Open Thread August 17, 2022

 Posted by at 7:19 am  Open Thread, Personal, Politics
Aug 172022
 

Yesterday was pretty quiet. And restful. My biggest physical achievement was taking a bag ou to the trash (from the porch) and a bag out to the recyclables (from the house.) I don’t expect to be putting either bin out this week – possibly recyclables next week if I get very ambitious, but I have a lot else going on, so maybe not. Also it was cooler, on account of rain. Lots of floods – mostly fladh floods – all over Colorado. My house has 99 problems, but flash flooding isn’t one of them. I’m on top of enough of a hill thatit’s beyond unlikely a flash flood would flood here. I tried to rest wnough to have more energy today – but we’ll see. Did everyone catch Al Franken as guest host of Jimmy Kimmel Live last night? If not, there should at least be some cuts up here. Katie Porter was a guest. How can you top that?
https://www.youtube.com/jkl/videos

Cartoon – 17 Hendrix loaded

Short Takes –

Mother Jones (MoJo Wire) – We Didn’t Deserve Freya the Walrus
Quote – But as Freya’s legend grew, more and more folks wanted to see her up close. As the New York Times points out, the Oslo Fjord is full of water-going recreationists in the summer, and people started swimming with Freya, taking her picture, and even throwing things at her—so much that she had begun chasing off paddle boarders and kayakers. The Norwegian Directorate of Fisheries warned the public to stay away from Freya, for their safety and hers. Last week, officials said they were weighing several options, including relocating Freya, but warned she might have to be killed if people wouldn’t listen.
Click through for sad story. Some of us, I think, did deserve her – but those who did not were, and are, out of control.

AP News – Some Capitol rioters try to profit from their Jan. 6 crimes
Quote – Facing prison time and dire personal consequences for storming the U.S. Capitol, some Jan. 6 defendants are trying to profit from their participation in the deadly riot, using it as a platform to drum up cash, promote business endeavors and boost social media profiles…. The Justice Department, in some instances, is trying to claw back money that rioters have made off the insurrection…. Many rioters have paid a steep personal price for their actions on Jan. 6. At sentencing, rioters often ask for leniency on the grounds that they already have experienced severe consequences for their crimes.
Click through for many examples – but they all sound like the apocryphal dude who murdered both his parents, then begged the court for mercy because he was an orphan.

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Open Thread August 16, 2022

 Posted by at 6:58 am  Open Thread, Personal, Politics
Aug 162022
 

Yesterday, I felt much better than I did Sunday – so much beter that I was able to move tuff on the porch around a little more, and sweep off somw of the dust and dried leaves.

Cartoon –

Short Takes –

The Conversation – War in Ukraine highlights the growing strategic importance of private satellite companies – especially in times of conflict
Quote – My research focuses on international cooperation in satellite Earth observations, including the role of the private sector. While experts have long known that satellite imagery is useful during a conflict, the war in Ukraine has shown that commercial satellite data can make a decisive difference – informing both military planning as well as the public view of a war. Based on the strategic value commercial satellite imagery has held during this war, I believe it is likely that more nations will be investing in private satellite companies.
Click through for more information. This does change things.

The Daily Beast – Why Putin’s Private Army Is Snatching Kids From Their Moms
Quite – Four witnesses told The Daily Beast that large numbers of children had been seen in gold and diamond mines controlled by the Wagner Group since a spate of massacres killed scores if not hundreds of artisan mine workers—and forced many more to flee—in the Central African Republic (CAR). “I counted up to 20 children in a gold mine controlled by Russian fighters near Bambari [in the central part of the country],” Sylvestre, a 27-year-old artisanal miner based in Bambari, told The Daily Beast. “One of those I saw is someone here in Bambari whose mother had said he had been kidnapped by Russian soldiers.”
Click through for full story. Who does Russia think it is? Alabama?

