Politics Plus – Page 391 – Overcoming Republican insaniTEA, one day at a time.

SOUND OFF! 7/3/21

Posted by Freya at 10:32 am Politics

Jul 032021

From time to time you read or hear a heartwarming story about a community coming together to help a family pay monstrous medical bills, or people giving up vacation time so a co-worker can receive medical treatment, or some other glurge that is supposed to restore your faith in humanity. These stories are certainly inspiring – but when you peel away the unicorns and rainbows, you find the hideous reality underneath.

In the United States, GoFundMe is one of the largest health care providers. At least a third of all projects are families begging for help to pay medical bills. And, unfortunately, there are a few fakes out there, which are not always easy to spot.

What kind of country are we that can spend trillions on defense and billions on tax cuts for mega-corporations and the ultra-wealthy – but blanches at the idea of providing everybody with affordable, if not free, health care and higher education? What kind of country allows insurance companies to d*ck around their customers with weasel words about “experimental treatments,” “pre-existing conditions,” et cetera? What kind of country lets children go home with “I Need Lunch Money” stamped on their arms? Whoever came up with that last idea could frighten Darth Vader into a dead faint.

The not-so-great USA is a hellhole of increasing disparity between the rich and poor, where a traffic ticket can balloon into a debt of over $10,000, where people seeking a good education so they can get well-paying jobs instead find themselves saddled with loans that they have scant hope of ever paying off, where millions of people – many of whom have other mouths to feed – are literally one broken arm from the street. People are working multiple jobs but still unable to make ends meet, even though they are pinching pennies until Abraham Lincoln begs for mercy, shopping at thrift stores and subsisting on beans and ramen. Meanwhile, the rich get richer and richer, at the expense of the Little Guy and Gal.

Stories about people taking heroic measures to help those in need certainly revive one’s faith in humanity, but many of them shouldn’t have happened in the first place. Children should not have to sacrifice their allowances and yard-mowing or lemonade stand money so their classmates can eat – schools should have enough money to provide healthful meals to all students for free. A high school robotics club should not have to construct a special wheelchair for a child with a serious birth defect because the parents’ greedy insurance provider wouldn’t cover even a nickel.

You’ve probably seen a bumper sticker, T-shirt or button that reads “It will be a great day when schools have all the funds they need and the Air Force has to hold bake sales in order to buy a bomber.” Our country’s priorities are utterly messed up when providing the rich with tax breaks, buying more weapons, supporting an apartheid regime, and subsidizing industries hostile to the environment are all more important than feeding, educating, housing and medicating the people.

Stories about people coming to the aid of those who really need it are truly inspiring, and remind me that people are basically good. However, in far too many cases these altruistic acts should not be necessary.

Here is one list of dystopian horror stories

Open Thread for July 3, 2021

Posted by Joanne Dixon at 7:11 am Open Thread, Personal, Politics

Jul 032021

Last night’s opera was “Nixon in China.” It’s the first in John Adams’s American history trilogy; “Doctor Atomic” was the second. “Nixon in China” is fairly straightforwardly historical, until the second act, when a plot point of Mme. Mao making up a clownish exaggeration of a villain as Kissinger in a performance for the guests requires the storyteller singing Kissinger to double. The more you detest Kisinger, of course, the funnier it is. As with “Doctor Atomic,” actual journals and quotes from contemporary interviews were used in the libretto. The only character who is spared some mockery is Chou En-Lai, who at the time of Nixon’s visit was dying of cancer but also ersonally invested in the meeting going well – good reasons to treat him kindly. There is a piece which was contemplated being in the opera but withdrawn which is known as “The Chairman Dances” or, alternatively, “Foxtrot for Orchestra.” (I guess the idea of a mobility challenged Mao dancing for 12 minutes, energetically at that, was simply too much.) I’ve never seen the third opera in the trilogy, because it involves terrorism and ends up getting boycotted. Since I haven’t seen it, I can’t say whether the boycotting is justified, but I suspect it isn’t. Perhaps some day I’ll find out.

