Open Thread April 11 2026

 Posted by at 5:52 am  Open Thread, Personal, Politics
Apr 112026
 

Yesterday, I was looking forward to today because the radio opers for today is by Mozart – Don Giovanni – and the title role will be plqyed and sung by Ryan Speedo Green. It won’t be the first time I have heard him in a leading role – he played the title role in Terence Blanchard’s opera “Champion ” (split with Eric Owens – Speedo was the young Emil and Owens the old and demented Emil, still coping with guilt.) But it will be the first time I have heard him in a leading role by Mozart, which may be scarier, because there have been so many fantastic singers who have assumed this role over 200 years that many will be comparing him to someone else (different someone else depending on the listener.) Speedo is the young man who didn’t even know opera existed until he was in juvenile correction as a teen and someone took several inmates to the opera and he was hooked. (I’m pretty sure there was a black lead in the production, because if there hadn’t, he likely would have figured it was not for him and his life would not have been turned around as it was – but I don’t remember who. It might have been Denyce Graves, but there are so many others also.) It’s a story that never fails to inspire me.

No comment. (Because I am speechless.)

History can be scarier than just about anything, particularly when it appears to be rhyming again. By now I expect everyone knows how upset I get by undeserved reputations attached to historical figures (and even fictional ones.) Why does it matter? Because truth always matters. Here’s Steve Schmidt having a case of “Truth matters.” (Heather Cox Richardson tells the same story in her April 8 letter, but doesn’t go in to the reputational inconsistencies as Schmidt does.)

Two articles – same subject – the Presidential Records Act. Take your choice of Joyce Vance or Harry Litman – or read both. IMO, it should be possible tp prosecute a president who destroys a document immediately, while he is still in office. Here’s my thinking: this is analogous to using a drug to rape someone. The victim does not even know she’s been screwed until it’s too late. In the case of a destroyed document, the victim – the nation – may not ever find out we;ve been screwed, but even if we do, it’s way too late.

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Let’s Make Some Lemonade from Today’s Lemons …

 Posted by at 4:27 pm  Politics
Jan 202025
 

You gotta love the surprise gift Pres. Biden left for Donnie on the way out the door….

A delightful – and very appropriate – redecoration of the White House:

 

And then we need to thank Melania for the yuks that hat of hers provided:

But it turns out Melania was a step ahead in her planning when Donnie was only able to give her an “Air Kiss” because of that Hamburglar wide brim:

 

Way to go Melania!  Got any more tricks up your sleeves?

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Weekend Update: ICYMI – Odds & Ends

 Posted by at 2:39 pm  Politics
Nov 072021
 

In case you missed it (but how could you?) – this was not a particularly good week for us Democrats, with Glenn Youngkin winning the governorship of Virginia.

BUT you might have missed this little tidbit:

ICYMI: Glenn Youngkin’s UNDERAGE Son Tried to Illegally Vote – NOT Just ONCE, But TWICE – in This Week’s Virginia Election

 

Josh Marshall of Talking Points Memo provides the basics:

A little more details from WaPo:

About 20 minutes later, the teen returned, insisting that he be allowed to vote, saying that a friend who was also 17 had been allowed to cast a ballot.

Youngkin had emphasized “election integrity” as the centerpiece of his campaign to win the GOP nomination. He announced the formation of an “Election Integrity Task Force” of citizens who would work “to ensure free and fair elections in Virginia.”

https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/virginia-politics/glenn-youngkin-son-vote-election/2021/11/05/f5eb7ce0-3e62-11ec-8ee9-4f14a26749d1_story.html

Where’s the GQP outcry about election fraud?  Where’s the GQP outcry about illegal voting?  And why aren’t they calling for an “audit” to find that 17 y/o friend of Thomas Youngkin who DID vote – at least according to Thomas.

They obviously have NO knowledge about irony, but have an amazing familiarity with hypocrisy.

ICYMI: Melania Scowls and Rolls Her Eyes at TFG During World Series Game

This past week TFG & Melania went to the Houston Astros and Atlanta Braves World Series game in Atlanta where the camera caught Melania trading in her smile for rolling her eyes, turning her head away and scowling.

But it’s hardly the first time Melania has let her true feelings show.  We all remember her famous vanishing smile during the Inauguration …

 

Or when she slapped his hand away while visiting Israel …

And my favorite: Who can forget her most poignant plea for help from Michelle Obama disguised as a gift from Tiffany’s:

As long as we’re enjoying mocking TFG, let’s compare how his visit with Pope Francis went compared to Pres. Biden’s visit a week ago.

ICYMIT: Trump v Pres. Biden on Meeting Pope Francis

Trump’s meeting with the Pope did not go well …

Compared to Pres. Biden meeting with Pope Francis this past week:

Pope Francis was not the only one at the Vatican who was dumbfounded when dealing with TFG.  A reminder of what an honest reaction to utter incompetence gets from a totally unbiased translator back when Donnie visited the Pope:

 

And here’s a side-by-side snippet comparing the same translator dealing with Biden compared to TFG:

What a difference having a caring, compassionate and competent President makes!

ICYMI: Biden Puts an End to Trump’s Weekly “INFRASTRUCTURE WEEK”

The other big story I’m sure no one missed was the ending of Trump’s FOUR-PLUS YEARS of promising “Infrastructure Week”.  But let’s review a snippet of TFG’s endless promise of “Getting it done”.

Oh, and when the GQP starts whining that Biden’s Infrastructure Bill and Build Back Better will cause inflation (and they will, because lies are all they have), just inform that SEVENTEEN Nobel Prize-Winning Economists disagree!

ICYMI: Nobel Prize Winners: Biden’s Build Back Better Social Safety Net Will EASE Inflation – NOT Cause It

Seventeen recipients of the Nobel Prize in economics signed a letter in support of President Joe Biden’s $3.5 trillion Build Back Better package on Monday. They refuted arguments made by Republicans and moderate Democrats that the massive “human infrastructure” bill—which would provide funding to expand education, health care, child care, and climate efforts—is far too expensive. 

The economists also came out in support of a proposed $2.9 trillion increase in taxes to pay for the program. The new rates, which would mostly impact the wealthiest Americans and large, multinational corporations, would represent the largest tax increase in decades. 

https://fortune.com/2021/09/21/nobel-prize-winning-economists-back-joe-biden-build-back-better-plan/

The signees, who are all currently employed as professors at the nation’s top universities, wrote: “Because this agenda invests in long-term economic capacity and will enhance the ability of more Americans to participate productively in the economy, it will ease longer-term inflationary pressures.”

That should bring you up to speed on those fun stories that might have slipped right passed you this past week.

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