Open Thread for July 26, 2021

 Posted by at 6:47 am  Open Thread, Personal, Politics
Jul 262021
 

Yesterday was Sunday … which usually means a slow newsday – and this was no exception. So I don’t have a lot. But there’s always something.

Cartoon –

Short Takes –

Medium – Ken Starr, Brett Kavanaugh, Jeffrey Epstein and Me
Quote – It was a an interview I watched in 2020 with one of Baylor’s aggrieved accusers that helped me understand how I could have been blind for so long to the pattern of misogyny coursing through Starr’s career. Describing a meeting with Starr about her ordeal, she said that he shed a tear along with her, made her feel heard, but did nothing to help get justice for her or the many other female students who came forward with allegations. Unless you count what he said in one interview, “We grieve for what happened. But that doesn’t mean that you can’t say it’s a new day. That’s the biblical perspective that we try to live up to here at Baylor University.” Shamelessly and effectively, he shoved rape allegations under the carpet in the name of Christianity.
Click through for complete story (you get 2 articles free per month, so maybe “print” if you want to be able to reference it.) I always used to think a person’s sex life did not affct his abiity to govern – and I still think so provided misogyny is not a part of it.

The Guardian – Tennessee man died from heart attack after ‘Swatting’ over Twitter handle
Quote – “Emergency responders were dispatched, and when they arrived at Herring’s home, guns drawn, they called for Herring to walk toward them, keeping his hands visible. As he did so, Herring, 60, appeared to lose his balance and fell to the ground, unresponsive. He was pronounced dead at a local hospital; cause of death was determined to be a heart attack.”
Click through for details. We’re familiar with “Sex sells,” and “If it bleeds it leads.” Maybe weneed a new saying regarding the amount of media attention triggered by pur craziness.

Democratic Underground – “And there, people, is the story of why I hate people. And why I love people….”
Quote – “I guess I look nice. Approachable. Like I wouldn’t rip your head off. I am nice, most of the time. But not always. And I lost my temper.”
Click through. It’s not terribly long. And I figured we needed a feel-good story after those horror stories above.

Food for Thought:

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Open Thread for July 25, 2021

 Posted by at 7:33 am  Open Thread, Personal, Politics
Jul 252021
 

Yesterday was pretty calm – which was a good thing, because I was finding it a challenge to keep my eyes open. At least some of that had to be the weather. My favorite aunt used to call such weather “enervating.” And I certainly felt enervated. I’m sure I am far from alone – it isn’t even all that humid here (though certainly more so than I would like it to be.) Apropos of nothing, it’s pronounced with the primary accent on the initial “e” whch is short (as in “hen”). I come by my fascination with words honestly.

Cartoon – )

Short Takes –

Crooks and Liars – President Biden’s Perfect Troll
Quote – [“reprter] “I-I-I-I-I-I’m not sure…” (That’s my transcription from the video. I may have miscounted but it’s close.)
Click through if you missed it. It’s short and very sweet.

The Hill – Freedom Caucus presses McCarthy to force vote to oust Pelosi
Quote – In the letter, the Freedom Caucus also cited other reasons why Pelosi should be removed: She has allowed remote, proxy voting by lawmakers due to the coronavirus pandemic, and she had metal detectors installed at the entrances to the House floor after the Jan. 6 attack … But their main gripe was her decision this week to essentially veto two of McCarthy’s five GOP picks for the Jan. 6 select committee: Reps. Jim Banks (R-Ind.) and Jim Jordan (R-Ohio). Both are die-hard Trump loyalists and Jordan was the founding chairman of the Freedom Caucus. In response, a furious McCarthy said Republicans would boycott participating in the committee, which kicks off its first hearing Tuesday.
Click through for details. We knew they were deusional, and thinking they might conceivably have the votes to do this certainly proves it. If they do think so. More likely, its a purity test for political theater.

