Open Thread October 15 2026

 Posted by at 6:00 am  Open Thread, Personal, Politics
Oct 152026
 

Yesterday, we learned that Elon Musk has turned off Starlink to Ukraine – which essentially paralyzes their ability to fully defend themselves. No civilian entity should have the capability to do that. Constitution of the United States, Article 3, Section 3. Not that there will be any prosecution or other consequences under this administration.

This article is too (sardonically) laughable to miss. And I don’t believe for an instant the PAC’s claim that it was a vendor’s error for which they were reimbursed.

Hopefully this link will take you to the article without mention subscribing; but if it doesn’t there shuld be an option to “read without subscribing.” That’s how I got in. It’s [rpbably more than you wanted to know – but it may not be more than you needed to know.

This person claims to have earned a JD from Pepperdine (a school which has never, that I know of, had a reputation among academics which was other than “shady”). We all thought Leavitt was dumb – but I literally have Barbie dolls who are smarter than Zacharia.

This scared the whatnot out of me when I first saw it – but it appears they caught it early – and hopefully got it all. 🤞


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Open Thread October 2 2026

 Posted by at 6:00 am  Open Thread, Personal, Politics
Oct 022026
 

Yesterday, and the day before, there was some drama happening in Tennessee. First, a federal appelate court stayed an execustion scheduled for the 30th. Then SCROTUS overrode the stay. Then there was a last desperate call for signatures to get the Governor to stay it (Yes, it must have been a state offense for which death was sentenced, but an 8th amendment lawsuit to bring it into federal court and to the Supremes.) Of course the governor didn’t, of course it was inistated, of course it went wrong. The accused, Christa Pike, survived two doses of lethal injection and was eventually taken to the hospital, and the last I heard was still alive That was Wednesday. Then yesterday, the Tennessee governor halted all executions in Tennessee. This is the second time he has halted all executions. He also called for a third-party review of the state’s lethal injection protocol (again). Of course, having as we do a moral compass, you know and I know that execution is wrong. But one would think that Republicans could at least see that (even if it works) it is also exponentially more expensive than life imprisonment. Yet here we are.

Morning Memo has multiple articles – and of course you are welcome to keep reading as long as you like – but the sections dealing with the curts and the ramificaions end where the topic turns to an ICE shooting.

48% approval is way, way too much, even in Alabama. But you gotta love the billboard.

Yes, I already addressed the Senate’s miserable failure to catch Jack Smith in a perjury trap. (I suppose that it’s incomprehensible to them that anyone would regularly and sonsistently tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth. But that’s who he is.) But Harry Dunn says so much more, and says it so much better.

Archived from The Intercept – which I was able to reach and read, but it wasn’t at all obvious how to do it. Since I was far from the first to archive it, I figured I wasn’t the only one finding access dubious. And – sincw we know at least some AI agents are acting on their own, I thought it was important.


,

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Open Thread September 28 2026

 Posted by at 6:01 am  Open Thread, Personal, Politics
Sep 282026
 

Over the weekend, it came out that the grand jury in the Nolan Wells case returned a no bill. I get that, because law enforcement and the DA have no evu=idence (or are not releasing any that they have) to suggest anyone to charge with anything. As far as I can see, they had nothing with which to present a grand jury, and should not have convened one or presented anything to an existing one, because they have nothing. But the grand jury, or its spokesperson, added that they believe that Wells drowned. However, the autopsy found no water in his lungs – no water anywhere in his respiratory system – no water even in his stomach. But the grand jury believes he drowned? Really? Apparently Mississippi is still Mississippi is still the same Mississippi it has been since before the Civil War. Who here, wxactly, thinks whom is the dumbest?

Yes, I am fixated with AI. Because I am finding it literally impossible to wrap my head around machines which can decide on and do things completely independently of any command from any being which has consciousness. I would have expected cats to take over the world before machines. (I would also have preferred it.)

I seriously doubt that anyone here needs to see this – but when the stakes are as high as they are, I don’t want to take any chances.

Harry Dunn – one of the Capitol Police officsers (then) who defended the Capitol on Jnuary 6 – has been running for Congress – until he lost his primary. I would love to provide a link to the email he sent just after the primary was called – but there’s no link. But I will quote part of it because it’s just too much how all politics should be not to:
“Me and Adrian Boafo sat down last week. A lot of people found that surprising. He beat me in the Maryland 5th primary. We’re still friends. They shouldn’t be surprised… We stood at the same forums in southern Maryland for six months and said basically the same things. The tactics were different. The goals weren’t.” I hope Harry will not be too disheartened by this loss. I hope he willinstead run for aomething at municipal or county level – or school district level – which in addition to giving him experience will increase his electability at state or federal levels.

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Open Thread September 24 2026

 Posted by at 6:00 am  Open Thread, Personal, Politics
Sep 242026
 

Yesterday, I slept until later than I have been lately, but at least was awake when up, and no dizzy spells.

Not good – but better to know about it than not to.

More about AI, his time from Robert Reich, and extending as far as China.

Yes, this is 40 pages. And, at least as long as Medicare stands, it doesn’t affect me as a veteran (although it does, of course, as a taxpayer. Privatization of anything is a bad idea for taxpayers.) Naturally, the idea traces back to the Kochs – to when more of them were still alive – but there are plenty to carry on.

