Jan 292024
 

Yesterday, what I mostly did was finish two knitting projects – one fair-sized one on which I’ve been working for some time, and one so small I started and finished it after finishing the large one.  Not exciting, but there it is

Crooks and Liars has posted a video by Cliff Schecter which really points up the difference between the time when the Republican Party had Joe MacCarthy, and now, when all Republicans are Joe McCarthy. And you may learn something about the Illinois loyalty pledge too. It’s under 7 minutes, and if you watch it at C&L you won’t have to pay YouTube to avoid ads.

Margaret Atwood has been using her Substack to share a multi-part history of what the French Revolution (which she calls “The French Revvie”) was really like. This link it to Part IV – subtitled “The Vengeance.” I used to warn that if we didn’t make some corrections – and quickly – we’d have another French Revolution. And, yet, when I saw it, I didn’t recognize it. Margaret did. No surprise that she is smarter than I am.

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Oct 062023
 

Glenn Kirschner – More plea offers extended by DA Willis in Trump’s Georgia RICO case; let the dominos fall

The Lincoln Project – About That Impeachment Hearing

MSNBC – Biden discusses efforts to ‘ease the burden of student debt’

Liberal Redneck – McCarthy Ousted

Child Raised By 5 German Shepherds

Beau – Let’s talk about Texas, Montana, and 2 cases about rights….

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Oct 012023
 

Yesterday, the radio opera was brand spanking new – the world premier (which was recorded, and that’s what we heard) was within the last three months – in July, at the Aix-en-Provence Festival. The composer was Sir George Benjamin, and the title is “Picture a Day like This.” The premise is that a woman whose child dies is offered a chance at a miracle if she can find one person who is truly happy and cut a button from that person’s sleeve. I was not familiar with any of the singers, but the composer was, and wrote it specifically for their voices. There is no way of knowing at a premier whether or not an opera is going to “take off” – become part of the repertory – but still, it feels like listening to history – being present when history is made. I found it easy to listen to. It’s in a single act with seven scenes, and runs under an hour and a quarter (the program was almost an hour and a quarter but that includes all the opening summary and credits and closing credits.) It was a good day for the opera to be a short one, because later in the day I was able to watch and listen to Margaret Atwood reading her story “Patient and Impatient Griselda,” loosely based on “Patient Griselda” from the Decameron but told as it should have happened, through a narrator, an alien who looks like an octopus.  It was Zoomed thanks to Theater of War productions, as part of their new domestic violence project. So I ended up spending almost three hours chained to internet entertainment after all. (I did get my next 2 weeks of pills bottled, though.) The House also got something done – voted to delay a shutdown for a month and a half. Let’s see how fast the Senate can get it to Joe to sign.  I decided to tell “A Tale of Two Jamies” today. I’m very glad Raskin is on our side. Dimon, of course, is on no one’s side but his own.

Cartoon –

Short Takes –

Robert Reich – When Jamie Dimon, CEO of JPMorgan Chase, phoned me
Quote – So I want to talk about something else that’s brewing that could become an equally large problem: another banking crisis — and how powerful monied interests on Wall Street are opposing attempts to ward it off. When interest rates rise as fast as the Fed has raised them, banks have to pay more for deposits or borrowing. But what the banks earn on their loans and bonds they own hasn’t risen nearly as fast. This is causing a huge squeeze. With the shift to working from home, commercial real estate is a disaster — and another giant headache for the banks. Banks may not have enough capital on hand to weather an economic storm. The near failure of several middle-sized banks last March shows the continued frailty of the financial system.
Click through for narrative. I’m not a banker myself, but the Reich on the left makes it uncomplicated to see what’s going on. I don’t think we should be expected to bail out these jerks – AGAIN – when it can be avoided.

AlterNet – Raskin rips GOP over impeachment inquiry: ‘Flying monkeys on a mission for the wicked witch’
Quote – Congressman Raskin, a former constitutional law professor who served as the lead prosecutor for the second impeachment of Donald Trump, told the Committee, “like flying monkeys on a mission for the Wicked Witch of the West, Trump’s followers in the House now carry his messages out to the world: shut down the government, shutdown the prosecutions. But the cultmaster has another command for his followers, which brings us here today.”
Click through for details. The first rule of insulting effectively is, don’t call them whay you hate most. Call them what they hate most.” That’s no doubt why so many Democrats are picking up on calling MAGA “children” (with or without qualifying adjectives.) I doubt whether “Wicked Witch” and “Flying Monkeys” will do it – but “Cultmaster” might hit hard. The very best insults get picked up and used over and over until eventually they change meaning- “villain” today, for instance, has only a shadow of its original punch when it meant “country bumpkin” – including all the attributes that go with that stereotye: poorly dressed, poorly washed, poorly mannered, and poorly educated.

Food For Thought

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Sep 222023
 

Glenn Kirschner – Rudy Giuliani gets sued (again), this time for $1.3 million by his own former lawyers! [MAGA – Make Attornies Get Attornies]

The Lincoln Project – Fact Checking

PoliticsGirl – September 13, 2023

Liberal Redneck – Conservatives Trash the Military for Being “Woke” (commercial in the middle)

Disabled cat was about to be euthanized. This woman took her home.

Beau – Let’s talk about Biden, the UAW, and unions….

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Sep 152023
 

Glenn Kirschner – Even Trump’s own appointee, Judge Cannon, is now ruling against him. Can it get much worse for Trump

The Lincoln Project – Last Week in the Republican Party – September 12, 2023

PoliticsGirl – Georgia Indictment

Thom Hartmann – Can This Really Stop The Billionaires? w/ Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI)

Little Old Man Dog Was Shaking Like A Leaf Until…

Beau – Let’s talk about a tale of 3 impeachments….

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Sep 132023
 

Glenn Kirschner – Trump continues spewing his jury-pool-poisoning lies. When will prosecutors & judges limit his lies?

Thom Hartmann – If the GOP obstructs…the Dems Plan To Inflict Maximum Political Pain

MSNBC – Velshi: Donald Trump’s ‘banana republic’

Scared Ketchup – The Trump Show Ep 14 PROMO w/cohost MTG (AI PARODY)

Couple brings home a blind pup. Then came the surprise.

Beau – Let’s talk about Wisconsin and the GOP not getting the answer they wanted….

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Sep 072023
 

Glenn Kirschner – More & more defendants are pointing the finger at Trump, & the flipping WILL begin accelerating

The Lincoln Project – Last Week in the Republican Party – September 5, 2023

MSNBC – Trump tells Republicans to impeach Biden or ‘fade into oblivion’

Patrick Fitzgerald – The Donald Called Down To Georgia –

Hungry Cat Went to a Store with a Leaf to Buy Fish, Then the Seller Did Something Unbelievable! (hanky alert)

Beau – Let’s talk about the Treasury report and you….

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Sep 032023
 

Glenn Kirschner – Judge orders that Donald Trump’s Georgia state RICO trial will be televised

The Lincoln Project – Electile Dysfunction

The Ring of Fire – Trump’s Legal Team Gets Scolded Before Judge Rules Against Them

Parody Project – Not You, Ron-Ron – A Parody

Woman Finds Stray Mama Cat And Kittens Outside Her Office

Beau – Let’s talk about impeachment in Wisconsin….

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