AP News – Iowa Democrat Finkenauer seeking GOP Sen. Grassley’s seat
Quote – Finkenauer, despite losing her House seat in 2020 after one term, remains a youthful prospect in the Iowa Democratic Party, which has struggled to produce a new generation for statewide office. Along with 38-year-old Democrat Dave Muhlbauer, a farmer who previously announced his bid for Grassley’s seat, she is hoping Grassley’s slipping poll numbers provide an opening to revive a shrinking segment of the party’s once diverse electorate: rural voters.
Click through for more about her and about the race. I certainly wish her the very best of luck (and I fear she- or any Democrat – will need it.)

Food for Thought:

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Open Thread for July 24, 2021

 Posted by at 6:49 am  Open Thread, Personal, Politics
Jul 242021
 

Thursday, I got a reply to my request for information on visitation. There’s no exemption for the pandemic to the rule that if you don’t visit for a year you have to start over with a new application. But I was provided with an email address, and I was prepared for that answer, so I emailed the application off as – actually, as three attachments – and got my email returned by the mail system. The error message included the phrase “too many hops,” and just in case that had anything to do with attachments, I started over with the app and credentials, got them into a single pdf, and re-sent – and got it back again. To make a long story shorter, yesterday I asked around, and part of the problem ended up being that DOC email addresses can’t read caps. Anyway, the application is at DOC now, and, since this is not my first rodeo, I’m confident it includes enough (possibly more than enough) information to sail through. And the DOC will notify me by email when it has.

Cartoon –

Short Takes –

https://www.reuters.com/world/us/exclusive-qanon-shaman-plea-negotiations-after-mental-health-diagnosis-lawyer-2021-07-23/
Reuters – Exclusive: ‘QAnon Shaman’ in plea negotiations after mental health diagnosis
Quote – In an interview, defense lawyer Albert Watkins said that officials at the federal Bureau of Prisons, or BOP, have diagnosed his client Jacob Chansley with transient schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, depression and anxiety. The BOP’s findings, which have not yet been made public, suggest Chansley’s mental condition deteriorated due to the stress of being held in solitary confinement at a jail in Alexandria, Virginia, Watkins said. “As he spent more time in solitary confinement … the decline in his acuity was noticeable, even to an untrained eye,” Watkins said in an interview on Thursday. He said Chansley’s 2006 mental health records from his time in the U.S. Navy show a similar diagnosis to the BOP’s.
Click through for details. This is a situation of a type which explains why I don’t score a 9 or higher on being anti-authoritarian. The point of appealing to mental illness as mitigation is – though it’s seldom stated – the feeling we all share that a person should not be punished for something which is not, or not entirely, his fault. I feel that too. I feel it as a moral principle, not just as an emotional response. But the corollary is, if it is caused by a condition which is inseparable from the person, that person still meeds to be restrained somehow for the safety of the public. No, it shouldn’t be a prison. But – as, thanks to Ronald Reagan and other Republicans is currently the case in the US – prison is the only option, then prison it needs to be. Yes, we need to find better ways. But until and unless we do, that remains the hard truth.

Politico – Alabama governor says ‘it’s time to start blaming the unvaccinated folks’ as pandemic worsens
Quote – [T]he remarks from the governor grew more pointed when she was pressed on what it would take for greater numbers of Alabamans to get their shots. “I don’t know. You tell me,” Ivey said. “Folks [are] supposed to have common sense. But it’s time to start blaming the unvaccinated folks, not the regular folks. It’s the unvaccinated folks that are letting us down.”
Click through for more. Here’s proof there are still Repuiblicans who have not completely lost it. Just not enough of them. And they are still Republicans.

Daily Beast – Liz Cheney Is Saving Pelosi, the GOP, and Maybe America From Themselves {OPINION}
Quote – In applying this analogy to Jan. 6, Cheney represents one legitimate political worldview and Democrats represent the other. If Pelosi should name Rep. Adam Kinzinger—a Republican, Air Force veteran and member of the Air Force National Guard—to the select committee, as she is reportedly considering doing, she would be reinforcing this function and adding an additional check on Democrats who might be tempted to exploit the situation for their own political agenda. (And if you think Dick Cheney’s daughter is some sort of RINO now, that probably says a lot more about you than it does about her.)
Click through for his full argument. No, she’s not a hero. But I can respect a person who holds their beliefs with integrity, even if they are wrong. m And in this case – in this case – she is not wrong.

