Open Thread for December 3, 2021

 Posted by at 7:19 am  Open Thread, Personal, Politics
Dec 032021
 

Yesterday, I got the groceries put away. I finished all the cartoons for December. I put together and submitted the claim for reimbursement for my thyroid. And I puttered around a little with beads and pendants.

Cartoon –

Short Takes

Crooks and Liars – Wait Til You Hear What Kimmel Called Tucker Carlson This Time
Quote – To scare grandma, they need fresh villains. So they zero in on this tiny, adorable, tired man, who has done nothing but good for this world. Dr. Fauci has probably done more good for the world than all of us in this room combined.”
Click through for what he called Tucker. What impressed me more was his description of Fauci, so that’s what I quoted.

The Revelator – Invasive Species Are Threatening Antarctica’s Fragile Ecosystems
Quote – We mapped the last five years of planes and ships visiting the continent, illuminating for the first time the extent of travel across the hemispheres and the potential source locations for non-native species. We found that, luckily, while some have breached Antarctica, they generally have yet to get a stranglehold, leaving the continent still relatively pristine. But Antarctica is getting busier, with new research stations, rebuilding and more tourism activities planned. Our challenge is to keep it pristine under this growing human activity and climate change threat.
Click through for details and prognosis. The Revelator is a niche publication, ;iterally all about saving the earth for human habitation, which means it’s very much about climate change and reversing its effects.

SILive – Honoring frontline workers and more: See how Jill Biden decorated the White House for Christmas
Quote – This year marks Joe and Jill Biden’s first holiday season in the White House as president and first lady. Jill Biden explained they were inspired by Americans across the country who remind us that “our differences are precious and our similarities infinite.” The year was also defined by the uncommon acts of compassion, bravery and selflessness by many — and the White House celebrates their service and sacrifice, Jill Biden said.
Click through for more. I wanted an article that was positive about it, which eliminated Slate and the New York Times quickly. I think most of us are glad to have a President and First Lady who are human and humane.  BTW, I think the video – in the Video Thread – shows more detail.

Food for Thought –

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Open Thread for December 2, 2021

 Posted by at 6:57 am  Open Thread, Personal, Politics
Dec 022021
 

Yesterday, I started working on cartoons. I need to make 10 for December, and 9 are in the first 17 days. I got some done, but didn’t finish. (I also needed to make a grocery order for tomorrow – which means tomorrow I’ll be putting away. Sigh.)

Cartoon – 02 1202Cartoon.jpg

Short Takes

Democratic Underground (Babylon Sister) – A day in the Life of Sue Republican
Quote – She arrives at her childhood home. Her generation was the third to live in the house financed by Farmers’ Home Administration because bankers didn’t want to make rural loans. The house didn’t have electricity until some big-government liberal stuck his nose where it didn’t belong and demanded rural electrification. She is happy to see her father, who is now retired. Her father lives on Social Security and a union pension because some wine-drinking, cheese-eating liberal made sure he could take care of himself so Sue wouldn’t have to.
Click through for full anecdote. This is not new – it was written some years ago as “Joe Republican” and credited to Michael Moore, but it applies to both sexes.

Crooks and Liars – Trump Is Now Placing Own Election Officials Across Country
Quote – Trump allies are also seeking to replace officials across the nation, including volunteer poll watchers, paid precinct judges, elected county clerks and state attorneys general, according to state and local officials, as well as rally speeches, social media posts and campaign appearances by those seeking the positions.
Click through for a little more, and through again to the Washington Post for still more. My state has laws designed to protect against nefarious behavior by anyone working the election, paid or voluntary (for example, a Republican poll worker cannot even go to the bathroom without a Republican poll worker going along, and vice versa). I’m sure the drafters of those laws were not contemplating perfidy on a scale like this … but they should help. In states which have them. I am seriously concerned about states which don’t have them.

The 19th – Supreme Court indicates it could eliminate a core element of Roe v. Wade
Quote – The court’s justices were also split on what the implications of such a ruling would mean for other major court-protected rights that are not explicitly mentioned in the Constitution, but that are predicated on similar interpretations as Roe v. Wade. Those include the right to LGBTQ+ marriage, for instance, the constitutional protection for sexual intercourse between people of the same sex, or the right to use contraception.
Click through for solid reporting. Keep an eye on Justice Sotomayor. She seems to be the one asking the difficult questions. Although Justice Kagan is also not silent.