Cartoon

Short Takes –

The Hill – Five takeaways from the Supreme Court’s term
Here are the five: The court is shifting to the right
Still some room for consensus
Religious rights groups extend winning streak
Losing streak continues for voting rights
A ‘warm-up act’?
Click through for details on each.

Yahoo!news – Tropical Storm Elsa is the latest evidence climate change is happening now
I’m not a big fan of yahoo news, but this was the only source I could find quickl which made the link to climate change explicit
Quote – While Elsa, whose maximum sustained winds are 45 miles per hour, is unlikely to inflict the same amount of damage as a stronger hurricane if and when it makes landfall, its formation on July 1 — following Ana, Bill, Claudette and Danny — fits into a pattern in which the changing climate makes conditions for life-threatening storms more favorable.
Click through for the rationale.

Axios – Poll: Americans more worried about restrictive voting laws than election fraud
Yes, I know, this is one of those “file under No Shit, Sherlock” stories. But there’s so much denial of it.
Quote – Why it matters: 67% of Americans — including majorities of Republicans, Democrats and independents — said they believed American democracy is currently under threat, though the survey did not ask what they believed is threatening it.
Click through for details.

Food for Thought

Just a little extra – Smithsonian Trivia for July 4. Their quizzes are generally tough but I managed 4 out of 5 on this one.

Friday Fun – Cicadas Make Themselves Right At Home

Posted by SoINeedAName at 2:36 pm Politics

Jul 022021

If you live in one of the 15 (un)fortunate states in the Midwest and Mid-Atlantic, along with the District of Columbia, you no doubt have been aware of Magicicada cassinii, better known as the cicada.

Although every year a few of these insects emerge from the ground in the eastern United States, it’s their once every 17 years outing that gets all the buzz. And I mean that literally, because their frantic mating hum can reach a deafening 100 decibels – that’s in the range of a gas mower or passing motorcycle.

But a professional baby and family photographer in Arlington, VA (Oxana Ware) was so inspired by her children’s fascination with the little critters that she began snapping pictures. But she was disappointed in the results because they looked like the ones everyone else was taking.

Then she noticed that her 4 y/o son, Ben, loved having the cicadas climb the ladder on his firetruck – and the lightbulb clicked on. Why not anthropomorphize the little guys, and have them doing human things?

Well, she succeeded beyond her wildest dreams, so let’s enjoy some.

(I decided to group different ones together in slideshows to create a little story to go along with their posing.)

Let’s Get Married

If you’re a cicada, and you only show up every 17 years, and have only a couple weeks to molt, mate and die – you best get busy and find a partner. Of course they want to make it legal, but with a major time-constraint, heading to Las Vegas for a quickie wedding made perfect sense.

They were even able to get in a little gambling, and enjoyed celebrated their wedding by disco dancing with John Travolta to the cicada’s national anthem “Staying Alive!”

COVID Vaccine

And what better way to ensure staying alive than getting their COVID vaccine ASAP?

Happy Birthday

And since cicadas are card-carrying YOLO members (You Only Live Once) – they know how to throw a great Birthday Party!

Activities of Daily Living

But that doesn’t mean they can ignore those ADLs (Activities of Daily Living). Some are pure drudgery, like doing the laundry (they must have know TC in a previous life). But there was also fun stuff – like fishing, graduating, forming a band and even some traveling – not only on their Harley, but also joining the jet set, now that flying is OK.

Olympics

When they learned that this was an Olympic year, they didn’t want to be left out of the fun. They enjoyed archery, pole vaulting, table tennis, the uneven parallel bars and weightlifting.

Mount Everest

Some of the braver, heartier cicadas decided they’d follow in Edmund Hillary’s footsteps by taking George “Because It’s There” Mallory’s advice and climb Mount Everest.

They had forgone hiring Sherpas, because they doubted they would be able to speak Cicadan – which turned out to be a big mistake when a major snowstorm hit. But one proud cicada made it to the top to plant the flag!

