Politics Plus – Page 88 – Overcoming Republican insaniTEA, one day at a time.

Open Thread June 16, 2023

Posted by Joanne Dixon at 5:46 am Open Thread, Personal, Politics

Jun 162023

Yesterday, I got an email from John Pavlovitz – not that that’s unusual, and some of y’all get them too. But for those who don’t, I wanted to share some words from this one. He is featuring aome new merchandise specifically for Pride Month – including just about anything you can put a message on – and the messages are well said. “God is Non-Binary.” “LGBTQ Christian isn’t an Oxymoron. Hateful Christian is.” “We Say Gay.” More power to him! i also got a package with a bunch of AAA batteries, which I needed. My little (but powerful) flashlights all take three AAA batteries, and I have at least one in every room. And I was down to my last two batteries – which is the same as being completely out when you need three. And those flashlights are not just for power failures. My home was built in 1956, and in any building that age, every piece of furniture placed against a wall will lean in slightly – not enough to be dangerous, but enough for small items like beads and knitting needles to roll or slide off… and then roll or bounce into dark corners. I have a number of “grabber” tools to retrieve them with, but first I have to see them. And yesterday was also the first day of that cringey time of year when, for a month anf a half, Donald Trump** and i are the same age. At least it will be over soon.

Cartoon – 16 0616Cartoon.jpg

Short Takes –

The Daily Beast – Former Fox Executive: Is It Time for the FCC to Take a Close Look at Rupert Murdoch’s Licenses?
Quote – I was a Fox executive from 1990 to 1997 helping to build Fox Broadcasting Company, the long sought fourth free-over-the-air commercial TV network…. In addition to Fox Broadcasting, Fox owns cable channels including Fox News Channel and 28 local broadcast TV stations. The Federal Communications Commission has almost no regulatory authority over cable channels like Fox News but heavily regulates local broadcast stations that use public airwaves. Section 308 (b) of the Communications Act requires the FCC to assess the character qualifications of parties licensed to broadcast on the public airwaves. The FCC considers conduct at the broadcast station and elsewhere. The FCC has revoked broadcast licenses based on character issues.
Click through for story. Now, if somene were to start a petition to the FCC on this, that would be a petition I could get behind.

Letters from an American – June 13, 2023
Quote – [Fox News Channel] has been hemorrhaging viewers since it fired Tucker Carlson, a threat to its bottom line that might have been behind its chyron tonight attacking Biden by claiming “WANNABE DICTATOR SPEAKS AT THE WHITE HOUSE AFTER HAVING HIS POLITICAL RIVAL ARRESTED.” In statements similar to the one from FNC, right-wing pundits spent the day flooding Twitter and other social media with furious insistence that Trump is being unfairly prosecuted, followed by attacks on former secretary of state Hillary Clinton, and with allegations that there are tapes of President Biden accepting bribes—allegations that Biden openly laughed at this evening.
Click through for more (As always, click “Continue reading” on the pop-up). Yes, I’m beating up on Fox today. I’m aware that others exist, such as OAN and Sinclair, but Fox is still the most prominent.

Food For Thought

Video Thread 6/15/2023

Posted by Joanne Dixon at 12:00 pm Open Thread, Politics

Jun 152023

Glenn Kirschner – Donald Trump arraigned on his criminal indictment BUT judge imposes NO conditions on his release

The Lincoln Project – Trust

MSNBC – Eric Holder: Jack Smith won’t be ‘deterred by anything Donald Trump throws at him’

Brent Terhune – Cracker Barrel Has Fallen

Tiniest Kitten Is The Biggest Fighter [If this is a rerun, I apologize. I’m getting to the point where I’m not always sure.]

Beau – Let’s talk about FD-1023s and shows…

Open Thread June 15, 2023

Posted by Joanne Dixon at 6:00 am Open Thread, Personal, Politics

Jun 152023

Yesterday was Flag Day, commemorating the day in 1778 when the Continental Congress (the second one) voted to accept the design. I wonder what they would think if they could see it today. And IMO it needs to be expanded again. DC, Puerto RIce, and the US Virgin Islands for starters. It’s time we gave all citiens full citizenship.

Cartoon –

Short Takes –

Crooks & Liars – Trump Admits Guilt During Asinine Speech Post-Arraignment
Quote – Former FBI General Counsel Andrew Weissman was appalled…. “[T]hose statements that you just played are admissible as admissions, regardless of whether Donald Trump takes the stand or not,” Weissmann said. “Those are admissions. So, that is part of what he said is just a straight-out confession. It’s not a defense. It’s confession.”,,, Who knew being “too busy” was a proper legal defense for refusing to return top secret documents relating to our national security?
Click through for story. I can’t guess whether he actually believes this is exculpatory or just thinks his base will believe so. I know that when I find myself thinking “I don’t have time for that,” it really means there are other things I’d rather do. And sometimes that is actually legitimate, if the thing I’d rather do gives me some needed benefit that the thing I “don’t have time for” doesn’t – but some of those things I “don’t have time for” really need to be done, and eventually I have to do them.

