Open Thread April 15 2026

 Posted by at 6:00 am  Open Thread, Personal, Politics
Apr 152026
 

Monday was the fourth anniversary of “Russian warship, go fuck yourself.” (Malcolm was there, in Ukraine.) And “go fuck yourself” was not a completely accurate translation from Ukrainian. (“Go find a dick” is closer.) Hopefully remembering that can inspire us. Maybe not as much as it inspired Ukraine at the time, but there is a whole lot of room beneath that extremely high level. Also, Eric Swalwell announced he will resign from Congress but provided no effective date.

Here is incontrovertible evidence that some Muslims are better Christians than some Christians – translated from Farsi (not by me): “Your Excellency Pope Leo XIV (@Pontifex), on behalf of the great nation of Iran, I condemn the insult to Your Excellency and declare that the desecration of Jesus (peace be upon him), the Prophet of peace and brotherhood, is unacceptable to any free person. I wish glory for you from Allah.” – Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian (quoted by Daily Kos)

What the Brennan Center for Justice is doing now to protect the midterms in November, by Michael Waldman.

If you are looking for an exact moment when we lost the Iran war, the closest you can probably come is the moment we started it. MajGen Paul Eaton (Ret), the leader of VoteVets analyses pretty much everything we have done wrong, which is pretty much everything we have done. Unless, of course, you are an insider trader, in which case you can laugh all the way to your Trumpcoin.

Murdoch beats Trump’s suit on WSJ’s Epstein exposé: What’s next?

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Open Thread February 20 2026

 Posted by at 6:00 am  Open Thread, Personal, Politics
Feb 202026
 

Yesterday, Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor was arrested for (insider financial) misconduct in office. This may be the most spectacular news out of the UK since Charles I was beheaded. This link is to a video lasting over an hour, but scroll down and you can get some details about what’s happening and will happen. Not all the details which make the whole thing so inspiring to listen to, but some. The irony that a constitutional monarchy appears better able to deal with a rogue in the (family) government than we do is not lost on Adam or Vicky or me. But the key to this ability is not the monarchy or the lack of it, but the Constitution – and respect for it – or the lack thereof. Also, next week, possibly as early as Monday, the Senate will vote on the Boundary Waters permission to mine, and, if it passes, these waters, which by the way Canada also borders, will be turned into literal battery acid. And every other state will, in time, suffer similar losses of public lands. The linked video is long, but it is “from the horse’s mouth” since it features Senator Tina Smith of Minnesota.

Another win for the rule of law. The law in question is late – and yes, justice delayed is justice denied – but it’s still better then never.

Law Day here is not until May 1 (as the rest of the world celebrates Labor Day.) But it appears we are having our own little law day here.

https://www.cpr.org/2026/02/16/fire-storm-and-avalanche-concerns-all-at-once-weird-weather-week-ahead-in-colorado/
From Monday, reminding me of the quip attributed to Mark Twain that “Everypne talks about the weather, but no one does anything about it.” Well, yes, Mr. Clemens. And that’s exactly why we are here.

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Open Thread January 13 2025

 Posted by at 6:00 am  Open Thread, Personal, Politics
Jan 132026
 

Yesterday, after putting everything together, I thought I’d better designate the day as “Outrage Tuesday.” I’ll try to lighten up a little tomorrow, but in the present state of the union, I can’t promise that. Also yesterday, the sun did more work melting snow than it has in days. Not everything is clear and some of the spots on the northern sides of buildings will not likely fully melt until June. But the heaviest parts appear to all be below seven inches now. The warmest day this week is expected to be Thursday, and I’m crossing my fingers we’ll be able to see ground again.