Fourth of July

And they are looking forward to celebrating our Fourth of July by enjoying a few brewskis at a barbecue, relaxing at the beach and of course, taking in the fireworks over our Capitol.

Oxana Ware’s Website:

http://www.oxanaware.com/x-brood-adventures

Video Thread for 7/2/21

Posted by Joanne Dixon at 1:00 pm Open Thread, Politics

Jul 022021

Glenn Kirschner – Trump Organization and CFO Allen Weisselberg Indicted for 16-Year-Long Criminal Fraud Scheme

Meidas Touch – more Frank Figliuzzi

Charles Booker is running against Rand Paul in Kentucky. Here’s his launch video.

“Remove Ron” – Looks like the Lincoln Project helped with it.

MSNBC – It’s a longish way to the punch line – but IMO worth it. Sometimes, someone needs to rationally, calmly amd factually speak ill of the dead. Lest we forget.

Keith Olbermann – OLBERMANN VS…THERE’S AN EASTER EGG IN THE IN THE 1/6 COMMISSION. PELOSI SELECTS ALL OF ITS MEMBERS!

Beau – Let’s talk about Gwen Berry and the flag…. (Hoo-Rah!)

Open Thread for July 2, 2021

Posted by Joanne Dixon at 7:00 am Open Thread, Personal, Politics

Jul 022021

Last night’s opera was “Satyagraha” by Philip Glass, and I think I’ve already written about it. Libretto in Sanskrit from the Bhagavad Gita, the whole first scene take place within Gandhi’s meditation, the second and third acts depict actual events but none outside of South Africa, so that it’a more abut his formation than it is about who he became, but it also looks backward to Tolstoy and forward to Dr. King. Minimal titles, because what’s being sung is not directly related to the action. To say “It’s not your usual opera” is a gross understatement. Yet I find it oddly moving. Plus every time I see it I get new insights. I may have to break down and get the DVD. In unrelated news, yesterday my favorite browser went down, and when it came back up, it looked different I’m still finding things But, basically, just an annoyance. It shouldn’t be crippling.

Cartoon

Short Takes –

Former Mueller Deputy Explains Why Indicting Trump Org Matters
Quote – [T]he one point I would make about the press reports of a company being charged — some viewers may think, “Well, what’s the import of that? Who cares? A company can’t go to jail, and that’s not what I’m really interested in.” But just remember, for a company to be found guilty, the government has to prove that at least one individual at the company is criminally liable, so it means more than just a company,
Click through for the rest. And if you are interested in reading C&L’s fluff story about Spiderman and the Pope, click here.

The Hill – Kagan rips colleagues in blistering 41-page voting rights dissent
Quote – She cited late conservative Justice Antonin Scalia’s dissent in the 1991 case Chisom v. Roemer in which he opined a supposedly neutral law that limited voter registration to only a few hours a week and thus made it more difficult for Black voters than white voters to register because of life circumstances would result in Black people having “less opportunity to participate in the political process than whites.”
Click through to see that she really let them have it. I figured everyone will have seen the indictments by the time this goes up, and voting rights is actually more important at this point.

The 19th – Women in the Biden White House earn 99 cents for every $1 earned by men
Quote – The gender wage gap is typically a “raw” figure that doesn’t adjust for experience, education, title or other factors. It simply looks at median wages. In past administrations, a lack of women in higher-paid positions widened the gap. But in the Biden administration, there is a wider distribution of women across the pay scale, not just in the lowest paid jobs where they have typically been concentrated. About 56 percent of the senior staff in Biden’s White House are women, and about 36 percent come from racially and ethnically diverse communities.
Click through for details. Nice to have some good news.

Food for Thought

Just for the record, here is the actual indictment from yesterday as a pdf file.

Video Thread for 7/1/21

Posted by Joanne Dixon at 1:00 pm Open Thread, Politics

Jul 012021

Glenn Kirschner – NY DA Vance/Grand Jury Set to Indict Trump Organization & Trump’s CFO Allen Weisselberg Thursday

Meidas Touch – Brian Williams’s take on people leaving Trump** rally

The Lincoln Project – People Are Saying

Now This News – As usual, Republicans whine, Democrats act.

