Yesterday, The Root had a trivia piece on MLK Jr which went deeper than I’ve ever seen before. You might enjoy it. TomCat was a close enough friend of his the he might have known all or most of it – even I knew some of it, but a lot of it was news to me. With four articles today, I’m skipping the political video – but not the animal video. Also, Trinette was by to help me take out trash (and recyclables.)
Joyce Vance discusses the Insurrection Act, including how to recognize bait when we see it, and why we should not take it.
Robert Hubbell addresses specific misconceptions about the Insurrection Act (and there are many floating around.)
Wikipedia lists every time the Insurrection Act has been invoked, both legally and illegally. It appears to me – and feel free to disagree – that every time it has been invoked, the civil rights of vulnerable people were being attacked – and the sometimes the invocation intervened on the right side, and sometimes on the wrong side. If the Saffron Sauron invokes it, it is certain to be on the wrong side.
Robert Reich addresses what can be done about it, who can actually do that. and what we can do to help, mostly by adding pressure.
Yesterday, Adam Klasfeld along with Vicki Ward did a live broadcast and saved it as a video which can be seen here. I’m not telling you to watch it, because it’s a full hour, and I know not everyone can. But it covers everything. They start with the Mangione cases (did you know there were two, a federal one and a state one in Pennsylvania? I didn’t), and also discuss the Maduro case and the murder in Minnesota, and Lindsey Halligan (whose deadline to explain to the judge is today) and Jerome Powell, and Judge Hellerstein, and I’m probably leaving something out. That is a lot to cover in an hour. (P.S. Here‘s the follow-up on Halligan)
Archived from the Washington Post, referred by Talking points Memo, here is an overview of all the ways the Saffron Sauron is looking to ratfuck the midterms. I have no idea how this got past Bezos, but apparently, it did. And I’m citing it – all of it (and it has chapters, sort of.) Perhaps every state (and territory, if applicable) should assign their own National Guard right now to monitor elections in November. I would suggest calling in UN observers, but ICE would probably deport them.
Mary Trump discusses how to navigate the floods of discouraging and increasing overreach from the Executive Branch and how to avoid giving them what they want
Matt Kerbel (who, along with Chris Bowers, comprises Bowers News Network) discusses “Consent of the Governed.” and why, despite havin won the election (by a sliver) this “President” doesn’t have it.
Yesterday, as I am pretty sure everyone knows, an ICE agent shot a woman in the back of the head three times while she was in her car, attempting to get away/out of the way. She died instantly. The car continued to move (Malcolm Nance described this as “Dead Woman Driving”) and crashed into some other vehicles. The air bag inflated and was covered with blood. I can now confirm she was a US citizen. The Root shared her name and a link to a very moving obituary, as well as a slow-motion video with labels of what happened when. Nameless saw this before I did, and posted a comment with three NSFW headlines quoting the mayor of Minneapolis on yesterday’s OT to which I responded with everything I knew at the time. Tim Walz has now given a statement on public safety, together with the Director of Public Safety and the Colonel of the Minnesota National Guard.
This from The 19th reminded me that fairly recently I saw that someone (I assume a male MAGA) was complaining that anyone who says “toxic masculinity” is really saying that all masculinity is toxic. I thought “Yeah, right – just like saying “counterfeit money” is saying that all money is counterfeit.” I suppose that not even all male ICE agents enjoy toxic masculinity, but there surely seem to be a lot of them.
From Common Dreams. The nerve of Stephen Miller saying that we have to act like thugs in order to support “the free world.” The U.S. can’t support the free world in any way when we aren’t even a part of it any more.
Yesterday, I learned that on New Year’s Day Zohran Mamdani had been sworn in twice. The first time was recorded in the video I posted yesterday with Tish James, and that was the official one. The second one was with Bernie Sanders, which was purely ceremonial, but which also included his (roughly 25 minutes) inauguration speech. Just in case anyone wants to hear it, I’m sharing the link. There isn’t a lot right now to generate enthusiasm, but this appears to be one – to judge from the audience responses. )Don’t scorn it because it’s Fox – it’s not Fox corporate, it’s a local fox affiliate, and they can be surprisingly rational and even honest.)
