Yesterday, my email lightened up a little (though i still deleted more than I didn’t.) One that I didn’t (actually I received more than one – this link is to the info from the first one I read) was regarding another National Day of Action for this Saturday. I’m not going to cite a group, because all of these efforts are being sponsored and organized by too many groups to list. True grassroots. I look forward to seeing photos of the signs.
This from The Root – I am not even going to quibble that a whole lot of sane white folks have been sounding the same warning. If white MAGA idiots are willing to give the Black Community credit for anything, I’m all for it.
Colorado Public Radio reports a drastic gubernatorial executive order by Jared Polis. It’s very bad that it is necessary – but apparently is it, and if so, it’s very good to see it happen.
This Robert Reich video is probably nothing new to those of us who have read the Constitution. But it’s also short (3 1/3 minutes) and very clear. It’s made for sharing with vulnerable people so they can be prepared for the infringements (a word which is throwing roses at it. You may prefer “abuses.”)
Oddly, since I normally prefer reading to videos, I think I’d rather listen to Heather Cox Richardson than read her letters/ Even though she says “um” a lot. I think part of that is her enthusiasm. Even when she has warnings to give, it can feel like she’s giving a pep talk. I listened to all 41 ½ minutes of this one, digressions, and ums, and all, and there was little in it that I hadn’t heard or read elsewhere, but I still felt enlightened afterwards. You may feel differently, but here’s the link if you want to try. (If you don’t, ignore it.)
I am absolutely in agreement with Robert Reich here. Eternal vigilance is the price, not only of freedom, but of equity. If they distort it one way, the only way we can restore it is to distort it ourselves. We didn’t get that during reconstruction (any of the reconstructions) – but we need to learn it now.
This is from Wonkette, and not unexpected, I would guess. One old saying which is absolutely true is that “Figures don’t lie. But liars do figure.
This weekend, looking for music, after finding the Rocky Mountain Mike one you saw yesterday, I came across a “Horrible History” song from the BBC. It’s very silly, and IMO not useful as a mnemonic either. But it did remind me of Charles I and his billionaires cavaliers and how he vexed the people so much, including levying taxes without the consent of Congress Parliament, that there was a Civil War – which the people won, and locked him up (they didn’t all agree on all that much, but they did agree that he needed to be locked up), then they tried him for “treason against England by using his power to pursue his personal interest rather than the good of the country,” convicted him, and beheaded him. I might note that the verdict included accountability for the deaths, mostly in the Civil War, of 300,000 people, which was a lot then, but nowhere near the numbers that dictators today can kill. Charles’s defense, incidentally, was that the trial and verdict were illegal (sound familiar?) Plus ça change, plus c’est la même chose.
I’m sure it’s no surprise that my email inbox is getting less and less manageable by the day. I don’t subscribe to Jacobin (though I love the name), but I do subscribe to Dose of Democracy who sent me the link, and I thought it was well said.
Yesterday, Malcolm Nance and Bryan Cunningham did a video on Substack including a visit from Lev Parnas. It’s about an hour and a quarter long, and there is a fair amount of profanity, but little time is wasted, and a lot of details discussed, while not new, are new to the public. Many are in Nance’s book, but his knowledge is so far ahead of pretty much everyone else’s that it must have been hard to read or even to listen to. I might add that there is some content on which the participants don’t agree on what is going to happen. IT really is worth the time in my opinion. 1700 people watched it live – which is apparently big for Substack – but small compared to the number of people who should learn about it.
As Robert Hubbell points out, one doesn’t have to go to another country to be in exile. At this point all the good and decent people in the US are virtually and politically in exile.
I considered putting this story in Sunday’s post, but decided to post it today – because, although the hero of it is a good man indeed, and deserves credit (actually for all his accomplishments), the does not resolve into a smooth good news ending.
Earlier this week, I mentioned that Pete Buttigieg now has a Substack. A couple of days later, Heather Cox Richardson invited him to a video conversation which was broadcast as recorded. The recording is now available, probably on both Substacks, but I watched it on Pete’s. If you have a spare three quarters of an hour or so, and you’d like to spend it in the company of two people who are intelligent, knowledgeable, sane, and just good people, this may be for you.
As Wonkette does not say (but I do), families are not a certain predictor of a person’s principles. Some apples fall a county, or a state, or a country away from the tree. These people coming up with these conspiracy theories, particularly the ones including trafficking children- I mean, for that to even occur to them doesn’t say much for their own morals.
This opinion piece (I say opinion, but it’s the truth) by Rebecca Solnit got her banned from Facebook. But Wonkette’s “TABs” linked to it. If you are here before going out to a “No Kings Day” event, this is probably the one to read now and the rest later.
I threw in this from Wonkette because I didn’t want it to wait. I also didn’t want it to get buried. Foreign policy is not an area which gets much attention (unless there’s a war – and that goes double for the current isolationist atmosphere) and I thought this important.
Yesterday, I discovered Brave New Films has released its newest documentary – about the E. Jean Carroll case (They have quite a catalog – the earliest one I remeber them putting out was exposing the Koch Brothers, u they also did one with Ed Asner playing the Fox-owned grandfather. That’s just what I remember. there are lots more.) Also, Robert Reich posted the newest video/article in his current series.
