Politics Plus – Page 154 – Overcoming Republican insaniTEA, one day at a time.

Video Thread 11/3/22

Posted by Joanne Dixon at 11:59 am Open Thread, Politics

Nov 032022

Glenn Kirschner – Trump’s taxes; fed charges for Paul Pelosi attacker; Officer Dunn testifies at Oath Keepers trial

The Lincoln Project – Hell No

Forbes Business News – ‘I Don’t Have A Clue What It Means’: Clarence Thomas Asks Lawyer To Define ‘Diversity’

Thom Hartmann – Obama’s Fiery Speech Against Oligarchy Proves Danger Of GOP (You may have heard it – but it’s worth a re-run)

MSNBC – GOP Rejection Of Democracy Leaves Force And Violence As Remaining Governing Option

Beau – Let’s talk about the Pelosi reaction….

Open Thread November 3, 2022

Posted by Joanne Dixon at 7:04 am Open Thread, Personal, Politics

Nov 032022

Yesterday, A new story came out about a new political assault. The victim was a candidate for the Pennsylvania State House, which is about as far down the ballot as one can get, unless the municipality elects its dog catcher. But this attack also included an elderly man (69) and blows to the head causing unconsciousness. This is getting ridiculous. Crooks and Liars picked the story up from the local paper; there’s been no national coverage that I know of. Which makes me wonder how many other candidates for downballot offices are getting assaulted and we never hear about it.

Cartoon – 03 1103Cartoon.jpg

Short Takes –

Civil Discourse – A Tale of Two Arizona Voter Intimidation Cases
Quote – The lawyers at Protect Democracy, which represents the League of Women Voters, were busy assembling the evidence. It appears that it was the evidence they were able to put in front of the court in the second case that persuaded Judge Liburdi to reach a different outcome. The League requested an injunction to stop the voter intimidation and attached affidavits that set forth such serious claims that the Judge ordered a hearing, which took place [Novrmbrt 1]. I’m told that the testimony was very powerful…. The best part of the order requires the group to post, both on their website and on their Truth Social page, accurate information about Arizona drop box voting laws and a copy of the court’s orders. I’m imagining a lot of heads exploding when they’re told…the truth.
Click through for full article. Legal representation and the way evidence is presented matters as much as the evidence itself, and maybe more.

Crooks and Liars – Judge To True The Vote Founder: Comply Or Go To Jail
Thursday’s hearing, which took place on the 11th floor of the federal court building in downtown Houston, was the first time either Engelbrecht or Phillips have appeared in court in the matter. Engelbrecht and Phillips testified only after the judge demanded they do so — Hoyt needed their testimony so he could rule on whether the pair should be held in contempt of court for refusing, for weeks, to hand over information he’d ordered they produce to the plaintiffs.
Click through for details. The Arizona intimidators are comparable to Jan 6 participants. These two are more at the Roger Stone-Mike Lindell level.

Food For Thought

Video Thread 11/2/22

Posted by Joanne Dixon at 11:54 am Blog News, Personal

Nov 022022

Glenn Kirschner – Trump’s taxes; fed charges for Paul Pelosi attacker; Officer Dunn testifies at Oath Keepers trial

The Lincoln Project – Pelosi Attack

Meidas Touch – Sarah Palin makes HUMILIATING ADMISSION about Campaign as it SWIRLS THE DRAIN

MSNBC – Litany Of Trump Legal Entanglements Grows Ever Longer As Trump Org Criminal Trial Begins

Liberal Redneck – Voting Republican to Save the Economy

Beau – Let’s talk about a poll on climate inaction…. [It’s not every day you hear Beau distinguish so sharply between the parties]

Open Thread November 2, 2022

Posted by Joanne Dixon at 6:49 am Open Thread, Personal, Politics

Nov 022022

Yesterday, another update from Axios was interesting. You may remember that Lindsay Graham filed an emergency appeal of his subpoena to testify for Fani Willis’s grand jury, and Justice Clarence Thomas granted him a temporary stay. Subsequently, two othwer temporary stays were granted on emergency appeals – one by Justice Kagan (and I forget for whom that was), and more recently still, one by Chief Justice Roberts for Trump**. Even before the third stay, a legal expert pointed out that the granting of a temporary stay on an emergency appeal is normal, that the full court would have to concur in order for it to stand, and that that was extremely unlikely in both of the first two cases (and the third had not het happened.) Well, this update proved that expert correct in the case of Lindsay Graham. He has been told he must testify. Expect the second and third temporary stays to end up being just that – temporary. On a completely different toipc, if you watch TV or stream any news, you will probaby hear many pronunciations of the name “DePape.” But I note that the local police (who would be the ones who have actuallt spoken to him) are pronouncing it in three syllables, with the accent on the middle one. Sor of like “De-Poppy” (or “duh-Poppy.”) The inference is that they got that pronunciation from him, and that he knows how to pronounce his own name.

