Elections – Page 15 – Politics Plus

Open Thread October 17, 2022

Posted by Joanne Dixon at 7:17 am Open Thread, Personal, Politics

Oct 172022

Yesterday, I managed to get in a grocery order. It came within the first ten minutes of the two-hour window, and I had it all put away before that window was half over. No substitutions, and only two things missing – one I had ordered as an afterthought just because the website had it (they so often don’t), and the other was one flavor of something I had ordered nine flavors of. Eight out of nine is even better than two out of three. So that’s all good. I think I’ll throw in Robert Reich’s latest caption contest above the TC cartoon, because the winner, Harry Sanderford, must have worked so hard to get it just right.

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Short Takes –

The New Yorker – Donald Trump, January 6th, and the Elusive Search for Accountability
Quote – So did any of the committee’s work matter? When the January 6th hearings began, on June 9th, Trump’s average approval rating in the polls was 41.9 per cent, and his average disapproval rating was 53.5 per cent, according to FiveThirtyEight. As the hearings ended, Trump’s average approval rating stood at 40.4 per cent. All that damning evidence, and the polls were basically unchanged. The straight line in the former President’s approval rating is the literal representation of the crisis in American democracy. There is an essentially immovable forty per cent of the country whose loyalty to Donald Trump cannot be shaken by anything.
Click through for article. Not for the Committee, but for our Deomcratic Republic – vote like your life depends on it.

ProPublica – A User’s Guide to Democracy
Quote – Sign up for a series of personalized emails in which our journalists will help you answer questions like:
What are my current representatives doing about the issues I care about?
Who’s running for office in my district?
How can I hold my representatives accountable?
How does Congress even work, exactly?
How can I safely vote during this pandemic?
Click through for details. This is less an article than a signup for a newsletter. And you likely do not need it. But you may know someone who does. I was unable to put in my address (I tried two browsers), but of course, I know my district.

Food For Thought

Open Thread October 16, 2022

Posted by Joanne Dixon at 6:49 am Open Thread, Personal, Politics

Oct 162022

Yesterday, the radio opera was “Il Corsaro” by Verdi. I had never heard of it, but I instantly assumed it was based on Lord Byron’s poem, “The Corsair,” and it turns out I was correct. It’s early Verdi, before 1850. The protagonist (the pirate) has his headquarters on a Greek Island (Byron was obsessed with the Greek Islands) while the antagonist is a Turkish pasha. Being grand opera as it is, three of the four principal characters are dead by the time it ends, and I wouldn’t be too sure the fourth won’t also suicide after the curtain falls (although she might not. She’s pretty tough.) The music is stunning. I can see why some of the 20th century’s biggest stars wanted to bring it back into the repertory. Sadly the 20th century – at least the second half – was a tough time for “new” opera (“new” meaning anything unfamiliar to the sudience.) Opera lovers are not yet completely out of that mind set, but it is getting better. More forgotten operas are getting revived, and mre new ones are being premiered by major houses – and getting good responses – than any time in my life. Many are not what one would expect. One was based on “Marnie” (not the Hitchcock movie, exactly, but the book that inspired it.) Another was based on a Luis Buñuel‎ movie (surrealism – think Salvador Dali but in a movie. In other words, weird.)

Before diving into the short takes, I want to quickly share this link from Joyce Vance where you will find all 291 of the election deniers who will be on the ballot in 24 days, sorted by how likely they are to win their elections, and searchable by state and by office they are running for. If for any reason it doesn’t work for you, here’s the link to Joyce’s newsletter and you can try from there, but you will be confronted by a couple of silky chicken moms, each with two chicks, and I warn you, they look strange.

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Short Takes –

The Daily Beast – The Jan. 6 Committee Gave Us Some Bad News About the Secret Service
Quote – The Secret Service has too many secrets. The Federal Bureau of Investigation requires a thorough investigation. These are among the most striking conclusions that emerged Thursday from the last public meeting of Congress’s Jan. 6 committee. Laying out its meticulously crafted case against former President Donald Trump for leading an insurrection against the government he had sworn an oath to protect, the committee made it clear that there were many targets that warranted further investigation. Not least of these were the two law enforcement agencies that had long prided themselves on being among the U.S. government’s most shining examples of integrity and service.
Click through for story. The emphasis here stood out to me.. If you would prefer a more panoramic view, you can check out HuffPost also.

