Open Thread for October 19, 2021

 Posted by at 6:54 am  Open Thread, Personal, Politics
Oct 192021
 

Yesterday, I did sleep in,and I feel much more rested. I hope I can translate that into fewer typos – or at the very least, more easily interpreted typos. We shall see.

Cartoon – Another prescient one from 2013

Short Takes –

Crooks and Liars – Oath Keepers’ Jan. 6 Trial Delayed Because Evidence Keeps Rolling In
Quote – The federal judge overseeing the Oath Keepers conspiracy case in the Jan. 6 Capitol insurrection ordered their trial delayed this week, primarily because of the overwhelming amount of evidence still being produced in their cases. Though the delay was expected, its reasons are stark reminders that Jan. 6 will be one of the most complex prosecutions in history and that the investigation remains very active as more evidence piles up. There are likely some very big shoes still to drop.
Click through for examples and more explanation. I know it’s tough. We don’t hear much if at all about people being impatient and frustrated about Al Capone … but if there had been an internet and social media then, I’ll bet we would have.

Buzzfeed – “DANGER WARNING”: WOMEN SAY MADISON CAWTHORN HARASSED THEM IN COLLEGE
Quote – BuzzFeed News spoke with more than three dozen people, including more than two dozen former students, their friends, and their relatives, who described or corroborated instances of sexual harassment and misconduct on campus, in Cawthorn’s car, and at his house near campus. Four women told BuzzFeed News that Cawthorn, now a rising Republican star, was aggressive, misogynistic, or predatory toward them. Their allegations include calling them derogatory names in public in front of their peers, including calling one woman “slutty,” asking them inappropriate questions about their sex lives, grabbing their thighs, forcing them to sit in his lap, and kissing and touching them without their consent.
Click through for story. Like other Republican politicians, this dude is a real piece of work.

Yes, Colin Powell Was Fully Vaccinated. He Was Also Seriously Immunocompromised.
Quote – Here’s another bit of nuance that I haven’t seen anyone really talking about but seems the most significant: The reason Colin Powell died of COVID-19 is that he caught it—which meant that it was still circulating among people he had contact with. This point may seem obvious, but too often we forget that one of the greatest risk factors for contracting COVID-19 is community spread. The more people around you who have the disease, the more likely you are to catch it.
Click through for some truth. I saw one meme or tweet which said “Colin Powell did not die because he was vaccinated. He died because you weren’t.”

Food for Thought –

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Open Thread for October 18, 2021

 Posted by at 6:57 am  Open Thread, Personal, Politics
Oct 182021
 

Yesterday, I was pretty well exhausted. I had hoped to sleep in, but woke up about an hour and a half before my guideline alarm (which I would cheerfully have slept through) with just enough tickle in my throat to keep me awake. Nothing serious, just a small allergic reaction, most likely to a piece of red or yellow pepper. It vanished quickly once I was vertical. But I may well be sleeping in today.  Expect me when you see me.

Cartoon – (from 2013 – nothing’s changed)

Short Takes –

Crooks and Liars – Fox Commenters’ Response To Bill Clinton News Is What You’d Expect
Quote – CNN reports that the former president, who is 75, has a urinary tract infection that spread to his bloodstream, a fairly common medical condition in the elderly. It’s a relatively minor medical problem, so why is the story so prominent at Fox? Because it’s an excellent opportunity for Fox fans to demonstrate the kind of high-minded civic engagement they’re known for. From the comments:
Click through if you can stand to. The comments are pretty disgusting. Big Dog also experienced sepsis, which I would not call minor, but IANAD, and thankfully they were right on that, and he is out of the hospotal now according to various sources.

Vox – The case against means testing
Quote – Means testing have also long been associated with a moral argument that some segments of the population are deserving of government benefits, while others are not. This idea undercuts the belief that a social safety net is intended to help support those broadly in need, and shifts the burden onto individuals to prove that they’re worthy of getting basic help.
Click through for evidence. Means testing sounds so reasonable – until you realize that $100 for groceries if you live alone doesn’t exactly go as far as $100 for groceries if you hve three kids. Furthermore. $100 fpr groceries if your body is perfectly normal doesn’t quite go as far as $100 for groceries if you have food allergies, or any other specialized dietary needs. And actually, the same is true for shopping in just about every category of consumables.

