Open Thread September 17 2025

 Posted by at 6:00 am  Open Thread, Personal, Politics
Sep 172025
 

Yesterday, technology was not kind to me. My radio station was off the air for about an hour and a half – playing static (rhythmic static, but still static); it took me another hour and a half (this time on the phone) to be able to log in to my HRA to provide substantiation for a VISA charge on their card (apparently, when I changed my email address for contacting me but not for my username because the site would not let me) it confused their system so badly it would not let me log in, and I ended up having to pretend I was opening a new account. Then my speaker died. All this was on top of my kitchen light fixture having shorted out (I do have some under-cabinet lights there, but they aren’t a substitute.) Color me irritable.

Yes, we’re past September 13. But Heather Cox Richardson‘s thoughts on narratives are not tied to a particular date. I think they are worth a look and a think.

From Wonkette – and demonstrates one of the reasons I keep subscribing to Wonkette, besides their irreverent style. They do tend to get hold of things that others don’t. Such as what Groypers are (and that they’re not just more right wingers – they have distinct opinons.) And that they have a tendency to violence which may even surpass that of other right wingers. So here it is, and it includes some links to older posts on the same subject. “If they are being opportunistic, we must be as well.” I couldn’t agree more. Incidentally, if the word “sedevacantist” is new to you, here’s a link which goes into that. I agree with Robyn that not knowing they exist and at least generally knowing who they are is “a luxury we cannot afford.”

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Open Thread July 9 2025

 Posted by at 6:00 am  Open Thread, Personal, Politics
Jul 092025
 

Yesterday, I read in Wonkette about a new Superman movie coming out this summer. If you can go to theaters (my allergies preclude my doing so) you may want to go see it. MAGA will be boycotting it, so there’s that. Monday evening’s radio program on movie scores talked about Christopher Reeve, and how he got cast even though no one thought he looked muscular enough, but they expected him yo wear a “muscle suit,” and instead he worked out and bulked up from 185# to 225# of pure muscle. It appears no one considered that aspect this time – but that’s not what has MAGA’s panties in knots. It’s that he’s being shown as kind. And a refugee. Both of which he always has been but which was not always a deal breaker for anyone. Also in Wonkette, they covered the breaking of the story about ICE and the National Guard invading MacArthur Park under the headline “Someone Left the Cake Out in the Rain.”

I generally go to Harry Litman for interpretation of the law and of court actions. Yes, this is a court action in a sense – it’s the settlement of a lawsuit – but his analysis goes beyond that aspect and into politics.

You may already be aware of the “Seven Mountains Mandate” – it has been around a while among authoritarian “Christians” (quotes because no one actually following what Jesus actually taught can possibly be an authoritarian) but it was always a fringe aberrancy. Now it’s a political force and getting stronger.

($70 Mil of this belongs to Colorado)

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Open Thread June 26 2025

 Posted by at 5:59 am  Open Thread, Personal, Politics
Jun 262025
 

Yesterday, I got the news (and you probably did too) that Zohran Mamdani won the NYC mayoral Democratic primary so handily that Andrew Cuomo conceded before they even started looking at ranked choice. That does not mean he cannot run as an independent – but it might mean that he won’t. There are a couple of other human monkey wrenches interested in the position, but the more of them run, the stronger Mamdani’s win is likely to be. So, a little good news for Thursday. David Hogg is overjoyed. Off topic, but a while ago, I responded to one of his emails that, while I’m on board with his mission, I was unhappy with his ageist framing of it. I did not receive a reply, so I don’t know whether he got it, or if so, whether anything will change. To offset that good news, SCROTUS greenlighted the regime to deport people to third countries (i.e., neither this country nor the country they are from) with little if any process. They did it with the shadow docket, of course. Also, if you want to wish Justice Sotomayor a happy birthday, here’s a link where you can do so. Few people deserve a happy birthday more than she does. And one more thing – I am always saying that religion itself is not the problem in making our government and society terrible – it is the abuse of religion. And John Pavlovitz now has a term for “the abuse of religion” – he calls it “holy shit.”

Patriotic Millionaires PAC passed this on – it was written by one of their members. Already in the subhead, she puts her finger on a big part of the problem.

Joyce Vance discusses Emil Bove, and how to talk with your Senator(s) about him. Wonkette as good as called him a vampire in their article about him. Joyce’s content is similar, but her wording and phrasing is more conventional. If you have a Senator who resonates with hyperbole and other figures of speech, you might want to look up Wonkette. But Joyce’s presentation is definitely more controlled.

Tis is a Substack video just under 31 minutes. I delete a lot of Substack videos without looking at them. This one caught my eye because it brings together Pete Buttigieg and Bishop William Barber, brought together by Jonatnan Wilson-Hartgrove. It was recorded and is likely on all three Substack’s but the link goes to Pete’s. I note that the Bishop’s remarks bear directly on political strategy even more than those of the other two speakers. Feel free to skip it, but I thought it would be irresponsible of me not to make it available.

