Russia – Page 11 – Politics Plus

Video Thread 2/22/2023

Posted by Joanne Dixon at 11:52 am Open Thread, Politics

Feb 222023

Glenn Kirschner – Once Trump is indicted, he will throw EVERYONE on whom he has compromising information under the bus (My concern, and that of his niece, is that he will incite violence on a much larger scale than anything up till now.)

The Lincoln Project – Democracy Won

Ring of Fire – Why Trump’s Document Problem Makes Him Look So Stupid (Not to be a party pooper, but this assumes all the documents start out in the National Archives – and they don’t. But it’s still funny.)

Shirley Serban – Pets Sing The Prayer

This Ancient-Looking Dog Is Actually A Puppy

Beau – Let’s talk about a PSA for Ohio and a question from Europe….

Open Thread February 22, 2023

Posted by Joanne Dixon at 6:59 am Open Thread, Personal, Politics

Feb 222023

Yesterday, I learned that over 13,000 people have donated over $500,000 to Adam Frisch, just since he announced a week earlier. (I was one – I didn’t send much, but I’ll be sending it monthly.) A lot of people must hate Boebert. We just need more of them to live in her district. The profile for the current snowstorm looks pretty much like that last one – with the temperature continuing to drop after the snow stops falling, not getting higher than freezing the following day or much above the second day, and then back to the fifties as if nothing happened (sounds Republican, doesn’t it?) And I was hung up for a bit in a back-and-forth with my cousin about some news stories. It did provide me with some material, which I’ll credit when I use it. Oh, and the cherry on the sundae is that the Virginia special election for a House seat was won by the Deomcrat. Yeah!

Cartoon –

Short Takes –

Daily Beast – Biden’s Trip to Kyiv is the Ultimate Humiliation for Putin—and Trump
Quote – Kennedy and then Reagan in Berlin. Now Biden in Kyiv. Periodically during the past sixty years, American presidents have stood up at the Eastern edge of Europe and looked to Russia to say, “We stand with our allies. Our resolve is unshakeable.” Kennedy said, “Ich bin ein Berliner.” Reagan said, “Mr. Gorbachev tear down that wall.” Biden, on his surprise President’s Day visit to Kyiv said, “One year later, Kyiv stands. And Ukraine stands. Democracy stands.”
Click through for article. Interesting to put this event into this particular historical context. (Steve Schmidt did so also.) And there’s more than that.

Sherrilyn’s Newsletter – A Response to Conor Friedersdorf
Quote – This was supposed to be a Twitter thread – a response to the recent newsletter in the Atlantic written by Conor Friedersdorf in which he announces that “the Black Lives Matter approach” to ending police violence against Black people “has largely failed.” But now that the video of the brutal and savage murder of Tyre Nichols in Memphis has also been released, and the 5 officers (all Black) charged, what I have to say cannot be managed in a Twitter thread. Because I suspect that many white people – and perhaps Black people as well – will ask as Friedersdorf does: “What happened to national outrage over police killings?” And perhaps like Friedersdorf they will even take the step to conclude after viewing this latest horror, that the demand to end police violence – “the Black Lives Matter approach” has failed. And this, the willingness to cast the failure of white people to effectively confront and contain the manifestations of violent white supremacy as Black civil rights failure, deserves a strong response.
Click through. Joyce Vance recommends Sherrilyn’s Newsletter, in particular this article. I respect Joyce and, still mourning Gwen, I am always consoled that Sherrilyn, her cousin (their fathers were brothers) is still with us. (Conor Friedersdorf, on the other hand, is apparently a jerk, and, sadly, a very literate one.)

Food For Thought

Video Thread 2/19/2023

Posted by Joanne Dixon at 12:08 pm Open Thread, Politics

Feb 192023

Glenn Kirschner – Proud Boys subpoena Trump to testify at seditious conspiracy trial. What could possibly go wrong?

The Lincoln Project – We’ll Name Them

Ring of Fire – Hunter Biden’s Lawyers Use Trump’s Legal Arguments Against House Republicans

Parody Project – King of the Con (This one actually had me singing along.)

Kitten Cries So Someone Will Rescue Him

Beau – Let’s talk about an alert to leave and some intelligence news….