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Open Thread August 15, 2022

 Posted by at 7:04 am  Open Thread, Personal, Politics
Aug 152022
 

Yesterday, I finally got to see Virgil. He had a new haircut and is looking good. I unfortunately had to leave early, but I didn’t feel terribly bad about that because this facility has a 7 and a half hour visiting day, and the longest anywhere else is six hours – the last one had only a 3 hour partial day, and I stayed long enough to exceed that. The reason for my leaving was a pain which I have always called a stitch in the side, but in looking ut up, I see that a side stitch is abdominal, and mine is not that – it is definitely above my waist. It is connected to the diaphragm somehow, because a deep breath temporarily worsens it. But it’s not exercise related – unless moving a couple of small tables is considered exercise – I certainly wouldn’t consider it so. It requires noticeable effort for me because of my miscellaneous mobility issues, but exercise? No. Whatever it is, it responded to ice and compression. A couple of other aches were also acting up, though not as badly, so after sending the weekly email I took a break.

Cartoon –

Short Takes –

The Conversation – Faced with a rise of extremism within its ranks, the US military has clamped down on racist speech, including retweets and likes
Quote – A blue ribbon committee called the Countering Extremist Activity Working Group was quickly commissioned in April 2021 to evaluate the extent of the problem. The group found about 100 substantiated cases of extremism in the U.S. armed forces in 2021. The latest instance occurred in July 2022, when Francis Harker, a National Guard member with white supremacist connections, was sentenced to four years in prison for planning an anti-government attack on police. Harker, who carried a picture saying “there is no God but Hitler,” was planning to attack police officers in Virginia Beach, Virginia, with Molotov cocktails and semi-automatic rifles.
Click through for story. It has always been necessary for anyone serving in the military -an anyone employed by the Government in any way – to limit heir use of free speech. Back in the day, however, the concern was that someone might mistake personal views for government policy. Now the concern is that worng use of free speech could get spmeone killed – or the government overthrown. Of course the military must clamp down. Hate speech IMO is not part of appropriate free speech.

Demoocratic Underground (Our 5 Eyes Program Has Been Compromised.)
Quote – Some of the documents retrieved [from Mar-a-Lago] were revealed to be SIGINT intelligence which is what 5 eyes falls under. Donald Trump is a threat to our national security and needs to be indicted sooner rather than later. The International press is shocked at this scandal unlike some of the press in the US.
CLick through for the short article, and/”or here for the background on FYEV

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Open Thread August 14, 2022

 Posted by at 6:45 am  Open Thread, Personal, Politics
Aug 142022
 

Yesterday, the radio opera was “Almira” by Georg Friedrich Händel. It was his first, and he was so young when he wrote it that the libretto was in German (which is why I used the German spelling of his name – He was in fact 19), with recitatives in Italian (because he was at the time in Italy, studying Italian opera). The Early Music Society of Boston presented it in Bremen. It was 4 hours 30 munites long (in 1705 they didn’t have many other forms of entertainment to choose from or take up their time.) It’s about three couples, where the men are in love with the wrong women, and it’s complicated by Almira’s father’s dying wish, but everything gets sorted out at the end, through a twist much like Figaro’s birthmark. The music seems quite mature. The human brain may not fully develop until about the age of 25, but it appears that talent and creativity develop faster than logic and reason. If that’s an excuse for poor choices made by our ancestors, particularly in the areas of politics and gocernment, it should be no excuse for us. We live longer, and know better. But I digress. In 1712 Handel arrived in London, preceding George I by two years, where he remained the rest of his life, becoming a naturalized British citizen as George Frederick Handel. King George I latched on to him (as had Queen Anne) – though he had 6 opera coompanies, he also did a lot of work for the throne. There was a popular little verse abou him (similar to being a subjet of a meme today): “Some say compared to Bononcini that Mynheer Handel’s but a ninny. Other aver that he to Handel is scarcely fit to hold a candle. Strange that such difference should be twixt Tweedledum and Tweedledee.” As you see, it had a more lasting impact on the languange than most such verses Also (burying the lede), I got an email response confirming my visit to Virgil who is now in Pueblo (much closer).  So I’ll be late commenting.

Cartoon –

Short Takes –

Robert Reich – The Worst Memo in American History
Quote – We almost take for granted big corporate money in American politics. But it started with the Powell memo. In 1971, the U.S. Chamber of Commerce asked Lewis Powell, then an attorney in Richmond, Virginia (and future Supreme Court justice) to report on the political activities of the Left. Richard Nixon was still president, but the Chamber (along with some prominent Republicans like Powell) worried about the Left’s effects on “free enterprise.” … Powell urged businesses to mobilize for political combat.
Click through for what and why. The United States Chamber of Commerce is not your friend. This was the start of the path to Citizens United.

