Open Thread August 17, 2022

 Posted by at 7:19 am  Open Thread, Personal, Politics
Aug 172022
 

Yesterday was pretty quiet. And restful. My biggest physical achievement was taking a bag ou to the trash (from the porch) and a bag out to the recyclables (from the house.) I don’t expect to be putting either bin out this week – possibly recyclables next week if I get very ambitious, but I have a lot else going on, so maybe not. Also it was cooler, on account of rain. Lots of floods – mostly fladh floods – all over Colorado. My house has 99 problems, but flash flooding isn’t one of them. I’m on top of enough of a hill thatit’s beyond unlikely a flash flood would flood here. I tried to rest wnough to have more energy today – but we’ll see. Did everyone catch Al Franken as guest host of Jimmy Kimmel Live last night? If not, there should at least be some cuts up here. Katie Porter was a guest. How can you top that?
https://www.youtube.com/jkl/videos

Cartoon – 17 Hendrix loaded

Short Takes –

Mother Jones (MoJo Wire) – We Didn’t Deserve Freya the Walrus
Quote – But as Freya’s legend grew, more and more folks wanted to see her up close. As the New York Times points out, the Oslo Fjord is full of water-going recreationists in the summer, and people started swimming with Freya, taking her picture, and even throwing things at her—so much that she had begun chasing off paddle boarders and kayakers. The Norwegian Directorate of Fisheries warned the public to stay away from Freya, for their safety and hers. Last week, officials said they were weighing several options, including relocating Freya, but warned she might have to be killed if people wouldn’t listen.
Click through for sad story. Some of us, I think, did deserve her – but those who did not were, and are, out of control.

AP News – Some Capitol rioters try to profit from their Jan. 6 crimes
Quote – Facing prison time and dire personal consequences for storming the U.S. Capitol, some Jan. 6 defendants are trying to profit from their participation in the deadly riot, using it as a platform to drum up cash, promote business endeavors and boost social media profiles…. The Justice Department, in some instances, is trying to claw back money that rioters have made off the insurrection…. Many rioters have paid a steep personal price for their actions on Jan. 6. At sentencing, rioters often ask for leniency on the grounds that they already have experienced severe consequences for their crimes.
Click through for many examples – but they all sound like the apocryphal dude who murdered both his parents, then begged the court for mercy because he was an orphan.

Food For Thought

Share

Open Thread August 12, 2022

 Posted by at 6:47 am  Open Thread, Personal, Politics
Aug 122022
 

Yesterday, I was, I’m sure, as stunned as everyone else ny Merrick Garland’s press conference. It is in today’s video Thread, which will go up about noon Pacific Time. don’t be put off by the 34 minute time – I set it to start when he comes in, which is about 30:30, so it’s actually very short. I also managed to grab Beau’s response to him, which I think is a trifle longer, but still short.  Then I went out and got new tires, which took almost 3 hours door to door, but it had to be done, and now it is.

Cartoon –

Short Takes –

NPR – A grand jury declined to indict a woman whose accusations set off Emmett Till killing
Quote – The decision comes despite recent revelations about an unserved arrest warrant and the 87-year-old Donham’s unpublished memoir. The Rev. Wheeler Parker, Jr., Emmett Till’s cousin and the last living witness to Till’s Aug. 28, 1955, abduction, said Tuesday’s announcement is “unfortunate, but predictable.”
Click through for details. “Insufficient evidence.” At least they didn’t try to assert a non-existent Statue of Limitatons.

The Conversation – Why searching an ex-president’s estate is not easily done – 4 important things to know about the FBI’s search of Mar-a-Lago
Quote – 1. There are legal hurdles to getting a search warrant. The U.S. Constitution requires that all search warrants “particularly describe the place to be searched and the … things to be seized.”… This requirement can be traced in part to a famous British case from the 1760s when agents of King George III searched the house of John Wilkes, an opposition member of Parliament, for incriminating papers. The warrant they used was condemned by the courts as a “general warrant” because it did not specifically name Wilkes, his house or the seized papers.
Click through for the other three. Garland did in fact personally sign off on this warrant. He has said so.

