Open Thread June 4, 2023

 Posted by at 5:42 am  Open Thread, Personal, Politics
Jun 042023
 

Yesterday, the radio opera was Mozart’s “Die Zauberflöte” (The Magic Flute). If you saw “Amadeus,” you probably have an idea what a departure this was from the symphonic and opera seria music on which Mozart had built his career. It was actually addressed to a different social class from the ruling class for whom most of his works had been written. It’s also quite progressive (at least if you can ignore the fact that it’s patriarchal) – it can be summarized: virtue and justice require concentrated effort to obtain, but witht them, the world can be paradise. It premiered just two years after the storming of the Bastille, so revolution was in the air. Of course it is also highly allegorical and includes multiple references to Freemasonry, but one doesn’t need to know that to appreciate it. I suppose everyone has heard “The Queen of the Night’s aria” (Actual title – “Der Holle Rache” and affectionately known to musicians as “The Holy Racket”). But there are many other charming melodies. It’s not necessary to know that the setting is suporsed to be ancient Egypt, nor that the name “Sarastro” comes from “Zoroaster” to appreciate it all.  Well, I’m off to see Virgil.  I’ll check in when I get back.

Cartoon –

Short Takes –

HuffPost – 5 Takeaways From The Debt Ceiling Drama
They are: 1. Joe Biden set the terms of debate.
2. McCarthy surprised everyone by taming the Freedom Caucus.
3. Democratic ‘grown-ups’ held their nose and saved the bill.
4. Republicans will take the debt ceiling hostage again.
5. The next big fight over spending is just around the corner.
Click through for more on each. WRT #5, I would say “Be careful what you wish for.” Prior to there being a “debt ceilng, the President had to come to Congress every time he wanted to borrow any money. The debt ceiling was established to give him (it was always him then and so fr still is) some freedom to make borrowong decisions. If we abolish it, we need to make sure we don’t revert to that.

The Daily Beast – GOP School Board Members Bring Book Ban Debate to Newtown, Connecticut
Quote – But Republicans on the Newtown Board of Education sought to have Flamer by Mike Curato and Blankets by Craig Thompson removed from the local high school library as if Connecticut was some benighted red state. After the 20 youngsters and six staff members were murdered at Sandy Hook Elementary school, there was a nationwide call for an assault rifle ban. Fools of the far right continued to insist that civilians should have easy access to such weapons of war even as another mass school shooting is followed by another and another and another. In recent years, those same fervent opponents of banning assault weapons have begun to clamor for banning books that professional educators have deemed appropriate for students.
Click through for story. This is not your normal book ban (not that any book ban is or should be normal – but the GQP is trying hard to make them so.)

Food For Thought

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Open Thread June 3, 2023

 Posted by at 5:50 am  Open Thread, Personal, Politics
Jun 032023
 

Yesterday, we resolved the car registration issue. Of course i don’t actually have the sticker yet. So when I go to see Virgil tomorrow, I will have in the car a copy of the entire email correspondence to explain the delay and prove i am actually in good standing in case I should be stopped. Of course I hope that won’t ne neessary – but but why take chances when one doesn’t have to? Also – not actually yesterday, but while I was preoccupied – I learned that what used to be “Elderhostel” is now named “Road Scholar.” If you weren’t familiiar with it, it’s a no-profit that books travel for older people. I would not call it exactly cheap (and some of it is downright pricey), but they do make it more affordable than if you were to try to book it yourself. So if anyone you know is considering leaving, not just a red state, but the whole country, it would be a resource to help check potential destinatins out. I did not register – I assume if one does, one would be able to see more than I was able to.  Also yesterday, though, I received a package I wasn’t expecting yet – the window for delivery they gave me when I ordered was June 3 – July 3.  It was 4 pairs of glasses for Barbie dolls (including one pair of sunglasses.)  Hopefully not having to try to make glasses out of jewelry wie will inspire me to get busy on the justice robe for my RBG doll, and then  will only need to make the collar.  (The doll doesn’t look a whole lot like RBG, though she looks very much like the actress who played her in the biopic which IIRC was called “On Account of Sex.”  And the sunglasses – well, I have pulled a bunch of red yarn out of my stash in anticipation of using them. 😉