Food for Thought –

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Open Thread for November 30, 2021

 Posted by at 7:09 am  Open Thread, Personal, Politics
Nov 302021
 

Yesterday, my vision was back to normal when I got up, thankfully. Oh, and happy Hanukkah to all who observe it. It’s very early this year – I have already missed two days, for which I apologize.

Cartoon –

Short Takes

Daily Kos (Kerry Eleveld) – Republicans are desperate to believe 2020 was ‘stolen’ from Trump. Nothing will dissuade them
Quote – But when it came to Republicans, 62% misstated the results of the sham audit[in Arizona], with 32% saying the so-called audit found evidence of fraud and 30% saying it probably found fraud, when in fact the report located no 2020 fraud. So even when a sham process initiated by GOP lawmakers, promoted by Donald Trump, and conducted by pro-Trump sympathizers finds no fraud, a substantial majority of Republicans reject and distort the findings.
Click thrugh for more numbers – if you need them.

AP News – Jan. 6 panel sets contempt vote for former DOJ official
Quote – The committee on Monday scheduled a vote to pursue contempt charges against Jeffrey Clark, a former Justice Department lawyer who aligned with President Donald Trump as he tried to overturn his election defeat. If approved by the panel, the recommendation of criminal contempt charges would then go to the full House for a vote and then to the Justice Department.
Click through for more. This vote is for Clark, as you see. Meadows’s turn in the barrel will come.

The American media misses the true nature of the GOP threat — but an international outlet nailed it
Quote – While I don’t care about [Candace] Owens, and neither should you, we should care about the use of the right’s rhetoric of slander, of which the word “communist” has long played a part in American history. Liberals and progressives first looked to the government as a force of social reform in the early 20th century. Around that time, the Russian Revolution occurred (1917). Since then, the American right has smeared liberals by associating their policies and objectives with godless communism.
Click through for details. As we know, left and right have nothing to do with authoritarianism, or its opposite Sadly, most people don’t know that. I’m sure that’s part of what stood in the way of seeing this.

Food for Thought –

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Open Thread for November 29, 2021

 Posted by at 6:36 am  Open Thread, Personal, Politics
Nov 292021
 

Yesterday, when I got up, my vision was blurrier than usual. That does happen sometimes, often as an allergic reaction. I am such a delayed reactor that it could possibly be due to road fumes from the day before. It did improve as the day progressed, but not quite back to normal.  Hopefully it’ll get back to normal soon, since it does slow me down.

Cartoon – 29 1129Cartoon.jpg

Short Takes

Mother Jones – Every City Should Encourage This Kind of Solar Development
Quote – Undeveloped land is a rapidly dwindling resource, and what’s left is under pressure to deliver a host of other services we require from the natural world—growing food, sheltering wildlife, storing and purifying water, preventing erosion, and sequestering carbon, among others. And that pressure is rapidly intensifying. By 2050, in one plausible scenario from the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL), supplying solar power for all our electrical needs could require ground-based solar on 0.5 percent of the total land area of the United States.
Click through. I’ll bet we can all think of more than one parking lot which would be dramatically improved by this I know I can!

Daily Kos (Rule of Claw) – UPDATE: Good News-Compiling Expert Threads About “Nu” COVID Variant. I Hope This Quells Some Fears.
Quote – To start with, it appears that while “Nu” is outcompeting Delta, it is doing so in regions where Delta is more dormant and with low vaccination rates. Bloom Lab has a lengthy thread detailing why we should not be panicking. Concerned, evaluating, and being responsible, but we are not to the “send in the HAZMAT suits and lock the town down” stage.
Click through (worth it just for the headline photo). Things change so fast … apparently what they were going to call “nu” is now being called “omicron” (and I’ll spare you the linguistic humor.)

