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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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.

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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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Nov 022021
 

Yesterday, I finally felt rested.  I looked at some catalogs – one was the company whose catalog helped save my vision Saturday – I figured I owed them a look.  One was a yarn/needlecraft supply company. I also placed a grocery delivery order for today.  So there may be gaps in my responding to your comments (which I am the only one who will notice, most likely.).

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The Guardian – Republican Adam Kinzinger: I’ll fight Trumpism ‘cancer’ outside Congress
Quote – But he said a stronger push to retire had come from the direction of his party under Trump. “It’s sitting back and saying, ‘OK, what happens if I win again? I go back, probably Republicans will probably be in the majority. I’m going to be fighting even harder … and I haven’t seen any momentum in the party to move away from lies and towards truth.”
Click through. This is a pity, and if it lets a Trumpublican into Congress, t’s more than a pity. But at least he is not going away completely.

Democratic Underground – Matt Gaetz talks about blowing up the metal detectors in the House with Tannerite or C4
Quote – [Matt Gaetz Tweet] If you can’t fantasize about blowing up useless metal detectors with @laurenboebert at a Florida Halloween political rally for @AnthonySabatini, when can you?
Click through for more info on tannerite and C4.  Hey, Matt – how about “NEVER!!”?

Talking Points Memo – The Most Damning Jan 6th Revelation Yet
Quote – As I have noted in other recent posts, much of the recent ‘news’ about the insurrection has not been terribly new. It’s repackaged versions of things we knew or additional evidence and detail. This story published last night in the Post is one of the biggest revelations I’ve seen to date. John Eastman is the Federalist Society right wing law professor who wrote up the legal gloss for the President’s coup plot. It created the connective tissue joining the coup plot within the government with the paramilitary violence that broke out on Capitol Hill on January 6th.
Click through for details. It’s not surprising – it’s not all that much farther down the rabbit hole – but it does come with “receipts.”

Food for Thought –

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Oct 292021
 

Just so everyone knows … I have some fluff that needs to be up by Hallowe’en. If I miss, or have to postpone, something else good, I apologize in advance.

Glenn Kirschner – DA Not Taking Criminal Charges Off the Table in Alec Baldwin Shooting Incident; A Review of NM Law

Meidas Touch – Steve Schmidt Warns of ‘Total Chaos,’ Biden Impeachment if GOP Wins

Now This News – Why the 2021 Election is Still Important

Really American – Cruz Defends Nazi Salutes on Tree Of Life Anniversary

VoteVets – Sedition Caucus

Parody Project/Freedom Toast – My Ninja

Beau – Let’s talk about Alec Baldwin and never letting a crisis go to waste….

Bonus – A scary flick from the ACLU

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Oct 262021
 

Yesterday, I moved some clothes around – put some away, took some out to be handy both to visit Virgil and to change into when I get home. Of course the pronblem with that is that it take twice as long to recover as it does to do. But I did manage. And rested a little with knitting. (One yarn company has as its motto “Knit. Relax. Repeat.” Almot too cute.)

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The 19th – The 19th Explains: Key races to watch in November 2 elections
Quote – The year after a presidential contest is not a big one for elections, but two states and several major cities are holding elections this year for governor, state legislators, mayors and more. The debates are shaped by local issues, like housing, and national issues, like the handling of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Click through for all eight. It mentions the NYC mayor but not the DA, in which Alvin Bragg is running to succeed Cy Vance. He may, of course, be unopposed.

Crools and Liars – Biden Breaks Stalemate As New Hope Emerges For Transformational Agenda
Quote – The details of the bill are still being worked out, but Jayapal has made clear so far that progressives’ priorities are still in the bill, even though they’ve had to scale back some of the proposals. Manchin and Sinema have continued to be the skunks at the garden party, but Biden seems to have pinned them down on both a price tag and their red lines in the sand.
Click through for the story. Crooks and Liars is an unlikely place to look to for hope, but I’ll take it where I can get it.

PolitiZoom – Gerrymandering On Steroids W. Virginia Governor says He’ll Accept Three Maryland Counties Who Want To Secede
Quote – This is either a Fox News publicity stunt which has gone too far, or maybe state lines will be redrawn in dramatic ways if this is real and it catches on. As you’ve probably heard, three western Maryland counties want to secede from Maryland and become a part of West Virginia. What’s that you say? Who in their right mind would want to leave the 15th largest economy in the nation and move to the 48th? Beats the hell out of me.
Click through for what little else is known. If they can do this without changing the number of House Representatives each state is now assigned, I say go for it.

Food for Thought –

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Oct 122021
 

Glenn Kirschner – Trump’s Iowa Rally, DOJ’s Inaction & the Implications for the 2022 Midterm Elections

The Lincoln Project – Package Deal

Thom Hartmann – The National Debt Lie Debunked

Ring of Fire – Cyber Ninjas CEO Says No More Audits After Getting Death Threats From Trump Supporters

Really American – Bannon And Others Defy Subpoenas: LOCK THEM UP

If cryptocurrency was [sic] honest

Beau – Let’s talk about the jobs report, early unemployment, and wages…. exactly the same as Robert Reich, in slightly different words.

