Cartoon – Page 9 – Politics Plus

Open Thread August 28, 2023

Posted by Joanne Dixon at 6:09 am Open Thread, Personal, Politics

Aug 282023

Yesterday, I was able to see Virgil. We weren’t able to play cribbage because another family had the only card deck (there is a pinochle deck, but imagine trying to play cribbage with a pinochle deck! That’s ROTFL level. I played a lot of pinochle as a child and teen ad was pretty good at it, but haven’t really played it since I learned bridge. I am considering boning up.) Anyway, we played Scrabble, so we had plenty of fun. As always, Virgil returns all greeting, whether or not I knew about them in advance. I got home safely and timely but also pretty tired so went to bed almost as soon as I had today’s posts scheduled and the newsletter out, and was planning to sleep in. I might add I don’t often to manage posting an historical flashback article on the anniversary date that it’s flashing back to – this time I just barely managed. I hope you enjoy – it’s a bit of a “catalog of ships” article (that’s the book of the Iliad which lists the home ports and captains and crews of the Greek ships which came to Troy, and had then a disproportionately strong emotional effect on Greek listeners just to hear the names of places and people they knew so well. And it still works.)

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Short Takes –

The New Yorker (flashback) – The Hours Before “I Have a Dream”
Quote – Quote – Most of [the buses] had red-white-and-blue signs saying “Erie, Pa., Branch, N.A.A.C.P.,” or “Inter-Church Delegation, Sponsored by National Council of Churches of Christ in the U.S.A. Commission on Religion and Race,” or “District 26, United Steelworkers of America, Greater Youngstown A.F.L.-C.I.O. Council, Youngstown, Ohio.”… At exactly nine-thirty, Ossie Davis, serving as master of ceremonies, tried to begin the pre-march program, but it had to be postponed, because Rustin and Thomas were the only two dignitaries on the stage and many more were expected. “Oh, freedom,” said a voice over a loudspeaker a little later. The program had started, and Joan Baez began to sing in a wonderfully clear voice. “Oh, freedom,” she sang. “Oh, freedom over me. Before I’ll be a slave, I’ll be buried in my grave . . .”
Click through for article. It’s not all that long, and it’s not compregensive – it roughly ends where the march really starts – But it’s about memories, and it’s memorable.

Wonkette (Stephen Robinson) – Well-Regulated Racist Shooter Kills Three At Jacksonville, FL Dollar General
Quote – True to a sadly consistent form, the shooter was decked out in a tactical vest and mask. Along with the AR-15, he was also carrying a Glock. He even went to the sick effort of plastering swastikas on his guns, according to [Jacksonville Sheriff T.K.]Waters…. He first attempted to target students at the historically black college, Edward Waters University, but campus security turned him away. That’s when he went to the Dollar General…. Waters added that the gunman apparently “acted completely alone” and was not believed to be part of “any large group.” That is perhaps technically true, but we should realize that white supremacy doesn’t require a membership card and monthly dues. These racists are linked through hateful rhetoric easily found online and on cable television. It doesn’t take much to turn them to violence.
Click through for more detail. Stephen could probably have written this story in his sleep (and we could probably have read it out loud in ours.) Sigh. I tried leaving the URL long to see if it would think you were a subscribe and not make you click on “keep reading,” but it didn’t work even for me.)

Food For Thought

Open Thread August 27, 2023

Posted by Joanne Dixon at 6:01 am Open Thread, Personal, Politics

Aug 272023

Yesterday, the radio opera was “L’Incoronazione di Poppea” (The coronation of Poppaea) by Claudio Monteverdi, who is considered to have invented what we recognize as opera. His first operas were based on Greek/Roman mythology, but this was the last one he wrote, and was about historical figures (although the characters given to them are nor exactly historical. Not that history, certainly at this period, is all that reliable. Ancient historians were like the Fox News of their day. A lot of it was just flat made up, and sometimes with an ulterior motive. Nero never fiddled while Rome burned {he wasn’t even there} and he didn’t attempt matricide with a collapsing boat, because it’s impossible for a boat of the the type which was supposedly used to be made to collapse the way it supposedly did. Of course none of that means that he had no flaws, or even that he never tried to eliminate his mother – but he didn’t do either of those things as described. Just as Marie Antoinette never said “Let them eat cake.” OK, end of rant.) Nero seems really to have had an affair with Poppaea, to have divorced and exiled his wife at the time in order to marry her, and to have ordered the suicide of Seneca, for whatever reason. The plot is essentially set up to lead into Nero’s and Poppaea’s final rapturous love duet, which is somewhat repetitive, but – as anyone who has ever been in love knows – there are only so many ways to say “I love you” in any language, and lovers’ conversation tends to be repetitive. This production was recorded in Barcelona in July of this year, which informs me that WFMT wanted (and waited) to present up-to-the-minute productions now that there are enough live performances to do so, which is why they have only scheduled through September 9 at this point, when they expect to be going through November. Also, yesterday was National Dog Day. To all who celebrated, I hope the day was happy – and woof. Off to see Virgil, will post when I get back safely.

