Open Thread April 24, 2023

 Posted by at 6:56 am  Open Thread, Personal, Politics
Apr 242023
 

Yesterday, I got to see Virgil, and he returns all greetings. The drive was uneventful both directions. We played Scrabble – or I guess I should start saying we played with a Scrabble set, because the object of our playing was not to win but to use all the letters, which requires cooperation. We succeeded three times and started a fourth but did not have time to get very far. The last unfinished game, I picked up the Q, the X, and the Z all in the first 7 letters I picked up. I could not have done that ifI had tried. I managed to play the third just as it was time for us to pack it up, which I’d call an accomplishment.

Cartoon –

Short Takes –

HuffPost – Hakeem Jeffries Tears Into ‘Totally Out Of Control’ Marjorie Taylor Greene
Quote – The leadership apparently supports Marjorie Taylor Greene. The rank-and-file Republicans apparently support Marjorie Taylor Greene. She’s allowed to lie. She’s allowed to debase the institution. Apparently, Marjorie Taylor Greene is even allowed to elevate someone who appears to have engaged in espionage and treason against the United States of America.
Click through for more. Keeping it truthful without invective or smears. The article also notes that one Republican, Green without an e, did come down on her on Wednesday for some truly vile stuff. But mostly, they don’t.

The Nib (Levi Hastings) – Overfishing, pollution, and urban development are causing the Resident Orca population in the Pacific Northwest to plummet.
Quote – In summer 2018, a female orca known as Tahlequa (J35) made national headlines when she traveled over 1,000 milies through the waters of the Pacific Northwest while dragging the lifeless body of her stillborn calf. She refused to abandon her baby for 17 days. Later that season, scientists and locals watched helplessly as the malnourished four-year-old juvenile known as Scarlet (J50) slowly starved and eventually disappeared, never to resurface.
Click through for the rest. This is another graphic article which I’m sharing a little late for Earth Day.

Food For Thought

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Video Thread 4/22/2023

 Posted by at 11:45 am  Open Thread, Politics
Apr 222023
 

Glenn Kirschner – Trump-appointed Judge sides w/Jim Jordan against DA Alvin Bragg; uses Trumpian rhetoric in opinion

Politics Girl – To My Republican Friends…

Twitter – Rep. Jeff Jackson (D-NC)

Farron Balanced – Trump Admits Asking 5 Year Old Child For Foreign Policy Advice

Police Cat Keeps A Close Eye On All The Officers

Beau – Let’s talk about rights, grinding to a halt, and a republican question….

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Video Thread 4/21/2023

 Posted by at 12:04 pm  Open Thread, Politics
Apr 212023
 

Glenn Kirschner – Dominion takes Fox to the cleaners, then Smartmatic, then Fox’s own shareholders. Will Fox survive?

The Lincoln Project – Last Week in the Republican Party – April 18, 2023

Thom Hartmann – He Lied His Way To Power To Take Your Healthcare

Ring of Fire – Republican Governor Says Her 2-Year-Old Granddaughter Already Owns 2 Guns

Guy Gives Squirrel CPR

Beau – Let’s talk about the RNC, Milwaukee, trouble, and loyalty….

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Open Thread April 21, 2023

 Posted by at 7:05 am  Open Thread, Personal, Politics
Apr 212023
 

Yesterday, there was an update on the little girl taken from her parents because midwife. She’s going home! Details, including from the family’s attorney, here. In weather news, it’s supposed to snow tomorrow, although very early – it’s to stop by 9:00 am and then warm up. If it does, I”ll be fine with it. I’m to see Virgil Sunday. I hope everyone who celebrates had a lovely 4/20.

Cartoon – 21 0421Cartoon.jpg

Short Takes –

Daily Beast – Inside Jim Jordan’s ‘Charade’ of a Hearing on Violent Crime in NYC
Quote – Back when Jim Jordan was a collegiate wrestling champion, the strategy would have been called a double misdirection duck under…. In truth, the violent crime rate is declining in Manhattan, with murders down 14 percent, shootings down 17 percent, and robberies down 8 percent. Jordan was just seeking to undermine Bragg and therefore the 34-count indictment he had secured against Trump 13 days before…. To mask the actual crime numbers, Jordan applied a second misdirection, inviting the families of two murder victims, the father of a hate crime, and a Manhattan bodega clerk who was charged with homicide after killing a robber but later deemed to have acted in self-defense.
Click through for full opinion. Yes, it’s an opinion piece. When lies are being peddled as facts, sometimes an opinion piece is the best (or even the only) way to get to the truth. At least Jerry Nadler is there. I know he hates it, but he knows and does his duty.

Denverite – Aloft, Denver’s COVID-era shelter, closes as residents find housing and fear the streets
Quote – (The Salvation Army, the State of Colorado, the City of Denver and activists have found housing for all but two residents) On the second Tuesday in April, older homeless men at high risk of dying from respiratory infections joined members of the housing advocacy group the Housekeys Action Network Denver, or HAND, in a hot downtown parking lot, outside a soon-to-close shelter at the Aloft Hotel…. [D]odging cars, residents tried to figure out where they could go now that the City of Denver and the Salvation Army were shutting down a home that felt permanent, though they knew it never was.
Click through for story (and stories.) The subtitle (in parens) is the good news, and I’m proud of all who have worked on this, but it’s not good enough. A big reason why we can’t have nice things is TABOR.

