Politics Plus – Page 383 – Overcoming Republican insaniTEA, one day at a time.

Open Thread for July 29, 2021

Posted by Joanne Dixon at 7:10 am Open Thread, Personal, Politics

Jul 292021

Yesterday was also fairly hot, but at least I went into it with a decent amount of sleep beforehand … and so much material backed up from Tuesday that I was actually able to spend some time in the cooler room under the good fan resting a bit.

Cartoon –

Short Takes –

Mother Jones (David Corn) – Here’s a Long List of Top Republicans the 1/6 Committee Should Question
Quote – This part of the committee’s mission [to counter Donald Trump and his cult’s whitewashing disinformation] is not that hard…. The much tougher task for the committee will be investigating what Trump and his minions did in the months, weeks, days, and even hours leading up to the assault and what actions Trump and his aides took (or didn’t take) during the seditious riot. These are key elements of the inquiry, and this is the part of the story that Trump and his henchmen do not want to be probed and publicized.
Click through for the rest. David Corn has very good political insight and doesn’t mince words.

Reuters (via US News) – U.S. Justice Dept. warns states to tread carefully in auditing elections
Quote – “I think the reason we’re issuing this as guidance is to tell jurisdictions generally that we are concerned that if they’re going to conduct these audits … they have to comply with federal law,” a Justice Department official told reporters on Wednesday, speaking on condition of anonymity. “This document sets down a marker.” The legal guidance fulfills a pledge that Attorney General Merrick Garland made in June when he vowed to aggressively enforce voting rights laws. Following that speech, the department sued Georgia, accusing the state of unlawfully violating the rights of Black voters with its new voting restrictions
Click through for story (which is in multiple outlets). About time.

NPR – 2 Colorado Police Officers Are Investigated After A Violent Arrest
Quote – A Colorado police officer has been arrested on felony charges after a video showed him using his pistol to beat a man he was attempting to arrest, choking him and threatening to kill him, and a second officer was also arrested after authorities say she failed to stop her colleague as required by a new police accountability law.
Click through, or Google for other sources. There is so much wrong with this that I can’t even.

Food for Thought:

Video Thread for 7/28/21

Posted by Joanne Dixon at 12:07 pm Open Thread, Politics

Jul 282021

Glenn Kirschner – House Select Committee Hearing Opens w/Testimony of Heroes: Officers Dunn, Fanone, Gonell & Hodges

Meidas Touch – The GOP is about to be EXPOSED as Terrorists

The Lincoln Project – Heroes

RepresentUs – Sarah Silverman calls out billionaires buying elections

Robert Reich – This 1916 Experiment Made Workers Wealthy

VoteVets ‘Axis of Evil’ Ad Featured on MSNBC During The Rachel Maddow Show

Beau – Let’s talk about Summer fun….

Open Thread for July 28, 2021

Posted by Joanne Dixon at 7:48 am Open Thread, Personal, Politics

Jul 282021

Yesterday was hot, but not as hot as was expected – which is a good thing – and particularly because I didn’t sleep all that well Monday night. I did make it through the day, though.

Cartoon –

Short Takes –

The Hill – Officers offer harrowing accounts at first Jan. 6 committee hearing
Quote – “The indifference being shown to my colleagues is disgraceful!” said Metropolitan Police Officer Michael Fanone as he slammed his fist on the table. “My law enforcement career prepared me to cope with some of the aspects of this experience,” Fanone said. “Nothing has prepared me to address those elected members of our government who continue to deny the events of that day, and in doing so, betray their oath of office.”
Click through for more, including some video. I’ll cover the hearing every day there is news of it – it may not always be from the same source.

Wonkette – Democrats Need To Pass Some Voting Rights Bills While We Still Have Voting Rights
Quote – How exactly will Democrats “out-organize” legislation that was specifically crafted to fuck them? That remains unclear in the electoral Magic Eight Ball. Nancy Wang, executive director of Voters Not Politicians, a Michigan-based ballot initiative, said Republicans are actively “trying to peel away Democratic-leaning voters wherever they can. … It’s sort of death by 1,000 cuts.” A relevant example in Michigan is a Republican push to require additional steps for voters who cast ballots without a photo ID. (The GOP likely isn’t interested in making photo IDs easier to obtain, of course.)
Click through for article. I cannot agree more. I don’t know what will work, short of a miracle. (And if you can stand any more discouragement, check this out. Unbelievable, but – true. )

The Guardian – Trump officials can testify to Congress about his role in Capitol attack, DoJ says
Quote – “The extraordinary events in this matter constitute exceptional circumstances warranting an accommodation to Congress,” Bradley Weinsheimer, a senior career official in the office of the deputy attorney general, said in the letter. The justice department told Rosen and Trump administration officials that they could appear before Congress as long as their testimony was confined to the scope set forth by the committees and did not reveal grand jury or classified information, or pending criminal cases.
Click through for details. This is noteworthy exactly because the DOJ has been (in my opinion, the opinion of Glenn Kieschner, and probably the opinios of everyone here) has so far been way too generous in extending executive privilege to TFG & Co. It would not surprise me if this is the theme of Glenn’s chat today. (Update – it isn’t ytoday, but he’ll get to it, I’m sure.)

