Yesterday, I couldn’t get back to sleep and ended up getting up early. It would be nice if I had therefore accomplished more than usual, but I’m afraid I didn’t, except for maybe a little knitting.
Steve Schmidt is correct. Stephen Miller doesn’t generally worry about saying the quiet part out loud, or anything outrageous. He shows his hate freely. If Steve is correct as to what happened, and I don’t know why he wouldn’t be, then what was said before the cutoff should indeed be truly terrifying.
Other outlets have covered this situation, and there’s been a lot said about it (for instance, at Democratic Underground, where the point was made that, in the past, when the Speaker was “not available”, new members have been sworn in by a Supreme Court justice). But this is the deepest dive I have seen.
Wonkette addresses the issue of federal employees ever getting paid after the shutdown. With any sane President, this would never have been ab issue. But then, if we had a sane President, we likely would not be in a shutdown.
Guest video from Robert Reich – because he requested it be shared.
Yesterday, I heard from Carrie after her visit to Barry. I’m quoting much of it because we are all so used to brain strokes and how to tell if you or a loved one may be having or have had one, and none of that will work for a brain stem stroke. “I was able to speak to him and he was aware I was there. That is the saddest thing about this type of stroke. His brain functions well, but everything the brain stem controls is gone. Because brain stem strokes are so rare, they are easily missed. That’s why he was not correctly diagnosed when he first arrived in the ER. His doctors had only had one other such stroke victim in the past four years. Barry will be transferred to Warm Springs, Georgia to a hospital / rehab facility. After 2 to 4 weeks, they should be able to give us a prognosis.” In other news, our Supreme Court is corrupt – but not corrupt enough to consider Ghislaine Maxwell’s appeal (Axios). Also, I can at least say that I have one Senator who has a clue how to message.
I agree with Robert Reich that this needs to be discussed – or at least thought about – by everyone. I personally am absolutely unqualified to talk about it with people who voted for it, but no doubt there are people who are. Will those voters be willng to listen to or even talk to such qualified people? Anyway, for us – therapy animals can help. for those lucky enough to own one or be near a professional one.
Harry Litman with a this-is-how-it’s-done article on a judicial opinion. As he points out, All judges have occasions on which they need to defer, but they should never to lies. Other courts should take this message to heart – immediately. (Incidentally, this judge was appointed by the Mango Moron. How she got past the Heritage Foundation, I can’t even guess.)
This may brighten your day and maybe even look into the book. There is a Little Professor bookstore in Athens, Ohio, and another in Owatonna, Minnesota, but Joyce lives in Alabama, so this has to be in Birmingham or its suburb Homewood. Although cities are more liberal than rural areas, that’s still a lot of books for Alabama (I wonder how much her signature changed from the first one to the last one.)
Yesterday, I awoke with the joint where my right thumb meets my right hand just throbbing. I rubbed some cold formula sore muscle rub on it, which helped, and I put on an arthritis glove, which also helped. But I haven’t had full use of it all day – so of course this was the day that FIVE packages came, and one was very heavy. I managed to get them all into the house but not all opened. One of them was my new speakers about which I’ll say more when I can type better (and have tried them out.) I forwarded an email to a few of you – not all, because I don’t have my mailing list complete, and I didn’t send it to anyone outside the US. It was an email warning that ICE is now actively looking for immigrant children. Here’s the link that Daily Dose of Democracy provided for more information. If you have children, or grandchildren, or great-grandchildren down to age 10, you need to see it. If you know anyone who does, you will probably want to share it. Also, Don Froomkin of Press Watch says the Chicago apartment raid needs more attention. Here’s the link to his analysis, and here’s another to Heather Cox Richardson. I haven’t read both through as I type, but but the time you see this, I may have managed to read through both. But maybe not. Tomorrow I’ll be going to see Virgil.
This from The Root is directed to the Black community. I don’t want anyone to panic, but it appears to me that everyone should be aware of this, not just people of color and in other underserved groups.
Some of that silence was just protocol. Generals don’t applaud (or at least, not when in uniform. See the Hatch Act.) But the further they got into the meeting, and especially with the two jerks soliciting applause, the louder a statement it became.
When the ACA was passed, I had coverage from prior employment as a retiree, and soon after that from Medicare. As y’all probably know, Medicare is complicated enough, and I wasn’t working in insurance (I never actually worked with life or health insurance anyway), so I depend on journalists to give me a sense of who qualifies for what and why. Wonkette is not the obvious journal to go to for that, but I think Robyn has done an impressive job of clarifying this.
Yesterday, we learned that Jane Goodall has died. She was 91. Such a loss. I’m struck by the difference between her research, which was with primates in their natural habitat acting normally, as opposed the the “research” on wolves which studied only wolves in captivity, who do not act the same way or even close in their natural habitat. If someone did a study on humans but did it inside a prison using the prison population as subjects, we would instantly reject it. But if it’s on wolves – we just swallow it whole.
Obviously I am not about to be able to go do the kind of stuff Robert Reich describes here. But it does point to ways that younger, stronger, and more phone-literate people can conceivably get involved.
Press Watch on Trump’s occupation of Portland. Dan says his question “raises questions about his mental competence.” To me, it actually suggests he may have some. Can you imagine any Fox-Sinclair-OAN watching cult-brain-frozen MAGA asking this? They seem pretty unquestioning to me. But I may be missing something.
A guest video from Robert Reich. I can’t embed it because it’s in the “Shorts” format (More analysis on the shutdown tomorrow.)
Yesterday, as usual on a Monday, I slept quite late. And today is the day of the “meeting” at Quantico. I may just sleep late again. I’d rather not even be awake, let alone reading about it, while Hogsbreath desecrates Quantico with his presence.
