Open Thread August 29, 2023

 Posted by at 5:52 am  Open Thread, Personal, Politics
Aug 292023
 

Yesterday, I read the newsletter Joyce Vance sent Sunday night, which she titled “The Week Ahead.” Although it’s not long, it covers way too much ground for a short take (not to mention that it covers matters I did not want to discuss on a sacred anniversary – or even the day after.) So I’m linking to the text on Substack here instead. Vance tries to do a “Week Ahead” column weekly, but it doesn’t always happen, This week looks like a “Fasten your seat belt” week. Robert Hubbell, also a lawyer, did one too, also on Substack. Between the two of them, you should be prepared for almost anything. I did make a point of looking for the date set for the trial in the DC Federal Trump** case, and it’s March 4, 2024 (a day before “Super Tuesday”). You probably saw that also. (It’s also the birthday of Lois W, wife of Bill W who founded AA, and founder herself of AlAnon.) At Mark Meadows hearing, he took the stand, which opened him to be cross-examined – and I don’t even know whether they were finished with him or whether the hearing continues today (or even longer.)

Cartoon –

Short Takes –

The Daily Beast – The Real Story Behind Ron DeSantis’ Newest Fired Prosecutor
Quote – What American viewers weren’t told is that, behind the scenes, the governor’s office had quietly conspired with local sheriffs to tarnish the reputations of these democratically elected prosecutors—turning local cops against the state attorneys they’re supposed to partner with and trust…. “They thought that I was overly critical of law enforcement and didn’t do anything against ‘real criminals,’” Worrell told The Daily Beast in an interview last week. “Apparently there’s a difference between citizens who commit crimes and cops who commit crimes.”
Click through for story. It should surprise no one. This is who DeSaster is. (And this kind of thing is exactly why we need police reform before we authorize more police training. Why spend money to train them to be corrupt?)

Robert Reich – The March on Washington, 60 years ago today [yesterday now]
Quote – I was a high school junior, watching the event from afar on TV. I was mesmerized by the power of King’s oratory, overcome by his grace and hope. One of my mother’s friends, visiting at the time, called Dr. King a “troublemaker.” That was the last I ever saw of her. He was a troublemaker, in the sense that the late civil rights leader and Congressman John Lewis used the term: He was a maker of “good trouble.” Dr. King’s speech, as well as the March on Washington, focused on economic discrimination and the lack of decent jobs for Black Americans. The civil rights leaders who organized the events made sure to include white labor organizer Walter Reuther, the head of the United Auto Workers. Today, 60 years later, I can’t resist asking: How much progress has been made since then?
Click through for article. The obvious and unquestionable answer is “Not enough.” But that’s quite a range. The Reich on the left, of curse, has the knowledge and smarts to give a more nuanced answer.

Food For Thought

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Open Thread August 28, 2023

 Posted by at 6:09 am  Open Thread, Personal, Politics
Aug 282023
 

Yesterday, I was able to see Virgil. We weren’t able to play cribbage because another family had the only card deck (there is a pinochle deck, but imagine trying to play cribbage with a pinochle deck! That’s ROTFL level. I played a lot of pinochle as a child and teen ad was pretty good at it, but haven’t really played it since I learned bridge. I am considering boning up.) Anyway, we played Scrabble, so we had plenty of fun. As always, Virgil returns all greeting, whether or not I knew about them in advance. I got home safely and timely but also pretty tired so went to bed almost as soon as I had today’s posts scheduled and the newsletter out, and was planning to sleep in. I might add I don’t often to manage posting an historical flashback article on the anniversary date that it’s flashing back to – this time I just barely managed. I hope you enjoy – it’s a bit of a “catalog of ships” article (that’s the book of the Iliad which lists the home ports and captains and crews of the Greek ships which came to Troy, and had then a disproportionately strong emotional effect on Greek listeners just to hear the names of places and people they knew so well. And it still works.)

