Open Thread August 7 2024

 Posted by at 5:56 am  Open Thread, Personal, Politics
Aug 072024
 

Yesterday, the exterminator came, and my rep is still out on family leave. The replacement didn’t kow whether it was a boy or a girl,so I asked him to take both to the office for the new dad and tell him to just keep the other one for the next addition. I may not have any childen of my own, but I still have a by God commitment to the future.

Steve Schmidt has a new video title: “The Schmidt Storm” I don’t know whether he plans on changing the name of his column or if this is just for the election – heaven knows it would fit either way. About this first use, he says “In the first edition of “The Schmidt Storm”, I answer your questions about the post-Trump Republican party, battling negative Kamala Harris narratives and preparing for another MAGA loss”

This story from The 19th was reproduced from Politifact. I couldn’t find it there (probably just didn’t have the patience), but I did want to point out that the “we” in the last sentence is “we at PolitiFact.” not “we at The 19th.”  I don’t know about the 19th, but personally, I would rate it “Pants on Fire.”

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Open Thread August 2 2024

 Posted by at 6:12 am  Open Thread, Personal, Politics
Aug 022024
 

Yesterday, I was schedued to get a maintenance visit from the exterminator. But his wife went into labor, so they postponed it until Tuesday. Well, that will give me time to see whether I can find a pair of baby booties. I almost certainly can. But in case I can’t, I know I can find a sweater.Also, I replaced the pads on the bottom of my mouse, which works just fine but has been driving me nuts with the way it moves over the desk.  I knew there was a reason I had been saving those scraps of fuzzy Contact paper.  It works so smoothely and quietly now.  Oh, and the news was released that 3 prisoners of Russia are being released and returning to the US, and one of them is Paul Whelan!  Did you write to him when his brother asked people to do so?  I did, and even printed some labels because I don’t expect even American to read my 79 year old writing with ease, let alone Russians.  I don’t think I’ve ever been as happy to be recycling something as I am recycling those which are left.

Tina Peters’s trial started this week. CPR posted an article on the back story of how she got here. She’s really creepy (a word I personally prefer to “weird,” because good weird exists – but good creepy does not).  Apparently the evidence will remove any lingering suspicion that her actions might have been impulsive.  I wonder how many like her there are in how many states.

I don’t often send you to Steve Schmidt these days, but this time he was the first (at least the first I have seen) to tie JD Vance to Himmler, and I find it convincing (and, of course, frightening.)  Himmler was almost certainly smarter.  But it’s not necessary to be smart to do monumental damage.

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Open Thread July 31 2024

 Posted by at 6:02 am  Open Thread, Personal, Politics
Jul 312024
 

Yesterday, I came across a short post sharing that MSNBC had shown an image of JD Vance over the chron “Look what the cat dragged in.” That gave me a smile. I also attempted making cookies, oatmeal raisin, with a non-wheat flour. I knew I would need more liquid than I normally use on account of the oatmeal (I used instant) but I overdid it a little. So they look odd. But they taste alright.

It may have been done before – but I have not seen this quote about fascism applied to democracy (don’t worry, it’s not negative) in this way – particularly combined with the concept that it happens a lot, in and outside of government in both small and large ways.

(non-paywall link) I don’t know how Rolling Stone does it – but so many scoops that are truly significant seem to start there. The New Yorker used to do that, with reporters like David Remnick and Ronan Farrow, but I’ve lost confidence in them. This story, of course, we’ve known what seems like forever – at least in the general outlines – but the details are now included.

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Open Thread July 21 2024

 Posted by at 6:07 am  Open Thread, Personal, Politics
Jul 212024
 

Yesterday, the radio opera was “Elektra” by Richard Strauss. Itis based on te Greek myth, but I have only ever seen it in modern dress. (The first time may not have been intentional – bot when Chrysothemis had her back to the camera – it was televised – viewers could easily see the zipper in the back of her costume.) It’s one of his early operas, like “Salome,” and, like Salome, it’s all in one act and the heroine dances at the end and then dies. Aside from thet, they’re very different. It was under 2 hours, so when it ended and I turned the stream off and the radio back on, I got to re-listen to the last third of “Rheingold” again.

I like cats (and most other animals.) I don’t like climate change. We used to have permafrost in the Rockies. Back in the late seventies, when I was still living in Alamosa, a former Marine Corps colleague visited with his wife and two kids (who must now be in their late fifties) who had never seen snow. I was able to call the local paper and get directions to a glacial permafrost area within easy driving distance. It wasn’t really snow, but the kids were thrilled. There are concerns about thawing permafrost releasing CO2 – but it’s also known there are viruses in there. I don’t see why this one would not spread to humans, though it hasn’t yet, thankfully.

This by Robert Reich could be very depressing. But it also could be very motivating – it puts additional faces on “We must avoid this at all costs.” If you find that depressing, and don’t need any more motivation, you may want to skip it.

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Open Thread July 19 2024

 Posted by at 6:06 am  Open Thread, Personal, Politics
Jul 192024
 

Yesterday, I got to thinking about how I would change mu initials if I felt I had to. I am blessed (or saddled) with quite an assornment of potential middle names. Starting with the one on my birth certificate, there’s “May” which was my father’s mother’s name, so there’s M. Her full maiden name was May Hurst, and occasionally I’ll use the H. Then there’s “Laura,” which I sometimes say is my Lutheran confrmation name, but actually I just liked it. L is the middle initial on my DD-214. Then there’s “Teresa” which actually is my Catholic confirmation name (I didn’t pick up one when I first became a Catholic since I claimed St. Joan of Arc as my patron – close enough to Joanne). But there is my own maiden name, “Stangenberger”, so I could go all the way up to JMHLTSD if I wanted to – but that seems unwieldy. Any thoughts?

