Open Thread July 18, 2022

 Posted by at 7:21 am  Open Thread, Personal, Politics
Jul 182022
 

Yesterday, I got to see Virgil. I got to the facitity a coupe of minutes after the – I don’t think this is what they call it – but I’ll say screening time started (11:30). We fill out forms (if we haven’t done so at home), get searched, turn over our driver’s licenses and car keys and receive a numbered brass disc for a receipt, then go through two electronically locked gates, go into the main building, ago and go theough two electronically locked doors to the visitng room – where I arrived at just about 12:00, which is when visitation itself starts. Virgil was asleep at the time, and between waking him up and getting him to the visitation room with his walker, it was about 12:30. (If I had a nickel for every time he has been asleep when I got there for a visit – well, I wouldn’t be rich, but I’d have maybe $10.00.) I passed on all wished, including the ones I didn’t see till I got home but knew they were coming, and he was appreciative. The next time I see him he will have turned 79. He never expected to live that long. Only one of his six uncles on his mother’s side did, and that was the one who was married to a diabetic (he may even have hit 90 – but at least lived well into his 80’s. But i digress. Coming home I forgot that to go south and west from the facility, I first need to get on the interstate eastbound. So I got a little tour of some odd parts of Denver. Though irritated with myself, I had no trouble staying calm, knowin I was in a triangle of interstates and that it didn’t really matter which I found first – they’d all get me home eventually. It didn’t consume all that much time either – less than a half hour. And I wasn’t going for speed.

Cartoon – If ha had been playing an instrment, that is the one it would have been.  However, he was not in Rome when the fire broke out, and by the time he got there his own home was destroyed – so he certainly didn’t play and sing from his balcony, because it was gone.  He seems to have acted like a conscientious ruler for a white – raising money to help rebuild – but what pissed people off was that he earmarnked far too much of it for his own home instead of theirs.

Short Takes –

PolitiZoom – Fulton County DA Fani Willis Just Took Off The Kid Gloves.Exploding GOP Heads To Follow
Quote – One former federal prosecutor appearing on MSNBC today referred to the target letter by its internal nickname, the heart attack letter. Think about it. A prosecutor has just told you that you are at serious risk of indictment on criminal charges. The letter always reminds the target of his or her 5th Amendment rights, advises them to seek and obtain legal counsel, and carries an oblique reminder that if the target is having a Come to Jesus moment, it’s always the first rat to jump on the government gravy train that gets the most cheese.
Click through for story. This broke Friday evening, and whatever else it is, it is delightful.

Crooks and Liars – Ex-US Attorney Lays Out How To Charge Donald Trump For Manslaughter
Quote – “The other thing that is coming clear to me is there is a potential charge here against Donald Trump for manslaughter,” McQuade said, referring to the seven deaths connected to the Jan. 6 attack. “The other thing that is coming clear to me is there is a potential charge here against Donald Trump for manslaughter,” McQuade said, referring to the seven deaths connected to the Jan. 6 attack. She added: “Knowing that this crowd is armed, he has a duty as the president of the United States, as the commander-in-chief to take care that the laws be faithfully executed, to call off that mob and do everything he can to stop it. Instead, he sits idly by during those 187 minutes.”
Click through for reasoning. I realize at this point prety much no one (incliding me) caress “for what” as much as “how soon” and “how long.”Plus, the more potential charges, the better the likelihood that some will stick.

