Personal – Page 135 – Politics Plus

Open Thread April 10, 2023

Posted by Joanne Dixon at 11:57 am Open Thread, Personal, Politics

Apr 102023

Yesterday, I got to see Virgil, and give him all your greetings, which he returns. I got the Scrabble set right away, and we managed to play three full games (not keeping score, just attempting (and, with some cooperation, succeeding) to use all the letters with all actual words. That took us within 3 minutes of the end of visitation, so I’d say we did well.

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Short Takes –

HuffPost – Clarence Thomas Says He Was ‘Advised’ He Didn’t Need To Report Lavish Trips With GOP Donor
Quote – In a rare statement released by the Supreme Court, Thomas said he was “advised” by his colleagues in the judiciary “that this sort of personal hospitality from close personal friends” was not something that needed to be reported under the court’s guidelines at the time. The conservative justice added that it was his intent to follow new reporting rules instituted by the Supreme Court last month.
Click through for details. One legal expert commented he would really like to know who so advised him (with the implication that he’d like to give them a piece of his mind.) But apparently they are all dead now (so cannot defend themselves – or call Thomas a liar. Pity.

Daily Kos (ericlewis0) – NYT: Georgia DA Willis has Notified almost 20 People They are Targets of Investigation
Quote – In Georgia, however, there is another criminal investigation of Mr. Trump nearing completion, this one also led by a local prosecutor, Fani T. Willis of Fulton County…. Her investigation has targeted a wide range of conduct centered around efforts to subvert the democratic process and overturn Mr. Trump’s 2020 election loss. Nearly 20 people are already known to have been told that they are targets who could face charges, including Rudolph W. Giuliani, Mr. Trump’s former personal lawyer, and David Shafer, the head of the Georgia Republican Party.
Click through for story. There is a link to the NY TImes, but unless you have an account (free or paid, either should work) you won’t be able to get in.

Food For Thought

Open Thread April 9, 2023

Posted by Joanne Dixon at 7:00 am Open Thread, Personal, Politics

Apr 092023

Yesterday, the radio opera was Puccini’s “Tosca,” an opera which strikes very close to home in multiple circumstances … including the circumstances the United States is currently in politically (and legally.) The title character is a beautiful, celebrated, passionate, insecure, and rather naive singer who is in love with the tenor, a political activist. The chief of police, the de facto dictator (at least of the city), who is such a jerk that Napoleon looks good to the activists, has the hots for her. He also knows her lover, Mario, is an activist, and therefore wants him dead for both reasons. There is torture, there is extortion, there is desperation, and by the end of the opera all three are dead. It’s quite a trip. It wasn’t the first opera I saw live, but I was quite young when I saw it first – about 18. It was on a Saturday. The previous evening, I had been to a get-together with the professors and other students in the Classics Department (my major.) One graduate student was kind of pushing me to accept an alcoholic drink (but I had driven to the occasion, and would have to drive home), and at one point he said, “Don’t you want to be happy?” I replied, “I am happy already,” “What?” he replied. “How dare you be happy without artificial means?” It was funny, and we both laughed, but it wasn’t so funny the next day when he had been found a suicide. I learned about it maybe an hour before I was to leave for the opera with the friend who had invited me. It really hit home. To this day I cannot see or hear or think about “Tosca” without remembering. I also can’t help loving “Tosca.”

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Short Takes –

Crooks and Liars – ‘You Bet!’: Peter Doocy Taken To The Woodshed By John Kirby
Quote – “Proud of the fact that we got more than 124,000 people safely out of Afghanistan? You bet,” Kirby shot back. “Proud of the fact that American troops were able to seize control of a defunct airport and get it operational in 24 hours? You bet. Proud of the fact that we now have about 100,000 Afghans, our former allies and partners, living in this country and working toward citizenship? You bet!”
Click through. there’s a video if tou can stand Doocy’s voice – I can’t. I’m sharing this for John Kirby’s remarks. For an operation which was deliberately set up – by Trump** – to fail, there is indeed a lot to be proud of.

Democratic Underground (littlemisssmartypants) – A “brilliant story about…JustinPearson” from Tennessee.
Quote – When I was a young organizer, we would often sit in [Memphis City Schools] board meetings…. This particular night I noticed a young man who was sitting and waiting to speak…. Once he got to the podium the room completely shifted…. He challenged the Board to answer for why they had such low expectations for his school and his community…. That kid is an adult now and that adult just got expelled from our house floor making national news….
Click through for the full story. I’m not crying, you’re crying. If they hold special elections, his district – both districts – should vote them back in and keep doing so as long as necessary. And then elect both to Congress (Along with Gloria Johnson.)

