Open Thread for January 7, 2022

Posted by Joanne Dixon at 7:03 am Open Thread, Politics

Jan 072022

Yesterday, I struggled with the Internet, but managed to get posts up for today. For tomorrow, I may just put up some lightweight articles (and videos) in order to spend as much time as possibble doing non-Internet stuff – like making some new cartoons. If the new modem comes as promised tomorrow, and particularly if it comes early, I’ll be able to do more.

Cartoon –

Short Takes –

The 19th – ‘We almost lost our democracy’: How 38 women in Congress want you to remember January 6
Quote – Though The 19th tried repeatedly to reach lawmakers from both parties, only Democrats responded. Last year, 147 Republicans objected to certifying the election results. Many of the Democrats we spoke to said the tension between lawmakers, in part stemming from that day and the denial of the lawful election, as well as dispute over how to investigate it, has made working across the aisle harder than ever.
Click through for all 38. Just some of them: Demings, Jayapal, Duckworth, Hirono, Dingell, Klobuchar,

NM Political Report – Crisis pregnancy centers are a public health danger, according to a report
Quote – CPCs offer some basic, nonmedical services for pregnant people but are intentionally designed to lure unsuspecting pregnant individuals into their offices to prevent abortions, reproductive health experts have said. According to the report, CPCs use “deceptive, coercive tactics and medical disinformation and misleadingly present themselves as medical facilities.”
Click through. Another one to file under “No shit, Sherlock.” But it’s good they are paying attention, at least.

DOJ official transcript of Garland speech
Quote – In charging the perpetrators, we have followed well-worn prosecutorial practices. Those who assaulted officers or damaged the Capitol face greater charges. Those who conspired with others to obstruct the vote count also face greater charges. Those who did not undertake such conduct have been charged with lesser offenses — particularly if they accepted their responsibility early and cooperated with the investigation.
Click through for full text (much better than what I had so far. I had only corrected the spacing, hadn’t even started on captalization, punctuation, or paragraphing.)

Food For Thought:
This could explain a lot:

Open Thread for January 6, 2022

Posted by Joanne Dixon at 7:13 am Open Thread, Personal, Politics

Jan 062022

Yesterday, I ran through all the online diagnostics before calling CenturyLink, and I’m glad I did so. I have had my current modem for more than 9 years, and it’s been obsolete for a while now. So I really have no right to complain. I checked out the current models available, and discovered that one of the three newest models is made by the same manufacturer as my old one, and the cord array looks exactly the same, so I can install it easily – no need to brinf a tech to the house in plague time. I’m expected to get it Saturday. Meantime, I have found a flow which will enable me to work faster by moving slower, so I will make it until (probably not without some colorful language in the process, though.)

Cartoon –

Short Takes –

The New Yorker (Borowitz – NOT THE NEWS!) Sean Hannity Informs January 6th Panel that Swearing to Tell the Truth Would Violate His Contract with Fox
Quote – In a written statement, Hannity said that taking an oath “to tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth” would be “a betrayal of the solemn vow I made to Fox. +The members of the committee would no doubt require me to swear on a Bible,” he said. “However, I answer to a higher power: Rupert Murdoch.”
Click through if you aren’t paywalled out. Sounds like straight news to me (but I did LOL.)

Trump called her an ‘incredible woman,’ but Ashli Babbitt was a Q-nut with a violent past
Quote – Norris’ first encounter with Babbitt took place on July 29, 2016, when Norris says Babbitt rammed her SUV in a road-rage incident in Prince Frederick, Maryland. “She pulls up yelling and screaming,” Norris told AP. “It took me a good 30 seconds to figure out who she was. … Just all sorts of expletives, telling me to get out of the car, that she was going to beat my ass.”
Click through for backstory. I don’t say “full” because there is undoubteedly more to be learned. I would also call her incredible – but NOT as a compliment!