Food For Thought

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Open Thread July 17, 2022

 Posted by at 6:16 am  Open Thread, Personal, Politics
Jul 172022
 

Yesterday, I had a rather crowded late morning/early afternoon. The radio opera was Vivaldi’s “Bajazet” which I had never heard of, let alone heard, before. However, atthe same time, Theater od War was mounting a Zoom production of Aeschylus’s play “The Suppliant” (an unusual word in English these days – but think “The Refugees”), as a vehicle to jump start a discussion on Ukraine, and with an all-Ukrainian chorus (including a very remarkable 12-year-old girl.) My final decision was to watch the play (and subsequent discussion) but with the opera softly in the background. So I’m not able to share much about the opera. In the end I made the right choice, I think. There was a note that the session was being recoorded – it is not yet posted at their site, but if and when it is I’ll share the link. Also included were three professional actors whose names you migh recognize – David Strathairn (Danaus), Oscar Isaac (Pelasgus), and Willem DaFoe (Aegyptus.)The play dates to the mid-fifth century BCE (450 BCE plus or minus 10) but so much has not changed. One line: “Those who speak in foreign tongues are never fully welcome.) As are all of their productions, it was very moving. On top of all that, I received cinfirmation to visit Virgil today – so I’ll be around even less than usual. But I’ll be in as much as I can.

Cartoon –


I didn’t know who Mola was either. He appears to have been Franco’s Jeff Clark (or Roy Cohn) but he died in an air crash in 1937 and his name disappeared.

Short Takes –

CNN Politics – Why Republicans want to redefine one word in the Constitution
Quote – The Constitution refers specifically to the “legislature” in each state determining the time and manner of federal elections. Backers of the “Independent State Legislature Claim” argue that since the Constitution doesn’t name other parts of state government — including courts — they should have no power to check the legislature on the subject of federal elections. Even if a state’s constitution or laws give power to courts or a governor, the theory argues legislatures should be able to ignore them.
Clck through for full analysis. The case in question is Moore v. Harper. I don’t want to forget that myself, nor do I want any of us to forget it. After it’s decided, we’ll know whether it’s OK to forget it … or whether we eill never forget it, whether we want to or not.

Mother Jones – Don’t Fall into the Collusion Trap on Trump and January 6
Quote – This question is an important one, but it is also a trap. Trump and his comrades have been rather deft at developing a tactic to protect him from charges of profound wrongdoing: They raise the bar. If Trump is caught holding a match outside a burning house, Trump and his defenders will say, “Do you have proof he doused the interior with gasoline? That’s fake news. A hoax.”
Click through for full explanation. Neither the Committee nor prosecutors are IMO likely to fall into this trap, but since public opinion can help or hurt a case, it still matters.

Food For Thought

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Open Thread July 16, 2022

 Posted by at 6:48 am  Open Thread, Personal, Politics
Jul 162022
 

Yesterday, Robert Reich’s column brought up the movie “Casablanca.” I’ll provide the link, but warn that it’s a major hanky alert. He posts a clip of the scene he primarily writes about. He doesn’t say – but may well have thought – if those people could survive, the least we can to today is get out and vote. The full movie is available on YouTube, if you want some tough inspiration. It’s short by today’s standards – but there is so much in it.

Cartoon – 16 0716Cartoon.jpg

Short Takes –

NMPR – Niece of vanished Navajo woman embarks on 2,100-mile walk to call attention to missing and murdered indigenous women crisis
Quote – “It tested our beliefs so bad. Prayers weren’t working. It was so hard. I understand why they didn’t want us looking for remains. If you’re going to actually walk in beauty, you have to let go of things, and when you go back to revisit it, you’re bringing back all that bad stuff. It affects your mind and heart. But then again, for someone to just go and do this to my aunt… How are we going to walk in beauty when someone can just so easily do this?”
Click through for background and interview. This is just one case out of so many. And sadly, law enforcement misfeasance is not confined to tribal police and FBA+I. Thestatistics on unsolved missing/possible homicide cases on all Americans are chilling. I understand why law enforcement doesn’t want to be looked at – but I don’t understand why so many people who claim to want “law and order” don;t want to look.

CNN – Secret Service erased text messages from January 5 and 6, 2021 — after oversight officials asked for them, watchdog says
Quote – “The Committee on Homeland Security received a letter from the DHS Inspector General regarding the Secret Service deleting text messages the Office of Inspector General requested as part of its investigation into the January 6th attack on the Capitol,” Thompson said. “The Committee will be briefed about this extraordinarily troubling destruction of records and respond accordingly.” While the letter does not say whether the DHS watchdog believes these text messages were erased intentionally or for a nefarious reason, the incident adds to growing questions about the Secret Service’s response to the US Capitol attack.
Click through for details. This story has been all over the place since it broke – but thiss is the site and the article that broke it. One thing strikes me as particularly odoriferous: what use is it to have an Inspector General if that person may not review evidence until the agency head has vetted it? Imaginne a CEO telling an auditor, “I think I have an employee who is embezzling, and youcan look at the books as soon as that employee reviews them.”

Food For Thought

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Open Thread July 15, 2022

 Posted by at 6:45 am  Open Thread, Personal, Politics
Jul 152022
 

Yesterday, I woke up with the wasp sting virtually gone. I can still see a tiny mark, but the swelling and the pain are gone. I really dodged a bullet there. I also emailed a request to visit Virgil Sunday. I don’t usually leave it this late … but now thathe is in an informary – that is not normally supposed to be a permanent assignment – he could be moved again at any time and I wouldn’t be told.So I need to track him on line and wait longer than I like to to minimize the chances of his being oved between the time I reserve a visit and the time of the visit itself. It’s no wonder I use a pop-up reminder system with sound to keep track of when I need to do what. )I try to use sounds related to what the reminder is for, but that’s not always possible.) Bottom line, I hope to visit Virgil Sunday, but won’t know for sure until sometime today.

Cartoon – 15 0715Cartoon.jpg

Short Takes –

CPR News – Mesa County DA says he will seek to revoke Clerk Tina Peters’ bond
Quote – Mesa County’s District Attorney Dan Rubinstein said he will seek to revoke the bond of Mesa County Clerk and Recorder Tina Peters after she traveled out of state in violation of her bond. Rubinstein said Peters violated the conditions of her bond when she left for Nevada without permission this week. Peters was speaking at an event with the Constitutional Sheriff and Peace Officers Association.
Click through for what is getting to be a bigger story every day. Apparently there really is no limit to how low Republicans will sink (except those few Republicans, like the DA, who stll have ethics.) And now there’s ben a third arrest.  You might think I’d be a bit embarrassed that this happened in Colorado, but actually, I’m proud it was caught.  Just because it wasn’t caught elsewhere doesn’t mean it didn’t happen.

The 19th – The cost of giving birth with insurance: $2,854, a new study says
Quote – The out-of-pocket costs represent insurance-related bills related to pregnancy, labor and delivery, and postpartum care. The researchers analyzed a dataset of health insurance claims data from 2018 to 2020, comparing women between the ages of 15 and 49 who gave birth to those who didn’t. The data does not account for transgender and nonbinary people who may have given birth. In total, pregnancy and childbirth for someone with private insurance costs about $18,865. Most of that is paid by the insurance plan but can result in higher insurance premiums down the line. So though the $2,853 figure is just one fraction of the overall cost, it represents the bills new parents have to pay on their own for a single birth.
Click through for details. Yes, pre-natal and at least some post-partum care were included. But it’s still ridiculous – the $2,854 figure is just the co-pays. The real figure is betwen $18 and $19 THOUSAND. I’ve never seen ay data on suicides in pregnant people … but I guarantee if I were in that position, it would certainly occur to me.

Food For Thought


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Open Thread July 14, 2022

 Posted by at 7:05 am  Open Thread, Personal, Politics
Jul 142022
 

Yesterday, after a better night’s sleep, I finally caught up on reading and responding to comments here. Apologies for the delay. I wanted to take out trash and recyclables, but I discovered the hard way yhat some wasps had decided the trash polycart was a perfect place to hang out.. I managed to get the trash I had talek out inot the cart by using my critch (which I always take along outdoors for balance, whether I nned it for any other reason or not) to open the lid, but since they were on the side oppisite the handle, and if I had pushed it down to the curb I’d have been pushing it right through thm, I decided discretion was the better part of valor (and they picj up trash every week – it’s recyclables I have to make sure to get the right week for.) To deal with them I will need bug spray, long sleeves, high neck, a mask, and gloves, and that’s not going to happen n the daytime. The sting feels better now (which is an improvement overe the last wasp sting I got – it hurt for days just as badly as it hurt when it happened), but it has swollen some and may not be finished.

