Glenn Kirschner – As he awaits sentencing in one case, Bannon is indicted in another; Donald Trump’s nuclear meltdown
Meidas Touch – Comedian PERFECTLY explains why there is no such thing as ‘Reverse Racism’
The Lincoln Project – Michelle Obama on Democracy
MSNBC – Lawrence: Defendant Trump ‘Has No Reputation To Protect’
Titus | NEW STANDUP SPECIAL “Zero Side Effects”
Beau – Let’s talk about climate refugees in the US today….
Glenn Kirschner – Judge Cannon’s unjustified special master ruling; Barron’s bedroom; and DOJ’s continued inaction (Southern District of Florida appeals to the Eleventh Circuit. The SCOTUS justice assigned to the Eleventh Circuit is Clarence Thomas. God help us)
Meidas Touch – Top British Broadcaster SLAMS Mainstream Media FREAKOUT over Biden’s Pro-Democracy Speech
The Lincoln Project – Last Week in the Republican Party, Sep. 6, 2022
MSNBC – Not Everyone With ‘Political Integrity’ Should Run, Says Writer (Long, but good point[s])
“Honest Russian Army Ad”
Beau – Let’s talk about the loneliest man on Earth….
Yesterday, I got to thinking about Eyam village in Dorsetshire England, a village known in England and among tourists to England as “The Plague Village.” Of course it wan’t alone in having experienced the Black Death when is steamrolled through Europe, but it was unique in that it voluntarily decided to self-quarantine the entire village for a full year, at the end of which many of course had died, but there were also a substantial number of survivors, and also a group of residents who had never (apparently) become infected – at least they had never had symptoms. Of course everyone would have loved to know why. In 2002, an American geneticist had a theory and came to Eyam to investigate it. Because it was a small village, where most folk remained through the generations, and it wasn’t that difficult to trace throuh Church of England records those who had moved away, he was able to identify descendants of the survivors, and to obtain DNA samples. He found a gene (a mutation) and was also able to identify the mechanism through which the bodies of people who had this mutation were able to prevent the bacteria from getting to the places in the body where they could produce symptoms. Because of this mechanism, he and colleagues began to wonder whether the same mutation might also provide protection against AIDS. He believes he found some evidence that it could and did. Yes, I know a bacterium is not a virus. But the mechanism appears to work similarly on both, unlike anti-bacterial and anti-viral drugs. Since watching the documentary, I have been wondering what our medical professionals and science geeks here would say about this – so I’ll share both the link to the documentary and also a link to a PHD thesis on the village. The documentary CC is quite good excwept for British names, especially the name of the village itself, which sounds like “Eem.” The documentary is over 45 minutes and the dissertation is over 200 pages so I’m not expecting to hear from any of y’all very quickly. But i am curious what y’all make of it.
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Short Takes –
HuffPost – In Jackson, Mississippi, It’s Easy To Go Missing When No One Is Looking For You
Quote – But Jackson’s water crisis is what happens when a largely Black city, which also happens to be largely Democratic, needs funding from a Republican-controlled legislature. Jackson is what happens when people ignore those who need their help. Jackson’s failure to fix what has been a problem for years falls squarely on the shoulders of people who don’t care. That’s not hyperbolic.
Click through for article. Technically, this is an opinion piece. But it’s definitely full of facts.
Raw Story – Expert: Dems need to expand Supreme Court to counter the conservative assault on democracy
Quote – Most of the political scientists who study the degradation of democracy will tell you that the Republican Party has become a radical quasi-fascist authoritarian party over the last 20 years, and the problem is not Trump. I mean Trump may exacerbate it, but he’s a symptom, at least as much as he’s a cause. The problem is the voters, however many percent of people who are Christian white nationalists who think the country is losing its Christian identity and its white majority. They see their world as being existentially threatened. Trump has come along and said, “follow me,” but those people had to be ripe for it. There’s no way. Donald Trump could have been successful 15 or 20 years ago. The Republican Party has been engaging in extreme voter suppression measures and attacking labor unions for the past 20 past years and it’s a recognition that by 2024, white Christians will not be a majority of the electorate.
