Open Thread for December 2, 2021

 Posted by at 6:57 am  Open Thread, Personal, Politics
Dec 022021
 

Yesterday, I started working on cartoons. I need to make 10 for December, and 9 are in the first 17 days. I got some done, but didn’t finish. (I also needed to make a grocery order for tomorrow – which means tomorrow I’ll be putting away. Sigh.)

Cartoon – 02 1202Cartoon.jpg

Short Takes

Democratic Underground (Babylon Sister) – A day in the Life of Sue Republican
Quote – She arrives at her childhood home. Her generation was the third to live in the house financed by Farmers’ Home Administration because bankers didn’t want to make rural loans. The house didn’t have electricity until some big-government liberal stuck his nose where it didn’t belong and demanded rural electrification. She is happy to see her father, who is now retired. Her father lives on Social Security and a union pension because some wine-drinking, cheese-eating liberal made sure he could take care of himself so Sue wouldn’t have to.
Click through for full anecdote. This is not new – it was written some years ago as “Joe Republican” and credited to Michael Moore, but it applies to both sexes.

Crooks and Liars – Trump Is Now Placing Own Election Officials Across Country
Quote – Trump allies are also seeking to replace officials across the nation, including volunteer poll watchers, paid precinct judges, elected county clerks and state attorneys general, according to state and local officials, as well as rally speeches, social media posts and campaign appearances by those seeking the positions.
Click through for a little more, and through again to the Washington Post for still more. My state has laws designed to protect against nefarious behavior by anyone working the election, paid or voluntary (for example, a Republican poll worker cannot even go to the bathroom without a Republican poll worker going along, and vice versa). I’m sure the drafters of those laws were not contemplating perfidy on a scale like this … but they should help. In states which have them. I am seriously concerned about states which don’t have them.

The 19th – Supreme Court indicates it could eliminate a core element of Roe v. Wade
Quote – The court’s justices were also split on what the implications of such a ruling would mean for other major court-protected rights that are not explicitly mentioned in the Constitution, but that are predicated on similar interpretations as Roe v. Wade. Those include the right to LGBTQ+ marriage, for instance, the constitutional protection for sexual intercourse between people of the same sex, or the right to use contraception.
Click through for solid reporting. Keep an eye on Justice Sotomayor. She seems to be the one asking the difficult questions. Although Justice Kagan is also not silent.

Food for Thought –

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Open Thread for November 20, 2021

 Posted by at 7:17 am  Open Thread, Personal, Politics
Nov 202021
 

Yesterday (techncally, although it seems like the day before), I went out a bit after midnight to look at th eclipse I wasn’t expecting much bcause the forecast had been for 86% cloud cover. However, I was able to get a pretty good view, straight overhead. Impressive. I stayed until it looked like the thumbnali (close to that color too – maybe a wee bit more orange) and then went in as the temperature was close to single digits. And then went to bed and to sleep.  And eventually woke up.  And came here and posted.  And I reached out to the campaign for the NYT gift link, but had already writtrn my remarks, and I didn’t re-do everything.  Hope it isn’t too confusing.

Cartoon –

Short Takes –

Daily Kos (Walter Einenkel) – FBI raids homes of Colorado election clerk and former Boebert campaign manager
Quote – On the morning of Nov. 16, the FBI conducted federally-authorized law enforcement actions into potential criminal activity by employees of the Mesa County Clerk and Recorder’s Office and others associated with those employees. The activity occurred in both Mesa and Garfield Counties at four separate locations. Investigators with the 21st Judicial District Attorney’s Office (Mesa County, Colo.) and the Colorado Attorney General’s Office assisted in the operations. No arrests were made, and the operations are related to ongoing investigations. Per order of a federal court, all documents related to these operations are sealed.
Click through for what details are not sealed. I can’t tell you how happy this makes me.

Mother Jones – Disinformation Isn’t Just a Tech Problem. It’s a Social One, Too.
Quote – The rise of disinformation is the product of long-standing social problems, including income inequality, racism, and corruption, which can be easily exploited to spread false information online. “Saying that the disinformation is the problem—rather than a way in which the underlying problem shows itself—misses the point entirely,” the report quotes Mike Masnick, founder of Techdirt, as saying.
Click through for story – I suppose it’s arguable which comes forst, like the chicken and the egg, but wi need to be fighint on every front, and even then, we will not be able to eliminate the monstr. We may be able to make it controllable.