Cartoon – 28 0828Cartoon.jpg

Short Takes –

The New Yorker (flashback) – The Hours Before “I Have a Dream”
Quote – Quote – Most of [the buses] had red-white-and-blue signs saying “Erie, Pa., Branch, N.A.A.C.P.,” or “Inter-Church Delegation, Sponsored by National Council of Churches of Christ in the U.S.A. Commission on Religion and Race,” or “District 26, United Steelworkers of America, Greater Youngstown A.F.L.-C.I.O. Council, Youngstown, Ohio.”… At exactly nine-thirty, Ossie Davis, serving as master of ceremonies, tried to begin the pre-march program, but it had to be postponed, because Rustin and Thomas were the only two dignitaries on the stage and many more were expected. “Oh, freedom,” said a voice over a loudspeaker a little later. The program had started, and Joan Baez began to sing in a wonderfully clear voice. “Oh, freedom,” she sang. “Oh, freedom over me. Before I’ll be a slave, I’ll be buried in my grave . . .”
Click through for article. It’s not all that long, and it’s not compregensive – it roughly ends where the march really starts – But it’s about memories, and it’s memorable.

Wonkette (Stephen Robinson) – Well-Regulated Racist Shooter Kills Three At Jacksonville, FL Dollar General
Quote – True to a sadly consistent form, the shooter was decked out in a tactical vest and mask. Along with the AR-15, he was also carrying a Glock. He even went to the sick effort of plastering swastikas on his guns, according to [Jacksonville Sheriff T.K.]Waters…. He first attempted to target students at the historically black college, Edward Waters University, but campus security turned him away. That’s when he went to the Dollar General…. Waters added that the gunman apparently “acted completely alone” and was not believed to be part of “any large group.” That is perhaps technically true, but we should realize that white supremacy doesn’t require a membership card and monthly dues. These racists are linked through hateful rhetoric easily found online and on cable television. It doesn’t take much to turn them to violence.
Click through for more detail. Stephen could probably have written this story in his sleep (and we could probably have read it out loud in ours.) Sigh.  I tried leaving the URL long to see if it would think you were a subscribe and not make you click on “keep reading,” but it didn’t work even for me.)

Food For Thought

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Video Thread 8/24/2023

 Posted by at 12:02 pm  Open Thread, Politics
Aug 242023
 

Glenn Kirschner – Trump’s lawyers push for April 2026 trial in DC election theft case, & Jack Smith pushes back, hard.

The Ring of Fire – California Woman Murdered By Man Who Was Angry At Her Pride Flag

Thom Hartmann – GOP’s Violent Rhetoric Just Killed Another American! Are You Next?

Randy Rainbow – Don’t Arraign On His Parade

Dog Paralyzed With Fear Learns What Love Is

Beau – Let’s talk about how to predict the future….

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Open Thread July 12, 2023

 Posted by at 5:50 am  Open Thread, Personal, Politics
Jul 122023
 

Yesterday, two legal things happened with Trump**, and both Heather Cox Richardson and Joyce Vance addressed both. The first was Trump**’s motion to postpone the documents case trial indefinitely. This is both very Trump** and very ridiculaous (not that there’s much difference), and Glenn (and other legiti,ate attorneys) will tear it to shreds, though it won’t be in today’s Thread. Secondly – for background, the DOJ defended Trump** in E Jean Carroll’s original defamation case – it did so because he was President when he made the original defamatory remarks, and there might have been just the remotest chance that he was acting as President when he made them. But the new defamatory remarks he made last year – he wasn’t, thank God, President then, so no defense from DOJ. He’ll have to get his own lawyers, Honestly, I don’t know whether having DOJ defense the first time around even helped. I think if I had been on the jury, every time I looked at the defense table, those DOJ lawyers would have reminded me that our nation hadd been so misfortunate as to have this lunatic as President – which would not have inclined me to show him an atom of mercy.

Cartoon –

Short Takes –

PolitiZoom – Why The Democrats Are Already More Strongly Positioned Than The GOP For 2024
Quote – In 2018, 2020, and 2022, non professional Democratic House candidates out fundraised deeply entrenched GOP incumbents by 4-5 to 1. Mostly by talking in living rooms and kitchens, grocery stores and Starbucks, and holding town halls where they actually listened to constituent concerns, and answered not in political bullsh*t, but in real life solutions. Little wonder they rocked like Bob Seger with Hollywood Nights. And the Democrats, not only the upstart contenders, but even the DNC seem to have gotten the memo.
Click through for opinion. Let me remind you that Murfster has vision issues (I can’t remember now whether it’s glaucoma, cataracts, both, or something else) and really is not able to prrofread to his own satisfaction, let alone anyone else’s. He’s still intelligent, though, and I hope he’s correct here.

