Yesterday, (as if you didn’t know – it was everywhere) Pam Bondi was fired (but only one of my sources included in the headline that the next one will be worse.) One source said Tulsi Gabbard is also toast. Sixty years ago today (not April 3 today, but Good Friday today) Virgil had the car accident which caused his TBI and all that implies.
From Press Watch. Pretty much any order given by Darth Dementia and/or Kegsbreath has been and will be unlawful. Which, sadly, does not mean they have not been and will not be obeyed. I cannot blame anyone who considers the United States as a whole to be a de facto war criminal – because we are.
Frankly, this from Common Dreams had occurred to me even before I saw this. The way he is wasting oil, we will have no choice other than to to green (unless you consider freezing to death, or dying of heat stroke, choices.)
From Joyce Vance – one of he decisions which came down this week. Yes, it’s unusual for us to be awaiting and looking at multiple decisions in any given week. But this is not a usual regime. I hope this stands – and that it is not ignored.
Yesterday, April Fool came early for me. My email client was experiencing problems – by 2 pm I had only received four emails, and that is deflinitely not normal. When something like that happens, the first thing I do is try a different browser. I tried a total of four – no joy. I kept refreshing my main browser. Meanwhile, I went through Substack to get to some of my main sources. I have not been looking forward to today.
On Monday, Malcolm pointed out that everything he has pointed out might be possible in the war has subsequently showed up in the national news (NYT, WSJ, WP, etc.) not soon enough for them to have gotten the stories from him directly, but rather, in a time frame for someone to have suggested to Kegsbreath and him to – at least verbally – run with it. And Netanyahu is now poisoning Iran’s and other Gulf states’ water (a war crime, in case anyone didn’t know. (We did it to Kishem Island a couple of weeks ago – Just one of our war crimes.) I am beginning to understand, not just with my brain, but with my heart, why many Jewish people, Israeli and diaspora alike, think it is antisemitism to criticize Israel. When people anywhere in the world, including within the US, criticize the US, even though my brain knows it is the Saffron Sauron and his orcs and nazgul they are criticizing and not me personally, I can’t help feeling sad and a little hurt.
I know we are all worried about the Supreme Court, and we all know something is needed to change it. But we don’t all agree on what needs doing – and I don’t think we really have so much as a concept of a plan as to how the necessary changes can be accomplished. So you may be as encouraged as I am by this conversation between former US Attorney Joyce Vance and Brennan Center Senior Fellow Jesse Wegman (who was essentially hired by Brennan to address the Supreme Curt, but also has a book out about the Electoral College.) It’s 28 minutes, and if that’s too long, there’s a transcript.
I did mention this, but there is much more information here. May Day is the day.
Yeah. Well, that’s the headline. But I’m not seeing them voting that way, or even saying much about it. Certainly not in the numbers needed to make it happen.
It’s been a minute since we had an episode of this series, and this sounds like the final one. My father (who served in WWII, but as a telegrapher) was not in this one, having been medically discharged prior to November 1944. (If he had been there, I almost certainly would not be here.) I could wish that more people remembered – if not from life, at least from education – how important this war was for all of us.
Yesterday, the radio opera was one of my top two or three favorites – “La Traviata” by Verdi. I always tear up – not at the end, but in the middle when she says goodbye to Alfredo. That is the saddest event in it. I can get through the end when she dies without tears (or at least with a lot fewer tears), because she dies happy – for two reasons – because Alfredo has come back to her, and because of spes phthisica – a kind of euphoria experienced by pulmonary tuberculosis patients. I expect it’s a romantic fantasy that it happens only at the moment of death, but it is a real phenomenon. So the only sad people on stage when she dies are Alfredo and his father – and I don’t actually have much sympathy for either of them. It’s Violetta who is the victim. The music is exquisite throughout, and all the main characters get some to sing.
When I was in college at Stanford, and my mother worked for the University as supervisor of the Gift Processing Team (which is a story in itself), I would often go to her office building after my classes were through. A friend and colleague of hers in a totally different department but working in the same building was an art lover, and he would from time to time collaborate with the art college to mount shows in his (and Mom’s) building and maybe even sell some of the art. One grad student named Edith Bergstrom had one of these shows, and it pretty well sold out. Everyone loved her work, oils and watercolor alike, and she was only asking $30 each painting. I bought a couple and so did Mom, and I still have mine and now have hers, and still love them. After she completed her advanced degree, she didn’t exactly change her style, but she changed her subject matter, deciding to paint only palms – trees, branches, leaves and some combinations. And she was successful – Since today is Palm Sunday, I thought I would find one of her paintings on the internet and use it here. I’ve selected the focal point of a much larger piece, but it may give you an idea.
Everyone who participated in any No Kings is special – but this one is – let’s say offbeat.
