Open Thread for June 9, 2021

 Posted by at 7:00 am  Open Thread, Personal, Politics
Jun 092021
 

I checked around and the most promising one which is also the one that clearly shows on the map it serves my area) has a contact me form. I tried on both browsers (some sites don’t like one or the other, and when I still had no answer i called and reached someone. So, 2:00 pm today he will be here and change it. Then I will look into vaccine appointments – not that I haven’t already, and they seem to be available and plentiful. I will keep you posted, of course.

Cartoon

Short Takes

The Hill – New report highlights severe intelligence failures on Jan. 6 Personally, I’m not sure you can call it a “failure” of intelligence when deliberate ignoring is involved, but whatever
Quote: “The failures are obvious. I think to me it was all summed up by one of the things in our report where one of the officers was heard on the radio that day asking the tragically simple question: ‘Does anybody have a plan?’ Sadly, no one did,” said Sen. Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.), chair of the Senate Rules Committee.
Click through for the rest

Mother Jones – How the 2022 Midterms Could Be Shaped by a Few Easy-to-Ignore Elections This Year I don’t think it’s any too early to be thinking about midtersm.
Quote: Chaz Nuttycombe, the director of Virginia-based election forecaster CNalysis, explains, “Democrats wouldn’t be in the majority in the Virginia House if Trump had lost in 2016.”
Click through for full analysis

BBC News – ANOM: Hundreds arrested in massive global crime sting using messaging app This is makinging all kinds of news – the BBC article is explained the most simply.
Quote: More than 800 suspected criminals have been arrested worldwide after being tricked into using an FBI-run encrypted messaging app, officials say. The operation, jointly conceived by Australia and the FBI, saw devices with the ANOM app secretly distributed among criminals, allowing police to monitor their chats about drug smuggling, money laundering and even murder plots.
Click through for more details

Food for Thought: Are you in need of a new welcome mat for your front door (outside or inside)? John Paclovitz is offering two peaachy-keen ones. My favorite:

Share

Hi all

 Posted by at 10:41 pm  Politics
Jun 082021
 

Hello everyone,

Sorry for my absence – I have been trying to keep my head above water in dealing with all this.  Trying to work, navigate legal issues, deal with my household, my elderly mother, an upcoming trip, etc…….. Needless to say, it has been a balancing act.

It was Tom’s wishes that I have a video memorial in his honor so that we all had a chance to say good-bye – I would like to do that when “he can join us”.  Apparently, getting him cremated and getting his remains has not been an easy task.  The legal paperwork I sent in giving me permission to make decision upon his death is currently being reviewed by their “legal department”.  Once that is complete, they will contact me to make further arrangements.  Who knew it would be so hard to get someone’s remains?  I will keep you all posted.

I have a vacation scheduled to Florida at the end of this month.  I really would like to have all this handled by the time I leave so that I may use my time away to “rejuvenate” my weary soul.

I am currently trying to deal with my mother as well.  She is 85 and has some severe mobility issues.  She should not live on her own anymore.  I either need to put her house up for sale and find a suitable retirement home for her or find someone that can live with her and help care for her.  She is not liking either option basically because she doesn’t want to part with any money.  I am unable to live with her and provide her full-time care (for many, many, many reasons) -I know that seems strange since you all know me as a caregiver, but it just isn’t something that can be done right now.  Needless to say, somedays it feels as if everything is happening at once.
Please know that my thoughts are with you all – I will keep you all posted.

Thank you for your patience,

Wendy

Share

Video Thread 6/8/21

 Posted by at 1:00 pm  Open Thread, Politics
Jun 082021
 

Glenn Kirschner – a recap of May

Don WInslow Films – Well, he nails Sinema, but I’d rather have her than a Republican 9and no, she isn’t one – she [and Manchin] both vote with the Democratic caucus more often than not. Sadly, the “not” votes are generally more visible.)

The Republican Accountability Project – a coule of weeks old, but aged well – too well.

Ring of Fire – Mo Brooks

RebelHQ – DANGEROUS Trump Speech You Can’t Ignore – good analysis of the need to cover garbage pople who are also dangerous

Beau – I’ve seen him upset before – but not this upset. (And with good reason.)

Share

Open Thread for June 8, 2021

 Posted by at 7:00 am  Open Thread, Personal, Politics
Jun 082021
 

My mechanic and I (I say “my mechanic,” but it’s actually a team) are in consensus that a new battery was needed, so I am calling and emailing around to find one that can be delivered. I’m ot committed as yet, but it’s still a relief to feel that I know what I need to do and have started doing it.

 

Cartoon

Short Takes

The Borowitz Report – Putin Says He Has No Intention of Reinstating Trump
MOSCOW (The Borowitz Report)—Calling recent speculation “absurd,” Vladimir Putin said that he has “no intention whatsoever” of reinstating Donald J. Trump as President of the United States.
Speaking to reporters, the Russian President bristled at the suggestion that he would reinstall Trump in the White House “this August or any other month, for that matter.”
Click through for details. I certainly hope this is straight news!

MSNBC – The GOP’s base is preparing for a holy war — and Democrats need to pay attention
Yes, another opinion piece – one which it’s hard to disagree with if one is paying attention and is honest. Quote:
The sentiments that these Republicans share differ at times in the particulars — not all believe, for example, that the Democratic Party is a front for blood-drinking, Satanic pedophilia, but many do…. If one believes a priori that one’s opponents are thieves, would-be totalitarians, drinkers of children’s blood, wresting back power becomes in and of itself a moral imperative, regardless of the means.
Click through for the full piece.

