Glenn Kirschner – Trump’s Newly Issued “Statement” Suggests that he Knows & Fears that Justice is Coming for Him
The Lincoln Project – Corporate Accountability
Now This News – Psaki Responds to Joe Manchin Not Supporting Build Back Better [She has the patience of Job.]
politicsrus – Voting Rights HD
Armageddon Update – Present Traumatic Stress Disorder
If Tax Prep Ads Were Honest
Beau – Let’s talk about Fox News and grocery stores….
Yesterday, although I had slept reasonably well, I couldnt seem to get in gear. I don’t know why that sometimes happens, but it certainly does. But I did get everything done eventually.
Cartoon –
Short Takes
npr: A tantalizing clue to why omicron is spreading so quickly
Quote – “Strikingly, Omicron was 4-fold more infectious than wild type [the original version of the virus] and 2-fold more infectious than Delta,” Garcia-Beltran and colleagues wrote in their study. The data suggests omicron may be able to infect people at a lower dose than delta or the original variant, Garcia-Beltran says. “That’s a very far-out interpretation,” he cautions. “But we think it will probably pan out that way, given that we’re looking at a variant with more efficient entry into human cells.”
Click through for details. Please ne careful out there.It might be well to go to N95 masks, if you haven’t already. Please stay safe. We need you. (And, no, I don’t know why they call the section “Goats and Soda.”)
The 19th – It’s OK to cut back on the holiday gifts this year. Here’s why.
Quote – At the end of the day, [Dr. Michelle Martel, director of clinical training at the University of Kentucky’s psychology department] said she always reminds people struggling during the holidays that they’re not alone — because a lot of people are struggling right now, whether it’s due to loss or financial stress or being overwhelmed by plans to meet loved ones in groups, and it’s only been made worse by the pandemic. And when so many people are carrying emotional and financial burdens, many of them made worse by a pandemic that they didn’t expect to be enduring for another year, it makes sense to find one less thing to worry about.
Click through for full analysis. There’s a fine line between responsibility and guilt, and it’s not always easy to stay on the right side of it.
Bloomberg – Biden’s Economic Performance Has Proved Unbeatable
Quote – All of which makes Biden’s first year in the White House the standout among the seven previous presidents, based on 10 market and economic indicators given equal weight. According to data compiled by Bloomberg, no one comes close to matching Biden’s combination of No. 1 and No. 2 rankings for each of the measures:
Click through for the measures and the stats. You get one or two free articles a month. If anyone needs a copy, I’ve printed a pdf. No one here needs me to tell tham about Manchin. But you might need some help on responding to it.
Food For Thought:
Yesterday, after a week when it was hard to find videos and articles, I found so many that tomorrow’s calumns are practically done already. Well, that’s a good thing for me, since I see Virgil on Saturday, but I hope it won’t result in feeling like old news. If there’s something you don’t see today, it may already be scheduled for tomorrow.
Cartoon – 09 1209Cartoon.jpg
Short Takes
Crooks and Liars – Dana Milbank Proves Biden Coverage Is As Negative As Trump’s
Quote – Yep. Turns out, Biden’s press coverage for the past four months has been as bad as — and for a time worse than — the coverage Trump received for the same four months of 2020. Let that sink in. Joe Biden is being treated the same as Trump, whose criminal behavior was a daily occurrence in plain view.
Click through. You mau not have even realized that this is measurable. But it is.
HuffPost – Explainer: How Unusual To Charge Parents In School Shooting?
Quote – A 2019 assessment by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security found that guns came from the home of a parent or close relative in 76% of school attacks where firearms were used. In about half, the firearms were easily accessible. But laws aimed at restricting gun access are not always enforced and vary in strength, experts say. “Our laws haven’t really adapted to the reality of school shootings, and the closest we have are these child access prevention laws,” said Kris Brown, president of the Brady gun control advocacy group
Click through for multiple examples and rationales.
Wonkette – Fox News Presents Holiday Classic ‘How The Black Lives Matter Stole Christmas’
Quote – Because we know how to look things up for ourselves, we were able to go to the Black Lives Matter website and learn about the Black Christmas campaign, just to see how full of shit Hegseth is. It’s so innocuous, if you’re not a mouthbreathing white racist. It has sections for #BuildBlack and #BuyBlack and #BankBlack, and it indeed encourages people to spend their money with Black-owned businesses and banks, instead of propping up white supremacist systems.
Click through. A news clip about the tree will be in today’s Video Thread.
Food for Thought –
(Nashville has extra room now after rmoving the caricature og Nathan Bedford Forrest.)
Glenn Kirschner – All the President’s Lackeys: Bannon, Clark, Eastman & the Others. Watergate vs. the Insurrection
MSNBC – Biden Breaks Down How Build Back Better Act Will Lower Cost For Families Dealing With Diabetes
Meidas Touch – SCOTUS Poised to Strike Down Legal Precedent from Roe v. Wade
Rebel HQ – Ethan Crumbly’s Parents Face Justifiable Consequences. I’m not sure how long I have been saying “Responsible gun ownners should take the lead in drafting legislation to regulate gun ownership and use – because, if they don’t, the rest of us will, and they won’t like it,” but it’s been since before I was married, an our next anniversaty will be our 38th. It was so long ago that the NRA was still considered a responsible organization.