New York Times – San Francisco’s Top Prosecutor Will Face a Recall Election
Quote (from his email, because I was paywalled out of NYT) – San Francisco voters elected me because of the promises I made: I promised to end cash bail. We’ve done it. I promised to reduce youth incarceration. It’s down by 50%. I promised to release innocent people from prison. We launched an independent commission to ensure no innocent person is languishing behind bars. I promised to hold police accountable. We filed homicide charges against the officer who shot and killed Keita O’Neill — the first time in our city’s history that homicide charges were brought against an on-duty police officer.
Click through for the NYT story with a gift link – which means you are not paywalled out even if you are not a subscriber. And spread the word. Turnout is even more critical in recalls than any other election! And don’t cut the link – all that stuff is needed to pass the paywall.

Food for Thought –

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Video Thread 11/16/21

 Posted by at 12:51 pm  Open Thread, Politics
Nov 162021
 

Glenn Kirschner – Why Mark Meadows Must Now be Indicted for Contempt of Congress (just as happened to Steve Bannon)

Meidas Touch – Why the Rittenhouse defense may be MORE WORRIED than the media would have you believe (God, how I hope he’s right!)

Ring of Fire – CNN Host Warns That Republican ‘Nuts Are Being Normalized’

John Fugelsang on Stephanie Miller – “America Is Not Divided, White People Are Divided.”

Armageddon Update – Armageddon Update | One Year Ago Today (“Today” interpreted loosely)

Parody Project – MONEY SUCKS THE CONGRESS DOWN

Beau – Let’s talk about the other 14 characteristics…

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Video Thread 11/13/21

 Posted by at 11:51 am  Open Thread, Politics
Nov 132021
 

Glenn Kirschner – Insurrection Defendant Gets 41 Months in Prison. But What of the Cases that are Set for Trial?

Thom Hartmann – Why Is The Judge Hiding Rittenhouse’s Ties To White Supremacy? (Shades of Zimmerman)

Rebel HQ – Crooked Judge In Kyle Rittenhouse Trial EXPOSED

PBS – Amanpour & Co – Chase and Takota Iron Eyes. Yes, this is almost 20 minutes.

RepresentUs – Limp Democracy

Cracked – If Dating Apps Were Honest

Beau – Let’s talk about a message from a small government conservative…. [This is the video which contains Beau’s method for predicting what Republicans will do.]

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Video Thread 11/8/21

 Posted by at 12:21 pm  Open Thread, Politics
Nov 082021
 

Glenn Kirschner – Jeffrey Clark Violates Congressional Subpoena but w/Steve Bannon Still Unindicted, Will it Matter?

Rebel HQ – Ricky Schroder Calls For Chaos On Veteran’s Day

RepresentUs – Sen. Manchin: Be America’s Quarterback, Protect Voting Rights (They are airing it in the right place, I’ll give them that. But optimism, I don’t have.)

Ring of Fire – Republicans Who Believe Trump’s Election Lies Are NOT Planning On Sitting Out Midterms (Well, yeah – Republicans lie. Surprise!)

Sprouts – Bonhoeffer‘s Theory of Stupidity

Washington Post/Smithsonian – The crane that fell for her keeper (h/t Mitch)

Beau – Let’s talk about what Democrats can learn from the election results….

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Open Thread for November 8, 2021

 Posted by at 7:10 am  Open Thread, Personal, Politics
Nov 082021
 

Yesterday, it was fairly quiet again. I had actually waited until morning to change the clocks, which I did when I got up, and also managed to change the newest one, which also shows date and temperature, from Centigrade to Fahrenheit. Let’s just say that was not intuitive. I know, it’s less scientific, but it’s more meaningful to me, being what I grew up with. And, because the degrees are closer together, it feels more accurate to me, although less scientifically useful.

Cartoon –

Short Takes –

Liz Cheney Brands Tucker Carlson ‘Un-American’ In Fox News Interview
Quote – “You know, it’s the same kind of thing that you hear from people who say that 9/11 was an inside job,” the Republican lawmaker said. “It’s un-American to be spreading those kinds of lies and they are lies. And we have an obligation that goes beyond partisanship, an obligation that we share — Democrats and Republicans together — to make sure that we understand every single piece of the facts about what happened that day and to make sure the people who did are held accountable.”
Click through for a video and a little more text. I realize Cheney msy have a personal interest in 9/11 not being a false flag – because if it were, her dad was involved. But she still gets some points for recognizing and avoiding hypocrisy.

