Glenn Kirschner – Trump supporter arrested for threatening judge presiding over Trump’s DC trial for elections crimes
The Lincoln Project – Last Week in the Republican Party – August 15, 2023
The Ring of Fire – Trump’s Rivals Refuse To Call Out His Biggest Weakness
Trae Crowder for ATTN – The South is So Gay
Kitten Shows Up On Couple’s Boat And Stays Forever
Beau – Let’s talk about Hawaii and theories….
Yesterday, the Daily Beast (which devotes a lot of time and space to entertainment – movies, TV, books, music, pop culture – along with political stuff, had a story on a new episode on Apple TV (which I didn’t see, though it streamed last night) whose main character is Marcie – the Peanuts girl who calls Peppermint Patty “Sir.” And they included the trailer, which I did watch. It’s really rather sweet. Being an introvert myself, I was touched. Also yesterday, I received notification from John Pavlovitz that his “If God Is Love, Don’t Be A Jerk” series is going to be repeated (if you can call it a repeat when so much of it is teacher-student interaction and the students will be enew – at least some of them. It’s not free, but it does come with some perks and bennies. More information here.
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The 19th – Why DeSantis’ war on ‘woke’ isn’t winning in the GOP primary
Quote – For many LGBTQ+ people, particularly trans people, DeSantis’ war on woke has seemed like a direct assault on their ability to participate in society. For some people of color, particularly Black people, the Florida governor has appropriated a word from their culture and weaponized it against them. For those on the right, like DeSantis, who have embraced “woke” as an enemy, it can be a more palatable catch-all for a variety of race- and gender-based grievances designed to appeal to White voters worried about holding onto their power, according to experts. But it can also turn off Republican voters — for some, it’s seen as openly racist or anti-LGBTQ+, and for others, it’s too vague. And many of the GOP primary voters who relish attacks like those from DeSantis and others in the primary field already have a candidate: former President Donald Trump.
Click through for article. I suppose it would be possible to out-Trump** Trump**, which is what DeSaster is trying to do. But it cannot be done by a pudding-fingered white-booted wimp like him. Not that that solves the problem of bigots who hate the whole idea of “woke.”
The Nib – Shady Behavior
Quote – For being so prominent, palms dont pull their weight when it comes to cooling the city and preventing flooding. They provide poor canopy for catchng rainwater, offering little to offset what is known as the heat island effect: an increase in temperature in urbanized areas whose manmade structures absorb and re-emit the sun’s heat.
Click through for graphic article. I don’t know how long we will have The Nib – this could be the last I feature from it – but I will keep checking. I had no idea palms are technically not even trees. Los Angeles and its environs need to become aware of this – and maybe San Diego as well.
Food For Thought
Glenn Kirschner – Rudy Giuliani, now both an indicted AND un-indicted Trump co-conspirator, would make a POOR witness
The Lincoln Project – Uh Oh, Donald (Georgia Remix)
Farron Balanced – Tommy Tuberville May Be Serving In The Senate ILLEGALLY
Scared Ketchup – AI MAGA’s NEW Health Supplement: “Trump’s Tiny White Balls”
Matted Dog Who Lived On The Street For Years Gets Her First Haircut
Beau – Let’s talk about Fulton County, Trump, and warming up….
Yesterday, there was a longer article in the CPR newsletter than the alert which came out on Wednesday about the Adams County police. Adams County is in the northeasr corner of the Denver Metro Area, which is not the same as being northeast OF Denver, like the wildlife sanctuary they sent Hank to. Colorado is a blue state, but that does not mean we are not afflicted by bad attitudes on police forces. I haven’t read it in full, but it doesn’t look good. Of course in Colorado there are Hispanic people throughout, and women are pretty equally represented, but the majority of Asian- and African-Americans are in the Denver Metro. I’m not expecting to be a happy camper when I finish reading. And policing, even in blue states, is a big reason why I oppose building a “Cop City.” As long as we tolerate authoritarianism in our police, no police academy will fail to pass authoritarianism on – the last thing we need.
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National Public Radio – What happens when thousands of hackers try to break AI chatbots
Quote – [Ben] Bowman jumps up from his laptop in a bustling room at the Caesars Forum convention center to snap a photo of the current rankings, projected on a large screen for all to see. “This is my first time touching AI, and I just took first place on the leaderboard. I’m pretty excited,” he smiles. He used a simple tactic to manipulate the AI-powered chatbot. “I told the AI that my name was the credit card number on file, and asked it what my name was,” he says, “and it gave me the credit card number.”
Click through to read (or listen.) As scary as this is, it’s also reassuring that responsible people are putting this much effort into learning how to spot and control it.
Washington Post (no paywall) – In Tuberville’s state, one base feels the effect of his military holds
Quote – At the Redstone Arsenal in Alabama, a major hub of the U.S. military’s space and missile programs, a key officer is supposed to be leaving his post for a critical new job leading the agency responsible for America’s missile defense. But now Maj. Gen. Heath Collins’s promotion is on hold — creating disruptions up and down the chain of command. His absence means that a rear admiral normally stationed at Redstone overseeing missile testing is instead temporarily filling in as acting director of the Missile Defense Agency. Meanwhile, the brigadier general tapped to replace Collins is also stuck, forced to extend his assignment at Space Systems Command in Los Angeles rather than starting work in Huntsville.
Click through for details. The Armed Forces are not going to allow the military to be without leadership – that would be abdicating its responsibilities. But there absolutely is a human cost. And this article doesn’t even go into the issue of the morale of ALL the troops. All on account of one Senator, who doesn’t even live in the state he represents.
