Politics – Page 42 – Politics Plus

Open Thread July 13 2025

Posted by Joanne Dixon at 6:00 am Politics

Jul 132025

Yesterday, the radio opera was “Manon Lescaut” by Daniel Auber – something which I did not even know existed. I knew about “Manon” by Jules Massenet, and “Manon Lescaut” by Giacomo Puccini – which are going to be the next two operas in the radio series. All are from the same opera house in Turin, Italy, which decided to present all three in one season for comparison. You may remember I said about “The Queen of Spades” that the opera, the operetta, and the te original novella are three very different stories. Well, that’s pretty much true of Manon as well, except it’s four different stories, all three operas being adapted from the same novel. The one plot point they all have in common is that they all end with Manon being deported to Louisiana and dying there from poverty. If this strikes you as somewhat too politically appropriate, the WFMY group may have had that in mind, but the Teatre Regio probably didnt, and all three operas were recorded last October – and therefore likely scheduled some time in 2022, or even earlier. The Auber version, with a libretto by Eugene Scribe cleaned up the heroine’s morals somewhat. The other two didn’t but differ in other ways. (If you have any energy to spare, you might want to look up Eugene Scribe some time. The list of playwrights he influenced all over the western world is striking. You may never have heard of him, but you have seen plays or movies by writers he influenced.) Daniel Auber’s father and grandfather both had royal appointments, but when he was about 10, the French Revolution started and he had to find something else to make a living. What had been his hobby became his profession. So, there’s politics all over this opera. It does have spoken dialogue – the plot was not lofty enough for the Paris Opera, so it premiered at the Opera Comique, and was the first opera there with a tragic ending, preceding Bizet’s “Carmen” and probably paving the way for it – although Bizet’s librettist did not clean up the heroine’s morals, so it was still a scandal when it came along. Anyway, next week Massenet, and the following week Puccini, same story only different. The one by Auber for this week has delightful music including “bel canto.” The other two are newer, but both are also very listenable (neither of them cleaned up Manon’s morals, because by that time, Carmen had come along.) Off to see Virgil now – will check in upon return as always.

I know everyone is going to love this story, because if there’s anything we have in common besides being passionate about democracy, is being passionate about animal welfare. And I think I’m being pretty good at sticking to good news and apolitical humor for Sundays to give us a break. But if you can use more of a break, consider getting “The Smile” newsletter daily. The subscribe button is on this page.

Also referred by The Smile but either paywalled or ad-blocker-walled. From archive it’s all there.

Rocky Mountain Mike is back for a short one

Open Thread July 12 2025

Posted by Joanne Dixon at 5:25 pm Open Thread, Personal, Politics

Jul 122025

Yesterday, I took some “me” time playing a solitaire game series I own most of – and the newer the game in the series, the more bells and whistles. Every hand you play, you earn three things – stars, gems, and coins. You can use the coind for buying power-ups, like extra “undo” use per hand, or more cards, or more coins, or wild cards. With the gems you can buy bits and pieces of a scene, which when you hye played all the hands in that scene, you have a potential wallpaper f you wish to use it. The stars are one of many ways you ca earn “trophies’ which are just for bragging rights. There are also obstacles, like chained cards, cards tied with silk ribbons, cards covered with plant growth, and more. The farther you get into each game, the more potential obstacles – and the newer the game, the more possible obstacles you can encounter. So there is more strategy involved than just one hand at a time. Each game has 200 hands (not counting extra variants such as classic solitaires or “Mah Jong” boards) , and each scene requires about 40 hands to “build.” It can really take my mind off just about anything, and yesterday, I needed some of that. In fact, I apparently needed it so much I forgot to hit “Publish.” Sorry to be so late.
I maybe should mention that in my cartoon, “We” means us. Everyone here tried. And feel free to share it widely anywhere It might do some good.

From The Intercept. What makes this violence – and all violence based on arrogance so peculiarly disgusting is the fact that the pond scum committing the violence (probably “just following orders” but having way too much fun doing it) are so many orders of magnitude lesser human being than those who they are looking down on and violating that it’s nor really possible to put it into words, and least of all words they might understand. “Pond scum” doesn’t really even come close. And I cannot wrap my head around what to call the individuals from whom these degenerates are getting their deranged orders.

Wonkette did a roundup of ICE horrors in general. I confess to not being able to finish reading it. If you can manage it, it’s fairly comprehensive.

Open Thread July 11 2025

Posted by Joanne Dixon at 6:00 am Open Thread, Personal, Politics

Jul 112025

Yesterday, the ACLU announced in an email that it had quickly refiled to block the executive order against birthright citizenship as a class action, allowing a federal judge to block it nation wide. Also, I got my blood test results and none of my meds is changing this time – a welcome first. Also, the 19th advised me that the first Barbie doll to have Type 1 diabetes is here. This is what she looks like. If it seems weird to you to se something so comparatively “normal” in the news, you are not alone.

