Politics – Page 327 – Politics Plus

Video Thread 1/21/2022

Posted by Joanne Dixon at 12:14 pm Open Thread, Politics

Jan 212022

Glenn Kirschner – Ex-Girlfriend of Rep Matt Gaetz Granted Immunity, Testifies before Grand Jury.

politicsrus – Let my people vote 2022

MSNBC – Giuliani, Other ‘Clownish’ Trump Allies, Subpoenaed In January 6th Investigation

American Bridge – One year since President Joe Biden & Vice President Kamala Harris’ inauguration

No Dem Left Bahind – We organize, we cultivate relationships, and we knock on doors

Meidas Touch – Rudy, you’re in DOODY

Beau – Let’s talk about history and an oppressor narrative….

Friday Fun: Thanks, Canada!

Posted by SoINeedAName at 8:18 am Politics

Jan 212022

*NOTE**: An email that Mitch shared inspired me to put this homage together honoring our Canadian friends.*

One has to admire the ability of our neighbors to the North to adapt to what might seem like unfortunate conditions – like WINTER!

But not only do they succeed, they do so with a great deal creativity and humor …

And when those Canuck scallywags get mischievous, they do so with a wink and a twinkle in their eye …

Some even display great talent …

But when Old Man Winter hits them with a wallop, they all pitch in to get the job done …

Although occasionally problems do crop up …

And when someone offers something for free, they’re more than happy to take creative advantage of it – even if “Some Assembly” is required …

But you can’t always take their pronouncements literally …

And they will NOT let Winter cheat them out of their entitled summer fun …

While it’s true that many Canucks love to hunt, their approach to our Second Amendment is delightfully unique …

Thanks to our Canadian friends, who have shown they are more than adept at turning lemons into lemonade!

Open Thread for January 21, 2022

Posted by Joanne Dixon at 6:37 am Open Thread, Personal, Politics

Jan 212022

Yesterday, the day after my booster, I felt pretty good. A little drowsy. The injection site was a little (almost unnoticeably) sore, but it wasn’t hot or even warmer than the other arm. I waited until today to say anything, because I am such a delayed reactor – but if I were going to react, I would have felt something by then. So drowsiness is it – and that may not even be a reaction to the shot but from stress. I admit to being a worrywart.

Cartoon –

Short Takes –

HuffPost – Both DOJ And Jan. 6 Committee Closing In On Trump And His Family, New Filings Show
Quote – In a federal court filing Tuesday, lawyer Bilal Essayli said prosecutors asked his client, Jan. 6 defendant Brandon Straka, about his connections to Trump personally. “The government was focused on establishing an organized conspiracy between defendant, President Donald J. Trump, and allies of the former president, to disrupt the joint session of Congress on January 6,” Essayli wrote.
Click through for more. This is where leaks come from (and I doubt the prosecutors will be pleased about it.)

Press Watch – Where are the interviews with regular Americans terrified for our democracy?
Quote – It’s all highly reminiscent of what amounted to a near-boycott of Biden-supporter coverage before the 2020 election. New York Times columnist Jamelle Bouie wrote in July 2019 that “anti-Trump voters are practically invisible in recent mainstream political coverage” – even though they represented the majority of Americans. It didn’t get any better in the ensuing 16 months.
Click through for OpEd. Press Watch is a non-profit dedicated to keeping all of the media honest – or as honest as pissible. Someone at DU posted a link to and a quote from this article … and it really struck a chord. I have now subscribed to their newsletter.

The Daily Beast – Capitol Rioter’s Bail Revoked After Cops Find AR-15 in His Car During DUI Arrest
Quote – In his car, the cops found an AR-15, 60 rounds of ammunition, and combat fatigues. Conditions of his bail as he awaits trial for allegedly assaulting a police officer on Jan. 6 prohibited firearm possession, excessive drinking, and drug use, leading the Justice Department to request he be remanded into custody.
Cick through for details, although the headline pretty much covers it. Outrageous as this is, it’s pretty much what one has to do to get bail revoked if one is white.

Food For Thought:

Video Thread 1/20/2022

Posted by Joanne Dixon at 12:25 pm Open Thread, Politics

Jan 202022

Glenn Kirschner – VA Gov Youngkin, a mini-Trump, Issues Legally Dubious & Dangerous Executive Orders on Day 1in Office

politicsrus – Say Something 2022

Farron Balamced – Authorities Tell Republican Texas AG He Can’t Hide His January 6th Involvement

Robert Reich – How to Avoid Burnout

Puppet Regime – Putin It Out There: Leverage 101

Rocky Mountain Mike – Sinema Girl

Beau – Let’s talk about Ukraine…. (Ordinarily I leave foreign policy to the experts, but Beau has an idea so creative [and funny]…)

Open Thread for January 20, 2022

Posted by Joanne Dixon at 7:04 am Open Thread, Personal, Politics

Jan 202022

Yesterday, I got boosted – yippee! There was virtually no snow on the ground. but there was a lot of ice on the glass, and between the windows steaming up and my glasses steaming up, it was terrible. If they decide on another booster, or if they come up with a universal vaccine, I surely hope it is in the summer.

