Open Thread September 21 2024

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

Yesterday, I was still working on organizing, but more on computers than IRL. That is less tiring physicall, but possib,ly even more time consuming, though of course it should save me time in the long run. I do keep swithching from one task to another so that each task can also be a break from the previous task, which helps keep me sane (at least as sane as I can be.)

I saved this story for the weekend. It’s not a typical good news story, but it is about living one’s life in one’s own way, about friendship and love, about grieving, anout a (now international) item called a “wind phone,” and more. (When you get to the point where you see the name “Kora” you may want to grab a hanky.) What an amazing woman Nancy Brockman was! (I also love Silverton, BTW.)

This is also a nice story for a weekend. We just need to not be overconfident about it, or about any other good nesws.

This HuffPo article explains universal medicare as an insurance agent should (but may not.) Some people have a mindset that insurance is a bad investment if you never get any money back from it. The truth is that in order to never get any money back from an auto or home policy over time, and given enough time, what it means is that you are incredibly lucky never to have had a loss. Good luck should be worth something. That, and the fasct that the bigger the pool is, the more fair it iis to everyone. I would much rather get no monetary return from my insurance then get lots of money with expensive and painful claims. But I’m pretty sure that thinking will not convince Republicans – not even the old fashioned kind.

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Open Thread July 14, 2023

 Posted by at 6:00 am  Open Thread, Personal, Politics
Jul 142023
 

Yesterday, the Screen Actors Guild announced a strike – its first in 43 years. This also means the motin picture undustry will have two unions on strike at the same time, which has not happened for even longer – 20 years longer, to be precise. The actors (and other personalities) have issues of their own, but they are also supportive of the Writers, who were already on strike. I wish them, and all unions, well.

Cartoon – 14 0714Cartoon.jpg

Short Takes –

Robert Reich – It’s time to declare victory in the inflation fight
Quote – The consumer price index was at 3% for the month of June, compared to the year before. This is a significant improvement from the May figure, which was 4%. And a major improvement from last year’s peak of 9.1% in June. The last time inflation neared 3% was in March 2021. So will the Fed please now declare victory? Yes, I know, the Fed has an inflation target of 2%, and some Fed officials have recently signaled they’re likely to raise interest rates again at their July 25-26 meeting. But it’s time to stop, because higher rates will slow the economy — and a slower economy will hurt lower-wage workers.
Click through for full argument. No contradiction from me.

HuffPost – Why We Need More Close Interracial Friendships (And Why We’re Bad At Them)
Quote – Developing cross-racial friendships is even more difficult in adulthood. Outside of maybe bonding with a co-worker of a different race, we mostly adhere to our geographic segregation and stay socially segregated, too. The barrier to befriending someone is even higher when the person of color thinks their otherwise friendly white co-worker or neighbor is closed off to learning about what it means to be white in a race-conscious society. “It’s possible to learn some of that in the context of a cross-racial friendship, but it’s easier to become friends with a person of color if some of that work has already been done,” Daniel Tatum said.
Click through for details. I could wish this wasn’t accurate. But I can’t deny any of it. A lot of steps went into developing my relationship with my BFF, but I have not forgotten the very first step – we were co-workers, yes, and one day she said something, I forget what, and I replied, “Oh, fo’ shizzle.”

Food For Thought

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Open Thread December 16, 2022

 Posted by at 6:43 am  Open Thread, Personal, Politics
Dec 162022
 

Yesterday, I pretty much didn’t do anything. Didn’t even have any profound thoughts. I did notice that Weather Underground thinks I may get some snow tonight, but it’s only a maybe, and even if it happens, there shouldn’t be very much. I did work on some cartoons a bit.

Cartoon

Short Takes –

Robert Reich – The Fed is Dead
Quote – The Fed [met Tuesday. Wednesday], presumably, it will [have raised] interest rates again in its continuing attempt to stem inflation by slowing the economy. But the Fed’s rate hikes aren’t working. Despite seven straight increases in just nine months, totaling a whopping 4.25 percentage points — a pace not seen since the Fed’s inflation fight in the 1980s — price increases are still hovering near four-decade highs. The Consumer Price Index measure climbed 7.1 percent in November compared to a year earlier. The Fed’s rate hikes are slowing the economy, but not prices. Why not?
Click through for full facts. We have Robert Reich, and we have Paul Krugman, and both know what they are talking about. I cannot grasp why Democrats aren’t paying attention.

Mediaite – Rachel Maddow’s Podcast ‘Ultra’ is Headed to Hollywood as Steven Spielberg Acquires Film Rights
Quote – The show has consistently been among the top ten podcasts on Apple, in the weeks since its premiere. Now, it’s in the hands of Spielberg. Although the Hollywood legend is not set to direct the film, he will produce the movie adaptation alongside Bridge of Spies producer Kristie Macosko Krieger. According to Deadline, the talks to purchase film rights to the podcast became a bidding war in recent months with Maddow taking meetings with high-level Hollywood execs in an attempt to find the show, which she wrote and hosted, a perfect home.
Click through for details. I am tickled about this. Withe Spielbergs’s name (and I expect him to do a great job), this story will reach many people who would never otherwise even know it existed. I can’t wait to see who gets cast for Coughlin

Food For Thought

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Open Thread for September 14, 2021

 Posted by at 7:01 am  Open Thread, Personal, Politics
Sep 142021
 

Yesterday, I received a grocery delivery. It was all there – and no substitutions – and I was smart enough for once to put out an insulated backpack on the porch for frozen stuff that melts rather than just thawing. So I got it all in with I’m pretty sure no loss. So I have a sense of accomplishment.

Cartoon –

Short Takes –

The Hill – Dodd, Frank urge Biden to reappoint Powell
Quote – In a Monday op-ed for The Hill, former Sen. Chris Dodd (D-Conn.) and Rep. Barney Frank (D-Mass.) argued that Powell’s reappointment would give Biden “strong support” to pass a multitrillion-dollar infrastructure and social services plan — what they called the “most important issue facing us today…. We believe the national interest will be best served by President Biden reappointing Jerome Powell to chair the Federal Reserve System,” Dodd and Frank wrote.
Click through for more. Yes, it’s THAT Dodd and THAT Frank. They have earned enough respect for me to listen and pay attention when they speak, whether or not I end up agreeing.

HuffPost – Texas Embalmer Shares Nightmare COVID Experiences: ‘Unlike Anything I’ve Seen Before’ TRIGGER ALERT
Quote – These folks were so swollen they were completely unrecognizable. We were also getting sent a lot of people who had died from COVID in nursing homes back at that time, and many of them had not been dead very long at all…. The blood tends to settle out because it’s no longer flowing and it’ll gravitate to the dependent part of the body. The longer a body sits, the more blood clots that they develop. I was having people that had only been dead for a few hours and there were major clotting issues. The clots were the size of pancakes ― you never, never see those with someone who didn’t die of COVID.
Click through if you can take it (it gets worse). I won’t say we have been lied to, but we have definitely not been fully briefed on what CoViD does to the human body. I can see why not … but I still thik it was a mistake.

Mother Jones – 59 Percent of Republicans Say It’s Important to Believe Trump Won the Election
Quote – Donald Trump definitely did not win the 2020 presidential election, but nearly six in 10 GOP voters polled by CNN say it’s at least somewhat important for Republicans to continue believing that he did.
Click through for the story. Fortunately it’s short.

Food for Thought –

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