Video Thread 9/4/22

 Posted by at 11:51 am  Open Thread, Politics
Sep 042022
 

Glenn Kirschner – Lindsey Graham loses in court (again) in desperate attempt to avoid testifying about Trump’s crimes

Meidas Touch – BREAKING: White House SLAMS MAGA Republicans Following Epic Biden Primetime Speech

Ojeda Live – This Trump Temper Tantrum is About to End in a Timeout Known As a Life Sentence in Federal Prison

Liberal Redneck – Biden, Trump, and Democracy

Christo Alvalis – Trսmp has ALREADY SOLD his STOLEN FILES?! (Ivana’s coffin?)

Beau – Let’s talk about Trump, the DOJ response, and photos….

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Open Thread August 25, 2022

 Posted by at 7:19 am  Open Thread, Personal, Politics
Aug 252022
 

Yesterday, I managed to getnine 30-gallon plastic bags out to the porch, all labeled with the initials of the charity they are getting picked up by.  After that, I moved the car out of the driveway and took the recyclables to the edge of the driveway by the street – two actions which between tehm pretty much cleared the drive way.  I did this because the charity is “Vietnam Veterans of America,” nd although I don’t remember seeing much, one occupation which puts people int higher jeopardy of becoming an amputee is “combat vet.”  And the instruction included the request that everything be capable of bing lifted with one hand (not all at once, of course; that would be silly.)  So I just wanted to make it as easy as possible and I figured shortening the distance couldn’t hurt.  After all that, my shoulders, back, and knee were still in comparatively good shape.

Cartoon –

Short Takes –

Letters from an American – August 22, 2022
Quote – Today’s big news is an eye-popping $1.6 billion donation to a right-wing nonprofit organized in May 2020. This is the largest known single donation made to a political influence organization. The money came from Barre Seid, a 90-year-old electronics company executive, and the new organization, Marble Freedom Trust, is controlled by Leonard A. Leo, the co-chair of the Federalist Society, who has been behind the right-wing takeover of the Supreme Court. Leo has also been prominent in challenges to abortion rights, voting rights, climate change action, and so on. He announced in early 2020 that he was stepping back from the Federalist Society to remake politics at every level, but information about the massive grant and the new organization was broken today by Kenneth P. Vogel and Shane Goldmacher of the New York Times.
Click through for details. Everyone has this story – but I saw it first here – and Heather always has receipts (and insights.)

Daily Beast – Cops Love Immunity—Until They’re the Ones Abused by Police
Quote – Six months after the incident, Burk filed a civil rights lawsuit against the acting officers from the Columbus Division of Police. Predictably, Burk now finds himself on the wrong end of a judge-made doctrine called “qualified immunity.” The doctrine, which the U.S. Supreme Court invented in 1982, shields government employees from accountability for unreasonable actions—unless victims can point to a prior case in the same jurisdiction that clearly establishes the behavior as unconstitutional. The irony of this case is that law enforcement officers like Burk normally love qualified immunity.
Click through for this opinion piece with backup facts. I would hate to think that the only, or even just the fastest, way to get rid of “qualified immunity” is for cops to beat up enough cops.

Food For Thought

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Open Thread August 17, 2022

 Posted by at 7:19 am  Open Thread, Personal, Politics
Aug 172022
 

Yesterday was pretty quiet. And restful. My biggest physical achievement was taking a bag ou to the trash (from the porch) and a bag out to the recyclables (from the house.) I don’t expect to be putting either bin out this week – possibly recyclables next week if I get very ambitious, but I have a lot else going on, so maybe not. Also it was cooler, on account of rain. Lots of floods – mostly fladh floods – all over Colorado. My house has 99 problems, but flash flooding isn’t one of them. I’m on top of enough of a hill thatit’s beyond unlikely a flash flood would flood here. I tried to rest wnough to have more energy today – but we’ll see. Did everyone catch Al Franken as guest host of Jimmy Kimmel Live last night? If not, there should at least be some cuts up here. Katie Porter was a guest. How can you top that?
https://www.youtube.com/jkl/videos

Cartoon – 17 Hendrix loaded

Short Takes –

Mother Jones (MoJo Wire) – We Didn’t Deserve Freya the Walrus
Quote – But as Freya’s legend grew, more and more folks wanted to see her up close. As the New York Times points out, the Oslo Fjord is full of water-going recreationists in the summer, and people started swimming with Freya, taking her picture, and even throwing things at her—so much that she had begun chasing off paddle boarders and kayakers. The Norwegian Directorate of Fisheries warned the public to stay away from Freya, for their safety and hers. Last week, officials said they were weighing several options, including relocating Freya, but warned she might have to be killed if people wouldn’t listen.
Click through for sad story. Some of us, I think, did deserve her – but those who did not were, and are, out of control.

