Open Thread for August 19, 2021

 Posted by at 6:54 am  Open Thread, Personal, Politics
Aug 192021
 

Yesterday, I got confirmation that I can see Virgil Sunday. That doesn’t give me a whle lot of notice, but I wanted to be as quick as I can, because, what with the Delta, I believe the US is looking at another lockdown, and I’d like to visit as much as I can before that happens. Because the new visitation procedures afford some social distancing, not every weekend is available for every inmate. The scheduler gave me enough possible dates to construct the schedule, bless her. So I can sort of plan.  I idled the car for  about  a quarter hour (not sure it needed it, but that’s OK) and started setting up an extra week of meds  so visits will be on the off weekends and I won’t have to do everything at once.

Cartoon – (Yeah, I know – actual elephants don’t deserve that.  But the GQP does.)

Short Takes –

The Hill – Trump’s deal with the Taliban set the stage for the Afghan collapse
Quote – History will mark Aug. 15, 2021, as the date that the Afghan government collapsed and the Taliban retook control over this troubled and war-torn country. But the real date that the Taliban’s victory was assured is Feb. 29, 2020, the day the Trump administration signed what it characterized as a “peace” deal with the Taliban. Once this agreement was signed — the tragic collapse we witnessed this weekend was inevitable. Of course, the agreement was not, and could not possibly have been, a “peace” deal since one of the parties currently at war — the Afghan government — was not a signatory. Rather, this was a “withdrawal” agreement between the U.S. and the Taliban that set the terms for the complete departure of American troops from Afghanistan by May 2021.
Click through for the story. Of course the facts that Bush and Trump** are traitors and that Obama was hamstrung by Republicans for eight years does not automatically mean that Biden is handling this as well as anyone possibly could. But I tend to believe he is.

HuffPost – A Powerful New Deepfake Tool Has Digitally Undressed Thousands Of Women
Quote – (HuffPost is not naming the site in order to avoid directing further traffic to it.) It went offline briefly Monday after HuffPost reached out to its original web host provider, IP Volume Inc., which quickly terminated its hosting services. But the site was back up less than a day later with a new host — as is often the case with abusive websites. Launched in 2020, the site boasts that it developed its own “state of the art” deep-learning image translation algorithms to “nudify” female bodies, and that the technology is so powerful there is not a woman in the world, regardless of race or nationality, who is safe from being “nudified.” But it doesn’t work on men. When fed a photo of a cisgender man’s clothed body, the site gave him breasts and a vulva.
Click through for details. This is just what we didn’t need. Of course, given the fact that vulvae and even nipples are as different as fingerprints, theooretically, it might be possible to prove in a lawsuit that this software was used. Except who wants her vulva photographed for comparison? Would testimony from a wona’s OBG be acceptable in lieu of photos? Jurors don’t actually look at fingerprints in the court, do they?

Democratic Underground – CNN and MSNBC are no better this morning. From a Marine who served in Afghanistan
Quote – Man, I picked a good day to mostly stay off this site today. The number of bad takes by people who couldn’t find Afghanistan on a map were coming fast and thick, and simultaneously ignoring the actual experts, ie those of us who survived by understanding Afghanistan is NOT the west.
Click through for the full Twitter thread, laid out for readability (the quote is just the first tweet.) It’s well thought out ans clearly explained. Who says Marines are dumb?

Food for Thought –

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Open Thread for August 18, 2021

 Posted by at 6:49 am  Open Thread, Personal, Politics
Aug 182021
 

Yesterday, having made so many typos and other errors on Monday, I tried to pull myself together. Hopefully I can be a bit more accurace today. Mitch’s issue is not yet solved, but a lot of ideas have come up that he can try, and I also sent him some links to videos to tide him over.

