Open Thread November 10 2025

 Posted by at 6:00 am  Politics
Nov 102025
 

Yesterday, Trinette was by. She brought two copies of my new auto insurance ID card, since my printer is not yet functioning, and she looked at it, and we discovered it needs a power cord (and one different from any power cords I already have.) I’m pretty sure I know exactly where to get one and will work on it. She also tooka really good full length photo of my Nancy Pelosi character doll and emailed it to me (from her phone). And of course we talked.

I agree this from Common Dreams is highly motivational to Democrats (it certainly motivates me). I also point out that it cannot motivate anyone who does not know about it. Share it widely.

So in addition to all her other credentials, Joyce Vance is a Fellow of the Brennan Center. How she finds time to knit and raise chickens I simply cannot imagine.

This is from last week – but it’s discussion what will happen which most likely hasn’t happened yet. There’s a fair amount of saying the quiet part out loud, and if that angers you, good – you are still alive.

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Open Thread November 8 2025

 Posted by at 6:00 am  Open Thread, Personal, Politics
Nov 082025
 

Yesterday, I observed that Nancy Pelosi will retire after the 2026 midterms. But she will always be the speaker in my house, in the character doll I clothed (and styled the hair) of her in the infamous Max Mara coat, with sunglasses. Bo, I don’t yet have a picture. I’ll work on getting one.

From Wonkette, a snapshot from the history of labor in America. Granted that having to pee in a bottle because you don’t get bathroom breaks, as happens at Amazon, is not as bad as getting shot and killed or burned alive, I still don’t think we have come very far.

I found a way to link to one specific part of the TPM Morning Memo, so here it is – early theories of the election. As stated there, it’s early to be sure just what happened, but still interesting. You are welcome to scroll up and down to the rest of the memo if you like.

I don’t suppose that anyone here is even slightly considering a paid subscription to The F***ing News – but just in case, you cannot pay for it with an American Express card. They will not send your payment(s) because the name offends them. But I digress. There’s a bunch in here, but what most interested me was the middle about the “lame duck” era. I found it encouraging. It starts with a header with the Politico logo, and goes down to the two maps of Virginia – maps which clearly show that land does not vote. People vote.

Two videos today because they go together. I was born in San Francisco, but I don’t think I have ever been truly homesick until seeing the first one.

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Open Thread November 6 2025

 Posted by at 6:04 am  Open Thread, Personal, Politics
Nov 062025
 

Yesterday, Andy Borowitz had Adam Kinzinger on his show (not for the first time. The full show is only for paid subscribers, but Andy did reveal that Adam has been working on a documentary (with Meidas Touch) called “The Last Republican”, and it’s available now to stream on Apple TV, Amazon, Googleplay and YouTube, and others. I foresee more knitting in my future. Also yesterday, my inbox was very full, and so many of the emaiis were on the giddy side, that I had a bit of difficulty finding takes that were distinct. But that’s OK. We need and deserve a little giddy time.

This is about a half hour video with Joyce Vance and Steve Vladek concerning the murders being carried out by our military in the Caribbean and the Pacific (so far.) Both feel that this is a situation we should be hearing more about, and specifically more pushback from Congress on, even just for legal reasons without analyzing the moral issues. And yes, I realize that when people in their district are starving, that should be Congressfolks first priority. On the other hand, when the only Congressional voice pushing back belongs to Rand Paul, maybe not other Congressfolks’ only priority.

If you can’t spare a half an hour for Joyce Vance, you can read this instead. It’s an analysis of the case of the fellow who threw a sandwich at a Border Control agent (who are separate from ICE.) This is so unimportant that the fact of it going to trial at all is disproportionately important, which sounds like an oxymoron, but isn’t.

Huff Post discusses a concept which explains a lot about how Republicans can live with their cruelty. And I truly do think it can ensnare anyone. I have never told anyone before about this, and I won’t provide details, but I caught myself doing this once when I was about 11 or 12 – and it shamed me so tha I vowed never to do it again. But of course narcissists and Republicans have no shame – and no introspective ability -so it’s not surprising they can and do keep using it. It’s called “violent innocence.” I don’t know how or even if knowing about it can help to combat it in others, although it’s probably useful to combat the tendency in oneself, although at our ages we have probably already done that.

