Good News – Politics Plus

Open Thread December 24 2025

Posted by Joanne Dixon at 1:31 am Open Thread, Personal, Politics

Dec 242025

Yesterday, for a change, SCROTUS ruled against the Mango Monster 6-3 for a change in Trump v. Illinois – a case Harry Litman has been saying since it was filed would be its moment of truth. Because had it gone the other way, the Monster would have had free rein to act on any lies he could dream up. Harry Litman invited Leah Litman (mp relation) to discuss it with him on Substack Live. Both were so excited they were interrupting each other. I’ll provide the link anyway, difficult as it is to listen to (actually the video seems to be one and done, but the transcript is there), but a key factor was that one amicus brief was incredibly important. One amicus brief which was saying something no one else was saying, but which was right. So if you ever discounted the effect of amicus briefs – it’s time to rethink that.

CPR News referred me to this. Between this and a related story about Colorado losing FEMA funds which are now tied to immigration policy, I decided this one would affect a whole lot more people in a whole lot more places.

I’ve written previously about Lone Star ticks, and IIRC at that time there were already a few other ticks who carried this trait, but apparently, according to The Conversation, it’s getting worse. I don’t, thank the universe, have this particular food allergy, but I do have a couple which are almost equally crippling, such as wheat and soy, and frankly, you don’t want to have any food allergy ever, and especially when grocery prices are out of control.

I’m sure everyone is aware about how the short (for a documentary) documentary about CECOT had been scheduled to air on 60 minutes but was yanked by Bari Weiss. But she either forgot or didn’t know that 60 minutes also plays on Global TV in Canada. By the time she realized it, Canada had already seen about 13.5 minutes of it. That 13.5 (13.35 to be precise) was all over the internet. By yesterday, it had been taken down from most of those places. But it it viewable here. If you haven’t already seen it, you might want to watch it, if only because so many people worked so hard to prevent you from seeing it.

Open Thread September 21 2025

Posted by Joanne Dixon at 6:06 am Open Thread, Personal, Politics

Sep 212025

Yesterday, I was able to hear the radio opera from my laptop. Even set up to the max, the volume was low, and I hope I won’t need to do it again. Faure was one of the Impressionists like Debussy and Ravel, but is much less known. His best known work is probably the Dolly Suite, written for a little girl nicknamed Dolly. This opera, Pénélope, based on the last part of Homer’s Odyssey (when Odysseus finally gets home), doesn’t sound much like the Dolly suite, but it is attractive. Why it’s not performed more than it is is mostly bad luck. It wasn’t a huge hit in the provinces, but when it made its Paris premier, it was well received by the audience and the critics. But within two months another premier at the same theater stole all the oxygen from everything else – it was a little ballet called “Le sacre du printemps,” or in English, “The Rite of Spring.” It actually caused riots, in which people were physically hurt. And it’s not pretty – but it is a masterpiece. But I digress. It has been so long since I read the Odyssey I had almost forgotten about the lack of trust which was normal back when there were no certain ways to establish one’s identity. Odysseus arrives in disguise, and when recognized, orders the person not to reveal him – because all the dudes waiting around for up to 20 years to try to marry his wife would have killed him (instead, he kills them.) When he does reveal his identity to Penelope, she tests him with a fib about having replaced the bed in the master bedroom (not really possible, because the bed was a four-poster and one of the posts was a living tree, and the room was built around it and the bed), and of course he freaks because he knows that, which establishes he really is Odysseus. Off to see Virgil now – will check in.

You are welcome to argue with me about whether this from The Root is good news – since it’s mostly not new, but history. But I maintain the news part is that someone whose name should have been in people’s mouths along with the names of Rosa Parks, John Lewis, and many others is finally getting recognition – at least from the black community, and it should be from us also. It’s not exactly anyone’s fault it’s coming late. Photographers speak with the images they create, not with their mouths, and images are not physically attached to them, so its too easy to forget the people behind those images.

This was apparently a federal charge; I assume that because it was tried in a federal court house and at the Times there is an implication that the prosecution was by a U.S. Attorney. But it’s good news at any level.

There is a lot of good news in this from Wonkette, and it’s from Thursday, so you may have seen some of it. But probably not all of it.

Open Thread September 14 2025

Posted by Joanne Dixon at 6:00 am Open Thread, Personal, Politics

Sep 142025

Yesterday, the radio opera (although for the rest of the season, starting yesterday, I’ll be listening on line. Not surprising. Broadcasting these costs local stations money which they now do not have) was another double bill – this one more conventional than the previous one this season – it’s so standard that Opera lovers often just call it “Cav and Pag.” The “Cav” is Cavalleria Rusticana, and the “Pag” is I Pagliacci. Both are from the “verismo” school, which means they are about ordinary people, no nobility or divinity allowed. And they are generally fairly violent. In Cav the violence occurs off stage, but in Pag it is right on stage – and the killer gets the last word – “The comedy is over.” Both include some absolutely gorgeous music, such as “Vesti la giubba” from Pag, which at least used to be very well known way beyond the circle of opera lovers. I don’t know whether it still is..