As Virgil’s wife, I get that I need to schedule my visits to him. Even though very few people visit on Sundays (most prefer Friday and Saturday), that doesn’t mean they wouldn’t get overflow on Friday and Saturday (and it’s much kinder to tell people before they get there after what may be a long drive that there’s no room). The visiting room only has 16 visitor tables after all. But I am not there to do oversight. Requiring advance scheduling to do oversight removes all its teeth. Which, of course, is what they want. They have everything to hide. The exception to scheduled oversight taking away the teeth of oversight would be to have a full-time ombudsman – maybe more than one – in every concentration camp. (Colorado does that in its few privately owned prisons, so they have full time on-site oversight.) Maybe we should put that in Yosemite Sam Barbie’s pipe and make her smoke it. Also, there is a lot of information in Adam’s newsletter. He is trusted by the attorneys whom I trust (Glenn Kirschner, Joyce Vance, Harry Litman, and Muchael Popok, to name just four) so I also trust his reporting.

This is from Malcolm Nance, and I’m sorry, I just have no words – not that I need more than he provides. (the included video is very short and no second of it is wasted.)

Steve, like all of us I suppose, is outraged by the the callous disregard for everything good, no matter how big or how small. I can’t argue with that.

Chapter 2 of a series on the Ardennes Counter-Offensive (Chapter 1 was the Battle of the Bulge, shared last week)

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Open Thread October 7 2025

 Posted by at 7:04 pm  Open Thread, Personal, Politics
Oct 072025
 

Yesterday, I heard from Carrie after her visit to Barry. I’m quoting much of it because we are all so used to brain strokes and how to tell if you or a loved one may be having or have had one, and none of that will work for a brain stem stroke. “I was able to speak to him and he was aware I was there. That is the saddest thing about this type of stroke. His brain functions well, but everything the brain stem controls is gone. Because brain stem strokes are so rare, they are easily missed. That’s why he was not correctly diagnosed when he first arrived in the ER. His doctors had only had one other such stroke victim in the past four years. Barry will be transferred to Warm Springs, Georgia to a hospital / rehab facility. After 2 to 4 weeks, they should be able to give us a prognosis.” In other news, our Supreme Court is corrupt – but not corrupt enough to consider Ghislaine Maxwell’s appeal (Axios). Also, I can at least say that I have one Senator who has a clue how to message.

I agree with Robert Reich that this needs to be discussed – or at least thought about – by everyone. I personally am absolutely unqualified to talk about it with people who voted for it, but no doubt there are people who are. Will those voters be willng to listen to or even talk to such qualified people? Anyway, for us – therapy animals can help. for those lucky enough to own one or be near a professional one.

Harry Litman with a this-is-how-it’s-done article on a judicial opinion. As he points out, All judges have occasions on which they need to defer, but they should never to lies. Other courts should take this message to heart – immediately. (Incidentally, this judge was appointed by the Mango Moron. How she got past the Heritage Foundation, I can’t even guess.)

This may brighten your day and maybe even look into the book. There is a Little Professor bookstore in Athens, Ohio, and another in Owatonna, Minnesota, but Joyce lives in Alabama, so this has to be in Birmingham or its suburb Homewood. Although cities are more liberal than rural areas, that’s still a lot of books for Alabama (I wonder how much her signature changed from the first one to the last one.)

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Open Thread August 8 2025

 Posted by at 6:00 am  Open Thread, Personal, Politics
Aug 082025
 

Yesterday, my inbox was even crazier than usual. I don’t know why. Federal News appeared to me to be the usual BS. I suppose there might be people who are just now catching on – but yu’d have to be deaf, dumb, and blind to be running even the tiniest news outlet and just now be catching on after more than six months of pure hell. in any case, I decided to go with a couple of off the wall stories, neither of which features the Orange Oligarch directly, though both are related to his policies (if you can call them policies and not fantasies – I think the jury is still out on that), along with one terrifying legal analysis, which includes guesswork, but some things are not that hard to guess. Also yesterday, this link was forwarded to me. I guess it’s no weirder that Scalia/Ginsburg = except that I would not be interested in an opera about it.

From The Conversation. Many of my sources from time to time refer to history as a help in understanding the present. This article appears to me to be particularly pertinent. And it happened within the lifetime of many of us, including me. The First Amendment is easy to approve, but not easy to discuss, and figuring out where to draw lines can be very touchy indeed. But I do believe the Warren Court got it right.

Certainly I knew that J. B. Pritzker was a Democratic governor who was working with other Democratic governors to protect citizens and residents from the Marigold Maelstrom. But that was all. this situation in Texas is getting coverage for more of his personality and Wonkette is there for it.