The New Yorker – State Legislatures Are Torching Democracy
Quote – Longtime Ohio politicians have been shocked by the state’s transformation into a center of extremist legislation, not just on abortion but on such divisive issues as guns and transgender rights. Ted Strickland, a Democrat who served as governor between 2007 and 2011, told me, “The legislature is as barbaric, primitive, and Neanderthal as any in the country. It’s really troubling.” When he was governor, he recalled, the two parties worked reasonably well together, but politics in Ohio “has changed.”
Click through for full reporting. Jane Mayer is very good at this, and in fact Steve Schmidt recommended this article. The trend may not surprise you, but how far it has come and how fast may.

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Open Thread August 13, 2022

 Posted by at 6:47 am  Open Thread, Personal, Politics
Aug 132022
 

Yesterday, I was hoping for a sort of calm day – but no such luck. I found out Virgil has been moved again, and did not reach anyone to confirm whether I may visit Sunday  (I sent an email, and receuived an automated out-of-office message after 5 pm.) So I’ll need to follow up on that today. We shall see. I worked off some of the frustration by rearranging a couple of small tables,which doesn’t sound like a lot of exertion – but was for me.  (one was heavier than it looks.)

Cartoon – (Yes, there’s an offensive term here – but TC’s point was tha Republicans ARE offensive.

Short Takes –

Mother Jones – An Obscure Law Is Sending Oklahoma Mothers to Prison in Droves. We Reviewed 1.5 Million Cases to Learn More.
Quote – In Oklahoma, failure to protect is the only child abuse charge levied predominantly against women, and it is disproportionately charged against women of color. People charged with the crime there are less likely to have a previous felony record than defendants in firsthand child abuse cases—a sign of just how much more dangerous abusers are than those accused of failing to stand in the way of their abuse. Since 2009, when the latest version of the state’s law went into effect, at least 139 women have been imprisoned solely for failure-to-protect charges. At least 55 are still incarcerated.
Click through for details. Actual failure to protect arguably should be punishable. But the way this law is administered appears to me to be proof that, like abortion bans, the law is not about protection of chilren but rather is a tool to control women.

Crooks and Liars – Bannon Goes There: ‘Deep State May Try To Assassinate Trump’
Quote – Steve Bannon … joined the odious Sandy Hook denier Alex Jones’ BannedVideo podcast to “announce” that the deep state may want to try to assassinate Trump. “I do not think it’s beyond this administrative state and their Deep State apparatus to actually try to work on the assassination of President Trump. I think everything’s on the table. I think his security ought to be at the highest it’s ever been,” Bannon said
Click through for story. My instant reaction is “He’s become a liability, so they are going to assassinate him to start a Civil War.” And I didn’t have to go far down the comments before finding another person with a similar thought. So I actally agree with Steve on the security.

Bonus – Mother Jones has the actual warrant here 

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Open Thread August 12, 2022

 Posted by at 6:47 am  Open Thread, Personal, Politics
Aug 122022
 

Yesterday, I was, I’m sure, as stunned as everyone else ny Merrick Garland’s press conference. It is in today’s video Thread, which will go up about noon Pacific Time. don’t be put off by the 34 minute time – I set it to start when he comes in, which is about 30:30, so it’s actually very short. I also managed to grab Beau’s response to him, which I think is a trifle longer, but still short.  Then I went out and got new tires, which took almost 3 hours door to door, but it had to be done, and now it is.

Cartoon –

Short Takes –

NPR – A grand jury declined to indict a woman whose accusations set off Emmett Till killing
Quote – The decision comes despite recent revelations about an unserved arrest warrant and the 87-year-old Donham’s unpublished memoir. The Rev. Wheeler Parker, Jr., Emmett Till’s cousin and the last living witness to Till’s Aug. 28, 1955, abduction, said Tuesday’s announcement is “unfortunate, but predictable.”
Click through for details. “Insufficient evidence.” At least they didn’t try to assert a non-existent Statue of Limitatons.