HuffPost – The Most Important Midterm Elections Have Nothing To Do With Congress
Quote – Over the last two years, state legislatures have served as the epicenter of the far-right’s assault on American democracy. Republicans have used their dominance of that level of politics, one that often sails beneath the radar in major election seasons, to enact new restrictions on voting, target state election systems with conspiracy theories meant ultimately to undermine them, and potentially pave the way for future efforts to overturn elections they lose in ways former President Donald Trump failed to do in 2020.
Click through for the details. This is going to be harder to track down.The Colorado General Assembly (as we call our State House) has 100 seats, and the Colorado State Senate 35, and we have 8 Congressional Districts. Californioa has 52 Congressional Districts. I don’t know how big the State Legialatures are, but I’m guessing bigger than ours. And so are those of multiple other states. Just vole blue.

Food For Thought

Open Thread October 12, 2022

Posted by Joanne Dixon at 6:48 am Open Thread, Personal, Politics

Oct 122022

Yesterday, my radio station started its fall fund drive, so I started audio streaming, beginning with “The Score” – a one-hour program about music in film which I listen to weekly, generally during that one hour every weekday when there’s a program I don’t care for. This week’s theme was “mad scientists.” Timely for me, both because I had used that hour just the day before to watch a short biography of Thomas Midgley, Jr., called “The Man Who Accidentally Killed The Most People In History.” I thought of him when the host remarked that “mad scientists” in film seem to share a total disregard for the dangers of their creations. But throughout the program, I was also wondering if the whole mad scientist thing hd become so pervasive that the concept became part of the inspiration for QAnon, and other creations of the Alt-Right, with their disdain for actual science and facts. If so, it took long enough. In literature, it traces back to the 16th Century (Christopher Marlowe) and, considering actual science developed out of alchemy, almost certainly goes back to the dawn of humanity. Has anyone besides me ever wondered how humans, with all our crazy tendencies that are hard wired into us managed to survive this long at all?

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Short Takes –

The Daily Beast – Kremlin TV Exposes the Real Goal of Putin’s ‘Revenge-Bombs’
Quote – [State Duma Defense Committee’s head Andrey] Kartapolov urged Russians to unite behind Putin, and his desperate plea spotlighted the true reason behind Moscow’s barrage of missiles: to curb waning public support for Putin’s mindless war…. Konstantin Dolgov, the former Russian commissioner for human rights,… yearned for pained reactions from Ukrainians affected by the strikes, asking: “Are they whining yet? Are they howling yet?”
Click through for the story. My visceral response is, “Republicans, everywhere, by any name, are all the same – the cruelty is the point.” However, Republicans everywhere, by any name, also lie. A lot. So who knows.

CPR News – Republicans hope to take back the House. Here’s what it could mean for Colorado’s representatives
Quote – While he’s not measuring any drapes, GOP Rep. Doug Lamborn said he would seek the chairmanship of the Strategic Forces subcommittee of the House Armed Services committee. He was named the ranking member of that committee in January. The delegation’s longest serving Republican, Lamborn… also currently sits on the House Natural Resources committee[.]
Click through for full article – or, even better, check out your own state’s representatives – not just yours, but all of them. Every state almost certainly has one or more reps whose presence, or chairmanship, on this committee or that committee could turn the House into even more of a horrorscape than their mere presence in the House suggests.

Food For Thought

Video Thread 10/11/22

Posted by Joanne Dixon at 11:55 am Open Thread, Politics

Oct 112022

Glenn Kirschner – Trumps tries to swap stolen documents for info he wants; FBI investigates Trump Tower and Bedminster

The Lincoln Project – Ukraine

MSNBC – DeSantis Auditions For Role Of Green M&M In White Boots

Robert Reich – Organizing a Key Battleground State with @New Georgia Project Action Fund

Brent Terhune – black little mermaid

Beau – Let’s talk about Georgia and the Herschel Walker situation….

