Open Thread August 18, 2023

 Posted by at 6:05 am  Open Thread, Personal, Politics
Aug 182023
 

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.

Cartoon –

Short Takes –

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

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Open Thread June 11, 2023

 Posted by at 6:05 am  Open Thread, Personal, Politics
Jun 112023
 

Yesterday, the radio opera was “Der Fliegende Holländer” (The Flying Dutchman”). This was the earliest of his operas to feature the theme of a man’s redemption through a woman’s love by means of her death. Yes, that’s totally nuts. But he wasn’t alone – literature, music and art all had influential practitioners in 19th century Europe who were obsessed with this idea. Most of his operas after this one riffed on the theme. Exceptios would be “Lohengrin” (he doesn’t need redeeming, and Elsa doesn’t die – maybe) and the Ring Cycle (unless Brynhilde’s immolation redeems Siegfried – but he’s already dead when that happens.) But I digress.  In any case, the music of the Dutchman is impressive. It was written before he fine-tuned his “leitmotif” system but is already characterized by tone painting. A lot of music has been written by a lot of people purportedly depicting storms at sea, but Wagner’s in this opera is the one that convinces me. Senta is self-destructive and as dunb as a MAGAt, but at least she doesn’t take anyone else down with her, and her music convincingly depicts her obsession. And so on.

Also yesterday I received a petition from Move On titled “Convict Trump” I was shocked. I had to go to their website to send a message, but I thought it was necessary. Here’s what I said: “Have you lost your minds? No, I’m not going to sign a “convict Trump**” petition. Only a jury can convict Trump** (or anyone else), and they are not supposed to have any outside influence. Sending a jury a petition like this is jury tampering. Unless he makes a plea deal – that would result in a conviction – but do we really want that? Come back to me when you have a petition which is Constitutional. This one isn’t.”

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Short Takes –

Colorado Public Radio – Sen. Michael Bennet wants to strengthen the watersheds that help protect clean drinking water
Quote – The bill reauthorizes the USFS’s Water Source Protection Program (WSPP), which helps fund projects that prevent pollution at the source, usually by restoring forest health and watersheds. It would increase funding for the program to $30 million per year for the next five years for work done in partnership with local communities, water utilities or agricultural producers. WSPP also tries to prioritize projects that focus on drinking water or improve resilience to wildfire or climate change.
Click through for story. I’m certainly aware of watersheds. But it never occurred to me what, besides lack of precipitation, might threaten them, nor of what could be done to keep them strong. D’oh! So i’m very glad to know that I have been voting for a Senator who does know.

The Conversation – Forts Cavazos, Barfoot and Liberty — new names for army bases honor new heroes and lasting values, instead of Confederates
Quote – The renamings so far have come off without controversy – and with no one seriously defending why the bases should continue honoring Confederates. As Trevor Noah said on “The Daily Show,” “Imagine being a Black soldier training at a base that is named after somebody who didn’t even think of you as a human being.” Celebrities popular with conservatives have praised the base redesignations, too. For example, Mel Gibson applauded renaming Fort Benning for Col. Moore, whose memoir was the basis for “We Were Soldiers,” a 2002 film starring Gibson.
Click through for details. How many people know more than one or two names of Hitler’s henchment? Honoring Confederate generals is not history – it’s just disgusting. And if even Mel Gibson – not just a conservative favorite but a – not terribly nice person – doesn’t mind, then really no one should.

The 19th – Could access to child care be the key to helping parents clear arrest warrants?
Quote – Cierra was among dozens of people who came out in early June for the so-called warrant clinic, one in a series of nationwide events that aims to address active warrants, usually those tied to outstanding traffic violations and misdemeanors. The periodic one-day events can be life-changing. People with lifted warrants can get back a driver’s license. They can apply for jobs. They can seek services that help with housing and food insecurity. They can also vote. “We are adding capacity to the justice system,” said Anza Becnel, the creator of the warrant clinics and the founder and executive director of Growing Real Alternatives Everywhere (GRAE), a nonprofit that helps organize the clinics. “We are adding capacity to things that we’ve identified that the community needs.”
Click through for more. If you didn’t realize this was a problem … you’re not alone … and you’re probably white.

Food For Thought

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Video Thread 5/16/2023

 Posted by at 12:09 pm  Open Thread, Politics
May 162023
 

Glenn Kirschner – Republican billionaire & Clarence Thomas’s bestie Harlan Crow says he won’t provide info to Senate

MSNBC – Fred Guttenberg on gun control: ‘stop listening to the liars’

Ring of Fire – DeSantis Hit With Lawsuit Over Bogus ‘Election Fraud’ Arrests

Parody Project – Should Old Offenses Be Forgot?

Rescue Kitten Begs To Go To Sleep So She Can Snuggle Her Dad In The Morning

Beau – Let’s talk about a Tuberville quote and readiness….