One thing Steve Schmidt is good at is history. Maybe not as good as a professional historian, but able to make it easy for a reader to get a feeling of the time in question, and in this case, a feeling for what we have lost and are losing more of.

RR Cleanup

Dog 2fer

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Open Thread September 17 2026

 Posted by at 6:00 am  Open Thread, Personal, Politics
Sep 172026
 

Yesterday, Heather Cox Richardson announced what she calls the end of the first phase of 250 to 250. I still have a few pre-selected ones, and I may go back and pick up more, but today I’m running the closing video. To me, the whole series demonstrates why we need comprtent and accurate historians to keep a free society.

Barf Bag Alert. Yes, this is from last month. But I only just found it – in a footnote. Specifically footnote #3 out of 13. I thought it was the must disgusting, but it was close, and you might not agree. But I can’t link to the list, because it was in an email with no link to the conttent – only a link to a petition. If anyone cares to see the complete list, send me an email at jvdix@tutamail.com and I’ll forward it. I’ve put it into a temporary folder so I don’t have to look at it all day long.

Archived from Huff Post. Don’t say you haven’t been warned.

Shared by VoteVets. I’m skeptical of anything said by any AI creator, including Anthropic. But it might be factual – it’s certainly consistent with Russian ethics (or the lack thereof.)

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Open Thread September 16 2026

 Posted by at 6:00 am  Open Thread, Personal, Politics
Sep 162026
 

Yesterday, I mostly caught up on sleep. Which I needed.

In 1381, Richard II was 14. Woody Norman is 17 – but I guess that’s about as close as Hollywood is doing to get. I really don’t think it’s possible to grasp Richard II without keeping in mind how incredibly young he was. Yes, I realize children in the Middle Ages were considered short adults (7 or 8 was considered the age of reason by the church), but the brain not becoming fully mature until about 25 was just as accurate science then as it is now, though they didn’t know it then. But the article isn’t really about Richard or even monarchy – it’s about revolution. And, in that connection, I expect y’all will appeciate the way Professor Rolle-Koster uses Monty Python in teaching Medieval history.

This will strike you as an odd request – it certainly did me – but Kris wants help in getting Smedley Butler’s “War Is A Racket” banned. Specifically, in a new edition for which he wrote the foreword. But there is method to this madness, and it only takes him 3 minutes and 28 seconds to explain it.

And this is an update on what is going on with the new ruling class in the US (just ask them – they’ll tell you that’s wxactly who they are.)

Ben and Jerry’s – well, at least Ben – are asking for our help. Let me clarify they don’t want us to boycott B&J – just everything else that Magnum owns,

Lina Khan was the Chair of the Federal Trade Commission under a stronger and smarter administration. She is smart, and IMO – easy to listen to – not that she speaks here, butI’ve heard her elsewhere.

Fallen Timbers

Dog

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Open Thread September 14 2026

 Posted by at 6:00 am  Open Thread, Personal, Politics
Sep 142026
 

Yesterday, since I’m off tomorrow, I put in an extra article for today. That isn’t why I did it – I just found more of importance than I usually share – but it’s my excuse. Feel free to take two days to read (or watch) them.

Bunch is certainly old enough to retire – he’s 72 (will be 73 in November) – but he will be sorely missed by those of us who do not give a flying continental about the color of anyone’s skin, but instead value people (or don’t) on the basis of their capabilities and accomplishments.

Well, this is extremely disappointing. I’ve been mostly silent about so many people insisting Schumer should step down on account of his age. Aging affects different people differently, and every person of any age should IMO be evaluated on their actual abilities and merits. But this – this is IMO a real reason why he should step down. Any conflict of interest is a serious disqualifier.

Yes, Judge Luttig (retired) is a Conservative. But he is a Conservative who has morals and ethics, who believes the nation should be run with morls and ethics, and doesn’t care who knows it. And when he puts forth a warning, we need to pay attention.

This is a podcast – and it’s not an isolated episode, it’s the beginning of its “second season.” My short description of the first season would be that, starting with Reagan, while we were all fixated on trickle=down economics (and yes, that genuinely happened and harmed the nation), we completely missed the concurrent efforts and progress in installing the “unitary executive” theory – which has harmed us far more. Yes, that goes all the way back to Nixon and Reagan. As I type, I’m also behind and trying to catch up. Both seasons are at the link (with advertising). There is a whole lot – there’s a lot in each episode, let alone each season.

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Open Thread September 12 2026

 Posted by at 6:00 am  Open Thread, Personal, Politics
Sep 122026
 

Today is my CT scan. I’ll comment when I get back.

More about AI – and the non-artificial intellifences who own it and only care about making money from it.

A victory in Missouri which I hope can inspire all of us.

A central founding principle of the United States was- and is – “no taxation without representation.” The whole point of the way the census is structured is to assure that. Immigrants who are not (yet) citizens are not allowed to vot, but they must be counted. Rlse they may not be taxed. Clearly the canteloupe Caligula (along with most other Republicans) has no idea how much tax money is paid in to the federal government byresident aliens – including many who are here without permission. I dooubt they’d be in such a hurry to throw all they money out the window if they had a clue how much it amounts to.

Railroad

Cat

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