Merrick Garland speech – Assuming this would be the major topic everyome would be interested in, I listened to it. Twice. The second time with a YouTube video which has CC and therefore I could download a transcript (how good remains to be seen,) and I will figure out a way to make that available – that one, or a better one if someone beats me to it. But, to summarize, he said –
We are working on it and we won’t stop until we get everyone. If I told you any more, it would jeopardize the investigation (DOJ policy, based on experience and best practices.) We started at the bottom and are working our way up, and that is reflected in sentincing (which by implication will go up with the involvement of the offender – also best practices.) We are also working on voting rights (if the investigation takes too long, we are going to need voting rights as we never have before.) We are also working on death threats, (and you wouldn’e believe how many of those there are, and how many categories of people who have received them.) The time to deal with threats is when they are issued, not after a tragedy. First Amendment rights are important, but “protests” like 1/6 and death threats are not protected. (I thought it was clever of him to quote Scalia to support that instead of a more liberal justice, and it was a good quote.) Bottom line: We know how critical the investigation of 1/6 is for the survival of democracy, and we don’t intend to let anyone skate. We are working as hard as we can, that’s all we can tell you, so please get off our back and let us do our job.

Food For Thought:

Open Thread for January 5 2022

Posted by Joanne Dixon at 7:24 am Open Thread, Personal, Politics

Jan 052022

Monday, some things happened after I scheduled the post, and what with the computer, I didn’t get them in to yesterday’s post. Probably the main thing is that Governor Polis has imposed a two-week moratorium on prison visiting. That is sad, but also good. Safety is the most important thing at this point. Also, I have a prescription to pick up which I ordered delivered. The original order disappeared, and I had to call, and that detail got missed. I’d get help picking it up, but they’re close and have a sealed drive-up window. So yesterday I donned an N95 and gloves and picked it up at the window. And I also heard from WWWendy WW. She is still involved in settling TC’s estate (no surprise to anyone who has ever dealt with an estate, I’m sure). But she has also experienced the death of another very close friend. I am still having trouble with the computer, to the point where the video thread will be short today. I’m pretty sure my modem is obsolete and I will need a new one, but before I could get to CenturyLink on the phone, it was too late for a human being. So, today.

Cartoon –

Short Takes

Ordinarily I would put this on the video thread … but it really needs a full transcript (which is available on the YouTube version and needed very little correction.)

This is Melanie Moore. From Georgia. The mother of a third-grader and a fourth-grader.

Please watch…pic.twitter.com/a2opMGmntj

— Rex Chapman (@RexChapman) January 2, 2022

Transcript – uh good evening board members my name is melanie moore i am the parent of a third and fourth grader in district two and i’m grateful for the opportunity to speak with you this evening the issue i would like to address is the need for equitable education in all areas but first i’d like to share a little something personal i struggle with depression i have for many years i’ve gone to counselors throughout the years and one of the first things they ask me is tell me about your family of origin tell me about your past what happened to you in your past that is causing the current trauma and pain that you’re feeling in the same way our country cannot begin to heal until we deal with the pain trauma and hurt from our past we must teach our children the truth about the past and then show them how to be the change we wish to see in the world we can help them connect the dots from the awful events of the past to the current issues that face our country so that real change can happen as members of the white community we have got to stop pushing the agenda that diversity and truth and education is all about indoctrination shaming or placing guilt at the feet of white people no one is asking you to get up and place your head on the chopping block for the wrongs of the past people are simply asking for their stories to be heard and taught as ours have been for generations i would not allow my children to wallow in anger pain and self-pity i would do all i could to help them to be the very best versions of themselves even if it hurts to point out some painful truths about their behavior in the same way we have got to be honest with ourselves and admit that systemic racism is real that this country was created and prospered under the ideals of white supremacy and that we are responsible for righting the wrongs of our forefathers we did not create this mess but we are the ones that have to clean it up starting with honest equitable education practices now that will teach our children the hard truths about our past so that they can create a better future i understand that change is hard but it’s got to come racism is alive and well in this country it’s seen in the groups of white men with torches chanting you will not replace us to the fact that in 2021 we still don’t have a federal anti-lynching hate crime law we need to know better and then we need to do better happy pride happy early
You can click through to the tweet, or to the YouTube video, but it’s really all here Feel free to share wherever you think it will do come good.

