Open Thread February 13, 2023

 Posted by at 6:57 am  Open Thread, Personal, Politics
Feb 132023
 

Yesterday, Virgil and I had a good visit, even without cards. He is still dreaming things and thinking they happened, but if he starts to tell me about one, he now often catches himself up and says, “Oh, never mind.” And he did remember a few things that actually did happen, such as when a former boss of mine (whom we both adores) died – doing what she loved – rock climbing in Mexico. We were the only table for a couple of hours, but then gradually five others received visits. A couple of them left before I did, but the other three were still there when I left – at just the right time to minimize the sunset hindering me. There are some windows in the room, and they face roughly west. Their light on the floor gradually moves as the sun does, and eventually starts climbing up the wall, and acts as a makeshift sundial. When the top corner reaches a certain height, it’s time to leave. (If there isn’t sun, it doesn’t make as much difference when I leave because the sun won’t distract me if it can’t be seen.) Congratulations to Nameless on his team’s win (even though it still has an insensitive mascot. ;-)) After I got back and started looking around, I realized that Ohio is having an environmental catastrophe after a train derailment – near East Palestine – and I hope Spy Kat isn’t anywhere near it. Spy, I see you’ve been by (thanks for the upvotes) and I hope that means you’re fine and not in danger. On a happier note, Stevie van Zandt sent Jamie Raskin a gift – check this out.

Cartoon –

Short Takes –

Civil Discourse – Who Weaponized the Federal Government?
Quote – Yes, this subcommittee was a product of the “compromise” a desperate Kevin McCarthy struck to get the votes he needed to win the speakership on the 15th ballot. That’s apparent. But we need to understand the purpose the members who negotiated for its existence had in mind for it. We’ve already established it’s not about responsible governance. It’s purely performative. The goal seems to be producing a series of video clips and social media posts that Republicans can use for gotcha, for campaigning, and to advance fake claims that will only serve to push the country further into two opposing camps. It’s about writing bumper stickers and own-the-libs punchlines. Look no further than the fact that Fox News didn’t carry the hearing live. It’s all about some 60-second clips where Jordan and friends will be free to harpoon Democrats in a fact-free environment.
Click through for the details of her premise. While mostly obvious to us, it needs to be shouted from the rooftops. I do want to make one tiny correction – Stacey Plaskett of the Virgin Islands is not a Congresswoman but a delegate (USVI is not a state). She doesn’t have a vote on legislation. I presume she does on the committee, and in any case she has a voice – a strong one.

(New York magazine) The Cut – Misty Copeland on Becoming a Mom, Writing a Memoir, and Returning to the Stage
Quote – The self-doubt that comes with the responsibility of being the first, going onstage and performing these roles — Raven Wilkinson dealt with it herself, right before she left the Ballet Russe de Monte Carlo. She was being told by Nina Novak, who was the principal ballerina in the company, that her time pretty much was up. She was never going to be the White Swan. That’s just not a role for Black women. That was ingrained in us as Black women in the ballet world. So when I was given the opportunity to do Swan Lake, it was like this ancestral trauma that I’m bringing with me — this responsibility that if I don’t live up to these standards, what will that mean for future Black dancers taking on this role? Will they be given the opportunity, or will I be the reason not? All of these things were going through my head.
Click through for the rest of today’s Black History moment. I’m not a huge ballet fan, but I do admire Misty, and I’ve missed hearing/reading about her. (The first FFT is the cover of the children’s book she wrote – and the second is tips on how to use that.)

Food For Thought

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Open Thread February 12, 2023