Cartoon –

Short Takes –

Popular Information – “What happens when you put ideologues in charge of a university”
Quote – “It looks like the right-wing fantasy of what happens when you put ideologues in charge of a university,” Colson told Popular Information. Colson was one of 33 employees, most tenured faculty, that were terminated from [Emporia State University in Kansas] last month. The firings were made possible through a state-wide policy change introduced in early 2021 by the Kansas Board of Regents (KBOR), the board that oversees Kansas’ public colleges and universities. The other five public universities in Kansas declined to violate the principles of tenure to cut costs.
Click through for story. If I were thinking about going to college again (which I’m not – I have credentials I haven’t even used yet already), I would be seriously considering a HBCU just to avoid this crap.

The 19th Explains: How two Supreme Court cases could end affirmative action in colleges
Quote – Women represent about 60 percent of enrollment in universities and colleges around the country. Among Black students, women make up about 64 percent of bachelor’s degrees and 71 percent of master’s degrees. College-degree attainment for Latinas also outpaces Latinos. About 27 percent of Latinas have a college degree compared to about 21 percent of Latinos. As a result, any decision the Supreme Court makes on affirmative action will disproportionately impact women of color. Advocates for equity in education are concerned about what the upcoming decision could mean for groups of qualified students who are already underrepresented in the country’s most competitive schools.
Click through for details. They are already hearing oral arguments on one, and you will not believe what Clarence Thomas asked an attorney to explain. Proof in the Video Thread, not in today’s but in tomorrow’s.

Food For Thought

Incidentally, “poll watcher” is, at least in Colorado, a legitimate term, But it’s nothing like what Republicans are doing. Ther are duplicate records of voters by name only on small papers with a hole punched in them. A poll watcher is entitled to look through those, make a few notes, then leave. There can be one from each party who visits each precinct (although one person might be a watcher for more than one precinct.) The purpose is so that parties can look far names missing of people who need assistance getting to the polls, and offer it – and not bother those who don’t need it. The watchers are not allowed to talk to anyone except the election staff, and any conversation they do have with staff may not interfere with the staff’s duties. Election staff are trained before the election as to what poll watchers may and may not do. In any election I have ever worked, I and the staff working with me have been conscientious to maintain good order.

SOUND OFF! 11/1/22 – Christian Nationalism

Posted by Freya at 7:25 pm Politics

Nov 012022

I know I’ve been remiss about my Sound Off! postings, but I’ve had other cakes to bake what with an important election going on. After it is over, I hope that I will have more time to dedicate to writing my essays. So, without further ado, here is the latest.

What poses a greater danger to Democracy than terrorists, Islam, LGBTQ people, socialism, atheism, or people who douche-park? Christian Nationalism.

Christian Nationalism is based on the entirely mistaken notion that the United States was founded on Christian principles. The Founding Fathers may have been religious, but many of them were freethinking deists. They believed in a Higher Power, but did not adhere to any particular faith. Also, American colonists had witnessed how bad things can get when religion and government mix, in the old world and the new. Groups who fled religious persecution in Europe became the persecutors when they set up their own societies in North America.

The Founding Myth by Andrew Seidel completely destroys the claims of Christian Nationalists one by one. This book also shows that “Christian” law would be totally opposed to the Constitution and the spirit of this nation. It is a must-read.

The following quotes prove that the Founding Fathers did not in any way plan to set up the United States as a Christian nation:

“Christianity neither is, nor ever was a part of the common law.” – Thomas Jefferson

“All national institutions of churches, whether Jewish, Christian or Turkish, appear to me no other than human inventions set up to terrify and enslave mankind, and monopolize power and profit.” – Thomas Paine

“Christianity is the most perverted system that ever shone on man.” – Thomas Jefferson

“Religion and government will both exist in greater purity the less they are mixed together.” – James Madison

“During almost fifteen centuries has the legal establishment of Christianity been on trial. What have been its fruits? More or less in all places, pride and indolence in the clergy, ignorance and servility in the laity, in both, superstition, bigotry and persecution.” – James Madison

“The government of the United States is not in any sense founded on the Christian religion” – from the Treaty of Tripoli, signed by President George Washington

“The United States is not a Christian nation any more than it is a Jewish or [Muslim] nation.” – John Adams

“The civil rights of none shall be abridged on account of religious belief or worship, nor shall any national religion be established, nor shall the full and equal rights of conscience be in any manner, or on any pretext, infringed.” – James Madison

Christian Nationalists are trying to re-create something that never existed in the first place. They are not trying to return the USA to Christian values, they are trying to destroy the heart and soul of this nation. They are living in a fantasy world and working under a host of misconceptions.

