Open Thread December 28, 2022

 Posted by at 7:11 am  Open Thread, Personal, Politics
Dec 282022
 

Yesterday, They are tentatively predicting snow for tonight (for anyone who doesn’t use Weather Underground, the ten-day view is a graph. The temperature is a line {red}, but the chance of precipitation is a filled-in area – purple if it’s snow, blue for anything else.) It’s purple from around nine tonight to 4 am tomorrow. But, we’ll see. Farther down the page, they show a predicted accumulation, and those are in the single digit hundreths of an inch.

Cartoon –

Short Takes –

The Conversation – Congress passes legislation that will close off presidential election mischief and help avoid another Jan. 6
Quote – Presidential elections are complicated. But in a move aimed at warding off future crises like the Jan. 6, 2021, riot at the U.S. Capitol, the Senate and House have passed legislation to clarify ambiguous and trouble-prone aspects of the process…. [A] bipartisan group of congressional leaders aimed to pass reforms to the 1887 law governing this process, the Electoral Count Act, before the end of 2022. As an election law scholar, I have suggested that Congress focus its reforms on a few crucial areas that could have wide bipartisan support. Now, it has done just that, and the omnibus government funding legislation that includes the Electoral Count Act reform passed the House on Dec. 23 and heads to the White House for President Joe Biden’s expected signature…. With these simple bipartisan solutions, Congress has instilled confidence in future presidential elections.
Click through fpr details. Before you say “It’s not enough,” let me assure you that you are correct. But it does address the main avenues used by Tyrannosaurus Ex and his mob on and up to (and since) January 6th. Of course, in anything run by humans, there will be people with the desire and drive to cheat.

What with Time magazine selecting Volodomyr Zelenskyy as “Person of the Year,” and pretty much everyone except MAGAts being in agreement, I hope I can be forgiven for writing a bit like a fangirl. I’m putting three sources together for this short take. First is a Zelenskyy origin story – I’ve seen it before, but without sourcing, and it seemed too good to be true. But now that I can trace it to Zelenskyy himself, in a video speech, on his own official page, I feel confident to share it. Next, there is the Crooks & Liars announcement of a Crookie Hero Award. Finally, and I warn this is a 45 minute video,here is a link to a documentary based on Dave Letterman interviewing Zelenskyy. Letterman does speak with other people, and gives some of his own impressions of the nation and the war (including the fact that one village he visitied gave him the honor of certifying his beard as the best in the village.) It really is worth every minute, even if you may have to save it for later.

Food For Thought

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Open Thread December 8, 2022

 Posted by at 6:42 am  Open Thread, Personal, Politics
Dec 082022
 

Yesterday, after Senator Warnock’s victory, I was at least able to breathe again. Sadly, that was a real nail biter. But it ended well. So I decided it was time to move on to the Supreme Court. Both of today’s short takes are – not eacttly hopeful. But we need to know about them. If you need some comic relief, you can check out this BuzzFeed article on misconceptions (no pun intended) that men have about women’s anatomy and bodily functions. They reach never-before-published levels of absurdity.

Cartoon

Short Takes –

Mother Jones – Con Law: How a Fake Document Could Help the Supreme Court Diminish Our Democracy
Quote – So this August, historians of the Constitution were alarmed to see Pinckney’s fraud credulously cited in a brief submitted to the Supreme Court in Moore v. Harper, a high-stakes case that will be heard on Wednesday and whose outcome could usher in new state-level voter suppression and gerrymandering schemes. If the decision rests on Pickney’s alleged plan or similar shaky foundations, it may also prove to be the most dramatic example of a troubling new trend at the court: the flaunting [sic] of inconvenient facts and the adoption of alternative ones in their place.
Click through for article. Of course the author means “flouting” – flaunting is something quite different – almost the opposite actually. But that doesn’t change the fact that this is a horrible danger. It is impossible to trust Thmas, Alito, and the MAGA three not to fall for it. I would love to be proved wrong.