Food For Thought

Open Thread April 8, 2023

Posted by Joanne Dixon at 6:51 am Open Thread, Personal, Politics

Apr 082023

Yesterday, I was kind of in a contemplative mood. Part of that was brought on by anticipating today’s opera (and I’ll explain that when I talk about the opera in tomorrow’s thread.) Part of it was brought on by the second short take – even just the headline gave crystal clarity to that particular form of selective ignorance, as if a light switched on, and I keep thinking of new examples (such as “inscrutable oriental” – which would today be recognized as racist, but maybe not for the right reasons.) I did receive one alert (from Axios) worth noting – “Federal judge [in Texas] rules to freeze use of abortion pill nationwide.”

Cartoon – 08 0408Cartoon.jpg

Short Takes –

The Warning (Steve Schmidt) – America’s Cancer
Quote – There is no place to compromise or meet in the middle with an extremist movement made up of fascist paramilitaries, Nazis, conspiracy loons and religious zealots. There is no avoiding their demand, which is patently ridiculous and deeply dangerous. They want power, and they want Donald Trump. They want a twice-impeached serial liar and credibly accused rapist to be the president of the United States — again. The book bans, abortion bans, birth control bans, criminalized curriculum, punitive legislation and investigations against dissenters aren’t an end. They are a gateway to abuse and ultimately terror.
Click through for article. The issue with cancer is metastasis. If it is not dealt with in time it becomes unstoppable.

Daily Beast – Prince William ‘Baffled’ by Prince Harry’s ‘Difficult’ Coronation Behavior
Quote: Harry and wife Meghan Markle have said that they have been invited to the coronation but have not yet said if they will come. In January, Harry told interviewer Tom Bradby that he needed to have a face to face meeting with his family of origin before attending, and told another interviewer, Bryony Gordon, that he wanted “an apology for my wife,” although without specifically linking it to their attendance at the coronation. Royal sources have insisted that the family will make no such gestures towards Harry and Meghan, firmly believing they have nothing to apologize for.
Click through if you like. This is very small in the overall scheme of things, but sometimes very small things can be a source of large insignt. William is baffled because he is privileged. The person who has privilege is always baffled by the person without it (or on this case, with less of it.) Men claim it’s impossible to understand women. I have heard white people assert that black people are incomprehensible. And on and on it goes. In fact, no one is incomprehensible. But privilege certainly gets in the way of comprehension.

Food For Thought

Open Thread April 7, 2023

Posted by Joanne Dixon at 7:00 am Open Thread, Personal, Politics

Apr 072023

Yesterday, I got a late start and was coming from behind. I did succeed in pretty well catching up, which is a good thing, since I’m to see Virgil on Easter. And I just make too many mistakes when I’m feeling frazzled. Incidentally, happy anniversary to Pat B. today – she may or may not be here, since she’s going out to lunch, but I trust she’ll see it eventually.

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Short Takes –

Mother Jones – Mining Giant Is One Court Ruling Away From Destroying an Apache Holy Site
Quote – For nearly a decade, tribal leaders in Arizona have fought to save Oak Flat—a sacred site central to the religious practices of the San Carlos Apache and other Indigenous nations connected to the area. Now, the site’s fate rests with the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals, who is weighing whether mining copper in the area, and effectively destroying the site, violates the religious rights of local Indigenous peoples…. Oak Flat has been used as a religious site to connect Indigenous peoples to their Creator, faith, families and natural world since before colonization and European contact, said Wendsler Nosie, the former chairman of the San Carlos Apache Tribe and the head of Apache Stronghold to the Arizona Republic.
Click through for details. This makes me want to spread rumors that there is far more copper – inconceivable quantities of copper – and maybe gold and uranium – under the Dome of the Rock in Jerusalem – or Saint Peter’s in Rome – or the black stone (the Kaaba) in Mecca – or the Buddha in Kamakura – and see how mining interests react. If they wouldn’t touch those, their disgusting hypocrisy would be evident – but – if they would – their lives could be endangered.

ProPublica – Clarence Thomas and the Billionaire
Quote – For more than two decades, Thomas has accepted luxury trips virtually every year from the Dallas businessman without disclosing them, documents and interviews show. A public servant who has a salary of $285,000, he has vacationed on Crow’s superyacht around the globe. He flies on Crow’s Bombardier Global 5000 jet. He has gone with Crow to the Bohemian Grove, the exclusive California all-male retreat, and to Crow’s sprawling ranch in East Texas. And Thomas typically spends about a week every summer at Crow’s private resort in the Adirondacks. The extent and frequency of Crow’s apparent gifts to Thomas have no known precedent in the modern history of the U.S. Supreme Court.
Click through for story. I would expect MAGAts to be so outraged that so many goodies went to one of THOSE people that there would be some public outcry – maybe even violence – on account of this knowledge. On the other hand, maybe Fox can see that too and will not allow them to find out. Or maybe they are so far gone they won’t care.