Cartoon –

Short Takes –

The Hill – School districts impose mask mandates, defying GOP governors
Quote – “We believe that we have a constitutional obligation to protect the lives of our students and staff,” Rosalind Osgood, chair of the Broward County, Fla., School Board, said on CBS’s Face the Nation. “We’ve received, you know, threats from our governor. And it’s been really, really dramatic and horrible to be put in this position.”
Click through for more. It’s going both ways I’m really, really glad I’m in a position to just stay home – I only wish everyone were.

Mother Jones – This Former Pastor Is Changing Evangelicals’ Minds on COVID Vaccines
Quote – Chang’s group produces a series of videos that dispel some of the myths that circulate widely among evangelicals—some believe that the vaccine is a form of government control or that it contains fetal tissue and is therefore pro-abortion. The group works with organizations including the National Association of Evangelicals and the Ad Council to distribute the videos both to churches and through social networks. Chang’s technique seems to be working{.}
Click through for story and a link to one of the videos. I wish I were more optimistic about who is reachable … but anyone reached will help.

Upcoming event: This Sunday, August 22, is designated “Thank a Criminal Day.” I don’t kow who designated it, because there’s very little information about it. So it’s probably not “official” in any sense. But the point is to recognize that many people who, today, are considered heroes, were, in their own time, considered and treated as criminals. Some examples are Jesus, Galileo, Gandhi, Dr. King, John Lewis, Rosa Parks, John Brown, all those people who signed the Declaration of Independence (thereby committing treason against Great Britain), and so many others. There’s a saying, “the military may defend your freedom, but it was a criminal who gave it to you.” If you think of other historical figures, please recongize them in the comments. I can think of a few who are not yet recognized widely as the heroes they are, but I can and do hope they will be someday: Thomas Drake, John Kiriakou, Jeffrey Sterling, Reality Winner. All four have served time. All four are now, thankfully, out of prison now. I certainly want to thank them. Then there’s Scott Warren, who (after two trials) was finally acquitted of the terrible felony of leaving water in the desert to prevent “illegal” immigrants from dying, but who was locked up for much of the time from the charge to the final acquittal. If you think of more like this please share their names in the comments too. Then there are those who have spent time in prison for something which was not liberating,, which was in fact reprehensible, but who turned their lives around and became heroes. John Dean comes to mind. So does our own beloved TomCat. More examples of these would also be welcomed in the comments – I know they exist. I realize the date is four days down the road, but I wanted to give people time in advance to think about it, since this is an unrecognized day; plus the fact that I am working in advance means that the work itself is often behind when posted. I absolutely did not want to miss it.
There isn’t really a place to click to. Here’s the link to how I learned of its existence (two years old, but I didn’t see it until last year – and then late).

Food for Thought –

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Open Thread for August 17, 2021

 Posted by at 7:13 am  Open Thread, Personal, Politics
Aug 172021
 

Yesterday I received my approval to visit Virgil and emailed the prison for a reservation. Because of the circumstances, I specified a weekend and gave a day preference, but left the exact date open, so I won’t be certain what day until I hear back. In the meantime, I’ll need to make a point of driving somewhere to keep the battery up. Once I can start visiting regularly, that will be all the driving I eed to do. I also received three packages – one was expected yesterday, one was expected today, and the other one had not been close enough to set a date prior to yesterday so that was definitrely a surprise. The USPS can work very well indeed if it is allowed to.  Oh, and I also heard from WWWendy (about some paperwork I had asked her about.)  She greets everyone and apologizes for not being here more.  Such a sweetie. Finally, I read that British Columbia is on fire – again.  Prayers and thoughts for Lynn, please.

Cartoon –

Short Takes –

Crooks and Liars – Former Nat. Sec. Adviser Whacks Trump’s Botched Negotiation With Taliban
Quote – You don’t negotiate your own exit with the adversary of the government that you are supporting. And that’s what the Trump administration did. They cut a deal with the Taliban that excluded the Afghan government, effectively again demoralizing them and making them feel like we were simply leaving them holding the bag entirely.
Click through for the story. There is also a video.