Open Thread October 8, 2022

Posted by Joanne Dixon at 7:11 am Open Thread, Personal, Politics

Oct 082022

Yesterday, I decided not to use a story about The Onion as a short take, but instead to direct y’all to it here. Readers Digest versin, a man posted a parody Facebook page on his own page, mocking his local police department, and got arrested and locked up. The Onion filed an amicus brief on his behalf. Here’s the story, and here’s the actual brief.

Cartoon – 08 1008Cartoon.jpg

Short Takes –

Brennan Center for Justice – Voting Laws Roundup: October 2022
Quote – Voters in some states are facing new barriers as they cast ballots in the midterms. Other new state laws are increasing the risk of election interference this fall and in future elections…. Between January 1, 2022, and September 12, 2022, state lawmakers have enacted the following voting laws: At least seven states enacted 10 laws that make voting more difficult — of these, 5 laws in five states are in place for the midterms…. At least seven states have enacted 12 election interference laws, of which 11 are in place for the midterms…. At least 12 states have enacted 19 laws that expand access to the vote.
Click through for full details – they break it all down, with receipts. No changes in my state – but that’s not true for everyone here.

Grid – The Supreme Court is hearing a lawsuit over Section 230, the law the internet loves to hate
Quote – The Supreme Court said Monday that it will hear a case this term examining the scope of tech companies’ immunity under Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act. The law, passed in 1996, has for decades protected internet companies from lawsuits related to content users share on their platforms. If the court breaks with the long-running legal interpretation of Section 230, it could fundamentally change how the internet — and particularly social media sites — functions.
Click through for story. No one is happy now with how the internet – and particularly social media on the internet – work now, and I suspect no one is going to be happy with the way it will work when this case is over – no matter how it’s decided. Because there just isn’t a simple, easy solution.

Food For Thought

Open Thread October 6, 2022

Posted by Joanne Dixon at 7:15 am Open Thread, Personal, Politics

Oct 062022

Yesterday, I realized that today is Yom Kippur – it began last night at sunset. I didn’t make a graphic greeting for it, because it is such a serious holiday and I did not want to be unintentionally fippant. But I will offer G’mar Chatima Tovah to all who celebrate.

I also learned that the group Faithful Americahas a new website up, “False Prophets Don’t Speak for Me,” to oppose Christofascism. If you agree, you can sign there to say so. Obviusly, just being one of the signers helps. Of course they ae also requesting donations, but it’s not a requirement. It shows who they consider to be the top 30 false prophets currently. I found it a bit scary how many I didn’t know about. And it’s interesting who is not on the list also.

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Short Takes –

Daily Kos (staff Aysha Kumar) – After 2 years of threats, Gaige Grosskreutz, surviving victim of Kyle Rittenhouse, wants name change
Quote – “[T]he real story here isn’t that I am seeking to change my name, but that a process that is supposed to protect and shield those in danger was undermined and sealed information was released to the right-wing media within hours of my filing…. I was told that my filing was confidential. I demand that the court investigate how this was leaked to ensure that those seeking protection in the future receive the protection to which they are entitled. On Tuesday, I was denied that protection.”
Click through – The story was leaked by the Kenosha County Eye, which is run by MAGAt who organized a Faeebook group to “protect” the community from “BLM,” and who “covered” Rittenhouse’s trial as a free-lance photograoher, but could not resist yelling in the face of one of the prosecutors. The Milwaukee County “Clerk of Courts” (a vilid title, but I can’t e=define it) “said he has begun looking into the matter.”

ProPublica – How America’s Democracy Is “Ripe to Be Exploited”
Quote – Voters in Sweden this month gave a leading role to a far-right party with neo-Nazi roots. Italy is also on the cusp of putting a party in power that has fascist origins. And of course, in the United States, one party has increasingly embraced election denialism and attempted to undermine the legitimacy of the electoral process. To try to understand what, exactly, is happening, I talked with Barbara Walter, a political scientist at the University of California San Diego who studies democracies across the world…. Rather than talk about the prospects for political violence, we discussed why many democracies are retrenching and how the U.S. stands alone — and not in a good way.
Click through for full conversation. I am old enough to have immediately thought of Barbara Walters – needless to say, they are not the same.

Food For Thought