Open Thread February 28 2026

 Posted by at 5:59 am  Open Thread, Personal, Politics
Feb 282026
 

Yesterday, I set my alarm because I needed to take in a grocery order. At least I got everything in and put away. But that did throw me a little off schedule – to the extent that I even have a schedule. But – today being the last day of Black History month, I think I simply must share something I learned today – from Wikipedia: “Errollyn Wallen CBE (born 10 April 1958)[1] is a Belize-born British composer and musician, who moved as a child with her family to London, England. Wallen was appointed Master of the King’s Music in 2024 by King Charles III, in his first appointment to the post. She is the first black woman to serve in the position, having in 1998 been the first black woman to have a work featured in the Proms.” Oh, and Andy Borowitz has Hillary’s complete opening statement – no joke – though he does joke some in the lead-in.

This from the Brennan Center is an abridged version of their report. The one thing I wanted to see which was not in the summary was which states do what. I found that information by clicking on the “Download Insight” button (Colorado was not the first to correct this, but was one of the first . No one took any action until just before the 2020 census.) The summary is probably comprehensive enough for most people.

A report from Pro Publica on the conditions at the Dilley concentration camp in Texas. The art of children is likely not as monetarily valued as the art seized from German Jews by the Nazis – but it is in its way no less important. How can one put a price on the tears of a child?

I won’t apologize for JoJo’s language in her title. She’s not addressing the epithet to us.

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Open Thread February 26 2026

 Posted by at 5:59 am  Open Thread, Personal, Politics
Feb 262026
 

Yesterday, I listened to last week’s “Coffee Klatch” which Robert Reich does (I would have done do sooner, but it had gone to Spam and I just found it.) Robert and Heather interviewed David Hogg. There was a lot of good stuff in that interview, but one thing which struck me is that he said they spend a lot of time telling young men they’re not ready to run because they’re not ready to do the job, and another lot of time convincing young women they are absolutely qualified to run and do the job. Why am I not surprised? Also, Andy Borowitz shared a 7 year old half hour long British documentary regarding the Mango Monster and underage girls.

Money in politics has always been an issue. But it is getting worse, and not just because of inflation. It’s also getting more and more blatant as those who engage in enriching themselves become more and more blatant. If we allow them to normalize it – well, you can see what will happen.

There are other sources for this, but I’m inclined to trust Robert Reich‘s take more than most. (Incidentally, if Kegsbreath is so damn smart, why would he want AI anyway? Truth is, he knows he can’t do it better himself.)

Please save this and re-read it frequently – especially around elections, including primaries. These frightful attitudes are not going away any time soon. These men are repeating what they learned at their father’s knee (or the knee of a brow-beaten mother, or both.) And their self-respect depends on keeping those opinions, despite any and all evidence to the contrary. Facts be damned. We will never successfully oppose it by pretending it doesn’t exist.

This video has a great punchline:

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Open Thread February 25 2026

 Posted by at 6:00 am  Open Thread, Personal, Politics
Feb 252026
 

Yesterday, I did watch the “State of the Swamp”, not the “State of the Union”, and, although it was long, I’m glad I did. I found it inspiring.

Vitriol (or, technically, oil of vitriol) is sulfuric acid – H2SO4 – diluted with water. There used to be a rhyme about it – “Poor John is dead/With us he is no more/For what he thought was H₂O was H2SO4.” It can be created spontaneously when sulfides created when copper ore is blasted out of rock is oxidized by contact with oxygen in the air, and then encounters water. You would think that no one would want to establish a copper mine in proximity to a large body of water. But this is exactly what Antofagasta Mining wants to do upstream of the Boundary Waters, which are situated on the border between the US and Canada. (Canada calls their part something else, but both sides are heavily visited, and contain wildlife.) The Boundary Waters Canoe Area on our side is the most visited wilderness area in the U.S. The House has already voted to authorize this mine, and now the bill goes to the Senate. My best source for this (the most information with the least filler) is this 13-minute video. It has CC, so there is a transcript.

If this from The 19th doesn’t break your heart – assuming it isn’t already broken – well, you can fill in the “then” section yourself. No one – absolutely no one – should have to live like this.

The Brennan Center reviews the history of changes being made to the makeup and responsibilities of the Supreme Court. It’s not something that is impossible. If it has been done before, it can be done again.

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Open Thread February 24 2026

 Posted by at 6:00 am  Open Thread, Personal, Politics
Feb 242026
 

Yesterday, I learned a little more about the “State of the Swamp” event (info at defiant.org), including that, earlier in the day, the Portland Frog Brigade is going to visit every Republican Congresscritter’s office and give them a copy of the Constitution, with a note that “This is what you swore an oath to – not a man.” Using Absurdism to fight craziness works for me. But there are also two other more serious alternate events organized by Democrats – and a group which is giving out Bingo cards for the real thing. Eventually I’ll get reports on how the “real” thing went so even though I won’t see it, I’ll have something (or likelier, some things) to say about it.

I’ve been reading that Democratic AGs have been preparing for this – and wonder how they were preparing. Common Dreams got at least part of the answer through Politico and is sharing.

I’ve always felt that “equal time” could get a bit dicey if one or more of those granted equal time were lying. So it’s good to know that the FCC recognizes this in determining what constitutes “time.”

Archived from The Lever. Palantir is a company which has me more terrified than most have. It’s no surprise that they would move if a different state with fewer and looser regulations came along. I might just mention that in he world for which the Palantiri were conceived, they were created by good entities to be used for good. That lasted for centuries – until Sauron got hold of one (there were only 7 or 8 made) and figured out how to corrupt its use – not, actually, by showing false things – but by allowing only truths which would cause despair to be seen. (The Saffron Sauron is not that smart, but I still think it’s a good nickname. And it has the additional advantage that Sauron, before he became the second Dark Lord, had been a servant of Morgoth, the original Dark Lord, who was even more powerful. The Saffron Sauron is a servant of Moscow Morgoth – AKA Putin.)