Law & Crime – Capitol Siege Defendant Accused of Chanting ‘Fight for Trump!’ Tells Judge He’s a ‘Registered Democrat’ and ‘Not a Trump Supporter’ While Seeking Lighter Sentence
Quote – As the late Senator Daniel Patrick Moynihan once said, “You are entitled to your opinion. But you are not entitled to your own facts.” … Nevertheless, the Defendant continues to maintain that he simply had no idea he wasn’t allowed to enter the Capitol. It is unclear what additional sign the Defendant needed to indicate he was not welcome other than the barricades, tear gas, pepper balls, alarms, and law enforcement officers.
Click through for both sides’ arguments. One thing is certain – the defense arguments have royally pissed off the prosecution, and rightly so. Lying is one thing. Insulting prosecutors’ intelligence with blatant fantasies is another.

AP News – USDA to permanently boost food stamp benefits by 25 percent
Quote – The increase is part of a multi-pronged Biden administration effort to strengthen the country’s social safety net. Poverty and food security activists maintain that longstanding inadequacies in that safety net were laid bare by the COVID-19 pandemic, presenting an opportunity to make generational improvements that reach beyond the current public health crisis.
Click through for names and numbers. May as well appreciate good news if we can.

Food for Thought –

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Open Thread for August 16, 2021

 Posted by at 7:03 am  Open Thread, Personal, Politics
Aug 162021
 

Yesterday I was pretty well behind with everything. I did learn that Mitch got back from his trip safely, but he now cannot get in to PP. So it may be a while before we hear from him. But he’s fine. Does anyone else here know anything about Apple/Mac systems and Safari? If so, would you consider allowing me to send your email to Mitch? If you aren’t getting my emails weekly, the “Contact me” link under “Other Links” on the bottom right, second to last section, above “WordPress.org links, now comes to me. If your email client is not set to pop up, right-click on it, select “copy email address,” and then paste it into your address line. I don’t swear that will work in every browser, but hopefully it will. If it doesn’t, you could leae a comment and let me know it’s OK – you don’t have to put your address in the comment, as WordPress will record your email in a place that only Administrators can see.

Cartoon –

There’s a typo in it – it was 11 seconds, not 0.11.

Short Takes –

Democratic Underground – Mary Trump: the most cogent description ever of our current peril as a democracy
Quote – McConnell is the greatest traitor to this country since Robert E. Lee (with the difference that McConnell has been trying to take our country down from within). He has always been expert at using existing rules and procedures in ways they weren’t intended to be used, and yet—whether it was denying Merrick Garland a hearing, pushing through Amy Coney Barrett’s confirmation, or ending the filibuster as it applied to Supreme Court nominees but employing it to block legislation that would expand voting rights—his anti-democratic maneuvers have been performed within the bounds of the system.
Click through for the rest, and then, if you like, click through again to the meta-source.

PolitiZoom – WATCH: COVID ‘Shedding’ Theory Is More Deranged Than You Can Possibly Imagine
Quote – It is astonishing to me that as a species we have done remarkable things like send mankind into outer space. We’ve built technological marvels. We’ve extended life expectancy and the quality of life with surgical procedures and medicinal interventions of one kind or another. We’ve invented communication devices and transportation that were beyond imagining a century ago. Yet despite all that, there are people who listen to this level of ignorant witchcraft fear mongering and believe it to be true. “Don’t go near the vaccinated. They’ll contaminate you. They’ll shed on you.” Shed how? Hair, skin, cooties? Frankly, I’d rather listen to tales of witchcraft and sorcery than this non-intellectual make believe hooey.
Click through for story. I could go on quite a rant here, but I’ll restrain myself.

