Open Thread October 17 2024

 Posted by at 6:00 am  Open Thread, Personal, Politics
Oct 172024
 

Yesterday, I finished my research and filled out my ballot. I sealed and stamped it, but haven’t mailed it yet. I’ll work that out by the weekend though. There were more propositions and amendments than usual, and the big book (and it was indeed a big book) which the state publishes was useless. I think I’m smart enough to figure out from the wordings and descriptions how to vote, but in case i miss something, I also wasny to know who is advocating for and against each one. That was where Colorado Public Radio really helps. And there were no County measures at all on my ballot. i did look through the flyer to double check, and there was one for the city of Monument (on the north side of Colorado Springs), one for the city of Colorado Springs (i do not live within the city limits), one each for two school districts, neither of which was mine, and one for a fire district which also was not mine. So, i’m not sure how my school and fire districts collect the taxes due them, but however it it, it will not change next year. That’s a good thing.

Heather Cox Richardson wrote this earlier this week, but I wouldn’t call it stale. Eric Hoffer, whom she cites to good effect, wrote “The True Believer” even longer ago, and his observations are by no means stale. I read it years ago, and have remembered a lot, but had forgotten his thought on why people double down on support even when the lies are blatant – or should I say expecially when the lies are blatant.

Personally, I consider every Republlican candidate to be repulsive these days, simply because they can’t win primaries if they’re not. But that’s a digression from the main point of this story from Atlanta Black Star.

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Open Thread October 15 2024

 Posted by at 5:59 am  Open Thread, Personal, Politics
Oct 152024
 

Yesterday, I read Joyce Vance’s “The Week Ahead.” A day late, but since yesterday was Indigenous People’s Day, the week doesn’t start until today. Certainly not SCROTUS’s week – and she includes the SCROTUS week’s calender in her post.

It amazes me that it seems to have taken so long, and so much more evidence, for so many people to see this. I don’t even remember how long I’ve known this, except that it was sometime in his first (and I hope last) term.  I expect Robert Reich has known it for a minute also, but this is the first time I have seen him write about it quite this way.

I think that Wonkette’s Robyn Pennachia does a fine job with this story. She manages to make it both laughable and chilling at the same time, which is not all that easy. I have a bumper sticker – I’ve has it for more than 20 years and have always been afraid to put it on my car, here in Colorado Springs, the crazy Christian capital of the West. And people like the one Robyn describes are why. The sticker says, “Jesus called. He wants his church back.”

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Open Thread October 14 2024

 Posted by at 6:00 am  Open Thread, Personal, Politics
Oct 142024
 

Yesterday, Trinette came over and moved a bunch of stuff for recyclables, trash, and sharity, so that I have “traffic lanes” again. And she brought in all the mail, which included my ballot, which arrived Saturday (I thought it might, though it was just sent Friday.) She also showed me some pictures from her trip to Portugal last year and of her family. Her mother is as beautiful as she is (and she is names after her mother, Trina – Trinette means “little Trina,” which is ironic considering how tall she is.)

I’m not quite sure exactly what the author means by “the political set.” It could mean politicians and their staffs. It could mean people who are outside of politics, but read about it and discuss it because they darned well want to know what they are voting for – or against. It could also mean that segment of the media which concentrates on politics. Or any combination of those three. If there’s one group there which really should be listening to “ordinary people,” though, it’s the politicians. Politicians represent ordinary people, and therefore should always be listening to them.

The entire newsletter from In The Public Interest is in this newsletter, but I’m sharing for just the first article (feel free to read on.) There is a great meme on this topic which I’ll share as today’s cartoon.