Mother Jones – Chuck Schumer Just Announced a Major Potential Vote on the Future of the Filibuster
Quote – Schumer made his announcement three days before the first anniversary of the January 6 Capitol riot. In his letter, Schumer drew comparisons between the insurrectionists who stormed the Capitol and Republican officials who have seized on Trump’s election lies to enact anti-democratic legislation across the country.
Click through for details. He knows what’s at stake. Wish him all strength and best luck in getting it through.

Crooks and Liars – Trump Abruptly Cancels January 6 Press Conference
Quote – Among other things, several advisors – formal and informal – told him the press conference was a mistake and/but it was becoming clear he wasn’t likely to get the live TV coverage he was hoping for. — Maggie Haberman (@maggieNYT) January 4, 2022
Click through. Looks like Amato won.

Food For Thought:

Oh, and one last thing –

Attorney General Merrick Garland will update Americans on the Jan. 6 investigation on WEDNESDAY

Open Thread for January 4, 2022

Posted by Joanne Dixon at 7:14 am Open Thread, Personal, Politics

Jan 042022

Yesterday, I had some computer-internet issues. I got things done, just very s – l – o – w – l – y. I’m very glad this didn’t turn up a few days ago.

Cartoon –

Short Takes

Letters from an American – January 2, 2022
Quote – The New York Times editorial board—which consists of opinion journalists who weigh in on important issues—warned that the attack on democracy we witnessed so traumatically on January 6 has not ended. It persists in ongoing threats to election officials, threats to murder opponents, and new state laws skewing elections toward Republicans. “In short,” they wrote, “the Republic faces an existential threat from a movement that is openly contemptuous of democracy and has shown that it is willing to use violence to achieve its ends.”
Click through for full essay. This might be worth hanging on to for reference.

Crooks and Liars – Media Matters Prez: Talk Radio As GOP Disinformation Engine
Quote – “And they continue to run with that story that vaccines were part of a plot and a conspiracy by Dr. Fauci and Bill Gates in order to put microchips in people, or there is a very, very prominent conspiracy theory that it’s actually – the vaccine is designed to open up an interdimensional portal.”
Click through – Carusone is a hero, listening to right wing talk radio so that we don’t have to. We need to take him seriously.

Wonkette – Kevin McCarthy Furious Democrats Doing So Little To Protect Capitol From Republican Trump Insurgents
Quote – “Unfortunately, one year later, the majority party seems no closer to answering the central question of how the Capitol was left so unprepared and what must be done to ensure it never happens again.” Wait, was THAT the “central question”? Why the Capitol was so unprepared and vulnerable? Was the Capitol walking by itself very late at night? Was it wearing a short skirt? And why, praytell, is the Capitol hitting itself? Tell us more, Kevin McCarthy, about how the “central question” of what happened that day was how the Capitol was so unprepared to be attacked by hordes of Donald Trump’s terrorists.
Click through. I swear you cannot make this stuff up.

Food For Thought:

Open Thread for January 3, 2022

Posted by Joanne Dixon at 7:03 am Open Thread, Personal, Politics

Jan 032022

Yesterday, I kind of piddled around, pulled out the next sweater I intend to wear to visit Virg and Jewelry to go with (I may wear one weddig or wedding-type ring and one religious pendant inside, and I like to take earringd along to put into my ears when I leave to keep the piercing open) – took out some recyclables (There is room now, it got picked up), found where all the old comments are and figured out how to get to a particular page – checked what os low in the kitchen freezer and moved things from the porch freezer to re-stock – glued some cord ends onto cords – did a little knitting – downloaded some free patterns (with no clear projects in mind, I just liked some ideas) – did a little gaming – just small stuff.

