Open Thread for September 5, 2021

 Posted by at 7:07 am  Open Thread, Personal, Politics
Sep 052021
 

Yesterday, I tried to rest as much as possible. I brought the trash and recyclables carts up to where they “live” and collected a couple of packages from the mailbox — which required shoes but I think was worth it.

Cartoon –

I simply must add that 300 years later, to the day, was the very first Jerry Lewis Muscular Dystrophy telethon.  I’m sure there’s no connection.

Short Takes –

Crooks and Liars – If God Wills It
Quote – There is no question that Hurricane Ida was a horrible storm which caused a lot of damage. The suffering will continue for weeks as people are without power and it is sweltering hot. But as a friend of mine always says, you gotta look for the happiness in the crappiness. A clear example is that the offices of James O’Keefe and Project Veritas got wiped out:
Click through for comments. The quote is pretty much the whole story, but you know people who read “Crooks and Liars” are going to be smart-alecky, at least some of them.

The Hill – The Memo: Attacks on democracy seep down to school boards, election offices
Quote – In many places there is fear — fear for the safety of the low- and mid-level officials who do the unglamorous work that keeps democracy knitted together and fear for what happens if they decide it’s just not worth it.
Click through for story. This is important. You’ve heard of people who can’t see the forest for the trees – but in my experience, Democrats, politically are more likely to be unable to see the trees for the forest. School Boards (usually unpaid and elective) and election worker (most volunteer, seasonal, and paid a little, but some employed year round by county offices) are critical to our ability to keep our democracy … which is why Republicans, who see every leaf on every tree, and most of the bugs on the leaves, are systematically undermining them.

“my stateline” – Emails released in FOIA show hundreds of parents thanked Pritzker for issuing school mask mandate
Quote – A House Republican who sought “data, studies, scientific or medical articles, and correspondence” from people advocating in support of school mask mandates got her answer in dramatic fashion on Tuesday. Governor Pritzker’s office responded to an August 10th Freedom of Information Act Request filed by Rep. Tony McCombie (R-Savanna) by sending a staffer to her legislative office in Springfield to hand-deliver 870 pages of studies and letters from parents that supported the mask mandate.
Click through for details. This is priceless. I realize that even multiplied by 10 or 20 (the numbers usually cited to compare those with opinions to those actually writing) 870 is a drop in the bucket in a state the size f Illinois, but it certainly is impressive. Dumb Republicans. (Yeah, I know, I misspelled “Damn.”)

Food for Thought –

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Mother Nature’s Farewell Lightshow to Summer

 Posted by at 4:28 pm  Politics
Sep 042021
 

This Monday, Labor Day, will mark the unofficial close of summer 2021.  One of my fondest childhood summer memories is being entranced by the annual low-key lightshow in June and July courtesy of fireflies.  And of course, catching them in my Mom’s Ball Mason jars.

But sadly, with pollution and conversion of rural land to subdivisions, that delightful experience is becoming harder and harder to come by for kids today.  So I thought it’d be fun to revisit those sweet childhood memories before Fall sets in, in a final farewell to Summer.

While there still are areas blessed with fireflies here, Japan is the Mecca for those who truly want to enjoy spectacular firefly shows.

First, a little background: Fireflies are a type beetle with more than 2,000 species.  The males use their flashing light while flying to attract females who are usually resting in the grass.  When she sees a flashing pattern she particularly fancies, she’ll flash back to signal she’s interested in mating.

While the adult firefly only lives about two months, typically in June and July (give or take a few weeks), that still gives them plenty of time to produce eggs that will hatch into larvae and then emerge from their pupae next summer to put on a new lightshow.

In Japan, fireflies are called Hotaru.  While Japan has about 45 different species, only 14 of them have the flashing capability.

In the Heian era (794 – 1185) noblemen and women would take excursions into the countryside just to enjoy the firefly lightshows, as it was the epitome of summer enjoyment.

Fireflies in Japan are seen as symbols of both love and war, and celebrated in song and writings.  In fact, in The Tale of Genji (which some view as the world’s first novel) the hero provides his brother a brief glimpse of a beautiful damsel by releasing a bag of fireflies in her boudoir.  Yet others think that their ethereal lights are the altered remnants of the souls of soldiers killed in battle.