The New Yorker – How Nasty Was Nero, Really?
Fake news is not news. It’s been around forever. I’ve been defending Nero for a while now – along with Marie Antoinette, Richard III, and Hillary Clinton. Not one of them was guilty of the arson, murder, incest, or miscellaneous crimes he or she was accused of. Can we hope that Hillary’s reputation will fare any better than that of the other three? Here’s a quote:
Opper told me, “They had a term for it—vituperatio, or ‘vituperation,’ which meant that you could say anything about your opponent. You can really invent all manner of things just to malign that character. And that is exactly the kind of language and stereotypes we find in the source accounts.”
Click through for details. Why is it relevant now? Well, look what Qpublicans are saying about us.

Food for Thought:

Share

Video Thread 6/7/21

 Posted by at 1:00 pm  Open Thread, Politics
Jun 072021
 

Glenn Kirschner – “Lawlessness begets lawlessness”

Now This News – Paxton Smith Reflects on Her Viral Abortion Speech

Ring of Fire – Scholars Warn That Republicans Have Launched A Total Assault On Democracy

Thom Hartmann – Is the GOP Insanity Being Driven By Trump or 40 Years of Madness? – Our Tom has been saying this for years.

Rocky Mountain Mike – “Bye Bye Blog”

Beau – Let’s talk about coming together under China and good news….

Share

Open Thread for June 7, 2021

 Posted by at 7:00 am  Open Thread, Personal, Politics
Jun 072021
 

Well, hail. Yes, that’s what we had yesterday. Oh, yeah, and thunder and lightning too. i did some research on mobile battery replacement, but I also sent off an email to my regular mechanic for advice. (They’ve never steered me wrong.) I will keep everyone posted.

 

Cartoon ( Lona) –

Short Takes

The New Yorker – The Republicans’ Wild Assault on Voting Rights in Texas and Arizona   More and more people are trying to talk about this – you’ll see that in the video thread too. I wish I was confident it would reach the people who need to hear it. Here’s a quote:
Texas was already the most difficult state in which to cast a ballot, according to a recent study by Northern Illinois University. In 2020, voter turnout there was among the lowest in the nation. Even so, with nonwhites making up more than sixty per cent of the population under twenty, Texas is on its way to becoming a swing
Click through for the rest

The Daily Beast is on the same topic too. A quote:
Joe Biden wanted to convene a Summit of Democracies in his first year as president. COVID complicated matters, and the summit won’t happen before next year at the earliest. But even with the great strides the administration has made in taming the pandemic, a new question looms:
By the time the Summit of Democracies takes place, will the United States qualify to attend?
Click through for the full article

Politico is also on the trail … but eschewing sweeping generalzations for concrete specifics.
Republicans want to change state election laws. Here’s how they’re doing it. Here’s a quote –
Together, Texas and Georgia show which areas Republicans are focused on after Trump’s 2020 loss. Texas’ mail voting policies were already very tight, but both states sought to make their absentee policies stricter. Both states specifically targeted new voting policies piloted by big, blue counties in 2020. And Republicans in both states sought to impose new limits on election officials — and expose them to new criminal penalties for wrongdoing.
Click though for the rest.

Food for Thought:

Share

Sunday Smiles: Traitor Trump Puts Himself on “No Fly” List

 Posted by at 5:24 pm  Politics
Jun 062021
 

At Trump’s rally last night in North Carolina, Donnie finally got around to putting on his “Big Boy Pants”.  But sadly, they were the actual pull-up kind worn by toddlers.  Either that, or Donnie has reached that stage in his dementia where he somehow managed to put his own pants on backwards!

And rightfully so, the Twitterverse is having a Field Day mocking him!

 

When Trump was asked by the media afterwards what he thought the best part of his speech was, Donnie would only say, “Depends …”

It’s sad that not a single member of his staff cared enough to tell him: “Sir, you put your pants backwards.”

Of course some that believe Trump is an actual alien and contend that his pants were on correctly – but they forgot to give his lower body a final half-turn twist until it clicked into place.

And Randy Rainbow was not going to be left out of the fun mocking Donnie:

(Personally, I thought Donnie reminded me of Betty White from Golden Girls🙂

Many marveled at how far Trump has fallen.  Hard to imagine that just a short while ago he could launch nuclear missiles.  And now he can’t even put his trousers on!

 

While this is probably the correct answer:

I think we can all agree with Phoebe’s reaction from Friends:

 

 

 

Share

Video Thread 6/6/21

 Posted by at 1:00 pm  Open Thread, Politics
Jun 062021
 


Glenn Kirschner with a “Top Five” list o Don McGahn’s testimony

Meidas Touch – More Jason Kande

Armageddon nUpdate – One of Titus’s best. Touching even. It he talks too fast for you, slowing it down to 75% usually helps a lot.

VoteVets now has two ads each aimed at a specific state … and the two states are West Virginia and Arizona. Let me see … what do those twp states have in common?

Beau – Let’s talk about Trump, Facebook, and the future….

Keith – I don’t know who he is talking to that thinks Democrats are afrais to arrest Trump**. I don’t see that at all. I’ve heard things like it in the past (over much less consequential actions0, but I’m not hearing it now. And if too hasty arrest causes any case, or any charges, no matter how small, to be tossed out in the courts, Keith is going to look awfully stupid. I love Keith but some one with more prosecutorial knowledge than I needs to sit him down and have a talk.

Share
 Older Entries  Newer Entries