“Martini Glambassador” is a fan, not an employee of Wonkette. But every day, seven days a week, she provides a .gif file for its “TABS” newsletter. Sometimes they are cute and funny – sometimes just funny – sometimes just cute. I took a screenshot from this one because I wasted to say, “Just look at that tail!” Snow leopards’ tails are distinctively thick, particularly when compared to the tails of other felines. They are also long, but you can’t really see that anywhere in the .gif. The snow leopard who showed off for me in the Pueblo Zoo made a point of showing me the length of his/her tail as well as its girth.

I’m not trying to push Wonkette – I do realize its style is not for everyone – but this certainly appeared to fit into the category of good news. And, yes, I am envious. I don’t have a clue how hard it is for a sentence to hold up in Brazil – but st least they have arrived at one, which is certainly more than we can say.

Of all states which sometimes show up in the news cycle for leading the way – let’s just say New Mexico appears less often than some others. But today, here it is – and a really important way to be leading. I expect this will radically improve the economy of the state. If it spills over into neighboring states, I hope we are one.

This story is courtesy of our Mitch. And I received it just in time for today. Many thanks, Mitch

John D. Cundle is a Canadian doing his best to help us.

Open Thread March 23 2025

Posted by Joanne Dixon at 6:00 am Open Thread, Personal, Politics

Mar 232025

Yesterday, the radio opera was a double bill of Ravel’s “L’enfant et les sortilèges” (on the one hundredth anniversary, to the day, of its premier) and Poulanc’s “Les Mamelles de Tirésias.” The former “is the story of a rude child who is reprimanded by the objects in his room, which he has been destroying. After being scolded by his mother in the beginning of the opera, the child throws a tantrum, destroying the room around him and harming the animals nearby. He is then surprised to find that the unhappy objects in his room come to life.” (Wikikpedia) The latter is absurdist, in the literary sense, which was written and performed right after the first World War. It takes off on the idea of Tiresias having been “the only human ever to have experienced being a man and also being a woman” (without surgery – since Tiresias was a mythical character dating from about 1000 BCE). Its premise is to convince French people to be as fertile as possible in order to replenish the population losses of the Great War. It has a plot, but that plot is so absurd I’m not going there. Off to see Virgil now – will check back in in a comment.

Yes, I’m having to go to sites like Good New Network to find anything calm enough for Sundays. And, while current, this story harks back to history – not just the obvious WWII history, but back to the Middle Ages. Take that, “Monument Men.”

Colorado Public Radio often has good news, but I’m behind (surprise, surprise!) on reading their newsletters. I found this story from Grist by searching sites which specialize in finding good news – a particular site which additionally specializes in finding happy stories written by proven, experienced, real journalists. It’s about what locals are doing to speed recovery from the devastating wildfires in California so recently.

Open Thread February 2 2025

Posted by Joanne Dixon at 6:04 am Open Thread, Personal, Politics

Feb 022025

Yesterday, the radio opera was Verdi’s “La Traviata,” which can be counted on to bring me to tears, possibly not at the end when the heroine dies, but in the second act, when it is all foreshadowed. The Met these days takes February off, and this year, they have asked three singers and a conductor to pick operas they love starring someone who is a role model for them. At least one of them go way back and includes people who were dead before i was listening regularly. However, the conductor chose Leonard Bernstein, and I think most people have heard of him. Also, today is Groundhog Day, and thinking of that made me think of the musical “How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying” from 1961 (if you missed it, there was a movie in 1967 and revivals in 1995 and 2011, the last starring Daniel Radcliffe in the role Robert Morse won a Tony for.) Why, you ask, would anyone think of that in connection with Groundhog Day? Well, because the original CEO of the company the Morse character ends up the Chairman of the Board of went to college at Old Ivy, whose mascot is the groundhog, and the Robert Morse character pretends to have done so too. And the two of them break into the college fight song. The version I picked from YouTube is just the song, no dance or anything, but from the original cast album with Morse and Rudy Vallee and it’s a hoot. But you can find it with the dancing from the movie or from either of the two revivals and even from a high school production which is surprisingly competent. All of them have the same choreography, which, though not credited to him for reasons which are very much to his credit, was by Bob Fosse. The music and lyrics were by Frank Loesser (who also wrote Guys and Dolls.)

Tomorrow I am having bloodwork done, and on Tuesday a bone density test. The blood work is lightning fast, and I don’t expect the bone thing to take much longer, but there is always getting to and from, not to mention compliance with what and what not to do beforehand. I don’t expect to miss a post, but I thought I would mention it.

I had to get this in for today because of the deadlines. Sadly, I didn’t have that much, so the one I had in this position will not get used – it wasn’t that impressive. This, though it’s not exactly new, it’s been a tradition like forever, is at least pleasant and fun.

