Glenn Kirschner – Georgia grand jury recommends indicting Lindsey Graham, Mike Flynn, others. What now?
MSNBC – A siege mentality’: Former Evangelical church leader on why his flock votes for Trump
Joe Biden – War Zone | Biden-Harris 2024
The Soggy Bottom Boy [Patrick Fitzgerald] – In the Jailhouse Now
Husky waits 733 days to meet her familly [Don’t miss the organization’s name at the end LOL]
Beau – Let’s talk about the 14th amendment, Trump, and a GOP candidate….
What the f#*% is wrong with the United States?
Sometimes it seems as though the English language needs some new cuss words since the F-bomb gets used so much it’s starting to lose its impact. (To be polite I did censor it in this essay, though.)
First – this country seems to be waging war against the homeless and the poor. Gentrification is destroying affordable housing, while greedy companies are snapping up homes for sale and offering them for rent. Cities are passing ordnances against feeding the homeless. I wrote before about how this country manhandles the unhoused, so I won’t go over that ground again.
WHAT THE F#*%?
Second – recently the United Nations voted on whether or not food is a human right. The wonderful US of A was the only country to vote that food is not a human right.
Yep, you read that right – the USA was the ONLY COUNTRY that voted food is not a human right. Not Russia, not North Korea, not China, not some third world developing country, but the country that should be the First World poster child voted that people do not have the right to eat. What a country – we force womb-bearers of every age to give birth, but don’t believe in feeding anybody.
WHAT THE F#*%?
Third – Patrick Braxton, the duly elected Mayor of Newbern, AL, is not being allowed to serve. He ran properly, dotting all his i’s and crossing all his t’s, to be Mayor of a town that is 85% African-American. The town had not seen a proper election for six decades, so Braxton submitted all of the necessary paperwork, and being the only one to do so he became Mayor. However, the town’s white minority (sound like a certain country?) Is determined to keep Braxton out of City Hall.
WHAT THE F#*%?
Fourth – In Cedar Glen, CA, Lauri Carleton, owner of the Mag.pi shop, was shot and killed for displaying the rainbow Pride flag. Police gunned down the suspect, but the hate remains. Carleton is likely to be called a martyr, but extreme right wingers could label her killer a martyr, also.
It’s not safe to display a flag that shows your support for non-binary people? What’s next – shooting somebody for having a “Black Lives Matter” sign in his/her front yard? One could go on and on and on about how vicious and violent right-wing bugnuts are. The January 6th putsch is a very obvious example – and there are plenty more. Plenty more.
WHAT THE ACTUAL F#*%?
Finally – When tRump went to the Fulton County Jail to face his indictments in Georgia, dozens of supporters lined the street. Already some wack jobs are calling for violence if TFG is convicted of any of the charges brought against him. His glowering mug shot has become a bloody shirt for the extreme right.
In several articles I have read that the next civil war in this country may not involve secession, but be individual actions by small groups committing acts of terror. The war may be more like civil wars in other countries, pitting neighbor against neighbor, tearing families apart, with no definable boundaries between This Side and That Side. It will be ragtag rebels against the Feds. Both sides will claim to be the Good Guys, while both sides behave like Bad Guys.
We can still turn this country around and set it back on the path towards civilization, but we have to watch out for the nut jobs who have funny ideas about what constitutes real civilization.
Yesterday, the radio opera was “The Ballad of the Canal” by Yin Qing. It is not a “Chinese Opera” which is a genre all its own. It is a western style opera in Chinese, with Chinese subject matter and roots in Chinese folk music. It does borrow some from the Chinese Opera genre, but that is but one element among others such as bel canto and singspiel. It centers around life during the Ming Dynasty around the Beijing-Hangzhou Grand Canal, the longest canal in the world (and, at 1104 miles, likely to remain so). There is a main plot, but the opera is hughly episodic, and thus can juxtapose characters from various social classes effectively. IIRC, when I was in school, this format was referred to as “a slice of life.” The performance was recorded in 2022. It was very easy to listen to, and not all that hard to follow. The brief interviews with the performers about their characters before it started and during intermission helped.
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Wonkette – Fani Willis Roasts Jim Jordan’s D**k Over Open Fire
Quote – We are going to resist the temptation to share every hilariously shady comment, every time she just brutalizes Jim Jordan…. Quoting established case law, Willis writes that Jordan’s subpoenas are only valid if related to a real task of Congress, and investigations only for the aggrandizement of the investigators, or to punish those being investigated, are indefensible. “This unprecedented action serves no legitimate legislative purpose and would set a dangerous precedent for future Congresses… the American people deserve better,” she wrote, quoting directly from a letter written by [checks notes] Jim Jordan to Bennie Thompson, chair of the House January 6 Select Committee, back in 2022. That’ll set the tone for you. But it gets so much nastier.