Click through for interview. Raw Story and AlterNet (I forget which one owns the other) have a lot of stories which are derivative, so I don’t often post from either. This one seems to be original. I must point out that it’s another reason we need a landslide in the midterms – or, at the very least, to gain seats in both houses. Because we don’t have the moxie to do this now. But if we don’t get it done before 2024, there will never be another free and fair election.
Food For Thought
Yesterday, I received a fund raising email from Adam Schiff. That’s not unusual, but I usually don’t read them. This one drew me in with the subject line, and it turned out to be mostly about his daughter, Alexa, with a photo from when she was four. She’s now 24 and getting established in a career in fashion (Adam stresses that her fashion sense is and always was far superior to his.) Of course it gets more serious, but it’s very well written, and put a smile on my face. I also puttered arond a bit trying to organize more. And started on a new bag for the next pickup … which I have not scheduled, wanting to be under less pressure this time. Finally, yesterday, the first public servant since Reconstruction was disqualified under the 14th Amendment. He was a County Commissioner in New Mexico who took part in Jan. 6. But even though he wasn’y a Senator or a House rep, it’s still a BFD. Cheers for New Mexico!
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Robert Reich – For Labor Day: My “we-they” test for good places to work
Quote – In honor of Labor Day, I want to give you a simple way to test for a good workplace. I came up with it years ago when as secretary of labor I visited workplaces all over America. I call it the “we-they” test. Ask a front-line worker a general question like “how is it work here?” or “how’s your job?” or “how would you describe this workplace?” Then listen for the pronoun. If workers describe the company as “they” or “them,” it’s a tipoff that workers regard the company and its executives as being on a different planet.
Click through for examples. I sure wish I’d known this when I was twenty.
NPR – Fox producer’s warning against Jeanine Pirro surfaces in Dominion defamation suit
Quote – The November 2020 email from an anguished Fox News news producer to colleagues sent up a flare amid a fusillade of false claims. The producer warned: Fox cannot let host Jeanine Pirro back on the air. She is pulling conspiracy theories from dark corners of the Web to justify then-President Donald Trump’s lies that the election had been stolen from him. The existence of the email, confirmed by two people with direct knowledge of it, is first publicly disclosed by NPR in this story. Fox News declined comment.
Click through for story (read or listen, or both.) This is definitely going to undermine any chance of theit claiming not to know any better.
Food For Thought
Glenn Kirschner – With Top Secret documents found at, & classified documents missing from, Mar-a-Lago, DOJ must act [I would bet a buck – maybe even five, or ten, or twemty – that he got more people killed with these documents than he did on Jan 6. Also, Jan 6 is over . The documents – who knows?]
Meidas on Twitter (I looked but couldn’t find it on YouTube)
This truck is driving in circles around Trump’s speech right now playing this audio in Pennsylvania. pic.twitter.com/TEQgEcXCeR
— Adam Parkhomenko (@AdamParkhomenko) September 4, 2022
Lincoln Project – MAGA hypocrisy – a series
Ring of Fire – Trump FINALLY Agrees To Give Financial Documents To Congress
Rocky Mountain Mike – Report From Mar-a-Lago (This is a Q&A where Mike aska a question and then plays a song clip..I was hoping to try to make sme kind of transcript, but it’s just not going to happen)
Beau – Let’s talk about Greenland’s ice and sea levels….
Glenn Kirschner – Trump’s demand for Special Master moot? DOJ already reviewed the evidence of crime seized from Trump
Meidas Touch – Biden goes FULL DARK BRANDON, BLASTS Republicans in Speech of the Year ( haven’t nbeen sharing or talking about “Dark Brandon” memes, because I kind of think they’re silly. But I do get that it’s both necessary and nice for Joe [and all out leaders] to call our MAGAts with facts and truth.)
Lincoln Project – Last Week in the Republican Party 8/30/22
Farron Balanced – Trump’s Legal Team Has No Idea What They’re Doing
Armageddon Update – Airlines Auger In
Beau – Let’s talk about Ukraine, Russia, and DOD naming it….