Open Thread February 15, 2023

Posted by Joanne Dixon at 6:49 am Open Thread, Personal, Politics

Feb 152023

Yesterday, I got the New Yorker’s Name Drop on the first clue (and the cheeky little respone they provide, whether you get the answer or not, said “Now go tell everyone you know.”) I don’t know that everyoe would get it on the first clue (I happen to be a huge fan), but there’s a lot of information scattered through the six clues, and I think most people would get it at some point. But thegood news is that Dianne Feinstein has announced she will not run again. Not that there won’t be a primary, but it looks like it will be between Katie Porter and Adam Schiff, and possibly Barbara Lee. Much as I hate the thought of losing any from the House,let alone all three, any of them would dramatically improve the Senate. Does anyone know whether the losers will be able to run for their House seat instead? That varies from state to state, and I’m not even 100% positive how it works in mine. Speaking of mine, another announcement today – Adam Frisch will take on Boebert again.

Cartoon –

Short Takes –

PolitiZoom – Ask Not For Whom The Bell Tolls, GOP. It Tolls For Thee
Quote – The next day he went into Rick Skeletor Scott’s backyard in Florida to spread the good word. And as people walked into the auditorium for the rally, there was a leaflet of Senator Scott’s 11 point plan on every seat. Biden almost gleefully led a Sing-Along-With-Mitch of the part that sunsetted Medicare and Social Security after 5 years
Click through for full list. Considering the bubble in which MAGAts live, I don’t know how long these achievements are going to carry us, but it won’t hurt to take a small victory lap.

Politico [from 2019] – The Spy Case That Made Adam Schiff a Russia Hawk
Quote – This was no ordinary FBI surveillance operation: The “acquaintance” Grishin referred to was himself an FBI agent—a man who, out of greed, desperation, and spite, had begun an affair with Ogorodnikov and agreed to sell classified information to the Soviet government. Eventually, this man—Richard W. Miller, a 47-year-old Los Angeles-based counterintelligence agent on the Bureau’s Soviet squad—would become the first FBI agent ever convicted of espionage. And the man who would finally secure Miller’s conviction in 1990—after three trials over the course of six years—was a young U.S. attorney in Los Angeles: Adam Schiff.
Click through for background. This is not news, but since Adam is running for the Senate, I thought some background wouldn’t hurt. I will also from time to time look at background on Katie, and if and when Barbara announces, on her as well.

Food For Thought

Open Thread February 7, 2023

Posted by Joanne Dixon at 7:08 am Open Thread, Personal, Politics

Feb 072023

Yesterday, “Choose Love” managed to get a donation request ou for Turkish and Syrian victims of the earthquake. I’m not on their mailing list (at least I wasn’t), so they must have worked with other groups to get it out so fast, and therefore you may also have received it. In case you didn’t and want to help, here’s a link. I went from there by clicking on the logo to a page which has an “About us” link which provides some credentioals, including the number by which they are registered as a charity in the U.S., so anyone who is dubious can investigate further. OXFAM also came though with a request. Tonight, of course, is the State of the Union address. I plan to watch it, but if you don’t wish to, or aren’t able to, Robert Reich’s prediction is a short take today.

Cartoon –

Short Takes –

Robert Reich – The state of Joe Biden’s union: The return to democratic capitalism
Quote – America’s postwar industrial policy spurred innovation. The Department of Defense and its Defense Advanced Research Projects Administration developed satellite communications, container ships, and the internet. The National Institutes of Health did trailblazing basic research in biochemistry, DNA, and infectious diseases…. Large corporations sought to be responsive to all their stakeholders — not just shareholders but employees, consumers, the communities where they produced goods and services, and the nation as a whole.
Click through for full opinion. Benjamin Franklin’s warning – “if you can keep it” – comtinues to echo through my mind.

The New Yorker – The Hunt for Russian Collaborators in Ukraine
Quote – The most obvious cases are those in which a person took up arms against Ukrainian forces or was involved in spying or sabotage to aid the Russian war effort. But assessing culpability can get murky at the level of local governance. “We’re looking for people who worked for the benefit of the Russian occupation,” Kravchenko told me. “But does that apply to a welder or carpenter who maintained buildings or equipment for the occupiers? Or people responsible for critical infrastructure?” There wasn’t an easy answer or policy, he said.
Click through for story. At least we didn’t have to get bombed and invaded before finding ourselves in the situation of having to wonder whether our friends, family, and beighbors are collaborators.