Cartoon –

Short Takes –

Letters from an American – May 31, 2023
Quote – But, as Josh Marshall pointed out in Talking Points Memo today, the Republican base no longer seems to care much about fiscal issues. Instead, they are pushing the cultural issues at the heart of illiberal democracy: anti-LGBTQ laws, antiabortion laws, anti-immigration laws. Former president Trump is making those themes central to his reelection campaign. Yesterday he released a video promising that on “Day One” of a new presidential term, he would issue an executive order that would end birthright citizenship. Our current policy that anyone born in the United States is a citizen, he claims, is “based on a historical myth, and a willful misinterpretation of the law by the open borders advocates.” He promises to make “clear to federal agencies that under the correct interpretation of the law, going forward, the future children of illegal aliens will not receive automatic US citizenship.”
Click through for full column. Donald Trump** promised/threatened to do away with birthtight citizenship on his first day (if he wins.) Here’s why that is, at the very least, unconstitutional.

emptywheel – LORDY, THERE ARE TAPES [OF TRUMP ACKNOWLEDGING HE HAD STOLEN CLASSIFIED DOCUMENTS]!
Quote – First, it’s certainly possible this is one of the documents pertaining to Iran that WaPo has reported were among the ones obtained in the search in August 2022. If it is, then it would be a document that Trump transported back and forth from Florida — something that would make it easier for DOJ to charge this in DC instead of SDFL.
Click through – I’m sure you know the basic part of this story. This may fill in some details.

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Open Thread June 2, 2023

 Posted by at 6:06 am  Open Thread, Personal, Politics
Jun 022023
 

Yesterday, I had sent my disability certification without the witness signature to the DMV with an explanation, and I received a response that I could sent a photo of ny driver’s license to her and she could sign as witness. What a relief! I had gotten up earlt with not enough sleep and dreading having to go out again. Instead, I got to go back to bed. After getting up the second time, I made time to write a little essay to reply to John Pavlovitz’s email – some thoughts about the Bible I’ve been trying to spread for years in comments on petitions and article but which no one seems to be picking up on. The graphic he sent was so disturbing to me I just felt this was the time. It shows numbers and kinds of anti-transgender legislation in the states, Here it is –

Cartoon –

Short Takes –

KDVR Denver – Polis makes wager: If Nuggets win finals, Disney World moves to Colorado
Quote – Colorado Gov. Jared Polis called for a friendly wager with Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis and Disney on Tuesday: If the Denver Nuggets win the NBA Finals against the Miami Heat, Disney World moves to Colorado…. The Walt Disney World Resort currently resides in the Sunshine State and has since it first opened in the early 1970s. However, recently there have been rising tensions between the amusement park’s parent company and DeSantis.
Click through. KDVR is a Fox affiliate, but as I’ve often said, they are often good at local news. And the quote sounds just like Polis to me.

Vox – A big El Niño is looming. Here’s what it means for our weather.
Quote – El Niño is the warm phase of the Pacific Ocean’s temperature cycle, and this year’s El Niño is poised to be a big one, sending shock waves into weather patterns around the world. It’s likely to set new heat records, energize rainfall in South America, fuel drought in Africa, and disrupt the global economy. It may already have helped fuel early-season heat waves in Asia this year. “A warming El Niño is expected to develop in the coming months and this will combine with human-induced climate change to push global temperatures into uncharted territory,” said Petteri Taalas, secretary-general of the World Meteorological Organization, in a statement earlier this month. “This will have far-reaching repercussions for health, food security, water management and the environment. We need to be prepared.”
Click through foor details. Republicans talk about Democrats being big spenders … but with the money they waste on fighting culture wars instead of climate change, we could really save a lot – of money, and of people.