Washington Examiner – Rachel Maddow reports sign of life in Georgia criminal investigation of Trump 2020 election efforts
Quote – Prosecutors began the investigation in February, following Trump’s call to Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger, in which he asked the official to “find” the 11,780 votes sufficient to reverse his loss. Maddow told her audience on Friday that she had an “exclusive” with new information regarding a top official at the Justice Department that will help the process move forward.
Click through for story, and then through again to Maddow Blog if you like.

Food for Thought –

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Open Thread for August 15, 2021

 Posted by at 6:28 am  Open Thread, Personal, Politics
Aug 152021
 

Yesterday it was pretty hot again. My lab results came, and look pretty good. They actually arrived Friday, but I was expecting 3 packages yesterday (which turned out to be four), so I waited in order not to go out more than necessary. Between the heat, the smoke, and the idiots, I really don’t feel terribly safe outside, even though vaccinated.

Cartoon –

Short Takes –

The Intercept – SECRET DONORS TO NONPROFIT PUSHING TRUMP’S “BIG LIE” ELECTION CONSPIRACY REVEALED
Quote – The tax document obtained by The Intercept, a publicly filed IRS form that included a list of donors, shows a handful of large corporate and individual donors to the Bradley Impact Fund. The contributions listed in the fiscal year 2018 filing range from roughly $782,000 to $1.5 million. The Bradley Impact Fund operates as a donor-advised fund, a vehicle frequently used to allow anonymous contributions by letting donors give to a fund and then directing their contributions to particular recipients…. “It might seem improbable that a low-profile family foundation in Wisconsin has assumed a central role in current struggles over American democracy,” [investigative reporter Jane] Mayer wrote. “But the modern conservative movement has depended on leveraging the fortunes of wealthy reactionaries.”
Click through for a whole lotta detail. You will recognize some names, others maybe not so much. But if you’re going to follow the money, you can expect that.

https://www.reuters.com/world/us/homeland-security-warns-fresh-covid-19-restrictions-could-spark-violent-attacks-2021-08-13/
Reuters – U.S. Homeland Security warns fresh COVID-19 restrictions could spark violent attacks
Quote – In an interview with CNN, DHS Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas said his department considered domestic violent extremists to constitute “the greatest terrorist-related threat to our homeland.” He said the Department was seeing expressions of extremism fueled by “false narratives” and “ideologies of hate.”
Click through for story. If they’d do this because of CoViD restrictions, what do you suppose they would do if their God-Emperor were arrested and held without bail? Asking for a friend.

Common Dreams – Child Hospitalization for Covid-19 Hits All-Time High in US: Report
Quote – The Delta variant, which is rapidly spreading among mostly the unvaccinated portion of the U.S. population, has caused hospitalizations to spike in recent weeks, driving up the number of pediatric hospitalizations to 1,902 on Saturday, according to data from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. Children currently make up about 2.4% of the nation’s COVID-19 hospitalizations. Kids under 12 are not eligible to receive the vaccine, leaving them more vulnerable to infection from the new, highly transmissible variant.
Click through for more. I really can’t even.

Food for Thought –

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Open Thread for August 14, 2021

 Posted by at 6:36 am  Open Thread, Personal, Politics
Aug 142021
 

So yesterday I attempted to get my new noise generator up and running … and coudn’t get a peep outof it. So I fired off an email to customer service. In the eantime, the travel size works just fine. As far as weather – we’ve been hotter – but our air quality is the pits. We are a large, smoke-filled room. I’m staying in, thanks.

Cartoon –

Short Takes –

The Hill – Census shows US growth driven by minorities; white pop falls under 60 percent
Quote – A part of that decrease comes as a result of a new effort by the Census Bureau to measure the number of people who identify as multiracial, a population that skyrocketed over the last decade. But much of the drop in the white population, experts and demographers said, stems from an aging demographic that is producing fewer children later in life. “Whites, no matter how you count them, declined since 2010,” said William Frey, a senior demographer at the Brookings Institution.
Click through for exact numbers and ramifications. I consider this to be excellent news, but you know you can hear RWNJ heads exploding all over.

