Open Thread for November 23, 2021

 Posted by at 6:53 am  Open Thread, Personal, Politics
Nov 232021
 

Yesterday, another quiet day.I love quiet days, but it makes it difficult to find much if anything to say about them. I guess that’s all right, though.

Cartoon –

Short Takes –

AP News – Native American confirmed as head of National Park Service
Quote – Sams is Cayuse and Walla Walla and lives on the Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla Indian Reservation in Oregon. There, he gained a reputation for being unflappable. He has worked in state and tribal governments and the nonprofit natural resource and conservation management fields for over 25 years. “He is known for being steady at the helm and taking challenges in stride,” said Bobbie Conner, director of the Tamastslikt Cultural Institute on the 270-square-mile (700-square-kilometer) reservation.
Click through for more details. It took way too lokg to confirm him – but it’s done now.

Daily Kos (Tevye) – Dead Man On The Ground. Bullets Flying. Others Running For Safety. He Ran Straight Towards A Madman.
Quote – As a young man, Anthony struggled with mental health issues and drug dependency. And seven years ago, he quit cold turkey and never relapsed. He went to counseling for a few years, but he regarded two things as his savior…..his skateboarding community and his activism.Any marginalized group in his community, be it those of color, those from the LGBTQ+ community, Jews ( he was Jewish himself ), Muslims, First Nations peoples….. if you were oppressed, you had a friend, advocate and defender in Anthony. He was there for you.
Click through. Hanky alert. I can tell Tevye is angty, but he knows, none better, how to transform that anger into gried, and then into resolution.

Smithsonian – What Kind of Turkey are you?
Quote – More than just a traditional holiday trimming, the turkey is an American icon. Native to our continent, turkeys were domesticated by the ancient Maya, called a respectable “Bird of Courage” by Benjamin Franklin, and have been officially pardoned by Presidents since 1989. The Smithsonian has over 155 million objects in its collections—including a fair number of turkeys. This Thanksgiving, find your inner Smithsonian turkey by taking our short quiz!
Click through to take the quiz. I took it ans was told I am “The Dignified Turkey.” That may be the first time anyone every called me dignified – and it may also be the last!

Food for Thought –

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Open Thread for November 22, 2021

 Posted by at 6:57 am  Open Thread, Personal, Politics
Nov 222021
 

Yesterday, I realized it was a slownews weekend. Of course, thet oesn’t mean nothing pappened – far from it – but it does explain whi I am including a poem (a very worthwhile one, I might add) as a story.

Cartoon – 22 NatIslam uploaded

Short Takes –

The New Yorker (Sasha Debevec-McKenney) – Kaepernick

The New Yorker is famous for its cartoons and its investigative reporting. It’s also known for the fiction it publishes – but not so much for poetry. Maybe it ought to be. This one is short, only 3 lines longer than a sonnet, but gets in more than you would think possible.

Law & Crime (referral) – When in Rome? American Tourists Fined After Breaking Into the Colosseum Just to Have a Drink
Quote – “During the early hours of Monday morning some people noticed two young men drinking beer in the Colosseum, facing outwards on the second level,” Rome’s carabinieri police force said, according to CNN. “They alerted a police car nearby, which then stopped the two young men on Via dei Fori Imperiali.”
Click through for a little more. Just in case you needed reminding how absurdly stupid and stupidly absurd privilege is.

The Guardian – Fauci warns time running short to prevent ‘dangerous’ Covid surge in US
Quote – Coronavirus cases across the US are rising again for the first time in weeks, and approaching 100,000 per day. Experts fear that this week’s Thanksgiving holiday, for which tens of millions of Americans will travel for indoor celebrations with family and friends, will fuel a further surge…. “We still have about 60 million people in this country who are eligible to be vaccinated who have not been, and that results in the dynamic of virus in the community that not only is dangerous and makes people who are unvaccinated vulnerable, but it also spills over into the vaccinated people,” Fauci said on CNN’s State of the Union on Sunday.
Ckick through for full reasoning (as if reasoning ever got through to MAGAts.) I’ve got a goodly amount of toilet issue now, but I might just add another package or two to my next grocery order anyway.