Yesterday, I woke up having slept through the night. I obviously needed that, but it’s not without disadvantages, chiefly related to the race to the bathroom. And I have never given birth – my heart really goes out to you ladies who have. I also made the appointmeny for my annual checkup, ordered a prescription renewal, and received a grocery delivery. That may sound busy, but actually was pretty quiet. The order had a few omissions, but no substitutions, so I was pleased.
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Civil Discourse with Joyce Vance – The Week Ahead
Quote – There are a lot of unknowns when it comes to whether DOJ is going to indict the former president. The one clear piece of information we have is that DOJ is treating this as a serious criminal matter that will require a decision on whether to prosecute before it is complete. The case isn’t over just because DOJ has now retrieved the documents. We learned this in the legal memo DOJ filed last week. That memo accompanied the redacted search warrant Magistrate Judge Reinhart released last week. As Attorney General Garland has said repeatedly, DOJ doesn’t try its cases in the press. It speaks in court and through its pleadings. So, when DOJ files a pleading of this magnitude, it’s worth paying attention.
Click through for article. Glenn Kirschner is irate about this, and it’s definitely fishy. Vance probably is too, but she provides less heat and more light here. The hearing is Thursday, September 1.
Slate – The Men Just Keep Talking
Quote – Long after the time had passed for male GOP officials to stop, to just stop, pretending they know or understand anything about female anatomy, reproductive organs, medical emergencies and basic preventative health care, they have continued to talk. They have continued to talk and talk and talk even when the massive blowback after the Dobbs decision proved it was an error;… Every time a Republican man opens his mouth to talk about women’s bodies, ten new female voters get their wings. Yet somehow, they cannot seem to stop themselves!
Click through for story. And, if that doesn’t make you angry (or not angry enough), also check out this one.
Food For Thought
Yesterday, the radio opera was “Manon Lescaut” by Puccini. (Massenet also wrote one on this story; his is called just “Manon.”) Puccini’s libretto specifies that Manon is transported to and dies in “The deserts of Louisiana,” a phrase which always makes me smile, and sometimes giggle. But today, it occurred to me that some day that conceivably might be accurate. Not in the New Orleans are, of course; that area is far more vulnerable to sea evel rise. But just possibly some of the northern/eastern parts. Of course, if that does happen, there likely won’t ba anyone left to sing the opera, let alone provide an audience for it. Any remaining humans will have other things on their minds. But I digress. Puccini’s version makes much more of Manon’s brother’s pimp-like actions, while Massenet’s stresses Manon’s re-seducing he former lover after he is ordained a priest (Puccini did not go there.) Both have some lovely highlights. Both (I think not consciously – it’s just the way things were) objectify Manon. Puccini’s last line (reanslated) is “This is the end of Manon Lescaut,” and I’ll also stop and move on.
Today’s FFT is one I put together, but the idea is not original to me – it’s based on a comment made on a Crooks & Liars article. I would like to have shown a litter of kittens, but this was the best I could come up with on short notice.
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The White House – Breakthroughs for All: Delivering Equitable Access to America’s Research
Quote – To tackle this injustice, and building on the Biden-Harris Administration’s efforts to advance policy that benefits all of America, the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP) released new policy guidance [Thursday, 8/25] to ensure more equitable access to federally funded research. All members of the American public should be able to take part in every part of the scientific enterprise—leading, participating in, accessing, and benefitting from taxpayer-funded scientific research. That is, all communities should be able to take part in America’s scientific possibilities.
Click through for official memo. I found this out through Democratic Underground, and have not seen it elsewhere,. Just – Wow.
Crooks & Liars – Guess Who’s Behind Trump’s Resistance To Handing Over Documents
Quote – Fitton, the longtime head of the legal activist group Judicial Watch, had a simple message for Trump — it was a mistake to give the records to the Archives, and his team should never have let the Archives “strong-arm” him into returning them, according to three sources familiar with the matter. Those records belonged to Trump, Fitton argued, citing a 2012 court case involving his organization that he said gave the former President authority to do what he wanted with records from his own term in office.
Click through for story. This also appears to be a scoop. If you wondered how he got the cockamamie idea that those documents belonged to him, here’s your answer.
Food For Thought
