Open Thread January 13, 2023

Yesterday, I kind of fell down the gas stove rabbit hole. I grew up with a gas stove, which my mom loved because of the instant temperature changes it makes possible (otherwise, heat is heat – that’s really the big difference.) The same autumn during which President Kennedy was murdered, we sprung a minor leak somewhere. It was so minor neither of us could smell it. Mom worked full time (and always overtime the closer it got to year end) whereas I was a sophomore in college and had a car, and a schedule with a lot of gaps, so I was home more. And when I started feeling a lack of energy, I spent even more time at home, and lost even more energy. My aunt smelled it when she and my uncle came for Christmas, and we got it fixed. I never felt the same about gas stoves, and after moving out (well, a lot of moves, since I went into the service) I learned how to use a gas stove, and that there are ways of gaining the control over temperature changes that so many people think you lose, such as using two burners, one set on simmer while you are bring the dish up to high hear, then moving it to the low temp one and turning off the hot one. As in making rice, and doing stir-fry or wok coooking. Since the Biden White House recently issued an alert on the danger of fumes from gas stoves, gas stove lovers on all parts of the political continuum are freaking out, and I’m afraid I fell into the rabbit hole in the comments at a couple of my sources. Amazingly, so far, no one has savaged me. I actually received one uprate on a tip (a gadget to warm tortillas ina microvave) and one reply thanking me for the two-burner tip. Amazing. Of course, both sources are left-leaning, and it shouldn’t surprise me that Democratic gas stove lovers, even though Democrats can get snarky, would be more polite than Republican ones.

I’m not going to talk about President Joe’s documents at this point. I have read a couple of very different artivcles I’d recommend, here and here, if anyone wants to go deeper into it at this point.

Cartoon –

Short Takes –

Wonkette – Proud Boys Lose Lawyer, Fight For All White Jury, Manhood In Jan 6 Suit
Quote – Well, to be more precise, it’s a Batson challenge, although not perhaps as the Supreme Court envisioned it in 1986 when it held that it violates the Constitution’s Equal Protection clause for prosecutors to use their peremptory strikes to exclude jurors simply because of their race and lowered the threshold for proving that a strike was racially motivated. In plain English, in a criminal case, each side can strike unlimited numbers of jurors “for cause,” and a limited number just because they feel like it, i.e. peremptorily. Before Batson, it was standard practice in some jurisdictions for prosecutors to strike all Black jurors when the defendant was Black.
Click through for story. I believe the jury is set and oral arguments began yesterday, but I wanted to post a reminder of the “Batson challenge” and the bad old days. I also wanted to share Wonkette’s source which said the jury “is not bereft of white people.”  That gave me a chuckle.

truthout – Privatization Scam Threatens to Replace Traditional Medicare Altogether by 2030
Quote – The incessantly repeated television ad for Medicare Advantage, which has often been narrated by 1960s quarterback Joe Namath, is full of disinformation — and it’s a profitable scam for health insurers. The disingenuously named privatized program has all kinds of disadvantages compared to the traditional Medicare program that dates back to 1965.
Click through for details. I’ve never felt a supplemental program, other than Part D, was right for my unusual circumstances. But i’m 100% good with some kind of supplement to Medicare (mine just happens to be a former-employer-funded HSA). A lot of us here have Medicare, some probably have a supplement, and you should have access to the knowledge of exactly what you are paying for.

Food For Thought