Glenn Kirschner – Will McCarthy/congressional Republicans abuse the American voters by standing by liar George Santos?
MSNBC – Raskin On Cancer Diagnosis: ‘Totally My Plan To Make It Through This Thing’
Farron Balanced – Mitch McConnell Tells Weakened Trump To SHUT UP And GO AWAY
Real Subtitles? (not real subtitles) – Just Like Peter the Great
Freezing Puppies Found Deep In The Snow
Beau – Let’s talk about George Santos and blame….
Yesterday, the opera wasn’t an opera, but a collection of excerpts from operas previously broadcast, some more or less recently, some way, WAY back. What they had in common was that each was from the Met debut of a singer(/actor/storyteller – plus one conductor) who later became an international star. Kiri Te Kanawa was one, and another was Latonia Moore (you may remember I heard that debut – she stepped in as understudy and I was, like, “Wow!”) Not all, of course, were quite that “A Star Is Born” dramatic – some stars were pretty well established elsewhere before coming to the Met – but some were (Astrid Varnay and Te Kanama). The range was from Moore (2012), the newest, all the way back to Bidu Sayão on February 13, 1937.
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Short Takes –
ProPublica – They Called 911 for Help. Police and Prosecutors Used a New Junk Science to Decide They Were Liars.
Quote – Junk science in the justice system is nothing new. But unvarnished correspondence about how prosecutors wield it is hard to come by. It can be next to impossible to see how law enforcement — in league with paid, self-styled “experts” — spreads new, often unproven methods. The system is at its most opaque when prosecutors know evidence is unfit for court but choose to game the rules, hoping judges and juries will believe it and vote to convict.
Click through for details. You thought facial recognition technology was bad? Hold these p[eople’s beer (And I use the term “people” loosely. I questin their humanity.)
National Public Radio – Why scientists dug up the father of genetics, Gregor Mendel, and analyzed his DNA
Quote – Sequencing his DNA revealed genetic variants linked to diabetes, heart problems, and kidney disease. The variant that most intrigued Fairbanks was in a gene that has been associated with epilepsy and neurological issues. “He suffered throughout his life from some sort of a psychological or neurological disorder that caused him to have very severe nervous breakdowns,” says Fairbanks. “That may well have been an inherited condition – and that was a fascinating discovery that these scientists made.”
Click through for story. At first it sounds morbid – but on reflection, I think he would take it in the sirit of homage in which it was done. (He might have even gotten a chuckle out of it.)
Food For Thought
Glenn Kirschner – The many crimes of Mark Meadows make him the prime candidate for prosecutors to flip against Trump
Meidas Touch – Special Counsel Jack Smith’s NEXT MOVES REVEALED by Former Top Federal Prosecutor
Ojeda LIVE – January 6 Ethics Investigation
Mrs. Betty Bowers (does her impression of Melania)
Wait Until The Entire Cat Family Appears
Beau – Let’s talk about Hutchinson, theories, and fireplaces….
Yesterday, I decided that, since almost everyone is doing end-of-year retrospectives, I didn’t have to. Instead, since I have a couple of depressing sories which unfortunately are important, I at least made a satire sandwich. I hope the middle one gives you a chuckle or a grin, maybe even a LOL.
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Short Takes –
Trigger Warning
Denverite – Migrants in Denver faced horror on their journeys to the U.S., but despite their desperate risks, many will be forced to leave.
Quote – Kevin, who’s 22 and declined to tell us his last name, is one of at least 1,500 newly arrived migrants who’ve been sheltered by the city this month. He’s one of millions who’ve taken dangerous paths through jungles and deserts over the years to ask the U.S. government for asylum, legal and safe passage into the country. But that status is far from a guarantee. “Imagine traveling with your child, then your child dies and you arrive in the United States only to be deported,” he told us in Spanish during a recent visit to a church-run shelter. “You lost your child and you lost your dream. So then it’s difficult.”
Click through for full story, if you can bear it There is a trigger warning.
SATIRE Wonkette – Donald Trump Has Not Turned His Back On Me! He’s Turned His Front Towards Himself! By Sean Hannity.
Quote – I can hear all my listeners out there asking, “Sean, why are you letting the neighborhood children break wooden boards over your head? Is this a Make a Wish Foundation thing? Are the kids all cancer patients whose dying dream was to beat the crap out of Sean Hannity with a two-by-four?” Well, I can assure you it’s nothing like that. I would never do anything nice for a sick child. No, what’s happening is that a bunch of angry MAGA types in the area sent their little brats to beat up on me because they heard I admitted under oath in a deposition that I did not actually believe “for one second” that Donald Trump lost the election due to widespread voting fraud.
Click through – It couldn’t happen to a nicer guy. (Try not to overdose on Schadenfreude.)
Yo_Mama_Been_Loggin (Democratic Underground)
Associated Press – Supreme Court asked to bar punishment for acquitted conduct
Quote – A jury convicted Dayonta McClinton of robbing a CVS pharmacy but acquitted him of murder. A judge gave McClinton an extra 13 years in prison for the killing anyway…. McClinton’s case and three others just like it are scheduled to be discussed when the justices next meet in private on Jan. 6.
