Dogs – Page 7 – Politics Plus

Open Thread June 20 2026

Posted by Joanne Dixon at 6:01 am Open Thread, Personal, Politics

Jun 202026

Yesterday (technically the night before) Ukraine attacked Moscow with drones. I’m a veteran, but that was long before drones were even a gleam in Mars’s eye, this may be totally inaccurate – some of the drones were, or behaved as, incendiaries, while others were heat-seeking. Anyway, the result was that Moscow was on fire. WRT Iran, one of the points in the MOU was that if Bibi did anything hostile, the MOU would be null and void. Well, it’s null and void, less than 24 hours after the signing. So we are back to NACHO (not a chance Hormuz opens.) One very small point which I think is noteworthy – someone has managed to teach the Apricot Antichrist how to say “eviscerated.” That really surprised me.

OK, this is not an earthshaking story – though it may inspire people who live in areas where law enforcementis problematic. Alamosa and the San Luis Valley in which it is located were my home for 15 years, and I still get that “that’s home!” kneejerk reaction, alyhough everone I knre there is pretty much either gone or dead. And the story is not a downer.

From Press Watch, and right on the nose. There are indepenent journalists who actually do get this right – but traditional news oulets – not so much.

Expecting Bibi or anyone else in Israel to do anything because the Canteloupe Caligula told them to would be laughable if there weren’t human lives affected. And that’s not just Bibi. He has some ministers who are at least as crazy as he is.

Open Thread June 18 2026

Posted by Joanne Dixon at 6:00 am Open Thread, Personal, Politics

Jun 182026

Yesterday, The Broadview 6 case was dismissed – but that is not the punchline. Instead, the ex-defendants through their counsel have requested the judge appoint a Special Counsel to investigate the DOJ for criminal contempt. My link is to a video, which is about 21 minutes long, which is normal for Glenn Kirschner alone – and here he is with Adam Klasfeld. Also, the Dekleptocracy Alliance reported it is very close to taking its January 6 tracker live, ans requested donations accordingly. I furst reported on this group lasy August, when they were mounting a general Corruption Tracker. Now they are mounting a specific Jan 6 tracker, to follow crimes committed by Jan 6ers afyer they received pardons (and therefore subject to potential prosecution.) It’s not up as I type, but the email suggested it is only “a few days” away.

I kind of feel the moral rot has been exposed for decades myself. But Isuppose if that were true for Americans in general, we woud not be where we now are.

If these crazy-a$$ righties want to give up their votes, I’d let them. But they won’t take mine away.

Jonathan Larson gets a bit fanciful trying to build an analogy between what hospice care actually does for people and what Repubicans are trying to do to hospices. Hopefully that doesn’t get too confusing – because he’s right.

Open Thread June 15 2026

Posted by Joanne Dixon at 6:00 am Holiday, Open Thread, Personal, Plus, Politics

Jun 152026

Yesterday, Virgil and I played cribbage as usual. He loved the new outfit. I think I said I barely finished it in time, but I didn’t mention I didn’t even have time to sew the ends of the elastic in the waitline of the pnats, so I gambled on usinf a small safety pin, and it did not set off the metal detector. That’s good to know for sure. I told him about the Googlr doodle story and he was just as impressed as everyone else. The drive was pretty easy both ways. On the way down I stopped to drop off my primary ballot in a drop box. I figured that even if we win the mail-in ballots war, it’s still time for me to learn about drop boxes, so I read up on where they are, and there are two on the stretch of old-fashoned highway I use to get to the Interstate when I see him. The first one is on the right side of the road going, and the second is on the right side of the road when I return. I stopped at the first one, and the box was obvious, and the parking was good, so I just used that one, and probably will in the future if it doesn’t change. But I am still glad to know about the second one.

I personally favor “Scrap the Cap.” And, even if that’s not actually passable, enough people supporting it could make Reich’s suggestion easier to pass.

Knowing Senator Whitehouse as I do – not personally, but through following his work in the Senate and his thinking through various media, I’m confident that the reassurance he is asking for is something that he wants only if it is true – and tha if it is not, he wants the truth. I say this because I don’t feel the article makes that clear. He and Senator Merkley are two Senators I just named as people whose nomination for President I would vote for – and added that that were others, but didn’t name them. Yes, he is pushing 70, and Merkley is pushing 69 (their dates of birth are one year minus 4 days apart.) And no, One doesn’t need to be that old to know what one is doing and how things work – but both do.I’m not averse to someone younger, but I would like someone who gives me the quiet confidence which they do.

Does ths reporting from ITPI surprise anyone? It certainly doesn’t surprise me – it just depresses me.

Sam Adams

Dog &Duck

I confess that when I filled up yesterday on the way home, it cost only a little over half what it had cost the last time. I wasn’t completely out either time, and he amounts were comparable. I doubt that’s widespread – I suspect I just got lucky.

Open Thread June 13 2026

Posted by Joanne Dixon at 6:00 am Open Thread, Personal, Politics

Jun 132026

Yesterday, Malcolm’s show was called the Taco Warcast. Jacob Kaarsbo (Danish intelligence Middle east) pointed out “it tells you all you need to know about Trump and US credibility at the moment. when you have to wait for announcements to be confirmed by Tasnim” (Tasmin is the IRGC media in Iran.) Also, Judge Brinkema in Alexandris, VA turned her temporary injunction against the “weaponization” slush fund into a preliminary injunction which is essentially permanent. She will not let the matter go unless she receives a statement signed by Todd Blnch AND the Secretary of the Treasury, under penalty of perjury, that the fund is dead and will not be resurrected. Finally, Frank Figliuzzi remarked that, unser the currect regime, a total of 1600 people have been allowed into the US (which seems a very small number to me to begin with), and that 1300 of them have been white South Africans.

