card is also a part of his hand – of both our hands – and of the crib. Technically in what I call cutthroat cribbage, the rule is that if you catch something another player failed to count, you get the points and the other person loses them. Of course I would never do that to him – but if I had today, it would have been a metaphorical bloodbath. He also forgot how old he is (He’ll be 82 before the end of July.) Yeah, I can see why his case manager asked me to be his medical POA.

Joyce Vance from Friday. I don’t really have anything to add. At least, not without profanity.

I guess this from “Balls and Strikes” is rather specialized. On the other hand, if enough Americans who were loud enough had been doing this kind of specialized knowledge long enough ago, there’s a possibility we might have been spared Brett Kavanaugh.

Open Thread July 12 2025

Posted by Joanne Dixon at 5:25 pm Open Thread, Personal, Politics

Jul 122025

Yesterday, I took some “me” time playing a solitaire game series I own most of – and the newer the game in the series, the more bells and whistles. Every hand you play, you earn three things – stars, gems, and coins. You can use the coind for buying power-ups, like extra “undo” use per hand, or more cards, or more coins, or wild cards. With the gems you can buy bits and pieces of a scene, which when you hye played all the hands in that scene, you have a potential wallpaper f you wish to use it. The stars are one of many ways you ca earn “trophies’ which are just for bragging rights. There are also obstacles, like chained cards, cards tied with silk ribbons, cards covered with plant growth, and more. The farther you get into each game, the more potential obstacles – and the newer the game, the more possible obstacles you can encounter. So there is more strategy involved than just one hand at a time. Each game has 200 hands (not counting extra variants such as classic solitaires or “Mah Jong” boards) , and each scene requires about 40 hands to “build.” It can really take my mind off just about anything, and yesterday, I needed some of that. In fact, I apparently needed it so much I forgot to hit “Publish.” Sorry to be so late.
I maybe should mention that in my cartoon, “We” means us. Everyone here tried. And feel free to share it widely anywhere It might do some good.

From The Intercept. What makes this violence – and all violence based on arrogance so peculiarly disgusting is the fact that the pond scum committing the violence (probably “just following orders” but having way too much fun doing it) are so many orders of magnitude lesser human being than those who they are looking down on and violating that it’s nor really possible to put it into words, and least of all words they might understand. “Pond scum” doesn’t really even come close. And I cannot wrap my head around what to call the individuals from whom these degenerates are getting their deranged orders.

Wonkette did a roundup of ICE horrors in general. I confess to not being able to finish reading it. If you can manage it, it’s fairly comprehensive.

Open Thread July 11 2025

Posted by Joanne Dixon at 6:00 am Open Thread, Personal, Politics

Jul 112025

Yesterday, the ACLU announced in an email that it had quickly refiled to block the executive order against birthright citizenship as a class action, allowing a federal judge to block it nation wide. Also, I got my blood test results and none of my meds is changing this time – a welcome first. Also, the 19th advised me that the first Barbie doll to have Type 1 diabetes is here. This is what she looks like. If it seems weird to you to se something so comparatively “normal” in the news, you are not alone.

This from the F* News is brilliantly framed and might possibly even suck MAGA into reading it, though they might not get the point.

Press Watch with Dan Froomkin – who does know what journalism is, and also what it isn’t. If you claim to be a journalist, and have “a strong belief and passion” in anything other than truth and accuracy – you are nor a journalist. Period. (And the New York Times is just as bad and getting worse by the day.)

It’s hardly news that Republicans lie. Some of us who have been saying they lie like Democrats breath are now starting to re-evaluate that, because they lie so much more than Democrats breathe. It should be no surprise that Heather Cox Richardson has their number.

Open Thread July 10 2025

Posted by Joanne Dixon at 5:58 am Open Thread, Personal, Politics

Jul 102025

Yesterday, I had blood drawn again. I get it – my PCP is still trying to strike the right balance between enough thyroid to give me the energy to get up each day (and notice that I don’t say “morning”) and too much for my osteoporosis, while also trying to pamper my kidneys. (I really miss aspirin – acetaminophen is pretty much just a sugar pill for me. The TENS helps but not for the forehead. Fortunately, I still have a nearly empty tin and a new, unopened tin of a “sore muscle rub” containing menthol, which has been discontinued, but of which a little goes a long way, which does work on the forehead. I don’t know how much is the menthol, how much is the massage, and how much is the combination, but it does work. And, as I say, it goes a log way – I don’t expect to outlive the new tin.) Also, the blood draws are fast and painless. This one was so fast and so painless i didn’t have time to think of my favorite vampire joke until I had left. I hope I can remember it for next time. In case you’re wondering:

Three vampires walk into a bar. Bartender says, “What’ll you have?” First vampire says, “I’ll have a glass of blood, please.” Second vampire says, “Same for me, thanks.” Third vampire says, “I think I’ll just have a glass of plasma today.” Bartender says, “Right. Two bloods and a blood lite.”

Having ICE raid MacArthur Park and terrify children was bad enough. Let’s not use it as an excuse to crucify Karen Bass. So says the Editrix of Wonkette, and I heartily agree. I can’t put into words how tired I am of misogyny in general and the singling out of black women in particular.

Damn, this from the Contrarian is scary. And it kind of random that we have access to the information at all. Although had we not allowed the Mango Menace to be elected, we might not have as much need to know it as we now do.

Robert Reich did not email this as a print article from his Substack, but as a video from Move On. It does have CC, so there’s a transcript (which might need some proofreading). But this is so important – and, sadly, so many people (not here, but almost certainly someone you know) are duped into believing regulation is bad.

Open Thread July 9 2025

Posted by Joanne Dixon at 6:00 am Open Thread, Personal, Politics

Jul 092025

Yesterday, I read in Wonkette about a new Superman movie coming out this summer. If you can go to theaters (my allergies preclude my doing so) you may want to go see it. MAGA will be boycotting it, so there’s that. Monday evening’s radio program on movie scores talked about Christopher Reeve, and how he got cast even though no one thought he looked muscular enough, but they expected him yo wear a “muscle suit,” and instead he worked out and bulked up from 185# to 225# of pure muscle. It appears no one considered that aspect this time – but that’s not what has MAGA’s panties in knots. It’s that he’s being shown as kind. And a refugee. Both of which he always has been but which was not always a deal breaker for anyone. Also in Wonkette, they covered the breaking of the story about ICE and the National Guard invading MacArthur Park under the headline “Someone Left the Cake Out in the Rain.”

I generally go to Harry Litman for interpretation of the law and of court actions. Yes, this is a court action in a sense – it’s the settlement of a lawsuit – but his analysis goes beyond that aspect and into politics.

You may already be aware of the “Seven Mountains Mandate” – it has been around a while among authoritarian “Christians” (quotes because no one actually following what Jesus actually taught can possibly be an authoritarian) but it was always a fringe aberrancy. Now it’s a political force and getting stronger.

($70 Mil of this belongs to Colorado)

Older Entries Newer Entries