Cartoon –

Short Takes –

Crooks and Liars – Colleyville’s Synagogue Hostage Crisis And White Supremacy
Quote – The fact that millions of Jews watch in horror, generational trauma triggered, the oldest bigotry still raging, as four innocent Jews are held captive by someone we recognize we’ll need to protect once it is over — even while it is going on — is a mind-f*ck of epic proportions.
Click through. Every person in the United States needs to read this.

Huff Post Fringe – How Hatred Of Women Is Fueling The Far-Right
Quote – McLeod’s case is an example of the ties between misogyny and easy access to guns that Everytown for Gun Safety highlights in a new report this week, which was shared with HuffPost ahead of its publication. The group documents at least six high-profile misogyny-driven mass shootings in the U.S. since 2014, and the ways that guns and hatred of women have served as a unifying tie for many far-right groups online.
Click through for more. We, at least we on the left, have figured out that pointing out that racism exists is not itself racist. But we don’t seem to have figured out that pointing out that misgyny exists is not itself misogynistic. Well, we need to. Because misgyny is even more prevalent than racism, has a much larger persentage of the marginalized who buy into it themselves, and will destroy the country if we try to elect a woman President before the nation is ready, even if she walks on water.

Medium – Restoring the Senate to Protect the Freedom to Vote {Op-Ed)
Quote – If the Senate cannot even begin to debate and vote on something as foundational as voting rights, we must reform Senate rules and restore the chamber to its rightful place as “the world’s greatest deliberative body.”
Protecting the freedom to vote should not be a partisan issue. In 2006, for example, the Senate voted 98–0 to reauthorize the Voting Rights Act. The Help America Vote Act passed 98–2 in the wake of the chaos of the 2000 election. One of its primary proponents was Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell.
Click through for full letter. Nine former Senators have signed it, including Doug Jones (who sent it to me) and Mark Udall (IMO the best Senator Colorado has ever had – at least since I have lived here.)

Food For Thought:

Video Thread 1/19/2022

Posted by Joanne Dixon at 11:57 am Open Thread, Politics

Jan 192022

Glenn Kirschner – Is Garland’s DOJ Investigating Trump and Company? Here Are Some Clues From Garland’s Past Work

Meidas Touch – How PLAYBOY saved Reporter Brian Karem’s Life on Jan 6!! |

politicsrus – Its Your Moment

MSNBC – Rep. Raskin: Jan. 6 Public Phase Will Hopefully Be Like Watergate Hearings (I didn’t realize how deeply good trouble ran in his family. That explains a lot.)

Really Americn – Republicans STEALING Americans Right To Vote

Rocky Mountain Mike – Pee All That You Can Pee

Beau – Let’s talk about Tucker, the lost and found, and the way it is….

Open Thread for January 19, 2022

Posted by Joanne Dixon at 6:49 am Open Thread, Personal, Politics

Jan 192022

Yesterday, I spent some time figuring out what to wear today. In this case, it’s not a matter of appearance. I’m getting my booster today, and I need to come up with clothing which will keep me warm enough in below freezing temperatiures (a high of 30 is predicted) yet still nake it easy to accesss my deltoid without indecency, while at the same time, protecting me as much as possible from airborne droplets. That is not something which is immediately obvious – or at least not to me. So thought is required.

Cartoon –

Short Takes –

Letters from an American (Heather Cox Richardson) – Januaty 17, 2022
Quote – In this moment of struggle over voting rights in America, it is important to distinguish between voter fraud, which is vanishingly rare and has not affected the outcome of elections, and election fraud, which is coming to characterize a number of our important elections.
Voter fraud is about an individual breaking the law and is almost always caught. It is not a threat to democracy.
Election fraud means that people in power have rigged the system so that the will of the voters is overturned. When it happens, it threatens to destroy our nation.
Click through for full letter. She puts some things together. (I would point out that by no means of them are proven to the point of being ready to go to court.) But she is no dummy. Her newletter is free to subscribe.

The 19th – Black women in Martin Luther King Jr.’s neighborhood will soon receive monthly cash payments
Quote – That work that In Her Hands will do in the coming two years will build on that established by other programs like Magnolia Mother’s Trust, the first privately-run guaranteed income program in the country. Launched in Jackson, Mississippi, in 2018, it gave 20 Black mothers $1,000 a month for a year, growing to cover 110 in its 2020-2021 year and another 100 in the most recent cohort, which will wrap up this March. All were living 200 percent below the federal poverty line and in subsidized housing. Most are working.
Click through for details and information on the successes of previous programs. Republicans are committed to the idea that people won’t work unless they are reduced to bare subsistence level, and that then they will work for pennies. That may seem intuitive, but these programs demonstrate it isn’t reality.

Crooks and Liars – Crockett And Lake Are Poster Children For GOP Harassment And Extremism
Quote – (in a tweet from Patriot Takes) Kari Lake supporter Ethan Schmidt: “I just love harassing people, especially cancer patients because they’re weak and vulnerable and easy targets.” Kari Lake is running for Arizona Governor and appeared in one of Ethan’s videos. Lake refuses to denounce Ethan Schmidt.
Click through for story. C&L republished this from “No More Mr. Nice Blog,” which I have provisionally added to the Blogroll. He does have other things to say. And he certainly has a point in this column.

Food For Thought: