Open Thread March 28, 2024

 Posted by at 6:02 am  Open Thread, Personal, Politics
Mar 282024
 

Yesterday, I could hardly wait to see what Joyce Vance (who lives in Alabama) had to say about the upset special election there (while being aware it might have shocked her so much that she wouldn’t react until tonight.) Well, I did wait up for it, and here is a quote: “In the category of “you can’t make this up” the special election happened because David Cole, the Republican who previously held the seat, pled guilty to voter fraud charges when it came to light that he didn’t live in the district he voted in and represented.”  While waiting, I sent a litte money to Katie Porter’s PAC, “Truth to Power.” As she won’t be in Congress, she’s very motivated to help as many solid campaigns as she can.

Lakota Law has a petition on behalf of all native American nations. It’s to Pope Francis, and it’s asking him to return lands seized by the church to those tribes to whom it belonged. This link has been cut so it will not prefill with my information, and verified to make sure it works the way it should. There is some background at the link, and also another link to the full petition so you can be clear on what is being asked.

Mixed news here – good that it’s at least being considered – bad that it’s necessary.

I’m big on whistleblowers anyway, and this one is especially deserving of admiration. It’s 180 degrees removed from trading in classified information. Democracies need to, and have a right to, know the truth. ( Wonkette – who agree.)

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Open Thread February 18, 2024

 Posted by at 6:19 am  Open Thread, Personal, Politics
Feb 182024
 

Yesterday, the radio opera was Verdi’s “Un Ballo in Maschera.” It’s loosely based on an actual assassination which happened in Sweden in 1792. As with “Rigoletto,” an opera about the assassination of a monarch put Verdi at odds with the censors. So early performances of it were set in America (Boston IIRC), prior to the Revolution, which is not as far fetched as I used to think – Sweden (under Gustav III) was the first country not directly involved in the fighting to diplomatically recognize the US. But I digress. The assassination really happened, but I will not vouch for all the hoo-hah surrounding it in the opera – the fortuneteller predicting that the first man who shakes the king’s hand will kill him, the king being in love with his prime minister’s (who is also his best friend) wife, she silently returning his love but wanting nothing more than to be freed of her obsession, the meeting in the graveyard at midnight, The Prime Minister showing up not knowing that the woman with the king is his own wife, the king’s orders to escort her without learning her name, the couple stopped by the potential assassins, the wife revealing her identity only so they won’t kill her husband, the husband refusing to believe she is faithful and switching sides to help the assassins – all that is just too fortuitous. And that’s not even mentioning the page boy (a “trouser role”) who would be adorable if the plot as a whole was not so weighed down with inevitability – and the final irony of the king’s last act being to write out orders of transfer for the Prime Minister so that the king and the wife will be at least physically removed from temptation.

Nameless, was it you who commented on a Biden ad about NATO that they should have included Reagan? Whether or not, I’m happy to report that VoteVets took care of that.

This from Talking Points Memo is a deep dive into Chesebro and his involvement. If it bores you, I’m sorry – it can be helpful sometimes to get details – easier to speculate how the jury (or the judge in a bench trial) will decide.

I think we can agree that this is good news. More like this, please.

 

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Open Thread February 14, 2024

 Posted by at 5:51 am  Open Thread, Personal, Politics
Feb 142024
 

Yesterday, my ballot for the Presidential primary arrived. The election is March 5th. I’ve been avoiding going out the front door since my hospital stay, and even more so, avoiding the porch steps (the last time I ventured on them wasthe day I came home, and that was one way only.) But with that much time, and Trinette coming Sunday, I’m sure I can wait tll then. I know for whom I am voting, and it’s only one block to fill in, and if she takes it out the same day it comes in, it should get there in time easily.

I’m sharing this as a Black Histoy story because IMO there’s no doubt that it is one. You can make up your own mind,of course.

This is a crash course in foreign affairs. If that makes it sound difficult – it isn’t. And it explains a lot about how we got to this point. And it’s available for free to anyne, so you can share (you might want to mention scrolling a little for “continue reading.”)

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Open Thread for December 10, 2021

 Posted by at 6:57 am  Open Thread, Personal, Politics
Dec 102021
 

Yesterday, I got a package of jewelry supplies, checked it against the invoice, and got it all put away. I got my clothes and shoes put together. I think I’m ready, and I still have today in case I think of something undone. Tomorrow I go to see Virgil. Sunset will be, at most, 3 minutes earlier than it was 2 weeks ago. Soon – before the solstice – it will start to get later each day.