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Open Thread October 13 2024

 Posted by at 5:54 am  Open Thread, Personal, Politics
Oct 132024
 

Yesterday, the radio opera was “La Clemenza de Tito” by Mozart. He wrote 22 operas in so many genres (and mixing them up) so that people are still arguing about what genre some of them are in. But at least some people would say he wrote four “opera seria” (“serious opera”) and this is one of them. Opera began with Monteverdi as an attempt to recreate Greek tragedy (which may or may not have included singing), and opera seria generally are based on ancient Greek or Roman plots. This one is centered on the emperor Titus, who ruled from 79-81 CE. The plot is an “idiot plot” which is generally taken to mean that if there were just one character who wasn’t an idiot, there wouldn’t have been a story. So I won’t go into it. Mozart wrote it at the same time as he was writing “The Magic FLute,” and those were his last two operas, so the music is some of his finest.

https://www.marytrump.org/p/what-it-costs-us
Every now and then, when something which will help everyone is being discussed and Republicans are asking “where will the money come from?” someone with an IQ of 100 or higher will ask, “What will it cost us not to do it?” Of course no Republican ever answers, because if they even treated it as a real question, people might learn that the answer is invariablty “a whole lot more than it costs to do it.” The people I have heard asking it include Robert Reich, Beau (and probably now Belle, though the topic hasn’t come up yet, or I’ve missed it), and now Mary Trump, all of whom have IQs which are clearly above 130. She mentions more than one project, although it’s child care which inspired the question.

https://heathercoxrichardson.substack.com/p/october-9-2024
I’m sure everyone here has heard this by now, but this is the most detail I have seen on it (outside of Woodward’s book, and it may even surpass that.)

https://steveschmidt.substack.com/p/what-trump-is-calling-for-is-fascism
Steve Schmidt is getting real (pun intended.) And unfortunately he’s right. It’s not enough to cite fascism. Too many people have no idea what that implies. It needs to be spelled out.

 

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Open Thread October 12 2024

 Posted by at 6:00 am  Open Thread, Personal, Politics
Oct 122024
 

Yesterday, I heard from my “frosted sister” who lives in Bradenton, FL, right in Milton’s eye. I didn’t hear sooner because she had evacuated (which I was hoping she did), but she’s going back by Monday. The only structural damage to her house this time is to a room that’s more loke a covered porch, but she also lost a shed and a lot of fencing. (Michael, I think it was, took out all her windows, and she only just finished getting them fixed earlier this year.) I’m just glad she and her family and all their pets are safe. But now there’s this (Joyce Vance)   Finally, Robert Reich’s election video week is here.

There has been a lot of complaining by people who do not follow politics that “We don’t know who [Kamala] is.” This week she has addressed that with appearances in the media which this article from HuffPo addresses – and also the effect of it on the polls (mostly good).

Living through Hurricane Milton must be just like living through the pandemic for those in the path, except that the liars aren’t in power (at least not in federal power) and not everyone lives in the danger zone. Doktor Zoom’s “Don’t make me”is actually pretty mild. I’m a “Don’t make me rethink free speech” level myself.

Belle EVs

Dog

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Open Thread October 11 2024

 Posted by at 6:01 am  Open Thread, Personal, Politics
Oct 112024
 

Yesterday,I was reminded of an expression I used to see all the time in early and middle 20th century detective novels (but it goes farther back than that.) it does, depending on the point being made, “[name] by name and [name] by nature,” or “[name] by name but not by nature.” For instance, the couple who took their interracial marriage to the Supreme Court and got it legalized nationally – you could call them “Loving by name and loving by nature.” what reminded me was reading that Jeff Crank is the Republican running for Congress in my district. Yeah, he’s definitely Crank by name and crank by nature. Oh, well. As long as he’s otnumbered – I realize that’s not certain, but we are working on it. Also yesterday, I got an email fro Scout Walz, sent by the Harris campaign. I expect all or most of you got it too. If not I’ll be happy to forward it. It reads much like a Dodo video. And one more thing, in case you have seen something about it, the Mollie Kathleen gold mine in Teller County, Colorado, which is now a tourist attraction, did not collapse. It did have an equipment malfunction in that the elevator which takes tourists about 1,000 feet down and then uo again, malfunctioned, and would not go back up. One person has died from causes yet unknown, or at least not published, eleven people have been rescued, twelve were still trapped as of yesterday, and at least one of the 24 is a child. Here is a link for more information. Teller County is the county to the immediate west of my county. My county contains a lot of natural beauty, but I think Teller County has more. Normally the most danger around here is from blizzards (which can be prepared for), hail, and occasional wildfires. Lastly, Ethel Kennedy has died. I’m kind of sorry she had to see what her son did to his father’s memory – and then didn’t get to see him put in his place.