So this is what Keith Ellison is doing now. Good for him, though I could wish he didn’t need to. One thing the current regime has done which, if they realize that they have done it, I’ll bet they wish they hadn’t – is to make it very, very obvius how important to a state its Attorney General is. Democratic AGs seeking reelection in 2026 will have a lot to campaign on.
Robert Reich on some things that some of us can do in 2026 to help make things better for all of us.
TC used to enjoy joking about how Andy was no satirizing but instead reporting straight news – and it often seems as though he could be dong just that. But in this column, he’s being serious (though it isn’t news at all.) He is following up on a previous column about surviving 2026 by sharing reader comments and additions. I’m sure not everything here will work for everyone – and possibly not anything will work for everyone. But, even though there is repetition, it’s highly likely that there will be something that may stand out and be worth remembering.
Yesterday, I had set my alarm for earlier than I got up on Monday. I plan to set it earlier each day to try to ease into the weekend so that I can at least expect to arise in daylight – which is now moving the right direction for me, if only by a few seconds every day. I did that last week, though I didn’t start as soon, and it seemed to help.
https://robertreich.substack.com/p/if-the-market-were-working-well-we
My local radio station has added a Sunday night show to its lineup – it’s been on for a while now, maybe even more than a year – called “Broadway Rhythm.” Some episodes will run through a full musical, others will follow the career of a composer. Some will focus on the careers of divas (or divos.) A theme might be a particular time period, or musicals which made cultural change – limited only by the host’s creativity. Last Sunday the theme was songs from musicals which became standards. Included was “If I Were A Rich Man” from Fiddler On The Roof. One line in particular caught my ear: “And it won’t make one bit of difference if I answer right or wrong. When you’re rich they think you really know.” Isn’t that the truth – and how the heck do we (and by we I mean the entire human race) get our collective heads out of that septic tank?!?? The only think you can be positive a rich person “really knows” is how to cheat without consequences.
Heather Cox Richardson on the SCROTUS decision which was favorable to us for a change. I may be seeing things. but it has me wondering whether the fascist justices have an organized system of taking turns being the one who gets the be the one who writes a sane opinion, so that when we get the chance, we won’t know whom to impeach. I hope I’m wrong.
This is from All Rise News, which is run by Adam Klasfeld. I only recently heard of him – this is only the second time I have seen him – but both Harry Litman and also Joyce Vance swear by him. Both Harry and Joyce look at any kind of court case which catches their attention, but Adam concentrates on high profile (or should -be-high-profile) DOJ cases. This one concerns Kilmar Abrego Garcia and how it appears that the gang that couldn’t shoot straight has shot themselves in the foot again.
Yesterday was a slow news day – I’m glad for the respite, but it makes it tough to fill a column. Here is one article on the big story, an opinion piece, and a book report. I didn’t finish the sweater, but I came very close.
Those of us like me who essentially ignore mainstream media and instead get our news from independent news sources such as The Root learned that, not content with murdering Venezuelan fishermen, the Cantaloupe Caligula bombed Nigeria on Christmas Day. I guess he doesn’t know (or doesn’t care) that it’s New Year’s Day that is the big day for fireworks in the world outside the United States. Seriously, this action is not merely certifiably evil, but it is also tone deaf, which someone who cares about polls as much as he does would normally try to avoid.
Robert Rwich‘s interview with Zohran Mamdani, which happened a week before the election. Reich reprints it as he actually takes office. He’s smart, he has a good understanding of real people’s real problems. and good ideas on how to help. But we knew that. What really struck me in the interview was his courtesy.