Bonus – It’s gotten so bad that even the wildlife is trying to move to Canada.

Food For Thought

Share

Open Thread 7/29/2022

 Posted by at 6:42 am  Open Thread, Personal, Politics
Jul 292022
 

Yesterday, one of my newsletter included a link to an article whose title included both “Roe v Wade” and “Brown v Board,” and it occurred to me that we may have missed an opportunity back in 1954. At that time one big scream that was comong from all the racist maniacs was “miscegenation !!!” (which incidentally demonstrates that sexualizing children for poitical purposes is not new.) I wondered what would have happened had we responded “All right, then, we will integrate all school, bit all schools will eiher be all-girl or all-boy.” Obviously, had this been accepted, we would have created a set of entirely different but at least equally damaging problems, but one thing it might have accomplished was to create some deep and enduring friendships which crossed the color line. At that time we as a nation did not know everything about gender that the sane among us now know – it would not be possible to try or even suggest it today (and it would fuel even deeper misogyny if we could.) We do need better public education, and the education that we need is being actively opposed, and in too many areas successfully opposed. All I could come up with was “We need to pro-ctively form diverse and representative coalitions,” and we probably already knew that. It was just a thought.

Cartoon –

Short Takes –

AP News – 102-year-old WWII veteran from segregated mail unit honored
Quote – Presented with the medal citation and a wartime uniform to replace hers, which was stolen out of a car soon after she returned stateside, [Romay] Davis received a standing ovation; some in the crowd applauded with tears in their eyes…. Davis, in an interview at her home Monday, said the unit was due the recognition, and she’s glad to participate on behalf of other members who’ve already passed away. “I think it’s an exciting event, and it’s something for families to remember,” Davis said. “It isn’t mine, just mine. No. It’s everybody’s.”
Click through for story. About (expletive) time.

The Daily Beast – There’s One Thing Standing Between Us and the COVID Vaccination of Our Dreams
Quote – The new COVID-19 vaccine from Novavax is safe and effective. Better yet, it’s easy to ship and store, making it ideal for poorer countries that are still under-vaxxed. The company’s shot, called Nuvaxovid, could reshape the vaccine landscape as the pandemic grinds into its 32nd month. More protection for more people against ever-more-contagious new variants of the SARS-CoV-2 virus. Assuming Novavax can produce enough doses on time, that is. Manufacturing problems could doom the new jab’s wider rollout.
Click through for details. After a lot of thought, and because I never fgo anywhere (except to the prison system, and they are CoViD hawks), I’ve decided to wwait for the new vaxx in the fall rather than getting a summer booster (getting both doesn’t seem to be getting recommended.) I don’t expect it to be final, but I’m hoping for it to be at least a bit longer lasting (and address newer variants.)

Just one additional note – Denali National Park – understandably – has a modest breeding program for sled dogs (one litter a year and includes outbreeding to strengthen the genetic base.) This year’s litter can now be observed on their PuppyCam. I’m a cat person rather than a dog person myself – but puppies are cute (as are most baby mammals).

Food For Thought –

Share

Video Thread 7/25/22

 Posted by at 12:02 pm  Open Thread, Politics
Jul 252022
 

Glenn Kirschner – Steve Bannon – Guilty; J6 hearing reveals Trump was the leader of the coup on January 6

Meidas Touch – BREAKING NEWS: Merrick Garland POWERFULLY AFFIRMS Trump CAN be prosecuted

The Lincoln Project – What It Was

MSNBC – How The Secret Service Became Not Just A Protecter Of The President’s Body, But His Secrets

Ojeda Live – Ojeda BLASTS Pathological Lying MyPillow Guy in This Video!

