Open Thread for July 18, 2021

 Posted by at 7:43 am  Open Thread, Personal, Politics
Jul 182021
 

Yesterday I drafted and sent an emeil to the visiation staff to ask what I need to do to plan a visit. Yes, there are instructions on line, but they don’t answer everything. I don’t expect a reply until sometime Monday. I do know they can see a jpg file because in the past I’ve attached jpgs to express thanks and they’ve told me they can see them.

Cartoon –

Short Takes –

Reuters – Death toll rises to 170 in Germany and Belgium floods
Quote – German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier visited Erftstadt in the state of North Rhine-Westphalia, where the disaster killed at least 45 people. “We mourn with those that have lost friends, acquaintances, family members,” he said. “Their fate is ripping our hearts apart.” Steinmeier said it would take weeks before the full damage, expected to require several billions of euros in reconstruction funds, could be assessed.
Click through for details, including video. well, there you have it. The US is not exceptonal. Every part of the world is sufferiung consequences.

APNews – Biden pledges appeal of ‘deeply disappointing’ DACA ruling
Quote – In his statement, Biden urged Congress to move forward with legislation to permanently protect those covered by the program. “Only Congress can ensure a permanent solution by granting a path to citizenship for Dreamers that will provide the certainty and stability that these young people need and deserve,” the president said. “I have repeatedly called on Congress to pass the American Dream and Promise Act, and I now renew that call with the greatest urgency,” he said. “It is my fervent hope that through reconciliation or other means, Congress will finally provide security to all Dreamers, who have lived too long in fear.”
Click through for story. This is heartbreaking, and it shows – again – why it is so important to have qualified and humane judges in our courts.

Common Dreams – Florida-Based Doctor Arrested on Suspicion of Plotting Assassination of Haiti’s President
Quote – Haitian authorities said that 63-year-old Christian Emmanuel Sanon worked with a Miami-based private security firm to recruit the mercenaries who carried out the assassination last Wednesday. According to video footage of the scene, a group of heavily armed assailants posed as officials with the U.S. Drug Enforcement Agency as they moved in on Moïse’s private residence on the outskirts of Port-au-Prince.
Click through for information and speculation. I’ve always maintained that some conspiracies are real. I must say this one boggles the mind.

Food for Thought:

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Open Thread for July 17, 2021

 Posted by at 7:39 am  Open Thread, Personal, Politics
Jul 172021
 

Yesterday I scanned my vaccination card and saved the jpg in my health records file so I can easily find it if I need to. I also lookup up whether any visitation is being allowed, and yes, there is some – limited, but some. I will qualify after my 14 days since the second shot are up, so i’ll be working on an email to ask about paperwork, How handy that I have my vaccination card already scanned.

Cartoon –  just kidding – just kidding!

Short Takes –

The New Yorker – Trump Obtained Podiatrist’s Note to Avoid Serving in Own Military Coup
Quote – An excerpt from the note reads, “Donald J. Trump is suffering from extremely painful bone spurs that would make any active-duty participation in a military coup out of the question. In the event of such a coup, I strongly recommend that he be limited to an administrative role.”
Click thrugh for more
Related story 

The Hill – Pro-impeachment Republicans outpace GOP rivals in second-quarter fundraising
Quote – Now the 10 House Republicans who broke party lines in the chamber’s January impeachment vote are heading into the second half of 2021 flush with cash, financial reports filed on Thursday with the Federal Election Commission (FEC) show.
Click through for numbers and some names. This is encouraging, as far as it goes. It doesn’t mean we can rest, though.

Mother Jones – How a Three-Word Phrase Sabotaged Black Voting Rights, and How They Can Be Reconstructed
Quote – Or other crime. Three small words that continue to shape America today. It is a great irony of our history that the 14th Amendment, which enshrined in the Constitution the promise of equal protection under the law, is today the principal source of Black disenfranchisement. But there’s no reason to accept this fate. At a time when the public is increasingly aware of modern attempts at suppression, the tools for resurrecting the fundamental right to vote are waiting to be put to use. Our future could depend on how seriously we decide to take the rest of the words in Section 2.
Click through and consider bookmarking. Without the votes of people of color, democracy is already dead. It shouldn’t be, and doesn’t have to be, this way.