 Posted by at 7:20 am  Open Thread, Personal, Politics
Feb 122023
 

Yesterday, the opera was a double bill – Cavalleria Rusticana and I Pagliacci, by Mascagni and Leoncavallo respectively. One is one act (though I could make a case for it being in two scenes; there is no intermission, but there is an instrumental interlude) and the other is in two acts. They are so often perfomred together the duo is known to opera lovers as “Cav and Pag.” There have been some efforts to pair one or the other with something else, but while no audience ever spit in their eyes, none has been successful enough for anyone to try to repeat any of them. Both are from the early 20th century, both are in the style called “verismo,” and both exemplify my quip “Opera – sex, betrayal, murder – what’s not to like?” (And, now that I think of it, in both it is the cheating partner on the receiving end of the knife.) They were played from a single recorded historical performance, the only matinee that Bernstein ever conducted. I’m not sure why that’s so – it wasn’t that he didn’t like opera – he wrote more than one himself, and the recording of his conducting Carmen with Marilyn Horne and James McCracken is legendary. I’d guess he probably just preferred evenings. I can definitely see that. If you leave after a matinee performance, even if it ends as late as 5 ot 6, there is still a fair amount of day ahead of you in which the spell can be broken. The leading singers are again legendary (which makes sense – there are so many recordings in the Met archives, why look for one without legends when there are so many with them?) I don’t really want to start on them; there’s way too much to say, and I need instead to share first, that here is my Superb Owl for the day – this one because he is a ring made from precious stones and precious metals – how could he not be superb? And secondly, that I chose two Colorado stories for today, and at least one of them is not intense. (Also, I promise to greet Virgil from everyone and to check in upon return.)

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Short Takes –

The Daily Beast – How an FBI Informant Derailed Denver’s BLM Movement
Quote – “If you post something, a story about me saying supposedly I work for the FBI, I will sue the shit out of you,” Windecker told Aaronson in a voicemail. “I will take you to court and I will break you off in court for defamation of character and slander. I have already notified my attorney about this. My previous landlord notified me and sent me these papers that you put on the old door that I used to live at, stating that I work for the FBI. I do not work for the FBI. I’ve never worked for the FBI. You get proof of me working for the FBI, then I’ll say otherwise, but there’s no proof because I didn’t work for them.” Presented with documents and recordings that showed his work for the FBI, Windecker stopped responding to Aaronson.
Click through for story. I could make the point that in the summer of 2020 this was Trump**’s FBI – but the fact is, there are Nazis everywhere in law enforcement, even when there are sane people at the top.

Colorado Public Radio – ‘Loving nature drove the success of my photography’: John Fielder on donating his life’s legacy to History Colorado
Quote – The 72-year-old Fielder is now donating a gift of the best of those photographs to the state he has called home for nearly half a century. He is giving his life’s work to History Colorado and thus to the people of Colorado. It will be free for anyone who wants to see Fielder’s work digitally. It will also be part of rotating displays at History Colorado. Fielder’s gift includes more than 5,000 photos he selected from his vast trove. It also includes reams of narratives that are part of his 50 books, along with oral narratives explaining what it took to capture some of those photos and Fielder’s thoughts on what drew him to special places. Some of the equipment it took to get there, as well as some of his photography apparatus, will also be part of the display.
Click through for background and a breathtaking sample. Fielder is giving his legacy to Colorado, and I want to pass it on to all of you. The destination site is still under construction, but save the link for when it becomes available.

Food For Thought

“Rocky Mountain elk in the aspens, Arapaho National Forest” by John Fielder.

 

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Open Thread February 11, 2023

 Posted by at 6:50 am  Open Thread, Personal, Politics
Feb 112023
 

Yesterday, after reading about this development in Jackson County, MS, I decided it was time to resurrect and update a joke I first heard in somewhere around 1967. (If anyone has any fine tuning ideas before I start making it into a meme, I’m listening.) Anyway, it seems a brand new college graduate was trying to figure out how to get ahead the fastest, when he came upon an internet ad for BrainZinc, a company selling brains. So he sent off an email to ask what kind of brains were available, and what price range.
From: BrainZinc To: NewGrad Just about any kind of brains. For instance, teachers’ brains are $45.00 a pound.
From: NewGrad To: BrainZinc That sounds reasonable. Do you have small business owners’ brains?
From: BrainZinc To: NewGrad Of course. Those run $90.00 a pound.
From: NewGrad To: BrainZinc Golly. Maybe I can afford something even a little better. Do you carry billionaires’ brains?
From: BrainZinc To: NewGrad Yes. Those run $10,000.00 an ounce.
From: NewGrad To: BrainZinc Ouch. Are they really that much better?
From: BrainZinc To: NewGrad No, it’s just that we have to put so many billionaires together before we come up with an ounce of brains.

A Black History event – the Theater of War presented on Zoom, and recorded, “The Frederick Douglass Project” and it’s now available on YouTube. The presentation portion comprises Keith David performing a speech delivered by Frederick Douglass at the National Convention of Colored Men in Louisville, Kentucky on September 24, 1883. After that there is community discussion, which can also be very revealing, but I’d call it optional. So don’t get scared off by the length. There is CC.