Beau – Let’s talk about what Greek statues can teach us about American history…

Share

Open Thread 7/23/2022

 Posted by at 6:42 am  Open Thread, Personal, Politics
Jul 232022
 

Yesterday, I got up and started working on my email inbox while at the same time, in the back of my mind, processing the previous night’s hearing. “The Conversation” newsletter already had an article about it, the title of which caught my eye, and I started musing about how the Committee spent almost three hours – almost minute for minute – on Trump*s timeline during the insurrection riot. When basically he did nothing. That made me think of Seinfeld – which was proudly a show about nothing.  It’s easy get caught in the adage “noting comes from nothing” and not realize how much can sometimes be learned from studying nothing. Particularly when the premise – or the conclusion – is that there ought to have been something. I had to switch from the Committee’s dot gov page to its YouTube page because it started to loop. I found the place just before the loop started, and got the rest of the hearing that way.

There is some misinformation going around (not unusual, but this one appears to have started with Rachel, and that IS unusual) about a DOJ memo. The memo exists, but the interpretation of what it means was way off. The Meidas brothers got it right, and their video on it is in today’s video thread. I am always a bit behind, so Rachel may have already corrected her position by now, but these things are tough to stop once they start, so thought I’d mention it.

Cartoon – 23 0723Cartoon.jpg

Short Takes –

Teen Vogue – Community Schools: What Are They and How Do They Work? (referred by ITPI)
Quote – The concept of a community school, which has been around for more than a century, is quite simple. Any public school can become a community school if the school board, students, parents, and faculty collectively commit to being involved not only in a child’s education but also in meeting all of a student’s needs. “A community school is a decision that students, families, educators, and community members make about the role they want their neighborhood public school to play within the community and within the lives of the stakeholders that touch the school,” a representative from the National Education Association told Teen Vogue in an email. “Because learning never happens in isolation, community schools focus on what students in the community truly need to succeed — whether it’s free, healthy meals; health care; tutoring; mental health counseling; or other tailored services before, during, and after school.”
Click through for details and examples. No, I don’t read Teen Vogue. But ITPI (In The Public Interest) “wrote the book” on public versus private anything, and if they tell me there is valuable information there, I believe them (and was not disappointed.) Of course I suppose the idea of community schools make right wing heads explode.

The Conversation – The Supreme Court’s ideological rulings are roiling US politics – just as when Lincoln and his Republicans remade the court to fit their agenda
Quote – In the 1860s, President Abraham Lincoln worked with fellow Republicans to shape the Court to carry out his party’s anti-slavery and pro-Union agenda. It was an age in which the court was unabashedly a “partisan creature,” in historian Rachel Shelden’s words. Justice John Catron had advised Democrat James K. Polk’s 1844 presidential campaign, and Justice John McLean was a serial presidential contender in a black robe. And in the 1860s, Republican leaders would change the number of justices and the political balance of the Court to ensure their party’s dominance of its direction.
Click through for the history. It surely looks like a precedent to me. And we are at least as closenow as then to losing democracy forever – personally I think even closer.

Food For Thought

Share

Open Thread July 18, 2022

 Posted by at 7:21 am  Open Thread, Personal, Politics
Jul 182022
 

Yesterday, I got to see Virgil. I got to the facitity a coupe of minutes after the – I don’t think this is what they call it – but I’ll say screening time started (11:30). We fill out forms (if we haven’t done so at home), get searched, turn over our driver’s licenses and car keys and receive a numbered brass disc for a receipt, then go through two electronically locked gates, go into the main building, ago and go theough two electronically locked doors to the visitng room – where I arrived at just about 12:00, which is when visitation itself starts. Virgil was asleep at the time, and between waking him up and getting him to the visitation room with his walker, it was about 12:30. (If I had a nickel for every time he has been asleep when I got there for a visit – well, I wouldn’t be rich, but I’d have maybe $10.00.) I passed on all wished, including the ones I didn’t see till I got home but knew they were coming, and he was appreciative. The next time I see him he will have turned 79. He never expected to live that long. Only one of his six uncles on his mother’s side did, and that was the one who was married to a diabetic (he may even have hit 90 – but at least lived well into his 80’s. But i digress. Coming home I forgot that to go south and west from the facility, I first need to get on the interstate eastbound. So I got a little tour of some odd parts of Denver. Though irritated with myself, I had no trouble staying calm, knowin I was in a triangle of interstates and that it didn’t really matter which I found first – they’d all get me home eventually. It didn’t consume all that much time either – less than a half hour. And I wasn’t going for speed.