I don’t know about you, but I could sure use a laugh from Andy. And this is a good one.

Heather Cox Richardson’s Letter for July 17 goes back in history to a July 18, and goes into the real life story celebrated in the movie “Glory.” I have not seen the movie, but its sound track is a favorite with clssical music radio programs, so I do know what it is about -but not how strictly it stays with the facts. Heaven knows the facts are dramatic enough. If you don’t know the story and want to read it here, you may need a hanky alert (I always do when this story comes up.)

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Open Thread July 17 2024

 Posted by at 6:09 am  Open Thread, Personal, Politics
Jul 172024
 

Yesterday, There was a thunderstorm warning , not exactly for my area, but for an area I’m on the fringes of. I heard one crash of thunder, but I didn’t see the Lightning, so I have no clue how far away it was. I lost no power, but my modem started refusing to stay connected to the ‘Net. I rebooted it once but that didn’t help – but I then rebooted a second time, this time leaving it disconnected for over an hour, and it’s working now. Fingers crossed it keeps working. Another 9 days of storms like this are predicted, and tha’s as far in advance as they rpredict, so there could be more. So now, though the modem is working, somehow the zoom size of my inbox in my opera browser got trashed. Everything else on that browser works, but can’t read my emails (my main source.) So I’m having to read them on edge. It’s not perfect, but it’s close enough I can make it work with the screen magnifier. So I learned that, according to Axios, there is now evidence tat Netanyahu is working behind the scenes for Trump**. I hope this news reaches some coters who are wanting to not vote for Biden because, basically, he honored a treaty he was legally bound to honor. At least he’s doing his best to hold Bibi back. Trump** will say, “Do whatever the hell you want.” If anything else new comes it, it will have to wait. I need to get this posted while I still can (at least I hope so.)

Steve Schmidt’s response to the shooting at the Trump** rally byposting a video of Bobby Kennedy’s speech in response to the death of MLK. It was a powerful speech then, and it’s powerful now, but what really hit me was one of the comments (which I normally never look at – this must have been the first time in over a decade that I have done so.) A viewer usernamed “@tedb3966” simply wrote, “The greatedt President we never had.” But Steve himself has some powerful things to say too.

I know y’all are alert and atay informed, so you probably know that Senator Sheldon Whitehouse has set his sights on Clarence Thomas. But I also thought youmight be as interested as I was to read about it from a black news outlet.

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Open Thread July 12 2024

 Posted by at 6:00 am  Open Thread, Personal, Politics
Jul 122024
 

A few days ago, the Lincoln Project released a new video – a Doomsday video. It’s a bit over four minutes, which is long for them, but the details demanded it. As bad as it is, and as long as it is, it’s still only a fraction But please watch it – and share it where it will do the most good. Now, yesterday, I got a call from one of my California cousins.  She’s the same age that I am but less mobile – and doesn’t have any equipment but a plain cane – not even a quad cane. I gave her some information on walkers and said I’d send a note confirming it, so I had to stop and do that (it took longer than I thought, because the place where I got mine doesnn’t have a paper catalog, and she is computer illiterate  So I had to  . But though I may end up posting this later than usual, y’all won’t notice the difference, since I schedule ahead. 🙂

Joyce Vance is, or should be the go-to on Project 2025. And she should also be the go-to in the Republican Parrty’s “official platform” – their first in 8 years – which more or less follows Project 2025 but omits any mention of abortion or marriage (because they know their stands are even more unpopular than the rest of the project.) Sso don’t be fooled by the “official platform.” They are just as determined to eliminate all abortion (and way too many pregnant women with it) and gay and interracial marriage as they have ever been.

I don’t suppose this is news to anyone – they have been doing it creepingly for literally decades. But it won’t be creepingly any more if they get into office. It will be more like a nuclear bomb.

Now here is an idea whose time has come. There are so many reasons why this makes perfect sense. As aperson living in Colorado, I have seen a lot of abandoned mines, and have worried a great deal about someone – especially cildren – getting trapped there. And that isn’t even the best reason – only the most obviously compassionate one.

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Open Thread July 10 2024

 Posted by at 5:59 am  Open Thread, Personal, Politics
Jul 102024
 

Yesterday, I got an email from Common Cause sharing its accomplishments at the state level. Unfortunately, I couldn’t find anything a their website with the same information. They cite four states – Ohio, Minnesota, New Mexico, and Connecticut (I’m far less worried about New Mexico and Connecticut than about the other two.) Also, Colorado now has avian flu in Weld County (dairy ranching country, nowhere near me) and one case of bubonic plague in Pueblo County (I’m 15 miles from the county line, but do go there to visit Virgil.) With only the one case and the experts looking into it, I’m not worried about it now, but I will be watching for updates. And then, i learned Steve Schmodt, after losing two family dogs within months of each other, has a new puppy, a 3 pound Havanese named Mabel.

Jasmine Crockett is someone we need more of. Smart – but not only smart, but also knowledgable and realistic. I hope Democrats are listening.

Marcie Jones is fairly new at Wonkette, but she has the style down. Here she points out that, as bad as Project 2025 is, Trump’s personal plans may be even worse

“Morals of an Alley Cat”, Tfrump, political cartoon

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