Open Thread March 5 2026

 Posted by at 6:00 am  Open Thread, Personal, Politics
Mar 052026
 

Yesterday, the Senate refused to take action to restrain the Degenerate Darth Vader’s illegal war in Iran. I, as you have probably noticed, an struggling this week to keep abreast of what day it is. I think that may be at least in part because the first was on Sunday, and, although I consciously know that the week is Sunday through Saturday, I, because school weeks and work weeks start in Monday, subconsciously still see Monday through Friday as one through five. Hopefully I’ll be more on track next week.

I had realized I missed the start of Ramadan, hence the image. It goes until roughly March 19 this year.  The ending date is not totally predictable because the moon has to be in the right position at the time, but Eid al Fitr is predicted for March 20.

Tuesday, this happened. I hope you’ll find it as satisfying as I did. Of course, it’s still just words, no action – but coming from one Rethuglican to another, it’s like music. (Also, Josh Hawley even toreinto her, but I don’t have that quote.)

The first story at this link is the one I am posting -but just about every one is worth at least a look (and they are short.)

I don’t think Joyce is correct about every state. But, sadly, she doesn’t have to be right about every state for there to be fatal chaos. I stopped doing it when it became to much for my mobility, but I did work elections for many years administering elections in Colorado, and that under both Democratic and Republican Secretaries of State and County Clerks, during periods when Colorado was red, and periods when it was blue. The attitude of “If people are entitled to vote, we want them to vote” never changed through the years -though Democrats and Republicans disagreed on almost everything else. But that was then and this is now, and red states (and maybe counties, which might be worse) will ratf*** if they can.

Share

Open Thread November 11 2025

 Posted by at 5:55 am  Open Thread, Personal, Politics
Nov 112025
 

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).

Dog

Share

Open Thread November 5 2025

 Posted by at 5:55 am  Open Thread, Personal, Politics
Nov 052025
 

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!

Share

Open Thread November 4 2025

 Posted by at 6:00 am  Open Thread, Personal, Politics
Nov 042025
 

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.

Share

Open Thread November 3 2025

 Posted by at 5:56 am  Open Thread, Personal, Politics
Nov 032025
 

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.

Share

Open Thread October 31 2025

 Posted by at 6:00 am  Open Thread, Personal, Politics
Oct 312025
 

Yesterday, The Mango Menace’s announcement on Wednesday that he would resume nuclear testing hit my inbox big time. I assume it hit the inboxes of y’all equally, so I’ll leave it there. And I had to stay up a bit late, but by golly, I finished that sweater.

A lot of us already don’t buy anything on Black Friday. This extension of that proposed by Black Enterprise may require a little more planning – but some situations call for desperate measures. There may be good reasons why some people cannot take part, but I hope all will at least consider participating.

In my experience, sure-fire solutions are virtually never things that anyone can do. This one from The Root would appear to come closer than most, but there still might be a learning curve. But I think it is well worth sharing anyway. At least it doesn’t require being a genius.

Well, as long as I already have two articles from black sources, I may as well go three for three. From The Root: The Mango Monster said something this week which implied he might be thinking about using the reserve after all – but in addition to being a chronic liar, he has been so spaced out this week that there’s really no point in even listening to him, let alone forming an opinion on what he might do from what he says. As to what starving people might do – well, two words – Jean Valjean.

Mrs. Betty Bowers Guest Video

Share

Open Thread October 29 2025

 Posted by at 6:06 am  Open Thread, Personal, Politics
Oct 292025
 

Yesterday, Steve Schmidt’s Save America PAC announced three new one-minute ads to be run on Fox News. Of course they are requesting donations, but there no obligation to donate just to watch them. One is about “Trump’s Tariffs”, the second about Canada, and the third about immigration. All three are narrated by Ronald Reagan (probably how they got Fox to accept them, IMO). I needed to unmute the sound or enable CC or both. Also, Colorado Public Radio wrote “The Department of Energy said it was saving taxpayers $7.56 billion. The actual amount is much less,” Of course that’s correct, especially under this regime. But let’s suppose the government’s statement was accurate. That would come out to $22.oo per person. Not exactly life changing. I’d call that disingenuous.

I don’t want to be – I don’t want anyone to be – blinded by rose-colored glasses. But Robert Reich is looking at the same numbers and historical events that I am, and he says it a lot better then I could.

Wonkette‘s subhead: “There are contingency plans and the GOP is opting not to use them.” Y’all have probably heard the truth about SNAP so often that you know most of this. What I didn’t know was that Congress-approved contingency plans are not only existent, but are required by law to be used. Not, of course, that the law means anything to this regime other than a nuisance.

From The Root. In other news, water is wet. I wish I didn’t have to feel that way, but sadly, I still do. I also kind of wish I could live long enough to see it change – except that I really don’t want to live to be 500 or maybe more..

Share

Open Thread May 26 2025

 Posted by at 5:52 am  Open Thread, Personal, Politics
May 262025
 

Yesterday, Trinette came by. I didn’t have enough trash to bother with, but she took out my recycling. I also had some stuff for the food bank where she volunteers. We chatted about a lot of stuff, including the holiday – her family has a lot of veterans – just not in the youngest generation. I would take that as a good sign, were it not for the current regime. I knew that I would find misogyny n the military, but I also knew I would find equal pay for equal work, and also equal respect from the top. The military was one of the few employers then where one could be confident of that. Sure, there were racist and misogynist individuals – but where are there not? But today I could not honestly recommend the military to anyone. I hope eventually we can reverse that. I hope your Memorial day is everything you want it to be.

I had to learn this from a VoteVets email – my search engine shows that others have covered it, but no one I get updates from. Although the New York Times is one, so y’all may have seen it. There’s a meme “every time a ‘Christian’ praises Trump**(*), an angel loses its lunch.” I wonder how many angels lost their lunch over this.

Now this from Wonkette actually caused me to say “Jesus Christ and all his disciples, what’s next?” And that was just the headline. I knew – I think we all knew – that Nancy Mace was a POS, but this is above and beyond.

Share
 Older Entries