Denver Gazette “Out There” – Denver Zoo gets big donation after winning bet on Nuggets’ NBA Finals victory
Quote – Denver Zoo took to Twitter on Tuesday to thank Zoo Miami for their $2,500 donation to the Mile High City zoo’s efforts related to the bighorn sheep and mountain goats on Mount Evans. The donation was the result of the Denver Zoo making a bet with Zoo Miami based on the outcome of the Miami Heat versus Denver Nuggets NBA Finals match-up, which the Nuggets won on Monday night in a four-to-one series. Had the Heat won the series, the Denver Zoo would have been obligated to make a donation to the Zoo Miami sea turtle conservation effort.
Click through for details. I’m not a betting person. If it’s something not terribly important, I may consider betting on what I don’t want (so that I win either way.) But I do realize many people are fascinated by gambles, and I have no objection to that fascination being used to publicize good causes. (There’s a cute pcture of a baby bighorn, BTW.

Food For Thought

Video Thread 6/14/2023

Posted by Joanne Dixon at 12:02 pm Open Thread, Politics

Jun 142023

Glenn Kirschner – Trump poses a danger to the community. What will the judge do about it at Trump’s arraignment? [of course we all know that he was not detained, and probably we all have theories as to why not. Mine is that detaining him would not prevent him from being a danger to the community, and might even make the danger worse, given his cult. Hoewever, the way he keeps pushing envelopes, it still could happen at some point.]

The Lincoln Project – The MAGAVERSE Reacts to Trump’s Second Indictment

C-Span – Special counsel Jack Smith gives statement after Trump indictment unsealed. The video goes on for over 22 minutes total, but the statement is over before two minutes are up. That’s what I’m posting it for. If you want to watch further, that’s up to you.

Parody Project – Just A Reminder

Rescued Baby Pigeon Plays Exactly Like Her Dog Best Friend

Beau – Let’s talk about Judge Cannon and Trump….

Open Thread June 14, 2023

Posted by Joanne Dixon at 5:54 am Open Thread, Personal, Politics

Jun 142023

Yesterday, I was astonished to receive a “Tuesday Trivia” email from Ken Jennings. He stopped doing those years ago (after having done 800 of them.) But this one is because he has a new book. And I have to think that this is a terrific marketing strategy – emails to a list of people who followed you for 800 weeks (that’s more than 15 years.) If you are curious about the book, the trivia, or both, you can see the questions and answers here (I got two- Mahler and Marley – which is IIRC about average for me, and I don’t remember ever getting a Question 7.) The book is a compendium of everything anyone has ever believed about the afterlife, through history and across cultures, and down at the bottom of the page there is a left arrow (much like the ones under our comment sections) to the book’s main page.

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Short Takes –

The New Yorker – Will the Judge in Trump’s Case Recuse Herself—or Be Forced To?
Quote – Someone has to win the lottery, right? [On Saturday, just after we spoke, the Southern District confirmed to the Times that Cannon was randomly chosen, stating, “Normal procedures were followed.” Because the judge was chosen based, in part, on proximity to West Palm Beach, Cannon was one of seven active judges and three senior judges in the pool for the random draw.]
Click through for more speculation. I have used two videos, one in Sunday’s video thread and one in yesterday’s, made by Michael Popok for Meidas Touch. He lives and has worked in the Southern District of Florida, and is the only attorney I have found who points out that Cannon is in the Palm Beach Division, whereas the grand jury and the indictment and the arraignment (and presumably the trial itself) are in the Miami Division – not only a separate Division, but als a 200-mile round trip if it comes to that. He is also the only one to notice that the Magistrate Judge assigned is from the Miami Divison. This is going to have to be addressed. A 200 mile round trip is four hours – and that’s in Colorado, which is much less highly populated than southern Florida. It’s not reasonable to expect that of anyone. I am expecting less bickering than many experts are expecting.

HuffPost – Donald Trump Becomes First U.S. President To Be Formally Charged With Federal Crimes
Quote – Trump lawyer Todd Blanche entered the plea on Trump’s behalf shortly after 3 p.m. before U.S. Magistrate Judge Jonathan Goodman, according to reporters in the room. Trump spent much of the time stonefaced, arms crossed, as the proceeding unfolded over the course of an hour. The judge released both Trump and co-defendant Walt Nauta, a personal aide to Trump, without bail and travel restrictions. Trump was, however, ordered not to contact or speak with witnesses about the case, including Nauta, who continues to work for him.
Click through for story. As expected, the presiding judge was a Magiatrate Judge, not a District Judge, and specifically, one from the Miami Division (also specifically, not Judge Reinhart.) I’m going to avoid as much as possible even mentioning Judge Cannon, unless something comes up that is factual in nature and well-substantiated, because – to quote C. S. Lewis quoting an inagined afterlife spirit of George MacDonald, “all answers deceive.”

