Yesterday, my state’s attorneys were at the Supreme Court presenting oral arguments in Trump(**) v. Colorado, along with some amici curiae, including CREW. It wasn’t going well in the morning, and, according to Harry Litman, it won’t go well in the deliberations or the verdict.
Robert Reich has some good news which surprised even him.
I’m a bit late bringing this piece of Black history news – but I think it was worth waiting for.
Yesterday I got a bunch of stuff done – mostly on the computer rather than with physical objects, but it still tired me. I guess whie I was busy, the Appeals Court looked at TFG’s “immunity” claim and apparantly those looks were all askance.
I thought this was kind of nice. I well remember Andy Kim starting on cleanup on that day.
The Theater of War has a new project called “An Enemy of the People,” using the play by Ibsen. “The play tells the story of a doctor who discovers the water supply in his small, rural town has been poisoned by a tannery. Despite his efforts to convey the truth to the public, the doctor fails to save his community from environmental disaster and is ultimately scapegoated for his whistleblowing.” Ibsen didn’t pussyfoot around the truth, as long ago as 1882. This sounds a lot like how Fauci was treated – and in fact Dr. Fauci will be one of the actors (the actors will change from one event to another so if you want to hear what he has to say you will need to checking cast lists.) The first two events are 2/22 and 2/24, and Fauci is scheduled in the 2/24 event but not the 2/22 event. This is the link for 2/24 (it looks like you might be able to scroll from it.)
Here’s my response to the “poop Nazi” telling everyone to get over stuff – stuff like their kids being shot in school:
Yesterday’s radio opera was Verdi’s “Nabucco,” his first big hit, loosely based on the Biblical figure of Nebuchadnezzar. Much of the plot is dramatic malarkey which makes for ear-catching arias and ensembles. But the “Chorus of the Hebrew Slaves” (“Va, pensiero”) – based on Psalm 137 – something like it apparently did happen, and had resonated through centuries, and still resonates. Whether you have been taken away from your country, or your country has been taken away from you, it will resonate with you too. It is the one number in all of opera which is never not encored in performance, even during periods when encores in performance are out of fashion. My recollection is that in the latter half of the 20th century “Nabuco” was seldom performed, but that as the 21st century progresses, it is performed more often, at least in the United States, as we see our rights slipping away from us. And of course “Va pensiero” outside of the opera has never fallen out of favor (and it’s often encored in the concert hall, also.) Not a bad choice to broadcast on this anniversary, I’d say.
Speaking of the anniversary, remember Harry Dunn? Well, he’s now running for Congress in Maryland.
The news from Ukraine inspires me to reprise this video (which I first used in an article on Saint Javelina).
Glenn Kirschner – Jim Jordan tries to assist Trump in avoiding accountability; obstructs Georgia RICO prosecution
Thom Hartmann – Ticking Bomb Inside GOP’s Plan To Defund Trump Prosecution
MSNBC – Lawrence: If Jan. 6 leader of ‘Trump’s army’ gets 22 years, what about Trump?
Armageddon Update – To My Republican Countrymen…
Street cat had enough, convinces human to adopt him
Beau – Let’s talk about how Smith is still investigating and Trump….
Yesterday, The New Yorker’s “Name Drop” was most appropriate for Labor Day. The first two clues were news to me, but I did get it on the third one. Also, Steve Schmidt quoted a big chunk of Theodore Roosevelt’s Labor Day speech given in 1903. I’ll spare you the need to look for “continue reading” and just link to the speech in the Educational Video inc.’s Speech Vault. It contains the quote “The welfare of each of us is dependent fundamentally upon the welfare of all of us,” which was worked into a rug placed in the oval office in 2010 (yes, during the Obama Administration.) I don’t know whether it is still there (or possibly there again.) The speech is remarkable – and should be trotted out more often by Democrats, if only to emphasize that we are the ones who have preserved this orignally Republican platform.
Cartoon – 05 great fire of london
Short Takes –
Wonkette – Matt Schlapp’s CPAC Team-Building Exercises Sound Fun, If You’re Into Exorcisms
Quote – Oh. My. Lord. They have been on Twitter posting pictures of their favorite saints and begging those saints to rain down hell on the Daily Beast. It’s so deranged. “Our Lady of Guadalupe, strike down the BEAST,” tweeted Schlmatt. “St Michael the Archangel take down the beast,” tweeted Schlmercy, with a bit less flair and punctuation. We guess all this has put people in the mood to spill more Schlapp Schlecrets to (natch) the Beast. Now Roger Sollenberger is bringing us the story of that time last year when Matt Schlapp got a priest to come in and do exorcisms to get all the demons out of the CPAC offices.
