Yesterday, I observed Veterans Day in the traditional Marine Corps manner by sleeping in. Here’s how Barack Obama observed it, God bless him (cat goddesses, bless him too.)
Common Dreams recounts just one story of an ICE arrest – this one in Fitchburg, Massachusetts (but they are just about all alike.)
I’ve been waiting for a comprehensive article on NPSM-7 – so many people are raising the alarm and so few are at all addressing what is in it. I decided it was time to find something more substantial. Just scroll down m past the “Donate” section – I’m confident anyone who can afford to is already donating to them. Below that is the whole story.
https://www.theroot.com/former-white-racists-expose-secret-lingo-and-gestures-y-2000072520
I was aware of more then half of these listed, but I did learn a couple which were new to me – and I certainly didn’t know there was a “hate symbols database.” Not that it is surprising.
This Lawrence video is a bit over 18 minutes. So don’t watch all of it, unless you decide you really want to after watching the first three minutes. There is stuff in those first minutes that everyone really should know and you won’t find elsewhere.
Yesterday, I see that the Senate appears to have caved on the shutdown. (Jeffries says he has not and will not, but we’ll see.) The calls to kick Chuck Schumer out range from statements to screams – although he was NOT one of the eight who caved. (And two out of those 47 are actually Independents, and at least one of those two was among the eight.) You can find the list and photos here (Belle also lists them.) It seems a bit unfair to me to blame all Democrats for what only 17% of them did. But on the bright side, SCROTUS has declined to hear a challenge to Obergefell. (And I’m pretty confident that if they won’t hear that, they won’t hear Loving either.) So, hopefully, one less thing to worry about. But we still have to worry about trans people, especially trans kids. Someone at Democratic Underground remarked that the Orange Oligarch will for sure end in prison, because dementia ia a form of prison – prison in one’s own body. Well, if that’s true, and in a way it is, what about being trans? Isn’t it prison to be a girl in a boy’s body, or vice versa? And to be fully aware of the discrepancy? I was born in 1945, and in the 1950s Christine Jorgensen was in the news a lot, and my mother told me that sometimes the soul of a girl is born into the body of a boy. Whether you think in terms of a soul, or a personality, or essence, or whatever it is that makes us who we are non-tangibly, can you think of a worse prison to be locked up in? For a person who has done nothing to deserve prison, yet it’s a prison from which the only escape is major medical intervention. Otherwise, there is no release, no probation, no parole, no escape but death. And the older one gets, the more invasive the surgery becomes. And Republicans would sentence these innocent prisoners to stay in prison from birth to adulthood (and longer, with the cost of health care going through the roof, only the wealthy can afford it.) At the very least transgender kids should be allowed puberty blockers. It’s no bloody wonder that the suicide rate among transgendered people is so high.
The F* News is experimenting with a weekly newsletter in addition to their dailies, wanting to go into a little more depth than they can trying to keep up with the daily chaos. This one includes more than one topic, and all are interesting, but the first one, regarding Elon Musk’s personal body count, may be the most shocking.
Some judges appointed by the Orange Oligarch are actually making judgments based on the law and the Constitution, without fear or favor, such as Karin Immergut. Others not so much. People for the American Way addresses 14 rulings from this fall so far which are, to say the least, troubling. Or I should say that it lists them and links to fuller analysis, so you can choose which one or ones to dive into.
Speaking of judges, Steve Schmidt starts this article with a powerful quote from one (a Reagan appointee, no less).
Yesterday, Trinette was by. She brought two copies of my new auto insurance ID card, since my printer is not yet functioning, and she looked at it, and we discovered it needs a power cord (and one different from any power cords I already have.) I’m pretty sure I know exactly where to get one and will work on it. She also tooka really good full length photo of my Nancy Pelosi character doll and emailed it to me (from her phone). And of course we talked.
I agree this from Common Dreams is highly motivational to Democrats (it certainly motivates me). I also point out that it cannot motivate anyone who does not know about it. Share it widely.
So in addition to all her other credentials, Joyce Vance is a Fellow of the Brennan Center. How she finds time to knit and raise chickens I simply cannot imagine.
This is from last week – but it’s discussion what will happen which most likely hasn’t happened yet. There’s a fair amount of saying the quiet part out loud, and if that angers you, good – you are still alive.
Yesterday, the radio opera was “Parsifal” by Wagner – a good four hours. “Parsifal” is the way Germans spell “Percival,” and the allusion to the Round Table is intentional, although no other character’s name follows through. The opera traces how Parsifal became the king of the knights who are charged with protecting the Holy Grail. I won’t go into detail. Wagner quotes the Dresden Amen in it more than once, but especially at the (happy) ending. Wagner’s ideas about Christianity were somewhat warped, but if they were as warped as MAGA, that does not come through in his operas. His ideas about sexuality were also somewhat warped, also (as far as we can tell) not as warped as MAGA. I won’t push that any farther either. The man could and did write beautiful music. To anyone – and I have heard it a lot – who thinks that music, especially classical music, is “ennobling,” I say “It certainly didn’t work for Wagner.” Not that his record can compete with the Mango Monster – but pretty much everything the Monster has done hundreds and thousands of times, Wagner did at least once.
I found this through The Smile on a day when most of their news was both political and pathetic. This is neither, and I applaud the educators who are facilitating this.
I knew some of this, because last month The Root had an article on several philanthropists, of whom she was one. The article doesn’t really answer the question the headline asks, but the answer is really “because she has a soul.” If she is not already on your list of secular saints, this might be the time to add her to it.