For anyone who plays cards with real cards, Banana Republic Cards has a satirical deck with TFG as the Joker and featuring 52 useful idiots. there’s a discount code, bananas!elPresidente45theflusherking, good for $5 off per pack up to 3 packs, through Thursday 2/16.

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Short Takes –

Mother Jones – The Website That Wants You to Kill Yourself—and Won’t Die
Quote – Most websites aren’t known for having a “kill count.” Kiwi Farms is. Its victims reportedly include Julie Terryberry, who in 2016 took her life after being targeted by users of the site. Two years later, after years of harassment from Kiwi Farms trolls, Chloe Sagal lit herself on fire in a public park. In June 2021, an American video game developer based in Japan, named David Ginder, took their life amid a campaign of Kiwi Farms abuse.
Click through for story. The site has been removed from Cloudflare, but it isn’t over.

Civil Discourse – They wanted to take down the power grid. Now they’re facing federal charges.
Quote – There is a long history of domestic terror in this country, much of it centered around white supremacist groups like the KKK that committed acts of violence to preserve what they saw as their way of life. That history includes people like Timothy McVeigh and Terry Nichols, who wanted to topple the government and set off the Oklahoma City bomb that killed 168 people, including 19 children, injuring several hundred more. It includes Richard Poplawski, a white supremacist with anti-government leanings, who gunned down three police officers in Pittsburgh. It includes Eric Robert Rudolph, responsible for three bombings in Atlanta, including one at Olympic Park and others at LGBTQ clubs, as well as one at a Birmingham, Alabama, abortion clinic that killed an off-duty policy officer. The shooting deaths of nine people at Mother Emanuel AME Church in South Carolina. The deadly protest in Charlottesville. And it includes hundreds of others, both familiar names and acts, and lesser-known ones. But the point is, domestic terror is a pervasive problem in modern-day America, and instead of treating each crime as a one-off incident, it’s time to address it systemically, in the same way law enforcement  attacked foreign terror after 9/11.

Click through for details.This may be the end of this incident, but it’s very likely the start of a trend. Beau of the Fifth Column (whose videos appears on our Video Thread – not all of them as he makes three to four a day) is recommending that everyone in the US – literally everyone – prepare for an nearby attack as one would prepare for a natural disaster – evacuation plans, a bag packed in advance, deciding in advance where to evacuate to, etc.

Food For Thought

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Open Thread February 10, 2023

 Posted by at 7:08 am  Open Thread, Personal, Politics
Feb 102023
 

Yesterday, I placed and received a grocery order. I had tried to place it the night before, but I couldn’t get the site to take my substitution instructions, and this morning was no better. So I switched stores, and got the order placed (not identical because there are things each carries that the other doesn’t – but close enough.) It had snowed, and it was pretty cold – there was wind, which would blow flakes around, but wasn’t going to help if the snow had gotten heavy by freezing up. Oh well, today and he next few days should be much warmer, and it will be mostly gone for Sunday when I go to see Virgil. Also, if you want to learn more about “the balloon,” other balloons, and what we were able to learn from this one, Heather Cox Richardson has more information that I expect the main stream media to present … since some brain cells are required to digest it all, and the MSM doesn’t generally cater to folks who have those.

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Short Takes –

Crooks and Liars – Not Just Ginni: John Roberts’ Wife Prompts SCOTUS Ethics Questions
Quote – According to the letter, [Kendal] Price [a co-worker of Mrs. Roberts] was fired in 2013 and sued the firm, as well as Mrs. Roberts and another executive, over his dismissal. He lost the case, but the litigation produced documents that he sent to Congress and the Justice Department, including spreadsheets showing commissions attributed to Mrs. Roberts early in her headhunting career, from 2007 to 2014. Mrs. Roberts, according to a 2015 deposition in the case, said that a significant portion of her practice was devoted to helping senior government lawyers land jobs at law firms and that the candidates’ names were almost never disclosed.
Click through for details, which are not as dramatic as those surrounding the Thomases, but are every bit as unethical.

The Nib – Black and Red
Quote – [W]hen the Bolsheviks took power… America’s northern cities saw themselves transformed by the arrival of the black proletariat…. At least 500,000 black southerners migrated north between 1914 ans 1920.
Click through for graphic article. The title refers to black people and red politics (before the right commandeered the color red.)