Click through for details. Remember it is Substack now. If Matt Schlapp could exorcise himself, he would disappear in a puff of smoke.
Liberals Are Cool (on tumblr)
Quote – To remind everyone, January 6th wasn’t Trump’s Plan A. It wasn’t even Plan B. Plan A was to steal the 2020 election with Putin’s help, just as he’d done in 2016. Blackmailing Ukraine for dirt on Biden was part of that effort. But it didn’t work twice.
Click through. This is a Twitter thread, rolled on a thread reader, reposted on Tumblr, which was shared on Democratic Underground. It’s not long and it’s all important.
Food For Thought
[I agree we have the right. But insisting on one’s rights is not always the smartest thing. In this case, it would play into what Trump** wants. I’d say film it and show it after it’s over.]
Glenn Kirschner – The American voters, victims of Trump’s crimes, have a legal right to have cameras in the courtroom
The Lincoln Project – He Should Probably Stop
MSNBC – Only something a Trump lawyer could make up’: 1/6 coup plot architect fights against disbarment
[Sorry that it’s Mrs Greenspan – but she’s who covered it, and she has an expert guest at least – and it’s short.]
MSNBC – Woman arrested in alleged Russian plot to assassinate Zelenskyy ‘was hiding in plain sight’
Lost Leopard Cub Keeps Crying For Mom
Beau – Let’s talk about a GOP constitutional amendment….
Glenn Kirschner – New indictment shows criminal cover-up: Trump co-conspirator says “boss” wants “servers deleted”
The Lincoln Project – Barbie Freakout
Long, but it’s Lawrence – and he has lots to say.
MSNBC – Lawrence: We now know who the star witness in the Trump docs case will be
Farron Balanced – Jack Smith Just Flipped A Crucial Trump Ally
This Cleftie Kitten Is A Teeny-Tiny Superhero
Beau – Let’s talk about the imagery and legacy of Jan 6….
Yesterday, It was pretty quiet. Hot, but quiet. I did manage to get my carts out to the curb for pickup tpday, but then,I was highly motivated – they pick up trash every week, but recyclables only every other week, and I always have more recycleables than trsh, and if I didn’t get them out yesterday, I’d have had to wait two more weeks, not one. And the contents were starting to push the lid up already.
Cartoon – 28 0628Cartoon.jpg
Short Takes –
The New Yorker – Does It Matter That Neil Gorsuch Is Committed to Native American Rights?
Quote – In most areas of law, notably those to do with guns and abortion, Gorsuch has been the Justice that conservatives wanted him to be. Not so with tribal law. Adam Liptak, of the Times, recently called him “the fiercest proponent of Native American rights” on the Court. There are various theories about the source of Gorsuch’s commitment, including his childhood in the West, his textualism-based judicial philosophy (if one reads the text of the treaties that the U.S. signed with the tribes, one will find a lot of unkept promises), and his experience dealing with tribal-law cases while a judge on the Tenth Circuit Court of Appeals, based in Colorado. But there are Westerners and textualists who have little time for the tribes, and Gorsuch stood out on the Tenth Circuit, too. (A number of Native American organizations and tribes supported his confirmation.)
Click through for full article. If you are paywalled out, I’ll be happy to email you a copy. I’m sure it will come as no surprise to anyone here that this matters to me – a lot. I”m exceedingly glad to see this article.
US Senate Committee on Homeland Securiy and Governmental Affairs – Planned in Plain Sight
Quote – [Finding of Fact] 6. FBI and I&A failed to follow agency guidelines on the use of open-source intelligence. The Special Agent in Charge of the Intelligence Division at the FBI Washington Field Office on January 6th conflated the Bureau’s standards for what type of information is actionable for further investigation (a higher standard) versus what is merely reportable to partner agencies (a lower standard), and as a result, FBI did not share certain tips and intelligence about January 6th. FBI also did not develop certain tips about January 6th because they were deemed not credible, contrary to FBI policy that requires every tip received to be logged as long as it meets an “authorized purpose” for investigation, regardless of credibility
Click through for full report. It’s a bit over 100 pages, so I don’t expect anyone to read it in full. But both the Executive Statement at the beginning and the Conclusions at the end are packed with facts we suspected. And the Findings of Fact and Recommendations (just after the Executive Summary) are stark and chilling.
Food For Thought