Click through for full (NSFW) article. I doubt whether Jordan will ever learn not to leave himself wide open like that. Not if he hasn’t learned by now. (Oh yes, and it’s Substack now.)
The Daily Beast – How ‘Free Speech’ Warrior RFK Tried to Bully a DailyKos Blogger
Quote – “In truth, Mr. Kennedy gave a speech for peace and freedom in Berlin on Aug. 29, 2020, initiated by the group Querdenken—a democratic movement whose name means ‘lateral thinking’ and who vehemently oppose all forms of fascism and extremism,” the Barnes-written document reads, referring to Kennedy’s rant about Bill Gates and 5G. “Despite requests from Mr. Kennedy, Defendants have failed and refused to take down the Defamatory Article.” The problem with this argument is that The Daily Beast and numerous other organizations have extensively documented Querdenken’s extremist affinities and associations. Not only does it indulge in QAnon conspiracies and fawn over Russian dictator Vladimir Putin, but the U.S. State Department has highlighted its “anti-Semitic rhetoric and views,” and a top police official in the German city of Bremen has described it as “a serious threat to public security.”
Click through for details. “DowneastDem,” IMO, is entitled to wear this as a badge of honor. Kennedy’s siblings all (publicly) disagree with his claim not to be or associate with Nazis. (As do I – but I don’t have the standing.)
Food For Thought
I’d save this for a day when TFG is testifying – except that I’m not crazy enough to believe he will ever testify.
Glenn Kirschner – Jim Jordan tries to assist Trump in avoiding accountability; obstructs Georgia RICO prosecution
Thom Hartmann – Ticking Bomb Inside GOP’s Plan To Defund Trump Prosecution
MSNBC – Lawrence: If Jan. 6 leader of ‘Trump’s army’ gets 22 years, what about Trump?
Armageddon Update – To My Republican Countrymen…
Street cat had enough, convinces human to adopt him
Beau – Let’s talk about how Smith is still investigating and Trump….
Yesterday, the sealed Special Grand Jury report from Georgia was released, and woo-hee! It’s not surprising that clickbait-headlining Meidas Touch calls it a bombshell, but when Glenn Kirschner also uses the word bombshell, that’s noteworthy. By the time you read this, it’s probably all ove the place, with names like “Lindsay Graham” and “Michael Flynn” being screamed. But I had to look around to find the fullest version with the least patwall and the most respect. I chose PBS, and here you are. I assume this news has completely overshadowed Nancy Pelosi’s announcemnt that she will run for another two-year term. However,t the Federal Judge denied Mark Meadows’s motion to remove his Georgia indictment to Federal Court was denied, and that mayhave seeped through.
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Crooks & Liars – This Gloria Johnson Ad Should Make Sen. Blackburn Very Nervous
Quote – But Johnson is running on more than just gun reform. The ad continues with her saying that she had to sleep in the hallway as a child to avoid being shot because her father “brought the KKK to justice.” She goes on to note that politicians don’t like her much “because I speak my mind. And when it’s bullsh*t, I call it bullsh*t.”… Tennessee is so ruby red that it hasn’t elected a Democrat for statewide office in nearly 20 years. But I think this is the kind of message that just might do the job.
Click through for article. It’s mostly a video, much of which is quoted in the text, and in which keywords are shown in large type, so it’s not tough to follow. We surely could use her in the Senate – and, given what we’ve seen in the Tennessee State House this year, I’m not worried that she might not be replaced there by another Democrat.
Robert Reich: Election season has come. Here’s what you need to do to stop Trump from winning
Robert Reich: The Terrifying Road Ahead (same article, different link)
Quote – This particular week after Labor Day also marks the start of a terrifyingly high-stakes ride for America — five months until the beginning of the primaries, eight until Trump’s trial for seeking to overturn the 2020 election, 10 until the Republican convention in which Trump is almost certain to be nominated, 14 until the presidential election of 2024. All the while, Trump and House Republicans will be throwing up every conceivable distraction and roadblock — threatening to or actually closing the government, impeaching Joe Biden, and holding more hearings on “woke” capitalism, Hunter Biden, the alleged “weaponization” of the Justice Department and the FBI.