In a myriad of ways fireflies play a prominent role in Japanese culture – like in the song “Hotaru no Hikari” (Light of the Firefly).  It’s one of the most popular songs in Japan, traditionally sung when parting ways or marking the end of the year.  So it’s no surprise it’s sung to the tune of the Scottish song “Auld Lang Syne” (which doesn’t mention a single firefly).

It’s also worked its way into the language, such as “Keisetsu-jidadi” which literally means “the era of the firefly and snow”.  It refers to one’s days as student, back when children would study by the light provided by fireflies or at the window in the winter with light reflected off the snow.

A very recent addition to their lexicon is “hotaru-zoku” (firefly tribe).  There are many high-rise apartments in Japan, and men are typically forced to smoke outside on their balconies.  So the glow from the cigarettes mimics the glow of the firefly, which can’t survive in urban spaces.

Today, Japanese families takes trips to dozens of rural locations that are designated as firefly reserves.  These spots provide the three essentials for fireflies to live: [1] Clean, unpolluted water (that’s where the larvae live); [2] Grassy banks and trees along the waterways (where they can rest); and [3] Darkness (so they can see each other in order to select a mate).

Some of the best-known firefly photos were taken by Daniel Kordan, a Russian landscape photographers.  An assignment in Japan happened to coincide with the peak time for firefly viewing – and he was hooked.  “I felt like a kid looking for the first time in my life at a Christmas tree!”

Let’s enjoy some of his work.

One of the most unique and rare attributes of fireflies are males that actually synchronize their flashes.  They’re found in a very limited number of sites: the Great Smoky Mountains, the mangrove forests in Southeast Asia that light up the whole tree, and the island of Okinawa.

Not surprisingly, the synchronous lightshow of the Photinus carolinus firefly is so mesmerizing that it draws over 12,000 visitors every year to the Great Smoky Mountains National Park in Elkmont, TN.

For those that want to learn more on how the males synchronize their flashes, here are two links:

https://www.ecowatch.com/firefly-synchronization-2653841078.html

https://www.ecowatch.com/synchronous-fireflies-great-smoky-mountains-2653387318.html

But if we don’t understand all the details on how and why, we can still enjoy their show:

And so we bid a fond farewell to our childhood days of summer …

(I always wanted to use that phrase.)

 

 

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Video Thread 9/4/2021

 Posted by at 12:13 pm  Open Thread, Politics
Sep 042021
 

Meidas Touch – Jaime Harrison DESTROYS ‘Criminal’ Kevin McCarthy

MSNBC – Deadline White House

MSNBC – Figliuzzi: Senate Asked All Wrong Questions About The Pro-Trump Attack On Capitol

Acurate Transcript here

Lakota Peoples Law Project – NoDAPL: Ruby Montoya is Not a Terrorist

Really American – Hillary Proven Right Again

Corey Ryan Forrester – Anti Vaxxer Defends the Children at City Council Meeting

Beau – Let’s talk about that law in Texas and tattoos….

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SOUND OFF! 9/4/21 – Terror in Texas

 Posted by at 7:50 am  Politics
Sep 042021
 

Texas’ new anti-abortion law is utter madness. It has opened up a serious can of worms, and not just because health care providers dare not perform abortions for fear of being harshly fined. Even if you don’t like abortion, you should hate and fear this law. Why? First, it legitimizes vigilantism. Second, it is the camel’s nose in the tent. If Texas can get away with offering bounties for turning in people who provide or aid and abet abortions, how much longer before similar laws do the same for non-binary sex, or undocumented immigrants, or supporting genuine science, or bashing the Dallas Cowboys?

S.B. 8 is absolute. There are no loopholes to allow exceptions in case of rape or incest, only for medical emergencies. And how will women be able to prove a medical emergency? No doubt many will try this route, only to get a beaurocratic runaround. Also, any attempt to get this exemption will expose them to Fetus Vigilantes hungry for payouts.

You know that people are going to abuse this law. Hate your neighbors? Claim that the Ms. was planning to have an abortion. Hey, you saw her drive past a Planned Parenthood facility or OB/GYN office! She was definitely contemplating the procedure, or maybe she dropped off a friend for one. Since anybody who is at all involved in an abortion can be sued, even someone who was just in the wrong place at the wrong time, or says the wrong thing within earshot of the wrong person, will be in peril.