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Video Thread 5/13/2023

 Posted by at 12:14 pm  Open Thread, Politics
May 132023
 

Glenn Kirschner – Trump’s incriminating statements at CNN town hall WILL be used against him at trial

MSNBC – Tuberville on white nationalists in the military: ‘I call them Americans’

Thom Hartmann – Can Impeaching Clarence Thomas Save America From Corruption?

Rocky Mountain Mike – Hello Carlson

Grandpa Is Smitten With His New Puppy

Beau – Let’s talk about everything on the table with SCOTUS….

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Open Thread April 30, 2023

 Posted by at 6:00 am  Open Thread, Personal, Politics
Apr 302023
 

Yesterday, the radio opera was “Peter Grimes” by Benjamin Britten. It’s based on a poem by George Crabbe (1754-1832) called “The Borough.” It is also one of two operas I would never take Virgil to or even let him liisten to, despite the fact that he learned to love opera almost as much as I do – and not just the ones considered easy to like, but also some baroque and 20th/21st century stuff (“Tea: A Mirror of Soul” composed in 2002 by Tan Dun is probably his all time favorite). Rather, it’s because they contain or allude to conduct which could be abusive directed at a young boy. The other is “Amahl and the Night Visitors” – such a sweet opera, if you can only get around that one thing. Certainly, if there is a villain in either one, it is intended to be society (that’s more explicit in “Peter Grimes” but also I think true of “Amahl.”) Peter is a fisherman, and is an outsider, and “an ordinary, weak person who, being at odds with the society in which he finds himself, tries to overcome it and, in doing so, offends against the conventional code,” as described by the tenor who originated the role. He’s intended to be sympthetic. But – there are those dead apprentices. People who don’t know opera may still be a little familiar with this one through Brtitten’s “Four Sea Interludes,” orchestral peces which describe some of the many moods if the ocean. The title tenor role is sufficiently demanding, both vocally and dramatically, that many who play it are known as Wagnerian “heldentonors.” The tenor today is British, and a Britten specialist, and is certainly built lke a heldentenor (of course there are exceptions.) He’s little known outside of the UK (which I predict will change) but has won numerous awards there.

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Short Takes –

Daily Beast – Pro-War Russians Duped Into Torching Kremlin Military Offices
Quote – Throughout Russia’s war against Ukraine, baffling reports of Russian pensioners trying to set military enlistment offices on fire have emerged with amusing frequency. But they’re not what you may think. Seen at first glance by some as brave protests against the war, the string of bizarre arsons have actually been part of a now widespread scheme in which scammers convince the confused pensioners they’re on a secret mission to help the war effort.
Click through for story. Our MAGAt problem is so obvious, and so severe, that it’s easy to forget that these people are not confined to the United States. They are all over the world.

The Project on Government Oversight, in the person of its President, Danielle Brian, testified before the Senate Armed SErvices Committee last week. Being on their mailinglst I received an email afterwards, including links to the testimony itself.
Quote (from email) – The testimony was especially topical as it was reported just this week that the former director of the National Security Agency took on a $700,000 contract as a cybersecurity adviser for Saudi Arabia, a nation notorious for its human-rights violations. With close to 700 former high-ranking government officials now working for major defense contractors and over 500 former servicemembers working for foreign interests, closing the lucrative revolving door and pipeline is a matter of utmost urgency.
You can click through to the video of the event (the hearing begins between 17:30 and 17:40 with ELizabeth Warren. At 27:32 Rick Scott starts speaking. At 32:17 Wilkerson’s testimony begins. At 37:23 Brian begins. I’m afraid I didn’t follow past that, so there may be some back and forth). Alternatively, you can access the written testimony as presented to the comittee, or the transcript on the POGO site (they have the same content but the POGO page has larger type and more visual spacing.) The problems addressed are of long standing, It’s good that they are being discussed at this level.

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Open Thread April 9, 2023

 Posted by at 7:00 am  Open Thread, Personal, Politics
Apr 092023
 

Yesterday, the radio opera was Puccini’s “Tosca,” an opera which strikes very close to home in multiple circumstances … including the circumstances the United States is currently in politically (and legally.) The title character is a beautiful, celebrated, passionate, insecure, and rather naive singer who is in love with the tenor, a political activist. The chief of police, the de facto dictator (at least of the city), who is such a jerk that Napoleon looks good to the activists, has the hots for her. He also knows her lover, Mario, is an activist, and therefore wants him dead for both reasons. There is torture, there is extortion, there is desperation, and by the end of the opera all three are dead. It’s quite a trip. It wasn’t the first opera I saw live, but I was quite young when I saw it first – about 18. It was on a Saturday. The previous evening, I had been to a get-together with the professors and other students in the Classics Department (my major.) One graduate student was kind of pushing me to accept an alcoholic drink (but I had driven to the occasion, and would have to drive home), and at one point he said, “Don’t you want to be happy?” I replied, “I am happy already,” “What?” he replied. “How dare you be happy without artificial means?” It was funny, and we both laughed, but it wasn’t so funny the next day when he had been found a suicide. I learned about it maybe an hour before I was to leave for the opera with the friend who had invited me. It really hit home. To this day I cannot see or hear or think about “Tosca” without remembering. I also can’t help loving “Tosca.”

