Open Thread April 14, 2024

 Posted by at 5:54 am  Open Thread, Personal, Politics
Apr 142024
 

Yesterday, the radio opera was “Die Fledermaus” by Johann Strauss Jr (“The Waltz King”). This and “The Merry Widow” bY Lehar are the only two operettas I can think of which are sometimes done by regular opera companies. Both can be described as “zany.” Of course so can Gilbert and Sullivan’s operettas – and, really, most operettas of the period. People have always enjoyed far-fetched humor. “Fledermaus” means “Bat,” and the premise is that, a year before the operetta, the lead tenor and the baritone went to a an event together, something between a party, a costume ball, and an orgy, and both got drunk. The baritone, who dressed as a bat, passed out, and the tenor (dressed as a butterfly) left him in a public park to sober up, and he woke to crowds pointing and laughing. This year, he wants revenge – and he gets it. And everyone except the tenor gets amusement and laughs at the tenors expense. When I was working as a volunteer costumer for my local college’s music department (before I got hired and paid by the theatre department), this was one of the shows I dressed. That was even longer ago than when the recording was made which they used yesterday to celebrate the operetta’s 150th anniversary (it premiered in April, 1876.) Also, I heard from Pat, who said her doctor’s apointment went well, and she is greatly relieved.

This is neither political, medical, financial, or helpful in any other way. It’s just interesting in that it reveals issues in the way we think about time (and probably other things as well.)

Many sources are discussing the decision by the Arizona Supreme Court that an abortion law from 1864 can stand. Much of the coverage includes lurid detail about the life and actions of the author of the law, which may be interesting, but really isn’t germane to the merits (and demerits, which outnumber the merits) of the law itself. This (gift-linked) article from the Washington Post doesn’t go there, instead concentrating on the effect of the ruling on the 2024 general election, both statewide and nationwide, and the reactions of Arizonans both in and out of politics.

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Video Thread 6/7/2023

 Posted by at 12:13 pm  Open Thread, Politics
Jun 072023
 

Glenn Kirschner – Trump’s lawyers meet with Jack Smith. Next stop – indictment!

Thom Hartmann – Is This The MOST Terrifying GOP Law For Women YET?

Rebel HQ – Newsom May End DeSantis’s 2024 Run With This

Parody Project – This Fits Him to a T – Parody of I’ll Never Find Another You

Cat Loves Jumping In And Stealing His Mom’s Baths

Beau – Let’s talk about Utah, libraries, and finding out….

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Open Thread June 4, 2023

 Posted by at 5:42 am  Open Thread, Personal, Politics
Jun 042023
 

Yesterday, the radio opera was Mozart’s “Die Zauberflöte” (The Magic Flute). If you saw “Amadeus,” you probably have an idea what a departure this was from the symphonic and opera seria music on which Mozart had built his career. It was actually addressed to a different social class from the ruling class for whom most of his works had been written. It’s also quite progressive (at least if you can ignore the fact that it’s patriarchal) – it can be summarized: virtue and justice require concentrated effort to obtain, but witht them, the world can be paradise. It premiered just two years after the storming of the Bastille, so revolution was in the air. Of course it is also highly allegorical and includes multiple references to Freemasonry, but one doesn’t need to know that to appreciate it. I suppose everyone has heard “The Queen of the Night’s aria” (Actual title – “Der Holle Rache” and affectionately known to musicians as “The Holy Racket”). But there are many other charming melodies. It’s not necessary to know that the setting is suporsed to be ancient Egypt, nor that the name “Sarastro” comes from “Zoroaster” to appreciate it all.  Well, I’m off to see Virgil.  I’ll check in when I get back.

Cartoon –

Short Takes –

HuffPost – 5 Takeaways From The Debt Ceiling Drama
They are: 1. Joe Biden set the terms of debate.
2. McCarthy surprised everyone by taming the Freedom Caucus.
3. Democratic ‘grown-ups’ held their nose and saved the bill.
4. Republicans will take the debt ceiling hostage again.
5. The next big fight over spending is just around the corner.
Click through for more on each. WRT #5, I would say “Be careful what you wish for.” Prior to there being a “debt ceilng, the President had to come to Congress every time he wanted to borrow any money. The debt ceiling was established to give him (it was always him then and so fr still is) some freedom to make borrowong decisions. If we abolish it, we need to make sure we don’t revert to that.

The Daily Beast – GOP School Board Members Bring Book Ban Debate to Newtown, Connecticut
Quote – But Republicans on the Newtown Board of Education sought to have Flamer by Mike Curato and Blankets by Craig Thompson removed from the local high school library as if Connecticut was some benighted red state. After the 20 youngsters and six staff members were murdered at Sandy Hook Elementary school, there was a nationwide call for an assault rifle ban. Fools of the far right continued to insist that civilians should have easy access to such weapons of war even as another mass school shooting is followed by another and another and another. In recent years, those same fervent opponents of banning assault weapons have begun to clamor for banning books that professional educators have deemed appropriate for students.
Click through for story. This is not your normal book ban (not that any book ban is or should be normal – but the GQP is trying hard to make them so.)

Food For Thought

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Video Thread 5/30/2023

 Posted by at 11:53 am  Open Thread, Politics
May 302023
 

Glenn Kirschner – The Trump Trials: Updates on E. Jean Carrol case; Georgia DA’s case; & a tape in NY DA’s case

The Lincoln Project – Ron Pardons

Thom Hartmann – If Nazis Don’t Approve Your Book Is Banned?