I bumped this a day so as not to double up on Robert Reich. His analysis is IMO sound, and I don’t think it’s too soon to have it. What if a new Congress makes inpeachment ot the 25th viable? Or what if Dear Leader dies in office?

I hope this from The Conversation isn’t too depressing. How do sane people counter this kind of mentality? If only we knew.

And this from The Lever is also kind of depressing, and for the same reason. How do we counter the irrational? (I do feel any theory which does not address racism and/or misogyny is at best incomplete.)

Grift Certificate

Open Thread June 10 2026

Posted by Joanne Dixon at 5:51 am Open Thread, Personal, Politics

Jun 102026

The next “No Kings” day will be June 14. That is Flag Day. It is also the birthday of a wannabe king. There are of course multiple organizations involved, sp there are multiple places to sign up. Here’s a link to one of them. There’s no ? in it – but it is so long it might have my info in it – if so you’ll need to remove all that to enter your own. Or use one from emails addressed to you instead.

I had not read about this case before (which probably says more about me than about the case.) It doesn’t starve people, nor make health care any tougher than it already is, nor kill anyone with preventable diseases, but it’s still infuriating – not the Judge, but the fact that it needs the court at all just to be prevented. It is disrespectful – and infuriating.

If I were the National Trust for Historic Preservation, or some senior member of it with authority, I would start right now making casts of the Statue of Liberty, the Lincoln Memorial, and any other monuments Cankles McTacotits might despise – which would probably include s good number of statues inside the Capitol Building – so that if he did shoose to destroy them, we would be able to replace them. (I might even use AI to make the molds – it has to be good for something – it certainly s not good in the next article.) And if they needed to be used, I would use every tool possible to unsure that, if we needed to make those replacements, he – or his estate – or his heirs – paid for them.

From The Root. Kudos to my alma mater for doing and publishing this study – and maybe even more for establising the organization which conducted it. Depresing though the study may be, it is something we all need to be aware is happening.

Open Thread June 7 2026

Posted by Joanne Dixon at 6:00 am Open Thread, Personal, Politics

Jun 072026

Yesterday, the Met season was over, but WFMT’s summer season was just beginning, with “The Bartered Bride” by Smetena, from Vienna. It was perfomed in German, as opposed to the original Czech, which I thought might give me a fighting chance to ubderstand some dialogue as it was sung. But individual words like “I”. “My”, “your,” “no”, “yes”, even “love” (hey, it’s a rom com) don’t give much to go on. But the plot is simple, based on concealed identity, and there’s a lot of great dance music (which must have come in handy for Paris), so it wasn’t hard to follow. Also, John Pavlovitz had a thought for so-called Christians who want to turn Pride Month into Niclear Family Month – they should celevrate Mind Your Own Damn Business Month instead.

Another short ABC video on loop. It speaks for itself. ABC is pretty good at this.

This, referred by The Smile, is closer to politics than I usually try to get on Sunday. But it is very good indeed.

From National Public Radio. This is limited to melanoma – for now – but it’s progress. (My mother had a melanoma, but she was lucky. It was very visible even when very small, and even with just outpatient surgery with local, it never returned. Not everyone can be that fortunate.

Animals, Dogs, Cats, Personal Profiles,

Open Thread June 5 2026

Posted by Joanne Dixon at 6:09 am Open Thread, Personal, Politics

Jun 052026

Yesterday, The House passed a War Powers Resolution 215-208. It went to the Senate, but if they voted, I haven’t heard the numbers.

Talking Feds/Harry Litman. Please forgive the insult to drunken sailors. Other observations are totally on target.

From Lever News. This is short, it’s currently only in one house, and there are caveats. But it’s as important as the words “or of such other body as Congress may by law provide” are in section 4 of the 25th Amendment. It opens up a way around a Presidential veto or a captive cabinet.

Too late for Alex Trebek – and for so many other beloved people – but I’m thankful something is finally here

Open Thread June 3 2026

Posted by Joanne Dixon at 5:52 am Open Thread, Personal, Politics

Jun 032026

On Monday, Malcolm a photo of Rubio and Hefseth that someone had shopped to look like Milli Vanilli. I took a screen shot, enlarged it, skewed it, and stretched it a little horizontally since it had gotten suqished- and it’s still comewhat blurry, but I think recognizable. So I’m sharing it as rge fearyes image today for your amusement. And after that, he found a post saying “If I wanted to see Trump’s ballroom, I’d just look in Lindsey Graham’s mouth.”

Yesterday, I steeamed the opera “The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier and Clay, ” which was the radio opera on January 2. My goodness, what a tear jerker. But not without hope. The synopsis in Wikipedia definitely does not do it justice – although I’m not sure any syn0psis could – it’s that complex. I really needed to see it – and not just for this quote from near the end: “The world will always be broken. Repair it anyway.”

Harry Litman (Talking Feds) writes about legal happenings of last week, and how, on balance, they supported or at least aided democracy.

Elizabeth Warren and Greg Casar are working on this same problem from a taxation perspective, and the article quotes them. I’m not sure who has the better chance. I think Bernie’s idea might benefot more propl – but both plans look good to me.

It really is terrifying what some people will do to convince themselves they are not weak. Statistics din’t really communicate that. But this is a personal story.

RReich Tariff refunds

Dog

Older Entries Newer Entries