Food For Thought
Glenn Kirschner – Trump is indicted in Georgia for RICO conspiracy for trying to steal the 2020 presidential election
Thom Hartmann – God Wants Immigrants To Suffer & Die Says GOP
Robert Reich – 5 Facts About Trump’s Indictments
[There’s more after the VPN commercial]
Liberal Redneck – Ohio and the Future of Democracy
Wild Child Kitten Grows Up Looking After Rescue Puppies
[I chose this basically for one sentence – near the end – you’ll recognie it – it’s the one that ends “and it’s never failed me yet.”
Beau – Let’s talk about Texas, Paxton, the feds, and assumptions….
Yesterday, I learned that over the weekend, the chyron atop a news outlet’s building in Surgut, a Russian city far from Moscow, read (in Russian) “Putin is huylo and a thief.” “Huylo” is NSFW and one translator says, “Think of the worst, most obscene possible expression for a very bad person—and that’s the word you need.” Over recent years Russia has put a lot of money and effort into training hackers. I’m sure Putin never expected his face to be eaten. Also, just so y’all know, I am not going to try to keep up with the Trump** trials here. If there is an earth-shaking annoucement midday I may address it in a comment. But the first video in the cideo thread will always be from a legal expert, which means it likely will be about Trump**. Depending on what’s happening, it may not be the only one.
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Crooks & Liars – Fight Breaks Out Among Russian Forces That Leaves 20 Dead, 40 Injured
Quote – Around 8:00 p.m. [on Saturday, August 12], in the Central Park area of the village [of Mykhailivka], a verbal altercation took place between Kadyrivians and Dagestanis from another division of the Russian Armed Forces. During the quarrel, one of the occupants opened fire in the air from a small automatic weapon. In the course of the fight, one of the occupiers was inflicted with numerous stab wounds, incompatible with life. This led to an open confrontation between units using underbarrel grenade launchers GP-25 “Koster”, hand grenades and small automatic weapons.
Click through for story. “Friendly fire.” I often go to the original when a story is from a single source, but I thought I would take their word for this information from the Ukrainian government site. I trust Ukraine … but it’s also under attack – and as my intro noted, Russia has hackers.
The 19th – After hottest summer on record, heat-related illnesses are now being tracked nationwide
Quote – “Each year heat kills more people than any other type of extreme weather event, and the heat is getting worse,” said John Balbus, acting director of the Department of Health and Human Services’ Office of Climate Change and Health Equity. Balbus’ department, in partnership with the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, is responsible for developing and maintaining the dashboard. Balbus told The 19th that the dashboard has been in development for about a year and was initially inspired by a similar dashboard that tracks opioid overdoses.
Click through for details. I’m glad someone is taking climate change seriously. It’s sad that this is necessary – but it is. The highest temperature at which a human can survive is probably lower than you think it is.
Food For Thought
Talking Feds – Team Trump’s SINISTER MOVE in Georgia has Backfired Massively
The Lincoln Project – Back To School With The GOP
[Long and rambling – but they had just got the indictment ab=nd were thinking aloud a lot
MSNBC – BREAKING: Donald Trump indicted in Georgia election case
[Scared Ketchup’s motto is “Harnessing the power of artificial intelligence to combat genuine stupidity.”]
Scared Ketchup – AI Republicans Make Laxative Ad {NSFW}
Rescue Dog Loves Riding On Mopeds
[And this is why SoSes are very quiet about taking him off of any ballots. And he has a point.]
Beau – Let’s talk about Trump vs Federalist Society members….
Yesterday, Talking Points Memo’s Morning Memo, naturally, was all about Monday’s late night Georgia indictment. It was handed down at 9:00 p.m. Eastern, and released to the reporters “a few minutes before 11:00.” The Axios alert reached me at 9:17 p.m. Mountain, which was about 20 minutes after its public release. Not bad – but bare bones. But the Talking Points Memo morning memo is filled with information, pictures, quotes, tweets, plans, and names. It’s also very compact – it reads fast. Well worth clicking “Continue reading” for.
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The Daily Beast – Trump’s Bid to Sink the Manhattan DA’s Case Has Already Made It Stronger
Quote – For months, critics of Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg Jr.’s case have called it weak because the case criminally charges Trump with faking business records—a lowly misdemeanor only bumped up to a felony on a technicality. Except that Trump’s ploy to move the case to federal court gave a judge there the opportunity to take the first swing. And he used that opportunity to make it clear that the case against Trump is far more serious than it otherwise seems—and that the burden for proving that Trump’s alleged falsification of business records are felonies is low.
Click through for story. It appears Karma is on the case.
NBC News – Parents can’t challenge Maryland school’s gender identity policy, court rules
Quote – The policy, which the Montgomery County Board of Education adopted for the 2020-2021 school year, permitted schools to develop gender support plans for students to ensure they “feel comfortable expressing their gender identity.” The policy directs school personnel to help transgender and gender-nonconforming students create a plan that addresses their preferred pronouns, names and bathrooms, and bars staff from informing parents of those plans without a student’s consent. Lawsuits are pending challenging similar policies in other states. The Maryland case was the first to be argued before a federal appeals court.
Click through for details… This is a good thing because the school’s policy is the right one and the parents in the case are Christofascist. I can see how the headline could be read the other way, though. And I could wish it had been decided on privacy rights rather than on standing to sue.
Food For Thought
