Open Thread May 9, 2024

 Posted by at 6:06 am  Open Thread, Personal, Politics
May 092024
 

Yesterday, Douglas County High bowed to community pressure. I had not mentioned this earlier, but the back story is that they thought it would be nice to have their graduation ceremony this year at the Air Force Academy. Douglas County is one of two counties just north of mine; it’s the one that’s mostly mountain, while the other is mostly plains. Still, someone had the brain and spine to point out that if graduation was held at the Academy, undocumented students would not be able to attend their own graduation. (Also non-citizens without passports and family members with a prior felony conviction would not be able to attend.) So they have moved it again, this time to Parker, CO. The letter announcing the change sounds a little grudging to me, but they say actions speak louder than words, so I’ll take it.

If this doesn’t make you angry, I don’t know what will. It would appear Kahn sees Sulzberger the way MAGAs see Trump**. Or maybe the way he sees Trump**. Whatever, it’s not good.

It really is no wonder that Trump** thinks a President can do anything he wants to when so many voters think that Joe Biden can do anything he wants to. I know, I’m the one who put up the meme comparing Joe to wizards, but the fact he is but a decent and law-abiding human being. If he could wave a wand or stomp the floor with a staff or flash a light saber and by doing so achieve peace in the Middle East, I’m sure he would do so (and also in Ukraine.)But he can’t. There are laws and rules he has to respect. Robert Hubbell understands that.

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Open Thread May 8, 2024

 Posted by at 6:19 am  Open Thread, Personal, Politics
May 082024
 

Yesterday, the Smithsonian informed me that there are 2 baby pygmy lorises (endangered) at the Zoo. This is part of a breeding program designed to help the species recover. You need to scroll down a bit to get to the article, but it’s there. And at the bottom of the page, 5 photos are available for download. They are adorable, but I wouldn’t want to cuddle one – slow lorises produce venom (the only mammals known to do so.)

A gift link (no paywall) to an opinion piece at the New York Times. I don’t think there’s anything in it we don’t already know (well, maybe not the exact figures to the last decimal) but I hope – we can hope – it will help to educate some people.

In a related article (both deal with inequality), Robert Reich “destroys” stock buybacks.” Of course they aren’t destroyed, they still exist, but you’ll know in full why they shouldn’t.)

This news cheered up Mary Trump. I hope it helps y’all.  Just don’t forget he is still a Republican.

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Open Thread May 7, 2024

 Posted by at 6:00 am  Open Thread, Personal, Politics
May 072024
 

Yesterday, I received an Axios alert emai telling me that Bernie Sanders is running for reelection. Good. I’m not a big fan of Axios editorially, but their alerts are usually the first time a nugget of news hits my inbox. I also received an email from the National Popular Vote Compact that Maine has joined. They are working steadily in other states as well. I wouldnn’t get my hopes up too high, but it’s close enough now that it would not be impossible for us to have enough states by November.

Some details here I haven’t seen elsewhere. Of course that may be just me.

As angry as we all were and are to learn that Clarence Thomas – and other justices – have failed todisclose high-dollar gifts from billionaires, I think we’d rather know about it than not know about it. Certainly the Pulitzer Prize people would.. They have awarded Pro Publica the Gold Medal for Public Service for breaking the story.

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Open Thread May 6, 2024

 Posted by at 6:14 am  Open Thread, Personal, Politics
May 062024
 

Yesterday, I was able to see Virgil for the first time in just about six months. I hadn’t told him I was coming, for two reasons. First, when I emailed on Monday for a reservation, they immediately replied that I had been move to the inactive list and needed new paperwork. I know exactly where to go on the web to find the right forms and make sure they are the most up to date. So I got them done, scanned them, and emailed them back the same day (after their office closes, but waiting for them the first thing Tuesday morning. Between waiting for that, and this being the first time I was driving for just about six months, I was worried that something might go wrong. And that leads me to the second reason. Virgil does not handle disappointment well at all, but he’s just fine with being surprised pleasantly. (I’ about the opposite. I can handle disappointment, but not so good with surprises.) Well, i made the right decision. Turned out I had four almost-flat tires an a possible radiator leak. No tire needed to be changed, but inflating them was time consuming. I had allowed an extra hour, but was still 20 minutes later than I intended. But it was all well worth it. He was delighted. And we even got a “Happy Anniversary” from the prison dog (a black lab named JJ) including a few doggy kisses. I had no trouble getting my wheel chair the way I always have, but putting it back in, I had to come up with a different strategy. It took me several tries, but I came up with a process that works. And now that I know I need a plan B, I don’t expect to waste as much time in the future. Also, if anyone cares, the railroad bridge is functional again.

https://heathercoxrichardson.substack.com/p/may-3-2024
Heather Cox Richardson was tired Friday night, so decided to “look elsewhere for a break.” For her , that means an article on “Ten Famous American Horses” as a nod to the Kentucky Derby. Enjoy.

Since May 1 is Labor Day everywhere but here, and May is Labor History Month here, I thought it might be interesting to look at a situation in Canada where both the labor and the customers are fed up (but not, alas, with food, but with those proces.)

