Church-State Separation – Page 4

Open Thread July 18, 2022

Posted by Joanne Dixon at 7:21 am Open Thread, Personal, Politics

Jul 182022

Yesterday, I got to see Virgil. I got to the facitity a coupe of minutes after the – I don’t think this is what they call it – but I’ll say screening time started (11:30). We fill out forms (if we haven’t done so at home), get searched, turn over our driver’s licenses and car keys and receive a numbered brass disc for a receipt, then go through two electronically locked gates, go into the main building, ago and go theough two electronically locked doors to the visitng room – where I arrived at just about 12:00, which is when visitation itself starts. Virgil was asleep at the time, and between waking him up and getting him to the visitation room with his walker, it was about 12:30. (If I had a nickel for every time he has been asleep when I got there for a visit – well, I wouldn’t be rich, but I’d have maybe $10.00.) I passed on all wished, including the ones I didn’t see till I got home but knew they were coming, and he was appreciative. The next time I see him he will have turned 79. He never expected to live that long. Only one of his six uncles on his mother’s side did, and that was the one who was married to a diabetic (he may even have hit 90 – but at least lived well into his 80’s. But i digress. Coming home I forgot that to go south and west from the facility, I first need to get on the interstate eastbound. So I got a little tour of some odd parts of Denver. Though irritated with myself, I had no trouble staying calm, knowin I was in a triangle of interstates and that it didn’t really matter which I found first – they’d all get me home eventually. It didn’t consume all that much time either – less than a half hour. And I wasn’t going for speed.

Cartoon – If ha had been playing an instrment, that is the one it would have been. However, he was not in Rome when the fire broke out, and by the time he got there his own home was destroyed – so he certainly didn’t play and sing from his balcony, because it was gone. He seems to have acted like a conscientious ruler for a white – raising money to help rebuild – but what pissed people off was that he earmarnked far too much of it for his own home instead of theirs.

Short Takes –

PolitiZoom – Fulton County DA Fani Willis Just Took Off The Kid Gloves.Exploding GOP Heads To Follow
Quote – One former federal prosecutor appearing on MSNBC today referred to the target letter by its internal nickname, the heart attack letter. Think about it. A prosecutor has just told you that you are at serious risk of indictment on criminal charges. The letter always reminds the target of his or her 5th Amendment rights, advises them to seek and obtain legal counsel, and carries an oblique reminder that if the target is having a Come to Jesus moment, it’s always the first rat to jump on the government gravy train that gets the most cheese.
Click through for story. This broke Friday evening, and whatever else it is, it is delightful.

Crooks and Liars – Ex-US Attorney Lays Out How To Charge Donald Trump For Manslaughter
Quote – “The other thing that is coming clear to me is there is a potential charge here against Donald Trump for manslaughter,” McQuade said, referring to the seven deaths connected to the Jan. 6 attack. “The other thing that is coming clear to me is there is a potential charge here against Donald Trump for manslaughter,” McQuade said, referring to the seven deaths connected to the Jan. 6 attack. She added: “Knowing that this crowd is armed, he has a duty as the president of the United States, as the commander-in-chief to take care that the laws be faithfully executed, to call off that mob and do everything he can to stop it. Instead, he sits idly by during those 187 minutes.”
Click through for reasoning. I realize at this point prety much no one (incliding me) caress “for what” as much as “how soon” and “how long.”Plus, the more potential charges, the better the likelihood that some will stick.

Food For Thought

Video Thread 7/11/22

Posted by Joanne Dixon at 11:58 am Open Thread, Politics

Jul 112022

Glenn – Cipollone testifies for hours about & against Trump. Next up Bannon? Elmer “Oath Keeper” Rhodes

Meidas Touch – Texas Paul SLAMS Marjorie Taylor Greene’s Newest MAGA Conspiracy Lunacy

The Lincoln Project – Boris (Sure wish we could emulate the Brits.)

MSNBC – The Common Signs Of Mass Shooters | The Mehdi Hasan Show

Mrs Betty Bowers – Is America Really a Christian Nation?

