COVID-19 – Page 18 – Politics Plus

Open Thread for July 31, 2021

Posted by Joanne Dixon at 7:12 am Open Thread, Personal, Politics

Jul 312021

Yesterday was definitely hot. It is supposed to cool down today. I certainly hope so.

Cartoon –

Short Takes –

Official White House Document: National Strategy for Countering Domestic Terrorism
Quote – Too often over the past several years, American communities have felt the wrenching pain of domestic terrorism. Black church members slaughtered during their bible study in Charleston. A synagogue in Pittsburgh targeted for supporting immigrants. A gunman spraying bullets at an El Paso Walmart to target Latinos. It goes against everything our country strives to stand for in the world, and it poses a direct challenge to America’s national security, our democracy, and our national unity. This National Strategy for Countering Domestic Terrorism lays out a comprehensive approach to addressing the threat while safeguarding bedrock American civil rights and civil liberties – values that make us who we are as a nation.
Click through for full document. Yes, it’s long. It is also an official document, which mkes it a benchmark for wht to expect from government and how to evaluste how governmen is doing. Something to download or bookmark.

The Hill – Pelosi calls on CDC to extend eviction moratorium unilaterally
Quote – As House Democratic leaders struggle to find enough party support to extend an eviction moratorium, Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) is advocating a temporary fix, urging the Biden administration to act unilaterally to help the nation’s most vulnerable renters. The Speaker said the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), which has instituted a ban on evictions through the end of Saturday, should extend the deadline further, giving House Democrats more time to codify the extension in legislation.
Click through for deets. It is like Nancy to thibk outside the box when necessary to get stuff done that needs doing.

HuffPost – ‘Comically Minimal Ego-Stroking’: Inside The Bumble Takedown Of A Violent Capitol Rioter
Quote – A citywide curfew was in place, and she could hear the helicopters hovering in the sky. Outside her window, “Claire” could see Trump supporters streaming back from the Capitol to a hotel near her home, carrying their flags and wearing “Make America Great Again” hats. “I was watching on the news and seeing everyone walk back,” Claire told HuffPost. “It felt kind of useless for me to be that close and not kind of do anything proactive about it.”
Click through for the whole story. I loved this when I first saw it – and I love even more knowing that she’s not the only one looking, and he’s not the only one getting foumd.

Food for Thought

Bill Maher from 7/30/2021

Posted by Joanne Dixon at 10:31 pm Politics

Jul 302021

Bill is back from vacation (he said he was taking off the month of July, and he pretty nearly did.) This allows me to post a lst post on him and provide information for anyone who wants to follow him on your own. Here is his official website As with Sam, I prefer the “Videos” page to the “Home” page because it shows more videos without scrolling, but it’s easy to get there from here. In the past, there have usually started to be video clips available as early as 9:00 Mountain (8:00 Pacific, 10:00 Central, 11:00 Eastern, and IIRC 4 am Saturday GMT, except it’s not called GMT any more. Sigh.) Tonight, however it took almost 2 hours before they were all up – and, oddly, the Monologue was the last to appear. That may just be getting back ito the groove from vacation. But don’t be discouraged if they aren’t there right away. Keep checking, or check the next day, whichever works best with your schedule.

So this will be the last Bill post here.

Monologue: Return of the Mask

Eric Adams: Running Against a Movement

Simone Biles vs. The Asshole Division

New Rule: The Woke Olympics

Video Thread for 7/26/21

Posted by Joanne Dixon at 11:57 am Open Thread, Politics

Jul 262021

Glenn Kirschner – With Tom Barrack Indictment (& Weisselberg Indictment & Giuliani Search Warrant) Justice Is Trending (Kind of a recap, which is OK)

Meidas Touch – Tucker Carlson WRECKED by Montana Man: “The worst human being known to mankind!” [With Captions]

The Damage Report – Company Sells Shooting Targets Of AOC & Greta Thunberg

CNN – Jim Acosta: Fox News viewers may have a case of whiplash

The Happiest, Cuddliest Duck Ever Is Obsessed With A Giant Dog

Beau – Let’s talk about Huckabee Sanders and giving up on…

Video Thread for 7/24/21

Posted by Joanne Dixon at 12:04 pm Open Thread, Politics

Jul 242021

Glenn Kirschner – FBI Give Citizen Tips About Kavanaugh to White House Rather Than Investigate Them. What Now?

The Lincoln Project – Last Week in the Republican Party – July 19, 2021

politicsrus – Covid 19 Get Vaccinated – Aimed at MAGAts, certainly – and they also have one which only has the Hannity-Trump** portion if you have one or more of those to persueade.

VoteVets update – Rachel Maddow showed their “Abdulla” ad (in yesterday’s thread) on her show and briefly interviewed Tammy.

Tiny Kittens Help Heartbroken Pittie To Live Again (hanky alert)

Beau – Let’s talk about wolves, Wisconsin, and tough guys….

Open Thread for July 22, 2021

Posted by Joanne Dixon at 7:34 am Open Thread, Personal, Politics

Jul 222021

Tuesday night after I finished posting I attempted to play an older game on my desktop.PC. Many of the older games, being designed for a lower resolution, make my desktop look as though icons are missing, but when one exits the game they are actually all there Not this one – When I exited the game many of the icons in the bottom half of my desktop were still MIA. I recovered a few key ones then, and when I got up yesterday installed the offending game (and its sequel) on my Win7 laptop prior to uninstalling them on the Win8, so that won’t happen again. I tend to over-accumulate text documents and shortcuts which I really don’t need to keep, so this will be a good excuse to clean house … but it won’t happen all at once. And, for architectural reasons, the room the laptop is in stays cooler than the one the desktop is in … .

