Open Thread March 5 2026

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

Yesterday, the Senate refused to take action to restrain the Degenerate Darth Vader’s illegal war in Iran. I, as you have probably noticed, an struggling this week to keep abreast of what day it is. I think that may be at least in part because the first was on Sunday, and, although I consciously know that the week is Sunday through Saturday, I, because school weeks and work weeks start in Monday, subconsciously still see Monday through Friday as one through five. Hopefully I’ll be more on track next week.

I had realized I missed the start of Ramadan, hence the image. It goes until roughly March 19 this year.  The ending date is not totally predictable because the moon has to be in the right position at the time, but Eid al Fitr is predicted for March 20.

Tuesday, this happened. I hope you’ll find it as satisfying as I did. Of course, it’s still just words, no action – but coming from one Rethuglican to another, it’s like music. (Also, Josh Hawley even toreinto her, but I don’t have that quote.)

The first story at this link is the one I am posting -but just about every one is worth at least a look (and they are short.)

I don’t think Joyce is correct about every state. But, sadly, she doesn’t have to be right about every state for there to be fatal chaos. I stopped doing it when it became to much for my mobility, but I did work elections for many years administering elections in Colorado, and that under both Democratic and Republican Secretaries of State and County Clerks, during periods when Colorado was red, and periods when it was blue. The attitude of “If people are entitled to vote, we want them to vote” never changed through the years -though Democrats and Republicans disagreed on almost everything else. But that was then and this is now, and red states (and maybe counties, which might be worse) will ratf*** if they can.

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Open Thread February 18 2026

 Posted by at 6:00 am  Open Thread, Personal, Politics
Feb 182026
 

Yesterday, Jesse Jackson died. It grieves me how many civil rights heroes we have lost and are losing – and we need them so badly. We do have new young heroes coming up, but they are still building their platforms. How can we help? We need every one of them. Robert Reich quoted Jackson’s speech to the 1988 Dem Convention in full. At least I found out what I am going to do to escape the SOTU next week. See the not-a-cartoon below. Check ut qqq.defiance.org if you’re interested.

Well, we haven’t invaded Greenland – yet – but a power failure there made everyone there think we were, and scared the crap out of them. I gather there were no casualties, but people with heart conditions have died from less.

This definitely scares me. Secretaries of State are the ones who make the decisions and policies about how elections are run statewide. County Clerks are often the ones who supervise the “judges” who do the actual work (in heavily populated counties there will likely be a dedicated employee of the County Clerk who does this.) And those judges – there must be as close to an equal number of blue ones and red ones as possible. Because if any of them so much as has to go to the bathroom, she or he must be accompanied by a judge from the other party. In June, I will have lived in Colorado for 50 years, and it has not been blue for all of them. I have worked with clerks and clerks from both parties, and the one thing they had in common was following the rules to the letter. Going forward, I don’t know what to expect.

More on Epstein from dekleptocracy. It includes quotes from The Guardian, so I assume Lona is already aware. (Barf bag alert)

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Open Thread February 17 2026

 Posted by at 6:04 am  Holiday, Open Thread, Personal, Politics
Feb 172026
 

Yesterday, I checked in on line for my lab appointment I had to postpone from last week. This is not the best weather for dressing so that one’s veins can easily be reached, so I’ll need a jacket or a coat – or maybe a poncho is the best idea. But it could be worse. I tried to get a solid head start on tomorrow’s post, so if it’s a trifle dated, that would be why. (Also, did you ever expect to see a political cartoon whose entire caption is a classic poem by an American who would later be the Poet Laureate of the US? It also happens to be one of my all-time favorites by anyone.)

When you read this headline, you may think it is satirical. It isn’t. It may or may not be true, but it isn’t satire. He seriously claims it.

This is handy. Do you suppose any Republicans might learn from it that some rules actually do reply to them? (I doubt it.)

This is a heartfelt piece of writing. Don’t think that the video at the top is a long one – it’s only 29 seconds and is just an illustration.  It is the second video which is a minute, and there’s a photo. The video at the end, however, is a real song (JoJo uses popular music the way I use animal rescues.) You may have heard it before. And there is one more picture still below it.