Click through for details. Even for today’s Republican party, this is jaw-dropping abuse of power.
Food For Thought
Glenn Kirschner – Arizona Republican Kari Lake, an election denier, loses first at the ballot box & then in court
Ring of Fire – What The Hell Is Going To Happen In 2023?
Robert Reich – Inflation Isn’t Happening By Magic
Armageddon Update – A Gift to us All
German Shepherd Puppy With Swimmer’s Syndrome Teaches Herself To Run
Beau – Let’s talk about understanding social media influence operations….
Yesterday, my eyebrows were raised hearing that I25, north of Denver, southbound was closed by a 25 vehicle crash, at about 2:30 p.m. (Then, to rub it in, the station played “Journey through the snow” from the Nutcracker.Clearly, Denver and points north have snow. We don’t. We have dry ground. That shouldn’t be surprising, given that in the years I have lived in Colorado, I have seen things liek an actual line on the roadway with snow north of it and dry ground south of it. Many places in the US and the world use the saying, “If you don’t like the weather, just wait five minutes.” Only Colorado, in my experience, scan say, “If you don’t like the weather, just move about a hundred feet – in any direction.” Of course, it isn’t always true – but it can be true fairly often. Also, I did receive confirmation to see Virgil Sunday. ( was getting nervous!)
Cartoon – (background if you are interested)
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The Daily Beast – Far Right Turns on ‘Faker’ & ‘Liar’ Marjorie Taylor Greene
Quote – In a phone interview with The Daily Beast, [far-right radio host Stew] Peters said that Greene was “actually a threat to national security” and declared that she would “burn in hell” one day. “Marjorie is NOT America First, but regrettably a faker and a liar who raised millions claiming she would impeach Biden, and now backs a man for Speaker who refuses to impeach Biden,” he said Friday evening. Additionally, Peters—like many other far-right pundits—engaged in an extremely sexist attack referencing the allegation that Greene had an affair with a “tantric sex guru” ahead of her recent divorce.
Click through for details. This may sound like good news – but it isn’t really. The iissue is that she’s not extreme enough for those who are turning against her. We might be able to use that to our advantage in the battle for the Speakership, but I don’t know that our delegation is savage enough to do so.
Crooks & Liars – Blue America Says #DraftLucas
Quote – Blue America started running [a #DraftLucas ad campaign] across Missouri [Monday] morning before dawn. So far, the ads are on Facebook and Instagram. We’re primarily asking people in Missouri to join us in calling to #DraftLucas– and anyone else… please use #DraftLucas on social media.
Click through for details and video ad. This is really for Nameless, as the rest of us aren’t big social media users – but useit when you can (maybe put it in an email signature?)
Food For Thought
Glenn Kirschner – Trump’s tax returns and the corruption at the top of the IRS during the Trump years
Thom Hartmann – This Proves We Haven’t Lost to Climate Change Featuring Featuring Michael Mann
Farron Balanced – Mark Meadows Might Have Already Flipped On Trump
Rocky Moutain Mike – MTG – Butt plugs and Dildoes
Family Finds Someone In A Taped-Up Box
Beau – Let’s talk about a Christmas special…. [this is long, but the way his staff set him up, especially at the end, is priceless.]
Yesterday, Jamie Raskin broke my heart with the announcement that he has been diagnosed with Diffuse Large B Cell Lymphoma, a “serious but curable form of cancer.” I’ve linked to the story which when I received the breaking news alert, said no more than that, because it is a “devloping story,” so when they know more, they’ll share more.
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Democratic Underground (highplainsdem) – Warrior of Light: The national costume that will be worn by Miss Ukraine Universe 2022
Quote – The national costume is called Warrior of Light and designed by costume designer Lesia Patoka. It symbolizes her nation’s fight against the darkness, like an archangel Michael with a sword protecting Ukraine. The costume was made in four months, in extreme conditions.
Click through for image. No words can really express it. The amateur (and professional manqué) costumer in me just resonates to this.
The Daily Beast – Republicans Play Chicken With Kevin McCarthy’s Speakership
Quote – The “Never Kevin” camp is small: just five archconservative lawmakers have publicly said they will not, under any circumstances, vote for McCarthy. But if they stick to their guns, five votes is all it could take to throw the process into chaos—and potentially open up an avenue for another candidate to ascend to the top job. The much larger “Only Kevin” camp, meanwhile, has formed to head off that scenario before it even materializes. Dozens of GOP lawmakers, from moderates to MAGA loyalists, have said they will only vote for McCarthy for Speaker, no matter how many rounds of votes it takes. If followed, that commitment to respond to hardball with hardball would basically ensure no other Republican comes close to the gavel.
Click through for more analysis – but, for another, more imaginative (and IMO more likely) take, click here. At least we can hope.
Food For Thought