Cartoon –

Short Takes –

WaPo (gift link) – Opinion | An expert in political violence urgently warns: The worst is coming
Quote – Greg Sargent: You’ve written that the Republican Party has a “militia problem.” Can you describe it?
Rachel Kleinfeld: For the last few years, we’ve seen an uptick in Republican parties at the local level — though occasionally at the state level — using militias for security at party events, having militias vote on party business, in one case in Michigan having militias introduce legislation. You’re seeing a lot of photo-ops with militia members — things that normalize their interaction with the democratic process. These militias are being used to threaten other Republicans who aren’t part of this antidemocratic faction.
Click through for complete interview (no paywall with the link I have used) I’m worried too. And I don’t have the ghost of a viable suggestion.

The Warning – Steve Schmidt – Arrest Trump
Quote – He must be arrested and charged by the Government of the United States. He must face criminal trial. The era of special treatment for the Queens hustler must come to an end. His appalling dispensations have helped shatter trust and confidence in the American justice system at a moment in which the collapse of faith, trust and belief in American institutions has reached such a dangerous low that extremism has been embraced as an answer…. There are some who say that a trial of Donald Trump may become a catalyst for violence and mayhem. Perhaps. That would be terrible, but in the end, the civil authorities will have to do what is necessary to restore order. The American people must not live at the point of the militia’s gun. We won’t.
Click through for argument. Schmidt knows how to say the quiet part out loud. Let me try my hand at it – every sane American should now be able to comprehend (and empathize with) the feelings of a woman who has been violently raped and whose rapist is still at large.

Food For Thought (a hope rather than a statement –   Ojeda)

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Open Thread July 13, 2022

 Posted by at 6:48 am  Open Thread, Personal, Politics
Jul 132022
 

Yesterday, I of course watched the hearing. It doesn’t appear there will be another this week, but rather probably next week. The last two witnesses today were, I thought, impressive, although who knows what it takes to impress MAGAts. It’s not exactly the Committee’s mission to address political violence in general (as opposed to political violence in the service of Trump**) in the hearings, but I certainly hope it will be addressed as they draft legislation. Political violence at low levels (i.e., without a dominant leader common to the groups involved) can lead to fascismut as surely as a narcissistic ambitious dictator can. Besides the eharing, I didn’t do much else. I did a load of laundry comprising a few sweaters which are machine wash/dry flat and that’s about it.

Cartoon –  This reminds me of an anecdote about a sweet elderly lady who had had massive surgeries bu never lost hersense of humor. She called one of her scars “Market Street.”

Short Takes –

Letters from an American – July 10, 2022
Quote – Democratic president Joe Biden appears to be centering his presidency around the idea of rebuilding the middle class through government investment in ordinary Americans. This is a major shift—a sea change—from the past 40 years of Republican policy saying that the economy would prosper if only the government slashed taxes and regulation, leaving more money and power in the hands of business leaders, those “makers” who would invest in new industries and provide more jobs. Watching the effect of his policies is a window into what works and what doesn’t.
Click through for more, and why ir matters politically.

The 19th – What will happen if Obergefell is overturned? Queer legal experts are scrambling
Quote – A concurring opinion by Justice Clarence Thomas in the Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization case that ultimately overturned Roe indicates he wants to reexamine whether other rights based on substantive due process have been interpreted correctly. “In future cases, we should reconsider all of this Court’s substantive due process precedents,” Thomas wrote. Other opinions written by conservative justices show division over how the court should handle similar civil rights issues in the future.
Click through for more legal thinking. Don’t forget Pastor Niemoller’s famous poem – no one is safe.