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Sep 102021
 

Yesterday, I decided to stay in bed after my alarm went off (I really only use it as a guide anyway.) And I’m very glad I did. I went back to sleep for another hour and a half, and it was in that hour and a half during which I had a dream in which I was able to share a hug with Ruth Bader Ginsburg. What a gift! I don’t remember the other ircumstances of the dream except that they were equally unlikely but also mostly pleasant.

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The Atlantic – The Next Face of the Democratic Party
Quote – Democratic members of Congress won’t talk about any of this publicly, as if Pelosi might suddenly appear and pull their hearts from their chests. Jeffries, carefully, left it at telling me that growing up in a Black church taught him to respect and value his elders. But none of the two dozen Democratic members of Congress and party insiders I spoke with privately could present a serious alternative to Jeffries. He’d have the support of the Congressional Black Caucus, which is stacked with influential members. He’s popular with his colleagues, even those who grumble that he was too meek to challenge Pelosi earlier—“Hakeem is really good at taking in both ideas but also criticism, and not being defensive about it,” said Representative Katherine Clark of Massachusetts, Jeffries’s close ally in House leadership, who is expected to end up in the No. 2 spot if he’s No. 1. In conversations with colleagues, Clark and Jeffries have said they’re moving forward as a team, determined to avoid the rumbling rivalry Pelosi and Hoyer have had since their days as congressional interns, in 1963.
Click through for the story. The Atlantic has a paywall, but you get a couple of free articles per month, so you may want to “print” it if you are interrupted.  Of course this is pure speculation.

HuffPost – Republicans Already Lying That California’s Recall Election Is ‘Rigged’
Quote – Former President Donald Trump ― who was impeached for inciting the violent Jan. 6 Capitol insurrection with lies about the 2020 presidential election ― weighed in on the Sept. 14 California recall on Tuesday with a complaint about the state’s early vote-by-mail system. “It’s probably rigged,” Trump said during an interview on right-wing cable channel Newsmax. “They’re sending out all ballots ― the ballots are mail-out, mail-in ballots. I guess you even have a case where you can make your own ballot. When that happens nobody’s going to win except these Democrats.”
Click through for details. Of course they are. While that in itself is bad news, it is good news that they are this worried. But it’s not an excuse not to vote.

The Hill – Police brace for Capitol rally defending Jan. 6 mob
Quote – The Capitol Police declined to comment Tuesday on any specific security plans for Sept. 18. But Capitol Police Chief Tom Manger said the department is “closely monitoring” the event and expressed confidence that “the work we are doing now will make sure our officers have what they need to keep everyone safe.” The Metropolitan Police Department (MPD) is also planning an “increased presence around the city” where demonstrations will take place on Sept. 18 and may close off some streets, a spokesperson said.
Click through for what’s known and a few thoughts. I truly hope I am seeing ghostss, but I am concerned that September 18 and September 11 are both Saturdays, and one of those dates has symbolic significance. And Republicans lie. I hope they are also preparing for tomorrow. It never hurts to be prepared.

Food for Thought –

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Aug 242021
 

Yesterday, I was mostly able to rest. I know it looks like I did a lot of work, but most of the stuff more or less fell into my lap. I was able to do some crocheting (I’m working on a top for a friend who helps me out a lot – with rides when my Dodge was falling apart to picking up prescriptions that I can’t have mailed to sending her sons over to deal with my yard. And more. I like to show I’m grateful.

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AP News – Rev. Jesse Jackson, wife Jacqueline hospitalized for COVID
Quote – Jesse Jackson, 79, is vaccinated against the virus and received his first dose in January during a publicized event as he urged others to receive the inoculation as soon as possible. He and his wife, 77, are being treated at Northwestern Memorial Hospital in Chicago.
Click through for details (including some unrelated ones). Of course Jesse is fully vaccinated. I’ve not seen credible confirmation that Jacqueline is, but it would surprise me if she were not. Prayers still won’t hurt.

The Hill – Arizona elections officials launch bipartisan assault on GOP audit
Quote – Hobbs, Richer and others who object to the Senate-ordered review have been particularly critical of Cyber Ninjas and its chief executive, Doug Logan, who spread misinformation about the 2020 election before the firm was hired. The Senate signed Cyber Ninjas, a firm with no experience in conducting election audits, without a bid process, even though an experienced election audit firm had offered its own services.
Click Through for story. It’s nice that this is bipartisan. I have worked with many Republican County Clerks and Secretaries of State who took their jobs seriously and did not cheat. I’m glad there are still some around.

The New Yorker (Borowitz Report) – F.D.A. Withdraws Approval from “Whatever Drug Rand Paul Is On”
Quote – The agency emphasized that it did not know what drug the senator was taking, or whether he was taking any drug at all, but asserted that it was withdrawing its approval out of a concern for public safety.
Click through – This is the same day they approved the Pfizer CoViD vaccine. They are on a roll!

Food for Thought –

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