Open Thread April 23 2026

 Posted by at 6:05 am  Open Thread, Personal, Politics
Apr 232026
 

On Tuesday, The Oedipus Project was on Zoom again – with an all new cast inclding Dr. Fauci as Tiresias, and Chuck Schumer as, probably technically a member of the chorus – but the chorus’s lines were broken up and spread around. Yes, I’ve seen the project before, and yes, I’ve read the play (in English – I came late to Greek and didn’t have time to get good enough to read plays – the only one I read a little of in the original was Philoctetes.) But there is always something new that comes out of these productions.

If you are wondering about the criminal complaint against the SPLC which Todd Blanche somehow managed to get past a Grand Jury (in the Middle District of Alabama), there are a couple of good videos available regarding it – one on YouTube on the Talking Feds channel, and the other (and more detailed) on Substack.  Either (or both) can generate a transcript easily if you prefer one. Don’t worry, the SPLC has not done anything illegal (Unfortunately, that fact may not protect them from a MAGA judge in that district.)

From the 19th. One woman’s story to represent so many women’s stories. Which is how we learn, I think.

Since the only thing the Papaya Pasha cares about, besides himself, is money, it shouldn’t be surprising that every bizarre thing he does ends up affecting money. Unfortunately, it’s our money which is the most affected. As Robert Reich points out.

Talking Points Memo has a string of stories here, but the longest, and possibly the ugliest, is the first one. Read as much (or as little) as you like.

This video, from and for Earth Day, is a short – there may be a way to embed it, but I couldn’t find one in the “share” options. Hick is not the best Senator ever, but he is right on this.

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Open Thread April 20 2026

 Posted by at 6:00 am  Open Thread, Personal, Politics
Apr 202026
 

Yesterday, I saw Virgil and we played cribbage. A good number of hands were outstanding, and about the same number were awful. I think we had less decent average hands than usual. You can’t predict that kind of thing. It just happens. The weather was lovely, and I wasn’t fighting the sun either going or returning. So I think I can be getting there from 10:30 to 5:00 – in other words, get my half-hour back by leaving home a half hour earlier, at least into fall. Of course, in the winter the sun squeezes the time at both ends. Happy 4/20 today to those who celebrate!

https://www.cnn.com/interactive/2026/03/world/expose-rape-assault-online-vis-intl/index.html
Between CNN, UltraViolet, and John Pavlovitz, I was able to use CNN after searching for and finding a readable article. I really would have hated to use a video.

https://theconversation.com/about-half-of-young-americans-cant-name-a-single-holocaust-site-repeating-a-pattern-of-ignorance-seen-in-postwar-germany-278507
Even though I was not born until after VE Day (and less than a month before VJ Day), remembering the Holocaust comes to me almost as natural as breathing. But – I got an education – not just in school, but also through reading, and even movies and television contributed. It isn’t merely the loss of knowledge of the Holocaust which has degreaded our education since then – but that is a teribly important part of what we have lost.

The Corporatization of Public Schools


How long will it take for people to learn that any kind of privatization (including so-called public-private partnerships) will always cost more and provide less than just letting the government do what government does?

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Open Thread April 17 2026

 Posted by at 5:52 am  Open Thread, Personal, Politics
Apr 172026
 

Yesterday, I was fairly well rested, and even managed to get to bed early (for me.)  Malcolm Nance mentioned more or less in passing. that Australia has been hurting for oil and  that now one of their only two oil refineries there has blown up. If that interferes with internet there, it may be a while before we hear from Lona. He also mentioned (it was breaking news to him – and he was shocked) that Justin Fairfax, former LtGov of Virginia apparently shot his wife and himself, but apparently not their teen children. I expect The Root will have more information.

No telling whether the archive is needed – we all get at least one free story a month, but I have no way of knowing whether any of you have used yours. So, archived to be safe and save time. This is sad – but I can’t call it unexpected, alas.

[analysis Magyar election] I was a bit taken aback by the new Prime Minister’s name which I now know I have been pronouncing wrong all my life.) I thought about it off and on trying to think of similar names. First I came up with xomposer and conductor Edward German (he wasn’t.) Eventually I also remembered a General while I was in the Marines – Lowell English (he was American, but I suppose at least some of his ancestors were English.)
(Also, her letter dated April 15 reviews Lincoln’s assassination on April 14 – and how Andrew Johnson undermined reconstruction almost before it started.

Another analysis piece, this one from ProPublica. Of course, investigation was needed in order to publish it with receipts. But couldn’t you have predicted it? I would think any sane person could have. The more people you arrest at random, the less likely any of them is to be a criminal.