Food For Thought

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Open Thread July 12, 2022

 Posted by at 6:41 am  Open Thread, Personal, Politics
Jul 122022
 

Yesterday, having done the research on who picks up donations and who doesn’t, I scheduled a pickup with the Vietnam Veterans of America. The earliest date I could get was August 25, but that will work out actually – I can add to it in bits and pieces. It’ll be the first pickup but I’m sure it will not be the last.

Cartoon –

Short Takes –

CPR News – A 150-year-old San Luis Valley farm stops growing food to save a shrinking water supply. It might be the first deal of its kind in the country
Quote – Farmers and ranchers across the San Luis Valley face a deadline: Their underground water source is drying up from a combination of overuse and a decades-long drought driven by climate change. To restore a balance of supply and demand, farmers and ranchers across the valley need to drastically cut how much water they pump out of the ground, according to the Colorado Division of Water Resources. If they don’t, the state has threatened to step in and shut off hundreds of wells, which local water managers say would devastate the valley’s agriculture-driven economy.
Click through to understand the dilemma. When I first came to Colorado in 1976, it was to Alamosa in the San Luis VAlley. That is where Virgil and I met and got married. We only left because we couldn’t find work there. CPR says this story is “hopeful and heartbreaking.” I concur.

Robert Reich – How to handle radical Republicans
Quote – Can we get real? There is nothing conservative about these so-called “conservatives.” They don’t want to preserve or protect our governing institutions — the core idea of conservatism extending from Edmund Burke to William F. Buckley and Barry Goldwater. They are radicals, intent on wrecking these institutions to impose their ideology on everyone else. The Supreme Court’s Republican appointees have all but obliterated stare decisis — the conservative principle that the Court must follow its precedents and not change or reverse them unless clearly necessary, and with near unanimity…. Meanwhile, Senate Republicans, led by Mitch McConnell, are abusing the filibuster and undermining the legitimacy of the Senate.
Clickt through for suggestions. I agree there is nothing conservative about “conservatives” – and there hasn’t been for decades. “Radical” is certainly more adequate, refernceing the “roots” of government and society (which they want to completely tear up.) But radical slao has a positive meaning – wanting to reform government and society from the roots up – so I’, loath to give that th them. “Reactionary” may be the most accurate. Or “extremist” – except that they like that one.

Food For Thought

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Open Thread July 11, 2022

 Posted by at 6:49 am  Open Thread, Politics
Jul 112022
 

Yesterday, I set up my meds for the next two weeks, because I hadn’t done it Saturday. Oh, well, that’s why I keep a couple of extras filled – so I can miss a day withut actually missing a day. And nthat was pretty much all I did. the weather is what my Aunt Mary used to call “enervating.” (Yes, love of words runs in my family – both sides.) And I want to save as much energy as I can for the hearings which I understand are scheduled for Tuesday and Thursday.

Cartoon – 11 0711Cartoon.jpg

Short Takes –

Crooks and Liars – SNEAKS: PA GOPers Advance Anti-Abortion Amendment Last [Thursday] Night
Quote – The first step happened last night, but the long-term plan is to get an anti-abortion constitutional amendment on the ballot next year…. In PA, the process is they need to pass through both chambers twice, in consecutive legislative sessions, then they hit the ballot. If Rs time the anti-abortion one correctly, it will hit the ballot in an off year, low turnout election with least amount of voter participation
Click through for story. Yes, this is one state, but it could happen elsewhere.

[Detroit] Metro Times – We interviewed the guy behind the viral ‘woke’ HVAC ad from Lansing
Quote – ”I can’t pretend like everything is ok,” the ad reads. “Gun fetishes are being prioritized, women are no longer in control of their own bodies. The earth is heating up. Black and Brown people are still being killed, brutalized, or otherwise harassed. Honestly, at this point, who gives a SH*T about HVAC. But if you’re hot, give us a call.”
I’ve quoted the ad. Click through for the interview.

Food For Thought

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