Well, this (Politico) is interesting. Not, I would say, surprising, but interesting
Resist. Persist. Repeat. It sounds so simple, doesn’t it. And it is simple. But simple is not the same thing as easy. The Conversation addresses why compliance can be so much easier than defiance, and what can be done about it.
There are two stories in this article from Wonkette, and either one might be accompanied by a tissue alert, so with the two together, I think the alert is necessary. Also, there’s more about the Roberts arrest here. However, there are hundreds, or thousands, of cases very much like these, and if we don’t take a closer look at some of them, we won’t grasp the full significance. Sometimes to see the forest, one needs to look at some of the trees.
Yesterday, with the announcement of, among other things, a 100% tariff on pharmaceuticals, I think it’s time for me to share this article and the website it cites. I don’t use it myself because I don’t need to, on account of my HRA, which is tied to my keeping a Part D with a specific carrier, and which pays the premiums for it. An HRA is essentially free money, so I can’t really complain if they claw a little back – I still have a bundle left to use. But I’m sure most people don’t have HRAs. But I digress. I don’t use this but besides the original post (and I don’t think Mark Cuban is an idiot or a grifter), there are plenty of comments from people who do, and since I belong to DU and know how it works, I know these are all real people, real Democrats, just sharing what they know with like-minded people. Also, Tim Walz emailed that Mike Lindell (the pillow guy) is “taking steps” to run for governor of Minnesota. And Sinclair will be broadcasting Jimmy Kimmel again starting Friday.
I think I would have said “mobsters” before Gestapo myself. But really, is there even an English word for this level of evil?
I don’t really know what to say about this from Robert Reich. Except maybe, he’s right, you know. I’m actually less worried for myself than for those who go to and from work, shopping, or whatever. The danger appear to me mostly of being in the wrong place at the wrong time. Much of the killing appears to be based on whims of the moment.
Heather Cox Richardson kind of sums up the week. If you get too depressed reading it, don’t stop, but do skip to the last couple of paragraphs. Hopefully, that should help.
Yesterday, The Resistance PAC and Win Without War were circulating a petition to use the 25th Amendment, but also to hold the Orange Oligarch accountable for treason. The suggested basis was his putting troops into American cities. As I assume we all know by now, the Constitution limits the definition of treason to making war on the US, or providing aid and comfort to anyone making war on the US. I think his putting the military into US cities is iffy, especially since apparently Jan 6 didn’t qualify – but at least it’s not totally unreasonable under the definition (and his working on changing “Defense” to “War” adds a little plausibility.) So i went ahead and signed this one. Not that it will go anywhere, nor am I recommending anyone else to sign it. Just explaining my reasoning. Also, Adelita Grijalva has won handily the special election for the House seat of her late father Raul in Arizona (she got 71% of the vote.) And I don’t want to hear a word about nepo babies. Yes, her highest elected office previously was for County Supervisor, but she’s not totally without experience. And then – there’s this. (Don’t click with liquid in your mouth.)
Wonkette discusses the Poopypants Pasha’s plans to profit from immigration. Is everything about money with him, or is everything just about him? Or can he tell the difference?
I suppose I could bring back the Furies, or chat with Themis, on this. But I think most of us already know the general outlines of the history of the FBI, as shared by The Conversation. The devil, however, is in the details – literally.
And I’m adding this from NBC News with the caveat that we have very little knowledge yet because I expect to se a lot of misinformation and want us to be prepared.
Yesterday, I was able to hear the radio opera from my laptop. Even set up to the max, the volume was low, and I hope I won’t need to do it again. Faure was one of the Impressionists like Debussy and Ravel, but is much less known. His best known work is probably the Dolly Suite, written for a little girl nicknamed Dolly. This opera, Pénélope, based on the last part of Homer’s Odyssey (when Odysseus finally gets home), doesn’t sound much like the Dolly suite, but it is attractive. Why it’s not performed more than it is is mostly bad luck. It wasn’t a huge hit in the provinces, but when it made its Paris premier, it was well received by the audience and the critics. But within two months another premier at the same theater stole all the oxygen from everything else – it was a little ballet called “Le sacre du printemps,” or in English, “The Rite of Spring.” It actually caused riots, in which people were physically hurt. And it’s not pretty – but it is a masterpiece. But I digress. It has been so long since I read the Odyssey I had almost forgotten about the lack of trust which was normal back when there were no certain ways to establish one’s identity. Odysseus arrives in disguise, and when recognized, orders the person not to reveal him – because all the dudes waiting around for up to 20 years to try to marry his wife would have killed him (instead, he kills them.) When he does reveal his identity to Penelope, she tests him with a fib about having replaced the bed in the master bedroom (not really possible, because the bed was a four-poster and one of the posts was a living tree, and the room was built around it and the bed), and of course he freaks because he knows that, which establishes he really is Odysseus. Off to see Virgil now – will check in.
You are welcome to argue with me about whether this from The Root is good news – since it’s mostly not new, but history. But I maintain the news part is that someone whose name should have been in people’s mouths along with the names of Rosa Parks, John Lewis, and many others is finally getting recognition – at least from the black community, and it should be from us also. It’s not exactly anyone’s fault it’s coming late. Photographers speak with the images they create, not with their mouths, and images are not physically attached to them, so its too easy to forget the people behind those images.
This was apparently a federal charge; I assume that because it was tried in a federal court house and at the Times there is an implication that the prosecution was by a U.S. Attorney. But it’s good news at any level.
There is a lot of good news in this from Wonkette, and it’s from Thursday, so you may have seen some of it. But probably not all of it.