Colorado Public Radio News – Supreme Court seems poised to side with Colorado web designer in 303 Creative case
Quote – The case, 303 Creative v. Elenis, pits a Colorado website designer named Lorie Smith against state officials trying to enforce Colorado’s Anti Discrimination Act. Smith wants to start creating custom wedding websites. Specifically, she wants to post a message on her company’s site that she would not create websites for same-sex marriage “or any other marriage that is not between one man and one woman,” according to a brief in the case. But state officials would consider that discriminatory behavior based on the state’s laws, so Smith sued the state.
Click through for details. If I tried to express my deepest opinion on this, I would become incoherent, so I’ll fall back on my favorite bumper sticker: “Jesus called. He wants his church back.”

Food For Thought

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Video Thread 12/6/22

 Posted by at 12:17 pm  Open Thread, Politics
Dec 062022
 

Glenn Kirschner – Donald Trump advocates “terminating the Constitution” and restoring him to the presidency.

Meidas Touch – Test REVEALS True Nature of DISTURBING MAGA Psychology

CBS News – Herschel Walker, Raphael Warnock make last pitches to voters in Georgia Senate runoff election

Mother Jones – Souls and Polls: Christianity Is on the Georgia Ballot

What It’s Like Living With Two Parrots (has a commercial in the middle – it’s thankfully short)

Beau – Let’s talk about Biden wanting to change the primaries….

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Open Thread December 6, 2022

 Posted by at 7:08 am  Open Thread, Personal, Politics
Dec 062022
 

Yesterday Today is the runoff election for the Senator from Georgia. I’m devoting as much time and space to that as I reasonably can. I am not expecting final results today, although it certainly could happen.

Cartoon

Short Takes –

Civil Discourse – Are The Frogs Boiled?
Quote – All too often, elected officials get away with ducking. They avoid the cameras, they say it was a joke or that Trump didn’t mean it. They refuse to hold public meetings with constituents to avoid being asked point blank questions. Sometimes they condemn Trump, as on January 6, but then return to the fold. They know they can do that, because the media moves on with the news cycle. And they get away with it. So this, what’s happened now, has to be a job for all of us. It’s civil discourse. Let’s ask our elected officials where they stand and stay on them until they answer. Or not. Because sometimes a repeated, documented, failure to respond tells us what we need to know.
Click through for full column – it’s short. Out of four officials (Governor, two Senators, and Representative), I only need to write to one. Poor Joyce has a quadrifecta. I most certainly am referencing my own oath as a veteran (particularly since my rep spends so much time and effort BSing veterans.)

Politico – Warnock focuses on turnout as early voting ends in Georgia runoff
Quote – “If you have already voted, spend all weekend calling the folks who haven’t voted, or you don’t know if they voted,” Warnock told the crowd. “Call them — that’s your job. Your job is not over.” The event was part of what is often called “Souls to the Polls” events, where faith leaders like Warnock, who is also a senior pastor at Ebenezer Baptist Church in Atlanta, host events that end with attendees voting. These events, often held at predominantly Black churches, are also key to engaging Black voters, a core constituency of the Democratic Party.
Click through for article. Like every other article on this race, is devotes attention to how much money has been spent in this campaign. Money alone wll not determine the winner. Turnout is what does that.

Food For Thought

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Video Thread 11/25/22

 Posted by at 11:51 am  Open Thread, Politics
Nov 252022
 

Glenn Kirschner – Special Counsel Jack Smith/DOJ seek interview with Mike Pence about Trump’s insurrection crimes

The Lincoln Project – Last Week in the Republican Party – November 22, 2022

MSNBC – Cherokee Nation Calls On Congress To Fulfill 187-Year-Old Promise

Armageddon Update – We Did Good!

Tigers Freed From Abandoned Train Car After 15 Years

Beau – Let’s talk about Colorado and what we can expect….

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Video Thread 11/22/22

 Posted by at 11:48 am  Open Thread, Politics
Nov 222022
 

Glenn Kirschner – Another leaked Supreme Court opinion. Per New York Times, Justice Alito may have leaked it himself

MSNBC – How Speaker Pelosi Supported Other Democrats As Leader

Political Voices Network – Neal Katyal: NONSENSE! Trump’s Immunity Claim

Armageddon Update – MIDTERMS! [not totally accurate – recorded too early, but some good points]

Two Rescue Labs Who Were Completely Frozen

Beau – Let’s talk about Trump, DeSantis, and the future….

