Video Thread 10/27/22

 Posted by at 12:08 pm  Open Thread, Politics
Oct 272022
 

Glenn Kirschner – Clarence & Ginni, Donald & Lindsey, and the stench of conflict and corruption at the Supreme Court

The Lincoln Project – Answer The Question, Ron

MSNBC – How Democrats Can Combat A Morally Bankrupt GOP

Robert Reich – The Huge Problem With Voting (It’s Not What You Think)

If Virtual Reality Was Honest

Beau – Let’s talk about what’s happening in Gulfport, Mississippi…. (I have no idea why… but I can’t help thinking how close we are to the election … and wondering whether that is a factor.)

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Open Thread October 27, 2022

 Posted by at 6:55 am  Open Thread, Personal, Politics
Oct 272022
 

Yesterday, the weather report said (my paraphrase of a graph) “There might be snow tomorrow [today now], but don’t hold us to that; it might just be a little rain.” Snow for Hallowe’en in Colorado used to be like rain at 5:00 pm on a Florida summer day – you could practically set your watch (time or calendar) by it. But that hasn’t been true for a while now. So we’ll see. Otherwise, a quiet day.

Cartoon –

Short Takes –

Letters From An American – October 23, 2022
Quote – In 1876, “Redeemers” set out to put an end to the southern governments that were elected in systems that allowed Black men to vote. “Rifle clubs” held contests outside Republican political rallies, “Red Shirts” marched with their guns in parades. Their intimidation worked. Democrats took over the South and created a one-party system that lasted virtually unbroken until 1965. Without the oversight that a healthy multiparty system provides, southern governments became the corrupt tools of a few wealthy men, and the rest of the population fell into a poverty from which it could not escape until the federal government began to invest in the region in the 1930s.
Click through for full letter. I learned about “Reconstruction” in school, but I never heard the word “Redemption” in that context. That they should use that word for what they actually did seems to me blasphemous. “Redemption” means “buying back.” Buying involves paying a price. They paid no price – they extorted a price from the powerless.

The Daily Beast – Florida Puts Raging MAGA Moms on Book-Banning Council
Quote – In the name of “curriculum transparency,” Florida’s Republican-controlled state government has appointed several anti-gay and anti-mask conspiracy theorists to take charge of a new effort at public schools: banning books. This hastily assembled censorship council—tasked with retraining public school librarians to abide by new restrictions—is the latest ploy in Gov. Ron DeSantis’ crusade to upend the state’s education system. But the council was also staffed under suspicious circumstances, with the state Education Department ignoring its own call for official candidates from local school districts and instead filling most of the slots with right-wing activists who have a history of proposing book bans. One was even nominated by a religious activist with close ties to the DeSantis administration a week before the department publicly called for candidates, according to government emails, hinting at secret coordination between them.
Click through for details. You can read or listen, your choice. Should Florida just change the name of its high schools to “Hitlerjugend” and be done with it?

Food For Thought

 

 

 

 

 

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Video Thread 10/23/22

 Posted by at 11:53 am  Open Thread, Politics
Oct 232022
 

Glenn Kirschner – Trump-appointed Judge Carl Nichols refuses to send Steve Bannon to prison for his crimes (Glenn is correct that I can’t imagie a judge would do this for a person of color.  But it could happene, ans has happened, for a poor white person with no prior convictions.)

Robert Reich – Why The Window To Prosecute Trump Is Closing (the title is misleading – other questions are answered, but not that one)

Thom Hartmann – Could Ancient Psychology Technique Win Elections For Democrats? [Abortion, Inflation, Insurrection?]

MSNBC – Justice Department Requesting Funds To Continue Jan. 6 Investigation

Ring of Fire – Republicans Introduce Legislation To Stop Government From Hiring Strippers For Kids

Beau – Let’s talk about snow crabs…. [and the cost of doing nothing]

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Video Thread 10/21/22

 Posted by at 11:47 am  Open Thread, Politics
Oct 212022
 

Glenn Kirschner – Judge David Carter rules Trump KNOWINGLY filed false documents in court, lying about election fraud

Meidas Touch – Marco Rubio HUMILIATED on live TV in VIRAL debate MOMENT OF THE YEAR

The Lincoln Project – Last Week in the Republican Party — October 18, 2022

MSNBC – Trevor Noah On American Racism Vs. Overt Racism In South Africa

Liberal Redneck – Trashin’ Alabama for Three Straight Minutes

Beau – Let’s talk about two cars in Jacksonville and being a man…. ( did read about this. I recommend a hanky. I won’t write about it because I can’t express anger constructively as well as Beau can.)

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Open Thread October 19, 2022

 Posted by at 7:09 am  Open Thread, Personal, Politics
Oct 192022
 

Yesterday, Colorado Public Radio News had a couple of unusual animal news stories. Nine Ukranian refugees have received amnesty at Keenesburg, CO’s Wild Animal Sanctuary. And our native Bighorn sheep and introduced (70+ uears ago) mountain goats are having a turf war over nutritional supplements newly accessible due to climate change. I’ll just provide the links in case anyone wants details. Also, Virgil called – to tell me he’s in prison – apparently he had one of the vivid dreams he has been having and thinks are real, but this time, instead of thinking someone from his past had phoned him, he thought he had been home – and called to tell me where he was. What with all the other dreams, I suppose I shouldn’t have been surprised – but this is a new level and it kind of shook me. At least he still remembers who I am and that we love each other. On the bright side, my ballot arrived. 24 hours from mailing to arrival is pretty darned good, IMO.