The Hill – Arbery murder trial set to begin this week
Quote – When Arbery, who was unarmed, was cornered by the two trucks he ran at Travis McMichael in an attempt to seize his shotgun, but was then fatally shot. In April, both the McMichaels and Bryan were charged with federal hate crimes in connection to Arbery’s death. The indictment accuses the men of using force and threatening to intimidate and interfere with Arbery’s right to utilize a public street, and alleges that Bryan joined the chase and used his truck during the incident.
Click through for story.  I’m surely glad it has come to a trial. I wish I could have higher hopes for its results. They are certainly taking their time over jury selection – I hope that’s a good sign.

Food for Thought –

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Open Thread for October 17, 2021

 Posted by at 7:07 am  Open Thread, Personal, Politics
Oct 172021
 

Yesterday, Virgil and I had a good visit, and I got home (and changed and the mail in) but about 6:30 He returns all greetings. It was a better than avergae visit (tey’re all good).I don’t want to break his confidentiality,but he has been having very vivid nightmares lately – so vivid he calls me he tells me what happened in the dream as something that really happened, when it’s impossible. Yesterday was the first time we ever talked about one during a visit, and was able to associate the scariness of the dreams to an actual time period in his life (before we met) which was both sad and scary for real. I hope this knowledge opens up his ability to deal with it better.

Cartoon –

Short Takes –

Vice News – Capitol Police Officer Arrested for Aiding January 6 Rioter
Quote – Officer Michael A. Riley, an officer with more than two decades on the force, was charged with obstruction of justice for Facebook messaging an alleged rioter and warning them to delete posts that said they’d been in the Capitol. Riley is the first Capitol officer who’s been arrested for charges stemming from the January 6 riots, according to the U.S. Capitol Police. According to the indictment, Riley friended a man on Facebook who’d posted selfies and other evidence that he was in the Capitol during the riots and warned him to take the posts down so as to avoid possible charges. He identified himself as a Capitol officer “who agrees with your political stance,” and told him to “take down the part about being in the building.”
Click through fpr details. I have no words. Well, maybe one – “Goodbye.”

Politico – Law enforcement’s use of force against Jan. 6 conspiracy suspects draws heat — and credit
Quote – FBI agents had just found a cache of firearms during a search at the Nashville home of Eric Munchel — the body-armor-clad Capitol rioter famously photographed carrying zip ties in the Senate chamber on Jan. 6 — when the bureau issued a consequential warning. The FBI warned that police departments seeking to detain Jan. 6 suspects should “exercise caution and consider use of SWAT when affecting the arrest of individuals who displayed body armor or other armament during criminal activity conducted at the US Capitol.”
Click through for story. I was to see a swat team arrest Mo Brooks.

The Hill via MSN et al. – Sen. Whitehouse blasts Alito speech: ‘You have fouled your nest, not us’
Quote – During his speech, Alito took particular exception to what he characterized as media distortions that feed into a false portrayal of the court as a “dangerous cabal.” But Whitehouse said the court’s deteriorating standing among the public has been largely self-inflicted. He ticked off a number of court rulings that he said demonstrates a pattern in which the court’s decisionmaking fits neatly with the interests of well-heeled Republican donors.
Click through for more back-and-forth, and also more sources. I would have one tiny grammatical quibble … but if Sen. Whitehouse wants to say “us” when “we” is correct, he has my permission. With him, it’s the substance which counts. And no one could possibly misunderstand his meaning in context.

Food for Thought –

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Open Thread for October 16, 2021

 Posted by at 7:15 am  Open Thread, Personal, Politics
Oct 162021
 

Yesterday, I put everything in place to quickly get out the door this morning. Of course that isn’t all I did … but it’s what mattered.   When this posts, I will be on the road.  ALSO, in case anyone did not receive the email from Malala Yousafzai, here is the petition she is asking as many as pissible to sign.

