Open Thread December 4 2025

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

Yesterday, Andy Borowitz headlined his Substack “Trump Boasts That International Criminal Court in The Hague Has Invited Him to Receive Award.” Considering what that would actually imply, would that it were true. Oh, well, I can dream. Also, yestersay was World Coati Day. Coatis, (or coatimundi, which was the name I learned as a kid, but I guess ispretty well limited to Brazil these days) are members of the raccoon family. They are somewhat rare jn the US, being limited to the Southwest, but more common in Central and South America, including Mexico. Oh, and also, it snowed – dirst of the season, about 3 inches and still on the ground at sunset. Unsurprisingly, it was cold.

This from The Independent was referred by Daily Dose of Democracy. I suppose it makes sense in a really, really warped kind of way. And we already knew that this regime is really, really warped. But good grief, what next?

Robert Reich tells us nothing here that we aren’t (probably) already aware of. But he does it so well – and offers possible solutions. Not easy solutions – I don’t think there are any of those – but possible. And he’s more than willing to hear about others from any reader who has any suggestions.

Harry Litman is not a veteran, but he knows a thing or two about military law, and First Amendment history, anyway. This is the second of a two-part analysis of the reaction to the veterans’ video regarding illegal orders. “I was just following orders” has not been a valid legal defense since the Nuremberg trials – almost my entire lifetime.

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Open Thread December 3 2025

 Posted by at 6:00 am  Open Thread, Personal, Politics
Dec 032025
 

Yesterday, I slept very late. which I hadn’t done on Monday. I knew on Monday that I was still behind, but I guess I didn’t realize how much. And when I did get up, I had 255 emails in my inbox (some of which were old which I needed to hold for a bit.) Using bulk delete, selecting only the ones I could tell from the subject line were cyber week or giving Tuesday (or from a person or group I want to be able to hear from but don’t want every email), I took out more than 200. I hope no one else got hit that hard.

This is from the Alabama Political Reporter, and was forwarded to me by Carrie B. I would say it’s accurate as far as it goes. What it doesn’t address is the way that so many of us – sometimes it seems like the entire human race – is so hypnotized by money and possessions. And not just in our lives, but all the way back as far as human history goes. Until we can break that spell for a majority of us, we will sadly make no progress.

Robert Reich is worried enough about Palantir that he sent out two emails back-to-back about it. This is the second one, and it is the one that has the link .I know everyone here has heard of it because I’ve written about it, but I expect he’s correct that many people have not. If I didn’t already rant about these people have no right to use a name out of Lord of the Rings because they are all servants of Sauron (and that the original palantirs were created for good uses and only used for evil in evil hands), please consider that rant ranted now. You won’t need to read the article if you prefer to watch Robert Reich’s video below. But I hope you’ll share one or the other – or both.

This story from the 19th is, of course, just one of thousands. But it isn’t really possible for one person to feel all the pain in the universe – or in the world – of of any one class of abused people – or even a family. To get just an idea, we need to hear individual stories. (Consider the man in the painting “The Scream.” He is not screaming – he is hearing the scream of the universe – and it is killing him.)

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Open Thread December 1 2025

 Posted by at 5:58 am  Open Thread, Personal, Politics
Dec 012025
 

Yesterday, I saw Virgil. Snow had been predicted for the day, but the prediction changed the day before to just cloudy all day with a high expected of 29°F (I think that’s about -2°C but I did the math in my head, so feel free to correct me if it’s wrong.) The sun was visible in Pueblo, but frankly it wasn’t much warmer if at all, and prison visiting rooms in CO are always beyond chilly. Not that that stopped us from having fun with cribbage. Virgil had the best hand of the day – a triple run of 3 (15 points), and one of the other two card made 15 with the card there were 3 of, so that was 6 more points for a total of 21. It’s tough to beat that, though of course it is possible (just not today.) The drive was pretty easy both ways – a good thing since I had only about 3 hours of sleep Saturday night. Don’t expect me to reply to comments early today. Upon return, my inbox was full of mail, but mostly cyber Monday stuff. Move On is starting to plan for a third No Kings event next year, but it’s in the planning stage – no date has been announced. I did find one article and one video which struck me as noteworthy.

I was going to start this take with “Speaking as a veteran” – but I realized that I’m really not sure whether I’m speaking as a veteran, or just as a decent human being who has priorities. Either way, I want to point out that most people (including all decent people) grasp that active duty military and veterans deserve our respect because they are willing to risk their lives for their country (which is also our country.) And if that is so, how much respect do we owe to Afghans who have not just been willing to, but actually risked their lives – for their country in the long run, but by aiding our country in the short run? I have read letters and articles written by American military who were the recipients of aid from Afghans. These letters/articles are always passionate; they are filled with examples of things these Afghans have done to help or save the writers, and they have usually been written at times when the US government have been (at best) slow walking giving them aid, giving them admission here, or some other thing which they have, in fact if maybe not on paper, earned. These letters and articles have made me passionate too. To accept assistance from someone who is putting their life on the line to keep our troops from being massacred, because they believe in us – then throwing them under the bus- is something a decent person would not do to an animal, let alone another human being. No, Afghans  who have helped us are not all perfect – they are human – and humans are not perfect – but punishing all of them for the bad actions of one is disgraceful. It is inhuman. And it is un-American.