Beau – Let’s talk about Democratic messaging…. (I have been saying, “Well, Democrats do address our messages to sane people,” which includes reasonable, informed people. And there are just not enough of them. And we look at Republicans who use lies to gin up first fesr and then anger in their base. Well, gining up fear about Republican poliies does NOT require lying – and, sadly but truly, we need to start doing it, and loudly Look – it’s not disingenuous or deceitful when it’s the truth!)

Open Thread June 28, 2022

Posted by Joanne Dixon at 7:14 am Open Thread, Personal, Politics

Jun 282022

Yesterday, I realized Nameless has posted Sunday evening after I sent the email – I’ll pick it up in next week’s, but for regular readers, here’s the link – https://www.7thstep.org/blog/2022/06/26/there-is-no-joy-in-mudville/ I didn’t see it immediately because I was loking for an email response to my visit-Virgil notification, and when I found it, it was a notificaion that he has been moved again. I needed to address that right away because they only have certain hours in which they read and answer emails, so I didn’t get to PP right away. And I realize this OT is pretty lightweught. Sometimes that happens. BTW, there’s another hearing today I’ll be watching it after the fact. And one final note – I’m not big on podcasts myself as a learning method (I find it difficult to sit still and listen), but this one, recommended by the editor of Mother Jones, appears to be seriously content-rich, down to earth, and something you can recommend to anyone whose shock at current events leads them to wnt to learn more. It’s called “How to Citizen.” https://www.howtocitizen.com

Cartoon –

Short Takes –

The New Yorker (Borowitz) – Women Declare Themselves Corporations to Force Supreme Court to Grant Them Rights as People
Quote – Attorneys across the nation indicated that they have been swamped by requests from clients seeking to incorporate as soon as possible. “The Supreme Court decided in 2010 that corporations are people, so all we want is to be treated like corporations, ” Carol Foyler, who now goes by the corporate name FoylerCo L.L.C., said.
Click through for full (short) article. I’ve heard lots of ideas less intelligent than this one.

Robert Reich – When I was Baby Jesus
Quote – What was I to do? I did the only thing my five-year-old brain could come up with: I apologized to God. I did it quietly as I lay on the straw on the stage, under my breath so no one else would hear, and then apologized again during the prayers and Christmas carols. I whispered, “God, I didn’t have a choice. I was cast as Baby Jesus. I don’t celebrate Christmas. It’s against my religion. Please forgive me. Thank you.”
Click through for his thoughts on yet another horrible SCOTUS decision.

Food For Thought

Open Thread June 1, 2022

Posted by Joanne Dixon at 6:37 am Open Thread, Personal, Politics

Jun 012022

Yesterday, I got an email from WellRed Comedy. That’s not terribly unusual,since I get emails on their tours But this one was about a new series which I had seen a little of on Trae’s channel but which now has its own channel, which they call “Puttin on Airs.” I had seen a couple on Trae’s channel, but the new channel (which has videos and clips ranging from under a minute to over an hour) puts them together in a way which – shall I say – makes them ore coherent. I may be able to use some in the Video Thread (not that I’m ready to just yet. I do suspect looking at, for instance, Marie Antoinette and Henry VII through Trae’s and Corey’s eyes may well be worth a look see.

Also, I have to admit that that tiny little patch, smaller than a postage stamp, actually stayed in place overnight. Amazing.

Cartoon –

Short Takes –

No More Mister Nice Blog – MAYBE THE COMMENTARIAT SHOULD TRY LEARNING SOME BASIC FACTS
Quote – I’m pleased that he recognizes the uniquely American nature of this sick fetishization. But how can he not “fully understand the message”? This ad shows a little kid fondling an assault weapon under a Bible verse (Proverbs 22:6) because — as is obvious to anyone who’s paid a reasonable amount of attention to U.S. conservatism in recent years — right-wing Americans don’t just believe they have an unlimited right to bear arms, they believe that this right was given to Americans by God.
Click through for full blog. I don’t know what the answer is. I am coming around to the idea that, since “Guns don’t kill people, people kill people,” we should concentrate on regulating gun owners before trying unsuccessfully to get rid of the guns, and also that a big part of that should be getting ANY guns out of the hands of domestic violence perps and animal abusers who are provably associated with way more than their share of incidents.) This also may not work, but at least it is in line with their own rhetoric, and not just ours.