The Conversation – Why searching an ex-president’s estate is not easily done – 4 important things to know about the FBI’s search of Mar-a-Lago
Quote – 1. There are legal hurdles to getting a search warrant. The U.S. Constitution requires that all search warrants “particularly describe the place to be searched and the … things to be seized.”… This requirement can be traced in part to a famous British case from the 1760s when agents of King George III searched the house of John Wilkes, an opposition member of Parliament, for incriminating papers. The warrant they used was condemned by the courts as a “general warrant” because it did not specifically name Wilkes, his house or the seized papers.
Click through for the other three. Garland did in fact personally sign off on this warrant. He has said so.

Bonus – It’s gotten so bad that even the wildlife is trying to move to Canada.

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Open Thread August 11, 2022

 Posted by at 6:47 am  Open Thread, Personal, Politics
Aug 112022
 

Yesterday, I realized that I had spent so much time Tuesday arranging for my ride to the garage, and organizing trash ans recyclables to get them in the bins (since Wednesday evening is when the bins have to go out for trash day) that I hadn’t updated the Open Thread before going to bed.Well, sorry-not sorry; very glad the bins got done. So that was Tuesday, Yesterday, I took the last loads to the bins and put them out before my ride was due at 4:00. (The driveway has plenty of room for the bins and even a large car to get past them.) We got the car picked up, but I had to (figuratively) swear on my parents’ grave that I would replace all the tires ASAP. So that will be today.

Cartoon –

Short Takes –

Crooks and Liars – Republicans Refuse To Talk To Any Mainstream Media
Quote – NPR is finally recognizing that the extremist MAGA cult candidates are refusing to engage with any form of media that asks real questions. Danielle Kurtzleben wrote about difficulties speaking with Republicans on the campaign trail. “[T]hey are also a part of a trend of Republican candidates ignoring or actively avoiding legacy media — particularly national outlets…. That can reduce the scrutiny they face while running for public office, hampering voters’ ability to make informed choices.”
Click through (it’s short). I want to say we must not allow this to become normal… but I fear that ship has sailed.

Psyche – Popper was right about the link between certainty and extremism
Quote – We tested both of these possibilities with our data. The fact that both the ‘extremely Left-wing’ and ‘extremely Right-wing’ expressed absolute certainty about their political views at similar rates supports a link between extreme ideology in general and a black-and-white view of the world. But some of what we found was consistent with the rigidity-of-the-Right hypothesis. For one, when we assessed a characteristic known as dogmatism via a 20-item measure of unjustified belief certainty regarding ‘big’ or ‘important’ issues (eg, ‘I am so sure I am right about the important things in life, there is no evidence that could convince me otherwise’), we found that people identifying as ‘extremely Right-wing’ were far and away the most dogmatic group in the study.
Click through for research and conslusions. Karl Popper is best known for his thoughts on freedom of speech. But his thoughts on certainty may be even more pertinent.

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Open Thread August 10, 2022

 Posted by at 7:20 am  Open Thread, Personal, Politics
Aug 102022
 

Yesterday, I got notified that the car is ready.

Cartoon – 10 0810Cartoon.jpg

Short Takes –

Robert Reich – [Mon]day’s “assault” on Trump
Quote- To set the record straight. Trump is no longer president of the United States. He’s a normal citizen. He may believe he’s still president because he never conceded the 2020 election, but he lost that election. As a result, he is subject to the same search-and-seizure provisions, under court supervision, as is anyone else. Trump may be correct that no former president has ever before been subject to an FBI search, but, then again, nothing like Trump has ever before happened to the United States. No former president has ever attempted a coup to remain in office.
Click through for article. Yes, two-day-old news, but Robert’s take on it will be timeless.

Crooks & Liars – Giuliani Says He Can’t Fly To Testify, So Prosecutors Offer Him A Bus Ticket
Quote – Fulton County Deputy District Attorney Will Wooten offered to buy Rudy a bus or train ticket so that Trump’s former personal attorney could show up to testify before a Georgia special grand jury investigating 2020 election interference.
Click through for details. I do like this Will Wooten. As for Rudy’s motion, the judge is looking at it.

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