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Open Thread June 1, 2023

 Posted by at 6:02 am  Open Thread, Personal, Politics
Jun 012023
 

Yesterday, I ended up having to go in to my doctor’s office after all to get his signature, and that of one of his staff to certify that she had seen my driver’s license and that I am really me. Unfortunately, she forgot to sign it. I tried one more email with just that page, but I didn’t get home and see it until after the office closed, so I won’t know until today whether I’ll need to go back.

Cartoon –

Short Takes –

Letters from an American – May 29, 2023
Quote – Beginning in 1943, the War Department published a series of pamphlets for U.S. Army personnel in the European theater of World War II. Titled Army Talks, the series was designed “to help [the personnel] become better-informed men and women and therefore better soldiers.” On March 24, 1945, the topic for the week was “FASCISM!”…. “The basic principles of democracy stand in the way of their desires; hence—democracy must go! Anyone who is not a member of their inner gang has to do what he’s told. They permit no civil liberties, no equality before the law.” “Fascism treats women as mere breeders. ‘Children, kitchen, and the church,’ was the Nazi slogan for women,” the pamphlet said.
Click through for more quotes, many highly prescient, and not a lot of take from Heather because the material speaks for itself.

Slate – The Urgent Warning That Got Cut From a Supreme Court Opinion 20 Years Ago
Quote – More than 20 years ago, then–Supreme Court Justice David Souter tried to warn that big money in politics risked turning United States officials into tools of an emerging “plutocracy.” We now know from recently released case files that Souter had to strike the language in his draft Supreme Court opinion in a 2000 campaign finance case, Nixon v. Shrink Missouri Government PAC, as the price to secure Justice Sandra Day O’Connor’s vote. It’s too bad, because Souter’s warning is one that American political leaders, including justices on the Supreme Court itself, needed to hear. That warning was never made and thus never heeded. Today, American plutocracy—from Congress to inside the walls of the court itself—is alive and well.
Click through for sad story. And here we are.

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Open Thread May 31, 2023

 Posted by at 5:54 am  Open Thread, Personal, Politics
May 312023
 

Yesterday, I spent a fair amount of time struggling with the internet and email – trying to get paperwork to my doctor’s office to get my car registration renewed. His email account is set to reject any email from someone he hasn’t approved. He did approve me,but my email was not going through. Thinking maybe it was the number of attachments, I sent seven separate ones today – one for each attachment. But it was late in the business day, so I’ll have to check again today. They were all jpgs – before retiring I converted them all into pdfs in case I have to resend again. If I can’t get it done in time, I’m going to go see Virgil Sunday anyway (I did get confirmation yesterday; I looked for it Monday but of course that was a holiday.) In less personal news (but still kind of personal, since we all love the Carters), Rosalynn has been diagnosed with dementtia. She is still at home with Jimmy and is able to see loved ones and enjoy the spring weather.

Cartoon –

Short Takes –

NMAI (National Museum of the American Indian) – Why We Serve
The National Museum of the American Indian is one of many institutions which come under the purview of the Smithsonian. There isn’t a lot of information about Native Americans that you won’t find somewhere under its umbrella. “Why We Serve” is a website dedicated to Native Americans in the military – active duty, veterans, and war dead. It’s an online exhibition that you can wader through, just as you would wander through a physocal exhibition on site. I was pleased to learn about NAWW – Native American Women Warrriors – group specifically for women veterans who are native Americans. The Museum’s “Object of the Month” for May is a blue jingle dress worn by Mitchelene BigMan (Apsáalooke [Crow]/Hidatsa) during the 2013 presidential Inaugural Parade. You’ll find it (along with three others) under the topic “War and Peace.”

