Open Thread September 7, 2023

 Posted by at 5:56 am  Open Thread, Personal, Politics
Sep 072023
 

Yesterday, I ran across an article in the Colorado Public Radio newsletter about a fish in the Denver Zoo who was successfully treated for enteritis. I would put a story like this in the Video Thread, but there is no video. So I mention it here so that those who cherish the animal rescue videos will see it. We all should have access to health care that well thought out. Also, I did manage to get my trash and recycling carts out.  Doing so raised my pulse from Tranquillo to Allegretto, but that was not as bad as taking the stuff to the carts the day before, which pushed me all the way up to Allegro.

Cartoon –

Short Takes –

CNN – ‘Let’s give it a try,’ recalls Russian pilot who defected to Ukraine in his military helicopter
Quote – The pilot, named by Ukrainian officials as Maxim Kuzminov, explained in the interview how he planned his defection and why he felt compelled to do so. “I contacted representatives of Ukrainian intelligence, explained my situation, to which they offered this option: ‘Come on, we guarantee your safety, guarantee new documents, guarantee monetary compensation, a reward,’” the pilot said, in a recording released Monday. The head of Ukraine’s Defense Intelligence, Kyrolo Budanov, revealed in August how Ukrainian officials had been able to help the pilot to defect.
Click through for story. As W. S. Gilbert pointed out in “Iolanthe, “Every boy and every gal/who’s born into this world alive/Is either a little Liberal/or else a little Conservative.” And that does not appear to be genetic – look at all the families divided over this breach. So, attractive as the idea is, getting all of one to live in one part of the world and all the other in another part, that would not last a generation. Somehow, we need to find ways to live together. But there will likely still be times when defection becomes inevitable

KGET.com – What was inside the illegal medical lab found in California? Photos show blood vials, disease samples
Quote – According to court documents, officials with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention tested what they could and determined that at least 20 potentially infectious viral, bacterial, and parasitic agents were present, including E. coli, malaria, and the virus that causes COVID-19. For the first half of 2023, the process of cleaning the Reedley location was stuck in court. Electrical issues were highlighted, including adding outlets for running refrigerators and freezers. There were also unmarked, highly-flammable chemicals being stored there. Officials were worried about the risk of a possible explosion, which prompted Reedley Fire Chief Jerry Isaak to send a letter to Zieba.
Click through for details, such as they are. This would be Devin Nunes’s former district. I can certainly understand not wanting something like this in one’s backyard.

Food For Thought

Share

Video Thread 9/6/2023

 Posted by at 12:06 pm  Open Thread, Politics
Sep 062023
 

Glenn is over-simplifying a bit. You don’t have to be 35 to be running. You need to be 35 on Insuguration Day in case you win. If you start running more than a year in advance of the inauguration Day, you could even be 33.
Glenn Kirschner – Donald Trump is ALREADY DISQUALIFIED under the 14th Amendment from being president again.

The Lincoln Project – FAFO is right

Farron Balanced – Trump’s Indicted Lawyers Want Speedy Trials To Destroy His Legal Defenses

Patrick Fitzgerald – Over on Truth

“Zorse” Thanks His Rescuer In The Sweetest Way

I couldn’t agree more with Beau. I said the same thing about Boehner – and when it happened, we got Paul Ryan.
Beau – Let’s talk about McConnell and being careful what you wish for….

Share

Open Thread September 6, 2023

 Posted by at 6:06 am  Open Thread, Personal, Politics
Sep 062023
 

Yesterday, quiet again, and a little cooler. My big project was getting trash and recyclables out to my carts so that today I can put them out for pickup tomorrow. That’s not what I consider a rewarding job. No new object to admire. No new space to walk in or put things in (the trash/recyc containers are just as big emoty as ther are full). Changing a light bulb at least provides more light. But taking out discard has to be done, or they will take over everything. I did get it done before sunset, though. The recyc cart is going to be heavy today – I may pull instead of push, but it’s still heavy. The trash cart will be no problem.

