Personal – Page 6 – Politics Plus

Open Thread April 10 2026

Posted by Joanne Dixon at 5:58 am Open Thread, Personal, Politics

Apr 102026

Yesterday, per “Black Man Spy,” Kegsbreath said something on the order of “Our warriors are preparing for our next conquest.” “Conquest” is a word which has a range of meanings. but in its original basic meaning, it is a war crime. If you go into enemy occupied territory in a war they started, and you take the territory, such as occupied France in WWII, that is not conquest – it is defense. But if you go into someone else’s territory with the intention of taking it order – that is conquest. That is what, for example, Hitler did to Poland in 1939. It’s what Cortes did to the Aztec empire. That is what white Americans did to Indian territories. That is what Britain did to India. All just examples – since throughout history, way too many nations did it to too many other nations and thought it was a good and honorable idea. Put that on the ground and it will make the flowers grow. The warcast also went into how new alliances are being formed leaving us out – which is (though they didn’t use these words) going to make us a pariah state allied with no one. Except maybe Israel. Which, under Bibi, is already a pariah. Speaking of Bibi, who is at least as crazy and evil as our un-president – and even more “Nobody can tell him anything that will change his mind” than ours. If you want a cease-fire including Israel, you need to discuss it with Bibi personally. Accept no one else’s word for it.

Democrats aren’t always bizarre. But when we are – we are within out constitutional rights, and we don’t maul or abuse anyone. The Intercept has the story.

What a mess. Decisions like these are difficult enough when everyone is on the same page. With misinformation flying around like a plague of cicadas, decisions re xlose to impossible.

And this article may be worse than the last one. At least vaccines, and the diseases they protect against, are tangible. Gender orientations are not, although they are very real. You can’t prove that a person is gay like you can prove that a chiled has measles. There are no blood tests for it. Nor for transgender – genitalia may be tangible, but they may also lie. Depression and suicidal feelings ae also intangible – unless they are acted on – and then it is too late. My state was doing the right thing. SCROTUS is not.

Open Thread April 9 2026

Posted by Joanne Dixon at 5:57 am Open Thread, Personal, Politics

Apr 092026

Yesterday, I heard something that I had not heard for years – but tht I have heard more than once just in the past week. A pundit on a webcast said, “I don’t want to be a Pollyanna.” The implication is that Pollyanna was an unfailing optimist. She was not. (If you want a literary optimist, go to Doctor Pangloss in Candide (Voltaire.) Pollyanna was a clear-eyed realist. What she did do was use “one weird trick” to keep herself going – keep herself afloat – when faced with bad news or bad circumstances. That technique is simple, and easy to use, and it is psychologically sound. It is to find something, even something completely unrelated, that isn’t bad – that one can feel good about. And it works. This is why my email inbox – and probably yours – keeps getting emails saying things like “Last night (referring to Tuesday), Democrats held the State Supreme Court in Wisconsin, keeping the court’s majority.” That’s the Pollyanna tidbit to help us all keep going. And that is just one example. “Count your blessings – the phrase and the song – is another. Of course Pollyanna is a fictional character, but dammit, even a fictional character does not deserve to be turned into her exact opposite. (OK, end of rant. Although I’m getting to the point where I may do one on “decimate.” Or possibly “perverse.”) The featured image to the left was produced by Iran with a nod to the Evil Emperor’s Easter “truth.” And I did finally electronically file my federal and state tax returns. Federally, I owe notheing and will receive nothing. State, I may or may not get $19.00.

You know, this from The Conversation would have been 100% predictable, had anyone thought about it in advance. It is also IMO 100% disgusting. But don’t take it from me. Y’all have perfectly good minds.

This from POGO is old – it was originally posted in 2025, but reposted last week for fairly obvious reasons. It’s still pertinent.

This by Wajeeh Lion is details on the rescue of the pilot which took the longest. It isn’t going to affect the war in general, but it’s quite a story and will give you an idea of the hazards, and maybe also of the terrain of Iran – which is a lot more mountainous than desert-y and even has some mountains higher than ours in Colorado – a neat trick when a nation also has sea level and at that so close to those mountains.

Open Thread April 8 2026

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

Apr 082026

Yesterday – my “day off” – I was not writing or researching, but I really have to go through inboxes regardless. So, I do want to say – if we are all still here – I’ m grateful. If not – it was wonderful knowing all of you. (P.S. – I did manage to do some laundry – mostly after the letdown.)