Daily Kos (PvtJarHead) – Iraq War Veteran Tried To Infiltrate III%ers: Was Asked If He Was Willing To Murder Antifa And BLM!
Quote – Immediately following the election I infiltrated an affiliate of the Three Percenters unlawful extremist militia. They straight up asked me if I was willing to murder people from “antifa” and “BLM” during my intake interview. And I recorded all of it.
Click through for more details. You know, I am 76, and I cannot remember a timein my life when I felt afraid of contracting a fatal disease AND afraid of being deliberately murdered just for being who I am. And I still can’t grasp how people of color must have felt all their lives – and how they must feel now much more personally yhan I do. I am very grateful this veteran is still willing to risk everything to save us

Food for Thought –

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Personal Update for November 28, 2021

 Posted by at 6:33 am  Open Thread, Personal, Politics
Nov 282021
 

Hi all.  Yes, it was a good visit.  And Virgil returns all greetings.    He was, as I predicted, delighted to hear about the “Muttcracker” (as well as flabbergasted that Fort Collins has a ballet company!)

Driving out there in the morning was quite peaceful – almost no one in sight at any point.  Coming back, however was something else.  I had to leave visitation at around 2 in order to get to the restroom on the way out  (I am not starting a 2 hour drive without first stoping there, and that is not negotiable. ) After that, picking up my car key and driver’s license at the desk, getting through the locked gates, opening th tailgate, putting away my wheelchair including putting a bungee around it to keep it in one place, grabbing my crutch, putting it in the back, getting into the frone, putting the car key back on the ring, using lip balm (it’s not allowed in there and mine get chapped), getting my ice water and gluten free cookie bar out of the insulated lunchbox, putting a CD in – it was 2:30 by the time I got out of the parking lot.

And going back was not like coming out.  I don’t think I’ve ever seen so much traffic along that entire route.  I do realice 2″30-4:40 pm is prime shopping tme, but it wasn’t like that two weeks ago.  Of course, it also wasn’t Black Friday weekend two weeks ago.  So there’s that.

I got home safely, but kind of znked.

So my advice to you is to read today’s Erinyes and the other tings in the email, if you haven’t already.  And I will get full posts ready for tomorrow

I did already have a TC cartooon picked out for today:

But not an FFT.

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Open Thread for November 27, 2021

 Posted by at 7:39 am  Open Thread, Personal, Politics
Nov 272021
 

Yesterday was Black Friday, and there wasn’t much else going on. I’m sure people got hurt shopping – someone always does – but I had to get this up early, since I am seeing Virgil today. I was looking at the sources I go to when it’s slow, and started with “Law & Crime.” I found there an amazing collection of headlines the like of which you definitely do not see every day … along with the usual sordid ones you do see every day, of course. So I thought I’d do something different and just list the most egregious ones, along with links in case you want details. Don’t laugh too hard and cramp up.

Cartoon –

Short Takes (Headlines) –

Father Charged with Murder After He Allegedly Blamed Family Cat for Baby Girl’s Broken Legs, Ribs, and Bleeding to the Brain
I know cats knock things off of flat surfaces, but this is ridiculous.

79-Year-Old Man Gets Life Sentence for Stabbing Bus Driver Wife to Death After Argument About Shoulder Surgery
Just as well it’s for life as it would appear she was the breadwinner.

Another Man Named Kyle Rittenhouse Arrested on Child Porn Charges in Florida, Admitted to ‘Sending Images of His Penis’ to Young Girls: Police
You cannot make this stuff up.

Judge Calls Hearing to Confirm Precisely Who’s Representing Jacob Chansley in Post-Sentencing Capitol Siege Case
I wonder whether they are fighting to represent him … or fighting not to.

Former Louisiana Cop and K-9 Officer Sentenced to 20 Years for Sexually Abusing His Dog and Possession of Child Porn
SMFH. Well, he can still serve society as the poster child for needing police reform.

N.J. Cop Charged with Killing Pedestrian, Stuffing Body in Car, and Taking the Dead Man Home. Prosecutors Say His Cop Father Turned Him In.
It’s noce that one of them knows who he is supposed to protect and serve.

Food for Thought –

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Open Thread for November 26, 2021

 Posted by at 7:21 am  Open Thread, Personal, Politics
Nov 262021
 

Yesterday was, of course, Thanksgiving Day in the United States. I hope everyone had a wonderful day whether or not you are in the United States. Tomorrow, I will be going to see Virgil. I think I’m ready.