Food for Thought:


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Open Thread for July 16, 2021

 Posted by at 6:44 am  Open Thread, Personal, Politics
Jul 162021
 

Yesterday I got a grocery order delivered and put away (which I did just manage to get in on the previous night.) And I made an appointment for my annual checkup which would normally have happened last November but was delayed by the pandemic. And that is just about all I accomplished. Incidentally, I probably will be phasing out Samantha Bee and Bill Maher (if somebody else wants to do them I’ll gladly help), but that’s not why there are none this week. There are no new vids on her channel, and he is still on vacation for another week or two.

Cartoon –

Short Takes –

Above the Fray: Changing the Stakes of Supreme Court Selection and Enhancing Legitimacy
This is a readable but also a searchable report from the Project on Government Oversight which is a real keeper. I seldom agree with POGO on every single point and I’m sure this is no exception. But I can’t fault their research
Click through for the full report. IMO it’s a keeper.

Reuters – AG revives immigration judges’ power to postpone deportation cases
Quote – Attorney General Merrick Garland issued a ruling on Thursday restoring the ability of immigration judges to postpone deportation cases while awaiting rulings in related proceedings, which had been eliminated by Trump-era AG Jeff Sessions.
Click through for details (somewhat technical.) Bottom line: People are rightly complaining that immigrants are still being ill-treated. Still having Trumpian regulations on the books is one big reason why. Getting rid of those regulations is a good thing.

AP News – Biden’s Census nominee promises independence, transparency
Quote – President Joe Biden’s nominee to lead the U.S. Census Bureau told a Senate committee on Thursday that he would bring transparency and independence to the nation’s largest statistical agency, which was challenged by the pandemic, natural disasters and attempts at political interference while carrying out the 2020 census.
Click through for story. I hope it’s not too late.

Food for Thought:

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Open Thread for July 15, 2021

 Posted by at 7:32 am  Open Thread, Personal, Politics
Jul 152021
 

Yesterday I woke up, logged in, and realized the Open Thread had not published when I wanted it to because I had a typographical error in the schedule. Sorry to all. I’ll try to proofread better! Otherwise, the day went fine.

Cartoon – blood wedding

Short Takes –

Fascist Goons Disrupt Katie Porter Town Hall, Welcome To Post-January 6 GOP Politics
Quote – Yes, she ran toward the trouble to protect people. She’s even a hero when she doesn’t have her white board handy. Porter told MSNBC’s Lawrence O’Donnell Monday night that she was worried for the safety of a couple of attendees “who were using walkers, who couldn’t move out of the way,” and that she simply wanted to be sure they weren’t knocked over while police were on the way.
Click through for details and for a short video from Lawrence O’Donnell. Katie is a superb negotiator. But no one can negotiate with these – people. Holding back tears of anger.

Daily Beast – Lego Tells U.S. Company to Stop Making Gun That Looks Like Child’s Toy
Quote – Culper Precision of Utah has been producing a pistol that looks like a kid’s toy made of Lego blocks, saying that its “Glock 19” weapon was made to show people that firearms are “for everyone” and that shooting things is “SUPER FUN!”
Click through for more, including actual photo and link to Washington Post. Unbelievable.

The Hill – US to evacuate Afghans who assisted US military
Quote – Flights out of Afghanistan for those who are already in the process of obtaining special immigrant visas (SIVs) will start in the last week of July, a senior administration official said in a statement.
Click through for what details are available. We knew this was going to be done, but there were no details available, and only a few now, but it’s clear the dates have been moved up.

Food for Thought (probably not true. I have changed a little bit – but not much – possibly not even all in the same direction.):

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Open Thread for July 14, 2021

 Posted by at 11:28 am  Open Thread, Personal, Politics
Jul 142021
 

Yesterday was kind of uneventful. I discovered an unopened bottle of salad dressing I had thought I was out of – a quite new bottle, not an old expired one. I need to place a grocery order but I don’t like to do so on Tuesday for Wednesday because that’s when theprices change. I kind of like to know what I am spending. Maybe today.  It’s not urgent to within a day or two.

Cartoon –

Short Takes –

The Hill – Biden rips Trump’s ‘big lie’ in voting rights address
Quote – Republicans vehemently oppose the For the People Act, calling it a blatant power grab by Democrats. The wide-reaching bill would mandate a federal threshold for certain voting rights, such as universal by-mail voting, early voting and same-day voter registration. It also addresses gerrymandering and campaign finance reform.
Click through for full story. Maybe we should be saying yes, it is a means to grab power away from those who hold it illegally and immorally and return it to the people to whom it rightly belongs. Maybe it’s just me – but I think we need to get better at turning their own words back on them. And we need to do it fast.