Here are three – related – good news stories from Lakota Law. I wish I could just link to a news page there instead of three separate links, but I’m sure that Lakota Law has more important things to do than post their newsletters, particularly if their website isn’t set up for that. So I’ll just quote from their letter, signed by Darren Thompson: “This trio of important wins for Indigenous-led movements will preserve and protect a range of traditional Indigenous lands on the West Coast from additional harm.”

Xtra – here is the link to the donation page for Josh Weil, the blue candidate in the first of the three special elections to replace Congressmen appointed to executive positions. We really need to win all three. I realize not everyone can donate.

Open Thread January 5 2025

Posted by Joanne Dixon at 6:00 am Open Thread, Personal, Politics

Jan 052025

Yesterday, the radio opera was “Les Contes d’Hoffman” (the tales of Hoffman) by Jacques Offenbach, who is best known for having composed the “Cancan.” The Tales of Hoffman was his only serious opera, and it is not without comedy. The most obvious is, I think, the “Doll Song,” in which the soprano plays a mechanical, life sized doll with whom Hoffman has fallen in love. During this aria, the soprano “runs down” twice and the toymaker has to run up behind her and “wind her up.” Literally. Back in the day, I was driving on the Washington DC beltway, and this aria came on the radio, sung by Joan Sutherland. Even without the sight gags, she made it so funny that I had to pull off – I was so distracted with laughter – until it was over. The doll is one of three women with whom Hoffman falls in love and loses – this one because she isn’t real, the second because she dies, and the third because she has stolen his soul – well, that’s pretty un-comic. There is also an “evil genius” who in some way comes between Hoffman and all of the women he falls for. It is filled with catchy tunes, a specialty of Offenbach. If you have ever heard his “barcarolle,” which is a real earworm, this is the opera from which it comes. Also yesterday, I received several emails about Ann Telnaes leaving the Washington Post. I’ll link to Andy Borowitz on this, although Heather Cox Richardson also covered the story. We can hope hat she finds a position worthy of her talent and integrity.

In keeping with my intent to reserve the Sunday Open Thread for good news, here is a story from Colorado Public Radio, about a remarkable man, and the tribute to him which is now being paid.

This from Axios is at best halfway good news. I was hoping something better would come along, but sadly, if it has, I haven’t seen it (and I have been looking.)

Open Thread December 29 2024

Posted by Joanne Dixon at 6:01 am Open Thread, Personal, Politics

Dec 292024

Yesterday, the radio opera was “Hansel and Gretel” by (the original) Englebert Humperdinck. It was a performance from 1982 (Christmas Day, actually) which featured Judith Blegen as Gretel. I mention her because she is an unusual talent – she could as easily had a career as a violin virtuoso as she had as a operatic soprano, and I know that because I took lessons from one of her former violin teachers. You won’t find his name in Wikipedia, because only some of her teachers of voice and violin are named there. Gian Carlo Menotti denied that he had written his opera “Help, Help, the Globolinks” with her in mind – but he certainly had no difficulty with her playing Emily in the American debut, which requires the lead soprano to also play the violin. Hansel was played by Frederica von Stade, whom I mention because of her sense of humor. One of her voice coaches was a cat person, and at their first lesson, the coach’s cat threw up on her shoe. All she said was, “I hope it wasn’t my singing.” That’s not to belittle the rest of the cast, who were also excellent – just personal memories of mine. Off to see Virgil now – will check in when I get home.

From Wonkette, a piece of good news that everyone else appears to have missed. I thought it belonged on Sunday. I doubt we’ll get many more for some years.

And one more piece of good news, also from Wonkette. No spoiler.

Okay, this, from Steve Schmidt is now VERY late (yet still far more recent than the history it discusses.) Steve Schmidt may not know as much history as Heather Cox Richardson does. But he does have a flair for knowing about moments of history which invoke strong feelings – and for telling them so that you almost feel you are there. The Christmas he tells of here was also in a dark night for America. That we came through it may give us some hope. But you may still need a hanky.

Open Thread December 11 2024

Posted by Joanne Dixon at 6:00 am Open Thread, Personal, Politics

Dec 112024

Yesterday, with the bathroom issue fixed (at least for now) I tried phonimg the internet/phone people’s customer support, which turned out to be useless. I tried to fine an email address, but apparently they only accept on line communication through Fakebook, Xitter, and Instagram, none of which I would touch. Trying to think of some other way, I added to my draft a paragraph about hating chat and that I would log out as soon as I had posted it, I copied and pasted the letter requested a transcript, and logged out. I am anticipating having to go to snailmail, and am prepared for that.

Heather Cox Richardson is always thoughtful and knowledgeable, but sometimes she produces a real zinger – stuff from history which is so pertinent to what we are experiencing that it almost makes the hair stand up on the back of one’s neck. IMO this is one of those times.

This from The Root – it’s totally unrelated to the US or to our politics but it’s so upbeat I felt I needed to share it And y’all needed to see it.

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