This from the F* News is brilliantly framed and might possibly even suck MAGA into reading it, though they might not get the point.

Press Watch with Dan Froomkin – who does know what journalism is, and also what it isn’t. If you claim to be a journalist, and have “a strong belief and passion” in anything other than truth and accuracy – you are nor a journalist. Period. (And the New York Times is just as bad and getting worse by the day.)

It’s hardly news that Republicans lie. Some of us who have been saying they lie like Democrats breath are now starting to re-evaluate that, because they lie so much more than Democrats breathe. It should be no surprise that Heather Cox Richardson has their number.

Open Thread July 10 2025

Posted by Joanne Dixon at 5:58 am Open Thread, Personal, Politics

Jul 102025

Yesterday, I had blood drawn again. I get it – my PCP is still trying to strike the right balance between enough thyroid to give me the energy to get up each day (and notice that I don’t say “morning”) and too much for my osteoporosis, while also trying to pamper my kidneys. (I really miss aspirin – acetaminophen is pretty much just a sugar pill for me. The TENS helps but not for the forehead. Fortunately, I still have a nearly empty tin and a new, unopened tin of a “sore muscle rub” containing menthol, which has been discontinued, but of which a little goes a long way, which does work on the forehead. I don’t know how much is the menthol, how much is the massage, and how much is the combination, but it does work. And, as I say, it goes a log way – I don’t expect to outlive the new tin.) Also, the blood draws are fast and painless. This one was so fast and so painless i didn’t have time to think of my favorite vampire joke until I had left. I hope I can remember it for next time. In case you’re wondering:

Three vampires walk into a bar. Bartender says, “What’ll you have?” First vampire says, “I’ll have a glass of blood, please.” Second vampire says, “Same for me, thanks.” Third vampire says, “I think I’ll just have a glass of plasma today.” Bartender says, “Right. Two bloods and a blood lite.”

Having ICE raid MacArthur Park and terrify children was bad enough. Let’s not use it as an excuse to crucify Karen Bass. So says the Editrix of Wonkette, and I heartily agree. I can’t put into words how tired I am of misogyny in general and the singling out of black women in particular.

Damn, this from the Contrarian is scary. And it kind of random that we have access to the information at all. Although had we not allowed the Mango Menace to be elected, we might not have as much need to know it as we now do.

Robert Reich did not email this as a print article from his Substack, but as a video from Move On. It does have CC, so there’s a transcript (which might need some proofreading). But this is so important – and, sadly, so many people (not here, but almost certainly someone you know) are duped into believing regulation is bad.

Open Thread July 9 2025

Posted by Joanne Dixon at 6:00 am Open Thread, Personal, Politics

Jul 092025

Yesterday, I read in Wonkette about a new Superman movie coming out this summer. If you can go to theaters (my allergies preclude my doing so) you may want to go see it. MAGA will be boycotting it, so there’s that. Monday evening’s radio program on movie scores talked about Christopher Reeve, and how he got cast even though no one thought he looked muscular enough, but they expected him yo wear a “muscle suit,” and instead he worked out and bulked up from 185# to 225# of pure muscle. It appears no one considered that aspect this time – but that’s not what has MAGA’s panties in knots. It’s that he’s being shown as kind. And a refugee. Both of which he always has been but which was not always a deal breaker for anyone. Also in Wonkette, they covered the breaking of the story about ICE and the National Guard invading MacArthur Park under the headline “Someone Left the Cake Out in the Rain.”

I generally go to Harry Litman for interpretation of the law and of court actions. Yes, this is a court action in a sense – it’s the settlement of a lawsuit – but his analysis goes beyond that aspect and into politics.

You may already be aware of the “Seven Mountains Mandate” – it has been around a while among authoritarian “Christians” (quotes because no one actually following what Jesus actually taught can possibly be an authoritarian) but it was always a fringe aberrancy. Now it’s a political force and getting stronger.

($70 Mil of this belongs to Colorado)

Open Thread July 8 2025

Posted by admin at 6:01 am Open Thread, Personal, Politics

Jul 082025

Yesterday, I got up late, having had a somewhat difficult night, but somehow I got everything done that I needed tp do and a tad extra. Of course I would have liked to do more and have a little cushion, but at least I’m no farther behind than I was.

Wonkette covers most of the reasons why the Times story is BS. Mamdani was a teenager at the time, There was probably no box on the application that fit him, so he checked the closest. Then, to clarify it, he wrote “Ugandan” on the application. Incidentally, he was not accepted, so he gained nothing from anything on that application. Never forget that the New York Times is no longer “The paper of record.” There is no longer an American “paper of record.” The closest think I can think of is The Guardian, and it can only retain accuracy because it is not American.

