Yesterday, On the morning trip, there was enough cloud cover I didn’t have to use the visor much, though it was very helpful when I did. Coming home – well, let me back up a little. First, the visit was good and Virgil returns all greetings.OK. I already said the package with the visor contained some other things. What they were was clear-plastic-lined fabric screens, each about 16″x 20″, stretched with a wire frame flexible enough to fold them into about a 9″ circle if you’re smart enough – I’m not, but they came that way. I opened two and didn’t touch the second two. They came with little suction cups but there’s not an obvious place to put them. I clipped a couple of binder clips to one and took it and a second one to the car. As much as we talk about the sun moving from East to West, we often ignore in our speech the effect of the earth’s axis on that. Here in Colorado, the axis is so skewed at this time of year that the sun sets virtually due South – to the left of the car from Las Animas to Pueblo, and left and behind me when I’m heading north to Springs. As I got to Pueblo and the dangerous-due-to glare turns, I stopped, and clipped one of the scrrens to the driver’s window, far enough back not to interfere with the left rear view mirror. When I started going north, that screen was far enough back to slow down the sun – not strong enough to stop it, which itself coul have been dangerous, just effectively enough for it not to hurt my eyes and drive me nuts. So I guess now I know what they are for. Between them and the visor extender, driving is now a lot easier and feels much safer. Mission accomplished.
Cartoon –
Short Takes –
Common Dreams – ‘Arrogant Insensitivity’: Defense Lawyer in Arbery Murder Trial Ripped for Bid to Bar Black Pastors
Quote – Gough, referring to the founder and marketing mascot of the fast-food chain Kentucky Fried Chicken, curiously added that “if a bunch of folks came in here dressed like Colonel Sanders with white masks sitting in the back,” before trailing off.
Click through for story, which is all over but this is a good take on it. Personally, I think the prosecution should give Sojourners a call (and possible also ask the black pastors) to look for white pastors to put on the stand who will really shame the defendants with both barrels.
DHS Sounds Alarm On RW Terror Against School, Health Officials And Congress
Quote – DHS issued a bulletin Wednesday warning that the holiday season ushers in a “diverse and challenging threat environment” with threats “posed by individuals and small groups engaged in violence, including domestic violent extremists (DVEs) and those inspired or motivated by foreign terrorists and other malign foreign influences.” You can substitute the term “right-wing extremists” for “domestic violent extremists.” Probably not all DVEs are right-wing but it’s clear from the DHS bulletin that the ones it’s most worried about are:
Click through for more. My, it’s nice to have a DHS that actually cares about our secuity,not just bashing people of color and other minorities.
Wonkette – What’s In The Infrastructure Bill? What’s In Build Back Better? Which Is Which? Wonkette Gets Servicey!
Quote – On the off chance you may have missed it, the House passed the Bipartisan Infrastructure Framework (BIF) late Friday [11/5], with the second, much larger part of Joe Biden’s first term agenda, the Build Back Better reconciliation bill, likely to be passed the week prior to Thanksgiving, as long as Joe Manchin doesn’t decide it needs to include tax credits for diesel pickup trucks that “roll coal” on bicyclists and drivers of Prii. In Monday’s White House presser, Principal Deputy Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said Biden would sign the infrastructure bill into law sometime next week…. Obviously, Biden wants to use the passage of the BIF as leverage to move Build Back Better to completion, which seems like a pretty sound strategy, and if your House or Senate critter is doing town halls this week, let ’em know you want Build Back Better to pass, yes, even if they’re Republicans.
Click through for what we got. There is also a companion article, What’s In The Build Back Better Bill? Your Servicey Wonkette SUPER MEGA-LISTICLE!, which details what we hope to get. Wonkette may have a frivolous attitude, but it also has facts.
Food for Thought –
7 Responses to “Open Thread for November 14, 2021”
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Glad to read that you got to use your visor extender and your screens, sounds like you’ve got it under control for your safety, and also a good safe sun screen protector from the sun’s rays as you drive.
Cartoon: Dumbas-es…
Common Dreams: This is definitely racist, how dare an attorney speak like that in a court of law. Sickening. He should be fired for his racist comments, imho.
C&L: Good article. Glad that DHS issued this warning to all. Lying and violence is not the answer.
FFT: Great toon(s). Got the point across, YAY!