Cartoon –

Short Takes –

AP News – Social Security checks getting big boost as inflation rises
Quote – The COLA, as it’s commonly called, amounts to an added $92 a month for the average retired worker, according to estimates Wednesday from the Social Security Administration. It’s an abrupt break from a long lull in inflation that saw cost-of-living adjustments averaging just 1.65% a year over the past 10 years. With the increase, the estimated average Social Security payment for a retired worker will be $1,657 a month next year. A typical couple’s benefits would rise by $154 to $2,753 per month. But that’s just to help make up for rising costs that recipients are already paying for food, gasoline and other goods and services.
Click through for full story and human examples. Just on a ball park quote, I’m about at the average, maybe a trifle more. But I am comfortable because my needs are comparatively few. The truly average person needs more.

The Conversation – More ‘disease’ than ‘Dracula’ – how the vampire myth was born
Quote – The first known reference to vampires appeared in written form in Old Russian in A.D. 1047, soon after Orthodox Christianity moved into Eastern Europe. The term for vampire was “upir,” which has uncertain origins, but its possible literal meaning was “the thing at the feast or sacrifice,” referring to a potentially dangerous spiritual entity that people believed could appear at rituals for the dead…. The vampire served a function similar to that of many other demonic creatures in folklore around the world: They were blamed for a variety of problems, but particularly disease, at a time when knowledge of bacteria and viruses did not exist.
Click through for history. Yes, this is a fluff piece (HAppy Hallowe’en.) But interesting. Knowing how things get started is seldom wasted.

Mother Jones – Who Keeps Us Safe?
Quote – What happens next—a series of events involving a filming bystander, a burgeoning anti-police organization, court-ordered police reform, and Jones’ own mother—has everything to do with the questions many started asking after the murder of George Floyd. Are police the best way to keep us safe? Can they be reformed? Are they necessary—or even equipped—to respond to the mental and behavioral health issues that underpin many emergencies? And if not police, who? Jones’ experience might just point toward some answers.
Click through for details. These two incidents had some differences, but were very similar in key points. Both happened in the same city. The issues of policing may not be in the foreground at the moment, but IMO should not be forgotten.

Food for Thought –

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Open Thread for October 15, 2021

 Posted by at 6:41 am  Open Thread, Personal, Politics
Oct 152021
 

Yesterday, it was pretty quiet. I worked some on a new project which will be largely acrylic and long sleeved but still kind of light weight. I started with the yoke, wondering what it would look like if I made a boat neck with a technique which is usually reserved for buttonholes. It actually looks very good. And O now realize I can use the trick that makes it work to make other kinds of neckline look better too. So, a win-win.

Cartoon –

Short Takes –

Vanity Fair – KATIE PORTER HAS THE FLOOR
Quote – Over burgers, [Ann] O’Leary [formerly the head of Berkeley Law School’s Center on Health, Economic & Family Security] and Porter observed that part of being a congressperson is the committee structure, where members can use the bully pulpit. When you get your time in a hearing, that time is yours. O’Leary says she saw “a switch [go] off” in Porter. “There are always instructions from leadership,” Porter says. “ ‘This is how you vote, this is what our priority is, this is how you should message, this is how much money you need to raise’—and the questions in hearings, you can show up and do what you want. It’s like looking around and saying, where is it that nobody is trying to control me?”
Click through for story. Is there anyone here who doesn’t love Katie Porter? What looked like a blank paywall popped up for me, but I was easily able to read the full article by scrolling. And I also “printed” it, just in case.

The Daily Beast – Capitol Rioter Decides to Represent Himself in Court, Accidentally Admits to Two New Felonies
Quote – Assistant U.S. Attorney Mona Furst reportedly got Fellows to admit that he gained access to the Capitol through a broken window, and that he tried to get a previous judge removed from the case using the judge’s wife’s contact information. At the end of the hearing, McFadden ordered Fellows back into custody and told him: “You’ve admitted to incredible lapses of judgment here on the stand, not least of which was seeking to disqualify a New York state judge.”
Click through for brief story, and through again from there for more details. Keep it up, seditoinists.