If you can’t see the video, I couldn’t either, until I turned my browser’s media player on. I’m sorry that I won’t be around to vote for this young man for President.
Crazy Soup Mr. Tangerine Man – not the world’s best singer, no CC, and it’s from last year’s election season, but hey. It’s amusing.
Yesterday, I observed that Nancy Pelosi will retire after the 2026 midterms. But she will always be the speaker in my house, in the character doll I clothed (and styled the hair) of her in the infamous Max Mara coat, with sunglasses. Bo, I don’t yet have a picture. I’ll work on getting one.
From Wonkette, a snapshot from the history of labor in America. Granted that having to pee in a bottle because you don’t get bathroom breaks, as happens at Amazon, is not as bad as getting shot and killed or burned alive, I still don’t think we have come very far.
I found a way to link to one specific part of the TPM Morning Memo, so here it is – early theories of the election. As stated there, it’s early to be sure just what happened, but still interesting. You are welcome to scroll up and down to the rest of the memo if you like.
I don’t suppose that anyone here is even slightly considering a paid subscription to The F***ing News – but just in case, you cannot pay for it with an American Express card. They will not send your payment(s) because the name offends them. But I digress. There’s a bunch in here, but what most interested me was the middle about the “lame duck” era. I found it encouraging. It starts with a header with the Politico logo, and goes down to the two maps of Virginia – maps which clearly show that land does not vote. People vote.
Two videos today because they go together. I was born in San Francisco, but I don’t think I have ever been truly homesick until seeing the first one.
Yesterday, The news was that Dick Cheney has died. Obviously I’m no fan, and I doubt anyone here is. But he did tell Liz to “Save the Republic,” and she did work on the Jan 6 committee, and she is fundraising for Democratic candidates such as Zoe Lofgren now, and I wouldn’t mind telling her she has my sympathy. If anyone sees any such petition, please let me know. Also, it appears we won a trifecta in Virginia – a state where the Gov and Lt Gov run separately rather than on a ticket – bu we won both. And their legislative House. I’m also seeing reports that Mikie Sherrill won the Governor’s race in New Jersey, but that is not official as I type. I hope it’s correct. And Zohran Mamdami won the New York City Mayoralty.
Heather Cox Richardson starts with Nick Fuentes (and Groypers) and proceeds into other Republican officials, advisers, and influencers, all disgusting. Unfortunately, however, it’s true – you can’t tell the players without a program. This is (among other things) the program.
Robert Reich , because the current Federal government would never consider a wealth tax, is working on one to propose in California. They hope to get it onto the ballot in 2026. He says there are other states looking at it, but doesn’t mention which states.
Okay, okay, this is not news – it is Borowitz. I read the headline and mentally responded, “Don’t tease me, bro.” But actually – now is not the time for it to be good news. Don’t think they could not find someone worse!
Yesterday, I opened my email, and it looks like I’m going to be doing more knitting this week and next. PBS Great Performances will be streaming “The Barber of Seville”. Cedille Records (RBG’s son) will be releasing a new CD and streaming from another, both with only composers killed or exiled during the Holocaust (good thing I just ordered and received 4 boxes of tissues).
This Intercept article didn’t pop up a subscription pitch for me – possibly because it’s the first of the month? Anyway, I have held this for a bit in the chaos, but it does need to be known.
Heather Cox Richardson from last Friday is worth reading if only for the Gatsby quotation, in which Nick specified that he was speaking of “Tom and Daisy [Buchanan]’, but which Richardson rightly extends to the whole MAGA party. It’s sad but true. (Totally off topic, but I just realized that she and I have the same surname – mine just uses the nickname instead of the full first name, and has condensed the spelling.)
I posted last week a preview of the Supreme Court season, but this “The Week Ahead” specifically looks at a Nectarine Napoleon’s tariff case (one of them) and analyzes what exactly he is trying to accomplish,
HCR videos generally run at least 20 minutes and usually considerably more. So I thought I’d better grab this six minute one while it was still current.
Yesterday, in case anyone missed my comment, I got the email from Carrie that Barry has died. Of course she could still use suppoet, such as thoughts, prayers, or however you communicate with the universe. Also, I course, I saw Virgil and we played cribbage. The cards were not terribly cooperative; we sis have some good hands, but also a lot of bummers. For instance, at different times, both Virfil and I were dealt a habd with three pairs. That’s an automatic “WTF do I discard?” dilemma. And you know whatever you do is going to be wrong. But we still had fun. The sergeant in charge of Cisitation came to the visiting room to meet me (and ask how I put up with him – that’s kind of a women’s in-joke.)
Chris Bowers has a point. Things could indeed be worse. There are still good people in the US (you’re here, aren’t you? And if you’re not, you are in contact with people who are.) And many of us are doing what we can to help constrain him, and some of it is helping. We need to hang on to hope – without that, it will be worse.
You know, I really can’t comment on this – despite the fact I spent ten years in the Marine Corps myself and fired a gun or two in my day, I have never learned to read minds. I have learned that every living soul is different from every other one, even fraternal siblings, and that many are very complex and inconsistent. “Full of surprises” comes to mind. Just now, I know there are people worried about Graham Platner, and I cannot tell anyone what to think – I don’t know myself what to think. Although I associate this trait with “Conservatives,” many Liberals also have a habit of jumping to conclusions before all the facts are in.
This from People For The American Way is a huge challenge and I know not everyone can absorb it. But it is also something you will not find anywhere else sy this point. Going through the term, you will find articles and briefings on individual cases, but almost certainly not an overview. So I feel I need to share that it exists.