This law will bring out the worst in a lot of people, resulting in witch hunts and persecution on an unfathomable scale. The fact that people can snitch anonymously, and that their evidence can be very flimsy, makes it all the more dangerous. Encouraging people to squeal on their neighbors is a tactic that oppressive regimes use to keep the masses in line.

S.B. 8 means that, if a creep rapes a woman, he can claim she sought an abortion – even if she didn’t get pregnant – and get his 10-train bounty from her. So, the more women he prongs, the more lucre he can potentially collect. A lovely way to make a living. Or, a fellow could try to blackmail a woman or girl he wants to hump by threatening to report her, giving her a choice of possibly forking over 10 biggies – and exposing her to persecution by anti-choice activists – or spreading her legs. S.B. 8 glorifies the worst aspects of toxic masculinity.

And what about women who suffer miscarriages? What if they didn’t kiss the right arses and are accused of attempting abortion? A miscarriage is tragic enough; adding on prosecution for a crime that never even happened is cruel beyond cruel.

What if somebody can’t pay the bounty? A lot of people don’t have an extra 10 grand lying around. What if the person forced to pay up is living paycheck to paycheck? Can employers garnish the checks of such people – thus making it even harder to pay the bills, keep up with rent, and feed the family? People in desperate circumstances will do terrible things, which I need not list here.

Meanwhile, Governor Abbott has banned mask mandates intended to stem the spread of COVID-19, and also signed legislation that removed the requirement to have a license in order to own a firearm. In other words, Texas values only the lives of embryos and fetuses. Once you’re born, tough noogies – you have to run a gauntlet of dangerous viruses and armed bugnuts.

Already people are fighting back, and happily they are doing so with creative nonviolence. The “squeal” page set up by Texas Right to Life has become a target for phony reports and furry porn, and while writing this I learned that GoDaddy has closed down the site. Activists are organizing marches and protests around the country. Petitions by the busload are making the rounds demanding protection for reproductive freedom.

This evil must be squelched before it spreads to other states – or worse, becomes national law. We need to get progressive people registered to vote. We need to expand the Supreme Court so Biden can add justices who will protect our rights. Because if we cannot stop the tide of fascism with ballots – no, please don’t go there, because then the only two paths are increasing oppression until we envy people in Communist China, or a revolution that will not be peaceful. We must fight back in every nonviolent, clever, and preferably legal way we can now.

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Open Thread for September 4, 2021

 Posted by at 6:59 am  Open Thread, Personal, Politics
Sep 042021
 

Yesterday, I got to see Virgil and we had as good a visit as you can have under the conditions. A couple of non-visitation staff members passed through the lobby while I was checking in said hi to me, and one actually came to the visitation room to say hi to me. Well, I must be doing something right. (So must Virgil.)  I appreciate them too. I depend on them to keep Virgil safe and healthy and even in some semblance of good spirits. Of course I was exhausted when I got home. So this may be a bit skimpy.

Cartoon –

Short Takes –

Dem Underground – Elie Mystal, a legal expert, says . . .
Quote – Biden would be entirely within his rights to deputize doctors in Texas and make them federal employees with immunity. That’s a great idea. Make all clinic employees federal officers and untouchable.
Click through. The quote is all there is, and no link is provided, but the discussion is most interesting (Don’t believe everything. Not everyone is a lawyer.)

Her Husband Was in Jail When Ida Hit. She Hasn’t Heard From Him Since.


Click through. The quote is all there is, and no link is provided, but the discussion is most interesting (Don’t believe everything. Not everyone is a lawyer.)

Mother Jones – Her Husband Was in Jail When Ida Hit. She Hasn’t Heard From Him Since.
Quote – Yet despite a mandatory evacuation order for parish residents, Sheriff Greg Champagne did not evacuate people in the jail ahead of the storm. By Monday, the 911 system in the parish wasn’t working, according to Nola.com; on Thursday, repeated calls to the sheriff’s office and jail still failed to connect. For Davis, who has not received any word of her husband’s safety since the storm, the silence is frightening. She is planning to travel to the jail herself, along with her husband’s mother, to get answers.
Click through for story. I believe you “catch more flies with honey than you do with vinegar” in any case. But this is another reason to be nice to the good staff.