Food For Thought

Video Thread 2/2/2023

Posted by Joanne Dixon at 11:57 am Open Thread, Politics

Feb 022023

Glenn Kirschner – NY DA Alvin Bragg opens a grand jury probe & AGAIN begins investigating the crimes of Donald Trump (I would remind y’all that the investigation being discussed involves a case which was dead under the NY statute of limitations, involves a crime regarding which NY has just opened a sort of amnesty window under which it may now be considered.)

The Lincoln Project – RNC Chaos

Thom Hartmann – Will Right Wing Sheriffs Perp Walk America Right Into Fascism? (Colorado has a cople of those Sheriffs too.)

Mrs. Betty Bowers – The Secret To Reading an Inconvenient Bible

Couple Saves ‘Gargoyle’ Dog After 8 Years On The Streets

Beau – Let’s talk about what escalation is….

Open Thread January 30, 2023

Posted by Joanne Dixon at 6:41 am Open Thread, Personal, Politics

Jan 302023

Yesterday, I did get to see Virgil. It was snowing and cold – but I really had to see him because omething had gone wrong in the phone system; he had tried 3 times to call me Friday but I wasn’t able to accept ythe call and I wanted to tell him it was not I who was haning up on him. Fortunately, he didn’t think that, and I got to talk with the inmate who helps him place calls and tell him what happened. I had called the provider, and I did get an answer – frankly it didn’t make sense to me, but I shared it anyway because it’s not something I can fix, and if they are going to they need all available information – at least. I wasn’t able to finish scraping the windshield before starting out in the morning; I got the driver’s side and part of the passenger side clear, but part of it was just rock solid, despite my having turned the defrost on for over a half hour and of course kept it on while driving. I was worried about having to deal with that before leaving for home, and I was also worried, as by this time the snow had reached Pueblo and was coming down, about getting on to the interstate. But by the time I left, the rock hard ice had melted so thoroughly that a couple swipes of the windshield wipers took care of it, and when I got to the interstate there was a huge gap to get into, and just about everyone was driving slowly anyway, plus it was practically dry, both directions (I don’t know how Colorado snowstorms know to fall most heavily on residential areas and frequesntted commercial areas, and less on highways, but they do a good job of it.) So there are three more proofs of one of my favorite sayings (see right). As usual, Virgil returns all greetings. He does appreciate all of you – he knows, among other things, you are company for me, which he can’t be under the circumstances.

Cartoon –

Short Takes –

Washington Post (no paywall) – Justice Department asks FEC to stand down as prosecutors probe Santos
Quote – The Justice Department has asked the Federal Election Commission to hold off on any enforcement action against George Santos, the Republican congressman from New York who lied about key aspects of his biography, as prosecutors conduct a parallel criminal probe, according to two people familiar with the request…. “Basically they don’t want two sets of investigators tripping over each other,” said David M. Mason, a former FEC commissioner. “And they don’t want anything that the FEC, which is a civil agency, does to potentially complicate their criminal case.”
Click through for story – From WaPo’s keyboards to God’s iPhone.

Timothy Snyder – Thinking about… – The Specter of 2016
Quote – The reporting on this so far seems to miss the larger implications. One of them is that Trump’s historical position looks far cloudier. In 2016, Trump’s campaign manager (Manafort) was a former employee of a Russian oligarch (Deripaska), and owed money to that same Russian oligarch. And the FBI special agent (McGonigal) who was charged with investigating the Trump campaign’s Russian connections then went to work (according to the indictment) for that very same Russian oligarch (Deripaska). This is obviously very bad for Trump personally. But it is also very bad for FBI New York, for the FBI generally, and for the United States of America.
Click through for analysis. Snyder is a historian and this falls right into his special area, namely Europe. What strikes me here is that we all seem to be laboring under themistaken impression that if a responsible adult is aware that there is a problem under his or her purview, he or she will take some action. That does not appear to be the case Look at the 6-year-old school shooter – other students reported to multiple adults that he had a gun, starting early in the day. One of, I guess, the last to hear, just said, “Don’t worry, the school day’s almost over.” And then there was the entire police department in Uvalde. I understand the impulse, I really do, to mind one’s own business, but we citizens deserve better. Just because fascists want to supervise inappropriately doesn’t mean that we must fail to exercise supervision at all.

Food For Thought