This happens from time to time and it’s always good to hear. Good people exist.
This is kind of cool. We ever had anything like this when I was in school – I would have loved to participate.
This is not a big project with people going out of their way to help others, but it is definitely amusing.
This video features excerpts from CPAC. But not what you’d expect. Please don’t skip it.
Yesterday, Malcolm Nance speculated (and this is pure speculation, but it is history based – Malcolm’s life is packed with history) that, since the US tends to attack between midnight and 4 am local time, and because Friday is the Muslim Sabbath, that the strike which will put boots on the ground is likely to land in that (local) time frame this Saturday because our “leaders” will think no one is awake or active. But those like Hegseth and possibly Miller are ignorant of jihad tradition, in which Muslims literally anywhere in the world can be assigned to respond – in which case the surprise would be on us. In war, as in any other endeavor, ignorance is a sure way to get into trouble (and not good trouble.) And the treasured and cultivated ignorance of white supremacists may well be the most dangerous kind of all. I can almost guarantee that, if this is not the time that gets proven, nevertheless, that time is coming. Also, JoJo from Jerz (with “Brooklyn Dad Defiant”) started this weekly conversation by showing maps of No Kings events confirmed for Saturday – including events in Mexico and Europe. It will take less than 3 minutes of your time to see those maps here. And finally, the US Treasury declared that the United States is currently insolvent. Multiple sources, including Fortune magazine and Yahoo news.
On Tuesday, Heather Cox Richardson had a conversation with Timothy Snyder, mostly about his latest book, “On Freedom.” Something went wrong (Facebook failed), so Heather posted the video which gets made on to You Tube. It is 41 minutes exactly (at full speed), which is a lot less time than it would take you to read the book or listen to the Audiobook, though both are good ideas.) They did allude to his earlier book, “On Tyranny,” near the end, and I would guess that the two books would make good companions.
From Talking Feds. Not, certainly, the least bit surprising. But what it lacks in surprise, it more than makes up for in disgust.
As obvious as this from Robert Reich – and he is far from the only one, including people you would never expect to get financial advice from – one still isn’t going to see it unless one is looking at it. Let’s take a look.
Yesterday, Malcolm Nance predicted that the US will either put boots on the ground on multiple islands (including Kharg Island)in the Persian Gulf/Strait of Hormuz on Saturday – or else Donald Trump** will chicken out. And his two hosts – the Danish Intelligence officer and the Saudi Arabian political analyst – agreed. (Internet trolls didn’t – but I would no more listen to them than to the Apricot Antichrist himself.) None of them mentioned “No Kings.” (But I am. Not – absolutely not – to discourage anyone from taking part – but to suggest that signs denouncing him putting our troops into harms way and creating casualties might become more pertinent than they appear now.)
The Speaker of the Iranian house is far from the only one making this accusation. Malcolm Nance and his now two co-hosts are saying the same, and I am sure there are many others I don’t have time or energy to know about. Malcom even found a meme someone made with AI taking off on Sun Tzu – see below.
Quote from this Ukrinform article: “After World War II, defeated Nazi Germany managed to carry out reforms, reinvent itself, and become one of the most successful economies in the world. In contrast, the USSR, despite its status as a ‘victor,’ remained a poor and inefficient system that eventually collapsed. Modern Russia has inherited the same model: authoritarianism, [*,] corruption, and dependence on raw materials.” [* they left out “oligarchs.” I didn’t fix it – I’m just pointing it out.]
Joyce Vance on the Mueller investigation – what was in iy – and what is instead trolling.
HCR, barely 8 minutes and war-related (and grift-related)
Yesterday, I thought it was going to be a light email day – until I looked in my spam. My tutamail address is still learning what is and isn’t spam – and yesterday it was wrong a lot. But I did make it through the day. Let me throw this out for y’all – I’ve been thinking about asking whether anyone would mind if I started taking one day a week off. (Tuesdays would be good for me, since I’m always wrung out on Mondays.) Think about it and let me know what you think.
Archived from the Old Gray Lady. Pretty much everything the MSM is putting out now is more opinion than fact. Bu this piece is actually labelled as opinion. But it wouldn’t surprise me if there’s more fact in it than in most “news” articles.
Quite short – and just one expat’s view from a small country – but a voice which should count.
Archived from Huff Post. States, particularly blue states, are already putting precautions in motion to circumvent anything the Apricot Antichrist might attempt to do to invalidate the 2026 midterms. (I have no idea whether Wendy Weiser at the Brennan Center is any relation to Phil Weiser, my state Attorney General.)
Video: No effing wonder the GOP wants to get rid of Jon Ossoff. (And probably Sheldon Whitehouse for the same reason – but Rhode Island is blue – so they’re throwing all their money into Georgia. And I hope Ossoff has good security. I would not put violence past them.)