Cartoon –

Short Takes –

The Daily Beast – Ignoring Bad Faith Right-Wingers Doesn’t Work Anymore. Debate or Debunk Them.
Quote – I had seen this type of attitude so many times before. My earlier career was as a conservative political media consultant. I spent years trying to get Republicans to think seriously about public policy and be respectful of people who weren’t straight white Christians. Finally, I realized it was a doomed effort because the current GOP is more interested in identity politics than in serving the public. I decided to critique Republicans from the outside rather than the inside. I took a major financial hit as a result, but I enjoy having a clean conscience.
Click through for article. This may work on those who are less practiced, and it’s probably worth trying. But those seasoned operative who just keep moving the goalposts so smoothly that it’s almost indetectable are not so easily debunked before an audience of cultists.

ProPublica – Why the Destruction of a Black Neighborhood Matters to Me — and Should Matter to Everyone
Quote – As a high school sprinter in Virginia’s Tidewater region, I often participated in meets at Christopher Newport University’s Freeman Center, which had one of the few indoor tracks in the area. I won 500-meter races against top runners, and my high school was team champion. Track and field was a huge part of my identity. I looked forward to crossing the Monitor-Merrimac bridge over the James River to Newport News, and I saw the opportunity to display my skill at Christopher Newport as a way to impress colleges and earn an athletic scholarship. It wouldn’t be until 20 years later that I understood the underlying irony. The construction of Christopher Newport, where Black athletes like me competed alongside our white counterparts, had displaced Black homeowners whose hopes and aspirations were dashed by racism.
Click through for investigation. Republicans have no inerest in protecting black, brown, LGBTQIA children from anything whatsoever. Their only interest is in protecting straight white children – males from anythng which might undermine their privilege, and females from anything which might interfere with their subservience to patriarchy.

Food For Thought

Share

Video Thread 9/5/2023

 Posted by at 11:54 am  Open Thread, Politics
Sep 052023
 

Obviously I had 6 videos in here, with a variety of topics, as you can see from the tags, which  don’t put in until after I put in the videos.  I have no idea what happened – and, unfortunately, no way of finding the all again.  I can find two of them, because I use those sources regularly and they are in sequence, but the other four – I have no idea.

Four felony cases & a stream of dangerous posts; Donald Trump should be detained pending trial

Let’s talk about Trump’s street cred in Atlanta….

Share

Because 2037 Is Just TOO Long to Wait …

 Posted by at 8:35 am  Politics
Sep 052023
 

… For the next blue supermoon.

We all heard about the rare phenomenon we were treated to this past week – the combination of a blue moon that is also a supermoon.

What is a blue moon?

Unlike what the name suggests, a blue moon is not actually blue in color. Rather, it signifies the second full moon within a single month — hence the phrase, “once in a blue moon.”

What is a supermoon?

The “supermoon” phenomenon occurs when the moon’s orbit is closest to Earth at the same time the moon is full. While around 25% of full moons are supermoons, just 3% of full moons are blue moons, according to NASA.

On average, supermoons are about 16% brighter than an average moon. They also appear bigger than the average full moon — with NASA comparing the size difference to that between a quarter and a nickel.

So I felt we should enjoy the celestial show they put on for us with some photos from around the world.

The Americas 

 

Asia – Australia

 

Europe

 

Hikers in Arizona

 

Obligatory Plane Silhouette 

Share

Open Thread September 5, 2023

 Posted by at 5:48 am  Open Thread, Personal, Politics
Sep 052023
 

Yesterday, The New Yorker’s “Name Drop” was most appropriate for Labor Day. The first two clues were news to me, but I did get it on the third one. Also, Steve Schmidt quoted a big chunk of Theodore Roosevelt’s Labor Day speech given in 1903. I’ll spare you the need to look for “continue reading” and just link to the speech in the Educational Video inc.’s Speech Vault. It contains the quote “The welfare of each of us is dependent fundamentally upon the welfare of all of us,” which was worked into a rug placed in the oval office in 2010 (yes, during the Obama Administration.) I don’t know whether it is still there (or possibly there again.) The speech is remarkable – and should be trotted out more often by Democrats, if only to emphasize that we are the ones who have preserved this orignally Republican platform.

