Politics Plus

Yesterday, WordPress updated itself while I wasn’t looking, and all our data seems to be fine. But at some point I need to do a manual backup anyway. I need to know how to backup and how to reatore in the event of future changes to “plug-ins” which may affect past information.

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Mother Jomes – Madison Cawthorn Just Became A Legal Guinea Pig
Quote – What makes North Carolina an interesting test case is that apparently they have state law stating that if credible allegations and evidence are presented, then it becomes Cawthorn’s responsibility to prove that he didn’t violate his oath, and is still qualified to run. Which, given his on record statements, is going to be problematic.
Click through for some legat details. It isn’t that complicated. Kudos to the attorneys bringing this suit.

The 19th – Should the ERA be in effect? On a key anniversary, it depends who you ask.
Quote – But the ERA’s addition as the country’s 28th Amendment has been ensnared in questions of legitimacy by opponents who say the last three states that ratified the ERA — Nevada in 2017, Illinois in 2018 and Virginia in 2020 — did so way past deadlines imposed by Congress in the 1970s and 1980s for ratifying the amendment. Litigation has followed, and some attorneys believe more legal challenges are on the way if people believe they can now cite the ERA in gender discrimination lawsuits
Clich through. The fact that it tool so long, and the fact tht there is any dispute about its ratification, are just two of the reasons I maintain that misgyny is stronger even than racism

Daily Kos (Laura Clawson) – ‘There’s something going on very, very haywire’ in Tennessee county’s banning of ‘Maus’
Quote – Like, say, banning a book about the Holocaust supposedly because it says “bitch,” and the schools whiting out all but the first letter of that word just isn’t enough censorship. It’s almost not clear which would be a more disturbing set of reasons for banning a book: discomfort with teaching about the brutality of the Holocaust, or really being so upset by a censored version of a word that is allowed on network television. At least some of the board members—though clearly not all—may be just that narrow and rigid.
Click through for article. The comments are filled with suggestions on “what next” will they ban, including “The Sound of Music.” But the movie was already neutered, dividing the cast into “us” (decent people) and “them” (Nazis.) The stage play includied a scene and a song, cut from the movie, which illustrated how “we” can slip into becoming “them.” Rodgers and Hammerstein knew what they were doing.

Food For Thought:

Yesterday, I learned a couple of things about Disqus which I didn’t know, although have used it for years. I did know that you can post a video by simply including the USL in a comments. I didn’t realize, however, that if you include a video URL in a comment, the video will post whether you want it to or not, and the only way to remove it is to delete the whole comment. Secondly, I learned how to delete a comment. Anyone can do this unless you are not registered with Disqus (commenting as a guest.) If you look at the top right of your comment, you’ll see (I see it very fainyly, but knowing what to look for helps) you will see three dots and a down arrow: … v Hover on the down arrow and you will get a dropdown list which includes the option to delete. Isn’t it fun to learn from one’s mistakes?

Also, starting today, Mitch will be off line, so I won’t be posting comments from him. I don’t know the exact reason, but it’s a pleasant one, and he doesn’t have an exact return date, but expects to be back within two weeks.

Cartoon – 25 Thomas Jefferson Loaded

Short Takes –

ABC News – US preparing to approve evacuation from embassy in Ukraine: Sources
Quote – That contingency planning has been underway for weeks now, as ABC News first reported last month that the embassy was preparing for an authorized or ordered departure. An authorized departure allows families and non-emergency staff to evacuate, usually on commercial flights, while an ordered departure requires them to do so.
Click through for context. Here we go again. Sigh. At least this is very early notice, just a heads up really, so hopefully it can be avoided.

Newsweek – Rudy Giuliani, Michael Flynn Stripped of Honorary Degrees From University of Rhode Island
Quote – “After reviewing the recommendation from the President, who endorsed the committee’s recommendation, the Board voted to approve the revocation of these honorary degrees,” URI Board of Trustees chair Margo Cook said in the press release. “The Board of Trustees supports the University and its mission to uphold its values, especially its commitment to intellectual and ethical leadership and fostering an environment of diversity and respect.”
Click through for background.  If I told you this was going up yesterday, I apologize.  I don’t always have tim to double checy which day something is scheduled for (and I also sometimes don’t have a very strong sense of what day it is.)

Mother Jones – Newt Gingrich Sure Sounds Like He Wants January 6 Committee Members Jailed
Quote – Gingrich’s suggestion is a spectacular escalation of the concern that should Democrats lose the House, Republicans will start launching various efforts, including investigations, aimed at impeaching President Joe Biden…. But, rather unsurprisingly, the suggestion that committee members could face jail time does appear to have landed with some of the more colorful members of the GOP.
Click through for one of multiple stories on this. I can’t figure ut whether he is serious, or simply wants his base (and as many others as he can reach) to view Trump** and Co.’s real and serious crimes as no worse that pissing off the other side. Either way, it’s beyond scary.

Food For Thought:

Yesterday, the radio opera was “La Bohème,” quite possibly the most popular opera ever composed. Of course, that comes with disadvantages – an opera lover of my age has probably heard/seen it over a hundred times (particularly since it was the first opera I ever owned a complete recording of … 55 years ago.) But it still charms. Almost every line and every note tug at the heartstrings, because every character is sympathetic in one way or another, and every character has at least one moment in which you see (and/or hear) their pain. And, after that, I put away my grocery delivery. What a comedoen!

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Robert Reich – The curse of financial entrepreneurship
Quote – A direct line runs from public anger over the bailout of Wall Street to the Occupy movement and the candidacy of Bernie Sanders, on the left; and to the Tea Party movement and the election of Donald Trump, on the right…. [I]n early 2016 in Michigan, Wisconsin, North Carolina, Ohio, and Iowa… I heard references to the bailout of Wall Street as proof that the economy was “rigged” against ordinary Americans, and that America needed a president who would champion average working people.
Click through for more, including the podcast, if you would rather listen than read. If he mentions that part of the problem is that product entrepreneurs, when successful, become paper entrepreneurs, I missed it.

Good News Network – IKEA Buys Land Damaged by Hurricane in Florida to Plant Forests
Quote – If Ingka can keep the forests healthy and alive, in 40 years they will pull carbon out of the air equal to a certain percentage of the carbon placed into the atmosphere by IKEA’s operations, while providing valuable habitat to vulnerable species like the red-cockaded woodpecker, gopher tortoise, pine snakes, and dusky gopher frogs.
Click through for details and a couple of other tidbits (if you read between the paragraphs). I grant this is somewhat self-serving, but it beats the heck out of no good news at all.

The New Yorker – Is Ginni Thomas a Threat to the Supreme Court?
Quote – “Virginia Thomas has direct access to Thomas’s clerks,” [Artemus] Ward said. Clarence Thomas is now the Court’s senior member, having served for thirty years, and Ward estimates that there are “something like a hundred and twenty people on that Listserv [of his current and former clerks].” In Ward’s view, they comprise “an élite right-wing commando movement.” Justice Thomas, he says, doesn’t post on the Listserv, but his wife “is advocating for things directly.” Ward added, “It’s unprecedented. I have never seen a Justice’s wife as involved.”
Click through for full story. Jane Mayer is an actual investigative reporter, so this information should be solid.

Food For Thought: (by Robert Reich)