Food for Thought:

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Open Thread for July 23, 2021

 Posted by at 6:58 am  Open Thread, Personal, Politics
Jul 232021
 

This is the 71st week that the Metropilitan has been streaming full operas free of charge nightly, and it is the last week of this program. I am sad to see it go, but hopeful that they will be able to hold the complete season they are planning startin gin September. What with the Delta and Lambda variants, that appears to me to be far from certain. In any event, I watched “Tales of Hoffmann” last noght, and plan to watch “A Masked Bsll” Sunday night, which will be the very last one to appear.

Cartoon –

Short Takes –

Republicans Protest Lack of Rioters on January 6th Commission
Quote – “Nancy Pelosi’s handpicked Democratic panel members all have one thing in common: none of them took part in the riot,” McCarthy said. “Without an equal number of rioters on the panel, we’ll never get to hear both sides of this thing.”
Click through for the rest. Sure, that’s why we included Al Qaeda members on the 9/11 commission – oh, wait.
Related story – Kevin McCarthy Proposes Removing January 6th from Month of January

Law and Crime – FBI Report Shows Explosive Components Allegedly Found in Home of Ex-Cop Charged in U.S. Capitol Breach
Quote – Despite the box’s markings labeling the contents a “prop,” the FBI said that the components could have formed a deadly weapon. “The resulting explosion from an IED of this type could cause property damage, personal injury and/or death,” Christopher Rigopoulos, of Quantico’s explosives unit, wrote. Assistant U.S. Attorney Elizabeth Aloi called that conclusion “highly relevant” to the judge’s pending ruling on whether to revoke Robertson’s conditions of release.
Click through for story. This dude had better get sentenced to longer than months.

The Guardian – FBI failed to fully investigate Kavanaugh allegations, say Democrats
Quote – Whitehouse said they asked “why the FBI failed to contact witnesses whose names were provided to the FBI as possessing ‘highly relevant’ information; how involved the Trump White House was in narrowing the scope of the investigation; whether the FBI had used a tip line in previous background investigations to manage incoming allegations and information regarding a nominee; and more.”
Click through for details. This is s “No s**t, Sherlock” story … but Senator Whitehouse does have a way with facts.

Food for Thought:

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Open Thread for July 22, 2021

 Posted by at 7:34 am  Open Thread, Personal, Politics
Jul 222021
 

Tuesday night after I finished posting I attempted to play an older game on my desktop.PC. Many of the older games, being designed for a lower resolution, make my desktop look as though icons are missing, but when one exits the game they are actually all there Not this one – When I exited the game many of the icons in the bottom half of my desktop were still MIA. I recovered a few key ones then, and when I got up yesterday installed the offending game (and its sequel) on my Win7 laptop prior to uninstalling them on the Win8, so that won’t happen again. I tend to over-accumulate text documents and shortcuts which I really don’t need to keep, so this will be a good excuse to clean house … but it won’t happen all at once. And, for architectural reasons, the room the laptop is in stays cooler than the one the desktop is in … .

Cartoon –

Short Takes –

CNN – Indonesian Covid-positive man disguises himself as wife on Citilink flight in order to fly
Quote – After that, “the airport immediately contacted the Ternate City Covid-19 Handling Task Force team to evacuate the man while wearing personal protective equipment (PPE), and then taking him in an ambulance to his house (in Ternate City) to self-isolate, where he will be supervised by Task Force officers,” Ternate Covid-19 Task Force Operational Head Muhammad Arif Gani told reporters Once his self-isolation period is complete, local police have stated they intend to prosecute “DW.”
Click through for background. I used to thnk that “American Exceptionalism” applied only to insanity. Well, I was wrong. It doesn’t even apply to that.