Cartoon –

Short Takes

Politico – FDIC’s GOP chair to resign after partisan brawl
Quote – Earlier this month, the Democratic majority on the FDIC’s board voted to take public feedback on potential changes to the agency’s bank merger approval process. McWilliams did not participate in the vote, and the FDIC in an official statement said the action was not valid. A legal debate ensued over whether a majority of the board can put items up for a vote without the consent of the chair, with Democrats maintaining they had clear authority.
Click through for details. So, now we’ll have a Democratic chair (at least for a while). In what universe canthe top dog invalidate a vote by simply not voting when everyone else does vote? If that isn’t autocracy, I don’t know what is. Even BBM couldn’t get away with that.

Daily Kos – Adhara Pérez, 10, has a higher IQ than Einstein and Hawking. She has her sights set on NASA
Quote – When she was just 5, Pérez finished elementary school. At 6 she finished middle school, and at 8 she finished high school. Today, she’s studying two careers online—Industrial engineering in mathematics at UNITEC and systems engineering at CNCI. The University of Arizona has offered her a scholarship.
Click through for story. Of course it’s a story not without bullying in it. But there seem to be enough people in her corner now to provide her some protection. I hope.

The Guardian – Capitol attack: Cheney says Republicans must choose between Trump and truth
Quote – Cheney told CBS the blame lay squarely with her own party. “Far too many Republicans are trying to enable the former president, embrace the former president or look the other way and hope that the former president goes away, or trying to obstruct the activities of this committee, but we won’t be deterred. At the end of the day, the facts matter, the truth matters.”
Click through. I really do hope they don’t kill her.

Food For Thought:

Open Thread for January 2, 2022

Posted by Joanne Dixon at 7:27 am Open Thread, Personal, Politics

Jan 022022

Yesterday, I woke up and was delighted to see that the comment system is working. Some of us who have been using it for years at other sites are going to appear with different names – I will be Underwriter505 – which may take a little getting used to. But a least it will work and we won’t have to approve evry comment manually. Thanks all for your patience and understanding. We got comments from most who normally comment, and it seemed to go smoothly. Mitch could probably comment in Disqus, except tht he still can access the site, even just to read it, so I’ll still be entering his comments (and did, for both posts). I succeeded in making both Naeless (dmhlt_66) and Lona (Lona Goudswaard) moderators and administrators for Disqus (both already were for PP) – all before sunset. Then I turned to more routine tasks, like setting out meds and preparing posts.

Cartoon – (I really hope I’m wrong about this.)

Short Takes

Crooks and Liars – Crookie’s Trend Of The Year: Alt Names For You-Know-Who
Quote – We found out this year that “The Former Guy” refuses to be referred to as “former.” This did create a problem for his legal team, who kept trying to say you can’t indict/sue/bring to court a “former” so-called “President” while never once using the term “former” because your nightmare of a client won’t let you?
Click through for this article and links to some of the other Crookie awards. I particularly approve the “Mensch of the Year” award.

Politico – Bernard Kerik provides batch of documents to Jan. 6 select committee
Quote – Bernard Kerik, the former New York City Police commissioner and ally of Trump attorney Rudy Giuliani, also provided a “privilege log” describing materials he declined to provide to the committee. Among the withheld documents is one titled “DRAFT LETTER FROM POTUS TO SEIZE EVIDENCE IN THE INTEREST OF NATIONAL SECURITY FOR THE 2020 ELECTIONS.” … Trump ultimately opted against that strategy, but his consideration of the option is one of the key questions the panel is probing as part of its broader investigation into attempts to overturn the election.
Click through for a story you probably missed – I know I did – I don’t recall ever even hearing his name. But this may help.

Wonkette – Missouri Gov Mike Parson Vows Reporter Who Found Sh*tty Coding In State Website Will PAY
Quote – Thing is, there wasn’t any “hacking” involved, as Krebs on Security explained at the time, since the SSNs were almost right out in the open to be seen by anyone with specialized software, like a common web browser. “The newspaper said it found that teachers’ Social Security numbers were contained in the HTML source code of the pages involved. In other words, the information was available to anyone with a web browser who happened to also examine the site’s public code using Developer Tools or simply right-clicking on the page and viewing the source code.”
Click through for details. I see “Kill the Messenger” is alive and well among those who want to drag us back to the Dark Ages in every possible way.