Food for Thought –

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Open Thread for November 21, 2021

 Posted by at 7:24 am  Open Thread, Personal, Politics
Nov 212021
 

Yesterday, the radio opera was “Luisa Miller” by Verdi.  If you know a little about opera but have never heard of it, there’s a reason for that – the plot is even more depressing than most opera plots.  The only bright spot is that the protagonist (I really can’t call him a “hero”) manages to muster up enough strength just before he dies to kill the villain.  It does have many beautiful melodies, and I would definitely rather hear it than see it, so there’s that.

Cartoon – 21 Piltdown uploaded

Short Takes –

Crooks and Liars – Meet Acting President Kamala Harris
Quote – Going under anesthesia for a routine checkup and colonoscopy (cancer screenings save lives, folks) Joe Biden handed over the reins of the US Presidency to Vice President Kamala Harris. She’s Acting President Kamala Harris for a few hours today, and she’s the first woman in history to have that honor. An “honor,” by the way, that Mango Mussolini was too chicken sh*t to bestow on Mike Pence.
Click through for some witty tweets. ICYMI, this happened Friday.  And Joe came through the physical just fine.

Democratic Underground (gab13by13) Most ransacked office on 1/6.
Quote – The most ransacked office the day of the failed coup was the Parlementarian’s [sic] office where the Electoral college ballots would have been stored.
Click through for possible reasoning. It’s short. Only a footnote. But, as Agatha Christie used to have Poirot say, “It gives one furiously to think.”

Daily Kos (Joan McCarter) – Biden boots Bloom from Postal Service board, DeJoy’s days as Postmaster are numbered
Quote – “The USPS serves hundreds of millions of Americans across the nation every day,” the White House wrote in the statement announcing the nominations. “President Biden is committed to supporting USPS workers so that they can continue delivering for their fellow Americans, particularly those in rural communities, veterans, and older Americans who rely so heavily on the Postal Service. President Biden is also committed to strengthening and modernizing this critical public institution and its services to ensure it continues serving the American people for decades to come.”
Click through for a story we have all been waiting for what seems like forever. Bloom won’t actually be out until December 8 – but it’s now carved in stone that he will be out.

Food for Thought –

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Open Thread for November 20, 2021

 Posted by at 7:17 am  Open Thread, Personal, Politics
Nov 202021
 

Yesterday (techncally, although it seems like the day before), I went out a bit after midnight to look at th eclipse I wasn’t expecting much bcause the forecast had been for 86% cloud cover. However, I was able to get a pretty good view, straight overhead. Impressive. I stayed until it looked like the thumbnali (close to that color too – maybe a wee bit more orange) and then went in as the temperature was close to single digits. And then went to bed and to sleep.  And eventually woke up.  And came here and posted.  And I reached out to the campaign for the NYT gift link, but had already writtrn my remarks, and I didn’t re-do everything.  Hope it isn’t too confusing.

Cartoon –

Short Takes –

Daily Kos (Walter Einenkel) – FBI raids homes of Colorado election clerk and former Boebert campaign manager
Quote – On the morning of Nov. 16, the FBI conducted federally-authorized law enforcement actions into potential criminal activity by employees of the Mesa County Clerk and Recorder’s Office and others associated with those employees. The activity occurred in both Mesa and Garfield Counties at four separate locations. Investigators with the 21st Judicial District Attorney’s Office (Mesa County, Colo.) and the Colorado Attorney General’s Office assisted in the operations. No arrests were made, and the operations are related to ongoing investigations. Per order of a federal court, all documents related to these operations are sealed.
Click through for what details are not sealed. I can’t tell you how happy this makes me.

Mother Jones – Disinformation Isn’t Just a Tech Problem. It’s a Social One, Too.
Quote – The rise of disinformation is the product of long-standing social problems, including income inequality, racism, and corruption, which can be easily exploited to spread false information online. “Saying that the disinformation is the problem—rather than a way in which the underlying problem shows itself—misses the point entirely,” the report quotes Mike Masnick, founder of Techdirt, as saying.
Click through for story – I suppose it’s arguable which comes forst, like the chicken and the egg, but wi need to be fighint on every front, and even then, we will not be able to eliminate the monstr. We may be able to make it controllable.

