Aug 152026
 

Yesterday was a fairly quiet day – which I certainly needed. I son’t know that you’ll see that in today’s blog, though you might. The hair-on-fire stuff I couldn’t sqeeze in earlier, and the lighter stuff is newer.

From Colorado Public Radio. What was I just saying about Colorado and water? This image is probably not of the Arkansas River – but it looks like the water in the Ark usually looks, and it does show why they call it “whitewater” rafting. Now compare this to the photo in the article. That water ain’t white, and ain’t gonna be, without a whole lot of snow this coming winter. And yes, I am posting a lot about water in a very short window. Consider it a preview of what’s coming unless all world leaders get their heads on straight – or get replaced with leaders whose heads are already on straight.

This is going to be time consuming – over a half hour if you watch, and of course if you read the stranscript, that will depend on your reading speed. (for comparison, Heather Cox Richardson’s Letters From An American, when she reads them on YouTube, are usually in the 12-16 minute range.) But the amount of time it took to put this information together to present was more like months. The presentation was put together to address the coming midterms, but there is information which anyone who uses AI for any reason should be aware of.

I’m pretty sure the “Duffel Blog” is the military version of The Onion. On the other hand – Kefsbreath is dumb enough for this to be true.

I’ve been wanting to post about this but waited until Joyce Vance put it in writing. I do want to share one thing that was in the videos but isn’t here. At the point when Block said “I’ve been told it should be coming (or forthcoming as soneone else quoted),” allegedly Judge Sullivan responded, “So is Christmas.” I remember that comeback being common in the fifties, but I still find it amusing.

2fer

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Jul 082026
 

Yesterday, I heard something very disheartening from Malcolm Nance’s warcast – and all three agreed – that the MSM in Europe is parroting Russian talking points as much as ours are. The latest is that Russia is claiming their current strikes are retaliatory (when they’ve been doing the same thing since 2022 – or maybe even 2014.) What’s going on with global oil prices is also not pretty. It is currently artificially low (so keep your tank filled – maybe even some full containers on hand). But we are closer and closer to a real worldwide shortage, and the pricing won’t matter much when there isn’t any to be had. Oh, and in case you were wondering why the Orange Ogre is whining about Greenland again – it could be because, after he bribed or threatened FIFA into lifting a suspension they had imposed on the biggest bully on our team, Belgium beat us anyway – and Denmark was rooting for Belgium.

This is a Substack video – in which Glenn Kirschner is PISSED to the point of 37 minutes and “legal terms” such as “shitshow,” “assclowns”, “grabass” as well as addressing Todd Blanche as “sport.” I don’t really expect anyone to watch it, but, being Substack, there is a transcipt.

I doubt this will surprise anyone here. And it appears to me that most of this increase is initiated by the Papaya Palatine personally. (My apologize to papayas, which alleviate nausea rather than initiating it.)

To me this undersells the contributions of African Americans to the American Republic. IIRC, the first American killed in the Revolution was Crispus Attucks – a Black man, Many more Black men fought for the Union in the Civil War – and in World Wars I and II – and since. And Black women too – if not allowed to fight with arms, by caring for the wounded, gathering intelligence, dealing with mail, breaking codes, and more than I can think of. But I get it – the authors here are more interested in putting together an effecive playbook for a better future than in remembering the past. And they are right. An effective playbook is needed. And so is the will to use it – in people of all colors.

Just as there are decent and kind people in red states – there are monsters in blue states. Washington may be blue – but it still has monsters like these. I’m inclined to hope they are all in debt for the rest of their sorry lives paying for the $17 million they owe – plus interest. Including the school employees.

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Apr 162026
 

Yesterday, Malcolm Nance apologized for failing to do a scheduled Substack video – because he had had to do interviews on three BBC entities and on ABC (down under.) Apparently I am far from alone in respecting his experience and analysis (and also his choices of co-hosts – Jacob has been missing for three says because he was doing interviews, not just in Denmark, but all over Europe.) Fertilizer was in the spotlight. I am no chemist, but a huge component of fertilizer is urea which is a major (or the major) source of nitrogen for fertilizer. Aren’t we all running around every day full of urea, and flushing most of it? Is it time for someone who is a chemist to come up with some way to capture that and refine it? Or am I dreaming?

Harmeet Dillon’s name has not yet, as far as I know, come up from the White House as a potential AG. But if Robert Reich thinks it is a possibility, I’m confident it is a possibility

Jesse Wegman is part of the Brennan Center for Justice. He has some thoughts about the courts here, and at least one of those thoughts is colorful.

We may as well look at this. The devil, as they say, is in the details.

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Feb 042026
 

Yesterday, I learned that I am not the only person who has noticed that the names of the two ICE/CBP murder victims in Minnesota resemble the phrase “pretty good” Robert Reich’s caption contest, which I just got around to reading, includes several all usages in the previous week’s answers. And while we are on the subject of linguistics, I learned last week that “Elon” and Ilhan” are correctly pronounced exactly the same way. and just yesterday I noticed that only a small space separates “Redactions” from “Red actions.” Andy Borowitz was not long enough to call an article, but was pretty funny.

Robert Reich addresses the fact that, in suing the IRS, the Saffron Sauron is really suing himself. With our money. it’s presented lightly, not heavy-handedly, but it’s quite a serious step.

I know exactly how Le feels. I won’t belabor it here, but I would like to add that working in the same office with criminals doesn’t necessarily make you a criminal. But it does take a toll.

I 100% agree that black folks need to be aware of this – but, frankly – everyone else needs to be just as aware of it. Renee Good was not black. Alex Pretti was not black. The sad fact is that anyone, of any age or any color, who is on a street that ICE or CBP or even the National Guard is on needs to be equally aware and careful.