Food For Thought

Open Thread April 6, 2023

Posted by Joanne Dixon at 6:45 am Open Thread, Personal, Politics

Apr 062023

Yesterday, much of the Front Range (as the eastern edge of the Rockies is nicknamed) woke up to snow on the ground. I didn’t look, but it was cold enough all day to suggest that was also true here. That is supposed to end starting today – at least for a while. We’ll see if it does. The news, of course, has been full of the Trump** indictment in Manhattan. Joyce Vance, who had previously explained the diference between a “bare bones” indictment (which just lists the charges) and a “speaking” indictment (which also describes the actions which led to the charges), shared that, in New York, they don’t use “speaking” indictments, but they do use a separate document called a “statement of facts,” which does the “speaking” for the indictment. She also provided a link to Trump**’s, which I’m sharing. It’s only 13 pages, and they are double spaced.

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Short Takes –

HuffPost – Mike Pence Drops Fight, Will Testify Against Trump In Jan. 6 Investigation
Quote – Pence had originally said he would take his battle to quash the grand jury subpoena to the U.S. Supreme Court if necessary. But a week ago, he said that he was “pleased” that James Boasberg, the chief judge of the U.S. District Court in Washington, D.C., had agreed with his argument that the “speech and debate clause” in the Constitution applied to him in his role as president of the Senate. Prosecutors’ main interest in Pence’s testimony, though, is not in his dealings with members of Congress. Rather, it is in his interactions and conversations with Trump and his aides, who had been pushing him for weeks to use his role as presiding officer at the election certification ceremony on Jan. 6, 2021, to award Trump a second term[.]
Click through for details. This makes it clear that his appeal was just for show. The court’s minor concession will allow him not to testify about what happened on the day, January 6, while requiring him to testify truthfully (or plead the Fifth) about eveerything that happened on every day leading up to that day. And that, of course, is what matters.

Mother Jones – Tennessee House Republicans Move to Expel Three Members for Gun Control Protest
Quote – A little over a week after a devastating shooting at a Nashville grade school, the Tennessee House of Representatives, in a historically rare move, took the first steps to expel three Democratic members for participating in a gun control protest. On Monday, Republican lawmakers filed resolutions to remove Reps. Gloria Johnson, Justin Jones, and Justin Pearson, alleging that the three participated in “disorderly behavior.”
Click through for story. This is so typically Republican that I really can’t think of a new way to say it.

Food For Thought

Open Thread April 5, 2023

Posted by Joanne Dixon at 7:03 am Open Thread, Personal, Politics

Apr 052023

Yesterday, the forecast predicted snow after 8:00 pm. Not unexpected in April ( or even in May), but for most of last week snow had been in the prediction for yesterday, and then for a couple of days it wasn’t predicted, and them it came back at the last minute. Also, within 6 days – next Monday – we’re supposed to expect a high of 80°F. Again, not entirely unexpected in April. As a person who grew up on the San Francisco Peninsula, the weather here continues to surprise me. One of the reasons I wanted to live in Colorado was that I wanted to experience four seasons. I just didn’t expect them to be all in the same week.

Last night NBC projected

Janet Protasiewicz as the winner in the Wisconsin Supreme Court race by a margin of 57.5% to 42.5%. Even if there are some votes out, that is a commanding margin. This means we are on track to get Wisconsin back to the sane side of the aisle. You can breathe again.

Cartoon – 05 veto RTL + Passover

Short Takes –

Axios – Trump pleads not guilty to 34 counts in hush-money case
Quote – Former President Trump pleaded not guilty Tuesday to 34 counts of falsifying business records in the first degree in a Manhattan criminal court related to 2016 hush money payments…. The historic indictment of the only president to be impeached twice has unified the Republican Party around him. Nearly every Republican in elected office has defended Trump and decried the indictment as politically motivated — with only a few prominent GOP defectors…. While that message is playing well with GOP voters, a new CNN poll indicates that 60% of Americans approve of the indictment.
Click through for more information. Here it is – the story we’ve all been waiting for – and now we can take a deep breath and start waiting for the next thing – whatever that may be. There are many possibilities.

Mother Jones – This Race Could Decide the Fate of Democracy in Wisconsin—and the 2024 Election
Quote – [I]f Daniel Kelly, a former conservative justice who criticized Hagedorn as “supremely unreliable” and was defeated by a liberal justice in April 2020, had still been on the Wisconsin Supreme Court, Trump’s effort to overturn the election in Wisconsin likely would have succeeded, plunging the state and the nation into a constitutional crisis. Now Kelly is running again for his old job against Janet Protasiewicz, a progressive judge in Milwaukee County[.]
Click through for details. I’ve written about this before. Yesterday was the day. Robert Reich and Mary Trump also weighed in (with similar views.)