On Monday, Malcolm Nance said on his “warcast” that “All of us are agreeing with Marjorie Taylor Greene.” And, dammit, he was right. This is what she posted (starting with a screenshot of POTUS’s post), and I agree 100%, and I’m confident y’all will too: “On Easter morning, this is what President Trump posted. Everyone in his administration that claims to be a Christian needs to fall on their knees and beg forgiveness from God and stop worshipping the President and intervene in Trump’s madness. I know all of you and him and he has gone insane, and all of you are complicit.”

Wajeeh mentioned this during Malcolm’s and his “warcast” one day last week, and it launched Malcolm into a horror story about when he was working there and his wife was also working there (as a contractor) and they needed a maid (the Nances probably saved the poor girls life – they definitely saved her sanity and started her on a real career). Wajeeh promised to write an article on the system, and this is it.

From The Root. This really pisses me off. The CBC (Congressional Black Caucus) may be made up of public servants, but itself is just a club. The Congreaaional Back Caucus Foundation is not even a club, but a non-profit NGO, not a government entity. The scholarship program is “The CBC Spouses Education Scholarship” The spouses of the Caucus are not public servants, but private citizens. They are entitled to do what they effing want with their GD money. This is racism pure and simple.

I watched this conversation between Joyce Vance and an expert on Hungary (which is having an election Sunday), but there is a transcript if you prefer to read. It’s about 33 minutes – but I can’t think of any way you could get this much information without reading a book (or listening to an audiobook). It’s very scary – and the scariest part may well be how little of it we knew about.

By contrast, here’s a VERY short video from YouTube Shorts, which was sent by Evelyn to Loan and from her to me: https://youtube.com/shorts/Ac8ppjNsMQ8

Open Thread April 6 2026

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

Apr 062026

Yesterday, I saw Virgil and we played cribbage. The deck we had (I just pick up whatever is closest in the games cabinet now ) was not brand new, since it was rather sticky, but it was missing no cards, and no cards were torn or peeling – that’s not always the case. Colorado prisons’ visiting rooms are always cold, but yesterday it was colder than usual. But we had fun anyway. I posted after I got back home but didn’t respond to comments – I’ll do that today. After getting home (and finally making a cup of coffee, and dinner), and while I was looking for a video for today, I tripped over a channel I was not aware of, called “Sideprojects”, whose purpose is to inform people of things you learned in history or even from (usually older) books, are not true, and how we found out. I watched one on the Roman Empire – some of it I knew, but some thinks, especially DNA things were new even to me – and Latin was my major in college, and Roman History was a requirement. I don’t know that I’d call the false stories lies, actually, because I believe a falsehood requires intent to deceive in order to be a lie. But if I “know” something which is false, I do like to learn the truth. Most of the videos, as far as could see, not looking at the whole library, run in the neighborhood of 20-30 minutes, though some are longer – and while many are history based, some correct scientific “knowledge.”

I didn’t want to put this on Sunday. Wajeeh is a Saudi Arabian political analyst who now lives in Minneapolis and is a co-host for Malcolm Nance, along with Jacob Kaarsbo, who is Danish. I’m pretty sure all three pilots who were shot down have been rescued now, thankfully. But that does not mean that he risk is over. We have more pilots, and more planes, and neither the Emperor nor Kegsbreath appears to care much. See also this.

Heather Cox Richardson writes a short history of the origin of NATO, for its anniversary. I just hope this is not also its epitaph.

From Bowers News Media. Besides demonstrating how despicable Republicans can be (even without the Mango Moron as a model, but particularly with), it’s an extremely good argument for not having “jungle primaries.” I’ve been following the California Governor’s race since Katie Porter announced for it, and I’ve been nervous for most of that time – but I haven’t been terrified until now.

From The Seneca Project. Obviously this was made to recruit people to No Kings III, so all the signs shown will have been from II or I. But many people believe that viewing this type of presentation can help build morale anyway – and besides, there is another No kings scheduled for May Day. (And the song will never go out of fashion.)

Open Thread April 5 2026

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

Apr 052026

Yesterday, the radio opera was La Gioconda. You have heard part of it, since this is the opera from which the Dance of the Hours comes, and if “Fantasia” didn’t do it for you, Allan Sherman or Spike Jones did. The performance is from 1968, but airing it yesterday was to celebrate its 1ts 150th anniversary. It’s (accurately) described as a melodrama, so I won’t go into detail. Today’s featured image is a pysanky (or pysanka) or Ukrainian Easter egg. Happy Easter to all who celebrate, and Happy Passover to all who celebrate. Off to see Virgil now – will check in.[

From The Root regarding Artemis 2. There is also a woman in the crew. I don’t know how they got it past the emperor.

