Glenn Kirschner – Glenn Kirschner on… What’s Next for Trump?
Lincoln Projrct – The Union
The Ring of Fire – Hannity Praises Putin For ‘Channeling His Inner Trump’
Rebel HQ – Richard Ojeda RIPS Hannity for Quoting Kremlin
Liberal Redneck – Liberal Redneck – Ketanji Brown Jackson’s SCOTUS Confirmation
Parody Project – THEY CALL THE STATE PARIAH
Beau – Let’s talk about Mariupol….
Glenn Kirschner – Stephen Miller’s Frivolous Lawsuit; Michigan Trial Underway in Conspiracy Plot to Kidnap Gov Whitmer
Lincoln Project – Red Phone
Ring of Fire – Putin Is In Over His Head, And That Makes Him Even More Dangerous
CBS – Americans travel to Ukraine to help Ukrainians defend against Russia
Crooks and Liars – “Jennifer Griffin might be the last person on Fox News who cares about the truth.”
Tiny Rescue Kitten Refuses To Leave Baby Sister’s Crib
Beau – Let’s talk about a teachable moment about race from Ukraine….
Yesterday, The Opera was “The Marriage of Figaro” by Mozart. It’s based on the second of three plays by Pierre Beaumarchais, kown as the Figaro plays. All three have been made into operas – The first play, The Barber of Seville, by Rossini in 1816. The second, The Marriage of Figaro, by Mozart in 1786. The third, The Guilty Mother, by many composers, including John Corigliano, completed in 1991, and very different in that the source play is treated as a play within a play, and there is not a living person in the whole thing. These days it’s not obvious why all three were so controversial when new, particularly the plays, but they were. Beaumarchais was an American sympathizer who raised money for the Revolution before France sent actual military aid with LaFayette, and there are hints of that in the plays (fewer in the operas). But things have changed enough so that is not obvious to us today. Human nature, however, has not changed much if at all, and there’s plenty of that in all of them.
Cartoon –
Short Takes –
Huff Post – Major Student Loan Processor Cancels $1.7 Billion In Debt
Quote – Most of the loans being canceled are “subprime loans” that were given to students attending for-profit colleges, which often had graduation rates below 50%. That made it unlikely students would ever be able to pay the loans back.
Click through for background. This does not apply to all student loans, but it does apply to the most vulnerable. And there is another suit still going forward.
Reuters – DirecTV to drop far-right channel OAN from its service
Quote – OAN, which rose to prominence amid the triumph and tumult of the administration of then-President Donald Trump, has been criticized for spreading conspiracy theories about the COVID-19 pandemic and the 2020 election. “We informed Herring Networks that, following a routine internal review, we do not plan to enter into a new contract when our current agreement expires,” a DirecTV spokesperson said in an emailed statement to Reuters.
Click through for more. In a related article, Reuters estimates OAN’s revenue from DirecTV to be in the neighborhood of 90% of its total revenue.
The Guardian – Police and FBI respond to synagogue hostage situation in Texas
Quote – The incident took place during an online livestream of the Shabbat service at the synagogue in Colleyville, in the Dallas-Fort Worth metropolitan area. The livestream cut off at about 2pm local time…. “Colleyville Police Sgt Dara Nelson said negotiators have made contact with somebody inside the synagogue who they believe is a suspect,” the Dallas Morning News said.
Click through – They had better respond! This is clear domestic terrorism. UPDATE: All hostages safe, hostage taker dead.
Food For Thought:
Glenn Kirschner – Time for the Military Leadership to Return Mike Flynn to Active Duty and Court-Martial Him (I might just add that retirees and active duty military are paid out of the same budget. I’m not saying that that [Dod] budget is not inflated – just that retireepay is a huge chunk of it, and why DoD doesn’t use that fact as a public selling point is beyond me. But it does bolster the military’s ability to recall retirees to active duty at will.))
Don Winslow – #JoeManchinsBrotherSuedHim
Robert Reich – The Oligarchy’s Ultimate Political Weapon
VoteVets – Maj.Gen.(Ret.) Paul Eaton Discusses WaPo Op-Ed & 2024 Insurrection Threat With Wolf Blitzer on CNN
The Lincoln Project – The Trump Vaccine
Really American – COVID-19 vaccine
Beau – Let’s talk about Sherman and Atlanta….
Glenn Kirschner – Trump’s Newly Issued “Statement” Suggests that he Knows & Fears that Justice is Coming for Him
The Lincoln Project – Corporate Accountability
Now This News – Psaki Responds to Joe Manchin Not Supporting Build Back Better [She has the patience of Job.]
politicsrus – Voting Rights HD
Armageddon Update – Present Traumatic Stress Disorder
If Tax Prep Ads Were Honest
Beau – Let’s talk about Fox News and grocery stores….
Glenn Kirschner – House Committee Votes Meadows in Contempt; Says Insurrection “Runs Right Through Mark Meadows”
Meidas Touch – Fox vs. Fox: Private Messages | #FoxRuse
The Lincoln Project – Last Week in the Republican Party
MSNBC – Warnock To Senate Democrats: Bipartisanship At Whose Expense? (May I say Warnock rocks?)
Don Winslow Films – #NameTheTraitors (Yeah But. Even traitors deserve due process. And these particular ones are so placed as to avoid acountability if they don’t get it.)
Really American – Fox Hosts and Don Jr. EXPOSED re Jan. 6th Lies (I sure could use that emoji.)
Beau – Let’s talk about coup by PowerPoint…..
Yesterday, I got email confirmation of my next visit to Virgil, which will be on Christmas Day. We have never had that happen before. I hope the weather will be kind. I also got a paper check from a class action suit into the mail to my credit union. I hate paper checks. But I do have envelopes and postage and deposit slips, and now I have the address on my hard drive where I won’t lose it, so, oh, well. Usually I send paper checks to my USAA account – they provide postage-paid envelopes – but in this suit, USAA was the defendant, and I thought that would be tacky. So the Credit Union it had to be.
Cartoon –
Short Takes
The 19th – ‘Dash for Cash’ showcases lack of pay and resources for South Dakota teachers
Quote – Teachers spent an average of $750 out of their own pocket on school supplies during the 2020-2021 school year, according to a survey of 5,400 teachers administered by AdoptAClassroom, a nonprofit that raises funds for school supplies
Click through. This just makes me want to cry. There is no rational reason why we don’t fund out public schools properly and pay teachers appropriately for what they do. It’s just pure meanness. BTW I promised I’d look up the slam poem on what teachers make – you’ll find it and the transcript in today’s video thread.
Crooks and Liars – What Wingers Are Really Saying When They Say ‘Missing Children’
Quote – That’s what right-wingers mean when they talk about missing children: It’s QAnon Lite, the belief that all their enemies are pedophiles and all their heroes are anti-pedophile warriors. Much of the discussion and activity of these beliefs now takes place with no overt reference to QAnon.
Click thought for full story. I knew exactly what the headline was referring to before reading the full story. Did you? Of course, there exist a number we can’t ever know of people whose brains are wired to want sex with children We can’t know it because most will never act on it, and most of those who do will never be exposed. But, since this kind of sex has a built-in imbalance of power, I don’t think it’s a stretch to suggest that most of them are Republicans (using the term for people who think like Republicans, regardless of party registration, if any.)
Daily Beast – The Green Lantern Theory Destroyed Jimmy Carter’s Presidency. Now It’s Hitting Joe Biden.
Quote – The problem with being a president who promises to clean things up after a villainous predecessor is that the press corps treats you like a superhero—which sounds like a good thing until you realize that just means you get blamed for things you can’t control. That’s what happened to Jimmy Carter, and it’s what’s happening to Joe Biden now thanks to what Dartmouth political scientist Brendan Nyhan has called “the Green Lantern Theory” in which voters believe a president can do anything through sheer willpower, like the DC superhero.
Click through for details. Ms. Clift used to be in the McLaughlin Group, so she’s some kind of conservative, but she was never a nutcase, and this is pretty reasonable – if I can use that term for a solid explanatin of unreason.
Food For Thought:
I can’t put the whole presentation here because it’s six panels, each a different “Truth-in-Advertising” re-named Kelloggs product. It starts with “Kelloggs Corp Flacks” and only gets better. I think you’ll want to share it too.
Glenn Kirschner – With Trump’s COS Meadows’ Democracy-Ending PowerPoint, It’s Beginning to Look a Lot Like . . . RICO
MSNBC – TRMS – Details Of Intimidation Of Georgia Election Workers Puts New Scrutiny On Trump Campaign (Barf Bag Alert)
Thom Hartmann – The Reckoning Is Coming For The Media
The Lincoln Project – Hotline
Really American – GOP Initiates Trump 2022 ‘Slow Moving Coup’
SumofUs – The Tiger & The Buffalo spoof ad
Beau – Let’s talk about voting traditions in the US….