This is not election news, but it is equally disgusting. Since the article is in a local paper, it’s not that specific to where this is happening, but Wonkette, who referred me to it, identifies the district as being in Yotk County, PA. Since we are in the overlap of Hispanic Heritage Month and LGBTQ’s month, I thought I’d share this even without any Hispanic link. My response to this would be a lot of every-thing-proof black paint on the inside (along with protesting.)
Heather Cox Richardson‘s column from Thirsday nigh started me thinking. I am not thrilled by our two party system, yet I fear the formation of a third party because in my lifetime I have seen too many spoiler candidates negatively affect our government. But what if we had four parties, and each one stood for one quadrant of the political compass? I think potential leadership actually exists – Kamala Harris is clearly a strong leader in the lower left quadrant. Jill Stein appears to represent the upper left, and Liz Cheney (along with Adam Kinzinger and Michael Luttig, and likely a lot more who have not spoken out) is clearly in the lower right quadrant. I can think of far too many “leaders” who are solidly in the upper right quadrant, and I expect so can you, and though I would love to make a statrmrnt by alluding to a woman here, I can’t think of one who would actually have that party’s support (Sarah Huckabee Sanders may be the closest.) I doubt whether any one of the four would have a majority without forming a coalition of some kind. It might be fun to speculate who would form a coalition with whom and on what grounds. And it would be much easier to setermine where any given candidate “really” stands. It certinly couldn’t happen in my lifetime. But maybe some day (aessuming we don’t lose the 2024 election.)
Joyce Vance finished and posted here analysis of Jack Smith’s superseding indictment and I, at least, am not disapponted. I hope you’ll think it was worth waiting a day for also. It clarifies the hoops he had to jump through as well as how he did it. When – not if – this comes to the Supreme Court, ALito and Thomas should, of course recuse, but won’t, and can’t be forced to. Although if we get a majority in both the House and the Senate, we may be able to tell them “recuse or be impeached.” If we could get rid ofjust those two, I’d be a happy camper. We’d have a 5-4 majority, and Gorsuch respects tribal law (most Republicans and even some Democrats don’t), and Barrett is a nebbish.
Yesterday, as I expect everyone knows, the radio opera was “Dead Man Walking” by Jake Heggie. I said so much yesterday that there may not be much to add. I was a little surprised no one mentioned Joyce’s own prison eork. Siter Helen was quoted as having said, “No one gets me ike Joyce.” Now, I’m confident that much of that is because Joyce di Donaato is such a consummate artist, dedicated to her calling to the point even the ushers can see it (An usher in Santa Fe told me that, no matter how late the performance ends, she won’t sleep before getting on the phone with her voice coach to improve the next night’s.) But I still can’t thinking those prior esperences – well, let’s say don’t hurt. (And I can see why Joyce would not want them mentioned.) She may have discused that with Sister Helen (they have become friends) but Sister Helen would never out her. I must say, as emotionally draining as just listening was, I would not trade it. And I would love to actually be able to see it (streaming would be acceptable.)
I’m not ready to pick up with the Erinyes – and may not ever be. Yes, from time to time there will continue to be articles which are both important and sharable in full. And which don’t need the aegis of the Erinyes. And because there’s no Erinyes, and Nameless is in recovery from surgery, I don’t see the point of an email today.
https://joycevance.substack.com/p/if-congress-can-do-this
For now, I’d like to share this by Joyce Vance – I think she is on to something. Last November, a bipartisan pair of Senators introduced a bill to provide direct and indirect victims of one specific act of terrorism access to view the court proceedings connected with that act. Feel free to drop your jaw shen you see the numbers by which it passed. And it either gave Joyce the idea, or more likely, suggested something fairly obvious which she has been behind for some time – and that is that we need to provide that service to all victims of all federal offenses going through the courts. Read her argument and see what you think.
Well, I did manage to get everything taken care of on the 21st, although it took till the 22nd before I was certain of it. And of course learned something in the process. I knew there were such things as FSAs, qhich are funded with contributions from the person who owns the account (and/or their eligible dependents) and must be used or lost each year. I knew there were such things as HSAs, which carry over from year to year, and I always thought that was what I had. Not so. An HSA, like an FSA, is funded by the person who owns it, and by their eligible dependents. What I have is an HRA, which is funded by a third party, such as a prior employer. The only circumstances under which I can put money into it are if I have accidently spent some of it on something that isn’t covered (or something that is covered, but I have lost the documentation for.) Why does it matter? Because HSA holders are required to fill out and sign documents giving yhe old provider permission to transfer their account to the new one. Since all the money in my account comes from USAA, USAA can take care of the authorization for me. What a relief.
Here are a couple of humorous videos. There’s no new information in either, they’re just for fun.
This was on the Late Show, so you may have seen it. I don’t care. Watch it again. (Sorry the CC isn’t better but the pictures help interpret it).
This one is from Parody Project. Good CC and high production values. And cannot come true too soon for me.
And here is a meme which is timely without being seasonal.