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Open Thread November 5 2025

 Posted by at 5:55 am  Open Thread, Personal, Politics
Nov 052025
 

Yesterday, The news was that Dick Cheney has died. Obviously I’m no fan, and I doubt anyone here is. But he did tell Liz to “Save the Republic,” and she did work on the Jan 6 committee, and she is fundraising for Democratic candidates such as Zoe Lofgren now, and I wouldn’t mind telling her she has my sympathy. If anyone sees any such petition, please let me know. Also, it appears we won a trifecta in Virginia – a state where the Gov and Lt Gov run separately rather than on a ticket – bu we won both. And their legislative House. I’m also seeing reports that Mikie Sherrill won the Governor’s race in New Jersey, but that is not official as I type. I hope it’s correct. And Zohran Mamdami won the New York City Mayoralty.

Heather Cox Richardson starts with Nick Fuentes (and Groypers) and proceeds into other Republican officials, advisers, and influencers, all disgusting. Unfortunately, however, it’s true – you can’t tell the players without a program. This is (among other things) the program.

Robert Reich , because the current Federal government would never consider a wealth tax, is working on one to propose in California. They hope to get it onto the ballot in 2026. He says there are other states looking at it, but doesn’t mention which states.

Okay, okay, this is not news – it is Borowitz. I read the headline and mentally responded, “Don’t tease me, bro.” But actually – now is not the time for it to be good news. Don’t think they could not find someone worse!

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Open Thread November 3 2025

 Posted by at 5:56 am  Open Thread, Personal, Politics
Nov 032025
 

Yesterday, in case anyone missed my comment, I got the email from Carrie that Barry has died. Of course she could still use suppoet, such as thoughts, prayers, or however you communicate with the universe. Also, I course, I saw Virgil and we played cribbage. The cards were not terribly cooperative; we sis have some good hands, but also a lot of bummers. For instance, at different times, both Virfil and I were dealt a habd with three pairs. That’s an automatic “WTF do I discard?” dilemma. And you know whatever you do is going to be wrong. But we still had fun. The sergeant in charge of Cisitation came to the visiting room to meet me (and ask how I put up with him – that’s kind of a women’s in-joke.)

Chris Bowers has a point. Things could indeed be worse. There are still good people in the US (you’re here, aren’t you? And if you’re not, you are in contact with people who are.) And many of us are doing what we can to help constrain him, and some of it is helping. We need to hang on to hope – without that, it will be worse.

You know, I really can’t comment on this – despite the fact I spent ten years in the Marine Corps myself and fired a gun or two in my day, I have never learned to read minds. I have learned that every living soul is different from every other one, even fraternal siblings, and that many are very complex and inconsistent. “Full of surprises” comes to mind. Just now, I know there are people worried about Graham Platner, and I cannot tell anyone what to think – I don’t know myself what to think. Although I associate this trait with “Conservatives,” many Liberals also have a habit of jumping to conclusions before all the facts are in.

This from People For The American Way is a huge challenge and I know not everyone can absorb it. But it is also something you will not find anywhere else sy this point. Going through the term, you will find articles and briefings on individual cases, but almost certainly not an overview. So I feel I need to share that it exists.