AP News – Some Capitol rioters try to profit from their Jan. 6 crimes
Quote – Facing prison time and dire personal consequences for storming the U.S. Capitol, some Jan. 6 defendants are trying to profit from their participation in the deadly riot, using it as a platform to drum up cash, promote business endeavors and boost social media profiles…. The Justice Department, in some instances, is trying to claw back money that rioters have made off the insurrection…. Many rioters have paid a steep personal price for their actions on Jan. 6. At sentencing, rioters often ask for leniency on the grounds that they already have experienced severe consequences for their crimes.
Click through for many examples – but they all sound like the apocryphal dude who murdered both his parents, then begged the court for mercy because he was an orphan.

Food For Thought

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Open Thread August 16, 2022

 Posted by at 6:58 am  Open Thread, Personal, Politics
Aug 162022
 

Yesterday, I felt much better than I did Sunday – so much beter that I was able to move tuff on the porch around a little more, and sweep off somw of the dust and dried leaves.

Cartoon –

Short Takes –

The Conversation – War in Ukraine highlights the growing strategic importance of private satellite companies – especially in times of conflict
Quote – My research focuses on international cooperation in satellite Earth observations, including the role of the private sector. While experts have long known that satellite imagery is useful during a conflict, the war in Ukraine has shown that commercial satellite data can make a decisive difference – informing both military planning as well as the public view of a war. Based on the strategic value commercial satellite imagery has held during this war, I believe it is likely that more nations will be investing in private satellite companies.
Click through for more information. This does change things.

The Daily Beast – Why Putin’s Private Army Is Snatching Kids From Their Moms
Quite – Four witnesses told The Daily Beast that large numbers of children had been seen in gold and diamond mines controlled by the Wagner Group since a spate of massacres killed scores if not hundreds of artisan mine workers—and forced many more to flee—in the Central African Republic (CAR). “I counted up to 20 children in a gold mine controlled by Russian fighters near Bambari [in the central part of the country],” Sylvestre, a 27-year-old artisanal miner based in Bambari, told The Daily Beast. “One of those I saw is someone here in Bambari whose mother had said he had been kidnapped by Russian soldiers.”
Click through for full story. Who does Russia think it is? Alabama?

Food For Thought

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Video Thread 8/8/22

 Posted by at 11:54 am  Open Thread, Politics
Aug 082022
 

Glenn Kirschner – Former US AG Eric Holder says Trump “likely WILL be indicted by the DOJ.” Here’s why he’s right

Meidas Touch – Intelligence Expert REACTS to far-right Prime Minister of Hungry’s keynote speech at CPAC in Texa

The Lincoln Project – Ron Johnson on Social Security

Ring of Fire – Dr. Oz’s Failing Campaign Is Freaking Out The Republican Party

Ojeda Live – NATO is a NECESSITY Against Russia

Beau – Let’s talk about Pat Cipollone’s subpoena…

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Video Thread 8/3/22

 Posted by at 11:48 am  Open Thread, Politics
Aug 032022
 

Glenn Kirschner – Guy Reffitt sentenced to 7 years; DOJ is going after the boots of the insurrection. Now do the suits

Don Winslow Films – #TheseAreYourChoicesGeorgia

Meidas Touch – Texas Paul EXPOSES how Trump is Exploiting Ex-Wife Ivana’s Death for Profit

The Lincoln Project – The Boss

Robert Reich on CNN – Fed’s Interest Rate Hike is Bad News for Working People

Beau – Let’s talk about NASA and climate change….

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Open Thread 7/24/2022

 Posted by at 6:44 am  Open Thread, Personal, Politics
Jul 242022
 

Yesterday, The opera was Macbeth (Verdi). Everyone knows that story, of course. I was not familiar wih the soprano singing Lady MacBeth, but she was excellent. MacBeth and Banquo were sung by two stars who are also known for being drop-dead gorgeous. The baritone (Simon Keenlyside) is not as young as he was, but still very handsome, and the bass, Günther Grossböck, is younger (and generally taller than anyone else on stage.) I have seen both the play and the opera more than once – back to back once, at the Kennedy Center, when I was in the service and they were doing a mini-Shakespeare festival, and I may be the only person in the world who feels this way, but I have always felt that the play never quite worked. There are parts of it which just can’t be played naturally – they are always either underplayed or overplayed. It isn’t really the fault of any of the actors – it’s just written that way. But the opera – all you need for that to it themark is singers who can stand up and hit the notes. With that, it’s a winner every time.  All the passion is i the score.