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Open Thread February 12 2026

 Posted by at 6:00 am  Open Thread, Personal, Politics
Feb 122026
 

Yesterday, I learned that the special election to replace MTG will be on March first (I’m sure this information has been available, but I missed it.) I don’t know how crowded the ballot will be – but one Democrat running in it is Shawn Harris. Also, six House Republicans joined Democrats to kill the Apricot Antichrist’s tariffs on Canada. And I see that Ohio has passed a law making ballots unacceptable if they are received after Election Day, regardless of postmark. I am so sorry. Living in Colorado, we have had this for a long time – but because of it have also sent ballots out (almost ridiculously) early, and filled election materials with warnings about the rule, including what to do if it is Election Day and you forgot (drop boxes mostly.)As a result, it has not been an issue here. But in a state which has always accepted ballots by postmark and is now making this change when we are already in an election year, it’s sure to cause damage. My heart goes out to you.

Core Civic is the private prison company formerly known as Corrections Corporation of America. Colorado hires them for two prison, one in Crowley County and one in Bent County. Virgil has spent time in both, but mostly in Bent County. I don’t remember much about Crowley, but I can tell you that the one in Bent County is well run – because the Department of Corrections takes supervision seriously. Of course, no prison is fun, and the rules are rigid, and some appear ridiculous unless one remembers that every one of those regulations was put in place because someone F’ed Around, causing everyone to Find Out. There were no worms, mold, or maggots in the food, which came from Aramark, another company which has a poor reputation mostly based on prisons in the South and other red states. They also catered USAA when I worked there, and I have no complaints about the cafeteria then and there. But Dilley is not supervised by any state – it is supervised by DHS – and I’d bet the staff there are about as good as ICE and CPB agents – or, in other words, terrible.

IMO, this one is a keeper. Those of us who are not misogynistic have a strong tendency to believe that misogyny is so absurd that there can’t possibly be a majority of Americans who are misogynists. Wrong. This is a wakeup reminder. And we are NOT HELPING when we nominate exceptionally qualified women for the most powerful posts in the government at the national level. We are merely losing power.

Commercial aviation is not something I know very much about. I’m one of the most infrequent flyers alive. But even I know this is important and disturbing, even though I can’t say why. Axios does a lot of alerts like this and then develops the story. It had already been archived, but I did it again in case there were developments, but that was yesterday late afternoon, so it may not be the latest. If anyone wants to archive it again and see whether there is newer information, here’s the link to Axios, and here’s the link to Archive. (The order has already been rescinded. Heaven knows what they were thinking.)

Robert Reich

Cat

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Open Thread February 9 2026

 Posted by at 6:00 am  Open Thread, Personal, Politics
Feb 092026
 

Yesterday, the drive to Pueblo was pretty easy – sunshine, some cloud cover when needed most, no snow or water on the roads. We played cribbage of course, and had a wild variety of hands. I don’t think I’ve ever seen more three-of-a-kinds in a single session, and Virgil had a hand with four fives (but not, alas, a Jack.) Going home was a different story. I couldn’t get the car started despite help from several guards, and ended up having to go back into the lobby to call my roadside assistance insurance company. I did get a tow truck and driver who was able to both take me home and tow the car to the garage I’ve trusted literally for decades. but it was quite dark when I came home (exhausted). I won’t have an estimate until today, and am pretty sure I’ll have to postpone my appointment tomorrow for lab work. I didn’t do that last night because I didn’t have a clue for how long I’d better postpone it.

I’m sharing both Joyce Vance’s “Sunday Morning Wrap-Up” and her “The Week Ahead,” both of which I received Sunday It’s a lot of information, but it’s coherent and graspable.

This is the third opinion piece I have referenced on the topic of possible presidential election interference. This one is by Robert Reich – it’s hard to argue with Robert Reich. I do think there might be states, or even just countire, in which he could get away with his violent plans. But thereare also a lot of states protected by Democratic Secretaries of State, most if not all of whom are members of DASS and are already planning for his potential assaults.