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Short Takes –

Colorado Public Radio – Northwest, West Denver’s House District 4 will soon get a new state rep. Here’s how residents can be part of the process
Quote – How the process of filling the vacancy works: A vacancy is filled by the representative’s party, in this case Democrats. A vacancy committee is formed by Democratic precinct organizers who will go on to elect the new representative. That election will take place on Aug. 26. On Saturday, community members can attend the committee meeting, which includes a forum between the candidates and the actual voting from committee members. Check-in for the event starts at 12 p.m., followed by the forum at 1 p.m. and the voting at 2 p.m. It’ll take place at Peter Claver Hall at Regis University, 3333 Regis Boulevard. The event can also be streamed here. [Yes, it’s over – but should be still up .]
Click through for details. Every state does this differently (and we do it differently if the removal was due to a recall) – this is very different from what happened in Tennessee with Justin and Justin – and both are different fom how we handle a vacancy in the US Congress. But understanding the differences can help us evaluate what’s the most fair – and by fair, I mean fair to the consituents.

Reuters – NLRB paves way for workers to unionize without formal elections
Quote – The U.S. National Labor Relations Board on Friday resurrected key elements of a policy it eliminated more than 50 years ago requiring businesses that commit labor law violations to bargain with unions without holding formal elections…. In Friday’s decision, the Democrat-led board partially revived a doctrine known as Joy Silk, named for a 1949 case in which the NLRB said employers must bargain with unions unless they have a good-faith doubt that majority support exists. The NLRB abandoned the Joy Silk doctrine in the early 1970s after the U.S. Supreme Court imposed a different standard in the 1969 case NLRB v. Gissel Packing Co. In Gissel, the court said the NLRB could force employers to bargain when they engage in misconduct so severe that any election would be tainted. Friday’s decision came one day after the NLRB announced a final rule reviving Obama-era regulations designed to speed up the union election process, which is seen as giving an advantage to unions.
Click through for story. If Reuters paywalls you, yu can go to your preferred search engine (mine is DuckDuckGo), put in NLRB and then select “news” as the filter and you’ll have multiple options. This is a BFD for unions. Hopefully, we’ll be able to get stuff dne with it before SCROTUS steps in.

Food For Thought

Open Thread August 26, 2023

Posted by Joanne Dixon at 6:04 am Open Thread, Personal, Politics

Aug 262023

Yesterday, Colorado Public Radio announced that we on the Front Range may get some rain this weekend leftover fron a tropical storm – not from Hilary, but from Harold. The mountains are still a good barrier – the eastern plains, not so much. I did manage to do a bit of laundry and food prep. Also, earlier this week we spoke about clothing being speech. Today’s FFT shows that this can be true even if no one is wearing it. The quote is from a knitting newsletter I receive several times a year (hence the allusion to classes).I made the picture a live link to the exhibit – if you look around that site you can see more details larger. I’m reminded of the AIDS quilt, though the product and the cause are different.

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Short Takes –

Robert Hubbell – A MAGA mugshot
Quote – In addition to impeachment, the Georgia legislature enacted a law this year (which will go into effect in October) that creates a commission empowered to hear complaints against district attorneys who allegedly refuse to enforce categories of crimes like low-level drug offenses, juvenile offenses, and abortion laws. Seventeen other states have enacted similar legislation to target progressive prosecutors who—in their view—refuse to enforce the law…. Four Georgia prosecutors have sued to invalidate the law…. If the Georgia Commission orders Fani Willis removed after a hearing, she can appeal to the Fulton County Superior Court and (ultimately) to the Georgia Supreme Court. That will take a while, to say the least. Even if Willis is removed, her assistants will continue to prosecute the case.
Click through (it’s Substack, so be prepared to click to keep reading, and to scroll down to reach that click if the page appears to freeze.) I’ve seen a lot of people (most of them at Democratic Underground, but also other places) expressing worry for Fani Willis concerning the new Georgia law allowing a Commission to remove DAs, which goes into effect in October. I’ve been saying it can’t be done just by thinking about it – there will be process – but IANAL. Robert Hubbell is a lawyer and he not only explains it better thn I , he also knows more twists and turns. There are a lot of contingencies addressed in this article also.