Common sense should tell me that a judge, whether a traffic judge or a Supreme Court Justice, cannot know everything that is known by armies of scientists and researchers. And of course that is why trial attornies so often need to call expert witnesses. But this still makes me nervous.

This fear may be new to Joyce Vance, but it isn’t to me. I have not faced violence as an election “judge” but I certainly have seen situations which might have become violent. And that’s inColorado. She lives in Alabama. Violence may not be likely in her precincts, but I’ll bet there are many majority-black precincts which could easily see pre-planned violence and should prepare for it as best they can. Maybe not violence from ISIS – but definitely from vanilla ISIS.

Belle leadership

Cat

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Open Thread October 10 2024

 Posted by at 6:00 am  Open Thread, Personal, Politics
Oct 102024
 

Yesterday, “Nobody can control the weather” was trending. It needs to be said – but it’s not entirely true. No single person or single group can control the weather. The entire human race working together cannot totally control the weather/ But the entire human race working together has some control over the climate, which means some control over the weather in the long run. We cannot bring down the temperature in any given place today. But over time, if we have raised the temperature in almost ever place, and if we can change our ways and minimize our worst habits, we have a chance of bringing it down, over time – over so much time that I for one will not live to see whether we have done it – or not.

I don’t often cite Steve Schmidt, or at least not a full article, but this one had to be shared. It is as much about morality and pholisophy as it is about politics (which should always be about morality at least, and philosophy if possible.) To make it a bit easier, let me state that he does eventually tell you who Rodney Edmonds was and what he did (and when he starts on the story, you may want a hanky.) Also, “revanchist” means “seeking revenge.” I didn’t know that, and figured therefore not everyone would, and wanted to save y’all a trip to the dictionary.)

This is a referral from Wonkette which I agree is well worth getting wider attention. Most people, including me, tend to think the economy is doing well nationally when we are doing well personally, and when we aren’t, it isn’t. Those who see beyond that are likely to look to the stock ,arket as an economic indicator, which it probably is if you are wealthy, but if not, not. Noahpinion gets us the four real indicators of a strong economy, and that is valuable to know.

FR

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Open Thread October 9 2024

 Posted by at 6:00 am  Open Thread, Personal, Politics
Oct 092024
 

Yesterday, I posted an article about rhe DHS Inspector General and what a (insert epothet of choice) he is, and mentioned I didn’t know the procedure for firing him. Apparently POGO does, because after the OT posted, I received from them a petition to sign. Here’s the link. Then, last week, Whitney Houston’s mother, Cissy Houston, died at the age of 90. Unless you are a huge fan of gospel music, you likely don’t know that Cissy Houston was a great singer in her own right as well as a major inspiration to her daughter. Here’s her story.

I can be blunt when I need to, but I don’t like to need to (even though I personally prefer to hear my news blunt.) I don’t like needing to know about Donald Trump**, but we do. I don’t like what his niece Mary has to say about Trump** and revenge, but we need to know it – we especially, because we on the right side of the divide are all his targets. Steve Schmidt has also written on this topic, and I plan to share his work tomorrow.

This from the Atlanta Black Star – I don’t know whether to be glad that am innocent man won one in Alabama, or outraged at the assault on he rights which had to go to an appellate court at all. I gues I don’t need to decide – no matter how I look at it, it’s both at once.

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