New York Times – San Francisco’s Top Prosecutor Will Face a Recall Election
Quote (from his email, because I was paywalled out of NYT) – San Francisco voters elected me because of the promises I made: I promised to end cash bail. We’ve done it. I promised to reduce youth incarceration. It’s down by 50%. I promised to release innocent people from prison. We launched an independent commission to ensure no innocent person is languishing behind bars. I promised to hold police accountable. We filed homicide charges against the officer who shot and killed Keita O’Neill — the first time in our city’s history that homicide charges were brought against an on-duty police officer.
Click through for the NYT story with a gift link – which means you are not paywalled out even if you are not a subscriber. And spread the word. Turnout is even more critical in recalls than any other election! And don’t cut the link – all that stuff is needed to pass the paywall.

Food for Thought –

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Open Thread for November 19, 2021

 Posted by at 7:07 am  Open Thread, Personal, Politics
Nov 192021
 

Yesterday, I woke up a few minutes early and just stayed up. Heaven knows ehwn I’ll be up today, though – the eclipse was last night. Since eclipses go by real time rather than by clocks, I couldn’t be exact about exactly when it would start, but I was guessing somewhere between 10 and 15 minutes after midnight. I’ll let you know after the fact.

Cartoon –

Short Takes –

HuffPost – Paul Gosar Censured For Violent Anime Video Targeting Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez
Quote – The vote passed mostly along party lines, with only two Republicans — Reps. Liz Cheney (Wyo.) and Adam Kinzinger (Ill.), who is retiring — seeing it necessary to condemn Gosar for sharing a video that depicted him slicing the throat of one of their Democratic colleagues.
Click through for more. Yes, he was stripped of all his committee assignments, thank God. And forced to stand alone in fromt of the House to hear the censure read aloud. However, he was unapologetic. He has learned nothing.

politicsrus – What Has Joe Biden Done For Us? (four episodes)
I did use Episode #1 on the video thread, but now that there are four episodes, I have decided to post the links here, together, rather than separating them out. The last three in particular are excellent messaging of what is in the Infrastructure bill (now law) I hope they will continue coming out.
Episode 1 – Accomplishments
Episode 2 – Water
Episode 3 – Broadband
Episode 4 – For Children

Daily Kos (Rule of Claw) – The Math Didn’t Add Up: The Reason President Biden Asked The FTC To Investigate Gas Gouging!
Quote – So the formula is price of crude divided by 42, divided by 2 times 3. Going by that gas pricing should be about $2.78 per gallon. Of course this is not a perfect assessment as there are from time to time other market factors to consider. But not apparently, this time. And I for one do not believe the President would make this move capriciously. This is the sort of thing that you do when you already know the answer and just want the suspect to implicate themselves.
Click through for ancillary details. There is no low the GOP will not stoop to. The only surprise here is that they never tried it before.

Food for Thought –

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Open Thread for November 18, 2021

 Posted by at 7:18 am  Open Thread, Personal, Politics
Nov 182021
 

Yesterday, I overslept, having stayed up too late the day before, trying to get too much done. This week, I can handle that. I’m glad it wasn’t last week or next week. The weather was drk and cold, although without precipitation, which probably also contributed.

Cartoon – 18 1118Cartoon.jpg

Short Takes –

Mother Jones – I’m Moving to Portugal, See You Never
Quote – [I]n a lot of ways telecommuting chained workers to their offices even more by making sure that their work was always present, in their computers and in their cellphones. Something needs to get done late? It’s not waiting until you get back into the office. Your boss is going to email/Slack/text you tonight to do it…. Portugal is done with all of that.
Click through for story. It’s short, but loaded. Why can’t we have nice things?

Wonkette – Six Colorado High School Students Take Bullets For Gun Freedom
Quote – Monday afternoon, six teenagers were hanging out at Nome Park in Aurora, Colorado, across the street from their high school. For no reason anyone can yet determine, the teens were shot by gun-toting cowards who drove away after the sneak attack. The students, aged 14 to 18, were hospitalized with what the police describe as non-life-threatening injuries. However, one student required emergency surgery.
Click through for details, video, and summary of gun laws. Sadly, we have our share – matbe more – of crazies hereI can only speculate they are most active in Aurora and Boulder on the mistaken assumption there are no liberals in colorado Springs.

Reason – Cops Thought Sand From Her Stress Ball Was Cocaine. She Spent Nearly 6 Months in Jail.
Quote – The U.S. Court of Appeals for the 11th Circuit ruled last week that two Atlanta police officers are not entitled to qualified immunity from a civil lawsuit brought against them by Ju’zema Goldring for malicious prosecution. Goldring says the officers falsely accused her of jaywalking and cocaine trafficking, based on a field test of a powdery substance inside a stress ball she had in her purse.
Click through for mixed information. At least ahe’s alive.