Food For Thought

Open Thread April 4, 2023

Posted by Joanne Dixon at 7:09 am Open Thread, Personal, Politics

Apr 042023

Yesterday, I received a small grocery order with nothing missing, no substitutions, and everything put into the correct cart (which I label based on how I’ll need to store tham.) That’s just about unheard of. I do have to say there were a few things I would have ordered, and will eventually need, but didn’t because they were marked out of stock or pickup only. That was a bit frustrating, but not nearly as frustrating as ordering and having them not come.

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Short Takes –

The 19th – What a landmark sweatshop case tells us about Julie Su’s approach to labor
Quote – [J]ustice and remedy for what Jaknang endured would come years later. That happened with the help of a young lawyer who took the lead of a landmark case against the clothing companies that benefited from the workers’ labor. She secured millions in back wages, advocated for a visa that allowed Jaknang and others to remain in the United States and helped her find a fair job. That lawyer, Julie Su, was nominated last month to head the U.S. Labor Department, tasked with enforcing laws involving workers, workplaces and labor unions. Jaknang, 64, described Su as a “kind and hard-working woman” who empowered her to fight for justice at a vulnerable time. This early episode in Su’s career, supporters say, illustrates something important about Su: that the daughter of Chinese immigrants has cultivated a passion for advocating for the nation’s most vulnerable workers, including those who are low-wage, who are immigrants and whose English is limited.
Click through – It matters because Biden has nominated her for Secretary of Labor. Adnd there are people claiming she is hostile to small businesses. Nonsense. She’s hostile to egregious scofflaws. It’s not her fault so many of them own “small” businesses. Someone should do a study on the incidemce of Libertarians among small business owners. I suspect it would raise eyebrows.

Democratic Underground (mia) – TBA*
Click through for a comprehensive (although I do not claim complete) list of school shootings at all educational levels in chronologucal order. My first reaction was, “Someone should set that to music, as Tom Lehrer did with thechemical elements.” But then I thought, no, even that had to be updated eventually, and this… where would one stop?

Food For Thought

Open Thread April 3, 2023

Posted by Joanne Dixon at 7:09 am Open Thread, Personal, Politics

Apr 032023

Yesterday, looking at the coverage, I decided thatright now we know as much about Trump**’s legal issues as we are going to know until he is arraigned, when the indictment will be unsealed. So instead of speculating, I’m going to feature other news today, and probably tomorrow, since I work ahead. So hopefully I won’t mention him again until Wednesday (with the possible exception of in the Video Thread.) So take a deep breath and go into a holding pattern for a while, and I’ll do the same. There is plenty of other news. If you must speculate, or just really want to, I recommend Joyce Vance’s “The Week Ahead” on her Substack. She is knowledgeable and cool-headed, and covers a number of “if”s which are likely to upset some people no matter how they are decided

Cartoon – 03 Cell RTL

(It weighed 2.5# – just over a kilo – and was nicknamed “the brick.” But it worked.)

Short Takes –

SPLC – TRASHING THEIR RIGHTS: ALABAMA TOWN USES ‘DEBTORS’ PRISON’ FOR PEOPLE WHO FALL BEHIND ON GARBAGE BILLS
Quote – Even though the concept of “debtors’ prison” has been declared unconstitutional, the town of Valley was dragged into the spotlight for its practice of arresting people who could not pay their bills. In November, 82-year-old Martha Menefield was arrested for owing $77 for trash pickup. Her story went viral online, and national media outlets carried it through several news cycles because of how preposterous the situation sounded. But Menefield’s case was not unusual. The city of Valley has been arresting its citizens for years over past-due trash bills, adding hundreds if not thousands of dollars to the owed amount in fines and court costs by the poorest of its residents.
Click through for story. Sorry about the shouting headline, though I can’t very well maintain shouting is not appropriate.

DU (LiberalArkie) – Google Co-Founder, Other Billionaires Are Issued Subpoenas in Lawsuit Over JPMorgan’s Ties to Jeffrey Epstein
Quote – The U.S. Virgin Islands issued subpoenas this week to Sergey Brin, Thomas Pritzker, Mortimer Zuckerman and Michael Ovitz to gather information for its civil lawsuit against JPMorgan Chase & Co. over the bank’s relationship with Jeffrey Epstein, according to people familiar with the matter.
Click through for a bit more. The source of the story is the WSJ, but it is paywalled. My respect for the USVI continues to increase. Stacey Plaskett is the House delegate from there. She’s not entitled to a vote on the floor, but she’s so competent she was an impeachment manager over Trump**, and she’s a ranking member on at least one Committee. Statehood for PR, DC, and USVI!

Food For Thought

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