HuffPost – Ohio Republicans Twist Ballot Language For Pro-Choice Provision In Likely Attempt To Confuse Voters
Quote – In November, voters will consider a ballot initiative that seeks to enshrine abortion rights and other reproductive freedoms into Ohio’s Constitution. But the five-member Ohio Ballot Board, led by anti-choice advocate and Ohio Secretary of State Frank LaRose, on Thursday approved anti-choice language to be used in the initiative, which may confuse voters. The approved summary language uses “unborn child” instead of “fetus.” It does not include any language about the right to make decisions about miscarriages, fertility treatments or contraception — even though that’s a significant part of the proposed amendment.
Click through for details. Ohio has a bigger problem than abortion – a problem elephant-sized and elephant-shaped. I wish them luck. They’re going to need it.

Food For Thought

Open Thread August 25, 2023

Posted by Joanne Dixon at 5:55 am Open Thread, Personal, Politics

Aug 252023

Yesterday, I had not watched the debate, so I read about it some, and was very glad I had not tried to watch it. I can give you a link to Wonkette’s sassy and NSFW liveblog, but seriously, reactions to it are all over the net, and easy to find. Also from Wonkette, its newsletter contained a link to a different site (called “Atlas Obscura”), specifically to an article about Eleanor Roosevelt including some facts which today are certainly little known. Anyone who like me admired the heck out of Mrs. Roosevelt from the first day I heard about her will be interested. I warn you that it’s a site which is easy to fall into and get lost for days. I mean that as a compliment. Also yesterday, Trump** fired Drew Findling, a name you may remember from Monday’s Open Thread. Gee, I wonder why /s.

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Short Takes –

New evidence bolsters downwinders’ claims as efforts to expand RECA advance in Congress

New Mexico Political Report – New evidence bolsters downwinders’ claims as efforts to expand RECA advance in Congress
Quote – Radioactive fallout from the Trinity Test site covered virtually all of New Mexico and reached as far away as Canada, according to new evidence. But the people who lived closest to the site, and have suffered the health consequences such as cancer, have not received any compensation from the federal government. The new evidence, along with new efforts to help residents of Missouri impacted by radioactive waste, may help New Mexico downwinders finally receive the compensation.
Click through for article. Almost 80 years and an opera and a few movies later, we are still dealng with the Trinity Project. (Of course, all those Republicans in office didn’t help a bit.)

https://otter.ai/u/R6n5K0u9-LkZMVFX_bT4XCbhUwk
Steve Schmidt – Tucker and Donald – a Dangerous Duo
Quote – The other travesty that took place last night was the bizarre interview between Donald Trump and Tucker Carlson. Here, I talk about why their message is so dangerous.
Click through direct to transcript. Steve is mostly posting videos now, and my link is not to his Substack page, but the transcript site. If you want, you can listen while you read, and the site wll conveniently highlight each word as it’s said. But you don’t have to. You can just read it. It’s not long.

Food For Thought

Open Thread August 24, 2023

Posted by Joanne Dixon at 6:08 am Open Thread, Personal, Politics

Aug 242023

Yesterday, I started looking at cartoons for September. You may remember that when I took over, I went back 8 years (to 2013 at the time) intending tto reuse as many cartoons as possible made by TC and if one was out of date, or there wasn’t one, to make one. Now it is 2023 so I am up to 2015, and next month is September. There are cartoons for the first and the second (both usable.) That was when TC slipped into a coma which resulted in the loss of his left leg below the knee. So. In the past couple of years, I have made 8 or 10 historical cartoons for dates in September. That leaves a bunch to be filled in. I have been through the historical calendar and picked out some events – there was one day when there really was nothing, so I will be using one with no particular date which I made recently just because I thought of it for that day. If while making them I decide that the event I selected is not really that interesting, I will do some filling in with undated images I have made using the Bayeux app, and if necessary, from memes I have put together which have no particular date but are still applicable. I will need to frame those (I have already framed the Bayeux ones) but that’s much faster than starting from scratch. So it will be interesting. Benedict Arnold and William Wallace ate likely to turn up as well as Mary Queen of Scots. Maybe Karl Marx. We shall see. Also yesterday, I solve the New Yorker Name Drop on the second clue. That would not have happened had I not, when it was newly out, watched every minute of Ken Burns’s multi-part documentary on country music. That man can keep one spellbound for hours about a topic in which one has no interest otherwise.