Food For Thought

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Open Thread February 9, 2023

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

Yesterday, of course, I received many emails including or linking to post mortems on the State of the Union address. Just about all of the ones I saw were highly of favorable. Robert Reich’s was reserved for paid subscribers, and in advance of the address he had expressed a wish to hear something which Joe did not say, so I’ll be looking for a more public message from him. I picked the one from the New Yorker, not because it was necessarily the most insightful, but because it speaks from an unusual angle. See what you think. The weather prediction was for snow last night – not a long storm but fairly heavy while it lasted. We shall see.  (I did manage to get trash and recyclables to the curb, BTW.)

Cartoon – 09 Quincy RTL

Short Takes –

Democratic Underground (True Dough) – Tricks that Cops use
Quote – I have been taught to yell “stop resisting” and “drop your weapon” after firing a gun, because bystanders will remember you said it and their memory will automatically reverse the order of these events to make it make sense. Their tstimony will support yours, because of this.
Click through for thread. Yes, it’s a Twitter thread, but it has been posted as screen shots, not as an embed, so no one should have any difficulty seeing it, and it’s extremely revealing. As are many of the comments.

The New Yorker – Joe Biden, Once Again, Lucks Out with His Enemies
Quote – Biden, it seemed, had carefully prepared for their antics. Had he scripted their reaction, he could not have asked for a better foil than Marjorie Taylor Greene, the former QAnon promoter who flirts with white supremacy. Greene arrived for the State of the Union dressed for the TV cameras in an all-white fur-trimmed outfit that made her seem like a villain in a Disney movie. “Liar!” she stood and shouted at Biden, after he accused some members of her party of wanting to “sunset” Medicare and Social Security in the name of fiscal discipline. Unfazed, Biden challenged her and the others who were jeering him to prove that Republicans did not actually support such a thing. When they then rose to their feet to applaud, alongside Democrats, his pledge not to cut either Medicare or Social Security, Biden claimed it as a victory for the bipartisan dealmaking that he wants to be remembered for. “We got unanimity!” he exulted.
Click thrugh for full opinion. Of course, speech writers are largely responsible for the wroding of any Presidental address. But there was a good deal which was unscripted in theis one. For some of them, alternatives may have been pre-planned depending on the audience. But not for all. We have a President who can think on his feet under pressure.

Food For Thought

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Open Thread February 8, 2023

 Posted by at 6:55 am  Open Thread, Personal, Politics
Feb 082023
 

Yesterday, President Biden delivered the 2023 State of the Union address. For the first time, the mother of a black person shot and killed by police was present. Today the 19th has the story. Until I can get the link up, here’s the link to the back story. In case it takes me too long, here’s the link to The 19th front page, where it will surely be included.  I did watch the speech live.  I was a little surprised at how wek=ll the Republicans behaved – not 100% courteous, but at least they didn’t riot or do anything physical.  There were certainly some very touching stories.  Joe of course was 100% polite.  I thought he did well at hitting his accomplishments.  I hope it sinks in.  I didn’t hang around the the Republican response.  I was abit wrung out by the speech, plus I had a pretty good idea what she was going to say.

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Short Takes –

Crooks & Liars – Hunter Biden Goes On Offense, Demands Rudy Get ‘Laptop’ Probe
Quote – Among the letters, which were obtained by NBC News, was one sent … asking the Justice Department’s National Security Division for an investigation into “individuals for whom there is considerable reason to believe violated various federal laws in accessing, copying, manipulating, and/or disseminating Mr. Biden’s personal computer data,” including Rudy Giuliani, who was Trump’s lawyer at the time.
Click through for story. C&L basically says “It’s about time.” I would suggest that the action coming now was prompted by the fact that the House is now in a position to take action, as opposed to just spreading disinformation, so now it’s necessary. And I might add, just think how strong a person has to be to ignore all that crap for so long.

The New Yorker – Sending Help Instead of the Police in Albuquerque
Quote – In the southeastern corner of Albuquerque, near a wide mountain pass that opens onto an expanse of arid high plains, Sean Martin and Isaiah Curtis drove toward a Blake’s Lotaburger, a regional fast-food chain. Behavioral-health workers with Albuquerque Community Safety, a new city department, they respond to calls, mostly from 911, about nonviolent crises involving mental health, homelessness, or substance use. A.C.S. responders are trained to connect people from some of the city’s most vulnerable populations with professional help. In doing so, they also reduce those residents’ interactions with local law-enforcement agencies, which in recent years have had the second-highest fatal-shooting rate among major American cities.
Click through for details. THIS is the kind of police reform – defunding if you will, but actually reallocation of funding – that we have been agitating for. It’s been a pleasure watching New Mexico turn bluer after having Susanna Martinez for Governor (sort of like having Jeanine Pirro for Governor.) There are steps back of course, but the trend is positive.