The Nib (Kay Sohini) – Breathless
Quote – I grew up in a sleepy little suburb parallel to the Ganges, and we were forever privy to a vast expanse of sky stretching from the shore. On the weekends after dinner, my grandfather woud take us stargazing. We only had to walk up to the roof. When I moved to Calcutta for college,… I could not see the stars. And I could not breathe.
Click through for graphic essay. This is the last one I have been sitting on, but I don’t rule out using another if one comes up.

Food For Thought

Video Thread 6/13/2023

Posted by Joanne Dixon at 11:56 am Open Thread, Politics

Jun 132023

Yes, Glenn posted, but i am still usig this Meidas Touch/Legal AF with Michael Popok (despite the commercial in the misddle) because heis actually in the Southern District, even in the Miami Division, and knows what is specifically usual in the Miami Division as well as when things are different from the usual.

The Lincoln Project – Trump’s Federal Indictment

Thom Hartmann – Alarming New U.N. Report Proves Feminists Right – Want to Know What Men REALLY Think About Women??? (Other 79 countries – don’t get smug.)

Bruce W Nelson (“Mangy Fetlocks”) – Trump’s Hiding Places — Lyrics here https://www.democraticunderground.com/1017835797

Cat Rolls Down The Stairs 5x A Day

Beau – Let’s talk about misconceptions about Trump in Florida….

Open Thread June 13, 2023

Posted by Joanne Dixon at 6:03 am Open Thread, Personal, Politics

Jun 132023

Yesterday, we had thunder, lightning, and hail, and also a power outage which lasted about an hour. And, of course, it was cold – low fifties with a “feels like” in the high forties. The outage must have stressed me, thoug, because I tripped and fell – no damage to speak of – two small cuts is all – just annoying. Incidentally, if anyone is wonderng abot whether the indictment really has 37 or 38 counts, the aner is 38, but the 38th one only applies to the pool boy, so 37 relating to Trump** is correct.

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Short Takes –

NPR – What is HAPE? How people in the mountains can still fall ill to mountain sickness
Quote – High altitude pulmonary edema — commonly referred to as HAPE — is a more serious case of altitude sickness that, if not treated quickly or properly, can lead to death…. “There are deaths usually every couple of years in adults who come to ski or have a vacation with their friends,” [Summit County’s Dr. Christine] Ebert-Santos said. “There are so many times when people are sick with a virus and you don’t really give it a second thought. Without having somebody’s eyes on you or having a pulse oximeter to see what is happening with your oxygen, you can’t really know if this is something going on in your lungs or it’s just a cold.”
Click through for details. I know, I’m the only one who lives in the mountains. But people do come up ere for reasons – and this was certainly news to me. I do own a pulse oximeter and I know how to use it, so here’s that.

USA Today – I don’t want to live in a country where Trump could be held accountable
Quote – It’s like Republican Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin wrote in a tweet Friday: “These charges are unprecedented and it’s a sad day for our country, especially in light of what clearly appears to be a two-tiered justice system where some are selectively prosecuted, and others are not.”… TWO TIERS! One tier in which President Trump keeps getting indicted via both state and federal justice systems and another in which the people I don’t like keep getting not indicted via all the things Fox News tells me they did wrong.
Click through for full satire – if it isn’t too close to reality for you to stand. It realy doesn’t get any more “bothsiderist” than this.

The Nib (Rosemary Mosco) – The Future Is on Thin Ice
Quote – Growing up in Canada, I used to skate home from school. I know this sounds like a stereotype…. I grew up in … Ottawa. A canal runs through the city…. [I]t holds the Guiness World Record for the largest naturally frozen ice rink. In the winter, the canal freezes over…. Only this year it didn’t.
Click through for graphic essay. Back in the ineties, when the general public started to hear about climate change (which fossil fuel pushers had known about for decades), the changes resulted in some extremely heavy swnowfalls for us (because so much polar ice had thawed, there was more water in the air elsewhere.) So many ignorant people thought that was a reason to deny that glabal warming existed. What will that say to this, I wonder? Will they even see it?

Food For Thought

Video Thread 6/12/2023

Posted by Joanne Dixon at 11:51 am Open Thread, Politics

Jun 122023

Yes, this is long. But Glenn today is almost twice as long, and IMO needlessly alarmist, as well as repetitive. I get that. But despite the clickbait Meidas Touch headline, I think this is more realistic – and more accurate.
Meidas Touch – Jack Smith has PLAN to DEAL with CORRUPT Judge Aileen Cannon – long but meaty