Cartoon –

Short Takes –

CNN – Indonesian Covid-positive man disguises himself as wife on Citilink flight in order to fly
Quote – After that, “the airport immediately contacted the Ternate City Covid-19 Handling Task Force team to evacuate the man while wearing personal protective equipment (PPE), and then taking him in an ambulance to his house (in Ternate City) to self-isolate, where he will be supervised by Task Force officers,” Ternate Covid-19 Task Force Operational Head Muhammad Arif Gani told reporters Once his self-isolation period is complete, local police have stated they intend to prosecute “DW.”
Click through for background. I used to thnk that “American Exceptionalism” applied only to insanity. Well, I was wrong. It doesn’t even apply to that.

Raw Story – Nancy Pelosi Rejects 2 GOP Picks For The Jan. 6 Committee
Quote – “With respect for the integrity of the investigation, with an insistence on the truth and with concern about statements made and actions taken by these Members, I must reject the recommendations of Representatives Banks and Jordan to the Select Committee,” Pelosi said in a statement. “The unprecedented nature of January 6th demands this unprecedented decision.”
Click through fpr names and sequence of events (of which I predicted what Pelosi would do. I failed to predict McCarthy’s response, though I probably should have been able to.)

Common Dreams – ‘Tremendous News for Workers and Consumers’: Biden Picks Kanter as DOJ Antitrust Chief
Quote – Progressive groups including MoveOn had urged Biden to tap Kanter to be assistant attorney general for the antitrust division at the DOJ, Politico reported Tuesday, “because of his work over the past decade representing companies, including Microsoft, that lodged antitrust complaints about Google.”
Click through for more. Now we just need to get him through the Senate.

Food for Thought:

Open Thread for July 21, 2021

Posted by Joanne Dixon at 7:00 am Open Thread, Personal, Politics

Jul 212021

Those of us who remember polio, measles, mumps, rubella, chicken pox, and all that went with them, may sometimes have trouble getting through to (and in the process become frustrated by) nnti-vaxxers, who don’t remember that. Roald Dahl (Charlie and the Chocolate Factory and other masterpieces) lost a daughter to measles – to measles encephalitis, to be precise. He wrpte about the experience years after, and someone at Democratic Underground found the piece and shared the story. Of course it’s a huge hanky alert. But if you can think of anyone who might be helped by hearing or reading it … you’ll find it at the link. Dahl was ot a perfect human being (for one thing, he was known to be anti-Semitic.) But no one deserves that.

Cartoon –

Short Takes –

Acosta Warns Of A Five Alarm Fire – Coups, Hitler, Voter Suppression
Quote – What will you do if a second insurrection happens? What if they are successful in taking over the government? We are standing there, rule book in hand, screaming at the other side to FOLLOW THE RULES, while they shoot us with mace and bear spray, fire assault rifles at us, cover their faces with war paint, and scream “MAGA MAGA MAGA!”
Click through for story and video. Of course he’s right. I hope people who need to listen do listen. And that they don’t disregard him because he doesn’t yell or scream.

APNews – New chief selected for Capitol Police after 1/6 insurrection
Quote – The decision comes as the Capitol Police and other law enforcement agencies are struggling to determine the best way to secure the Capitol and what direction to take the 2,300-person force that guards the building and the lawmakers inside it and functions as mashup of a national security agency and local police department…. The Capitol Police Board, which includes the House and Senate sergeant at arms and the Architect of the Capitol, is charged with oversight of the police force and led the search.
Click through. The 1/7 interim appointment was not intended to be permanent.

The Hill – Trump ally and ex-campaign adviser Thomas Barrack charged with secretly lobbying for UAE
Quote – “The conduct alleged in the indictment is nothing short of a betrayal of those officials in the United States, including the former President,” Lesko said. “Through this indictment, we are putting everyone — regardless of their wealth or perceived political power — on notice that the Department of Justice will enforce the prohibition of this sort of undisclosed foreign influence.”
Click through for more. Also, Glenn Kirschner discusses this in today’s video thread. Incidentally, there’s been a story floating that the Biden DOJ declined to prosecute Wilbur Ross for lying to Congress. That’s false. It was the Trump** DOJ which did that.

Food for Thought:

Video Thread for 7/20/21

Posted by Joanne Dixon at 12:32 pm Open Thread, Politics

Jul 202021

Glenn Kirschner – Defendant Hodgkins Receives Lenient Sentence. How Will It Impact Other Insurrection Prosecutions?

Thom Hartmann – GOP Killing Kids & Grandma to Own the Libs?

politicsrus hasn’t posted for a while, but now has three up. First: Smart campaigning is here

politicsrus #2: Make John Happy – looks old, but we can’t take these Senators for granted. And we need to keep then

Now This News – Police Use Bag of Chips to Save Stabbing Victim’s Life

Puppet Regime – Putin Has a Solution for US Democracy

Beau – Let’s talk about Legos, being your own worst enemy, and the Block 19…. From what Beau says, it apears Lego just made the Legos, and the kits were the brainchildren of (and assembled by) someone else.