If they gain power, their plans will be devastating to this country and its residents. All manner of people will face violent, vicious persecution: non-Christians, feminists, people of color, scientists, LGBTQ, and many, many more. Even many Christians will come under fire because they adhere to the “wrong” kind of Christianity. Human and civil rights will be abolished. The USA will become like those countries in the Middle East that are under the thumbs of Da’esh (aka ISIS, ISIL, Islamic State) or the Taliban. For Christian Nationalists, The Handmaid’s Tale and 1984 are guidebooks, not warnings.

Education will suffer as only schools that indoctrinate pupils with fundamentalist religion will be permitted. Dissent will be harshly punished – when people are absolutely convinced they are Right, any means of enforcing their will is acceptable. Racism, LGBTQ-phobia and sexism will become the law of the land. The horrors are far too numerous to list in one of my essays; indeed, entire books enumerate the likely results of a religious right takeover.

There is one way we can fight back, which is not only peaceful but legal: VOTE! Make sure all your kith and kin vote if they are registered. Volunteer to drive people to the polls. Make sure you do your homework about all candidates in all elections, and remember the down-ballot races – that is where extremists began their takeover. The 2022 midterm election could be the last chance we have to save our country.

Video Thread 11/1/22

Posted by Joanne Dixon at 11:41 am Open Thread, Politics

Nov 012022

Glenn Kirschner – How federal law enforcement should respond to the attack on Speaker Pelosi’s husband Paul Pelosi

The Lincoln Project – Funding Fascism

Ring of Fire – Conservative Goes Completely Nuts During Insane CNN Interview

MSNBC – AOC And Raskin On Stakes Of Midterms: We Are ‘Facing An Environment Of Fascism’ [Watch while you can. Both are high on the target list.]

Rocky Mountain Mike – The FLaven (with CC) – a day late, but not a dollar short.

Beau – Let’s talk about the US wanting a new internet service….

Open Thread November 1, 2022

Posted by Joanne Dixon at 6:52 am Open Thread, Personal, Politics

Nov 012022

Yesterday, I got an update from Axios that there are now Federal charges against David DePape (he had already been charged at the state level). This does not constitute double jeopardy because federal and state are separate “sovereigns.” This is a good sign. Also Faithful America (you mem remember they recently put up a web page against false peophets) now has a new page – 20 Resources to Resist Christian Nationalism. And, I’m sorry to say, even if we win the midterms in landslides, we are going to need every oone of those 20. Well, at least I gor=t confirmed to see Virgil this Sunday. I really like having the confirmation early.

Cartoon –

Short Takes –

Civil Discourse – In Praise of the Federal Judiciary
Quote – Judge Berman Jackson unflinchingly defined who the good guys are and who the bad guys are. That’s a line that has become blurred in public discourse as the former president and his supporters make claims about the people who overran the Capitol and engaged in violence that range from calling them tourists to insisting they were patriots exercising their rights. But today Mr. Head heard the truth from the bench about Officer Fanone, and it’s important for all of us to hear it too: “[Fanone] was protecting the very essence of democracy, the peaceful transfer of power after a democratic election. He was protecting America. That’s who Officer Fanone was. That’s what Officer Fanone was doing. You made choices over and over again to go after him and not disengage.”
Click through for essay. Judge Berman Jackson is, sadly, not the entire Federal Judiciary (if only they were all at least as good as she), but she is certainly a fine representative of it. Her name has come up repeatedly this year, and always for something praiseworthy.

Project on Government Oversight – Study Shows POGO’s Oversight Trainings Increase Congressional Capacity
Quote – Designed for veterans and beginners alike, our monthly seminars feature lessons from some of the most accomplished current and former congressional oversight experts and practitioners, and provide opportunities for congressional staff to ask questions in an off-the-record environment. Although seminars are generally targeted toward committee staff, much of the information shared during these seminars is also helpful to staff in personal offices in their investigations. These nonpartisan training sessions are open to Hill staff regardless of party, chamber, or position, and we also welcome staffers from the Government Accountability Office and Congressional Research Service. These seminars feature current and former members of Congress or congressional staffers from both parties, and we do our best to get panelists from both the House and Senate.
Click through for article. POGO is justifiably proud of their training program(s). It’s too bad that, if the GOP takes over, it will probably have to be scrapped.

Food For Thought