Yesterday, I got email confirmation of my next visit to Virgil, which will be on Christmas Day. We have never had that happen before. I hope the weather will be kind. I also got a paper check from a class action suit into the mail to my credit union. I hate paper checks. But I do have envelopes and postage and deposit slips, and now I have the address on my hard drive where I won’t lose it, so, oh, well. Usually I send paper checks to my USAA account – they provide postage-paid envelopes – but in this suit, USAA was the defendant, and I thought that would be tacky. So the Credit Union it had to be.
Cartoon –
Short Takes
The 19th – ‘Dash for Cash’ showcases lack of pay and resources for South Dakota teachers
Quote – Teachers spent an average of $750 out of their own pocket on school supplies during the 2020-2021 school year, according to a survey of 5,400 teachers administered by AdoptAClassroom, a nonprofit that raises funds for school supplies
Click through. This just makes me want to cry. There is no rational reason why we don’t fund out public schools properly and pay teachers appropriately for what they do. It’s just pure meanness. BTW I promised I’d look up the slam poem on what teachers make – you’ll find it and the transcript in today’s video thread.
Crooks and Liars – What Wingers Are Really Saying When They Say ‘Missing Children’
Quote – That’s what right-wingers mean when they talk about missing children: It’s QAnon Lite, the belief that all their enemies are pedophiles and all their heroes are anti-pedophile warriors. Much of the discussion and activity of these beliefs now takes place with no overt reference to QAnon.
Click thought for full story. I knew exactly what the headline was referring to before reading the full story. Did you? Of course, there exist a number we can’t ever know of people whose brains are wired to want sex with children We can’t know it because most will never act on it, and most of those who do will never be exposed. But, since this kind of sex has a built-in imbalance of power, I don’t think it’s a stretch to suggest that most of them are Republicans (using the term for people who think like Republicans, regardless of party registration, if any.)
Daily Beast – The Green Lantern Theory Destroyed Jimmy Carter’s Presidency. Now It’s Hitting Joe Biden.
Quote – The problem with being a president who promises to clean things up after a villainous predecessor is that the press corps treats you like a superhero—which sounds like a good thing until you realize that just means you get blamed for things you can’t control. That’s what happened to Jimmy Carter, and it’s what’s happening to Joe Biden now thanks to what Dartmouth political scientist Brendan Nyhan has called “the Green Lantern Theory” in which voters believe a president can do anything through sheer willpower, like the DC superhero.
Click through for details. Ms. Clift used to be in the McLaughlin Group, so she’s some kind of conservative, but she was never a nutcase, and this is pretty reasonable – if I can use that term for a solid explanatin of unreason.
Food For Thought:
I can’t put the whole presentation here because it’s six panels, each a different “Truth-in-Advertising” re-named Kelloggs product. It starts with “Kelloggs Corp Flacks” and only gets better. I think you’ll want to share it too.
13 Responses to “Open Thread for December 15, 2021”
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Good to read of your next visit w/Virgil. Hope that it goes well, check with Santa on the roads to make sure it’s all safe and well.
Cartoon: A good day indeed.
The 19th: I saw that! I watched as they shoved on their person(s), the cash and to save the bills. How very sad. What teachers do and say every.single.day of the school year is noteworthy, and all should receive a pay increase every single year and get comp for the $$ they use out of pocket for their classrooms, and resources for their students. It’s been this way for years. It’s a disgrace.
C&L: re: The R’s. – the Q-Anon folks, the statements they say and their lies. All wrapped up without interruption. Yikes!
FFT: Excellent! These artists and the words they write are spot on!
This just in: “Do we know which Republican members of Congress were treated to a viewing of the infamous PowerPoint deck on how to coup?” ~ Barbara Malmet ~
2. “We need more elected Democrats to act with the urgency of Eric Swalwell and Amy Klobuchar. Too many of you are acting like you care more about your holiday shopping than the fact that Rome is burning!”
~ Amy Siskind ~
3. “The “plan” was for the National Guard to be enlisted in helping to obstruct Congress, delay the electoral vote count, and prevent the peaceful transition of power.” ~ Asha Rangappa ~
4. “73 years ago, the international community declared its firm, united commitment to human rights, stating, recognition of the inherent dignity and of the equal and inalienable rights of all members of the human family is the foundation of freedom, justice and peace in the world.’” ~ Nancy Pelosi ~
5. “That PowerPoint should be setting off more fire alarms than Sharon’s Marie Callender pie did, but here we are—about to witness the burnt ruin of our government.” ~ George Takei ~
Tji #1 – The Committee may. We don’t – yet. But I can make some guesses.
TJI #2 – For shizzle.
TJI #3 – Yeah. Well, that didn’t work out. Many thanks to all the Guardsmen including those in command who remembered their oath.
TJI #4 – Yes. Amen.
TJI #5 – Denial is not just a river in Egypt. But too many people besides QAnoners seem to think it is. I don’t know what it will take to wake them up – but whatever it is, I pray it comes soon.