Politico – Opinion | The Democrats Need a Reality Check
Quote – But the FDR and LBJ examples show conclusively why visions of a transformational Biden agenda are so hard to turn into reality. In 1933, FDR had won a huge popular and electoral landslide, after which he had a three-to-one Democratic majority in the House and a 59-vote majority in the Senate. Similarly, LBJ in 1964 had won a massive popular and electoral vote landslide, along with a Senate with 69 Democrats and a House with 295. Last November, on the other hand, only 42,000 votes in three key states kept Trump from winning re-election. Democrats’ losses in the House whittled their margin down to mid-single digits. The Senate is 50-50.
Click through for his rather depressing reasoning. I wish I had an idea how to make it happen.

Slate – What the Rogue Texas Democrats Did on Their First Day in D.C.
Quote – They’d come to D.C. to take the last (and most dramatic) action available to them to stop their home state of Texas from passing sweeping restrictions on voting rights. The Republican-controlled Texas Legislature is ready to pass the bill, so more than 50 Democrats in the Texas House fled to D.C. to withhold the quorum required to pass a bill. They must stay out of the state for the rest of the 30-day special legislative session called by Gov. Greg Abbott. Their plan for their first day included a short press conference, then lobbying senators and members of Congress to pass federal voting rights legislation that would supersede what the Republicans in the Texas Legislature are trying to pass.
Click through for more story, opinion, and analysis. It is simply heartbreaking that they need to do this. They are all heroes in my book. But they shouldn’t have to be, and wouldn’t if too many Republicans weren’t weasels (no insult intended to four-legged, furry weasels.) I wanted to be sure to post this story today and not behind Pat’s back – she’s on vacation for four days starting tomorrow (so don’t worry about her.)

Food for Thought: Three Borowitz Headlines
Democrats Agree to Return to Texas if Greg Abbott Leaves

Texans Nostalgic for Wisdom of Rick Perry

Greg Abbott Tries to Lure Back Democratic Lawmakers by Offering NPR Tote Bags

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Open Thread for July 13, 2021

 Posted by at 7:21 am  Open Thread, Personal, Politics
Jul 132021
 

Yesterday was reasonably calm, and I got some things done, but still have some de-cluttering to do. I did succeed in setting up my meds for the ext two weeks so that all I have to do is remember to take them – and I’m fairly good at that.

Cartoon (After all, it’s Tuesday)  –

Short Takes –

Crooks and Liars – Sixteen Weapons, Tons Of Ammo Found In Hotel Room Near Coors Field
Quote – A maid working at Denver’s Maven Hotel tipped off law enforcement about weapons in one of the rooms there. Police got a search warrant, found 16 long guns, body armor, and over a thousand rounds of ammunition in the room, which featured a balcony overlooking the downtown area. The Maven Hotel is not too far from Coors Field, which will host the All-Star game on Tuesday.
Click through for preliminary details (which may get updaed). The sad thing is that if I hadn’t seen “Coors Field” I might have passed ths by.

The Hill – Judge grills attorneys over suit challenging Michigan results
Quote – “I need to point out here that my concern is that the counsel here have submitted affidavits that suggest and make the public believe that there was something wrong with the election and that is what this is all about,” said the judge, who was appointed by former President Obama. “That’s what these affidavits were designed to show, that there was something wrong in Michigan, there was something wrong in Wayne County.”
Click through for some of the back-and-forth. Kudos to Judge Parker. We need more of this.

Neighbors See Trump Waiting by Mailbox for Reinstatement Notice
Quote – Mr. Klugian said that he sympathized with Trump because he remembered “checking the mail a lot when I first retired…. If you don’t have anything to do, the mail becomes kind of the high point of your day,” he said. “He has to get into gardening or volunteering. Something. He can’t go on like this.”
Click through for details. Sounds like straight news to me, but with Andy … how can you tell?

Food for Thought

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Open Thread for July 12, 2021

 Posted by at 7:12 am  Open Thread, Personal, Politics
Jul 122021
 

I was very lacking in energy yesterday, and didn’t get much done. But now that I don’t have any impending doom (in the form of communication outage or inability to get to my vccinaton) hanging over my head, that’s OK. I can go slowly. There are a lot of “things” (you know, “stuff”)  accumulated in my work space, many of which got migrated to extremely inconvenient places while I was attempting to deal with my internet outage, and all of those will have to either be returned to where they live or relocated somewhere else. But I don’t need to hurry, or to stress. I don’t think the lack of energy is a reaction to the shot (it might be a reaction to the stress lifting, but I kind of doubt even that.) In any case, I’m here, with news and later with videos.