The News Tribune via MSN – Arson investigation underway at Islamic Center of Tacoma after fire damages building
Quote – The fire started at the Islamic Center of Tacoma just before an evening prayer was scheduled to begin. Two people were inside but they were able to evacuate, and no one was injured. An arson investigation was started by the Pierce County Sheriff’s Department. Deputy Jeffrey Papen said witnesses reported seeing someone who may have started the fire fleeing the scene.
Click through for what is known.  This makes me both sad and furious.

Food for Thought – Share widely.  People who want these things don’t always know that they are in the bill.

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Open Thread for October 14, 2021

 Posted by at 6:51 am  Open Thread, Personal, Politics, Religion
Oct 142021
 

Yesterday, I watched my Governor’s live press conference on COViD in Colorado. He was accompanied by two doctors, a family practitioner and a pediatricition who is something of an authority in Pediatric epidemiology. The latter said something I really want to share: that, given the transmissibility of the Delta varient, if one is not vaccinated, it is not a question of whether he or she will contract the disease, but when. That may not sway as many people as it should, but it may reach a few.

Cartoon –

Short Takes –

The Conversation – What is the Synod of Bishops? A Catholic priest and theologian explains
Quote – The topic? How the church can learn to rely more fully on this kind of consultation-and-discussion process – how it can become more “synodal” in its governance. Throughout the centuries, the Roman Catholic Church has held many gatherings called “synods” – but seldom one this sweeping in its potential consequences…. In part, it is designed to make church governance more open and inclusive of all its members.
Click through if you like. Pope Francis, like me, is old enough to rememner Pope John XXIII and Vatican II – and that much of the progress Vatican II made has been rescinded. This looks like he is trying to accomplish something which cnnot be rescinded so easily.

Wonkette – Why Were Capitol Police So Unprepared For The January 6 MAGA CHUD Invasion?
Quote – A former senior official in the US Capitol Police just released a scathing letter to Congress that places blaming squarely on the heads of Assistant Capitol Police Chief Yogananda Pittman and acting Assistant Chief Sean Gallagher. The anonymous official accuses Pittman and Gallagher of ignoring an intelligence report they received on December 21 that specifically warned about a potential riot at the Capitol. It was reportedly similar to intel the FBI provided the department on January 5, which according to the Gregorian calendar is prior to January 6.
Click through for story and video footage. The reason is pretty much what you’d think, and pretty much the same as with 9/11 – failure to pass on intelligence. This article is not in Wonkette’s signature style, but is pretty well straight.

Law and Crime – Murder Defendant in 2014 Killing Asks Trial Judge to Officiate Wedding
Quote – To be fair, both marriage and criminal trials are transformative life events. But one Pennsylvania murder defendant has gone so far as to ask his trial judge to officiate his wedding, according to The Associated Press…. “We’ll take care of it next week,” the judge said in court. He did not say no…. Prosecutors offered no objections.
Click through for details. If you like “you just can’t make this stuff up” stories, Law and Crime was on fire yesterday, and most of them should still be on the front page today.

Food for Thought –

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Open Thread for October 13, 2021

 Posted by at 7:09 am  Open Thread, Personal, Politics
Oct 132021
 

Yesterday, my ballot arrived in the mail! In addition to the fiscal measures I already mentioned (and have already researched), it does contain candidayes for my school board. I will have to google them So I won’t be returning it immediately. But I will as soon as possible.  Also, as promised, I did listen to the entire Garland interview, and I have two takeaways to suggest: first, that she asked very good questions. Almost everything we really want to know. (And, of course, the ones we really, really want answers to do involve ongoing investigations – so, only indefinite answers.) But the second thing was that, I never really thought about it, but he is still working on last year’s budget. And that means there are things he can’t do before getting his own budget, because the funds are just not there. No, neither of them said that – but I gathered it from what they did say.

