Open Thread May 22 2024

 Posted by at 6:04 am  Open Thread, Personal, Politics
May 222024
 

Yesterday, and I can still hardly believe it, I spoke with Lynn Squance  (Squatch). My phone rang, and after 2 rings stopped, and I hadn’t had time to read the full caller ID, but I thought the first two letters were BC,so I checked my call log, and checked my contact list, and it was her number. Except that in my contacts there was one wrong number – I had the last two digits as 81 and it was actually 61. So I called back, and she said she hadn’t called, but was happy to hear from me. She’s fine. All her cats that we knew are at the Rainbow Bridge, but she has another now named Simon who was born the day after her last prior cat died. We haven’t seen her lately because she tried to register at Disqus, and was told she was already registered, and had no idea under what username or password. We talked about ways to get around that – “logging in” through facebook, Xitter, or google – or starting a new profile. She mentioned a couple of usernames, so if she follows through, I’ll know it’s she and will pass that on. The relief is overwhelming.

Today, after a day filled with snark, we have a day with two articles “as serious as a heart attack” (though, I hope and believe, not equally life-threatening – but instead I hope life-inspiring. Although – I have seen the results of one actual heart attack which was amazingly life-inspiring – and life transforming – for the survivor. I’ll have to write about that. It’s quite a story. But not today.)

Robert Reich digs into the possible reasons why so many people are so wrong in their evaluations of Trump** and Biden – and what can be done about it.

Heather Cox Richardson covers Biden’s commenceement speeach at Morehouse College last week, adding some historical background here and there.

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Open Thread May 18 2024

 Posted by at 5:56 am  Open Thread, Personal, Politics
May 182024
 

Yesterday, Wonkette informed me about the male-genitals-shaped balloons Trump** supporters had released Thursday outside the courthouse where he is being tried. Most of us outgrow our toddler obsession with genitals at an age much younger than these people have (God knows how) achieved. Also, there was a kerfuffle in the House involving Representatives Jasmine Crockett and Marjorie Three Names. Many people have had something to say about this. My take is that I’m going to the Atlanta Black Star to get some Black folks’ take before I even begin to formulate my lily-white take.  And then, there’s this.  (And no, you aren’t losig it, Jamie is still from Maryland -that was in error.)

This story from Joyce Vance is years old – but she (and the nation) have only just learned about it now. And that fact alone may be the biggest part of the story.

Sigh. I suppose we should have known this was coming – somewhere. And it will probably be repeated. It is well sourced, but I chose this link rather than ne of the sources, partly because I thought there was value in the comments.

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Open Thread May 12 2024

 Posted by at 5:45 am  Open Thread, Personal, Politics
May 122024
 

Yesterday, the radio opera was Madama Butterfly. I assume everyonehas at least heard of it and maybe something from it, even if not the whole thing. Certainly from the song “Poor Butterfly” all the way to “M(onsieur) Butterfly on broadway, creative artists have assumed that everyone knows the story (which is probably as old as humanity, though the odlest i can trace it to is “Madame Chrysantheme” by Pierre Loti, which itself inspired the opera “Lakmé,” set in india with an English cad, whereas of course Butterfly is set in Japan with an American cad. It’s always beautiful to listen to, and always makes everyone cry, which “Lakmé” doesn’t necessarily/ I’m pretty sure that’s because somewhere between Loti and Puccini the detail got added of her having birthed a child in his absence, and that really ups the stakes. It also makes the opera more difficult to produce, but everyone stages it anyway. Totally unrelated, but May 12, today, always reminds me of my (very) long ago youth. In my last year of high school and my first couple of years of college I enjoyed playing bridge, and preferred the high school club even after graduation because the college one was duplicate bridge, and very, very serious. You know kids that age – we all thought we were clever. We had nicknames for certain kinds of tricks, such as one where all the cards were honor cards was called a “Summit Conference.” A trick where three cards were honor cards and one not was called a “May 12th, because, on May 12, 1960, Khrushchev had walked out on a summit conference – and that was such a short time before it was practically still news.

Well, this is interesting. Sure too bad this didn’t come out earlier.

There’s a whole lot of information here, and some, but not all, of the snippets which follow the longer first section have some relevance to that section.

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Open Thread May 3, 2024

 Posted by at 5:59 am  Open Thread, Personal, Politics
May 032024
 

Yesterday, there was a great deal of floom running through the news. I was only going to use two articles, but I added Reich because he at least gives us some ideas about what we should do in the face of such doom and gloom.

Mary Trump‘s writing here is factful (in the sense of full of facts – there are a lot) and perceptive. She does touch on a lot that we already know. but if you want to skip all or prts, pleas skip to the end. There’s a zinger in her conclusion.

I have read about this incident – maybe you have too – but this is a view of it that you may not have read (though you may have thought it, or at least some of it.)

