Aug 012022
 

Yesterday, I went to visit Virgil – or tried to – but my car broke down and I had to get a tow and a ride home from my roadside assistance program. That went reasonably smoothly, and I have sent an email to the mechanics (they will have it by the time you read this) and a “JPay letter” to Virgil – that is a message which is electronically transmittied to the facility, printed out, and given to the offender – it’s the fastest means of communication from me to him, since I can’t call him, he has to call me. It is faster than snail mail, but not as much as I would wish at times like this.

Cartoon – 01 O2 RTL

Short Takes –

Crooks and Liars – Louie Gohmert Melts Down After Dem ‘Impugns’ His Lies
Quote – Rep. Cicilline then told Republicans to read the documents and stop making false claims. “Good luck with that,” the chairwoman said. This set Louie Gohmert’s hair on fire. “The gentleman … is not allowed under the rules to impugn false statements by this side,” Gohmert said.
Click through for full extent of – whatever it is. Sometimes one wonders whether they are delusional or just plain dumb. Louie is delusional – but this was just plain dumb. [The meeting chair at that point was Madeleine Dean (D-PA)]

Daily Beast – Dr. Oz’s Turkish Nationalist Pals Living in His Secret N.J. Condo
Quote – Dr. Mehmet Oz owns an undisclosed apartment in New Jersey that houses close associates of his who are linked to groups that have denied the ethnic cleansing which occurred in the formative years of the modern Turkish state. Bergen County records show that since 2006 Oz and his wife have owned the condominium in the borough of Fairview, a seven-minute drive from their mansion overlooking the Hudson River, where the county sent the unit’s property tax bill as recently as this year. Yet this apartment is oddly absent from the otherwise exhaustive disclosure Oz made in April as a candidate for the U.S. senator from Pennsylvania…. What was possible to ascertain is who those tenants are: a pair of apparent longtime friends deeply involved in Turkish nationalist activism and connected to groups that have fought to prevent the United States from recognizing the extermination of Armenians on Turkish territory during World War I—which Oz himself has refused to describe as a genocide, despite a consensus among respected historians.
Click through for more. Yes, Republicans lie, and no, other Republicans don’t care. But this is like denying the Holocaust happened. People like that are dangers to democracy.

Food For Thought –

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Jul 302022
 

Glenn Kirschner – Important new data points indicate DOJ does, in fact, have Donald Trump in its criminal sights

Meidas Touch – Rupert Murdoch TURNS ON TRUMP as Criminal Investigations Ramp Up

The Lincoln Project – This Woman Votes

Ojeda Live – Children Suffering in Somalia Thanks to Putin

Puppet Regime – Sing Along: The Really Bad People Song (CC included)

Beau – Let’s talk about Republican voting records….

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Jul 292022
 

Glenn Kirschner – In interview, AG Garland reaffirms DOJ will charge EVERYONE for their crimes, regardless of status

Meidas Touch – Texas Paul REACTS to Marjorie Taylor Greene Blaming Jan 6 on Nancy Pelosi

The Lincoln Project – The Many Sounds of Junior

Thom Hartmann – The Billionaires Buying The Midterm Elections

Farron Balanced – Trump Allies Have Terrifying Plan To Reshape America If He Becomes President Again

Beau – Let’s talk about the Constitution, marriage, and a talking point….

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Jul 282022
 

Glenn Kirschner – Marc Short subpoenaed & testifies to grand jury; J6 committee may soon subpoena Ginni Thomas

Meidas Touch – Navy Veteran EXPOSES American Gun Extremists

The Lincoln Project – Danger Zone

Ring of Fire – Secret Service Magically Finds Missing Texts After Investigation Announced

Armageddon Update – We Keep Secrets, Service

Beau – Let’s talk about the Republican takeaway from the hearings….

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Jul 282022
 

Yesterday, I observed that the forecast had mover the two seriously cold days this week from today and tomorrow to tomorrow and Friday. If they keep pushing them out, it could make my drive Sunday to see Virgil much more pleasant – assuming he’s still where he is now. I do think he is likely to be. At this point in the week I hoe so, because in the past when they have moved him it has been a few days at least before visiting is allowed at the new location.

Cartoon –

Short Takes –

Minnnesota Reformer – Conservative blocs unleash litigation to curb public health powers
Quote – Through a wave of pandemic-related litigation, a trio of small but mighty conservative legal blocs has rolled back public health authority at the local, state and federal levels, recasting America’s future battles against infectious diseases. Galvanized by what they’ve characterized as an overreach of COVID-19-related health orders issued amid the pandemic, lawyers from the three overlapping spheres — conservative and libertarian think tanks, Republican state attorneys general, and religious liberty groups — are aggressively taking on public health mandates and the government agencies charged with protecting community health.
Click through for details. The EPA can’t regulate. Now the CDC (and similar agencies at state and local levels) can’t regulate. Can anyone doubt any longer that they are trying to kill us all?

NPR – Decades of ‘good fires’ save Yosemite’s iconic grove of ancient sequoia trees
Quote – But it took more than the hard work of wildland firefighters, luck or a shift in the wind to protect the majestic trees in the Mariposa Grove, many of them 2,000 years old with several including the Grizzly Giant well over 3,000 years. Instead, foresters and ecologists say a half-century of intentional burning or ”prescribed fire” practices in and around the area dramatically reduced forest ”fuel” there, allowing the blaze to pass through the grove with the trees unscathed.
Click through for backstory. Nothing, in the end, will prevent forest fires entirely. And vacuum cleaners won’t help. But something else will. I shudder to think what a Republican administration might do to the Forest Service and the Park Service.

Food For Thought – This is from the British version of Vogue. I needed a little uplift and figured others might also.

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Jul 252022
 

Glenn Kirschner – Steve Bannon – Guilty; J6 hearing reveals Trump was the leader of the coup on January 6

Meidas Touch – BREAKING NEWS: Merrick Garland POWERFULLY AFFIRMS Trump CAN be prosecuted

The Lincoln Project – What It Was

MSNBC – How The Secret Service Became Not Just A Protecter Of The President’s Body, But His Secrets

Ojeda Live – Ojeda BLASTS Pathological Lying MyPillow Guy in This Video!

Beau – Let’s talk about what Greek statues can teach us about American history…

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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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Jul 232022
 

Glenn Kirschner – Steve Bannon loves to run his mouth; tomorrow [Thursday] is his big day as he gets to testify. Will he?

Meidas Touch – What Maddow got WRONG about the ‘Bombshell’ DOJ memo

The Lincoln Project – Tucker Carlson’s Unofficial Presidential Speech (Barf Bag Alert)

Farron Balanced – Legal Scholar Says Dems Should Sue To Prevent Trump From Holding Office Ever Again

MSNBC – Senators Reach Agreement On Bills To Stop Candidates From Stealing Elections

Beau – Let’s talk about Ted Cruz and marriage…

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