Brian Tyler Cohen is not a favorite of mine, partly because his videos are so long. But this one is the only place I have seen anything about this stunt – and as far as I’m concerned you can shut it off when he finishes with that part. (even in full, it’s only 8½ minutes – which is very short for him)

Dog

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Open Thread April 15 2026

 Posted by at 6:00 am  Open Thread, Personal, Politics
Apr 152026
 

Monday was the fourth anniversary of “Russian warship, go fuck yourself.” (Malcolm was there, in Ukraine.) And “go fuck yourself” was not a completely accurate translation from Ukrainian. (“Go find a dick” is closer.) Hopefully remembering that can inspire us. Maybe not as much as it inspired Ukraine at the time, but there is a whole lot of room beneath that extremely high level. Also, Eric Swalwell announced he will resign from Congress but provided no effective date.

Here is incontrovertible evidence that some Muslims are better Christians than some Christians – translated from Farsi (not by me): “Your Excellency Pope Leo XIV (@Pontifex), on behalf of the great nation of Iran, I condemn the insult to Your Excellency and declare that the desecration of Jesus (peace be upon him), the Prophet of peace and brotherhood, is unacceptable to any free person. I wish glory for you from Allah.” – Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian (quoted by Daily Kos)

What the Brennan Center for Justice is doing now to protect the midterms in November, by Michael Waldman.

If you are looking for an exact moment when we lost the Iran war, the closest you can probably come is the moment we started it. MajGen Paul Eaton (Ret), the leader of VoteVets analyses pretty much everything we have done wrong, which is pretty much everything we have done. Unless, of course, you are an insider trader, in which case you can laugh all the way to your Trumpcoin.

Murdoch beats Trump’s suit on WSJ’s Epstein exposé: What’s next?

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Open Thread April 13 2026

 Posted by at 6:00 am  Open Thread, Personal, Politics
Apr 132026
 

Yesterday – was interesting. In the sense that “May you live in interesting times” is a curse. Eric Swalwell was accused of sexual misconduct, and has dropped out of the race for Governor, though maintaining his innocence. A quote: “I will fight the serious, false allegations that have been made–but that’s my fight, not a campaign’s.” The Iran negotiations crashed, and the UnPresident announced a naval blockade of the Strait of Hormuz (I realize that is so absurd that anyone who knows anything about it would crack up laughing, but unfortunately it’s still “interesting.” Guess we’re going to experiment with piracy now. But it’s still “interesting.”) Trinette was by to save my sanity. I hope y’all have something at hand to save yours.

Let me tell you a story about charismatic Christianity (which is not a denomination, but exists across many denominations. While stationed in Okinawa, I started attending a charismatic Catholic prayer group. The people there were clearly doing their best to live as Jesus had taught, and I was comfortable. There was a church-approved pamphlet called “Life in the Spirit” which was used for instruction, and without going into detail, it was sound. When I left the USMC and moved to Alamosa, the Catholic church there had a charismatic prayer group also, which I also attended. It also used the “Life in the Spirit” literature. Until one day, the group leader received a bunch of new booklets intended to replace “Life in the Spirit.” The English ones were entitled “You will receive power” (the Spanish ones were titled “Recibirán Poder.” I was 30 at the time, which is not terribly old, but I was a grown-ass adult.” I immediately saw that this new emphasis – biblical though it was – would be the beginning of the end. Because it would attract people who want power (and put off those who don’t.) People who want power are the last people in the world who should have it. I left the group. The “charismatic Christian” in this article sounds like a case in point. People who want power do so because they believe that, with it, they can do anything they want – with no negative consequences. Reality simply doesn’t work that way.

Archived from The New Yorker. Just in case you thought there was nothing worse than MAGA.

At least this from Robert Reich is good. If you can stand another story – my dead friend Fred, who was an announcer at my favorite radio station and who died not that long ago (and the station played recorded tributes to him from co-workers, former co-workers, listeners for what seemed like a month, and who was an atheist and the kindest, most generous person I have ever met) was Hungarian-Italian-American – he would have been so happy about this.

From Andy Borowitz: “Ghost of Pope Francis to Viktor Orbán: ‘I Warned You Not to Let Vance Near You!'”

OK, I was wrong. The previous episode wasn’t the last one.

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Open Thread April 11 2026

 Posted by at 5:52 am  Open Thread, Personal, Politics
Apr 112026
 

Yesterday, I was looking forward to today because the radio opers for today is by Mozart – Don Giovanni – and the title role will be plqyed and sung by Ryan Speedo Green. It won’t be the first time I have heard him in a leading role – he played the title role in Terence Blanchard’s opera “Champion ” (split with Eric Owens – Speedo was the young Emil and Owens the old and demented Emil, still coping with guilt.) But it will be the first time I have heard him in a leading role by Mozart, which may be scarier, because there have been so many fantastic singers who have assumed this role over 200 years that many will be comparing him to someone else (different someone else depending on the listener.) Speedo is the young man who didn’t even know opera existed until he was in juvenile correction as a teen and someone took several inmates to the opera and he was hooked. (I’m pretty sure there was a black lead in the production, because if there hadn’t, he likely would have figured it was not for him and his life would not have been turned around as it was – but I don’t remember who. It might have been Denyce Graves, but there are so many others also.) It’s a story that never fails to inspire me.