This is the video. It’s under a half hour. Joyce’s experience is mostly in DOJ (when we had one) while Ryan knows more about war crimes and international law. Both are IMO easy to listen to.

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Open Thread November 30 2025

 Posted by at 6:00 am  Open Thread, Personal, Politics
Nov 302025
 

Yesterday, the radio opera was “Arabella” by Richard Strauss, who is much better known for “Salome,” “Elektra,” and “Der Rosenkavalier.” Arabella is about the two daughters of a Count and Countess who are deep in debt and figure they can just barely manage to come up with one dowry, but two are an impossibility, so the second daughter Zdenka, has to dress as and pretend to be a boy (“Zdenko”). I can just hear MAGA screaming – or at least I would if anyone in MAGA were able to appreciate opera. But I digress. It’s essentially a comic farce, with a happy ending for both daughters and their parents. It’s also the last opera of the summer season – next Saturday the Met will be back, and hopefully I can just listen on the radio again. I say “hopefully” because the toad in the White House has cut public radio and TV funds enough that two announcers have left and the station manager is leaving as of tomorrow, and the Met costs. So I may be depending on WFMT all year now. Either way, there’s a lot for me to be excited about in the new season. Anyway, I’m off to see Virgil now and will check in when I return.

No story, just a joke (but it’s an allegory.)

Also referred by The Smile, from a local TV station on Chattanooga. No information on how her skull got fractured – unless her blindness and he running everywhere might be a factor.

This from the East Idaho News is late – it happened a few days before Thanksgiving – but good news (and referred by The Smile) is always welcome, right? I can’t skip the ad on the video but it’s not terribly long and I think it’s worth it.

?

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Open Thread November 29 2025

 Posted by at 6:00 am  Open Thread, Personal, Politics
Nov 292025
 

Yesterday, I really felt like I needed a day off. And my inbox didn’t help – it was crammed, but mostly with Black Friday crap. I didn’t give in to that impulse completely, but this is short compared to usual. Tomorrow I will go see Virgil,  andof course check in when I get home.

This is a Black Friday deal, but it’s from Andy Borowitz. And it will give you a smile whether you are in the market or not.

This is today’s news video. Substack videos are mostly long (too long for PP), but this one is just 4½ minutes. Malcolm Nance has thoughts on the shooting of the National Guards.

This is an unusual animal to befriend in distress, but some people have a big enough heart and don’t have a phobia.I couldn’t do it – but I can applaud it.

Trinette got this from a friend and forwarded it to me – something to post on your front door in self-defense.

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Open Thread November 28 2025

 Posted by at 6:00 am  Open Thread, Personal, Politics
Nov 282025
 

Yesterday, I hope everyone had a pleasant and a peaceful day. I know I did

Ordinarily I don’t post petitions but this one is on a proposal which is new and shocking – “Doug Burgum, Trump’s hand-picked Interior Secretary, … wants to treat our public lands like a ‘balance sheet’ — turning America’s natural treasures into collateral for national debt.” This could be worse than selling them outright. If a sale were to be proposed, we would at least have an opportunity to protest. As collateral, they could just disappear. Of course Democratic Conservation will request a donation, but that is not mandatory.

Wednesday evening, Joyce Vance did a “catch-up” letter on legal news, much of which I had missed, so I’m linking today in case you missed it also.

Heather Cox Richardson wrote about the origins of Thanksgiving specifically as a national holiday (communal giving of thanks at the time of harvest date back as far as history can tell us, and probably much farther), which has its roots in the Civil War. You can read it, or you can scroll down and watch/listen to (most of) it.

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Open Thread November 27 2025

 Posted by at 5:55 am  Open Thread, Personal, Politics
Nov 272025
 

Yesterday, I had about as many emails as usual, but far more than usual of them were selling things, so I ended up with less than usual to read. It was a nice break. And there was this one – Hoo Boy, is this a powerful endorsement! (It came in an email but I’m linking straight to the ad itself.) Also, this news broke. I apologize for putting a damper on your holiday.

Robert Reich: “How to Get Rid of Citizens United.” Starting at the state level.:

From Mediaite, referred by “Daily Dose of Democracy.” I suspect all it really means is that the Kumquat King now has enough of his own installed that he no longer needs outside help to fire people.

Ordinarily I don’t repost John Pavloviyz. But this is not his usual – it a piece of NSFW satire that I think everyone can relate to. I personally particularly enjoyed “No one cares how many followers you have. (Trust me, followers are overrated anyway.)”

Guest video from Americans for Financial Reform

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Open Thread November 24 2025

 Posted by at 6:00 am  Open Thread, Personal, Politics
Nov 242025
 

Yesterday, Trinette was by and we had conversations about family, shopping, and other things.

From the 19th. This kind of thing has been happening for a very long time, although not always quite so deadly. But constant harassment is not exactly a walk in the park. Law and Crime says he has a court date today.

Amanda Marcotte at Salon writes about why we can’t have nice things a woman President, and why this will be true for a very long time. Spoiler – it’s because there are enough men working very, very hard to keep it that way.

This from The Conversation is supposed to be encouraging, and in a way it is, but this issue is not an election, it’s an imperative, and when one starts getting down to the percentage points of changed answers when additional information is provided, I get very nervous indeed.

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