HuffPost – 3 Former Cops Charged In Wrongful Conviction That Sent A Man To Prison For 25 Years
Quote – It is exceedingly rare for law enforcement officials to face criminal prosecution in relation to their roles in wrongful convictions. But reviewing wrongful convictions has been a key agenda item for Krasner, one of the leaders of the progressive prosecutor movement. In 2018, his office created the Conviction Integrity Unit, which has helped secure exonerations for 22 people. At least 18 of the exonerated were Black men. The detectives charged on Friday worked on at least four of the cases that the Conviction Integrity Unit has helped overturn.
Click through for details, including (trigger warning) description of initial interrogation and also the Grand Jury findings document. This is why I actually sent money to Krasner’s campaign. Not much, but some. Oh, and there’s a little video too.

Reuters – U.S. Homeland Security warns fresh COVID-19 restrictions could spark violent attacks
Quote – In an interview with CNN, DHS Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas said his department considered domestic violent extremists to constitute “the greatest terrorist-related threat to our homeland.” He said the Department was seeing expressions of extremism fueled by “false narratives” and “ideologies of hate.” U.S. Representative Bennie Thompson, chair of the House Homeland Security Committee, welcomed the DHS warning but said it was “troubling that the terrorism threat increasingly is based on grievance-based violence and conspiracy theories, especially related to the election and former President Trump.”
Click through. Dam right they “could” (read “will.” They won’t be happy unless they can kill all of us – but they’ll settle for any of us (and even some of themselves.) Here’s just one example. 

Food for Thought –

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Open Thread for August 13, 2021

 Posted by at 6:59 am  Open Thread, Personal, Politics
Aug 132021
 

Yesterday my new noise generator came, a day earlier than expected, and I didn’t get it set up yet. So, still “to be contiued.” Although with Mitch in Maine (though he should be back soon, maybe today), Pat away with family for the weekend (grandparents can also have empty nests), and Nameless having refrigerator issues (hopefully resolved soon?) I’m not sure there’s much interest.

Cartoon – (Incidentally, do read yesterdays cartoon again, or look up “quagga” on Wikipedia.  They are being brought back naturally, through selective breeding.  This is only possible because they are not a species but a subspecies.

Short Takes –

Crooks and Liars – New Oath Keepers Indictment Adds Defendants, Charges To Jan. 6 Conspiracy Case
Quote – The release of a fifth superseding indictment against the Oath Keepers involved in the Jan. 6 Capitol insurrection—adding two more men, one from Georgia and another from Florida, to what is now a total of 16 co-conspirators in the case, as well as further charges against one of the women already indicted—is stark testament to how the evidence against the Patriot organization’s members for their key role in the attack on Congress that day has been mounting steadily, doubtlessly aided by the participants who have turned state’s evidence.
Click through for deets. I wanted to talk about this, because this is how you handle a case that you need to get a start on even though you may not be ready for court. Each superseding indictment resets the clock on the right to a speedy trial. And that suggests the question, “So why aren’t they doing this with Trump**?” Well, in my opinion (granted, that and $5 will get yu a cup of coffee) they are not doing it with Trump** because his crazy followers would pose a greater public danger if he were locked up than they do if he is merely being investigated (and that very quietly) and blathering. As crazy as the Oath Keepers are, locking up groups of them doesn’t precipitate the same publc hazard, because it’s pretty clear that, if they try, they will also get locked up speedily. MAGAts not affiliated with any particular group, or even with many different smaller groups, are more susceptible to the “They can’t arrest all of us” mentality.