No comment. (Because I am speechless.)

History can be scarier than just about anything, particularly when it appears to be rhyming again. By now I expect everyone knows how upset I get by undeserved reputations attached to historical figures (and even fictional ones.) Why does it matter? Because truth always matters. Here’s Steve Schmidt having a case of “Truth matters.” (Heather Cox Richardson tells the same story in her April 8 letter, but doesn’t go in to the reputational inconsistencies as Schmidt does.)

Two articles – same subject – the Presidential Records Act. Take your choice of Joyce Vance or Harry Litman – or read both. IMO, it should be possible tp prosecute a president who destroys a document immediately, while he is still in office. Here’s my thinking: this is analogous to using a drug to rape someone. The victim does not even know she’s been screwed until it’s too late. In the case of a destroyed document, the victim – the nation – may not ever find out we;ve been screwed, but even if we do, it’s way too late.

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Open Thread April 6 2026

 Posted by at 6:00 am  Open Thread, Personal, Politics
Apr 062026
 

Yesterday, I saw Virgil and we played cribbage. The deck we had (I just pick up whatever is closest in the games cabinet now ) was not brand new, since it was rather sticky, but it was missing no cards, and no cards were torn or peeling – that’s not always the case. Colorado prisons’ visiting rooms are always cold, but yesterday it was colder than usual. But we had fun anyway. I posted after I got back home but didn’t respond to comments – I’ll do that today. After getting home (and finally making a cup of coffee, and dinner), and while I was looking for a video for today, I tripped over a channel I was not aware of, called “Sideprojects”, whose purpose is to inform people of things you learned in history or even from (usually older) books, are not true, and how we found out. I watched one on the Roman Empire – some of it I knew, but some thinks, especially DNA things were new even to me – and Latin was my major in college, and Roman History was a requirement. I don’t know that I’d call the false stories lies, actually, because I believe a falsehood requires intent to deceive in order to be a lie. But if I “know” something which is false, I do like to learn the truth. Most of the videos, as far as could see, not looking at the whole library, run in the neighborhood of 20-30 minutes, though some are longer – and while many are history based, some correct scientific “knowledge.”

I didn’t want to put this on Sunday. Wajeeh is a Saudi Arabian political analyst who now lives in Minneapolis and is a co-host for Malcolm Nance, along with Jacob Kaarsbo, who is Danish. I’m pretty sure all three pilots who were shot down have been rescued now, thankfully. But that does not mean that he risk is over. We have more pilots, and more planes, and neither the Emperor nor Kegsbreath appears to care much. See also this.

Heather Cox Richardson writes a short history of the origin of NATO, for its anniversary. I just hope this is not also its epitaph.

From Bowers News Media. Besides demonstrating how despicable Republicans can be (even without the Mango Moron as a model, but particularly with), it’s an extremely good argument for not having “jungle primaries.” I’ve been following the California Governor’s race since Katie Porter announced for it, and I’ve been nervous for most of that time – but I haven’t been terrified until now.

From The Seneca Project. Obviously this was made to recruit people to No Kings III, so all the signs shown will have been from II or I. But many people believe that viewing this type of presentation can help build morale anyway – and besides, there is another No kings scheduled for May Day. (And the song will never go out of fashion.)

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Open Thread April 5 2026

 Posted by at 6:00 am  Holiday, Open Thread, Personal, Politics
Apr 052026
 

Yesterday, the radio opera was La Gioconda. You have heard part of it, since this is the opera from which the Dance of the Hours comes, and if “Fantasia” didn’t do it for you, Allan Sherman or Spike Jones did. The performance is from 1968, but airing it yesterday was to celebrate its 1ts 150th anniversary. It’s (accurately) described as a melodrama, so I won’t go into detail. Today’s featured image is a pysanky (or pysanka) or Ukrainian Easter egg. Happy Easter to all who celebrate, and Happy Passover to all who celebrate. Off to see Virgil now – will check in.[

From The Root regarding Artemis 2. There is also a woman in the crew. I don’t know how they got it past the emperor.

From ABC News referred by The Smile. This is sweet. Joe Biden got to ring the bell when his cancer was gone, but he didn’t do this. And I certainly couldn’t – not ever – not at any age.

From CBS News, also referred by The Smile. This is so much better than the “Alpha Male Camp” earlier this week.

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