Cartoon –

Short Takes –

Wonkette – John Birch Society Is BACK BABY, And They’re … Trying To Block Entrances To Your Kid’s School!
Quote – The JBS YouTube account, which has a shocking 85.1 thousand followers, is filled with videos with titles like “Bidens New World Order Agenda!” and “Installing the New World Order” and “COVID’S Lies Push People To Action,” because apparently the virus is a sentient being now. There is a whole series on the Illuminati and what those rascals been up to for the past several hundred years.
Click through for details. This is certainly something I never wanted to read or hear. But … we should have expected it. We should have known that if humanity as a whole were actually capable of evolving beyond this evil, we would not have seen any of it in our lifetimes.

The New Yorker – Attorney General Merrick Garland, Interviewed by Jane Mayer
Quote (from text intro) – At the 2021 New Yorker Festival, the investigative journalist Jane Mayer sat down for a conversation with Merrick Garland, the longtime federal judge now serving as President Biden’s Attorney General. Mayer asked about the central role that the Department of Justice plays in some of the most critical issues of our time: racial justice, domestic terrorism, threats to voting rights and abortion access, and the looming power of Big Tech companies.
Click through for podcast. As I type I have not listened yet (but will have done so by the time this posts.) An investigative reporter for The New Yorker has to be more than competent just to keep that job.

HuffPost – Progressives Resist Nancy Pelosi’s Plan For ‘Fewer Things’ In Budget Bill
Quote – At a press conference on Tuesday, Rep. Pramila Jayapal (D-Wash.) reiterated that message. “If we need to cut some of them back to fewer number of years, we’d be willing to do that,” she told reporters. “Why is that? Because we are not going to pit child care against climate change. We’re not going to pit housing against paid leave. We’re not going to pit seniors against young people.”
Click through for story. Of course shorter terms are a gamble. But that gamble is based on making a good show of what we can actually do when we get the chance. I think it’s a gamble well worth taking.

Food for Thought –

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Open Thread for October 12, 2021

 Posted by at 6:41 am  Open Thread, Personal, Politics
Oct 122021
 

Yesterday, My glue had cured and I was able to get back to that last project. And I finished it.  This petition came in yesterday also, so it’s a day late for the day, but still important.

Cartoon –

Short Takes –

The New Yorker – The Moral Bankruptcy of Facebook
Quote – In any kind of church—not to mention a multilevel-marketing scheme, or a doomsday cult—there are true believers. If you start to get the creeping feeling that your church’s core ideology is indefensible, you have two options. You can do whatever it takes to defend the indefensible, or you can leave. For most true believers, though, the latter option—choosing apostasy, which is a kind of self-exile—is not really an option at all. If this is the dilemma that binds a follower, how much more strongly does it bind the church’s founding pastor, or its prophet?
Click through for full opinion with reasoning. (With which I heartily concur … and there are other people to whom the same reasoning applies.)

Mother Jones – My Neighbor the Tear Gas Factory
Quote – In 1995, CSI built the company’s new headquarters in Jamestown, and the Lauries’ nightmare began. The pond where John and Tom Laurie fished as kids was replaced by CSI’s manufacturing plant and a firing range. The peace and quiet the Lauries had prized was now interrupted by loud and repeated explosions, by ominous smoke floating in their direction.
Click through for details. No one should be surprised to hear that corporations lie. But this is ridiculous. Dude has receipts.

Business Insider – Capitol rioter suspected of stealing laptop from Nancy Pelosi’s office is charged. Her plot to sell it to Russian spies is still being investigated, says report.
Quote – Williams’ involvement in the Capitol riot came to light partly through a tip-off from an ex-boyfriend, according to a January affidavit…. The boyfriend claimed she had told people she intended to send the stolen laptop to a friend in Russia, who would then sell it on to its foreign intelligence service…. The laptop has still not been recovered.
Click through for more. I imagine we can expect a superseding indictment in this case. At least I hope so.

Food for Thought –

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