Cartoon – 05 great fire of london

Short Takes –

Wonkette – Matt Schlapp’s CPAC Team-Building Exercises Sound Fun, If You’re Into Exorcisms
Quote – Oh. My. Lord. They have been on Twitter posting pictures of their favorite saints and begging those saints to rain down hell on the Daily Beast. It’s so deranged. “Our Lady of Guadalupe, strike down the BEAST,” tweeted Schlmatt. “St Michael the Archangel take down the beast,” tweeted Schlmercy, with a bit less flair and punctuation. We guess all this has put people in the mood to spill more Schlapp Schlecrets to (natch) the Beast. Now Roger Sollenberger is bringing us the story of that time last year when Matt Schlapp got a priest to come in and do exorcisms to get all the demons out of the CPAC offices.
Click through for details. Remember it is Substack now. If Matt Schlapp could exorcise himself, he would disappear in a puff of smoke.

Liberals Are Cool (on tumblr)
Quote – To remind everyone, January 6th wasn’t Trump’s Plan A. It wasn’t even Plan B. Plan A was to steal the 2020 election with Putin’s help, just as he’d done in 2016. Blackmailing Ukraine for dirt on Biden was part of that effort. But it didn’t work twice.
Click through. This is a Twitter thread, rolled on a thread reader, reposted on Tumblr, which was shared on Democratic Underground. It’s not long and it’s all important.

Food For Thought

Share

Video Thread 9/4/2023

 Posted by at 11:54 am  Open Thread, Politics
Sep 042023
 

In lieu of the Legal Recap
Talking Feds – CHAOS UNFOLDS in Fulton County

Thom Hartmann – Did Florida Governor Inspire Jacksonville Shooter?

MSNBC – Ex-judge: Trump election trial judge should have ‘The Talk’ with lawyers

Joe Biden – These Guys

Golden Retriever Rescued From Puppy Mill Treats Her First Toy Like A Baby

Beau – Let’s talk about Meadows and more questions….

Share

Open Thread September 4, 2023

 Posted by at 6:08 am  Open Thread, Personal, Politics
Sep 042023
 

Yesterday, it was just quiet. Which is just fine with me. I had time to work on cartoons a little, finished a sweater I’d been working on, checked my oxygen (94), mended a box I want to use for charity pickup – just little stuff, much of which I’d been procrastinating.

Cartoon –

Short Takes –

Harvard Business Review – Frontline Work When Everyone Is Angry
Quote – Summary – It probably won’t surprise you to learn that incivility on the front lines of business is on the rise. After all, as the pandemic wore on, we saw in real time how frontline workers went from being seen as “essential” to being seen as, essentially, punching bags. What might not be obvious is that incivility doesn’t affect only workers who experience it directly — it also affects those who witness it, with consequences for businesses and society. Christine Porath has studied incivility for more than 20 years, looking at the experiences at work of people around the world. Her research shows that business leaders have the power to improve things, both for workers and for society as a whole.
Click through for story. We laugh at “Karen”s – but it isn’t funny if you are the one on the receiving end of the Karening. One thing we can do is offer a word of thanks (especially if they are working outside in awful weather conditions) or a small compliment. And certainly a smile, if nothing else, helps.

Crooks & Liars – Labor Shortages So Bad, Even GOP Considers- Gasp! – Immigration
Quote – The way Republican state Sen. Michael Crider sees it, those moves have worked: Companies such as Amazon and Walmart have built new warehouses and fulfillment centers in his district just east of Indianapolis. But it didn’t take long for him to realize how all those new private-sector jobs could further strain short-handed local governments, particularly school systems, by luring away bus drivers and teachers’ aides.
Click through for details. Yes, unemployment still exists (it even increased a small fraction of a percent last month.) But there are also areas where there are serious labor shortages too.

Food For Thought

Share
 Older Entries  Newer Entries