Raw Story – Nancy Pelosi Rejects 2 GOP Picks For The Jan. 6 Committee
Quote – “With respect for the integrity of the investigation, with an insistence on the truth and with concern about statements made and actions taken by these Members, I must reject the recommendations of Representatives Banks and Jordan to the Select Committee,” Pelosi said in a statement. “The unprecedented nature of January 6th demands this unprecedented decision.”
Click through fpr names and sequence of events (of which I predicted what Pelosi would do. I failed to predict McCarthy’s response, though I probably should have been able to.)

Common Dreams – ‘Tremendous News for Workers and Consumers’: Biden Picks Kanter as DOJ Antitrust Chief
Quote – Progressive groups including MoveOn had urged Biden to tap Kanter to be assistant attorney general for the antitrust division at the DOJ, Politico reported Tuesday, “because of his work over the past decade representing companies, including Microsoft, that lodged antitrust complaints about Google.”
Click through for more. Now we just need to get him through the Senate.

Food for Thought:

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Open Thread for July 21, 2021

 Posted by at 7:00 am  Open Thread, Personal, Politics
Jul 212021
 

Those of us who remember polio, measles, mumps, rubella, chicken pox, and all that went with them, may sometimes have trouble getting through to (and in the process become frustrated by) nnti-vaxxers, who don’t remember that. Roald Dahl (Charlie and the Chocolate Factory and other masterpieces) lost a daughter to measles – to measles encephalitis, to be precise. He wrpte about the experience years after, and someone at Democratic Underground found the piece and shared the story. Of course it’s a huge hanky alert. But if you can think of anyone who might be helped by hearing or reading it … you’ll find it at the link. Dahl was ot a perfect human being (for one thing, he was known to be anti-Semitic.) But no one deserves that.

Cartoon –

Short Takes –

Acosta Warns Of A Five Alarm Fire – Coups, Hitler, Voter Suppression
Quote – What will you do if a second insurrection happens? What if they are successful in taking over the government? We are standing there, rule book in hand, screaming at the other side to FOLLOW THE RULES, while they shoot us with mace and bear spray, fire assault rifles at us, cover their faces with war paint, and scream “MAGA MAGA MAGA!”
Click through for story and video. Of course he’s right. I hope people who need to listen do listen. And that they don’t disregard him because he doesn’t yell or scream.

APNews – New chief selected for Capitol Police after 1/6 insurrection
Quote – The decision comes as the Capitol Police and other law enforcement agencies are struggling to determine the best way to secure the Capitol and what direction to take the 2,300-person force that guards the building and the lawmakers inside it and functions as mashup of a national security agency and local police department…. The Capitol Police Board, which includes the House and Senate sergeant at arms and the Architect of the Capitol, is charged with oversight of the police force and led the search.
Click through. The 1/7 interim appointment was not intended to be permanent.

The Hill – Trump ally and ex-campaign adviser Thomas Barrack charged with secretly lobbying for UAE
Quote – “The conduct alleged in the indictment is nothing short of a betrayal of those officials in the United States, including the former President,” Lesko said. “Through this indictment, we are putting everyone — regardless of their wealth or perceived political power — on notice that the Department of Justice will enforce the prohibition of this sort of undisclosed foreign influence.”
Click through for more.  Also, Glenn Kirschner discusses this in today’s video thread. Incidentally, there’s been a story floating that the Biden DOJ declined to prosecute Wilbur Ross for lying to Congress. That’s false. It was the Trump** DOJ which did that.

Food for Thought:

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Open Thread for July 20, 2021

 Posted by at 6:53 am  Open Thread, Personal, Politics
Jul 202021
 

Here’s a personal opinion, with which anyone is welcome to disagree. I believe that the DOJ should research court records to determine the longest sentence that anyone has ever received for a conviction of a single count of possession if narijuana for persona l use Then, the sentence for Capitol rioters should all be at least one day longer then that. I’m pretty sure eight months doesn’t meet that criterion.  It is, however, definitely better than nothing.