I also managed to finish reading Heather Cox Richardson’s Letter from Thursday night. She quoted an NPR host as saying: “the Democratic chair of the committee just gracefully, and with full confidence, turned over the running of tonight’s hearing to the vice-chair, who happens to be of another party, and they spoke with mutual trust and respect. That’s how it’s supposed to go.” Well, yeah. that struck meat the time also. You might say it isn’t evidence, and it indeed is not evidence regarding the insurrection. But it is evidence that, even now, people who disagree with each other, even violently, can still work together if they have decency, integrity, and courtesy. It’s no wonder Rethuglicans so hate courtesy, and find insulting terms like “political correctness” to describe it. And here we all are. Sigh.

Cartoon –

Short Takes – I’m just going to go with News of the Weird today and be serious again tomorrow.

The Daily Beast – A Judge Pulled a Gun in the Courtroom—and Then It Got Weird
“The whole trial was insane,” said one lawyer, who later reported the weapon-wielding jurist to the FBI.

PolitiZoom – AR Toting Lunatic Spotted in Local Park Threatening to Shoot His Foot Off
Yes, this was Ronny Jackson. Sigh.

Democratic Underground (Nevilledog) – Cops stood by while a woman was terrorized by a stalker in her home for 12 hours and then killed
Seriously? In San Diego?

ProPublica – Pharma Companies Sue for the Right to Buy Blood From Mexicans Along Border
A year after the U.S. barred Mexicans from crossing the border to sell their blood, pharmaceutical companies have acknowledged that those donations provided as much as 10% of the plasma collected nationwide as they seek to have the ban overturned.

Crooks and Liars – Remember That Other Secret Service Scandal?
We all remember that story about the two fake agents who were sucking up to the First Lady’s Secret Service detail. Well, one of them has filed a notification that he will now change his plea to guilty.

Food For Thought

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Open Thread July 21, 2022

 Posted by at 7:18 am  Open Thread, Personal, Politics
Jul 212022
 

Yesterday, I overslept, but it was pretty quiet so I could afford that lost time, and even manage to write a “thank you” note to an old friend from the military for a book that there is no way my eyes and shoulders will allow me to read – and I like and respect her too much to lie to her. So that was tough.. But the news – I do try to limit the outrage in the short takes and feature good news when there is some. Today there is mostly outrage. Take a deep breath and try not to get depressed.

Cartoon – 21 0721Cartoon.jpg

 

Short Takes –

The 19th – How exposure to toxic chemicals in everyday products can impact reproductive health
Quote – PFAS is a developmental carcinogen. We have done a systematic review, which is the best practice for how to evaluate evidence, showing that PFOA [part of the larger group of man-made chemicals known as PFAS] can, through prenatal exposure, increase the risk of low birth weight [in] babies. It also looks like it could be related to maternal health effects; there is some evidence on preeclampsia and on gestational diabetes. It could influence fertility. BPA is an endocrine disruptor that can influence estrogen levels. So in the state of California they have labeled it a reproductive toxin based on its effects on the female ovary. But, you know, there’s also been studies on metabolic disease like obesity and diabetes and on neurodevelopmental effects. There’s been studies looking at effects on fertility. There’s a number of different animal and human studies showing that it affects reproductive function, and it’s shown in animal studies to affect the quality of the eggs in the ovary.
Click through for details. So what the article is saying is, the same white, wealthy, overwhelmingly male minority repomsible for imposing unpopular abortion bans is also responsible for saturating women (and men and children) with chemicals that make abortions more likely to be the only alternative to death. Got it.

NM Political Report – ‘Is your land for sale?’ Alarming offers to buy property in the burn zone
Quote – April Hoogerhuies got the phone call in the middle of packing up her home in Las Vegas, frantically trying to get things ready in case the Hermits Peak/Calf Canyon inferno forced her to evacuate. “Is your land for sale?” the caller inquired…. “This isn’t the time or place for this,” she replied. The caller rattled off a company name too quickly to note, but it was clear she wanted to buy a plot of undeveloped property that Hoogerhuies and her husband Daniel own in Manuelitas, just east of Hermits Peak. The couple maintains a greenhouse on the land, where they plant crops like pumpkins, radishes and tomatoes. Hoogerhuies was in a frenzy, packing up papers and medications while also trying to find a place for her elderly parents, in case they, too, needed to evacuate.
Click through for story. The race to the bottom continues.You know – yu just know – that if the vultures make enough calls, they will find someone who is willing to sell – and that that seller will be the person who can least afford to be swinf=dled. (And that there won’t be just one.)

Food For Thought

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