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Open Thread June 19 2025

 Posted by at 6:00 am  Open Thread, Personal, Politics
Jun 192025
 

On Tuesday, Joyce Vance wrote about the legal status of the Minnesota shootings, and I want to link to it without discussing the content. In the email, there was an understandable conflation of the Hoffmans and the Hortmans, but it has now been fixed at the site. Also yesterday,  Tucker Carlson, while interviewing Ted Cruz, actually made sense.  Watch out for airborne pigs.

I can see I’m going to have to start paying more attention to The Lever Report. This is pretty scary.

I can’t summarize this from HuffPost any better than by quoting the first two paragraphs: “The first U.S. pope is a citizen of Peru, and the first U.S. bishop he appointed is a refugee from Vietnam. And next week, that bishop is urging his fellow priests to stand in solidarity with migrants by showing up to immigration court proceedings. – There may be a pattern here.”

The Reich on the Left is, as usual, right. This is important.

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Open Thread May 20 2025

 Posted by at 6:00 am  Open Thread, Personal, Politics
May 202025
 

Also going back to last week, in an email from the Vote Common Good PAC there was this: “Early results from our in-depth survey research on religious voters are starting to come in, and they are startling in the best possible way. For the first time, we’re asking the kinds of questions most polls skip — not just what religion someone checks on a form, but how their spiritual identity shapes how they show up in the world…and in the voting booth. I can’t share the details just yet — the study is still in progress — but I can tell you this: what we’re seeing is going to change how Democrats think about religious voters. It’s going to change how we train candidates, how we talk to persuadable voters, and how we win.” This makes me very interested in seeing the results of the survey. I have always felt there was more going on between people and religion – any religion – than met anyone’s eye, and certainly any politician’s eye. Jonathan Haidt’s work speaks to that, but not IMO fully, and in any case he’s not very well known. (I also think that “religion” is the wrong word for belief systems. The “lig” in “religion” is the same “lig” that is in “obligation,” and a belief system or a world view should be something more. But that’s neither here nor there.

I think I must address Joe Biden’s cancer diagnosis, which was characterized as “an aggressive form of prostate cancer which has metastasized to the bone.” Obviously this is a very serious diagnosis. It may not be a death sentence. This post from Democratic Underground (passed on from Threads) makes that point. Others who have written about their own experience with the same diagnosis report a wide range of outcomes. Some of those are in the comments at the same article. I don’t think I need to be a doctor to believe that a person’s general health outside particular diagnosis is a factor in how the body deals with any ailment. I’ve seen several places that hormone therapy is a possible alternative to chemo, and at least one added particularly with this diagnosis. I think we can have some confidence that Joe and his medical team will make the best possible choice. That said, nothing is certain. *Incidentally, Jacques Trudeau sent a message of support in English and French.)

Talking Points Memo addresses certain abuses of power which we all knew were coming, but at least are not targeting the poorest and most vulnerable among us. Which does not make them any less disgusting.

This is from Wonkette from Friday. I apologize for taking so long – but there’s nothing that really can be done about this story – I doubt whether overturning Dobbs would even prevent a repeat – you’ll see why. And we’ve already been fighting racism and misogyny for uncountable years but this happened anyway – I should say “is happening.”

And this, by Heather Cox Richardson, is from Thursday. It is the history of the Magna Carta. And it is ironic* that I can post it the day after I went on a rant about what royal life is really like – because it has been and still is a huge influence on why monarchies in Europe today are Constitutional Monarchies. Now we ned to ensure that the Kumquat Kleptocrat does not get his hands on our contemporary copy. (*See – irony is not dead.)

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Open Thread February 28 2025

 Posted by at 6:01 am  Holiday, Open Thread, Personal, Politics
Feb 282025
 

Today is the day we are all supposed to avoid buying anything, in person or on line. Robert Reich is one of those calling for this action. The more who participate the better, as there will always be some who didn’t get the words, and some who will over-buy just to spite us. Today is also the beginning of Ramadan. It can come at any time of the year, being based on a specific lunar calendar unique to Islam, but when it comes at this time of the year, it can be tempting to think “Oh, that’a the Islamic version of Lent.” It isn’t. Both involve fasting, sure, but with a different approach. With Lent the approach is penitential, and it’s nos supposed to be fun. In Islam, the fasting is approached with joy. And while both come to an end of triumph of some kind, that too is different from the Christian calendar. There’s a big gap between being gifted with the Holy Book and rising from the dead. I am not in any way about to say the one is better – rather I hope to call a little attention to the fact that loving our neighbors becomes easier if we are open to looking at our similarities and differences though others’ eyes and not just through our own.

