Yesterday, I set my alarm early enough to get up early enough to call to mahe a medical appointment at a facility that closes on he early side – and I still almost missed it. The soonest available was for December 11th – and I took it.
The point in this ruling by a Federal Judge in Florida, of all places, is not that non-citizens can legally vote – because they (mostly) can’t. The point is that the issue is none of the Federal Government’s business – because the Constitution explicitly gives that job to the states.
Robert Reich: “The most basic function of government is to protect people from harm” – something that our current regime is both unwilling and unablle to understand- let alone work toward. That doesn’t mean it’s impossible – but it does mean we need regime change in order to put it baxk in place. And that means, in the first place, voting – and, in the second place, nagging the elected relentlessly to do the right thing.
Yesterday, I saw Virgil and we played cribbage. He was fighting a cold, but still, of course, glad to see me. I’ve been fighting lightheadedness for a week or two (only obe actual dizzy spell – and I was sitting down when it hit, so I just needed to hang on. I may or may not know what caused this, and am tring to backtrack on a change I made just before it started znd see whether that helps. Today is the first day of the Supreme Court’s annual season. The Brennan Center has a video up with various guests. Some interesting points were made.
It’s about 52 minutes long.
I seem to remember that in 1960 the air was full of terrified cries that a Catholic President would be an abomination because he (no one in 1960 ever considered “she”) would be loyal to the Pope, not to the Constitution. Weren’t most if not all of those cries from Republicans? Are there any Republicans left who have a grain of loyalty to the Constitution? Asking for a friend.
Sorry about the repetetive nature of some posts – but sometimes something needs to be looked at from more than one angle.
I’m not going to lie and say there were no suicides when the military had actual leadership. There are always going to be suicides in virtually every group. But large increases developing after a leadership change for the worse (far worse) tells its own story.
Yesterday, and the day before, there was some drama happening in Tennessee. First, a federal appelate court stayed an execustion scheduled for the 30th. Then SCROTUS overrode the stay. Then there was a last desperate call for signatures to get the Governor to stay it (Yes, it must have been a state offense for which death was sentenced, but an 8th amendment lawsuit to bring it into federal court and to the Supremes.) Of course the governor didn’t, of course it was inistated, of course it went wrong. The accused, Christa Pike, survived two doses of lethal injection and was eventually taken to the hospital, and the last I heard was still alive That was Wednesday. Then yesterday, the Tennessee governor halted all executions in Tennessee. This is the second time he has halted all executions. He also called for a third-party review of the state’s lethal injection protocol (again). Of course, having as we do a moral compass, you know and I know that execution is wrong. But one would think that Republicans could at least see that (even if it works) it is also exponentially more expensive than life imprisonment. Yet here we are.
Morning Memo has multiple articles – and of course you are welcome to keep reading as long as you like – but the sections dealing with the curts and the ramificaions end where the topic turns to an ICE shooting.
48% approval is way, way too much, even in Alabama. But you gotta love the billboard.
Yes, I already addressed the Senate’s miserable failure to catch Jack Smith in a perjury trap. (I suppose that it’s incomprehensible to them that anyone would regularly and sonsistently tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth. But that’s who he is.) But Harry Dunn says so much more, and says it so much better.
Archived from The Intercept – which I was able to reach and read, but it wasn’t at all obvious how to do it. Since I was far from the first to archive it, I figured I wasn’t the only one finding access dubious. And – sincw we know at least some AI agents are acting on their own, I thought it was important.
Yesterday, It was surprisingly cold … or at least I was. Of course staying up late at night and then sleeping late into the day may have something to do with that. But that’s just how my Circadian rhythm works – and has, really, as long as I can remember. Retirement was my first chance to really start paying the sleep debt which had built up for so long.
David Sirota – who is no fool – wrote this for The Lever. It got me thinking that – throughout history, we have had multiple situations where innovations theoretically intended to make work easier have threatened to eliminate the human race by making workers redundant. Yet here we are. But the predictions have never been 100% wrong. There have always been people who literally died as a result of the consequences of the innovations. And at least since the 19th century, someone has said that those deaths were merely evolution doing its job – and that we were simply becoming more fit as a race. I would invite those people to look at MAGA. I don’t expect to be around to see the full consequences of any AI apocalypse – not because I expect AI to kill me, but because I am 81. Nor do I expect there to be anyone who will be able to accurately predict, nor to prevent the casualties of the next time around. I do wish the human race the best of luck.
