Insurrection – Page 19 – Politics Plus

Video Thread 2/17/2022

Posted by Joanne Dixon at 12:04 pm Open Thread, Politics

Feb 172022

Glenn Kirschner – Rudy Giuliani “Considering Testifying Before House Select Committee.” Really?

Meidas Touch – Lost Debate [I have never felt that political discussions were fun. I attribute that in part to the fact that even before I got out of the Marine Corps, Republicans were destroying the country as best they could, and that just isn’t fun.]

Lincoln Project – Last Week in the Republican Party

American Bridge – Fight for Democracy

NBC News – Georgia May Add Police At Polling Places Ahead Of Midterm Elections (Would providing white escorts or black voters help?)

Really American – What if Jan 6th wasn’t the first?

Beau – Let’s talk about the Republican Govs’ strange move in Georgia….

Open Thread for February 10, 2022

Posted by Joanne Dixon at 7:28 am Open Thread, Personal, Politics

Feb 102022

Yesterday, I got the trash and recyclables out, emptied the mailbox (most of which went straight into the recyclables), sent a couple of ecards, made a couple of cartoons, and called it a day. Today I am sgned up for a Zoom presentation on Walt Whitman by the “Theater of War” (which uses ancient, old, and sometimes modern literature to help people heal from various traumas. They started with Greek tragedy but have nranched out considerably.) That probably means I won’t get much more done today than yesterday.

Cartoon –

Short Takes –

Mother Jones – Why It’s So Hard to Get a Defense Lawyer Confirmed to the Supreme Court
Quote – The last time the Supreme Court had a justice who’d worked as a criminal defense lawyer was 1991. That’s the year Thurgood Marshall, the legendary civil rights advocate, retired after 24 years on the court. Since then, the court has suffered from a dearth of justices with any sort of criminal defense backgrounds. Both Democratic and Republican presidents have stacked the court with former prosecutors, who are overrepresented on the court—people like Justice Samuel Alito, who had previously served as the US attorney for the District of New Jersey. Even Sonia Sotomayor, the court’s most liberal member, spent nearly five years working as an assistant district attorney for the legendary New York County DA Robert Morgenthau straight out of law school.
Click through for story. And for why it matters.

HuffPost – Man Arrested For Storming The Capitol While Out On Bail For Attempted Murder
Quote – Federal authorities have arrested Matthew Beddingfield for his role in the Capitol insurrection, which he attended with his father while out on bail for a first-degree attempted murder charge…. HuffPost revealed Beddingfield’s identity more than 10 months ago, on March 26, in a story that built off the work of a network of citizen-sleuths. They used facial recognition software to match footage of Beddingfield at the Capitol to his publicly available mug shot from a 2019 arrest for attempted murder.
Click through for background. there’s a catch phrase going around – “Tell me you’re [blank] without telling me you’re [blank].” I have mostly seen it with the blank filled in by “white.” I’d say that applies here.

Black History
Biography – Otis Boykin 1920-1982 ( JL)
Quote – Boykin, who took a special interest in working with resistors, began researching and inventing on his own. He sought and received a patent for a wire precision resistor on June 16, 1959. This resistor would later be used in radios and televisions. Two years later, he created a breakthrough device that could withstand extreme changes in temperature and pressure. The device, which was cheaper and more reliable than others on the market, came in great demand by the United States military for guided missiles and IBM for computers…. His most famous invention was a control unit for the pacemaker.
Click through – it isn’t long. It’s safe to say that there are people waling around today who would not be alive had Boykin not existed. It’s also not too farfetched to suggest that without his work on computers, we might not have thos blog today.

Food For Thought:

Video Thread 2/3/22

Posted by Joanne Dixon at 12:17 pm Open Thread, Politics

Feb 032022

Glenn Kirschner – Trump Pushes Protests, Promises Pardons During Texas Rally: Reveals his Fear Indictments are Near

American Bridge – Co-Chair Cecile Richards: Biden making historic SCOTUS pick

Meidas Touch – Nikki Fried BLASTS Ron DeSantis for HIDING TESTS as Omicron surged

The Lincoln Project – Vote While It Counts

politicsrus – Our Future Needs Strong Public Schools

Radio DJ Drives An Hour Every Day For Months To Gain This Wild Pittie’s Trust

Beau – Let’s talk about fake electors and real subpoenas….

Video Thread 1/31/22

Posted by Joanne Dixon at 12:08 pm Open Thread, Politics

Jan 312022

Glenn Kirschner – Judge Orders Stewart Rhodes, Leader of Oath Keepers, Jailed Pending his Seditious Conspiracy Trial
Crooks and Liars – ‘I Think I’m In Love’: Acosta Fawns Over GA Woman Unloading On Greene. At the site, there is a partial transcript – cherry-picked for the best part.

politicsrus – In God We Trust

Rebel HQ – Mike Lindell Has Hit Rock Bottom

Rocky Mountain Mike – Joe Rogan and the Damage Done

Here’s what happened when a non-cat guy adopted disabled kitten

Beau – Let’s talk about how George Floyd may transform the country again….

Open Thread for January 28, 2022

Posted by Joanne Dixon at 6:45 am Open Thread, Personal, Politics

Jan 282022

Yesterday, I heard from WWWendy (we are still working on my getting ownership of the blog esablished at BlueHost) She added a personal update:

Right now, I am continuing work as a caregiver – I care for two clients – one with alzheimers and one with dementia. Both will probably need to be placed soon so I want to stay with them until the transition is made. What will I do after that? Not really sure- guess I will deal with that when the time comes. Give my best to everyone.