Mary Trump is, quite reasonably, not happy that main stream media outlets are not taking the danger we are in seriously. And she is right. There are a few people on MSN we can still trust – but we have to wonder for how long. And being able to trust a few individuals does not mean being able to trust the station. I was aware of each point Mary made before reading this, and I expect all the readers here were also. But that’s because we care. So many people don’t – so many claim to “not do politics” and apparently have no idea that politics does them. Sigh.

Robert Reich sums it up. Not everyone on Substack allows unpaid subscribers to read comments – but Reich does. And his readers mange to have actual conversations (which you can see by clicking on the number of replies listed under each post shown.)

ProPublica exposes the collaboration of HUD. Although with all the Mango Monster’s nominees getting confirmed, I don’t expect them to be alone. What’s happening at Defense may be the most obviously scary, but there is plenty of other damage which is being done.

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Open Thread October 3 2024

 Posted by at 6:00 am  Open Thread, Personal, Politics
Oct 032024
 

Yesterday, it seemed that people in or near my age are dropping like flies. John Amos (84), Pete Rose (83). Also yesterday, I was directed to the website of “Evangelicals for Harris” to see the ads they are putting out. I have no idea where they are running, but they’re worth a look – and a share with any Evangrelicals you might know (“Evangelical” is not a denomination, it’s a way of looking at faith, and in itself it is not bad. But it is unfortunately very vulnerable to being distorted by people who want power. There is, sadly. a Biblical justification for that – in at least one of the Gospels Jesus says that when the Holy Spirit comes, “you shall receive power.” Political power is not what he meant – and since all our Bibles in English are translations from something, I suspect a mistranslation for something more like “abilities.” But when a book designed to help people understand the concept and learn to walk the walk, in English titled “Life in the Spirit” was translated into Spanish under the title “Recibirán Poder”, I saw instantly where the movement was headed, and dissociated myself from it immediately. From the movement – not from its original good ideas.)

Yesterday also too, although I am confident that real news media such as the Guardian and maybe Reuters and AP covered it, but Axios was the only outlet which sent me an email about Jack Smith and his new filing. Everyone else had their head up in the debate. IMO, Jack Smith’s filing is , eeven with redactions, not only more interesting but also more important. But I’m sure more information about it is coming – and more interpretation as well.

I don’t guess it gets any more real than this. When I think of County Clerks and Secretaries of State I have known over the years, it makes me want to cry – as if that would do any good.

Vanity Fair is a Condé Nast publication (like The New Yorker and, of all thing, Wired), so although the original link was to a “one free article”, I archived it, so you can get it back if needed. We’ve heard a lot – a whole lot – of stories of people losing their parents to Fox News, or to Trump**, or to Trumpism. But this one, from Caroline Giuliani, takes the cake. (Incidentally, Belle calls it a mustread for all Americans)

mostly Cat

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Open Thread July 19, 2023

 Posted by at 5:44 am  Open Thread, Personal, Politics
Jul 192023
 

Yesterday, TFG announced that he has received a target letter from Jack Smith regarding the January 6 insurrection. Let’s see, how long was it in the documents case between the target letter and the indictment dropping? Does anyone recall? Also yesterday, Michigan dropped indictments on 16 fake Trump** electors. Lots of people entering the “find out” phase.

Cartoon –

Short Takes –

The Daily Beast – Closing Guantanamo Bay Prison Won’t Erase the Crimes Committed Against Muslims
Quote – Guantanamo was not created as a place for justice—especially not for the Muslim men detained behind its bars. Just as soon as these men were captured, they were labeled as suspected terrorists—thus precluding any ability for them to be seen as innocent until proven guilty. From the long years spent behind bars awaiting charges and convictions that never came, to torture, and even murder, the U.S. government has, at every conceivable step of the way, sought to entrench the perception of their inherent guilt. This perception has been shaped by the deployment of strategic narratives that have been carefully constructed and maintained to paint the men as irredeemable terrorists.
Click through for article. The headlne is true. But it still needs to be closed. Just not forgotten. And, yes, there needs to be justice.

Letters from an American – July 17, 2023
Quote – “What we’re trying to do is identify the pockets of independence and seize them,” said Russell T. Vought, who ran Trump’s Office of Management and Budget and who now advises the right-wing House Freedom Caucus. They envision a “president” who cannot be checked by the Congress or the courts. Trump’s desire to grab the mechanics of our government and become a dictator is not new; both scholars and journalists have called it out since the early years of his administration. What is new here is the willingness of so-called establishment Republicans to support this authoritarian power grab. Behind this initiative is “Project 2025,” a coalition of more than 65 right-wing organizations putting in place personnel and policies to recommend not just to Trump, but to any Republican who may win in 2024. Project 2025 is led by the Heritage Foundation, once considered a conservative think tank, that helped to lead the Reagan revolution.
Click through for details. I have read about all of this – stuff – piecemeal. This is the first time I have seen it all in one place, discussed by a person who is both competent and unafraid to put it all together and call it out – as well as the people behind it.

Food For Thought

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