Please be sitting down and be sure there is nothing in your mouth when you read this. I will not be responsible for personal or property damage when you realize Fox is included on the right side of this action – voluntarily.
Jesse Wegman (with the Brennan Center) is mostly concerned with law and the courts, and this is o exception – it’s a fairly deep dive into (one aspect of) legal ethics – as they should be. It’s not brand new news, but a response to recent news. I might call it food for thought.
Yesterday,, since there are two occasions to highlight on Friday, I had to make the decision which to feature when, and I decuded to commemorate 9/11 a day early.
This from Adam Klasfeld apears to be good news – as far as it goes -appeals are usually on the horizon. But it’s political, so I’m not saving it for Sunday.
Barf Bag alert – honestly, I don’t see the trial revisited here as at all uncommon in former Confederacy states (which are also generally unmoved by new eidence, or any fault found with evidence previously presented.)
Another Barf Bag Alert here. I’m sorry – but if even one person thinks like Isker, we need to know about it and be prepared to defend against it. And this dude is “well-funded” and has a following.
Hoo boy, is this ever a problem – one which I gather almost no one knows about. It’s called “764.” A video, yes, but there’s a transcript. You can skip up to 8.0 minutes to start – that’s when they actually start on the topic.
Yesterday, I got up a couple of hours before sunset, which doesn’t sound like much, but will help me get back on track.
I watched Frank Figliuzzi’s “Frank Friday” broadcast in which he uses the adjectival definition of his name (not that he doesn’t always do his best to be frank but yeah – this time he delves deeply into a couple of legal cases which reek to high heaven – a proposed sale of land within Yosemite to a private developer, the destruction of government databases which have taken real administrations decades to build, actions of DOJ employees at primary polling places in Wyoming, and more. I’m sure you can find it all elsewhere – but not all in one place – and not presented with Frank’s attitude.
I realize you all know that the meeting occurred, and would like to know what was said at it. This from Common Dreams doesn’t have that except a couple of snippets. The article is mostly about the backlash to the meeting.
This is the civil case regarding the Orange Ogre’s attempt to illegally use the Postal Service. Joyce Vance goes into detail.
Yesterday, I missed my morning appointment because I got royally lost. That’s a humiliating confession from someone who was habded a road map when I was 5 years old and told that I was the navigator, but it is what it is. Other than that my plsn worked well. I got to the ultrasound appointment a bit early having done the prep they recommend. They have certainly made progress with ultrasound equipmentin the 35 years or so since I had one before surgery to remove an endometrioma – something which runs in the family on my mother’s father’s side. One of Mom’s aunts (my great aunt) pretty clearly had one – they are pretty obvious when not removed, and she refused surgery. Considering this was around the time of World War I, that was probably a wise choice. My mother didn’t have one, but she did have an ectopic pregnancy, which has a similar cause but is much more dangerous. But she survived it, thanks to a creative OBG, and lived to age 93.
They just can’t let anything natural be without finding a way to mess with it – usually to ruin it. They really do think they are Masters of the Universe – or Gods. Spoiler – They aren’t.
This from Morning Memo speaks for itself pretty eloquently
Trust Joyce Vance to be right here to explain the ramifications when the same crime (or tort, if a civil suit) – and a single act can be both.
I guess I’m lucky. I don’t know whether my gas and electric is public orr private – but I do know they can’t change rates without first holding a well-publlicized public hearing. My water and sewer I do know is public, and cannot change rates without putting a measure on the ballot in the next election -and then getting a majority of those voting to vote for it. My fire department is also public through a special district (this is very common in Colorado). And my utility rates have not gone through the roof – yet.
Yesterday, Trinette was by. She managed to get here and also get home before the lightning (which I did’t see, but heard the thunder). Never a dull moment with our weather. I should sdd that when I use the term “Trump Derangement Syndrome,” I am referring to the derangement suffered (or enjoyed) by Trump himself. Because that’s the only kind which is real, albeit many of his followers also exhibit it.
A video – just under a quarter hour – from Adam Klasfeld – literal Pay to Play, and a lawsuit hoping to end it. Yes, there’s a transcript.
He can declare until he is blue in the face – but it won’t change anything. Period.
This is not anything which is likely to affect any of us personally – and maybe I should be concentrating on things which are – and they are legion. But it is so dramatic that once you look at it, it’s hard to look away.