In “The Week Ahead,” Joyce Vance includes addressing Social Security and the extremely misleading letter sent by the Social Security Administration regarding taxation on Social Security income. It’s all twitter-pated about ending taxation on Social Security income. Let me provide a little insight here from a Social Security recipient. My monthly check is not large, but it’s enough for me to live on if I am careful (and by “live on,” I mean to pay my mortgage and utilities, including trash and recycling pickup, electricity and gas, water and sewer, landline phone and internet.) For the last ten years or more I have been using a company in the IRS’s FreeFile program (not the same as direct file, which appears to be going away before it even gets started, but similar – Federal is free, but they can charge to file in your state.)I receive the data on my Social Security earnings on a 1098 form, and I put it in, and the program puts it on my return but does not count it as taxable income. I have never paid a penny in taxes on Social Security. I grant that I might not be able to live on it if I didn’t have an HRA – but I do. Still, anyone getting federal tax relief on Social Security from this bill must be getting payments in between what I get and what billionaires get.

After several years of not getting newsletters from Daily Kos, despite regularly checking that I have been signed up for them, I am now receiving them again, and this one included a story on something which has been bothering me – Abrego Garcia, his wife, and their legal issues have been getting substantial coverage – and they should be – but what about all the other innocent people?

Open Thread July 7 2025

Posted by Joanne Dixon at 6:00 am Open Thread, Personal, Politics

Jul 072025

Yesterday, Trinette came by. Unless she’s out of town, she comes by on the Sunsays when I don’t visit Virgil and helps me with anything I need that is too strenuous for me. And we chat. It’s both stimulating and relaxing for me and she also enjoys it. She inspired me to put a sign up on the storm door saying “Coution: Retired person inside. Knows everything and has plenty of time to talk about it.” Yeah, someyimes it’s like that. But the keeps coming and keeps staying to hear stuff, so it can’t be all that painful.

This is a simple joke but also an allegory for something far more complex. And I recommend reading the comments too – they have some potential refinements, most of which would make an even more accurate allegory. Sigh.

The May Day Movement, which has organized prior nationwide protests, has two more events being set up. The first is for July 17 – I have mentioned it, but I don’t think I knew till now it’s being called a “Good Trouble Event” and will focus on John Lewis’s memory. The second is for September 1; it’s still in the planning stages but they are already looking for signups for it also. Yes, the two sites linked have different names, but working together is so much a part of this resistance movement, I believe all are connected.

Steve Schmidt notes that there are still decent people here, and, maybe even more necessary, people elsewhere who are aware of us.

Open Thread July 6 2025

Posted by Joanne Dixon at 6:00 am Open Thread, Personal, Politics

Jul 062025

Yesterday, the radio opera was an “opera-ballet” from the 18th century by Jean Philippe Rameau called “Les Fêtes d’Hébé.” The series has a more dignified translation, but I just call it “Hebe’s Parties.” Hebe, the goddess of youth, finds the gods “insincere” (which I assume is code for “too old” – sounds like the DNC) and comes to earth to seek more fun among humans. The three acts are unrelated episodes, though each symbolizes a different “lyric art”, and comprises both singing and dancing. Rameau had quite the sense of humor and was also apparently not afraid of anyone – one of his operas which Virgil and I saw in Santa Fe (yeah, it’s been a minute) is called “Platée” and features a female swamp creature who thinks she is a femme fatale, so when Jupiter, looking to set up an elaborate joke to take Juno’s mind off of his infidelities, proposes to her, she is sucked in, and the joke works – Juno, who comes to the “wedding” to catch him, sees the “bride” and cracks up laughing. The reason I share this as an example of Rameau’s fearlessness is that he wrote it for a royal wedding, in which the actual bride, though highly aristocratic, was known for her lack of good looks. And he got away with it. Today’s feature is not daring, it’s just for fun, and was staged by the Opera Comique because the conductor, a Baroque specialist, wanted to conduct it to celebrate his 80th birthday. (Conductors do tend to live long and prosper – one theory as to why is that the upper body exercise, although not terribly strenuous, is sufficient to strengthen the heart. Of course it doesn’t work for everyone. But it does for many.) Anyway, the music was lovely. There is a 59-second clip on YouTube which shows snippets of a variety of scenes while playing just the main theme which shows up in the prologue and every act.

This story is unsourced other than the DU member who posted it – but it is good news and I think we can all agree with the point made at the end.

This is exciting to me. I suspect it may not replace implants, because hearing loss at older ages may not be genetic (I’m pretty sure it wasn’t genetic in my mother abd grandmother, because I don’t have it, and for bothe of them the onset was at 10 years minimum younger than I am.) But for eople as young as those in this story it could well be genetic, and I would expect gene therapy to be a lot less invasive than implants.

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