Morality – Politics Plus

Open Thread January 26 2026

Posted by Joanne Dixon at 5:49 am Politics

Jan 262026

Yesterday, I put most of my day into a comment on yesterday’s thread, hoping to be able to post what I had already tentatively picked out without much editing. And here it is

This from Chris Bowers is exactly why we can just forget about the 25th Amendment. It was not written for the situation which we have. Impeachment comes closer to the situation we have, but – as we should have learned from his first term – it’s not in fact close enough. If we really want him out, we need an amendment which authorizes a recall election. The kind of recall election where we vote, not just for recxall, but for one of a handful or so of candidates to replace him. (Or her. Sometime in the 23rd or 24th century, we MAY just possibly be able to elect a woman. Or not.) Also, it can’t be Congress which authorizes such an election. It would have to be initiated by the people somehow. And it would have to be a general election so that everyone could vote. And if you think that’s going to happen – I’m confident that it won’t in my lifetime. Even if I live to be 100, which I don’t expect. The 25th was not designed or intended for a situation like Fascism. It was designed for situationd more like Woodrow Wilson (though it was far too late for that one – or at the present, for something more like the Canteloupe Caligula’s “annual physicals” which appear to happen every month or so. Either the 25th needs to be amended, or it needs to be replaced, or we just need a new and separate Amendment. (Or a recall election.)

I didn’t even know that Gavin Newsom spoke at DAVOS – there was so much focus on Mark Carney and on the Saffrom Sauron. That’s too bad. Newsom’s speech is a lot more fun than any of the other speeches.

This from the 19th refers to ICE, but it might be one or more Border Patrol agents. They are often mixed in to ICE occupations.

Open Thread June 16 2025

Posted by Joanne Dixon at 6:00 am Open Thread, Personal, Politics

Jun 162025

Yesterday, I saw Virgil and we played cribbage. Though it was Father’s Day, there was only one inmate in the visiting room whose visitation included a child. That doesn’t mean necessarily that he was the only father who was visited – visiting is also allowed on Friday and Saturday – I just prefer Sunday because the traffic is calmer. There was a little bit of rain on my way back (maybe even a little hail – but if so, very small – maybe pinhead size.) And neither the rain nor the hail lasted long at all.

Evan Hurst is a staff writer for Wonkette, but he also has his own Substack called “The Moral High Ground.” (And there’s always a link to it at the end of his pieces, including this one.) I think everyone who is progressive has moral reasons for that stand, but we don’t always appeal to them when discussing politics – and I’m not saying we should, but maybe we should think about it. As you can tell even just from the title, “moral” doesn’t necessarily imply “respectable word choices.” And that, I think, is a good thing.

Yes, I learned about these shootings on Saturday, but I wasn’t about to put this in Sunday’s post. I will only add to Joyce that Melissa Hartman was not just a representative, but also a former Speaker of the Minnesota House. So much for “Minnesota nice.” (Or maybe that only applies to the DFL party.)

Open Thread April 7 2025

Posted by Joanne Dixon at 6:06 am Open Thread, Personal, Politics

Apr 072025

Yesterday, I saw Virgil, found a deck of cards, and we played cribbage. We had a range of hands from awful to unusually good. Today I have an appointment to have blood work done again. My original appointment was cancelled and rescheduled twice – after the second time, instead of changing the day, I went back to the original day and changed the location. My original appointment was at the lab closest to me, but they have just undergone major repairs, and are struggling to pass all the inspections. The location I changed to is the one I got lost finding last time – now that I’ve been there once, that won’t happen again. I know exactly where it is and how to get there now.

In case anyone who participated in “Hands Off” didn’t get pictures, here are some samples. It must have been quite a day. There are so many and they are all so good I’m just going to give a string of links. There must have been close to a million, maybe more than a million, in the US. Andy Borowitz says there were half a million just on Fifth Avenue in NYC. And these links are just a sample.
Some here. More here. Also here. And here. Several states here. Several states here too.

I think Robyn (from Wonkette) may be on to something here. The only small town I have ever lived in was Alamosa, and it was a college town (now a university town.) The presence of liberal arts higher education tones down the Parochiality. As, may I add, does the presence of citizen neighbors in large numbers who speak a different language but have nonetheless been there for a lot longer than you have (and many of whom have PhDs.) So I didn’t find it a bad experience. But I’m sure small town exactly like what she describes are more the rule than the exception, and that their primary export may well be Karens.

John Pavlovitz, who always IMO has something to say worth thinking about, makes a confession here which will probably be no surprise to any reader – I think we’ve probably all said much the same at one time or another. But knowing it is not the same as actually feeling the full scope of it. This post and today’s other post are in different ways describing the same thing.

Video Thread 11/30/22

Posted by Joanne Dixon at 12:10 pm Open Thread, Politics

Nov 302022

Glenn Kirschner – In his recent post, Donald Trump admits to not one but two crimes. Can indictments be far off?

Ring of Fire – Crazed Capitol Rioters Head To Prison

Robert Reich – Does Elon Musk Have a Right to Destroy Twitter?

Real Subtitles? What can you do when your country is out of hamburgers?

Puppy Born Without Front Legs Brings Life To Senior Dogs

Beau – Let’s talk about Arizona, water, and a new market….

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