Cartoon – 19 Cornwallis RTL

Short Takes –

truthout – Ron DeSantis’s Ousting of Elected Official Sets a Dangerous Precedent
Quote – In an early August press conference, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis delivered a shocking announcement: He was abruptly suspending Andrew Warren, the elected chief prosecutor for Hillsborough County (Tampa) and an outspoken critic of the governor…. All three of Warren’s opinions cited by DeSantis… stand in direct opposition to the governor’s political goals. The two public officials have clashed over these and other issues repeatedly over the past several years…. Warren … argues that his removal violates the will of Tampa voters who elected him in 2016 and 2020. These voters were further disenfranchised when his replacement was handpicked by DeSantis, who lost Hillsborough County by a nine-point margin in the last gubernatorial election.
Click through for details. This is not even the first time DeSantis has done this. I thought the first time that this couldn’t possibly be legal or constitutional. Yet he seems to be getting away with it.

The Daily Beast – New Book Reveals Jim Jordan’s Dirty Tricks With Impeachment
Quote – The book presents a less than flattering portrait of Jordan, who would likely be the Judiciary Chairman if the GOP takes back the House. He is instead consistently shown to be far more interested in defending Trump than getting down to the truth. The book includes scenes like Jordan heading to the White House to read a transcript of Trump’s call with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky before it was released to the public, only to receive a partial account that excluded more concrete evidence of a quid pro quo. Trump’s team, Bade and Demirjian say, wanted House Republicans to go on the record defending Trump before they knew all the facts.
Click through for more, including specific examples. It should be no surprise that Jordan is not actually the loose cannon he appears to be – that is a deliberate choice to muddy whatever waters are likely to impede fascism.

Food For Thought

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Video Thread 10/17/22

 Posted by at 12:07 pm  Open Thread, Politics
Oct 172022
 

Glenn Kirschner – J6 committee subpoenas Trump, and he responds with a letter that is . . . sharply self-incriminating

Meidas Touch – BREAKING: New York AG Files EMERGENCY MOTION to STOP Trump’s Continuing FRAUD (It won’t be breaking any more when you see this – but so much else was happening, it may have slipped under the radar. BTW, Meidas Touch is putting up a lot, but it’s getting very difficult to find anything under 10 minutes, let alone under 5 minutes.)

The Lincoln Project – What They Believe

Mothers Against Greg Abbott – No Choice

Parody Project – RUBLES WORTH NOTHIN’ – a Parody of Money for Nothing

Beau – Let’s talk about Pirates, Emperors, Russians, and Ukrainians….

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Video Thread 10/16/22

 Posted by at 11:42 am  Open Thread, Politics
Oct 162022
 

Glenn Kirschner – Jan. 6 select committee hearing exposes proof beyond a reasonable doubt of Trump’s treasonous crimes

Meidas Touch – Political Expert PREDICTS Tulsi Gabbard Auditioning to be Trump VICE PRESIDENT in 2024 (I’m not trying to drown y’all with Tuberville, but Ken has a valid point no one else is making.)

The Lincoln Project – Crime

From Twitter – Reaction by Pelosi on Jan. 6

Mrs. Betty Bowers – The Herschel Walker Exception

Beau – Let’s talk about Alabama, Trump’s rally, and Tuberville….

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Open Thread October 15, 2022

 Posted by at 6:51 am  Open Thread, Personal, Politics
Oct 152022
 

Yesterday, my BFF had a colonoscopy, which I know because she needed me to give her a ride home, which I gladly did. She had hoped to be able to drive herself home, but anyone who has either had a coloscopy ot sat beside a loved one having one, knows that’s a no-go. Her son will help her get her car back home later. She’ll hear more detailed results Monday and I may be in as much suspense as she is. She mentioned “an endometri-something” and I said,”If you do have an endometriome, wherever it is, don’t wait until it is over 9 pounds like I did.” In other news, I confirmed that the Social Security COLA for 2023 wioll be 8.7%, and the Part B Medicare premiums will go down. Very cool.

Cartoon –

Short Takes –

HuffPost – ‘2000 Mules’ Has Radicalized The 2022 Midterm Elections
Quote – By June 2, the right-wing polling outfit Rasmussen said 15% of survey respondents had seen the film. Multiple Republican candidates, including two secretary of state nominees in pivotal swing states, have praised the film publicly, a HuffPost review found. And the movie has inspired groups across the country to hold stakeouts at drop boxes and to mobilize again around Donald Trump’s lie that, as the then-president said in August 2020, “the only way we’re going to lose this election is if the election is rigged.”
Click through for story. Just what we needed – NOT.

The New Yorker – Has the C.I.A. Done More Harm Than Good?
Quote – It can be hard to sort out which agencies do what; players in the espionage business aren’t always good with boundaries. Both the C.I.A. and the N.S.A. make use of satellite resources, including commercial ones, but there is a separate agency in charge of a spy-satellite fleet, the National Reconnaissance Office—not to be confused with the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency, which deals with both space-based and ground-level imaging, or with Space Delta 18, the nation’s newest intelligence agency, which is attached to the Space Force. Abolishing the C.I.A. might do nothing more than reconfigure the turf wars.
Click through for details. I honestly don’t have a problem with there being 18 agencies, provided they’re not all incompetent i the same ways at the same time (And also provided that whatever part of the Executive Branch they report to both reuires accuracy and also takes the reports seriously when they come in.) Obviously, the Secret Service and the FBI are weak on one or both of those points.

Food For Thought

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