Food for Thought –

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You Would Think I Would’ve Learned My Lesson By Now …

 Posted by at 1:29 pm  Politics
Sep 032021
 

But you’d be wrong!

What I thought was going to be an easy, straightforward “Farewell to Summer” Friday Fun turned out to be more interesting and complex than I had thought.

So once again, I tried to bite off more than I can chew …

Plus today is “Phone Call Day” from my nephew and his family (I actually have to SCHEDULE my phone calls with them so they’ll all be available).

So, once again Friday Fun will morph to a Saturday Smile.

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Video Thread 9/3/2021

 Posted by at 12:26 pm  Open Thread, Politics
Sep 032021
 

Glenn Kirschner – Rep. Kevin McCarthy Obstructs the Congressional Investigation into 1/6 Attack; DOJ Must Act

MSNBC – Vets Group Leader Praises Biden Strength For Afghanistan Exit; Pushes Back On Critics

Meidas Touch – Better With Biden

Now This News – January 6 Select Committee Wants These Questions Answered

Really American – Republicans Impose AlQaeda Laws on Texas Women

Liberal Redneck – Texas Abortion Law Ramblings (Another Patreon Excerpt)

Beau – Let’s talk about foreign policy, American vs Soviet style….

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Open Thread for September 3, 2021

 Posted by at 7:27 am  Open Thread, Personal, Politics
Sep 032021
 

Yesterday, I was a little drowsy, having not slept well. As long as i could manage to do what I needed to do, I welcomed that – hoping it would help me get to sleep early last night, which I needed to do in order to get up so early today. By the time you see this (which should be fairly early), I will already be on the road. I’ll respond to comments when I return.

Cartoon –

Short Takes –

The Hill – Federal judge approves bankruptcy settlement for Purdue Pharma
Quote – Purdue, the maker of OxyContin, filed for bankruptcy in 2019 in an attempt to settle about 3,000 lawsuits from states, tribes and other local entities related to the company’s aggressive opioid marketing that they argue contributed to the opioid crisis that has killed nearly 500,000 people over the past 20 years. The settlement plan would shield members of the Sackler family and hundreds of their associates from future opioid lawsuits.
Click through for details. “Controversial” apparently in this case (as too often) being a euphemism for “outrageous.” I will say it sounds like the judge was holding his nose when he signed it.

Crooks and Liars – Even Karl Rove Is Bashing Madison Cawthorn
Quote – Rove wants the Congressman to focus more on Western North Carolina and less on traveling around the country. If it’s his own money then that would be fine, but he’s using his donors’ money to fund his trips around the country to focus on grievance politics. He’s already burnt through much of his coffers at this point.
Click through for a little more detail. His primary opponent is hitting this hard against him. But … look at all the people who voted for Mr. “Not paying taxes makes me smart.” Sigh.

New York Times – Go-to Lawyer for Capitol Riot Defendants Disappears   (Following up)
Quote – While the government has not yet weighed in on the merits on [Pierce’s] claims, prosecutors did express concern in their letters filed on Monday about the young associate, Ryan Joseph Marshall, who has been standing in for Mr. Pierce at the hearings he has missed. For one thing, Mr. Marshall is not a licensed lawyer, prosecutors said, and has taken actions on behalf of clients “that he is not permitted” to take. Moreover, they went on, it remains unclear if and when Mr. Marshall will be able to get his law license given that he is under indictment in two criminal cases accusing him of corruption, theft and fraud in Pennsylvania. Mr. Pierce’s situation is not his first encounter with personal and professional setbacks. Last year, his law firm nearly collapsed in a swirl of debts and resignations. Then his most prominent client, Kyle Rittenhouse, the young man charged with murder at a racial justice protest in Wisconsin last year, fired him in a highly public spat that included allegations that a charity arranged for the defense had engaged in financial improprieties.
Click through for a lot of information. I really hope y’all can get past the paywall. This is so much more bizarre than any secondary source has yet published.

Food for Thought –

Addendum:  The dude who assaulted the reporter has been nabbed.

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