Robert Reich writes about emotions and politics. He doesn’t say this, but I want to add it – stirring up emotions may well increase turnout. But when those emotions are in response to lies, that’s not the kind of turnout whichimproves out government, or dstrengthens outr democracy. There is plenty in this election year to rationally be afraid of – but most of the actual fear that grips voters is the irrational fears stirred up by MAGA. I’ve said this before – Trump** promises violence if he loses. And nhe may well follow trough – he’s done it before. But, if he wins, he will stir up just as much violence, or probably more violence, and there will be no one to protect us.

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Open Thread April 23, 2024

 Posted by at 5:51 am  Open Thread, Personal, Politics
Apr 232024
 

Yesterday, going through my inbox, I was seeing message subjects like “I underestimated House Speaker Mike Johnson” (Steve Schmidt) and “Mike Johnson Grows Spine And Passes Ukrainian Aid Package” (Wonkette) and “Mike Johnson Measured UP” (also Steve Schmidt) and “Ukrainian Army Celebrates Major Victory Over M – oh, wait, that was Borowitz. Y’all may be seeing some similar ones, since we don’t all get the same emails. Hey, I like the result, but I don’t like the tendency to make Mike Johnson a hero. Yes, Johnson put some foreign aid through and got it passed – four bills – and he did it by making a deal with Hakeem Jeffries. There are multiple theories on the details of the deal – because they are not confirmed I won’t cite any – but I have only seen one comment to the effect that “This was very clever. It looks like something Mitch McConnell might do.” I agree. Yes, he got it done, but don’t go tinking he did it out of the goodness of his heart. We – by which I mean not only us here, but Democrats in Congress – need to watch him very carefully, and to look very carefully at the details of any future proposed deals, and negotiate firmly.

Robert Hubbell looks at the Ukraine vote with particular attention to the margin by which it passed, and extrapolates that in a way which, while not as positive as it might be, yet is more positive than many of us have been thinking. I hope he’s right – or that, if he’s wrong, the reality is even better.

Heather Cox Richardson memoralizes the history of Earth Day, among other things pointing out that environmentalism used to be bipartisan – or, better, to transcend partisan politics.

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Open Thread April 20, 2024

 Posted by at 5:45 am  Open Thread, Personal, Politics
Apr 202024
 

Yesterday, a man set himself on fire in the “designated protest area” outside the courthouse where Trump** is being tried. He has allegedly been identified as Maxwell Azzarello of St. Augustine, FL. Since we already know MAGAts are clinically insane, what struck me about the atory is the fact that a “protest area” has been designated. That seriously makes me worry that we will never see sanity in government again – at least not nationally. I do have confidence in some states. Also yesterday, Robert Reich posted a new video on RFKj, and is inviting everyone to share it with everyone. Sure, he can’t win. And logically, his platform should take away voters from Trump**, not from Biden. But politics is not all that logical. Too many people don’t really pay attention.

I am hoping this small victory – the kind of victory which so often Democrats don’t get involved with because it’s local – not thinking it through that it’s those victories from which our bench for the “bigger” contests needs to grow -I hope iit helps inspire others to run also.

Now this is what I have been waiting for ever since Joe appointed Deb Haaland to the Department of the interior. Based just on all the Republican whining it may well have been worth waiting for. Here’s a second link to a different article, same subject.

P.S. Yes, I realize today is 4/20.  But since THC doesn’t really do anything for me, so that I just stick with CBD, I’m afraid I don’t really know how to celebrate

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Open Thread April 5, 2024

 Posted by at 6:26 am  Open Thread, Personal, Politics
Apr 052024
 

Yesterday must have been an interesting day. I reveived four separate Axios alerts before 1:30 pm. The first was about Democrats putting pressue on Mike Johnson over foreign aid, particularly Ukraine (sure glad to hear that.) The second was that the judge on the Georgia cas rejected Trump’s “First Amendment” challenge to the gag order – also good. The third – and this is huge – No Labels is dropping out of the Presidential race. and the final one was to announce that Aileen (“Loose”) Cannon has again dismissed a Trump** motion to dismiss his case.Four good new breaking alerts in one day is, to put it mildly, rare.

I knew that this was a Civil Rights song. I did not know it was written specifically for the Little Rock Nine. I’m glad to have learned.

I mentioned in a comment that the person who spilled the beans on Kyle Rittenhouse was the defense lawyer at his trial. This story has the details. I think he’s upset that he was taken in and wants to ensure as best he can that no one else is.

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Open Thread March 26, 2024

 Posted by at 6:09 am  Open Thread, Personal, Politics
Mar 262024
 

Yesterday, another uneventful day for me. But not for a number of public figures, one in particular.

Mary Trump would like us non-lawyers all to calm down and take a deep breath. (I’d like that too. Things are bad enough without us interpreting anything we don’t like as a catastrophe. Whych is why I don’t report more on the Trump** trials.)

Now that i’m getting the Borowitz report again, I can share him. And this is a good one. There is only one female character in the Revelation of Saint John. And I can definitely see why he’d think of her.

I was concerned about this – we probably all were – I even included a Beau video (yesterday) discussing the possibility of a veto. Well, we didn’t.

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