The Daily Beast – GOP Board Whipped Up Homeless Hate. Then a Man Was Murdered
Quote – In January, the Board of Commissioners in Flathead County, Montana, proclaimed that the homeless had become a big problem in the little town of Kalispell due to charitable efforts to shelter and feed them. “Providing homeless infrastructure has the predictable consequence of attracting more homeless individuals,” read a preposterous letter signed by the three members, all Republicans. “When a low-barrier shelter opened in our community, we saw a dramatic increase.” The letter progressed from icy hearted to paranoid.
Click through for story. But that’s not how they’d tell it. After all, we are the violent ones coming to get them. Yeah. Right.

Food For Thought

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Video Thread 6/23/2023

 Posted by at 12:05 pm  Open Thread, Politics
Jun 232023
 

Glenn Kirschner – DOJ delayed opening a criminal investigation into Trump for Jan 6. insurrection for more than a year [I do think it is unrealistinc to exoect Chris Wray, ot, for Heaven’s sake, Jeff Rosen, to have opened an investigation. I’d go for March 12, 2021, Garland was confirmed MArch 11, 2021]

The Lincoln Project – Pick a Struggle

Thom Hartmann – This Man Wants To Bring Back Lynchings & He Isn’t Alone

Parody Project – A Tale of Indictment

Can You Solve This Cat Murder Mystery?

Beau – Let’s talk about Minneapolis, cops, and decrees….

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Open Thread May 22, 2023

 Posted by at 6:13 am  Open Thread, Personal, Politics
May 222023
 

Yesterday, I had an uneventful drive both ways and enjoyed (as I always do) my visit with Virgil. We played Scrabble again – finished three games and almost finished a fourth (which we knew we wouldn’t finish whwn we started it, so we relaxed the rules to save time – accepted foreign words not in common use and some acronyms – I was wishing we’d done that sooner, because at one poit in one of the first three games I had 2 F’s along wirh an A and an O, and oh, how I wanted to use “FAFO.”) Anyway, Virgil returns all greetings. When I got back I noticed I have some deep purple irises blooming in a flowerbox at the far corner of my front yard. I’m supposed to have one more day before it starts raining again, so maybe I can get out there and brng a couple in. Only one iris has showed up in the bed by the porch, and right now it has zero buds, and isn’t very tall, but looks healthy otherwise. I scraped a little dirt away to try to get some sun on the rhizome, which hs necessary for them to bloom. We had had so much rain last week that the earth was still soft, and so much dryness today that I could use my fingers without getting muddy. I don’t know whether I did it soon enough or well enough – we’ll have to wait and see. I do want to share a delightful graduation photo of Mary Trump’s daughter Avary, which she posted oon Twitter and someone shared at DU. Mary Trump’s father was a decent human being,unlike the rest of the family that we know of, so of course she is too and I assume her daughter as well.

Cartoon – 22 abraham-lincoln

Short Takes –

Media Matters – Conservative pundits are increasingly open about who they think should be killed
Quote – The two stories illustrate a growing trend in right-wing media to argue that the deaths of marginalized and criminalized populations are not only justified but actually desirable, whether those killings are carried out by the state or by vigilantes. Bloodlust is nothing new in right-wing media. From the proto-fascist Father Charles Coughlin through Rush Limbaugh and Bill O’Reilly to former Fox News host Tucker Carlson, conservative pundits and writers frequently fantasize about violence aimed at their political opponents or marginalized people. In 1989, Donald Trump, who was a media personality for decades before entering politics, called for the execution of the wrongly convicted Central Park Five, a group of Black and Latino teenagers railroaded into false confessions by the New York Police Department. The conservative ecosystem made a celebrity of Kyle Rittenhouse — who killed two people and injured a third during an August 2020 Black Lives Matter demonstration in Kenosha, Wisconsin — and tried to justify the killings of Trayvon Martin, Ahmaud Arbery, and Eric Garner.
Click through for article. I think I agree that it’s getting worse, but for me it’s just an impression since I, as the saying goes, “don’t watch Fox for the same reason I don’t eat out of the toilet.”