Robert Reich

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Open Thread February 23 2026

 Posted by at 5:52 am  Open Thread, Personal, Politics
Feb 232026
 

Yesterday, I saw Virgil and we played cribbage. As usual, we had a mixture of hands. He was having more difficulty counting his hands than he had been lately. (Also, this week he had another of those vivid dreams in which his first wife phoned him and was reading him the riot act about something, and he had completely forgotten that this cannot happens. The only phones he is allowed to use do not have incoming numbers – they can only be used to call out. Prior to this week he had been remembering that. But either the dream scared the memory out of him – or he just forgot it and that enabled the dream to form. But we had a good time and enjoyed each others’/ company. I was able to stay until visitation ended today, since subset was not until 5:45. The drive was easy both ways this trip. The meme at bottom was created by Joyce Vance, who gives permission to anyone to share it widely with no alteration.

In The Public Interest addresses school vouchers. Y’all already know what I think about vouchers – they are like saying “I don’t like the city parks. I want my kids to play at the Country Club, so they won’t have to play with those people. So I want the city to pay my club dues.”

So the Ginger Grifter’s tariffs are illegal and, per SCOTUS, must stop. So the Ginger Grifter has announced he is increasing tariffs to 15%. Shades of Worcester v. Georgia.

Certainly Neil Gorsuch is a far, far, far right jurist. But every once in a while he has the right idea and does the right thing. We all know it’s “damn seldom.” But he is fairly consistently respectful of Native Americans, and of the (broken) treaties the US government has made with them. Sometimes even more respectful than liberal justices. That is why, although I really, really want a strong liberal majority on the Court, I would not mind if he were to be one member of a minority of 2 or 3 – or maybe even 4. Certainly his views on pretty much everything else terrify me.

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Open Thread February 22 2026

 Posted by at 6:00 am  Open Thread, Personal, Politics
Feb 222026
 

Yesterday, the radio opera was “Manon Lescaut” by Puccini – his first big hit, actually. I always struggle not to laugh when she ends up dying in “the deserts of Louisiana”, but – since it’s set in the 18th century, when French-owned Louisiana stretched much farther west even than the Louisiana Purchase – it’s not nearly as silly as it sounds today. This performance was chosen by soprano Asmik Grigorian, a big fan of Mirella Freni (who was born in the same tiny little town where Luciano Pavarotti was born – there must have been something in the water.) Off to see Virgil now – will check in upon return..

This is kind of sweet. (You will likely need to unmute it)

It always warms my heart to see Joe Biden get any credit at all. He deserves so much better.

I do realize some people have difficulty with bats – and that most people are not aware how much bats do for the environment. But how can anyone not find flying foxes adorable?

Rocky Mountain Mike

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Open Thread February 18 2026

 Posted by at 6:00 am  Open Thread, Personal, Politics
Feb 182026
 

Yesterday, Jesse Jackson died. It grieves me how many civil rights heroes we have lost and are losing – and we need them so badly. We do have new young heroes coming up, but they are still building their platforms. How can we help? We need every one of them. Robert Reich quoted Jackson’s speech to the 1988 Dem Convention in full. At least I found out what I am going to do to escape the SOTU next week. See the not-a-cartoon below. Check ut qqq.defiance.org if you’re interested.

Well, we haven’t invaded Greenland – yet – but a power failure there made everyone there think we were, and scared the crap out of them. I gather there were no casualties, but people with heart conditions have died from less.

This definitely scares me. Secretaries of State are the ones who make the decisions and policies about how elections are run statewide. County Clerks are often the ones who supervise the “judges” who do the actual work (in heavily populated counties there will likely be a dedicated employee of the County Clerk who does this.) And those judges – there must be as close to an equal number of blue ones and red ones as possible. Because if any of them so much as has to go to the bathroom, she or he must be accompanied by a judge from the other party. In June, I will have lived in Colorado for 50 years, and it has not been blue for all of them. I have worked with clerks and clerks from both parties, and the one thing they had in common was following the rules to the letter. Going forward, I don’t know what to expect.

More on Epstein from dekleptocracy. It includes quotes from The Guardian, so I assume Lona is already aware. (Barf bag alert)

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Open Thread February 17 2026

 Posted by at 6:04 am  Holiday, Open Thread, Personal, Politics
Feb 172026
 

Yesterday, I checked in on line for my lab appointment I had to postpone from last week. This is not the best weather for dressing so that one’s veins can easily be reached, so I’ll need a jacket or a coat – or maybe a poncho is the best idea. But it could be worse. I tried to get a solid head start on tomorrow’s post, so if it’s a trifle dated, that would be why. (Also, did you ever expect to see a political cartoon whose entire caption is a classic poem by an American who would later be the Poet Laureate of the US? It also happens to be one of my all-time favorites by anyone.)

When you read this headline, you may think it is satirical. It isn’t. It may or may not be true, but it isn’t satire. He seriously claims it.

This is handy. Do you suppose any Republicans might learn from it that some rules actually do reply to them? (I doubt it.)

This is a heartfelt piece of writing. Don’t think that the video at the top is a long one – it’s only 29 seconds and is just an illustration.  It is the second video which is a minute, and there’s a photo. The video at the end, however, is a real song (JoJo uses popular music the way I use animal rescues.) You may have heard it before. And there is one more picture still below it.

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