Really American – Madison Cawthorn Claims Women Are “Earthen Vessels” (but Chip has a good idea)
politicsrus Christmas Greeting (Yes, it’s early, but you’ll need time to get your figgy pudding on)
Beau – Let’s talk about not talking about race…. Most of the time I agree with Beau, and he’s right on the institutional level. But he’s wrong on the individual level. On the individual level, it’s more like, yeah, if you don’t have pancreatic cancer for example, you don’t need to talk about it in order not to be hurt by it. But if you are being eatne away by pancreatic cancer, not talking about it won’t make it go away.
Yesterday was the first day since the oandemic started that the Metropolitan Opera was able to do a live broadcast over the radio (Last season was all re-runs). It was a new opera, “Eurydice,” which tells (I can’t say re-tells because the story is very far out) the story of Orpheus and Eurydice, set in the 21st century, from the point of view of Eurydice. It’s very accessible (term of art for “easy to listen to, not a lot of dissonance”). Thatt’s a good thing as just following the plot is plenty challenging.
Cartoon – 05 MCel RTU
Short Takes
NPR – Parents of Michigan school shooting suspect are held on $500,000 bond after manhunt
Quote – “They sought multiple attempts to hide their location and were eventually tracked down after they parked their car somewhere a witness saw it,” said Oakland County prosecutor Karen McDonald. “These two individuals were found locked somewhere in a room, hiding. These are not people that we can be assured will return to court on their own.”
Click through for details. I thought this was an update we’d all want to see.
Democratic Underground (Eleanor R) – Heartbreaking (tissue alert)
Quote – McClaren Hospital where Oxford community is gathered to supportthe family of Justin Shillings, one of the four teens killed this week. Justin is an organ donor and the crowd is here so that when his body is moved for surgery his family can look down andsee the love and support.
Click through for picture … and comments. Don’t miss comment #15 by barbtries.
HuffPost – ‘Obscene’ GOP Blockade Stalls Dozens Of Biden Nominees
Quote – Republicans can’t actually block all of Biden’s nominees from being confirmed. But they can use the existing rules of the Senate to drastically slow down their appointments, dragging out the process of filling what have typically been uncontroversial jobs in lower-level positions across the federal government. With the GOP refusing to expedite many of Biden’s nominees, placing so-called “holds” on them at the committee level, Democrats must carry out multiple votes to confirm each one, eating up valuable floor time that could be spent on other legislative business.
Click through for story. Dirty tricks and more dirty tricks. All done to “own the libs,” but really all done to hurt the American people.
Food for Thought –
Glenn Kirschner – Trump Says Only Mobsters Plead the 5th as Trump DOJ Official Jeff Clark Prepares to…Plead the 5th
Meidas Touch – Politicsgirl on Brian Williams (I am going to miss him!)
The Lincoln Project – Work – Oh, boy, does this ever need to be seen by every American eligible to vote!
RepresentUs – How Billionaires Secretly Influence Society
Really American – Webster Reveals Two Biggest Words of 2021
Guy Finds A Stray Kitten, Bikes Around The World With Her For Two Years
Beau – Let’s talk about coats and hats….
Glenn Kirschner – Not his own video, but an appearance on Stephanie Miller from 11/28. So, not new. He just shows a slughtly different side of himself to Stephanie.
RHQ – Trump Rioter Hit By Most Ironic Karma
Now this News – Exhibit Sheds Light on Migrant Farmworkers’ Stories
Really American – INSANE “Dr.” Oz IS A Danger To America
The Alt-Right Playbook – I’m not sure whether this is a new end note or whether I just don’t remember it (or maybe issed it.) But hey, it’s worth watching multiple times.
Reuters – White House unveils Biden Christmas decorations
Beau – Let’s talk about Fred Gray, Alabama, and a new south….
Yesterday, I got the groceries put away. I finished all the cartoons for December. I put together and submitted the claim for reimbursement for my thyroid. And I puttered around a little with beads and pendants.
Cartoon –
Short Takes
Crooks and Liars – Wait Til You Hear What Kimmel Called Tucker Carlson This Time
Quote – To scare grandma, they need fresh villains. So they zero in on this tiny, adorable, tired man, who has done nothing but good for this world. Dr. Fauci has probably done more good for the world than all of us in this room combined.”
Click through for what he called Tucker. What impressed me more was his description of Fauci, so that’s what I quoted.
The Revelator – Invasive Species Are Threatening Antarctica’s Fragile Ecosystems
Quote – We mapped the last five years of planes and ships visiting the continent, illuminating for the first time the extent of travel across the hemispheres and the potential source locations for non-native species. We found that, luckily, while some have breached Antarctica, they generally have yet to get a stranglehold, leaving the continent still relatively pristine. But Antarctica is getting busier, with new research stations, rebuilding and more tourism activities planned. Our challenge is to keep it pristine under this growing human activity and climate change threat.
Click through for details and prognosis. The Revelator is a niche publication, ;iterally all about saving the earth for human habitation, which means it’s very much about climate change and reversing its effects.
SILive – Honoring frontline workers and more: See how Jill Biden decorated the White House for Christmas
Quote – This year marks Joe and Jill Biden’s first holiday season in the White House as president and first lady. Jill Biden explained they were inspired by Americans across the country who remind us that “our differences are precious and our similarities infinite.” The year was also defined by the uncommon acts of compassion, bravery and selflessness by many — and the White House celebrates their service and sacrifice, Jill Biden said.
Click through for more. I wanted an article that was positive about it, which eliminated Slate and the New York Times quickly. I think most of us are glad to have a President and First Lady who are human and humane. BTW, I think the video – in the Video Thread – shows more detail.
Food for Thought –