Cartoon –

Short Takes –

AP News – In step to shut Guantanamo, Biden transfers Moroccan home
Quote – Almost 800 detainees have passed through Guantanamo. Of the 39 remaining, 10 are eligible to be transferred out, 17 are eligible to go through the review process for possible transfer, another 10 are involved in the military commission process used to prosecute detainees and two have been convicted, a senior administration official said. The 10 eligible for transfer are from Yemen, Pakistan, Tunisia, Algeria and the United Arab Emirates.
About goddam time. Click though for story.

Reuters – France honours Rev. Jesse Jackson with the Legion d’Honneur
Quote – A political activist, minister, and former shadow U.S. senator for the District of Columbia representing the Democratic party, Jackson has been involved in civil rights activism since the 1960s, when he worked alongside Martin Luther King…. “From your earliest years, you were hungry for knowledge and justice, and you are a special friend of France, a brother for us,” Macron said in a solemn address at the Elysee palace.
Click through for a little more, including photo.

The 19th – Senate Democrats take fight to protect voting rights to Georgia
Quote – Amy Klobuchar, the Democratic head of the Senate Rules Committee, which oversees federal elections along with the chamber’s day-to-day procedures, said the panel decided to convene its first field hearing in more than 20 years in Georgia because its legislature passed an “egregious” restrictive voting law earlier this year. “We cannot keep our heads in the ground, you’ve got to go out there and see exactly what’s happening,” Klobuchar told The 19th ahead of the hearing.
Click through for details. It’s not guaranteed to work, but it is something. It can’t hurt.

Food for Thought:

There is a new book out about plants. The title is “This Is Your Mind on Plants.” The last name of the author is “Pollan.” Yes, you probably could make this up, but who would believe it?

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Open Thread for July 19, 2021

 Posted by at 7:10 am  Open Thread, Personal, Politics
Jul 192021
 

Yesterday I managed to get off of the back of my lap long enough to fill my car’s gas tank, so that if I have to idle it for 20 or 30 minutes from time to time to make sure the battery stays charged, I won’t need to worry about running out. I was gobsmacked by the changes in the landscape since I last drove by the gas station I used – there used to be about a two-block-long strip mall and now there’s just tall grass. This is not the south, where if you park your car in the wrong place on Friday you can’t find it for the kudzu on Sunday – instead we are high desert – so it must have been gone for at least a few months.

Cartoon – 7/19 “pinkframe”

Short Takes – I don’t generally double up (and certainly not triple up) on sources on any given day … but this combination of stories was just too – colorful – to resist. Think of it as a break from serious news.

Law & Crime – Man Allegedly Opened Fire at Police, City Code Compliance, and Crew Hired to Mow His Lawn
Quote – On Friday, July 16, 2021 at approximately 0830 a.m., the Fort Worth Police Department along with Fort Worth Code Compliance arrived at the 4800 block of Cedar Springs Drive in reference to an ongoing Code Compliance issue. The call originated for an execution warrant for a high grass violation.
Click through for more. Twelve inches is unusually generous for grass and weeds, IMO.

Law & Crime – Oklahoma Woman Arrested After Commenting on Police Facebook Post That Named Her An Accessory to Murder
Quote – The department included a screenshot of Graves’s comment in its Friday Facebook post about her arrest. A Facebook user whose name was redacted responded to Graves, writing, “giiiiirl you better stay off social media they can track you!!” A second user wrote, “Lorraine Graves aint [sic] gonna be as funny when you get processed.”
Click through for sequence of events. Facebook. What can I say.

Law & Crime – Police Sergeant Accused of Making Child Porn, ‘Lustful Touching’ After the FBI Put His Picture on Wanted Poster
Quote – [The National Center for Missing and Exploited Children] employs a “team of analysts who work tirelessly to help identify clues in images and videos” that might help locate abused children, the Center said in a blog post. That team discovered an image of John Doe 44, which the FBI in turn chose to make public. “Within hours of the FBI releasing his photo to the public, he was identified and arrested,” the NCMEC said of the defendant.
Click through for more, including good information about the NCMEC. Sigh. And then some people wonder why other people don’t trust the police.

Food for Thought: Could the people in these stories have benefitted from more parental guidance?

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