Politics Plus

Yesterday, having made so many typos and other errors on Monday, I tried to pull myself together. Hopefully I can be a bit more accurace today. Mitch’s issue is not yet solved, but a lot of ideas have come up that he can try, and I also sent him some links to videos to tide him over.

Cartoon –

Short Takes –

The Hill – School districts impose mask mandates, defying GOP governors
Quote – “We believe that we have a constitutional obligation to protect the lives of our students and staff,” Rosalind Osgood, chair of the Broward County, Fla., School Board, said on CBS’s Face the Nation. “We’ve received, you know, threats from our governor. And it’s been really, really dramatic and horrible to be put in this position.”
Click through for more. It’s going both ways I’m really, really glad I’m in a position to just stay home – I only wish everyone were.

Mother Jones – This Former Pastor Is Changing Evangelicals’ Minds on COVID Vaccines
Quote – Chang’s group produces a series of videos that dispel some of the myths that circulate widely among evangelicals—some believe that the vaccine is a form of government control or that it contains fetal tissue and is therefore pro-abortion. The group works with organizations including the National Association of Evangelicals and the Ad Council to distribute the videos both to churches and through social networks. Chang’s technique seems to be working{.}
Click through for story and a link to one of the videos. I wish I were more optimistic about who is reachable … but anyone reached will help.

Upcoming event: This Sunday, August 22, is designated “Thank a Criminal Day.” I don’t kow who designated it, because there’s very little information about it. So it’s probably not “official” in any sense. But the point is to recognize that many people who, today, are considered heroes, were, in their own time, considered and treated as criminals. Some examples are Jesus, Galileo, Gandhi, Dr. King, John Lewis, Rosa Parks, John Brown, all those people who signed the Declaration of Independence (thereby committing treason against Great Britain), and so many others. There’s a saying, “the military may defend your freedom, but it was a criminal who gave it to you.” If you think of other historical figures, please recongize them in the comments. I can think of a few who are not yet recognized widely as the heroes they are, but I can and do hope they will be someday: Thomas Drake, John Kiriakou, Jeffrey Sterling, Reality Winner. All four have served time. All four are now, thankfully, out of prison now. I certainly want to thank them. Then there’s Scott Warren, who (after two trials) was finally acquitted of the terrible felony of leaving water in the desert to prevent “illegal” immigrants from dying, but who was locked up for much of the time from the charge to the final acquittal. If you think of more like this please share their names in the comments too. Then there are those who have spent time in prison for something which was not liberating,, which was in fact reprehensible, but who turned their lives around and became heroes. John Dean comes to mind. So does our own beloved TomCat. More examples of these would also be welcomed in the comments – I know they exist. I realize the date is four days down the road, but I wanted to give people time in advance to think about it, since this is an unrecognized day; plus the fact that I am working in advance means that the work itself is often behind when posted. I absolutely did not want to miss it.
There isn’t really a place to click to. Here’s the link to how I learned of its existence (two years old, but I didn’t see it until last year – and then late).

Food for Thought –