Cartoon –

Short Takes –

Crooks and Liars – Capitol Rioter Invoked ‘Game Of Thrones’: ‘I Choose Violence’
Quote – “In stating, ‘I choose violence’, Cersei Lannister embraced — and then carried out — mass murder to achieve her political ends,” the document adds. “In the context of Caplinger posting this just two days after January 6, Caplinger’s adoption of this quote is alarming and provides insight into his mental state and intent in storming the Capitol.”
Click through for story. Maybe I should try to figure out the poll app so we can vote on who is stupider – this dude or the ones who called the “Lost and Founf.”

Mother Jones – Oath Keepers Anticipated “a Bloody and Desperate Fight” to Overturn the Election for Trump
Quote – “[Edwards] Vallejo and his co-conspirators coordinated at least three regional QRF teams stationed at a Comfort Inn in Arlington, Virginia, to support the co-conspirators’ plot and the January 6 Capitol attack. The QRF teams guarded an arsenal of firearms and related equipment and were prepared to speed those weapons into the hands of co-conspirators on the ground in Washington, D.C., when directed by Rhodes or other conspiracy leaders.”
Click through for details. We are not making this up. I don’t understand why more people aren’t terrified.

The Jerusalem Post – Biden references Colleyville in Holocaust Remembrance Day statement
Quote – “Today, and every day, we have a moral obligation to honor the victims, learn from the survivors, pay tribute to the rescuers, and carry forth the lessons of last century’s most heinous crime,” said Biden. “From the streets of Charlottesville, Virginia, to a synagogue in Colleyville, Texas, we are continually and painfully reminded that hate doesn’t go away; it only hides.” The president stressed the need to teach accurately about the Holocaust and to push back against attempts to ignore, deny, distort, and revise history, making reference to a US co-sponsored United Nations resolution to combat Holocaust denial.
Click through for more. Yes, I’m a day late. It isn’t the first time, and it won’t be the last. In any case, as Joe said, “and every day.”

Food For Thought:

Video Thread 1/25/2022

Posted by Joanne Dixon at 11:47 am Open Thread, Politics

Jan 252022

Glenn Kirschner – NY Subpoenas, GA Special Grand Jury Subpoenas, Congressional Subpoenas: All Subpoenas Are Not Equal

The Guardian – Tonga: new footage shows aftermath of volcano eruption and tsunami

Meidas Touch – A Coup in Plain Sight

The Lincoln Project – What Are They For?

The Ring of Fire – January 6th Committee Targets Social Media Companies With Subpoenas

MSNBC’s Tiffany Cross explains Mitch McConnell –

In this week’s essay, @TiffanyDCross discusses Mitch McConnell’s message to voters of color who were concerned that they wouldn’t be able to vote during this year’s midterm elections #CrossConnection pic.twitter.com/HKV9Sjtuhy

— The Cross Connection with Tiffany Cross (@CrossConnection) January 22, 2022

Beau – Let’s talk about executive orders, doubt, and machinery….

Open Thread for January 22, 2022

Posted by Joanne Dixon at 11:31 am Open Thread, Personal, Politics

Jan 222022

Yesterday, Friday, I was still dragging some. But I managed to put in a grocery order to be delivered today. I hope there’s not too much missing.

Cartoon –

Short Takes –

The Daily Beast – Oath Keeper Returned to Capitol Morning After Riot to ‘Probe Defense Line,’ Prosecutors Say
Quote – In a court filing late Tuesday calling for Vallejo to be detained ahead of trial, prosecutors say he continued to plot against the federal government even after the violence of Jan. 6 ended. The next morning, he allegedly messaged other members of the group in a Signal chat: “We are going to probe their defense line right now 6 am they should let us in. We’ll see.” He and other members of a “quick reaction force” he led were apparently also prepared to wage battle in the city for weeks.
Click through for details. This is another of those recently charged with “seditious conspiracy.” The “quick reaction forces” or QRFs – and, yes, that’s plural – there were somewhere between “several” and “many” – we will probably hear more about as time psses.

Democratic Underground (LENNY0229) – Dems Won Four Special Elections Last Week
Quote – We won special election in Maine for Maine House (suburban district that could have gone red), Massachusetts for Massachusetts House (a FLIP from Red to Blue – No Dem had held this seat since the mid 1800’s), Virginia for Virginia House, and Florida for U.S. House. Again, one of these was a FLIP and one (the one in my home state of Maine) could very welll have gone red. There were no guarantees. In ALL cases, the Dems won by BIG margins.
Click through. Good news is always welcome, and he goes on to provide some analysis ans suggestions.

Politico – Read the never-issued Trump order that would have seized voting machines
Quote – It’s not clear who wrote either document. But the draft executive order is dated Dec. 16, 2020, and is consistent with proposals that lawyer Sidney Powell made to the then-president. On Dec. 18, 2020, Powell, former Trump national security adviser Michael Flynn, former Trump administration lawyer Emily Newman, and former Overstock.com CEO Patrick Byrne met with Trump in the Oval Office. In that meeting, Powell urged Trump to seize voting machines and to appointher as a special counsel to investigate the election, according to Axios.
Click through to read the complete order, or just for more detail. This document (along with the draft of an unmade speech) is one of those from the National Archives being held until the Supreme Court ruled.

Food For Thought: