Open Thread March 31, 2023

 Posted by at 6:59 am  Open Thread, Personal, Politics
Mar 312023
 

Yesterday, I made a couple of cartoons. I don’t need all that many, but I did need two for the first week. I won’t need another before the 20th, so that gives me some slack. And did y’all see the breaking news comment in yesterday’s OT? Or did you get the news elsewhere? Are the able bodied among you dancing in the streets?

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Short Takes –

The Conversation – This course uses science fiction to understand politics
Quote – What does the course explore? We explore issues of racism, gender, anarchy and the end of civilization. I chose books that encourage students to focus on the political aspects of each work. At the beginning of the course, I ask students how closely they connect science fiction and politics. At the end of the course, students have the opportunity to revisit and revise their response to that question. By that point, students have participated in discussions, written papers and completed short assignments that ask them to explore and articulate political themes in each book.
Click through for details. If Beau sees this, he’ll be tickled. He’s a big fan of using science fiction to understand, not just politics, but much of the human codition.

The Atlantic (no paywall) – My 6-Year-Old Son Died. Then the Anti-vaxxers Found Out.
Quote – My grief is profound, ragged, desperate. I cannot imagine how anything could feel worse But vaccine opponents on the internet, who somehow assumed that a COVID shot was responsible for my son’s death, thought my family’s pain was funny. “Lol. Yay for the jab. Right? Right?” wrote one person on Twitter. “Your decision to vaccinate your son resulted in his death,” wrote another. “This is all on YOU.” “Murder in the first.”
Click through for full story. This is no way to run a civilization. This kind of harassment needs to be made a felony in all states and all territories (and, as I think I may have said before, there will be plenty of room in prisons if we just release all those convicted of personal use drug possession and breathing while black.)

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Open Thread December 17, 2022

 Posted by at 6:15 am  Open Thread, Personal, Politics
Dec 172022
 

Yesterday was Beethoven’s birthday – although, in Eurpoe in his day, no one kept a record of birthdays. Most records were not kept by the state but by the church, and those recorded baptisms, not birthdays (if you are into genealogy you probably knew that.) We assume his birthday was the 16th because he was baptized on the 17th, and it was normal to baptize babies as soon as possible, usually on the day after the birth. Of course we could be wrong. But it’s such a long-established tradition now it would be a shame to have to change it. He would be 252, in case anyone cares. And there was no snow Thursday night (not that I expected any.) Tomorrow, I’ll be going to see Virgil, and yes, I will pass on all the greetings, and thank you very much for them. Last week I mentioned how tickled he was to get a card from my “frosted sister” and I should follow up by sharing that, when I sent her a note of thanks, she reaponded, “I couldn’t forget my brother-in-law at Christmas.”

Cartoon

Short Takes –

The 19th – The hate hasn’t stopped, Club Q shooting survivors tell House lawmakers
Colorado Public Radio – Club Q co-owner and shooting survivors testified at Congress about the tragedy and rising anti-LGBTQ hate
Quote 1 – Matthew Haynes, founding co-owner of Club Q in Colorado Springs, says he’s witnessed several kinds of anti-LGBTQ+ hate in the wake of the mass shooting there last month that left five people dead. There’s visceral hate, which he says the club, a longtime queer community space, has received through hundreds of vitriol-filled emails and letters since the shooting took place. Then there’s the “subtle hate” — which he identifies as legislation and leaders not respecting LGBTQ+ people or families, and in Republicans who did not vote for the just-signed Respect for Marriage Act.
Quote 2 – “To the politicians and activists who accuse LGBTQ people of grooming children and being abusers: Shame on you,” [Michael Anderson] said…. His testimony was part of a hearing on the rise of anti-LGBTQ violence convened by Rep. Carolyn Maloney of New York, who chairs the committee. She said the Club Q attack is part of a broader trend of violence and intimidation across the country that includes the rise in anti-LGBTQ laws in state houses and in Congress.
Click through to one or both for more imformation.Once again I am combining two stories because they are the same, but for different audences. The first was written for a target audience of women and minorities, including LGBTQIA+, and the second for Colorado residents regardless of identity. Both can be painful to read … but I’m grateful for the Oversight Committee under Carolyn Maloney for holding the hearings, despite pushback from the GOP.

The Daily Beast – Discipline Crackdown Freaks Out Parents in Florida Schools
Quote – Two weeks ago, Brevard County, Florida, Sheriff Wayne Ivey stood at a podium set in front of the local jail and its barbed-wire fences and suggested that children were not sufficiently terrified of getting in trouble at school. “They know they’re not going to be given after-school detention, they’re not going to be suspended,” Ivey, whose school-based officers carry long guns, declared. “They’re not going to be expelled or, like in the old days, they’re not gonna have the cheeks of their ass torn off for not doing right in class.” The statement—made alongside newly installed far-right school board chair Matt Susin—ushered into public view a simmering conflict over safety and student discipline at one of the larger districts in the country.
Click through for details. I’d freakout too – even just as a citizen, not a parent. Actually, no matter where you live in the US, there is potential for adults who were damaged by this distrct as kids to move into your neighborhood. (I have no idea whether this sheriff is any relation to the Governor of Alabama.)

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Open Thread December 14, 2022

 Posted by at 7:06 am  Open Thread, Personal, Politics
Dec 142022
 

Yesterday, Colorado Public Radio reported that the 3rd District recount is finished, and the winner is still Boebert, by 546 votes (instead of 550). I had actually received an email from Adam Frisch quite late the night before so I knew that. We had a teensy bit of snow – not enough to require winter shoes or even a winter coat – so went to the mailbox to get my MRD. I also received confirmation to visit Virgil Sunday.

Cartoon

Short Takes –

The Daily Beast – This ‘Sneaky’ DeSantis Power Grab Might Be His Cruelest Yet
Quote – As part of DeSantis’ ongoing MAGA crusade against progressives, his administration is simultaneously using different state agencies to cut off what is referred to as “gender-affirming” care that helps trans people realize their identities. When a far-right state legislator failed to pass an anti-trans bill earlier this year, the governor resorted to backroom bureaucracy to get the same result. It’s the latest instance of DeSantis implementing increasingly cruel policies as he builds a national reputation in the run-up to a possible 2024 run for the White House. But it also illustrates what political commentators say distinguishes DeSantis from his presumptive primary foe, former President Donald Trump. DeSantis knows how to operate the machinery of government effectively—as a weapon against the marginalized.
Click through for dtails. The cruelty is the point.

PolitiZoom – Elon Musk Gets Mercilessly Booed AND LOL -New Yorkers Welcome
Quote – I’m not really sure what kind of reception Elon Musk expected from a Dave Chappelle audience in liberal San Francisco, but the famously thin-skinned Twitter agent provocateur probably did not expect a scathing 10 minute long chorus of lusty boos – which is exactly what he got.
Quote – The Young Republicans who met there this weekend, whether to take full advantage of New York’s vibrant dining and entertainment venues or to stick a thumb in America’s possibly most Democratic urban area, would likely have not caused much of a stir if not for the all star line up of sedition and fascism friendly line of guest speakers, whom were most assuredly not selected with the purpose of insuring a peaceful three days:
Click through to San Francisco and/or New York City. You would think, for all their compkaining about “coastal liberals,” this should not surprise them.

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Open Thread December 2, 2022

 Posted by at 7:17 am  Open Thread, Personal, Politics
Dec 022022
 

Yesterday, I got an email from Adam Frisch concerning the mandatory recount. In it, he cast some serious shade at the Republican PArty which would (if they had any shame) leave a mark (but they don’t.) Just one paragraph:

While I am fully supportive of the recount process, based on the history of Colorado recounts, I could not, in good faith, perpetuate false hope that there is a good chance of the recount changing the outcome of this election. That is why on November 18th, I publicly conceded this race to my opponent. When I launched this campaign, I promised to run this race with integrity because that is who I am. I could not look people in the eye and raise money when the votes were already cast, ballots cured, and the final election results were in the hands of Colorado’s competent Secretary of State – and no amount of money could change them.

I also received a grocery order. The weather was windy, and will be today, so I was glad I hadn’t put the carts out – it doesn’t take much to knock them over or sling them around, and I didn’t have enough in them to stabiize them.

Finally, Joyce Vance put out a quick newsletter to discuss the combination alsp in the face and kick in the gron which was the 11th Circuit’s response to Trimp** and Ailees Cannon.  One short quote: “Trump’s “task was to show why he needed the documents, not why the government did not.'”  Well, gee – surely they didn’t expect that he would tell the truth, that he wanted them to seel to the highsest bidders?

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Short Takes –

Colorado Public Radio – The mother of the Club Q shooting suspect was arrested and charged the morning of the shooting
Quote – Laura Lea Voepel, 45, was charged with a misdemeanor count of resisting arrest and a petty charge of disorderly conduct by Colorado Springs Police between 3 a.m. and 7 a.m. on Nov. 20, according to court documents. Records show she was arrested on North Union Boulevard for making “unreasonable noise” near a private residence just hours after the shooting at Club Q…. Police records say Voepel used physical force and violence against officers during her arrest. Further details are unavailable at this time.
Click through if you like. There’s not much more detail, though there is a link to an earlier incident. File this under “Tha apple doesn’t fall far…” (Unless you prefer the NSFW version.)

HuffPost – House Votes To Impose Union Contract With Paid Sick Leave To Avoid Rail Strike
Quote – The measure now heads to the Senate where a vote is expected in the coming days…. The House also approved a resolution that would give rail workers seven paid sick days per year, but that separate measure seems unlikely to make it through the Senate and to President Joe Biden’s desk.
Click through for more.   IThe House is somewhat between a rock and a hard place here. If we could run this by the current House and next year’s Senate,we might get it through (with the extra seat in the Senate we might be able to dodge the filibuster.) But there isn’t the time for thaat, even if it were legally possible. The best we can do is make it clear that cutting the sick leave is not the work of the Democrats. And, if the cartoons I’m seeing are any indication, that fact may be met with disbelief anyway.  (Update – Looks like the Senate did vote testerday and killed the sick leave.)

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Video Thread 11/23/22

 Posted by at 12:04 pm  Open Thread, Politics
Nov 232022
 

Glenn Kirschner – NY District Attorney Bragg revives Stormy Daniels hush money criminal investigation of Donald Trump

MSNBC – Chris Hayes on Rev. Warnock’s simple but devastating new ad

Crooks and Liars – Ali Alexander Has Some Thoughts On Claiming An Election Is Rigged

Ring of Fire – Elizabeth Warren Torches Republicans For Fighting Against Student Loan Debt Forgiveness

Cat Goes On Walks With His Dog In The Cutest Way

Beau – Let’s talk about Jack Smith and who he is….

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Open Thread November 22, 2022

 Posted by at 6:58 am  Open Thread, Personal, Politics
Nov 222022
 

Yesterday, I tried to rest as much as possible.I did manage to get a prison email off the Virgil with some pictures of Joyce Vance’s chickens – and a couple of other pictures – that should lift his spirits when he gets it, although he will still be envious of anyone who can get close to silky chickens. No matter how well it goes, am always wiped out after any of my visits Of course, when I was in my teens and even my twenties, driving used to energize me. That has not been so for many years, and that’s probably a big part of it.

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Short Takes –

The Daily Beast – Republicans Lost the Races Where They Spent the Most
Quote – The Daily Beast reviewed the most expensive House and Senate races in the country, and found that, with a few exceptions, Republican candidates were on the losing end. Republicans lost three of the five most expensive Senate races, per CRP data, with Democrats clinching the top three—Pennsylvania, Georgia, and Arizona. (The Georgia contest, where Sen. Raphael Warnock received the most votes, is headed to a runoff.) While Republicans [won] a slim majority in the House—far below their expectations—Democrats took all five of the most expensive races, according to CRP data.
I’ve never believed that money won elections. Granted that it doesn’t hurt, elections are decided by human beings, and, unless you are paing them directly for their votes, you can’t buy their support with campaign money. Good candidates, creatively promoted, and short, catchy, accurate slogans (“In January, I’ll be better. He will still be a con man”) work better. Some money is needed in order to maximize communication – but after a certain point, the law of diminishing returns hits.

Crooka and Liars – City Of Brotherly Love Welcomes Immigrants That Texas Governor Dumped
Quote – [On the] morning [of November 16], despite earlier denials that this was indeed his plan, Greg Abbott, the wizened little nominal governor of Texas, dropped a busload of immigrants in my city…. “The bus was sent by Gov. Greg Abbott in what he said was an effort to bring the challenges of the border to northern cities. Immigration advocates in Philadelphia called the bus ride a cruel trick played on innocent people who are legally in the United States.”
Click through for story. Susie Madrak has some words for Abbott and other Republicans. Does anyone thnk that Abbott and DeSanctimonious will ever get a clue, no matter how often and how dramatically their cruel stunts backfire?

Colorado Encyclopedia – Amendment 2
Quote – Amendment 2 was a ballot initiative passed by Colorado voters in 1992 that prohibited the state from enacting antidiscrimination protections for gays, lesbians, and bisexuals…. Passage of the controversial amendment set the stage for a national debate over the rights of gays, lesbians, and bisexuals, while the ensuing legal struggle was the first legal case affecting homosexuals to reach the United States Supreme Court. The Supreme Court eventually declared the amendment unconstitutional, setting a precedent for the current struggle for LGBT rights in the United States.
Click through for complete history. The Q-Club massagre immediately beought me back to 1992 (although I had to look up the year.) This horrendous vote showcases the worst of our state – and a past the Supreme Court would live to bring us back to. I believe we are better than that, and offer as evidence the fact that we just RE-elected an openly gay governor. But here, and alas world wide, the struggle is far from over.

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Open Thread October 12, 2022

 Posted by at 6:48 am  Open Thread, Personal, Politics
Oct 122022
 

Yesterday, my radio station started its fall fund drive, so I started audio streaming, beginning with “The Score” – a one-hour program about music in film which I listen to weekly, generally during that one hour every weekday when there’s a program I don’t care for. This week’s theme was “mad scientists.” Timely for me, both because I had used that hour just the day before to watch a short biography of Thomas Midgley, Jr., called “The Man Who Accidentally Killed The Most People In History.” I thought of him when the host remarked that “mad scientists” in film seem to share a total disregard for the dangers of their creations. But throughout the program, I was also wondering if the whole mad scientist thing hd become so pervasive that the concept became part of the inspiration for QAnon, and other creations of the Alt-Right, with their disdain for actual science and facts. If so, it took long enough. In literature, it traces back to the 16th Century (Christopher Marlowe) and, considering actual science developed out of alchemy, almost certainly goes back to the dawn of humanity. Has anyone besides me ever wondered how humans, with all our crazy tendencies that are hard wired into us managed to survive this long at all?

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Short Takes –

The Daily Beast – Kremlin TV Exposes the Real Goal of Putin’s ‘Revenge-Bombs’
Quote – [State Duma Defense Committee’s head Andrey] Kartapolov urged Russians to unite behind Putin, and his desperate plea spotlighted the true reason behind Moscow’s barrage of missiles: to curb waning public support for Putin’s mindless war…. Konstantin Dolgov, the former Russian commissioner for human rights,… yearned for pained reactions from Ukrainians affected by the strikes, asking: “Are they whining yet? Are they howling yet?”
Click through for the story. My visceral response is, “Republicans, everywhere, by any name, are all the same – the cruelty is the point.” However, Republicans everywhere, by any name, also lie. A lot. So who knows.

CPR News – Republicans hope to take back the House. Here’s what it could mean for Colorado’s representatives
Quote – While he’s not measuring any drapes, GOP Rep. Doug Lamborn said he would seek the chairmanship of the Strategic Forces subcommittee of the House Armed Services committee. He was named the ranking member of that committee in January. The delegation’s longest serving Republican, Lamborn… also currently sits on the House Natural Resources committee[.]
Click through for full article – or, even better, check out your own state’s representatives – not just yours, but all of them. Every state almost certainly has one or more reps whose presence, or chairmanship, on this committee or that committee could turn the House into even more of a horrorscape than their mere presence in the House suggests.

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