The Warning (Steve Schmidt) – The distortion and delusion of the MAGA/GOP view
Quote – The greatest crime in human history began with the rise of a far-right political party of losers, crackpots, opportunists and alienation that sowed division, hate, intolerance and grievance against its enemies, status and condition. The Jews were the target of its scapegoating, hate, conspiracies and terror. Ultimately, an extremist political party became the State and then the nation. Hitler’s rise was abetted by countless small acts of moral appeasement and accommodation by people who were appalled by him. Ambition and cynicism fueled a merger of industry with extremism and hate with national identity. All of it was sustained by propaganda, lies, and conspiracy theories. Before it was over human civilization nearly fell.
Click through for column. You’ll probably have to click on “Let me read it first.” It isn’t the full column, since I’m not a paid subscriber, but it’s enough to sound an alarm.

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Open Thread May 30, 2023

 Posted by at 5:47 am  Open Thread, Personal, Politics
May 302023
 

Yesterday, I learned something I did not know about the Marine Corps – not all that surprising, since it happened after my time – way, way after my time. But it makes a lot of sense. I just hope some of those mementoes are representative of other faiths. The manger Christans need to respect and in a way emulate is emphatically not the one that Aesop’s dog was in.  And, yes, I did watch the National Memorial Day Concert (a day late) – it’s still available to stream if anyone else missed it the first time.

Cartoon –

Short Takes –

John Pavlovitz – Dangerous Christian Drag Show
Quote – They shamelessly don their cheap, glittery regalia, meticulously transforming themselves into a sickening inversion of who they actually are, putting on an unnatural false persona designed to indoctrinate young minds by passing as something they’re not. It is a vile bait and switch that decent human beings should be sickened by.
The political Right is the worst kind of drag show: that of hateful, heartless bigots pretending to be Christian.
Click through for essay. What can I say? He nails it.

Crooks & Liars – Dem Senator Schools Chuck Todd On Why Congress Can Regulate Supreme Court
Quote – “The Chief Justice has to make this decision, though, right?” Todd asked. “Separation of powers, whether, I mean, it’s pretty established, Congress can’t make a law that does that, right?” Whitehouse informed the host he was mistaken about how the Constitution works. “No, it absolutely can,” Whitehouse laughed. “Well, it doesn’t mean it’s constitutional,” Todd quipped. “Yes, it does,” the senator explained. “It means it’s constitutional because the laws that we’re talking about right now are actually laws passed by Congress. The ethics reporting law that is at the heart of the Clarence Thomas ethics reporting scandal is a law passed by Congress.”
Click through for story. Chuck Todd is far from alone in (apparently} believing the “SC” in “SCOTUS” stands for “Sacrd Cow.” It doesn’t. Whitehouse is a gem.

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Open Thread May 29, 2023

 Posted by at 6:04 am  Open Thread, Personal, Politics
May 292023
 

Yesterday, I did a little work on cartoons for June (the operative word is “little” – but fortunately I don’t need that many.) I also discovered that i am apparently going to have to uninstall and reinstall my printer. First I have to find the CD. I’m pretty sure i know where it should be, but whether or not that’s where it actually is is another question. Also, I’ll have to disconnect it from the computer until I’m finished and then reconnect it, and neither end of the USB cord is exactly easy to reach. I’m wondering too whether I should use a new cord (or at least an unused one) and that would mean reaching both ends. Fortunately, having gotten my Auto ID card printed, I don’t need to print anything right away. Anyway, as i reported ysterday, there is a tentative debt ceiling deal, and I happened to come across two amusing money stories, so at least we can have a laugh or two.

Cartoon – 29 Sojourner Truth (and Memorial Day)

Short Takes –

AP News – Jan. 6 rioters are raking in thousands in donations. Now the US is coming after their haul
Quote – Dozens of defendants have set up online fundraising appeals for help with legal fees, and prosecutors acknowledge there’s nothing wrong with asking for help for attorney expenses. But the Justice Department has, in some cases, questioned where the money is really going because many of those charged have had government-funded legal representation. Most of the fundraising efforts appear on GiveSendGo, which bills itself as “The #1 Free Christian Fundraising Site” and has become a haven for Jan. 6 defendants barred from using mainstream crowdfunding sites, including GoFundMe, to raise money.
Click through for details, I believe it’s called “profiting from a crime,” and it’s a legal no-no. If, of course, they catch you and can prove it. If you brag about it, they probably can.