Yesterday, there was a hearing in committee for Markwayne Mullin, nominated to replace Kristi Noem. I’m just going to reproduce in full what Rand Paul asked him. (You may remember that in 2017 Paul was beat up so severely that he was hospitalized. And I do not agree with his proposed amendment, and you won’t either, but I do agree with him on Mullin):
“Recently, Senator Mullin, if you have time to listen, you were confronted by constituents that were angry because you voted against my amendment to stop all funding for refugee welfare programs,” said Paul. “Instead of explaining your vote to continue these welfare programs for refugees, you decided to transfer the blame. You told the media that I was a ‘freaking snake’ and that you completely understood why I had been assaulted. I was shocked that you would justify and celebrate this violent assault that caused me so much pain and my family so much pain. I just wonder if someone who applauds violence against their political opponents is the right person to lead an agency that has struggled to accept limits to the proper use of force. You have never had the courage to look me in the eye and tell me that the assault was justified, so today you’ll have your chance. Today, I’ll give you that chance to clear the record. Tell it to my face, if that’s what you believe. Tell it to me today. Tell the world why you believe I deserve to be assaulted from behind, have six ribs broken, and a damaged lung. Tell me to my face why you think I deserved it. And while you’re at it, explain to the American public why they should trust a man with anger issues to set the proper example for ICE and Border Patrol agents.”
Also yesterday afternoon, the Senate was debating the SAVE Act, but I have no details yet. (I doubt they decided anything – I would have seen or heard that.) Also, we had a high temperature of 80°F (~27°C) and for today, tomorrow, and Saturday are expecting 84°,85°, and 89° respectively – in an area known for snow storms happening (off and on, granted) November through May
Judicial fireworks – Harry Litman said he has never seen an attorney escorted out of a courtroom by marshals before. Talk about no nonsense!
Maybe I should save this from All Rise News for Sunday. On the other hand, the sooner people can get vaccinated as a result of the, the better.
And there’s this from Press Watch, which could turn out to be good news. We’ll need to watch, and wait, and see. But we can hope.
Yesterday, I got an email from Johns Hopkins University, which just receives an Oscar for its (Netflix) documentary “All the Emppty Rooms,” which refers to the bedrooms of children who after school shootings did not come home. That documentary will be screened in DC on March 25 at their Bloomberg Theater on W Penn Ave. I sent an email to Indivisib;e Colorado and said that we have nine days to get Coloradans to either sign a petition or send individual emails to our Congressional delegation, and particularly to the Republican House members, to pressure them to go watch it. We’ll see if anything comes of that. I don’t have cable, but I assume if any of my readers is a Netflix subscriber, you can see it that way. Also, Glenn Kirschner did a (40 minute) video with Adam Klasfeld on the Halkbank case. I have mentioned it, but it has been pretty much under the radar – a $20 Billion money laundering case involving a bank in Turkey which is somehow tied to US sanctions on Iran and also to the Apricot Antichrist’s “bromance” with Erdogan. Glenn summed it up by saying, “I keep saying it is inexplicable because i look at it, as I do everything, through my justice glasses. But – if I take them off – of course it is perfectly explicable.” So you all probably don’t need to watch, but I’ll give the link anyway. Also – the Prime Minister of Denmark stated that the US is no longer Denmark’s most important ally. Denmark’s most important allies are the Scandinavian nations, the European Unon, and Canada. (I might add that there is an election in Denmark in a week. And that Denmark has always shown up for us in every conflict since WWII.) I got that last tidbit from Jacob Kaarsbo who works with Malcolm Nance (and who is Danish) on the daily war report. That whole report today made me want to repeatedly beat a wall with my head, so I’m not giving that link, but if you want it, say so in a comment and I will put it in a reply, or in an email if I have yours.
An update from Joyce Vance in the Fulton County election records seizure case. I don’t know about anyone else, but the moment the DOJ put their hands on those records I wrote this off on the basis that those records had already been corrupted and would no longer be valid for any purpose whatsoever. But apparently Fulton County thought it was worth taking to court.
A respected reporter writing about an FCC chair who royally disrespect reporters and the media they rode in on. And a couple more stories. Feel free to keep scrolling.
This from Axios was very brief when I collected it yesterday – but sometimes these alerts get fleshed out over time. It concerns me because – although in this regime there are NO adults in the room, she appears to be the closest thing to one that there is. Think about Miller getting promoted into that position. That truly scares me.
Dog
Did anyone watch the Oscars? I didn’t – I think the last time I did was the year Halle Berry won Best Actress. and thst’s been d minute. But Liza Donnelly (a New Yorker cartoonist who is involved in politics as a citizen) did, and linked to what she says is “the one speech from the Oscars that you actually need to listen to.” And I would bet she is right. Here’s that link.