Click either one for full opinion. The second link is to Substack so you’ll need to click. The first is at The Guardian, kindly sent me by Evelyn B. IIRC the Guardian has a paywall but not on the first visit within whatever their timeframe is. So – your choice. (The Wall Street Journal poll he alludes to is the one I mentioned yesterday which Trump** helped pay for).
Food For Thought
This might have been a good opportunity to use the word “penultimate” – or even “antepenultimate” to allow for people like Giuliani and Eastman filling the “penultimate” positions.
Glenn Kirschner – Proud Boys Tarrio sentence to 22 years, but Trump – not Tarrio – is the “leader” of the insurrection
MSNBC – ‘Voters in Fulton County, Georgia elected her to’ take on big cases like 2020 election interference
Thom Hartmann – Why Term Limits Won’t Save America From Oligarchs Like Mitch McConnell
Liberal Redneck – Freeze, Mitch! (And the Scourge of Ancient Evil)
Momma Dog Has Her Babies In A Tiny Hole In The Ground
Beau – Let’s talk about a new government website….
Yesterday, Peter Navarro was found guilty of contempt of Congress. Yay! Now we just need a decent sentence. Numerous other stuff happened in various court filings in multiple cases also. I won’t even try to list them all. If I find a comprehesive list, i’ll definitely pass it on.
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Robert Hubbell – One more time with feeling: Ignore the polls!
Quote – [M]ajor media outlets and respected commentators treat the polls as if they are meaningful and predictive. They are neither. Instead, they are clickbait wrapped in statistics that misleads by confusing precision and truth. If someone tells you that the universe will end in 3,198,642,971.25 years, that is a “precise” prediction. Whether the prediction is “true” is a different question entirely. So, too, with the polling…. For those of you tired of reading my response to such polls, I apologize for the repetition. You may want to set aside this newsletter and start afresh with tomorrow’s newsletter. To those of you who need reassurance, read on! Because we will see many similar polls over the next fourteen months, I will use the WSJ poll as an example of how pollsters can distort the truth and why we should generally ignore the polls.
Click through for article. It appears that the stakes just keep getting higher and higher, which makes it very tempting to follow polls closely. But he makes good points. Also, it’s not really possible to think productively or do the things that need to be done, and that’s even if the polls are in good faith. I recently saw a story about a poll published by the Wall Street Journal hich came up with a low approval rate for Biden. What the publication did not include, and that the author of the article critiquing it did, was that the participants included two Republicans for every Democrat polled (and a sample size of only about 1,000.) Remember this poll for tomorrow’s OT. This is Substack so you’ll need to do a little clicking to read it all.
HuffPost – A 2024 Trump-Biden Rematch Isn’t Boring. It’s Something Entirely New.
Quote – The likely 2024 Biden-Trump contest should be viewed less as a rerun and more as the rare reboot that actually ups the stakes: Compared with each man’s first successful run for the presidency, both are taking positions that repudiate past governing commitments of the American state in ways that we probably haven’t seen before. In pursuit of a national hand in economic policymaking, Biden is rhetorically attacking the neoliberal paradigm that has dominated American domestic and foreign policy for the past 40 years. His Democratic predecessors Bill Clinton and Barack Obama did so too at times, but Biden is also enacting actual policies that turn the page on this era. Trump, on the other hand, is running to turn the presidency into something akin to a monarchy. He has deemphasized the old conservative “tax and spend” discourse in favor of an all-out attack on government depth. Yes, he still embraces cutting taxes for the rich and slashing government spending. But the policy that he and his allies are emphasizing most in pursuit of conservative aims is placing the administrative state and its 2 million-plus workers, including law enforcement and investigatory bodies, under his direct control by gutting civil service protections and the independence of agencies. If you can’t cut the size of government, you can at least make it bend to your wishes, or so the thinking goes.
Click through for (IMO well-founded) opinion. The thought that an election, or any other event, upon which one’s life depends, could possibly considered boring, simply boggles my mind. But here we are.
Food For Thought
Glenn Kirschner – More & more defendants are pointing the finger at Trump, & the flipping WILL begin accelerating
The Lincoln Project – Last Week in the Republican Party – September 5, 2023
MSNBC – Trump tells Republicans to impeach Biden or ‘fade into oblivion’
Patrick Fitzgerald – The Donald Called Down To Georgia –
Hungry Cat Went to a Store with a Leaf to Buy Fish, Then the Seller Did Something Unbelievable! (hanky alert)
Beau – Let’s talk about the Treasury report and you….