PolitiZoom – MAGA Moron Buys $2,200 in “Trump Bucks” is Surprised When Bank Won’t Exchange Them
Quote – Purchaser John Amman said “he bought $2,200 worth of Trump Bucks and other items over the past year only to learn that they were worthless when he tried to cash them in at a local bank.”… This writer has to commend you, John Amann, if I were to fall $2,200 dollars deep into such an obvious scam I could not confide my idiocy to family and friends, much less advertise it On Twitter for all to see:
Click through for story. I have no trouble believing it. They used actual imagery from actual money. Sure, they tarted it up to protect themselves against being charged with counterfeiting – but what MAGA would realize that?

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Open Thread May 28, 2023

 Posted by at 6:10 am  Open Thread, Personal, Politics
May 282023
 

Yesterday, the radio opera was (finally!) “Champion” by Terence BLanchard. It’s based on the life of Emile Griffith, a closeted black welterweight boxer whose career began in the late 1950s and went off the rails (though it dontinued, and for a while with a stream of victories before becoming a string of losses) after an opponent who had outed him and whom he defeated with series of 17 blows went into a coma and died. The story has all the elements of tragedy except that he didn’t die young but lived into old age and dementia, which may be an even greater tragedy. Dying is easy – living is hard. (Living is also harder to write about, which may explain why so few creators have chosen to deal with it.) Blanchard chose to address it head on by splitting Emile’s role into three parts – in order of appearance, the old man, played by Eric Owens; the young man, played by Ryan Speedo Green; and even Emile as a child (Ethan Joseph.) Anyone who has ever had any regrets for anything (and what decent person hasn’t?) will appreciate the mechanism of the two adult Emiles having duets. It does feel like that. Not really on topic, but having kind of followed Green’s career and backstory, I’m aware he has mommy issues – and so did Emile, having been abandoned (along with six siblings) by her and raised by a fundamentalist cousin. Also interesting that when cast, he went out and studied boxing and did bodybuilding to be “worthy of the role.” And that Blanchard himself revised and added to the opera because he wanted it to be “worthy of the Met.” I wish I could tell them both that it’s sweet that they did that, but that they ARE WORTHY. Period. Except that that is something one really can’t tell anyone else. Everyone has to find it for themself.  And that – is kindof the essential meaning of the opera. Also yesterday, the Texas House of Repuresentatives voted to impeach texas Attorney General Ken Paxton. Under Texas law, he must now step down while he is tried in the Texas Senate.  And one more thing – the White House and the GOP have reached a “tentative” deal on the debt ceiling.

Cartoon –

Short Takes –

Crooks & Liars – PIGS FLY: SCOTUS Rules In Favor Of The Little Guys In Tax Sale
Quote – The Supreme Court [Thursday] gave a 94-year-old Minneapolis woman a chance to recoup some money after the county kept the entire $40,000 when it sold her condominium over a much smaller unpaid tax bill…. A handful of states in addition to the District of Columbia allow local governments to keep the excess money, according to the Pacific Legal Foundation, a not-for-profit public interest law firm that represented Tyler at the Supreme Court.
Click through for details – Not that $25,000 will go that far, assuming she sees any of it – but the decision id a good one, and those are becoming increasingly rare.

The Nib (Levi Hastings and Dorian Alexander) – Drag Balls of the Civil War
Quote – The Civil War has always been romanticized as a tragic narrative of conflicting American idealism. It doesn’t matter if you’re a yankee or a rebel though, queerness has never been considered an American ideal. Naturally, that doesn’t mean that it didn’t exist…
Click through for graphic article (perfectly SFW). I have a couple more graphic articles which I want to get in – I now need to try a bit harder since The Nib is folding in August, and I don’t know how long they’ll be available.

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