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Open Thread November 22, 2022

 Posted by at 6:58 am  Open Thread, Personal, Politics
Nov 222022
 

Yesterday, I tried to rest as much as possible.I did manage to get a prison email off the Virgil with some pictures of Joyce Vance’s chickens – and a couple of other pictures – that should lift his spirits when he gets it, although he will still be envious of anyone who can get close to silky chickens. No matter how well it goes, am always wiped out after any of my visits Of course, when I was in my teens and even my twenties, driving used to energize me. That has not been so for many years, and that’s probably a big part of it.

Cartoon –

Short Takes –

The Daily Beast – Republicans Lost the Races Where They Spent the Most
Quote – The Daily Beast reviewed the most expensive House and Senate races in the country, and found that, with a few exceptions, Republican candidates were on the losing end. Republicans lost three of the five most expensive Senate races, per CRP data, with Democrats clinching the top three—Pennsylvania, Georgia, and Arizona. (The Georgia contest, where Sen. Raphael Warnock received the most votes, is headed to a runoff.) While Republicans [won] a slim majority in the House—far below their expectations—Democrats took all five of the most expensive races, according to CRP data.
I’ve never believed that money won elections. Granted that it doesn’t hurt, elections are decided by human beings, and, unless you are paing them directly for their votes, you can’t buy their support with campaign money. Good candidates, creatively promoted, and short, catchy, accurate slogans (“In January, I’ll be better. He will still be a con man”) work better. Some money is needed in order to maximize communication – but after a certain point, the law of diminishing returns hits.

Crooka and Liars – City Of Brotherly Love Welcomes Immigrants That Texas Governor Dumped
Quote – [On the] morning [of November 16], despite earlier denials that this was indeed his plan, Greg Abbott, the wizened little nominal governor of Texas, dropped a busload of immigrants in my city…. “The bus was sent by Gov. Greg Abbott in what he said was an effort to bring the challenges of the border to northern cities. Immigration advocates in Philadelphia called the bus ride a cruel trick played on innocent people who are legally in the United States.”
Click through for story. Susie Madrak has some words for Abbott and other Republicans. Does anyone thnk that Abbott and DeSanctimonious will ever get a clue, no matter how often and how dramatically their cruel stunts backfire?

Colorado Encyclopedia – Amendment 2
Quote – Amendment 2 was a ballot initiative passed by Colorado voters in 1992 that prohibited the state from enacting antidiscrimination protections for gays, lesbians, and bisexuals…. Passage of the controversial amendment set the stage for a national debate over the rights of gays, lesbians, and bisexuals, while the ensuing legal struggle was the first legal case affecting homosexuals to reach the United States Supreme Court. The Supreme Court eventually declared the amendment unconstitutional, setting a precedent for the current struggle for LGBT rights in the United States.
Click through for complete history. The Q-Club massagre immediately beought me back to 1992 (although I had to look up the year.) This horrendous vote showcases the worst of our state – and a past the Supreme Court would live to bring us back to. I believe we are better than that, and offer as evidence the fact that we just RE-elected an openly gay governor. But here, and alas world wide, the struggle is far from over.

Food For Thought

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Video Thread 11/17/22

 Posted by at 11:51 am  Open Thread, Politics
Nov 172022
 

Glenn Kirschner – Cassidy Hutchinson & Mike Flynn to testify to Georgia grand jury about Trump’s election crimes

Meidas Touch – Zelensky Raises Ukrainian Flag in Kherson After LIBERATION (It’s too long, but the Kherson footage is worth hanging on for.)

The Lincoln Project – Last Week in the Republican Party, November 15, 2022

Ring of Fire – Lauren Boebert’s Seat In Danger As More Ballots Are ‘Fixed’ (by thie time this posts it may be over. But it’s a good description of the “curing” process, which 24 states allow.)

Cat Abandoned When Owners Moved Jumps Into His Rescuer’s Arms

Beau – Let’s talk about Trump in heels and Kari Lake….

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