Food For Thought

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Open Thread February 7, 2023

 Posted by at 7:08 am  Open Thread, Personal, Politics
Feb 072023
 

Yesterday, “Choose Love” managed to get a donation request ou for Turkish and Syrian victims of the earthquake. I’m not on their mailing list (at least I wasn’t), so they must have worked with other groups to get it out so fast, and therefore you may also have received it. In case you didn’t and want to help, here’s a link. I went from there by clicking on the logo to a page which has an “About us” link which provides some credentioals, including the number by which they are registered as a charity in the U.S., so anyone who is dubious can investigate further. OXFAM also came though with a request.  Tonight, of course, is the State of the Union address. I plan to watch it, but if you don’t wish to, or aren’t able to, Robert Reich’s prediction is a short take today.

Cartoon –

Short Takes –

Robert Reich – The state of Joe Biden’s union: The return to democratic capitalism
Quote – America’s postwar industrial policy spurred innovation. The Department of Defense and its Defense Advanced Research Projects Administration developed satellite communications, container ships, and the internet. The National Institutes of Health did trailblazing basic research in biochemistry, DNA, and infectious diseases…. Large corporations sought to be responsive to all their stakeholders — not just shareholders but employees, consumers, the communities where they produced goods and services, and the nation as a whole.
Click through for full opinion. Benjamin Franklin’s warning – “if you can keep it” – comtinues to echo through my mind.

The New Yorker – The Hunt for Russian Collaborators in Ukraine
Quote – The most obvious cases are those in which a person took up arms against Ukrainian forces or was involved in spying or sabotage to aid the Russian war effort. But assessing culpability can get murky at the level of local governance. “We’re looking for people who worked for the benefit of the Russian occupation,” Kravchenko told me. “But does that apply to a welder or carpenter who maintained buildings or equipment for the occupiers? Or people responsible for critical infrastructure?” There wasn’t an easy answer or policy, he said.
Click through for story. At least we didn’t have to get bombed and invaded before finding ourselves in the situation of having to wonder whether our friends, family, and beighbors are collaborators.

Food For Thought

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Open Thread February 6, 2023

 Posted by at 7:07 am  Open Thread, Personal, Politics
Feb 062023
 

Yesterday, it was pretty quiet – until late last night, when there was (literally) earthshaking news – from Turkey ans Syria.  To quote Heather Cox Richardson, ”

A deadly 7.8 magnitude earthquake in Turkey late tonight has caused damage in Syria, and was felt in Lebanon, and Israel, as well. It has collapsed buildings, sparked fires in ruptured gas lines, and prompted Italian authorities to warn of potential tsunami waves. Aftershocks, including one of 6.7 magnitude and another of 5.6, have continued to hit in the wake of the first quake. Millions of refugees from Syria’s civil war and internally displaced persons live in the region of the epicenter, in tents and other temporary housing.  It is winter there.”  Winter in the Mediterranean is not the same as winter in the Colorado Rockies, but it is still no picnic.  At least our President is on top of it.

Cartoon –

Short Takes –

Crooks & Liars – With A One-Word Answer, Maxine Waters Startles GOP ‘Colleague’
Quote – “You can’t condemn socialism?” Reschenthaler said. “In your opening remarks, you were talking about Putin, Kim Jong Un and Xi. You know what they all have in common, right?” “Trump,” Waters said.
Click through. Auntie Maxine – making Black History since 1938

The 19th – Two years in, Biden has prioritized nominating women of color as judges
Quote – While Jackson’s historic confirmation was the most visible sign of systemic change in the judiciary, the president has prioritized diversity throughout the federal court system. Biden’s judicial appointees are the most diverse of any U.S. president to date in terms of race, gender and professional background. Of the judges appointed by Biden in the past two years, 75 percent are women, 47 percent are women of color and 67 percent are people of color.
Click through for details. Few white people are in a position to make Blck History – and of those few, most don’t (or do it wrong.) I’m pretty sure Joe doesn”t expect (or care about) being named in Black HIstory. He’s just doing the right thing.

Food For Thought

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