Ring of Fire – Right-Wing Moms For Liberty Group Admits They Have ‘Moles’ Inside Liberal Groups

Very ‘Scary’ Cat Is Obsessed With A Tiny Almond

Beau – Let’s talk about the new Trump documents reporting….

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Open Thread May 27, 2023

 Posted by at 5:56 am  Open Thread, Personal, Politics
May 272023
 

Yesterday, the subject line on the HuffPost newsletter was “Republicans keep forgetting you’re NOT supposed to say the quiet part out loud.” I think they’re wrong about that. I think they have discivered, and that it’s Deoctats who keep forgetting, that today’s Republican voters will not recoli from an elected official or a candidate for same who openly takes hostages (or whatever the “quiet part” is in any given incident.) Instead they will embrace him (or, surprisngly, her) for what they wtongly believe is “alpha male” behavior but is actually just being a jerk.

Cartoon –

Short Takes –

Crooks & Liars – Just 11 People Filed Most Book Bans Across The Country
Quote – A small number of people were responsible for most of the book challenges, The Post found. Individuals who filed 10 or more complaints were responsible for two-thirds of all challenges. In some cases, these serial filers relied on a network of volunteers gathered together under the aegis of conservative parents’ groups such as Moms for Liberty…. The majority of the 1,000-plus book challenges analyzed by The Post were filed by just 11 people.
Click through for details – but not the eleven names, unless the Post has them and C&L just didn’t pick them up. I don’t subscribe and I don’t have a gift link so I can’t say.

Democratic Underground (bigtree) – Tina’s husband’s selfless act before her death (hanky alert)
Quote – Two things are missing from the obituaries about #TinaTurner: her commitment to Buddhism, which she credited with saving her life, and this story of true abiding love which, imho, should bump all stories of her first husband…. She Married Husband Edwin Bach, The Love Of Her Life For Over 38 Years, At Her Home Adorned With 70,000 Flowers In Switzerland In 2013.
Click through for a potpourri of anecdotes not in the obits, including of course the incident in the title.

Food For Thought

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Video Thread 4/17/2023

 Posted by at 11:47 am  Open Thread, Politics
Apr 172023
 

Glenn Kirschner – Justice Clarence Thomas violates federal financial disclosure laws; DOJ MUST investigate!

The Lincoln Project – Last Week in the Republican Party – April 11, 2023

Thom Hartmann – Proof Trump Committed Wire Fraud?

Mrs. Betty Bowers – God Gets Salty About Guns (It is on YouTube – but one must sign in “to confirm your age.”

Fox Has Been Visiting Her Favorite Person For Years

Beau – Let’s talk about Missouri libraries….

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“Do Not Go Gentle into That Good Night”

 Posted by at 4:50 pm  Politics
Mar 252023
 

Do not go gentle into that good night,

Old age should burn and rave at close of day;

Rage, rage against the dying of the light.

~ Dylan Thomas (1914-1953)

 

As someone who takes Dylan Thomas’ advice to heart, I’m please to let centenarian and “Craftivist” Grace Linn introduce herself to us all:

“I am Grace Linn.  I am a hundred years young.  I’m here to protest our school’s district book-banning policy.  My husband, Robert Nicoll, was killed in action in World War II at a very young age.  He was only 26, defending our democracy, Constitution, and freedoms.”

And with that opening salvo clearly aimed at DeSantis earlier this week, Grace Linn brought the house down at the latest Martin County School Board meeting in Florida!  Most of the 500-plus overflow crowd was there to show their support for Ms. Linn’s personal and heartfelt protest of Ron DeSantis’ fascist book banning obsession.

She continued:

“One of the freedoms that the Nazis crushed was the freedom to read the books they banned.  They stopped the free press and banned and burned books.  The freedom to read, which is protected by the First Amendment, is our essential right and duty of our democracy.  Even so, it is continually under attack by both the public and private groups who think they hold the truth.”

While addressing the crowd comfortably seated on her walker, a friend of hers displayed the quilt she made last year of just some of the books that have been banned.  At DeSantis’ goading, Florida’s public schools’ libraries have now banned close to 200 “offensive” tomes from their shelves.

Each square of Linn’s quilt shows a stack of books that have been banned and targeted – many of which have been penned by authors honored with numerous literary awards, including several by Nobel Prize winner Toni Morrison.

Linn said that burning books and banning books is done for the same reason: fear of knowledge.

She made clear she was there to oppose Florida’s schools that are being goaded by DeSantis to ban books that irritate right-wingers and evangelical fundamentalists – a danger she compares to the evil her first husband fought and died for fighting against Nazism in WWII.

“Banning books and burning books are the same. Both are done for the same reason. Fear of knowledge. Fear is not freedom. Fear is not liberty. Fear is control. My husband died as a father of freedom. I am a mother of liberty. Banned books need to be proudly displayed and protected from school boards like this. Thank you very much.”

On her departure, Ms. Linn was greeted as the hero she truly is …

During a later interview Ms. Linn explained the purpose of her quilt:

“To remind all of us that these few of so many more books that are banned and targeted need to be proudly displayed and protected—and read, if you choose to.”

Having lost her first husband in WWII’s battle against Nazis and Fascists, along with two brothers (one who was wounded while battling Hitler’s forces and the other suffering PTSD from personally participating in the liberation of Auschwitz), Ms. Linn (who still drives and lives by herself) promised to continue the good fight.

“I always feel that it’s my duty.  When history is forgotten or not used and not allowed to be used, history will repeat itself and we had enough of that during the Nazism that occurred in Germany.”

 

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