Daily Kos (Walter Einenkel) – Qronicles of Anon: It’s all about saving the children—until actual children are killed
Quote – This has been a hard week in America. They’re all hard weeks, but this one was particularly difficult. It was a glaring reminder of the violent cost of our country’s obsession with guns and weapons, and how conspiracy theories like QAnon help feed the paranoia that’s necessary to believe everybody should own an assault rifle. The fact that the QAnon world, not unlike its Republican leadership, hides behind children while allowing their actions and inaction to end in dead children as collateral damage is breathtaking and gut-punching all at the same time.
Click through – the article doesn’t so much develop the headline; instead, it rounds up all kinds of QAnon insanity surfacing.

Raw Story – Pope Francis sends ‘powerful message’ by elevating liberal Bishop over Archbishop who banned Pelosi from communion
Quote – “The choice of Bishop McElroy is the biggest surprise of this consistory [the council of cardinals] for the church in the United States,” reports the Jesuit publication America. “A graduate of Harvard, Stanford and the Pontifical Gregorian University, Bishop McElroy has demonstrated that he is one of the strongest supporters of the pope’s vision of church among the American bishops since Francis appointed him to be bishop of San Diego in March 2015. By choosing him to be a cardinal, instead of others, Pope Francis is sending a powerful message to the American bishops and church.”
Click through for details. So many of the humorous things we see are just pure idiocy (like “gazpacho police”); our laughter diesn’t affect them, and the stories lead nowhere. This is a story I can laugh at and treasure – because accountability.

Food For Thought

Video Thread 4/20/22

Posted by Joanne Dixon at 11:37 am Open Thread, Politics

Apr 202022

Glenn Kirschner – Donald Trump’s “Hub-and-Spoke” Conspiracy to Overturn the 2020 Presidential Election: An Explainer

The Lincoln Project – Still Loyal to Putin

MSNBC – The Reid Out – Malcolm Nance [I can make it starts when he starts, but I can’t make it end when he ends. So when you get to about 11:12, feel free to stop it.

Liberal Redneck – Singin’ Plane Christians and Ilhan Omar

Cracked – If Chocolate Commercials Were Honest

German Shepherd Carries Cat Toy Around The House For The New Kitten To Play With

Beau – Let’s talk about shifting demographics….

Video Thread 4/19/22

Posted by Joanne Dixon at 11:51 am Open Thread, Politics, Religion

Apr 192022

Glenn Kirschner – Stephen Miller Testifies to J6 Panel: How might he have criminal exposure? Let us count the ways.

The Lincoln Project – Abbott’s Wall –

Voice of America – Ukraine Refuses to Surrender Besieged Mariupol to Russian Forces

Thom Hartmann – Will SCOTUS Turn America Into A Theocracy?

Parody Peojrct – THE BANANA REPUBLICAN VOTE NO SONG

Beau – Let’s talk about Patrick Lyoya in Grand Rapids….

Video Thread 3/15/22

Posted by Joanne Dixon at 11:44 am Open Thread, Politics

Mar 152022

Glenn Kirschner – Before Putin’s Illegal War Against Ukraine, There Were Trump’s Crimes Against President Zelensky

Thom Hartmann – Crazy Alert: Did the GOP Really Endorse Killer

No Dem Left Behind – Protect our kids from Religious Right extremists and the GQP!

Sum of Us – BlueTriton is the worst company you’ve never heard of.

Really American – Republicans Dine In Moscow: Party Of Treason

Suibhne – The Animated History of Ukraine (17 Minutes)

Beau – [Two videos about the domino effects of war]

Video Thread 1/13/2022

Posted by Joanne Dixon at 12:29 pm Open Thread, Politics

Jan 132022

Glenn Kirschner – Jim Jordan Refuses to Testify/Incriminate Trump: Here’s How it Will Come Back to Bite Him

Meidas Touch – Cult expert REVEALS the secret SECRET CULTS of Mike Pence and Bill Barr!!

MSNBC – I wouldn’t call it breaking news myself – but I like the way they talk about it. “driving the insurrection,” “right wing networks,” “knock down this conspiracy theory.”