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Nov 182025
 

Yesterday, along with the rest of the world, why Michelle Obama will not run for President. And apparently she has been singing my song – or I have been singing hers – except this is the first time she has said it publicly: “As we saw in this past election, sadly, we ain’t ready. That’s why I’m like, don’t even look at me about running because you all are lying. You’re not ready for a woman. You are not. So don’t waste my time.” She could have added “And don’t kill any career I do want.” And she is absolutely right. We ain’t ready – we aren’t going to be in my lifetime and quite possibly not in the lifetime of anyone who is alive today. Because this societal change has to start with parents – and the parents ain’t ready for the lesson: “If you don’t want your sons to be lonely, stop raising them to be misogynistic assholes.” (quote from John Pavlovitz) Also, I slept late (normal for a Monday) – in addition to normal catching up, I had stayed up to stream the first episode of “The American Revolution” (Passport allows me to stream it through my local station.) I was surprised by how much I already knew – but even more surprised at how much the current GOP is acting like George III’s cabinet “You’ll do what we tell you.” We know what those people want and we can second guess and outsmart them (didn’t work.) “We’ll tell you what you want.” “We’re sending in the troops.” And that’s just the first episode. (And this probably means nothing, but more than a few women were quoted using modern women’s voices, and every single time Abigail Adams was quoted, I knew it was she before the name was shown. That was also true for Phillis Wheatley, but that was only one quote and impossible to miss.) Also yesterday, the Evil Emperor claimed he had changed his mind on releasing the Epstein files. I have a theory as to why, but as yet no evidence.

To me, this Huff Post article is super good news. More Progressives running. They won’t all win their primaries, But at the very least some who do will win the general. And that will be good for all Americans – including the ones too dumb to know it.

Chris Bowers has a point here – but I think it’s also possible to underestimate the Apricot Antichrist, and that we have been doing so for ten tears now – since he first came down the escalator, in fact. Granted his body count for this regime is so far much lower than the body count from the first one (which I don’t think we should forget, nor allow others to forget), it is also far more violent – it is being achieved through direct and despicable action, rather than through inaction.

The only excuse to call this news is that it’s from a newsletter. We all knew it from the instant the election was called – just not the exact names and faces. But this from Common Dreams does have receipts.

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Oct 252024
 

Yesterday, my back bothered me from the middle of my sleep time (it woke me up, and I never really got back to sleep) through the entire rest of the day. I seriously considered sleeping sitting up. I used the TENS unit and ice (not at the same time – those ice bags may be sealed, but that doesn’t stop condensation.)  Both helped some,  But not enough.  Yes, I know, Urgent Care, but the last time I did that (for pain muchless sefver in a much smaller area) I ended up having to do so much walking  I exacerbated it.  If I exacerbate this much more, I’ll fall and won’t be able to get up.  If it persists, I’ll do that.

Pro Publica points out that, while, yes, immigration has increased, that is far from the only change in immigration in recent years. They don’t go into the fact that many, particularly those from Central America are fleeing conditions which we, the United States, made possible by meddling in their nations’ politics through the CIA and, among other programs, the School of the Americas (now whitewashed as the “Western Hemisphere Institute for Security Cooperation.”) And both of our major parties have blood on their hands. Our hands. Sure, a lot of that was on account of GOP rule. But I wouldn’t expect those injured by it to be able to make that distinction.

As a former DOJ prosecutor, Joyce Vance knows a whole lot more about the DOJ’s responsibiities than I do. I’ll just let her do the talking.

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Aug 122022
 

For this, I am skipping Glenn for one day only.
PBS – Marrick Garland Briefing on Search (only 4-5 minutes – I set it to start when he enters)

Meidas Touch – Trump INVOKES THE FIFTH AMENDMENT in New York AG Deposition

The Lincoln Project – Insider

Farron Balanced – Depressed Mitch McConnell No Longer Thinks Republicans Will Win Midterms

MSNBC – Laurence Tribe On Trump Investigations And ‘The Death Of Truth’ – Deadline

Beau – Let’s talk about Garland’s statement on the Trump search….

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Aug 122022
 

Yesterday, I was, I’m sure, as stunned as everyone else ny Merrick Garland’s press conference. It is in today’s video Thread, which will go up about noon Pacific Time. don’t be put off by the 34 minute time – I set it to start when he comes in, which is about 30:30, so it’s actually very short. I also managed to grab Beau’s response to him, which I think is a trifle longer, but still short.  Then I went out and got new tires, which took almost 3 hours door to door, but it had to be done, and now it is.

Cartoon –

Short Takes –

NPR – A grand jury declined to indict a woman whose accusations set off Emmett Till killing
Quote – The decision comes despite recent revelations about an unserved arrest warrant and the 87-year-old Donham’s unpublished memoir. The Rev. Wheeler Parker, Jr., Emmett Till’s cousin and the last living witness to Till’s Aug. 28, 1955, abduction, said Tuesday’s announcement is “unfortunate, but predictable.”
Click through for details. “Insufficient evidence.” At least they didn’t try to assert a non-existent Statue of Limitatons.

The Conversation – Why searching an ex-president’s estate is not easily done – 4 important things to know about the FBI’s search of Mar-a-Lago
Quote – 1. There are legal hurdles to getting a search warrant. The U.S. Constitution requires that all search warrants “particularly describe the place to be searched and the … things to be seized.”… This requirement can be traced in part to a famous British case from the 1760s when agents of King George III searched the house of John Wilkes, an opposition member of Parliament, for incriminating papers. The warrant they used was condemned by the courts as a “general warrant” because it did not specifically name Wilkes, his house or the seized papers.
Click through for the other three. Garland did in fact personally sign off on this warrant. He has said so.

Bonus – It’s gotten so bad that even the wildlife is trying to move to Canada.

Food For Thought

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