Food for Thought:

Video Thread for 7/27/21

Posted by Joanne Dixon at 12:08 pm Open Thread, Politics

Jul 272021

Glenn Kirschner – Trump’s Friend Tom Barrack Is Arraigned in Court on 7 Felony Charges, Released on $250 Million Bail

The Lincoln Project – Rematch

MSNBC – General Honoré speaks.

Rob Rogers – Vaccine News

Just possibly, sheep may be getting a bum rap. The sharer of this video uses the term “elegant,” and you can see why.

Beau – Let’s talk about blame for the 6th and the National Guard….

Open Thread for July 27, 2021

Posted by Joanne Dixon at 6:59 am Open Thread, Personal, Politics

Jul 272021

Yesterday kind of flirted with being too hot. Today and tomorrow are supposed to go past flirtation, darn it. I received an emaied receipt for my visitation app – only a receipt, no request for more infom so I assume it’s complete. Well, it should be. Besides my own I’ve helped friends fill this app out three or four times and all were approved – and besides that, I can read directions. So, we’ll see how long it takes.

Cartoon – I had planned to re-run an older one of TC’s about the heat, but I came across this anniversary and thought it needed to be featured.

Short Takes –

New Yorker (Borowitz) – G.O.P. to Punish Cheney and Kinzinger by Forcing Them to Spend Hour with Ted Cruz
Quote – McCarthy’s decision to subject the two Republicans to an hour of Cruz drew a strong rebuke from Representative Cheney’s father, the former Vice-President Dick Cheney. “Much as I have been a longtime supporter of torture, this goes too far,” he said.
Click through for a little more. Andy keeps it short.

Crooks and Liars – Fox News Hosts Promote Voting Ban On ‘Childless’ Liberals
Quote – Campos-Duffy said. “But I will say that I agree with the premise of it, that it is absolutely true that people like [Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez], Pete Buttigieg — you can name the left-wing politicians, people who think that we should legalize marijuana because they don’t have kids and they don’t really have a stake in what that looks like.”
Click through for the discussion. So far discussion is all this is. (And they seem to have left out the part about counting cildren as 3/5 of a person.)

Law and Crime – Former Trump Inaugural Chair Jeered as ‘Traitor’ Before Pleading Not Guilty to Acting as Illegal Agent of UAE
Quote – Before entering federal court in Brooklyn, Barrack was pursued by a man holding a placard with the word “TRAITOR” in black block caps. Hecklers carried the same message for fellow Trump loyalists Paul Manafort and Roger Stone during their trials, CNBC noted. As noted in the Mueller Report, that is not all that trio has in common. Barrack and Stone are the men credited with recommending Manafort to Trump’s campaign team.
Click through for full article. This story is everywhere, but I liked this version.

Food for Thought (statement of Adam Kinzinger):

Video Thread for 7/26/21

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

Jul 262021

Glenn Kirschner – With Tom Barrack Indictment (& Weisselberg Indictment & Giuliani Search Warrant) Justice Is Trending (Kind of a recap, which is OK)

Meidas Touch – Tucker Carlson WRECKED by Montana Man: “The worst human being known to mankind!” [With Captions]

The Damage Report – Company Sells Shooting Targets Of AOC & Greta Thunberg

CNN – Jim Acosta: Fox News viewers may have a case of whiplash

The Happiest, Cuddliest Duck Ever Is Obsessed With A Giant Dog

Beau – Let’s talk about Huckabee Sanders and giving up on…

Open Thread for July 26, 2021

Posted by Joanne Dixon at 6:47 am Open Thread, Personal, Politics

Jul 262021

Yesterday was Sunday … which usually means a slow newsday – and this was no exception. So I don’t have a lot. But there’s always something.

Cartoon –

Short Takes –

Medium – Ken Starr, Brett Kavanaugh, Jeffrey Epstein and Me
Quote – It was a an interview I watched in 2020 with one of Baylor’s aggrieved accusers that helped me understand how I could have been blind for so long to the pattern of misogyny coursing through Starr’s career. Describing a meeting with Starr about her ordeal, she said that he shed a tear along with her, made her feel heard, but did nothing to help get justice for her or the many other female students who came forward with allegations. Unless you count what he said in one interview, “We grieve for what happened. But that doesn’t mean that you can’t say it’s a new day. That’s the biblical perspective that we try to live up to here at Baylor University.” Shamelessly and effectively, he shoved rape allegations under the carpet in the name of Christianity.
Click through for complete story (you get 2 articles free per month, so maybe “print” if you want to be able to reference it.) I always used to think a person’s sex life did not affct his abiity to govern – and I still think so provided misogyny is not a part of it.

The Guardian – Tennessee man died from heart attack after ‘Swatting’ over Twitter handle
Quote – “Emergency responders were dispatched, and when they arrived at Herring’s home, guns drawn, they called for Herring to walk toward them, keeping his hands visible. As he did so, Herring, 60, appeared to lose his balance and fell to the ground, unresponsive. He was pronounced dead at a local hospital; cause of death was determined to be a heart attack.”
Click through for details. We’re familiar with “Sex sells,” and “If it bleeds it leads.” Maybe weneed a new saying regarding the amount of media attention triggered by pur craziness.

Democratic Underground – “And there, people, is the story of why I hate people. And why I love people….”
Quote – “I guess I look nice. Approachable. Like I wouldn’t rip your head off. I am nice, most of the time. But not always. And I lost my temper.”
Click through. It’s not terribly long. And I figured we needed a feel-good story after those horror stories above.

Food for Thought: