Glenn Kirschner – NY District Attorney Bragg revives Stormy Daniels hush money criminal investigation of Donald Trump
MSNBC – Chris Hayes on Rev. Warnock’s simple but devastating new ad
Crooks and Liars – Ali Alexander Has Some Thoughts On Claiming An Election Is Rigged
Ring of Fire – Elizabeth Warren Torches Republicans For Fighting Against Student Loan Debt Forgiveness
Cat Goes On Walks With His Dog In The Cutest Way
Beau – Let’s talk about Jack Smith and who he is….
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.
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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
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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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