HuffPost – After 8 Months, Cities And States Are Still Sitting On Rental Aid
Quote – The amount is significant: $46.5 billion, a sum that nearly matches the entire annual budget of the Department of Housing and Urban Development. States, counties and cities with populations of at least 200,000 were eligible for the money, which offers up to 15 months of rental assistance to low-income individuals (12 months of past-due payments and three months for the future). But that money has been incredibly slow in getting to the people who need it the most. Through June, only 15 states and the District of Columbia had spent 10% or more of their Emergency Rental Assistance Program funds, which were initially approved by Congress in December.
Click through for story. The bottom line, it appears to me, is that Congress actually DID think of “the people sitting around waiting for money” and authorized this so that low-income people could actually pay them. But instead of goig after this money in their own states and localities, they’d rather sue tobe able to evict people. Am I off-base here? Be honest.

Mother Jones – QAnon Hero Claims to Present Sensitive Election Files at MyPillow CEO Event
Quote – On Wednesday, computer files apparently associated with the Mesa County election system were presented and analyzed live on a giant screen behind the stage by [Ron] Watkins, who beamed into the event via livestream. In a confusing back and forth, Watkins told the crowd that his lawyer instructed him to say that the files were from hard drives taken “without authorization” from [Tina] Peters’ [top Mesa County election official] office, and the hard drives should be returned to the clerk, and “we should stop this data review.” Peters then came on stage and said the the hard drives did not come from her office, “unless it happened during the raid.” Watkins then spoke again, saying that the drives made their way to him via Sheronna Bishop, a right-wing activist from Colorado who was reportedly one of Rep. Lauren Boebert’s campaign managers in 2020.
Click through for more. Mesa County is on the Western Slope, close to the border with Utah and about halfway between the northern and southern borders of Colorado. I’m almosy glad this was Colorado, because I guarantee Jena Griswold will get to the bottom of what happened, and I can’t say that about the secretary of state of every state. But I’ll bet Jena is furious.

Food for Thought –

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Open Thread for August 12, 2021

 Posted by at 7:07 am  Open Thread, Personal, Politics
Aug 122021
 

Yesterday it was cooler again.That and tha fact I went into it with more and better sleep than i have been getting lately ade it a good day right from the start. And then, I filled up the Short Takes quite early and even have a head start on tomorrow. So I spent some quality time untangling tangled yarns /s. OK, that really isn’t quality time … but it’s good to have it done.

Cartoon –

Short Takes –

Second Nexus – Dems Hilariously Troll GOP Senator by Unanimously Voting for His Petty Infrastructure Amendment
Quote – Once the bill was brought to debate, the first amendment offered came from Republican Senator John Barrasso of Wyoming, who proceeded to rail against the Green New Deal—an ambitious climate policy overhaul championed by progressives as the only viable option to significantly curb the climate crisis…. [Bernie] Sanders told Barrasso: “As a supporter of the Green New Deal, I have no problem voting for this amendment because it has nothing to do with the Green New Deal.”
Click through for giggles. This is from George Takei, though it may have been published elsewhere.

The 19th – Cuomo’s exit puts two women in New York’s highest offices
Quote – Lt. Gov Kathy Hochul will soon become New York’s first woman governor, ushering in a historic first for women’s political leadership at the state level. New York state Senate Majority Leader Andrea Stewart-Cousins is next in line to replace Hochul as lieutenant governor. She would be the first Black woman to serve in the role in New York — and her appointment to the position would mark the first time in U.S. history that a state has been led by a woman governor and a woman lieutenant governor. Stewart-Cousins was already the first woman Senate majority leader in the state’s history.
Click through for story. Talk about unintended consequences (which apparently aren’t always bad). Who knew Andy Borowitz was a prophet (in the colloquial sense)?

Crooks and liars – YouTube Suspends Rand Paul For 7 Days Over Mask Disinfo
Quote – Senator Rand Paul, who has already had COVID, used an online video to attack Dr. Fauci and all CDC guidelines regarding masks. That got him kicked off YouTube for a week.
Click through for the rest. I guess after you suspend a former President, suspending a Senator comes easier. (Also, Marjorie’s off Twitter for a week.)

Food for Thought –

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