Well, this is scary. It’s not as if we weren’t anticipating it, of course, but I for one hoped it would take a little (or a lot) longer to get to it. But no – it’s here.

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Open Thread June 4 2025

 Posted by at 6:00 am  Open Thread, Personal, Politics
Jun 042025
 

Yesterday, before actually seeing this, I had read it in a different email (with sourcing I wasn’t assured by.) Now that I can actually see it, I’m going ahead and sharing it. By now you’ve likely seen it, though. Even Snopes has weighed in.My initial reaction was, “An AI clone with a cancer diagnosis? Really? But it does show how terrified they must be of Biden to resort to such a bizarre, almost paranormal, fantasy. And I can’t honestly say that this was the worst horror story at the link (but there is a cute gif of a family of foxes.)

Also, the first petition to 86 Palantir has hit my inbox.

This by Robert Reich is IMO important enough that I added it to my post draft before even reading it. Unless you are a professional security guard and can get hired by a judge, what we can do is basically light a fire under those persons and agencies which can take real action. But that is not nothing, and we have gotten results before with that playbook. He provides all the names and addresses and even some phone numbers.

Axios put out several alerts yesterday. This one I thought was meaningful. Jamie Raskin means business. It’s very sad that it requires a white man to stand up for a black woman and get any attention, but it’s good that we have some white men who will.

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Open Thread February 21 2025

 Posted by at 6:00 am  Politics
Feb 212025
 

Yesterday, sadly, I learned that a long time friend had died. I knew this was coming, but that never makes it easier. He was an announcer at my classical radio station, and was considered a personal friend by everyone he met, I believe, and even by hundreds of people who only “met” him over the radio. Fred was a member of the local Freethinkers group, a practicing atheist, and possibly the most generous person I’ve ever met – certainly that was true for many years, though now I’d need to put SoINeedAName right up there with him. The station is being very protective of his personal information (which is laudable) so I don’t know exactly when it happened, but it must have been very recent – there’s no obituary in the local paper yet (not that that’s conclusive, as he always considered it a Nazi rag.) I dreaded telling Virgil – which I however did when he called – because it’s part of my job – and he was indeed very upset. But he also admitted he’d rather know than not know.

Michael Waldman, writing for the Brennan Center for Justice, discusses the Unitary Executive Theory – what it is, why it’s “fringe” (IMO that means a tactful way to say BS), how its influence shows up in Project 2025, executive orders, and general Republican attitude, as well as coming court battles.

Harry Litman of Talking Feds references George Orwell on the subject of Memory Holes and discusses the implications of the destruction of (supposedly) permanent records. I’m sure this is also why people are suggesting that everyone who is receiving Social Security, and everyone who is currently or ever has been employed in s job where they paid into Social Security, go log in to The Social Security website right now and download all the informaion on you stored there. The same with the IRS, and any other government body which might have any stored information about you (I always keep a copy of my tax returns, and have them for a lot longer than the seven years normally recommended). Especially if you have already established an account with LogIn dot gov, it’s a lot easier than freezing your credit. At least it is now. Don’t wait too long.

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Open Thread December 25 2024

 Posted by at 6:04 am  Open Thread, Personal, Politics
Dec 252024
 

Yesterday, I considered starting a crockpot, but decided against it. Instead, I did a little knitting – very little and not really necessary, just a short flurry of mild OCD. But nonetheless satisfying.

I’m not thrilled to be sharing negative news on Christmas – but it won’t hurt to know a little more about the Georgia case, from Harry Litman at Talking Feds.

If you have been wishing for a recipe for a holiday cookie (I say holiday because her family celebrates both Christmas and Hanukkah, and I’m not sure which tradition this comes from. I suspect Hanukkah but could be wrong), Joyce Vance has you covered. They sound quite decadent. I can figure out a substitute I could use for the flour that I could have, but, although I’ve been collecting information on egg substitutes, I’m not sure about that one. Also, there’s no need to go to the linked article she recommends, since I’ll be using it tomorrow.

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