AP News – Culture war fight finds mixed success in school board races
Quote – But across the country, culture and identity fights were less decisive. The political tracking website Ballotpedia identified 96 school districts in more than a dozen states where race education and masking were part of the debate. It found that at least one anti-critical race theory or anti-mask candidate prevailed in 35 of the 86 districts in which it has determined winners, or 40%. “Where they won, they won in really high numbers,” said Doug Kronaizl, a staff writer for Ballotpedia, noting that candidates who won on the issue tended to be concentrated in the same districts. “But overall nationwide they didn’t win that much.”
Click through for specificities. This is hish on my worries list. County, municipal, and school board elections here are “non-partisan,” as I suspect they are in most states. That sounds good, but in practice it means you have no idea for whom you are voting, and no way to find out how they think. And school boards, cities, and counties are where cndidates for state and federal office come from.

GWN (Good Word News) – The longest partial lunar eclipse of the century is coming: date, how to look
Quote – According to NASA, a three-hour, 28-minute partial lunar eclipse will take place on November 18 and 19 and people around the world will only have to walk outside to get a glimpse. Night watchers on the U.S. east coast will be able to watch the event from 2 a.m. to 4 a.m. ET, according to NASA. Those on the West Coast can watch the sky between 11:00 p.m. and 1:00 a.m. PT.
Click through for a bit of background. Midnight till 2 is actually not too bad a time for me, so I may actually be able to see this one. And it shouldn’t require sunglasses.

Food for Thought –

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Video Thread 11/6/21

 Posted by at 12:05 pm  Open Thread, Politics
Nov 062021
 

Glenn Kirschner – Federal Judge Chutkan Destroys Arguments by Donald Tump’s Lawyer on Executive Privilege.

Now This News – How Gang Leaders Are Helping Get New Zealanders Vaccinated. I like it. Progress doesn’t get made by being too chickens**t to take risks.

Really American – Congressmembers Say “‘Let’s Go Brandon”

Robert Reich – How Wealth Inequality Spiraled Out of Control

politicsrus -When Evil Came to America (pretty dramatic, but I won’t say the drama isn’t needed.)

Mrs. Betty Bowers – The United States of Freedom

Beau – Let’s talk about the FEC’s worst decision since their last one….

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Open Thread for November 3, 2021

 Posted by at 6:48 am  Open Thread, Personal, Politics
Nov 032021
 

Yesterday, my grocery delivery came – including not only substitutions but missing items. I have no idea what I was actually charged for. They have a feedback option, but you can’t make any personal comments – and you can report missing items, or you can report substitutions, but not both. Fortunately there is a “contact us” form on the website. These people do not seem to be aware that if they substitute something I am allergic to for something I ordered, and I have a serious reaction, they would be legally liable for damages. I sugeested they speak with their lawyer. (And I never place a food ordeer without finding and checking or unchecking, however it’s worded, the appropriate box to specify “no substitutions.” Even if that requires multiple browsers.) Grrrr. OK, end of rant today.

Cartoon –

Short Takes –

Crooks and Liars – QAnon Voting Clerk Suspected Of Stealing Voting Equipment
Quote – That prompted Michigan Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson to revoke Scott’s ability to run the upcoming election, putting Hillsdale County Clerk Marney Kast, a fellow Republican, in her place. But when Kast and her team arrived in Adams Township to inspect the voting equipment, they found a surprise. During the inspection, officials discovered that the voting machine’s tablet—a key part of its operations—was gone. Michigan State Police launched an investigation Thursday to uncover who took the tablet.
Click through – We had one in Colorado who has been stripped of her powers regarding elections (best we can do, she was elected). Now Michigan has one. How many more?

New York Times – Florida Bars State Professors From Testifying in Voting Rights Case
Quote – Three University of Florida professors have been barred from assisting plaintiffs in a lawsuit to overturn the state’s new law restricting voting rights, lawyers said in a federal court filing on Friday. The ban is an extraordinary limit on speech that raises questions of academic freedom and First Amendment rights. University officials told the three that because the school was a state institution, participating in a lawsuit against the state “is adverse to U.F.’s interests” and could not be permitted.
Click through for full story. Should you want to share, don’t cut the URL – it’s in all that garbage that thr NYT knows it’s been paid for – by a subscriber who also posts on DU.

The Daily Beast – Jan. 6 Organizers Are Raking It In With Trump and GOP Groups
Quote – A review of public financial disclosures shows that multiple entities involved in the Jan. 6 rallies have continued to rake it in after the attack on the U.S. Capitol, with various Republicans and GOP groups continuing to give these entities business even as investigators look into their roles with the insurrection. Public records also show a number of curious payments on and around Jan. 6—including more than $25,000 in advertising that Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA) paid to right-wing social media platform Parler, with one transaction on the day of the riot.
Click through for details. Follow the money.

Food for Thought –

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