https://crooksandliars.com/2023/05/republicans-take-next-step-book-ban-laws
Crooks & Liars – Republicans Take Next Step In Book Ban Laws: Jailing Librarians
Quote – Terrorizing librarians is the obvious point. If they face terrible consequences from putting any books on shelves that someone might find “harmful,” they’re more likely to avoid any risk of that in the first place. Or to put it another way, the censorship will stop before the material is on the shelf.
Click through for story.  I knw, I know, this has been going on for centuries  And it’s stil awful, and it’s never going to be anythng other than awful.

Food For Thought

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Video Thread 5/20/2023

 Posted by at 12:04 pm  Open Thread, Politics
May 202023
 

Glenn Kirschner – Justice Matters interview w/comedian Buddy Winston: using humor to fight for justice (part 1)

PoliticsGirl – Please Don’t Move

Thom Hartmann – GOP: Death Worshipers?

Liberal Redneck – Conservative Cancel Culture Outta Control

Protective Mama Cat Scared Of Humans Falls In Love With Her Foster Mom’s Cat

Beau – Let’s talk about assumptions, perceptions, and silence….(referring to Jordan Neely)

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Open Thread May 17, 2023

 Posted by at 5:53 am  Open Thread, Personal, Politics
May 172023
 

Yesterday, Crooks & Liars (probably along with every other news outlet, paper or on line, TV and all kinds of video) published some details of Noelle Dunphy’s lawsuit against Rudy Giuliani. It definitely needs a barf bag warning. She does have receipts too. If only there were a way to know exactly what is missing from these Republicans (and somehow put it into them) that they think they can do anything imaginable (or unimaginable to normal people) with absolutely no consequences whatsoever. Sigh. In the short takes, I am sharing two articles about Jordan Neely, because they are so different in their outlook and details. This was not a case of a bad cop, but I’m not inclined to expect much if any accountability – certainly not without a lot of protesting demanding it.

Cartoon –

Short Takes –

New York Magazine “The Cut” – The Cost of White Discomfort
Quote – In the wake of Jordan’s murder, Kenneth Jones’s and Tema Okun’s definition of the “right to comfort” haunts me: “The belief that those with power have a right to emotional and psychological comfort … I have a right to be comfortable, and if I am not, then someone else is to blame.” When Daniel Penny was not comfortable on the F train, he single-handedly decided that Jordan was to blame.
Click through for article. This rage is justified. Is any other white person as humiliated as I am that people with our skin tone are so fragile as to kill out of discomfort – and so privileged to get away with it? White Americans who whine about the excessive privilege of the British royal family need to look in a mirror and see their own. (But they won’t. That would be uncomfortable.)

The New Yorker – The System That Failed Jordan Neely
Quote – There are more than two hundred thousand residents of New York City living with severe mental illness; roughly five per cent of them are homeless. That’s thirteen thousand people with schizophrenia, major depressive and bipolar disorders, or other significant mental- or behavioral-health diagnoses, all of whom regularly spend the night at a shelter, in the subway, on the street. They’re the ones you recognize—the people whom, for the past fifty years, every mayor has either tried to help, harass, or hide from view. Rudy Giuliani’s cops were known to chase people out of midtown, forcing them into the Bronx and Queens. Michael Bloomberg largely avoided public initiatives that addressed mental illness. Bill de Blasio allocated almost a billion dollars for a mental-health plan, but it was criticized for failing to track outcomes or prioritize treatment for those who needed help the most.
Click through for details. What we had before Ronald Reagan became Governor of California (and then President) was far from perfect, but it was better than this. Constantly reading about people, many in disadvantaged groups besides being mentally ill, killed publicly with no consequences – particularly since the disadvantage is often the cause of the illness (e.g. lead in drinking water) and is itself the result of apathy or malice on the part of the demographic doing most of the killing. It’s like beating someone up, and then killing them because their bruises make us uncomfortable.

Food For Thought

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