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Short Takes –

Politico “Morning Money” – SCROLL DOWN to “What’s Biden’s Superman story?”
Quote – “Imagine a Superman movie where all Superman does is fly around Metropolis and never fights anybody,” [Adam Green] said. “That’s such a boring movie. If you want to position yourself as a hero, you have to have a villain in the story.”
Click through for a pretty short but definitely pointed article, which it took me an hour to find because of Politico’s linking system. Democrats don’t like demonizing anyone or even anything but Green is right. We have to find something – probably a policy rathr than a person or a group – or some behavior – because, while I am very happy woth “boring,” it’s a really tough sell.

HuffPost – Many Americans Still Wrongly Think Guns Make Us Safer
Quote – Though the poll found that percentages of Americans who believe that false claims are “definitely” true is small, the portion who think they are “probably” true is substantial. Overall, between half and three-quarters of the country belong to what KFF CEO Drew Altman called the “muddled middle,” saying that the false claims were “probably” either true or false. Perhaps most striking of the poll’s findings is the incorrect belief, held by many Americans, that guns make them safer.
Click through for discouraging story. These beliefs are mostly based on gut feelings, which are the hardest beliefs to change. They are impervious to facts and science. I’ve had a few of my own, and you probably have too.

Food For Thought

Open Thread August 23, 2023

Posted by Joanne Dixon at 6:09 am Open Thread, Personal, Politics

Aug 232023

Yesterday, I received an email from HuffPost with the subject line, “Drag is free speech.” I’ve never seen it put that way – but, as a former costumer, amateur and professiona – dam right it is! A fashion sttement is as much a statement as anything in words (and more so than some of the word salads we hear.) Back in the 19th century, when costume began to be thought of in terms of authenticity of period and place (prior to that it was mostly contemporary garb, but with some class distinctions and of course some drag) there was an actor/playwright named Dion Boucicault who would not start practiving his part until he had settled his costume – he actually used it as a means of getting into character. I’m not aware of any thespian today who is that exreme – but they don’t really have to be. The field of costuming today already requires costumer to be a little bit historians and a little bit psychologists. Also, at The New Yorker, David Remnick had an article about how much like a mobster Trump** is – and how bad at it he is. And elsewhere, a quote from Mike Pence revealed that he actually does know what his wife’s name is (unfortunately – if appropriately – it is Karen.)

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Short Takes –

Letters from an American – August 21, 2023
Quote – Today [August 21] the president and First Lady Dr. Jill Biden visited Maui, where after seeing the devastation, President Biden said that “the country grieves with you, stands with you, and we’ll do everything possible to help you recover, rebuild, and respect culture and traditions when the rebuilding takes place.” He promised that we will “rebuild the way the people of Maui want to build.”Senator Brian Schatz (D-HI) said, “We in Hawaii have been through hurricanes, tsunamis, volcanic eruptions—but we have never seen such a robust federal response. Thank you.”
Click through for full letter. It details everything done by the White House to support Hawaii. This includes a whole lot of stuff which did not make it into the mainstream media, and all of which goes to support Senator Schatz’s remark.

ProPublica – New York Workers Are Waiting on $79 Million in Back Wages
Quote – But the Department of Labor, which is responsible for both investigating wage theft claims and recovering back wages, has not been able to collect even a penny on behalf of [Saprina] James. [Mugisha F.] Sahini [and his company, Riverside Line,] flatly refused to pay for more than a year, James said, and then appealed the case, claiming that he wasn’t aware that the workers were earning less than minimum wage. The appeal has since been rejected, but James has yet to receive any payment. About to turn 60, James said she’s now unemployed and running through her savings to pay her bills. “I’m so upset,” she said. “This is ridiculous. I don’t understand why it takes so long.” Sahini did not respond to repeated requests for comment.
Click through for article. And, of course, this is exactly why the rich want government underfunded and cash-strapped – because it help them get away with theft and greed. How they manage to get so many people who are being hurt by their theories to believe them has always been a mystery … but then division and hate are also a mystery to emotionally healthy people.

Food For Thought

This is a screenshot, so the video is not live. Sorry.