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Open Thread November 2 2025

 Posted by at 6:02 am  Open Thread, Personal, Politics
Nov 022025
 

Yesterday, the radio opera was “Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg” by Wagner. It is his only comedy – and it’s a comedy not just because it’s a sweet love story with a happy ending. It’s also about musical pedants who fall apart if any composer does anything new – and there are many in every generation (there’s a book called “Lexicon of Musical Invective, originally published in the 1950s IIRC to record every awful thing that was said about great composers, starting with Mozart and Beethoven. It’s full of doozies – an has to keep getting reissued because the pedants just keep coming.) Historically, the meistersingers were not professional composers, but a guild of tradesmen and craftsmen who were dedicated hobbyist composers. Hans Sachs (an actual historical person) was a cobbler, for instance, and Beckmesser was the town clerk. Beckmesser is the quintessential pedant, and Wagner lets him have it every time he is on stage. I always feel for the singer who has to play that part. One has to be really smart yo play that stupid, and really self confident to withstand that much embarrassment. Hans Sachs, on the other hand, is the teacher that everyone wishes they had had in every subject. I have seen this opera once, on television, not in person, and James Morris sang Hans Sachs and really made the whole thing worth watching – all five hours. I recorded it on VCR – yeah, it was a while ago. Off to see Virgil; will of course check in.

From The Root. With the regime acting like a demolition crew and loving it, it can be easy to forget there are still plenty of good people in the world. Like Sabrina. And like I expect Riley will grow up to be.

OK, this from Democratic Underground is not good news. It is in fact not news at all. It’s just for fun.

Also from the Root, I’m calling this good news. It dates back a long time, but it was certainly news to both McCullough and Smith.

From a local TV station via The Smile, I never expected to find something like this in my own back yard. Although I probably should have. I too remember Nick Venetucci and his wife Bambi – if you weren’t inspired by them you needed your vitals checked. It should not be surprising that someone was inspired enough by him to go the distance for kids, particularly disabled kids, at Hallowe’en.

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Open Thread October 31 2025

 Posted by at 6:00 am  Open Thread, Personal, Politics
Oct 312025
 

Yesterday, The Mango Menace’s announcement on Wednesday that he would resume nuclear testing hit my inbox big time. I assume it hit the inboxes of y’all equally, so I’ll leave it there. And I had to stay up a bit late, but by golly, I finished that sweater.

A lot of us already don’t buy anything on Black Friday. This extension of that proposed by Black Enterprise may require a little more planning – but some situations call for desperate measures. There may be good reasons why some people cannot take part, but I hope all will at least consider participating.

In my experience, sure-fire solutions are virtually never things that anyone can do. This one from The Root would appear to come closer than most, but there still might be a learning curve. But I think it is well worth sharing anyway. At least it doesn’t require being a genius.

Well, as long as I already have two articles from black sources, I may as well go three for three. From The Root: The Mango Monster said something this week which implied he might be thinking about using the reserve after all – but in addition to being a chronic liar, he has been so spaced out this week that there’s really no point in even listening to him, let alone forming an opinion on what he might do from what he says. As to what starving people might do – well, two words – Jean Valjean.

Mrs. Betty Bowers Guest Video

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Open Thread October 29 2025

 Posted by at 6:06 am  Open Thread, Personal, Politics
Oct 292025
 

Yesterday, Steve Schmidt’s Save America PAC announced three new one-minute ads to be run on Fox News. Of course they are requesting donations, but there no obligation to donate just to watch them. One is about “Trump’s Tariffs”, the second about Canada, and the third about immigration. All three are narrated by Ronald Reagan (probably how they got Fox to accept them, IMO). I needed to unmute the sound or enable CC or both. Also, Colorado Public Radio wrote “The Department of Energy said it was saving taxpayers $7.56 billion. The actual amount is much less,” Of course that’s correct, especially under this regime. But let’s suppose the government’s statement was accurate. That would come out to $22.oo per person. Not exactly life changing. I’d call that disingenuous.

I don’t want to be – I don’t want anyone to be – blinded by rose-colored glasses. But Robert Reich is looking at the same numbers and historical events that I am, and he says it a lot better then I could.

Wonkette‘s subhead: “There are contingency plans and the GOP is opting not to use them.” Y’all have probably heard the truth about SNAP so often that you know most of this. What I didn’t know was that Congress-approved contingency plans are not only existent, but are required by law to be used. Not, of course, that the law means anything to this regime other than a nuisance.

From The Root. In other news, water is wet. I wish I didn’t have to feel that way, but sadly, I still do. I also kind of wish I could live long enough to see it change – except that I really don’t want to live to be 500 or maybe more..

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