Food for Thought –

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Open Thread for November 17, 2021

 Posted by at 6:46 am  Open Thread, Personal, Politics
Nov 172021
 

Yesterday, again quiet. I got a few things done (never as much as I’d like to, of course.) I hope you can stand a day of good news … goodness knows there’s enough bad news out there.

Cartoon –

Short Takes –

Democratic Underground – I think I Spotted Antifa
Quote – Wearing a military beret and a Polish wartime resistance armband, 94-year-old Wanda Traczyk-Stawska stunned the crowd at a pro-EU rally when she thundered “Be quiet, stupid boy! You lousy bastard” at a member of a far-right group attempting to disrupt the gathering over a loudspeaker.
Click through for more and a great picture. I couldn’t possibly honor every hero here – if I tried I wouldn’t be able to do anything else – but she is special.

Daily Kos (Gabe Ortiz) – ‘Dad, welcome back’: Advocate for deported veterans wins his own fight to return to the U.S.
Quote – “Thanks to a law passed in recent years that allows immigrants to challenge old convictions if they weren’t warned about potential immigration consequences before accepting plea deals, he was finally able to get the conviction undone,” The Union-Tribune reported.
Click through for full story. I needed a hanky and Pat probably will too. Others might also.

Furtive ferret: one of North America’s rarest mammals turns up in Colorado garage
Quote – “This is extremely rare,” Schmal said. “Black-footed ferrets are nocturnal and extremely shy. For some reason, this one left the colony and was seeking shelter. “We’re just glad it appeared healthy, not starving or sick, and we were able to capture it and return it to the colony.”
Click through for story. Walker Ranch is in Boulder County, so I’m guessing Nettles lives in or near Boulder. I don’t blame him for not wanting the exact afddress out.

Food for Thought –

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Open Thread for November 16, 2021

 Posted by at 6:40 am  Open Thread, Personal, Politics
Nov 162021
 

Yesterday was another pretty quiet day. I’ll take all of those that I can get. Incidentally, as it is now a new week, maybe Nameless can get a tech out to look at his computer. I surely hope so. But it’s also the first workday after a holiday week, so it might not be today.

Cartoon –

Short Takes –

Crooks and Liars – The New Face Of The GOP?
Quote – So try to imagine what will happen if Rittenhouse is acquitted. Trump will issue a statement somehow taking credit for it. Fox News will fly Rittenhouse to New York for triumphant interviews. Social media will erupt with joy, as millions of conservatives cry “Suck it, libs!” He’ll appear on T-shirts and bumper stickers; maybe he’ll speak at the next Conservative Political Action Conference. And don’t be surprised if Trumpist candidates start seeking Rittenhouse’s endorsement and asking him to appear on the campaign trail with them.
Click through for more, including (paywalled) link to Washington Post. The only light I can see at the end of this tunnel is that George Zimmerman eventually got into enough non-political trouble to get dropped like a hot potato, and it’s probably safe to expect that to happen to Rittenhouse also (and maybe even his mother, God willing).

AP News – Workers at federal prisons are committing some of the crimes
Quote – More than 100 federal prison workers have been arrested, convicted or sentenced for crimes since the start of 2019, including a warden indicted for sexual abuse, an associate warden charged with murder, guards taking cash to smuggle drugs and weapons, and supervisors stealing property such as tires and tractors.
Click through for details. I’d file this under “No shit, Sherlock.” No prison is any better than its warden … and in 2019, the warden was Bill Barr (and before him, Jeff Sessions.) Not that that is an excuse, of course.

The 19th – The word missing from the vast majority of anti-trans legislation? Transgender
Quote – More anti-trans bills were introduced in state legislatures in 2021 than in any previous year on record. The 19th reviewed the text of 102 bills in seven states that were primarily designed to restrict access to sports or gender-affirming care for trans youth, like hormones and puberty blockers, and only seven bills mentioned the word “transgender.” Only eight passed, primarily those focused on sports, although legal battles in several states have barred most from going into effect.
Click through for story. Granted there are (probably) fewer transgendered people than just about any other minority group, there are certainly enough to account for a large (and disproportionate) number of suicide and murder victims. And no one is free until and unless we are all free.

Food for Thought –


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