Colorado Public Radio has been running a “best books of the year” post for several years now, and the one for 2025 is out. This year’s list looks small to me – or it did until I looked at the two previous years.
Yesterday, for a change, SCROTUS ruled against the Mango Monster 6-3 for a change in Trump v. Illinois – a case Harry Litman has been saying since it was filed would be its moment of truth. Because had it gone the other way, the Monster would have had free rein to act on any lies he could dream up. Harry Litman invited Leah Litman (mp relation) to discuss it with him on Substack Live. Both were so excited they were interrupting each other. I’ll provide the link anyway, difficult as it is to listen to (actually the video seems to be one and done, but the transcript is there), but a key factor was that one amicus brief was incredibly important. One amicus brief which was saying something no one else was saying, but which was right. So if you ever discounted the effect of amicus briefs – it’s time to rethink that.
CPR News referred me to this. Between this and a related story about Colorado losing FEMA funds which are now tied to immigration policy, I decided this one would affect a whole lot more people in a whole lot more places.
I’ve written previously about Lone Star ticks, and IIRC at that time there were already a few other ticks who carried this trait, but apparently, according to The Conversation, it’s getting worse. I don’t, thank the universe, have this particular food allergy, but I do have a couple which are almost equally crippling, such as wheat and soy, and frankly, you don’t want to have any food allergy ever, and especially when grocery prices are out of control.
I’m sure everyone is aware about how the short (for a documentary) documentary about CECOT had been scheduled to air on 60 minutes but was yanked by Bari Weiss. But she either forgot or didn’t know that 60 minutes also plays on Global TV in Canada. By the time she realized it, Canada had already seen about 13.5 minutes of it. That 13.5 (13.35 to be precise) was all over the internet. By yesterday, it had been taken down from most of those places. But it it viewable here. If you haven’t already seen it, you might want to watch it, if only because so many people worked so hard to prevent you from seeing it.
Yesterday, Steve Schmidt called the Mango Monster’s Wednesday night speech a “Norma Desmond imitation.” I didn’t watch it. Was he ready for his close-up? Also, I keep forgetting to mention this before it’s gone. PBS has a video of “Twelfth Night” from a few of years back “Free Shakespeare in the Park,” and they are streaming it, but only through December 31 (I really think they ought to at least go through Jan 6, since that is actually 12th Night, but what do I know.) Lupita Nyong’o plays Viola, and her real life brother Justin plays Sebastian. He’s a bit taller and of course their voices don’t match, but otherwise, I’ve never seen a better match. And Malvolio is played by Peter Dinklage, who appears to be having a wonderful time doing it. You can stream it here. I don’t think you have to have Passport, but since I do, I can’t be sure. They did not ask me for credentials to see it, but I hadn’t cleared my cache for a while. When I looked it was the second show down, but priorities change, so you may have to scroll farther. (They are also still streaming “Ann” about Ann Richards. I don’t know how long that will last.) And if those aren’t your thing, something else might be.
The Brennan Center for Justice takes another look at Bush v. Gore and how it has affected the makeup of the Supreme Court as well as its reputation.
From Mediaite, referred by Dose of Democracy. I didn’t watch or listen – I’m sorry, but my health won’t take it. Having to read about it is bad enough.
This from The F* News SO pisses me off. Look, I was assigned female at birth and the assignment in my case was accurate. I also turned out to be straight. And I don’t have the kind of imagination to write fantasy novels, science fiction or otherwise. But I do have enough imagination to picture how terrible it must be to be attracted to people of the same sex and to be thereby considered by society as a horrible person or a sick person who needs curing. Or, even worse, to be a male person who was born into a female body, or the reverse, and to know that there are medical solutions that could help me by carefully making changes to my body so it could match who I am, but people who are terrified, or terrible, and almost certainly, on some level, both, have passed laws against doctors helping me. It’s no effing wonder that so many LGBTQIA+ teens kill themselves. The teen years are a time when everything already looks like the end of the world.