Food For Thought:

Open Thread for January 1, 2022

Posted by Joanne Dixon at 6:55 am Open Thread, Personal, Politics

Jan 012022

The problem with trying to stay current through newsletters is that at certain times they all ask for donations at once. Yesterday, I had received almost 200 emails just by noon. And one has to read at least the sender and subject line in order to avoid throwing out something important. Eventually it went down to a trickle, but it did end up exceeding 200.

Cartoon –

Short Takes

Crooks and Liars – Eric Swalwell Neutralizes Internet Threat Radicalized By Tucker Carlson
Quote – If this whole Congressman thing doesn’t work out, Swalwell should definitely look into work as a detective or federal agent. He clearly has the skills necessary to get someone to straight up incriminate themselves and confess! Egads.
Click through for snippets from the conversatin. Much of it is small – I used my on-screen magnifier and had no difficulty.

Newsweek – Betty White, Iconic TV Star Dies at 99, Weeks Before 100th Birthday
Quote – “Even though Betty was about to be 100, I thought she would live forever,” White’s agent, Jeff Witjas, told People in a statement. “I will miss her terribly and so will the animal world that she loved so much.”
Click through – By the time you read this the article will be a lot longer and more detailed.

Reuters – ‘Miracle’ that no loss of life in Colorado urban wildfire -Governor
Quote – The fire was driven by wind gusts of 105 miles per hour, which caused flames to leapfrog over highways and entire neighborhoods on Thursday, authorities said. The winds created a “mosaic” burn pattern that saw untouched homes standing next to those left in ashes. Officials said on Friday that winds had died down and snow was arriving, and that they did not expect the fire to pose any more danger.
Click through for more. Snow is nice for putting out the fire, but not so nice if one doesn’t have a roof over one’s head. Nolloss of life, hiwever, is indeed wonderful

Food For Thought:

Open Thread for December 31, 2021

Posted by Joanne Dixon at 6:54 am Open Thread, Personal, Politics

Dec 312021

Yesterday, I heard back from BlueHost, and it appears I need some documenttion I don’t have. So I’ll be working without their help at this time. Oh well. We will get through. I’ll work on getting what I don’t have, or a reasonable substitute.

Cartoon –

Short Takes

Crooks and Liars – Mom And Son Kept Off Plane– Because Of Knives Hidden In Toy
Quote – TSA officers at the Philadelphia International Airport stopped a Cortland, NY woman and her young son from boarding a plane yesterday — because of two knives sewn into the middle of a stuffed Darth Vader Bear. Say what?
Click through for details. Although much is unanswered. This is just weird enough to make one wonder.

CPR – Multiple grass fires burning in Boulder County, evacuations in effect
Quote – The entire population of Superior is being evacuated as grass fires sparked by high winds and downed power lines rapidly grow and threaten structures. Two fires, the Marshall fire and the Middle Fork fire, ignited in Boulder County on Thursday morning. The county is experiencing gusts of wind reaching up to 80 miles per hour. Boulder County’s emergency managers advise people to evacuate if they see fire.
Click through – We expect this in the summer. Not so much in December.

Insider – The Securities and Exchange Commission’s chief litigator is joining the US attorney’s office handling January 6 cases
Quote – Bridget Fitzpatrick, the SEC’s chief litigation counsel, is poised to leave the commission to become the top deputy to US attorney Matt Graves, according to multiple people familiar with her plans. For Fitzpatrick, the move marks a return to the US attorney’s office where she once specialized in public corruption prosecutions.
Click through for story. The DU member who tipped me to this story commented that “Now might be a good time to learn the lessons those of us hyper-focused on Voting Rights learned – when Garland got Ms. Clarke over the finish line at DOJ as head of the Civil Rights Division. He hires, takes his hands off the leash, and releases his pit bulls.” He could well be correct. I hope so.

Food For Thought:

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