Cartoon –

Short Takes

Wonkette – DC National Guard Commanders Aren’t Going To Let Mike Flynn’s Brother Pin This Sh*t On Them
Quote – Walker and Matthews say they begged to deploy the National Guard troops from 2:30 in the afternoon on. According to Walker, who is now the House Sergeant at Arms, the IG Report incorrectly states that Army Secretary Ryan McCarthy and Mayor Muriel Bowser were on that call, but they were not McCarthy has said he authorized the DCNG to deploy within the hour. But this memo tells a different story, much more like the one Walker told Congress way back in March. It recounts that Mike Flynn’s brother Gen. Charles Flynn, who served as deputy chief of staff for operations on Jan. 6, and Lt. Gen. Walter Piatt, the director of Army staff, were against deploying the guard because of “optics,” and counseled Walker to have the guardsmen replace DC cops directing traffic so that only DC police would respond to the riot.
Click through for story. Good for them. I never assume that just because a person is a close family member of a criminal, that they condob=ne the crime, much less participate in it – look at the Gosar family and Mary Trump. But in this case there is evidence. Charles need a Court Martial.

The 19th – The federal government is making a new investment in women-owned small businesses
Quote – The Small Business Administration, the federal agency that supports entrepreneurs, is putting a greater focus on women business owners than ever before in the agency’s history, following two years that have decimated small businesses and brought into stark relief the barriers still facing the fastest-growing group of owners.
Click through for details. Gotta have good news sometimes or we’d all wither up and die.

CBS News – 60 Minutes speaks with ex-NSA contractor Reality Winner about leaking a document to the press
Quote – Reality Winner explained the sequence of events that led to her decision to leak a classified government document to the media, a decision that would go on to cost her four years behind bars. Winner said she was concerned that, “the truth wasn’t true anymore,” and spoke to what she says was an atmosphere of confusion and mistrust that plagued America in early 2017. “The public was being lied to,” Winner explained. She says despite having taken an oath to protect classified material, she had “pledged service to the American people” and wanted to end the perceived “confusion,” about alleged Russian interference in the 2016 U.S. elections.
Click through.  All the clips are there, but separately, so if you want to watch the whole thing, you can do so in convenient 15-minute chunks. Spoiler: There really was Russian interference in the 2016 elections, at more levels than you would think.

Food for Thought –

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Open Thread for October 4, 2021

 Posted by at 7:17 am  Open Thread, Personal, Politics
Oct 042021
 

Yesterday, I did my best to rest. I worked a little more on that last cotton project I mentioned … I had to undo some after discovering I was working on the wrong side. But not too much. And it gives me a second chance to get a color change over short rows right. So I’m not complaining.

Cartoon – 4 4Cartoon.jpg

Short Takes –

AP News – NOT REAL NEWS: A look at what didn’t happen this week
Quote – Vaccinated people do not carry more coronavirus than the unvaccinate…. Social media users are misrepresenting comments made by Dr. Leana Wen, former Baltimore health commissioner, to make the false claim.
Click through for this and other stories. And maybe boolmark the home page of this feature, which comes out every Friday. 

Law & Crime – Texas Man Accused of Throwing Molotov Cocktail at Democratic Party HQ While Wearing American Flag as Disguise
Quote – Ryan Faircloth, 30, stands accused of arson and possessing a prohibited weapon. He is currently being detained at the Travis County Jail in Austin after being arrested on Friday. He also has a federal charge pending according to the Austin American-Statesman.
Click through for data and reminders of the crime – which we all saw on video. So glad they got him. I hope they keep him.

The Guardian – Facebook whistleblower to claim company contributed to Capitol attack
Quote – A whistleblower at Facebook will say that thousands of pages of internal company research she turned over to federal regulators proves the social media giant is deceptively claiming effectiveness in its efforts to eradicate hate and misinformation and it contributed to the January 6 attack on the Capitol in Washington DC.
Click through for story. This wil have been on 60 Minutes last night. She’s not claiming financial contributions, but she is claiming motivatinal contribution.

Food for Thought –

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