Cartoon –

Short Takes –

Crooks and Liars – ‘You Bet!’: Peter Doocy Taken To The Woodshed By John Kirby
Quote – “Proud of the fact that we got more than 124,000 people safely out of Afghanistan? You bet,” Kirby shot back. “Proud of the fact that American troops were able to seize control of a defunct airport and get it operational in 24 hours? You bet. Proud of the fact that we now have about 100,000 Afghans, our former allies and partners, living in this country and working toward citizenship? You bet!”
Click through. there’s a video if tou can stand Doocy’s voice – I can’t. I’m sharing this for John Kirby’s remarks. For an operation which was deliberately set up – by Trump** – to fail, there is indeed a lot to be proud of.

Democratic Underground (littlemisssmartypants) – A “brilliant story about…JustinPearson” from Tennessee.
Quote – When I was a young organizer, we would often sit in [Memphis City Schools] board meetings…. This particular night I noticed a young man who was sitting and waiting to speak…. Once he got to the podium the room completely shifted…. He challenged the Board to answer for why they had such low expectations for his school and his community…. That kid is an adult now and that adult just got expelled from our house floor making national news….
Click through for the full story. I’m not crying, you’re crying. If they hold special elections, his district – both districts – should vote them back in and keep doing so as long as necessary. And then elect both to Congress (Along with Gloria Johnson.)

Food For Thought

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Video Thread 3/28/2023

 Posted by at 12:09 pm  Open Thread, Politics
Mar 282023
 

Glenn Kirschner – NY DA Bragg dismisses IN A TWEET Jim Jordan’s latest attempt to interfere in NY prosecution of Trump

Politics Girl – Trump is just like us

MSNBC – GOP reps treated jailed Jan. 6 defendants ‘like celebrities’ says Rep. Garcia

Robert Reich – We Need to Make Banking Boring Again

Gander thinks woman is his wife

Beau – Let’s talk about the Navy renaming ships….

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Open Thread for December 17, 2021

 Posted by at 6:52 am  Open Thread, Personal, Politics
Dec 172021
 

Yesterday, I found the missing item from yesterday’s package, and contacted the supplier to ask about paying for the extra one. They said just keep it with their compliments. Virgil called (as he generally does several times a week – I usually don’t mention it) and asked whether I’m coming this weekend, and I told him no, I’m coming on Christmas, and he was all twitterpated. Bless his heart, his short term memory is virtually zero. And the TBI was 57 years aho.

Cartoon – (Theme song by Danny Elfman)

Short Takes

Mother Jones – Congress Agreed on Drastic Military Sexual Assault Reform. Then “Four Men Behind Closed Doors” Got Their Hands On It
Quote – With the exception of Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand, Democratic women lawmakers and survivor advocacy groups have widely praised the final bill, which will pass as part of this year’s National Defense Authorization Act, as a significant step toward making the military court system fairer. In a statement, Rep. Jackie Speier (D-Calif.), called the reforms “the most significant since the creation of the Uniform Code of Military Justice in 1950.” The reforms amount to a “sea change” in how the military approaches sexual assault cases…. “This is huge,” says retired Col. Don Christensen, the former chief prosecutor for the U.S. Air Force and the president of Protect Our Defenders, a nonprofit advocating for military justice system reform. “But,” he adds, “it’s also a missed opportunity.”
Click through for story. I know, I’m upset with Senator Gillibrand too over Al Franken. But she – and, more to the point, all the women in the military – didn’t deserve this.

ProPublica – What’s Polluting the Air? Not Even the EPA Can Say.
Quote – The only reason I’d heard about the issue at the Portland plant was because my colleagues Lylla Younes and Al Shaw, who have been reporting on toxic air since 2019, spent the past year calculating the cancer risks posed by industrial air polluters across the entire country. Their first-of-its-kind analysis of the EPA’s modeled data initially found that Portland — despite its reputation as an eco-friendly, farm-to-table mecca — was home to one of the worst hot spots of cancer-causing air in the country, all because of a single plant’s emissions.
Click through for details. Pro Publica is on fire this last month or so. Please also check this map (enter your Zip Code) – unless, of course you don’t want to know whether you are endangered by your air.

The 19th – Soledad O’Brien and Natalie Wilson show how quickly missing Black women are discounted
Quote – A simple classification really changes the narrative. I mean, think about if you see a missing person’s flyer: If you see “missing” or if you see “runaway,” which one would act on or pay attention to? Definitely not the one that says “runaway,” because you’re under the impression that the person left voluntarily. So, we really need to look at policies and procedures and training of law enforcement officials regarding sensitivity and cultural [understanding].
Click through for more. There’s a fair amount of repeating the same points in different words here, which I think is an effort to do whatever it takes to beat the reality into peopl’s brains. So sad that this is needed … but it is.

Food For Thought:

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