This Just In: “For generations, Americans have answered the call to serve—taking the sacred oath to defend our ideals of liberty and democracy. These patriots represent the best of us. On Veterans Day, we honor their service, dedication, and valor and are forever grateful for their sacrifice.” ~ President Joe Biden ~
2. “Now that we’ve passed a budget resolution, we’re closer to making a once-in-a-generation investment for families. And we can easily fund it by making the rich & big corporations pay their fair share. Read my op-ed on3 ideas that would raise $5 trillion+.” ~ Elizabeth Warren ~
3. “The White House estimates Texas will receive about $35 billion from the national infrastructure bill for roads, bridges, pipes, ports, broadband access, and other projects.” ~ Texas Tribune ~
4. “In our Congressional delegation’s meeting yesterday at #COP26 with First Minister of Scotland @NicolaSturgeon [2] , we reaffirmed our shared belief that the climate crisis is an existential threat to the world that requires a just transition to clean energy economies.” ~ Nancy Pelosi ~
4.1- “The Build Back Better is heading to the floor this week. That is our plan to pass the bill the week of November 15th. ~ Speaker Pelosi ~
5. By reducing premiums for more than 9 million Americans and delivering health care coverage to up to 4 million uninsured people, the Build Back Better Framework will make health care more affordable for millions of working families.” ~ Vice President Kamala Harris ~
TJI #1 – I think maybe we need to acknowledge that from every war there have been veterans who fought not understanding, maybe not even agreeing with, what they were fightung fore. I say this not to disparage their service, which was and is as valuable as anyone’s – just for us to be cautious about accepting veterans’ opinions without examining them
TJI #2 – Liz is, quite simply, solid on financual matters. I wish we would listen to her better. (She must be happy about the return of Postal Banking, though not, of course, about NoJoy still being there to screw it up.)
TJI #3 – I don’t doubt it. Of course Abbott’s message will be that they don’t, or it can’t be used, or it’s really from Republicans, or something. We need to qwork hard to overcome the messages sent through the mainstream media.
TJI #4 – This quote from G. K. Chesterton is from memory, so it may be imperfect: “Men can discuss eternally the proposition that something should be done. But, if you convey to a woman that something should be done, there is always a terrifying chance that she will do it.” It’s from one of the Father Brown stories – sorry, don’t remember the title.
TJI #4.1 – Fingers, toes, arms, and legs crossed.
TJI #5 – Which, of course, is why Republicans oppose it so savagely.
TJI#!: Great words, President Biden. We thank them all.
TJI#2: Wish Liz luck at getting others involved into getting the rich to pay their share of taxes. These politicians have children and either they were rich enough to have their spouses stay home with the kids and never worried about child care. Otherwise they’re just heartless and don’t care about others. Sorry to say I feel it’s the latter one.
TJI#3: Nice to see that Texas will get that much, just hope they use it for what it’s meant for.
TJI#4: Wishing Nancy luck too. I have a feeling the rotten R’s aren’t going to be helpful or make it easy.
TJI#5: Like I mentioned above in TJI#2, the rotten R’s are heartless and won’t make it easy.
Cartoon: Yep and still getting dumber.
Common Dreams: Heard about this on the news earlier this week. I was shocked that this bas*ard even thought of banning black pastors. Racist creep. Ban him from ever appearing in another courtroom.
DHS: I too am glad they issued these warnings. Definitely needed to protect the people/security.
Food for Thought: I take it as ones who aren’t satisfied that we, our country will get all of those benefits. President Biden and so many others worked hard at getting it passed. People should be grateful.
Nice that you had a nice time visiting Virgil. Sounds like you got the visor to work the way you wanted it to do.
Hope you have a nice Sunday. Take care. Thanks Joanne
Comment from Mitch –
Glad you were, are, safe, and have a plan for further trips.’Toon: The beginning of the end of the old GOP, with Newt-thing in charge.
CD: This trial seems to be becoming a first lesson in “Structural Racism 101”
C&L: And the GQP is quietly standing back, and standing ready.
Wonkette: If my congressmen are doing town halls, I do not know about it, nor do have thestomach to listen to, much less watch, any of these 3
asses.
FFT: Saw a guy wearing a Trump pictured tee-shirt earleir today, had to get out of that line at the checkpout. This (these) ae much more sane.
Mitch D.
Kudos for being so smart to figure out what the extra parts that came with the visor extension were for and using them to your advantage, Joanne.
Cartoon: Someone forgot to tell the GOP how stupid this was; they’ve been trying to shut it down ever since and sometimes even succeeding.
C&L: A warning that holds true for the whole year, not just the holiday season.
FFT: That characterises the average Trumpkins so well.
I suspect they may have actually been intended for back seat windows with kids in the seats (the cute pictures of animals on them kind of suggest that.) But glare is glare.
I personally love the T-shirt – but then I read it as