Cartoon –

Short Takes –

The New Yorker – Could One Shot Kill the Flu?
Quote – For decades, scientists have dreamed of what some call a “universal” flu vaccine—one that could target many strains of the virus. A universal vaccine would save countless lives not just this year but every year; as those numbers add up, it would become one of the greatest medical breakthroughs in history. Until recently, it’s been beyond the reach of molecular biology. But new technologies are extending our abilities, and researchers are learning how to see through the flu’s disguises. Without knowing it, we’re living on the cusp of a remarkable scientific achievement. One of the world’s longest pandemics could soon be coming to an end.
Click through for complications. It’s not a certainty – but it is a possibiity -and that is progress. If you re paywalled out, feel free to email me and I’ll send a pdf.

Crooks and Liars – Justice For Ahmaud Arbery: ALL 3 Defendants Found GUILTY
Quote – The jury was not representative of the community, with 11 white and only 1 Black member, which was a concern that even the judge raised. They deliberated for roughly 10 hours and there was concern that this could be a Kyle Rittenhouse or George Zimmerman repeat. But JUSTICE PREVAILED.
Click through for details. I put up a tag Wednesday when this was announced, but I wanted to featureit also. It’s important.

The New Yorker – Peng Shuai and the High Stakes of Business in China
Quote – The post was up for about ten minutes before the state’s well-oiled machinery of censorship kicked into gear and took it down. Comments on Peng’s account were locked. Screenshots of her sixteen-hundred-word post, which were spreading, were scrubbed. Her name disappeared from Internet searches. Emojis and words related to the case did, too. For a while, even the word “tennis” was blocked. Behind the state’s erasure of Peng’s presence on the Chinese Internet was another urgent and troubling question: What would happen to her?
Click through for the story which is not at all simple. I never expected to be looking to “The Sporting Scene” for a short take, but pf coourse, she’s not the first sports woman, and will not be the last, whose life clashes in some way with authoritarian leadership.

Food for Thought –

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Open Thread for November 25, 2021

 Posted by at 7:14 am  Open Thread, Personal, Politics
Nov 252021
 

Today is Thanksgiving. I am so thankful for all of you who come here, read, and comment. I can’t really express that in words. I hope you can get a glimmer of that.

Cartoon –



Short Takes –

The New Yorker (Borowitz) – Fauci Urges Americans to Use COVID as Excuse to Skip Thanksgiving with Horrible Relatives
Quote – Speaking from his office at the National Institutes of Health, Fauci said that the covid-19 excuse could help prevent a seasonal surge in exasperation and seething rage associated with the Thanksgiving holiday. “covid-19 could get you off the hook this year,” Fauci said. “Consider this a doctor’s note from me.”
You can click through, but that pretty much covers it.

Crooks and Liars – FINALLY: Black Family Gets Imperfect, But Historic Justice
Quote – Merritt said of the police department on Friday: “We plan to root out injustice within that system. We plan to identify the specific policies that facilitate one of the deadliest police cultures in the modern world. Kansas City will remember the name Cameron Lamb because he will be known as the beginning of the end of the deadliest police culture in the modern world.”
Click through. Beau addressed this also (In Saturday’s video thread, and here ) I surely do hope they follow through on that police quote.

Daily Kos (Walter Einenkel) – 13-year-old boy uses his Make-A-Wish to feed homeless because Mississippi officials don’t
Quote – According to Olagbegi, his family has always done service for the community. Since he was a young child, the Olagbegis would serve meals to people in need every month. After Olagbegi was diagnosed, the family had to put some of that service on hold. Make-A-Wish Mississippi’s Linda Sermons told WLBT: “We were excited this is our first philanthropic wish in our 20+ years of the chapter in the state—a huge milestone for us, but also this is the first meal that Abraham is able to serve.” Make-A-Wish helped Abraham Olagbeli begin Abraham’s Table.
Click through if you wish. Einenkel is not shy to discuss how serious the need is for more. But I can’t imagine a chld of privilege coming up with this wish myself.

Food for Thought –

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