Cartoon –

Short Takes –

The Hill – Missouri becomes ground zero for COVID-19 battle
Quote – Missouri Gov. Mike Parson (R) this week slammed the White House over its door-to-door vaccination campaign in underserved communities, which is part of the administration’s efforts to deal with outbreaks in hot spot areas…. Parson pushed back on the Biden administration’s door-to-door coronavirus vaccination strategy, arguing that it was not a “welcome strategy.”
Click through for the story. I’m not trying to throw shade. But I want Nameless to be well and stay well.

Law & Crime – Capitol Siege Defendant Who Allegedly Wanted to Hang Nancy Pelosi Claimed to Be in Court ‘By Special Divine Appearance’
Quote – “Bring them out,” Bauer allegedly said when recorded by body cam footage from the D.C. Metropolitan Police Department. “We want them out here…You bring them out or we’re coming in. Bring them out now. They’re criminals. They need to hang. Bring her out. Bring Nancy Pelosi out here now. We want to hang that fucking bitch. Bring her out. We’re coming in if you don’t bring her out. What are you trying to protect a fucking Nazi. Is that what you’re protecting?”
Click through for bizarre details. Aother example of why self-representing is a bad idea.

Reuters – Billionaire Branson soars to space aboard Virgin Galactic flight
Quote – Reaching its high-altitude launch point at about 46,000 feet, the VSS Unity passenger rocket plane was released from the mothership and fell away as the crew ignited its rocket, sending it streaking straight upward at supersonic speed to the blackness of space some 53 miles (86 km) high. The spaceplane’s contrail was clearly visible from the ground as it soared through the upper atmosphere, to the cheers of the crowd below. At the apex of the climb with the rocket shut down, the crew then experienced a few minutes of microgravity, before the spaceplane shifted into re-entry mode, and began a gliding descent to a runway back at the spaceport. The entire flight lasted about an hour.
Click through for story. Science has more or less arbitrarily decided that the 50-mile mark is where being up in the sky officially becomes “space.” One could argue, but I’m pretty sure that 50 miles is substantially farther than any measurable atmosphere extends. In any cas, that was Sir Richard’s mark, and he slightly exceeded it, and was the first to do so. Hey, better him than Jeff Bezos (though I grant Bezos was gracious about it.)

Food for Thought

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Open Thread for July 11, 2021

 Posted by at 7:00 am  Open Thread, Personal, Politics
Jul 112021
 

So, yesterday I woke up and had both phone and internet. (I woke up on the late side, but technically still morning.) That meant I could reassure everyone I am OK, but left too little time before y vaccination appointment to do much else, and I was stuck in “email jail” too. I did get the vaccination, I feel fine (if I do react, I won’t know till some time today, I am that delayed a reactor.) I did manage to get a late video thread up – if you missed it because it was so late, it’s still there, and contains two Glenn Kirschners and a Keith Olbermann.

Cartoon –

Short Takes –

The New Yorker – Biden’s Invisible Ideology
Quote – Biden, by contrast [with Trump**], insisted that the way to win was not to play. In the face of the new politics of spectacle, he kept true to old-school coalition politics. He understood that the Black Church mattered more in Democratic primaries than any amount of Twitter snark, and, by keeping a low profile on social media, showed that social-media politics was a mirage. Throughout the dark, dystopian post-election months of Trump’s tantrum—which led to the insurrection on January 6th—many Democrats deplored Biden’s seeming passivity, his reluctance to call a coup a coup and a would-be dictator a would-be dictator. Instead, he and his team were remarkably (to many, it seemed, exasperatingly) focussed on counting the votes, trusting the process, and staffing the government.
Click through for full analysis. I think Gopnik is absolutely right. It’s not easy to do, and not everyone could do it, but I think that, aalongside the Justice System, it’s the most likely way to lasting success.

Non-competes, banks and farms: Five key elements of Biden’s executive order
They are: 1. Boosts leverage for workers
2. Tackles concentrated corporate power
3. Aims to lower the prices of drugs
4. Looks out for consumers
5. Bringing back net neutrality
Click through for details on each. This is complex, so I’m not even considering tring to summarize it.

Food for Thought

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