Comment from Mitch –
‘Toon: Bill of Rights, or Bill of White Rights?BTW: Talking about rights brings to mind the drive to remove rights, as in the right to vote, and so on. I thought this piece from Sheila Kennedy’s
blog, for today, might be of use to those of you who engage with other platforms, like FB, Twitter, and the like:
Mitch then quotes today’s entire blog post by Sheila Kennedy on Scapegoating. Here’s the link. I have also added Sheila’s blog to our blogroll – see the left column <–
As the article concluded:
“Silence and inaction do nothing but cause biased perpetrator behaviors to proliferate as they feel unquestioned.” This is one of the most important implications from our analysis. Targeted aggressions can have real consequences on a victim’s mental and physical health. When bystanders step in and help to make aggressions visible, disarm the situation, educate the perpetrator, and seek external reinforcement or support, these approaches provide crucial support in preventing some of the most detrimental effects. Understanding the best strategies for online bystander intervention is the first step in targeting aggression online. If we want to see a genuine change in how social media users discuss racism, we must foster a digital culture that values prosocial discourse.
Distasteful as it can be to engage with bigots, we need to take this advice seriously.
The 19th: Fund teachers? Fund them fully? Darn, they might teach stuff “we” don’t like.
C&L: Talk about misinformation, it’s the misinformation nation!
DB: An interesting concept. So, Biden gets to be the scapegoat because so many people do not understand how the Gov’t works, a theme we’ve seen before.
FFT: Can’t see but the very last bit of it, but am no fan of Kellogs. Dr. Kellog had a good idea, but it has been exploited in the last hundred, or so years.
Mitch
Cartoon: Was a good day.
The 19th: Seen this one the news the other night. It was disgraceful watching the way they had to try and grab the money. I wasn’t pleased with it one bit.
C&L: Sick of their words/lies.
DB: I don’t feel that President Biden should be classified as failing at his duties, due to all of events he has no control over whatsoever, Covid-19, storms and weather issues that caused the cargo backup, now the tonadoes, inflation, gas prices etc. Someone else, tRumpy, offered throwing Paper Towels to Puerto Rico. I wish the media and the people would step back and realize all that President Biden has done.
Food for Thought: Perfecto…. I agree that the ones who created them, are spot on.
Nice that they let you know when your next visit with Virgil will be. I do pray that the weather will be safe for you to go. Traffic wise, it should be okay, since people normally drive days before Christmas,’ Hope you had a nice day.
Take care. Thanks Joanne
Thanks Colleen. You’re right, any driving on Christmas Day is usually local – to/from church, to/from relatives fr dinner or to drop off presents – that sort of thing. That should not affect me at all. And the stores will be closed – so the return shouldn’t be bad.
Just checking in to let everyone know I’m alive and kicking (healthy) but still have no useful internet connection. It takes so long for anyone to answer my call that I went into town to buy a dongle, an areal and data so that I can pick up some of the signals I have in this sheltered place. On a good day there is a bit of signal, but all the areal can do is make it a bit crisper, but it can’t add to or amplify something that isn’t there.
So, until my satellite connections are restored, I can’t watch any video’s nor can I spend too much time on the internet reading and commenting.
Wonderful to read about you visiting Virgil on Christmas Day., Joanne. Someone in that penitentiary besides Virgil must have a sweet spot for you.
The staff does like me – that’s not hard to accomplish – courteous treatment and an accasional recognition of their hard work go a long way. But visitation has always continued on holidays. For many reasons.
Best of luck getting your internet back. I’m glad the dongle helps a little.
Thanks for the update Lona. So sorry it is taking so long to resolve.
Cartoon: Hooray! Good thing today’s GQP had NOTHING to do w/it! 19th: I couldn’t watch the actual humiliation—-I remember lack of CHALK in 80s classrooms. Of course the supt., etc. made big bucks. And Reagan admin. proclaimed ketchup a school lunch veggie.The beat goes on. C&L: I knew what it was gonna be about—-GQP projection. Hey, Yesterday a HS kid called both Pres. Biden & I pedos as he walked past my house w/”Biden/Harris” & “remember Jan.6” signs. Holiday spirit, indeed. Green Lantern: So true. As opposed to bragging re: “shooting someone on 5th ave.” —–and getting the fundy “xtian” vote BIGLY! FFT: Oh, yeah! Good-bye, Morningstar burgers. It was good while it lasted. (IIRC, they were started by 7th Day Adventists here in OH as Worthington foods, later sold to K.) Of course I’ll eat the ones I still have,not to waste. I’d like to have lots of these FFTs as yard signs. Hey, I’m already a known “fill in the blank”. Was wondering if they would have visitation this Sat., since Xmas. Have a Merry one! Take care,all.
I hope you had a chance to watch the video and/or read the transcript. I’s righteous.
I can see that you, like me, get aas much out of the headlines as out of the article half the time.
I don’t suppose it would be a copyright violation of you printed up one or two greatly enlarged and posted them (Giving credit couldn’t hurt)
Even before the pandemic, even before they started haveing us make “reservations” (which itself was largely a result of unexpected holiday volume), visitation never closed on holidays. And now, with some pandemic restrictions still in effect, it would really be unfair. I don’t know whether the staff gets holiday pay for it (they certainly should), but visitation benefits the staff almost as much as it does the inmates – maybe more.
I especially like the article about Jimmy Carter and Joe Biden having to clean up the mess left by predecessors….never fast enough for the media and or most citizens….sadly…
I do like paper checks….sending them supports USPS which is still so important.
I agree about supporting the USPS being important. But there are ways to support them without actually using the service, like their gift merch. And at one point before the pandemic I bough a largge order of stamps.I expect to use them eventually, but at that point I just thought they needed the cash flow.
South Dakota should be embarrassed for not supporting teachers and education and so many other beneficial things.