Sep 162021
 

Yesterday, I discovered that Bob Woodward’s new book, “Peril” (co-written with Robert Costa), is so packed with bombshells that I’m not going to be able to cover it properly. And it’s not even out until next week. I’m sure to be making allusions to it from time to time, though. Especially in the video thread.  But the high point of the day was seeing a dear friend who picks up for me the one prescription I can’t get delivered.  Thanks to the pandemic, including now Delta, that’s the only way I get to see her.

Cartoon –

Short Takes –

HuffPost – QAnon Followers Threaten Hospital After Outspoken COVID Denier Dies Of COVID
Quote – Lin Wood — a far-right attorney Twitter permanently banned earlier this year after he predicted the execution of then-Vice President Mike Pence by firing squad — seized upon [Veronica] Wolski’s hospitalization to boost his own publicity. He used social media to urge his followers to contact staff at the hospital and demand Wolski be treated with ivermectin. Hundreds of people have since called and emailed the hospital, according to NBC Chicago. Some have threatened violence. In a post on Telegram after Wolski’s death, Wood told his followers they had a “responsibility” to stop “medical murders” and to “go to war.” Hospital staff reportedly called the police in response to bomb threats.
Click through for details. Sigh. “The party of personal responsibility” strikes again.

Crooks and Liars – Alabama Man Dies After 43 Hospitals With Full ICUs Turned Him Away
Quote – A reminder, if one were even needed at this point, that with all these COVID patients in ICU beds across the country resources are stretched to their limit. In Alabama things are especially dire, as they no longer have any ICU beds. When Ray DeMonia suffered his cardiac event they searched in vain for an ICU bed for him, finally finding one in Mississippi. But it was too late.
Click through for story. It’s a little cooloer as I type this, but it’s not cold enough for me to be cool with my blood boiling.

The Hill – Trump’s 2020 gains in rural America offset by Biden’s urban dominance
Quote – “We’re becoming more diverse, we’re becoming more urban, and most of that is happening outside of places Trump won,” said William Frey, a senior demographer at the Brookings Institution. “Even though Trump did better than he did in 2016 in some of those bigger places, the groups he was getting are shrinking parts of those populations.”
Click through for more. I would point out, first, that this data is based on the last election, and secondly, that if we don’t have voting laws in place nationwide that provide for actual majority rule, it doesn’t much matter.

Food for Thought –

Also, for those observing Yo Kippur, may the fast be easy and the day blessed.

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Sep 062021
 

Yesterday, I dealt with the package from saturday which contained crafting supplies.. No, I didn’t make all the crafts, but I did get stuff put awaw. The other package was a small electronic with which I am still dealing. And rested.

Cartoon –

And, of course, I wish all a

Short Takes –

Crooks and Liars – Democrats Should Be Fighting The Next War, Not The Last One
Quote – Here’s my unpopular opinion: Getting angry at Susan Collins now is a waste of time. Okay, sure, get angry. But don’t fight the last war. We had a chance to defeat Collins in 2020, and we blew it, badly. She won by 9 points. She’s not up for reelection for another five years.
Click through for what do do instead. At least some of it. There’s probebly something in your own state which is also more constructive.

Washington Post – One tactic to stop abortion bounty hunters from demolishing women’s constitutional rights
Quote – When thinking about Texas’s nefarious scheme to deprive women of their constitutional right to seek an abortion, I am reminded of the tactics White segregationists used in the years following the Brown v. Board of Education decision…. In the case of Texas’s antiabortion law, state lawmakers know that Roe v. Wade remains the law of the land, establishing a woman’s right under the 14th Amendment to control her own reproduction. So they came up with the idea to enlist private citizens to rat out women exercising their constitutional rights. They offered these people a bounty of $10,000. Think of them as hiring every Texas resident (and residents outside the state!) on a contract basis to make abortion services virtually impossible to obtain.
Click through to the Washington Post for the full editorial, or click through to Democratic Underground for a larger excerpt. I was paywalled out of the Post myself, so I’m supplying both links.

Law & Crime – Biden Will Declassify FBI Documents on Saudi Arabia’s Role in 9/11 Terrorist Attacks — Here’s What the Order Says
Quote – “When I ran for president, I made a commitment to ensuring transparency regarding the declassification of documents on the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks on America,” a press release announcing the executive order notes. “As we approach the 20th anniversary of that tragic day, I am honoring that commitment.”
Click through for details and context. Another step in the direction of transparency – and something to look forward to.

Food for Thought –

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