From ABC News referred by The Smile. This is sweet. Joe Biden got to ring the bell when his cancer was gone, but he didn’t do this. And I certainly couldn’t – not ever – not at any age.

From CBS News, also referred by The Smile. This is so much better than the “Alpha Male Camp” earlier this week.

Open Thread April 4 2026

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

Apr 042026

Yesterday, Adam Klasfeld interviewed my man Phil Weiser – my state Attorney General (who is running for Governor) on the 64 or 65 cases in which our state is fighting the Regime, and also on the resentencing of Tina Peters – why it was decided to do it, and why it’s unlikely to get her out of prison any sooner than the old sentence. It took about 28 minutes. I’m not asking anyone to listen (or read the transcript), but am sharing the link in case anyone wants to do so.

From Common Dreams. Humans have survived so many natural an man-made disasters over the billions of years since the earth was made that I expect we will survive this too. But – we may end up wishing we hadn’t.

Archived from The New Yorker. Quick quote: “In the past several years, the phrase ‘alpha male’ has seeped into the language around us, like the contamination of an underground aquifer.” These techniques are basically brainwashing. The techniques can be used for good – but rarely are.

Robert Reich – “Memories of Vietnam” – so I am not the only one experiencing those memories.

Open Thread April 3 2026

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

Apr 032026

Yesterday, (as if you didn’t know – it was everywhere) Pam Bondi was fired (but only one of my sources included in the headline that the next one will be worse.) One source said Tulsi Gabbard is also toast. Sixty years ago today (not April 3 today, but Good Friday today) Virgil had the car accident which caused his TBI and all that implies.

From Press Watch. Pretty much any order given by Darth Dementia and/or Kegsbreath has been and will be unlawful. Which, sadly, does not mean they have not been and will not be obeyed. I cannot blame anyone who considers the United States as a whole to be a de facto war criminal – because we are.

Frankly, this from Common Dreams had occurred to me even before I saw this. The way he is wasting oil, we will have no choice other than to to green (unless you consider freezing to death, or dying of heat stroke, choices.)

From Joyce Vance – one of he decisions which came down this week. Yes, it’s unusual for us to be awaiting and looking at multiple decisions in any given week. But this is not a usual regime. I hope this stands – and that it is not ignored.

Open Thread April 1 2026

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

Apr 012026

Yesterday, April Fool came early for me. My email client was experiencing problems – by 2 pm I had only received four emails, and that is deflinitely not normal. When something like that happens, the first thing I do is try a different browser. I tried a total of four – no joy. I kept refreshing my main browser. Meanwhile, I went through Substack to get to some of my main sources. I have not been looking forward to today.

On Monday, Malcolm pointed out that everything he has pointed out might be possible in the war has subsequently showed up in the national news (NYT, WSJ, WP, etc.) not soon enough for them to have gotten the stories from him directly, but rather, in a time frame for someone to have suggested to Kegsbreath and him to – at least verbally – run with it. And Netanyahu is now poisoning Iran’s and other Gulf states’ water (a war crime, in case anyone didn’t know. (We did it to Kishem Island a couple of weeks ago – Just one of our war crimes.) I am beginning to understand, not just with my brain, but with my heart, why many Jewish people, Israeli and diaspora alike, think it is antisemitism to criticize Israel. When people anywhere in the world, including within the US, criticize the US, even though my brain knows it is the Saffron Sauron and his orcs and nazgul they are criticizing and not me personally, I can’t help feeling sad and a little hurt.

I know we are all worried about the Supreme Court, and we all know something is needed to change it. But we don’t all agree on what needs doing – and I don’t think we really have so much as a concept of a plan as to how the necessary changes can be accomplished. So you may be as encouraged as I am by this conversation between former US Attorney Joyce Vance and Brennan Center Senior Fellow Jesse Wegman (who was essentially hired by Brennan to address the Supreme Curt, but also has a book out about the Electoral College.) It’s 28 minutes, and if that’s too long, there’s a transcript.

I did mention this, but there is much more information here. May Day is the day.

Yeah. Well, that’s the headline. But I’m not seeing them voting that way, or even saying much about it. Certainly not in the numbers needed to make it happen.

It’s been a minute since we had an episode of this series, and this sounds like the final one. My father (who served in WWII, but as a telegrapher) was not in this one, having been medically discharged prior to November 1944. (If he had been there, I almost certainly would not be here.) I could wish that more people remembered – if not from life, at least from education – how important this war was for all of us.

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