Cartoon – If ha had been playing an instrment, that is the one it would have been.  However, he was not in Rome when the fire broke out, and by the time he got there his own home was destroyed – so he certainly didn’t play and sing from his balcony, because it was gone.  He seems to have acted like a conscientious ruler for a white – raising money to help rebuild – but what pissed people off was that he earmarnked far too much of it for his own home instead of theirs.

Short Takes –

PolitiZoom – Fulton County DA Fani Willis Just Took Off The Kid Gloves.Exploding GOP Heads To Follow
Quote – One former federal prosecutor appearing on MSNBC today referred to the target letter by its internal nickname, the heart attack letter. Think about it. A prosecutor has just told you that you are at serious risk of indictment on criminal charges. The letter always reminds the target of his or her 5th Amendment rights, advises them to seek and obtain legal counsel, and carries an oblique reminder that if the target is having a Come to Jesus moment, it’s always the first rat to jump on the government gravy train that gets the most cheese.
Click through for story. This broke Friday evening, and whatever else it is, it is delightful.

Crooks and Liars – Ex-US Attorney Lays Out How To Charge Donald Trump For Manslaughter
Quote – “The other thing that is coming clear to me is there is a potential charge here against Donald Trump for manslaughter,” McQuade said, referring to the seven deaths connected to the Jan. 6 attack. “The other thing that is coming clear to me is there is a potential charge here against Donald Trump for manslaughter,” McQuade said, referring to the seven deaths connected to the Jan. 6 attack. She added: “Knowing that this crowd is armed, he has a duty as the president of the United States, as the commander-in-chief to take care that the laws be faithfully executed, to call off that mob and do everything he can to stop it. Instead, he sits idly by during those 187 minutes.”
Click through for reasoning. I realize at this point prety much no one (incliding me) caress “for what” as much as “how soon” and “how long.”Plus, the more potential charges, the better the likelihood that some will stick.

Food For Thought

Share

Video Thread 7/9/22

 Posted by at 11:35 am  Open Thread, Politics
Jul 092022
 

Glenn – Georgia DA Willis’ subpoena-palooza: John Eastman, Rudy G., Jenna Ellis, Lindsey Graham & others.

Meidas Touch – Reenactment of Don Jr. DRUNK DIALING friend after Cassidy Hutchinson Humiliated Dad

The Lincoln Project – Last Week in the Republican Party – July 5, 2022

MSNBC – Could Pat Cipollone Be The John Dean Of The Jan. 6 Case?

Ojeda Live – WATCH Richard Ojeda Explain the Top 5 Republican Motivators

Beau – Let’s talk about Texas and teaching history….

Share

Video Thread 7/2/22

 Posted by at 12:06 pm  Open Thread, Politics
Jul 022022
 

Glenn Kirschner – Cheney reveals witness tampering by Team Trump. Arrest warrants should issue PROMPTLY. Here’s why.

Meidas Touch – Top Former Prosecutor SAYS Trump is GOING DOWN in epic recap

The Lincoln Project – Weapons

MSNBC – How Trump’s Coup Plot Followed A ‘Pre-Existing Script In American History’ (And this is why we need to teach history – particularly reconstruction, which is extremely under-taught.)

As you can see, the RWNJ snowflakes have already come down on this. But we can get around that.

Ketanji Brown Jackson sworn in to Supreme Court by Chief Justice John Roberts (and Associate Justice Stephen Breyer)

Beau – Let’s talk about how SCOTUS helped the Democratic Party….

Share
 Older Entries  Newer Entries