Bonus: Crooks & Liars – Marge Gets Shut Down At Committee Hearing After She Breaks House Rules
Quote – Rep. Bennie Thompson (D-MS) asked for Greene’s words to be “taken down” because they violated the House rules of decorum…. Still, when asked by Republican Rep. Mark Green if she would withdraw her statement, she declined…. [Rep. Daniel] Goldman noted that the rules prohibit her from continuing. “Point of personal inquiry,” Rep. Sporkfoot said. “There’s no such thing,” Goldman shot back.
Click through – there’s also video. I didn’t put this in the video thread because I figured we could all use a laugh – or at least a smile.

Food For Thought
(Hey, I can dream.)

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Open Thread April 20, 2023

 Posted by at 6:59 am  Open Thread, Personal, Politics
Apr 202023
 

Yesterday, I managed to get trash and recyclables out to the carts, and then the carts out to the curb, all before sunset. Of course sunset is later now than it has been the last few times I didn’t manage to get everything out until after dark, but I still impressed myself. A note about the first short take – I could have put it in the video thread, but wanted to make sure Pat saw it – and wanted to use this particular FFT with it. And there is transcript, so if the video doesn’t work for you, you’ll still get the facts.

Cartoon –

Short Takes –

democratic Undergroud (In It to Win It) – Chief of Naval Operations Adm. Mike Gilday just destroyed Republican talking points that attacked …
Quote – Chief of Naval Operations Adm. Mike Gilday just destroyed Republican talking points that attacked a non-binary Navy Officer who was proud that they had the chance to read a poem to their crew mates on an LGBTQ spoken-word night.
Click through. Tommy Tuberville is the Senator whom Alabama was – unfortunate – enough to put in instead of Doug Jones.

Daily Beast – Trump’s Fake Georgia Electors Are Now Ratting on Each Other
Quote – According to the memo, prosecutors in July last year dangled immunity deals for “alternate electors” who were willing to cooperate with the investigation—but their defense lawyer is now accused of never telling them about the potential deal. Following a special purpose grand jury recommendation in December that the DA seek indictments against some people involved in the fraudulent scheme, investigators have turned up the pressure. It turns out, these Republican officials and political operatives are now starting to squirm, identifying illegal behavior by their colleagues while trying to save their own skin—a sudden pivot that came when Willis’ investigators met with these fake electors last week.
Click through for details. Good.

Food For Thought

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Video Thread 4/19/2023

 Posted by at 12:12 pm  Open Thread, Politics
Apr 192023
 

Glenn Kirschner – Judge REJECTS Donald Trump’s attempt to delay E. Jean Carroll defamation trial. Trial begins 4/25

The Lincoln Project – How to Manufacture a Debt Ceiling Crisis

Farron Balanced – Former Trump Associate Says Ex President Has Become Too Boring For Voters

MSNBC – Ralph Yarl: Charges filed in shooting of teen who rang wrong doorbell

2-pound Wild Boar Grows Up Believing She’s a Puppy

Beau – Let’s talk about Jordan falling into a trap….

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Video Thread 4/17/2023

 Posted by at 11:47 am  Open Thread, Politics
Apr 172023
 

Glenn Kirschner – Justice Clarence Thomas violates federal financial disclosure laws; DOJ MUST investigate!

The Lincoln Project – Last Week in the Republican Party – April 11, 2023

Thom Hartmann – Proof Trump Committed Wire Fraud?

Mrs. Betty Bowers – God Gets Salty About Guns (It is on YouTube – but one must sign in “to confirm your age.”

Fox Has Been Visiting Her Favorite Person For Years

Beau – Let’s talk about Missouri libraries….

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Open Thread April 15, 2023

 Posted by at 7:13 am  Open Thread, Personal, Politics
Apr 152023
 

Yesterday, as you may already know (but if not will be happy to learn) the Supreme Court told the crazy judge in Texas that he cannot tell the FDA what to do with their special professional knowledge. This is only a temporary stay … but it was written by Alito, which to me looks promising. In other news, it snowed in Denver. It hadn’t here yet, but by today it’s supposed to. It’s not a weekend that I need to go anywhere, so I may not pay attention.

Cartoon –

Actually we have till the 18th this year (and I really don’t regard the IRS the way TC did)

Short Takes –

Daily Beast – Moms for Liberty Leader Allegedly Hijacked Dead Woman’s Facebook Page to Harass Foes
Quote – Pennsylvania mom Libby Leonard had been dead for a year and a half when her Facebook page began attacking another mother. “EVERYONE…Say Hi to a real DUMB worst word you can call a woman (because she earned it),” the March 14 post begins. “Can’t wait for her to meet her KARMA…It’s already beginning, but until then I think a taste of her own medicine is amusing. However, I will be sharing legally and EVERYWHERE.” Of course Libby didn’t write this. She was stabbed to death by her children’s babysitter in 2021. Instead, the post appears to have been authored by Nicole Prussman, a local leader of the right-wing group “Moms for Liberty” who had inserted herself in Libby’s life and marriage before her tragic demise.
Click through for story. Why is it that when Republicans (and American “Libertarians”) talk about “Liberty” and/or “Freedom,” they always mean taking away someone else’s?

Sentinel – BACK IN THE SADDLE: Second Chance bikes rides again
Quote – The redevelopment of Aurora’s East Bank Shopping Center had forced the nonprofit project to relocate, but at the time of his passing, Ernie was struggling to find a new spot for the shop that offered free bikes to children, homeless people and others in need. After Ernie’s death, [his daughter] Betty told the Sentinel how she promised her father that she would help carry on his legacy “come hell or high water.” Now, she’s making good on her promise and says Second Chance is gearing up to reopen out of a new storefront in Centennial.
Click through for more. Not the biggest story in the world, but a feel-good one to offset that first one.

Food For Thought

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