Liberal Redneck – The Benghazi People VS The January 6 Commission (If you have a tendency to cry laughing, you may want a tissue.)

Keith – Olbermann vs. Tucker Carlson

Beau – Let’s talk about the South Dakota National Guard and the missing point….

Open Thread for July 1, 2021

Posted by Joanne Dixon at 7:00 am Open Thread, Personal, Politics

Jul 012021

Last night’s opera was “The Ghosts of Versailles” by John Corigliano. It’s based on “The Guilty Mother” which is the third Beaumarchais play about Figaro, the erstwhile barber of Seville. But llike pretty much everything Corigliano does it’s all mixed up with other things. It’s set in Versaille, where the ghosts of Louis XVI, Marie Antoinette, Beaumarchais himself, and a bunch of scruffy-looking courtiers (all of whom are bored out of their skulls) are to be amused by a new opera (play within a play.) At first it goes well, but then Figaro balks, and Beumarchais has to show him scenes of Antoinette’s kangaroo court trial to convince him she was wronged and deserves to be saved. It’s not as hard to follow as it sounds, even though I am leaving out major plot points. It has a stunning cast, including Renee Fleing, Marilyn Horne, and Teresa Stratas as Marie Antoinette, which is perfect casting -no one ever in opera has been able to convey “fragile” as well as Stratas does. Also yesterday was a Theater of War Zoom production. I didn’t stay for the discussion, but I did want to see the actors.

Cartoon

Wednesday late night update – indictments have been issued namig the Trump Cprporation andAllenWeisselberg, but will remain sealed untill this afternoon. So it will be tomorrow before I will post details. You can probably find some details sooner.

Short Takes –

Wonkette – 17-Year-Old Caught In Deadly Crossfire Between Arkansas Sheriff’s Deputy, Jug Of Antifreeze
Quote – Brittain was an aspiring NASCAR driver from McRae, Arkansas. He’d worked at Hundley Construction for the past few years. His boss, Scott Hundley, described Brittain as a dedicated, hard worker. Brittain had spoken with Hundley the night before he was killed. He explained he was having trouble with his truck but would make every effort to arrive at work on time.
Click through for the rest of what is known, which is not much. Wonkette is (obviously) back from vacation. Seems like they cut it short, but then, they were trying to vacation in Washington state.

AP – GOP donor funds South Dakota National Guard troops in Texas
Quote – Johnson said he approached Noem about making a donation after hearing about Texas Gov. Greg Abbott’s border barrier push. He figured Texas “has plenty of money” so he decided to help Noem, who governs a state with a significantly smaller budget. He also said he had no plans to donate to other states to send law enforcement officers to the border. Johnson added that he would have preferred to stay anonymous but that Noem’s office told him they had to at least disclose his name. He declined to say how much he was giving. “America gave a lot of money to get that border wall done,” Johnson said. “It takes private individuals now.”
Click through for more. Beau addressed this (see video thread) and I don’t think I’ve ever seen him so angry. He is almost incoherent – especially for him.

19th – ‘There is rarely, if ever, justice’: Advocates and survivors seethe after Cosby is freed
Quote – Christian F. Nunes, president of National Organization for Women, said agreements like these can be made in sexual assault cases without consideration for the humanity of those of have suffered. She added that the issue is bigger than Cosby and speaks to the additional steps that need to be taken to better protect all survivors: women, LGBTQ+ people and men.
Click through for full article.

Food for Thought

This is a petition to all state Secretaries of State to respect the provisions of the Fourteenth Amendment. Besides the petiton itself, there is an explanation of what this implies and why it is important (although that last part is pretty clear.) I honestly don’t know, not being a lawyer, how such action by Secretaries of State would hold up in court. But I don’t see any serious negatives down the road from bringing this up – nor from applying it to other federal elected officials. Probably everyone who reads here has at least one Representative or Senator to whom it might profitably be applied. If you agree, don’t just sign, but also share.