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Open Thread May 5, 2024

 Posted by at 6:11 am  Open Thread, Personal, Politics
May 052024
 

Yesterday, the radio opera, “El Niño,” by John Adams, was originally an oratorio. But the Met decided it deserved a fully staged production it is of course the Christmas story. It premiered in December of 2000 in Paris. Some of the libretto is in English, some in Spanish, and even some in Latin, and Adams draws heavily on folk and other traditional carols. The angel Gabriel is sung by a trio of counter-tenors (fortunately for Adams they are getting easier and easier to find.) It’s very listenable (of course I have heard a lot of Adams’s work, some many times, so I don’t know how it would strike someone who doesn’t listen to any composer newer than Debussy.) Also, I learned that “Meet The Press” today features an interview with Cindy McCain, not a John’s widow, but as the head of the UN World Food Program. She speaks about the famine in Gaza. Sight unseen, I recommend it for anyone interested in that conflict.

I am not trying to beat this to death. But what is now going on is in some ways very much like how we got Nixon in 1968 (ans then in 1970 we got Kent State.) In other ways it is very much like how we got Trump** in 2016. And I don’t have to tell you what happened after that. I don’t know that all those who are protesting Israel’s actions in Gaza are honest protesters with moral reasons – I suspect not, exactly because of the violence – but I do know those who see it as a moral issue are making false assumptions and drawing erroneous conclusions. Robert Hubbell says this better than I could. Heather Cox Richardson also addresses the protests and how Republicans are using them to hurt Biden in the short run and destroy higher education in the long run.

On the lighter side, the Daily Beast has an article about warrior princesses in real life (and yes, they do mention Queen Elizabeth II’ service during World War II.)

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Open Thread May 4, 2024

 Posted by at 6:00 am  Open Thread, Personal, Politics
May 042024
 

Yesterday, I learned from Progress Now Colorado that a fundraiser in Jefferson County for Kristi Noem has been cancelled. A short quote from the email: “We’re proud to have called for the well-behaved and leashed dogs of Colorado and their loving owners to peacefully protest against Gov. Noem’s fundraiser in Colorado. We asked attendees to bring extra doggie bags and ensure that the space we occupied would be left as clean as we found it. The reason this fundraiser was canceled is that Kristi Noem’s values are not Colorado values, and organizers realized they were making a terrible political mistake bringing her here.” Some pregressives (most actually, if not all – there are such things as infiltraators) know how to stage a protest.

CPR published an interview with the state’s Attorney General. There’s an article followed by a transcript (and I expect it’s still possible to hear somewhere on the news portion of the website.) I consider Phil Weiser a good AG and intend to vote for his reelection.

This is an article about a podcast regarding recent student protests. Certainly there’s a little bit of disturbance for just about everyone – and especially those who remember Kent State.

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Open Thread May 3, 2024

 Posted by at 5:59 am  Open Thread, Personal, Politics
May 032024
 

Yesterday, there was a great deal of floom running through the news. I was only going to use two articles, but I added Reich because he at least gives us some ideas about what we should do in the face of such doom and gloom.

Mary Trump‘s writing here is factful (in the sense of full of facts – there are a lot) and perceptive. She does touch on a lot that we already know. but if you want to skip all or prts, pleas skip to the end. There’s a zinger in her conclusion.

I have read about this incident – maybe you have too – but this is a view of it that you may not have read (though you may have thought it, or at least some of it.)

Robert Reich writes about emotions and politics. He doesn’t say this, but I want to add it – stirring up emotions may well increase turnout. But when those emotions are in response to lies, that’s not the kind of turnout whichimproves out government, or dstrengthens outr democracy. There is plenty in this election year to rationally be afraid of – but most of the actual fear that grips voters is the irrational fears stirred up by MAGA. I’ve said this before – Trump** promises violence if he loses. And nhe may well follow trough – he’s done it before. But, if he wins, he will stir up just as much violence, or probably more violence, and there will be no one to protect us.

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Open Thread May 2, 2024

 Posted by at 5:51 am  Open Thread, Personal, Politics
May 022024
 

Yesterday, going through my email, I came across this headline at Wonkette: “Does It Count As A ‘Post-Birth Abortion’ When DeSantis Takes Away A Sick Child’s Healthcare?” Good question. It certanly seems like it should, doesn’t it?

Heather Cox Richardson writes about the interview with Trump** in Time magazine. I don’t subscribe to Time, so this is a convenience to me – horrifying as it is. Feel free to share it widely.

Joe Biden is certainly trying to extend humanitarian aid as widely as possible. This is such a difficult situation for anyone wanting to bring peace to the middle east – because the hostilities go back literally thousands of years – and both sides are wrong – and both sides are right. (Well, not Netanyahu – but he is not the whole side. And that’s a big part of the problem.)

Having bought and sold one house in North Carolina, handling my mother’s estate, buying the home i am currently living in anf refinancing it twice or three times, and also having at least signed petitions concerning the difficulty of black voters, especially in the American South, for getting voter ID – so many with no birth certificates – that these situations would have occurred to me as a problem. It didn’t, because privilege. But having now been told about it, I can certainly see the potential for massive Jim Crow abuse.

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