Open Thread August 22, 2023

Posted by Joanne Dixon at 5:57 am Open Thread, Personal, Politics

Aug 222023

Yesterday, I was able to keep up with Hilary, but I had to hunt for it. I may be misremembering, but it seems to me we don’t have to search for news on hurricanes and tropical storms in The South – instead it’s challenging to avoid updates. That may have something to do with “If it bleeds, it leads,” since there are few or no fatalities from Hilary. And that has to do both with the storm losing power and also with the measures taken by governments to prepare. I did find a WaPo article which i was able to see and read, I assume because it’s been so long since I have tried that its server forgot me. The overall impression was “Major cleanup, but lives spared.” Incidentally, thee’s another storm in the Gulf heading for Texas.

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PolitiZoom – Poll Shows MAGAs Trust Trump More Than Their Own Mother
Quote – However bizarre, it’s true. A recent CBS News/YouGov poll show that Trump voters aka MAGAs, trust their Mango Messiah above family, church leaders and other conservative figures — and by no small margin, we want you to know. By a considerable margin. He may be Trumpty Dumpty to you and me but to them he is the God of their understanding. Take a look and try not to let your jaw hit the laptop, those keyboards are hard…. They may trust Ben Shapiro or Franklin Graham or Mom or brother to some extent but not like they trust Trumpty. Yes, it is enough to make you sick.
Click through for article. I’ve always thought that all humor is based on some kind of incongruity – and this is so incongruous that it ought to be hysterical – but it isn’t (at not least in the humorous sense.) When my mom was alive, there were people I might have tructed more than I did her on some particular topics – quantum physics, for instance – but not on “common sense” matters. Incidentally, it gets stranger the farther you read, and the trend continues into the comments.

Axios – Trump’s bail set at $200,000 in Georgia 2020 election case
Quote – Former President Trump’s bail has been set at $200,000 in the Fulton County prosecution over his alleged efforts to subvert 2020 election results in Georgia.,,,
Monday’s court filing, signed by Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis and Trump’s lawyers, also includes strict conditions on witness intimidation.
“The defendant shall perform no act to intimidate any person known to him or her to be a codefendant or witness in this case or to otherwise obstruct the administration of justice,” per the court filing.
“The above shall include, but are not limited to, posts on social media or reposts of posts made by another individual on social media,” the order adds.
Click through for likely even more details than I had. Of course he will post the bail., and of course he will violate tha conditions. And that will be when it gets intresting.

Food For Thought

Open Thread August 21, 2023

Posted by Joanne Dixon at 6:06 am Open Thread, Personal, Politics

Aug 212023

Yesterday, I kept periodically checking on Hurricane Hilary. PP has at least one reader in southern Cal, and my BFF has family there. Just to make life more intresting, there was a 5.1 magnitude earthquake near Ojai (Ventura Coounty) – if you hadn’t heard, that’s probably because compared to the storms it was trivial. And then there’s southern Nevada and Arizona, which are now in the path. Hilary had been staying a cat 4 into the afternoon, but they were not ruling out Cat 5 status being reached, and the flooding was being considered the biggest danger. We could be continuing to see the ongoing effects for another day or two before it finishes. And then there’a another system in the Pacific and 4 more in the Atlantic.

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Short Takes –

HuffPost – Trump Lawyer On Georgia Case Has Eyebrow-Raising Tie To Prosecutor Fani Willis
Quote – Findling gave $1,440 to Fani Willis’ successful Democratic primary bid for Fulton County DA in July 2020, the outlet wrote, citing data from the Georgia Government Transparency and Campaign Finance Commission. Meanwhile, he donated $8,400 for Biden’s White House bid…. He told Insider at the time that differing political views do not stand in the way of him offering a vigorous defense against “wrongful investigations.”
Click through for details. I doubt that this means anything (except that he might be competent), but I’m surprised that Trump** isn’t all over it like stink on you-know-what.

Orlando Sentinel (via Yahoo! News) – ‘Parenting with Pride’ aims to take on conservative Moms for Liberty in Florida schools
Quote – “This is what Florida families really look like,” said Brandon Wolf, spokesperson for Equality Florida as he gestured to the group of people with varying races, gender identities, sexualities and immigration statuses who had come to support the new initiative. “For years, parents and families just like the ones behind me have been under assault. … Politicians have waged war on these families turning their classrooms into political battlefields and descending school districts into utter chaos. But today marks a turning of the tide. Today marks a rise in the resistance against that agenda.”
Click hrough for article. Yahoo! News provides news articles straight from their sources, which is why I cited the Sentinel. However, I did not look at the comments, and I recommend (based on prior experience) that ypu don’t either if you value your blood pressure. Too many little-y yahoos.

Food For Thought

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