Belle VZ oil

Dog

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Open Thread February 5 2026

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

Yesterday, I heard from Harry Dunn that he is running for Congress. In case anyone has forgotten, he was the Capitol policeman who tricked the January 6 rioters into following him instead of gong into the Senate chambers that day, which gave the Senate time to secure the door. He led them into what was essentially a dead end, risking his life. He hasn’t been on progressive TV or podcasts as much as, say, Michael Fanone, but he is as much a hero, if not more. In much less exciting news, my exterminator came and found some improvement. That surprised me, given how far down my energy has been, but it was a nice surprise.

This from Joyce Vance is important enough that you have probably seen it. As her title suggests, the court has trapped itself – if they approve gerrymanders for Republicans because they are political, not racial, they cannot deny them to Democrats for the same reason.. I expect Karma is laughing her head off.

I don’t subscribe to Dean Blundell‘s Substack – if I tried to subscribe to every worthwhile Substack – well, there just aren’t enough hours in a day. But Democratic Underground tipped me off to this. and I hadn’t seen it elsewhere and consider it important.

This is an 8-9 minute video post, which I am including because Chris Bowers, though clear headed, comes across as more of an optimist. Steve Schmidt, who comes across as more of a pessimist, is saying the same thing. For anyone who is worried enough about this that it is slowing you down, there is an organization for Democratic Secretaries of State (DASS) which is deeply committed to safeguarding our elections, and can always use some help. (And it’s the states which have Democratic Secretaries which will probably need help the most.)

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Open Thread February 3 2026

 Posted by at 6:00 am  Open Thread, Personal, Politics
Feb 032026
 

Yesterday, finally Liam and Dad are home. I have my exterminator coming tomorrow, and next Tuesday I have lab work scheduled. Both are late enough in the day that I should not be late for either.

Sometimes we need a little history – sometimes for cautionary reasons, and sometimes for hope. This one, from Steve Schmidt, is a little bit of both.

I seriously doubt that anyone here even considered seeing this movie for a millisecond, but in case you know anyone who is thinking about it, here’s the antidote from Robert Reich. (I would note that the “deadpan face” to which one reviewer refers is probably deliberate in order to prevent or at least delay facial wrinkles.)

Heaven knows there are issues with inconsistency among the states when it comes to federal elections. But “nationalizing” now would lock all the crap ln and sll the fairness and freedom out. No. Just No (well, maybe Hell, No.)

Cat

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Open Thread January 27 2026

 Posted by at 6:00 am  Open Thread, Personal, Politics
Jan 272026
 

“Hell is empty and all the devils are here.”* Yesterday, I slept until after sunset. However, I had been up until almost sunrise, and Saturday night I had only gotten about 3 hours of sleep. I’m not kidding when I say that I’m not a morning person. That quote is from Act II of “The Tempest” where it is also a quote – Ariel is telling Prospero what the first guy said who jumped from the king’s ship when he (Ariel) made it sink in the storm. No one died in that storm, because it sank so close to shore the drew and passengers could practically walk to the shore – but it was still scary to them. We, on the other hand, have seen people die, and have seen the devils who pulled the triggers.

I can’t improve on Robert Reich. He has the facts and he explains them more clearly (and with more evidence) than I could.

I think Malcolm Nance makes a valid point here. Not that I’m certain where exactly we need to be going with it.

I have a quote here from the 19th which I cannot link to because it was just in the newsletter, and there’s no link to it, or any indication that it’s in an article at the 19th or elsewhere, but it struck me as significant:

A local doctor remembered him on social media as someone who “used to tell people off when they made sexist comments to female physicians … he made a point to teach medical residents without judgement [sic], but with a smile on his face and a joke.”

BTW, Renee Good was from Colorado. Alex Pretti’s parents live in Colorado. I am beginning to take this debacle personally.

From Rocky Mountain PBS. This is a great idea, although I am far from certain that federal Courts will uphold it, particularly in the cases of Federal Agents – who are the only kind of law enforcement likely to attempt it (unless there is another pandemic, which heaven, karma, and the cat goddesses forbid.)

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