Open Thread for January 11, 2022

 Posted by at 7:11 am  Open Thread, Personal, Politics
Jan 112022
 

Yesterday, I was more or less back into routine. Although I was still waiting, after 6:00 pm, for an email that the phone outage had been resolved.

Cartoon –

Short Takes –

PolitiZoom – GOPers Hit New Low, Protesting Harry Reid’s Funeral In Las Vegas
Quote – [Candidate for Congress Noah] Melgeri [who took part in the “protest”] is pure MAGA. He says COVID was “an intentional act” and that General Milley should be executed, on live television no less. His wife appears at the local school board meetings and spews anti-vaxx drivel. Pure performance art out of the Greene/Gaetz/Gosar school of political theater.
Click through. People take part in protests because they want change. What change did these people want? Did they want the Senator’s body to rot above ground? Or did they just want him cremated? They didn’t say. This was not a protest, but merely a public nuisance.

Democratic Underground (bigtree) – Yes, the boat hit the iceberg, but putting children in lifeboats is destructive to their psyche
Quote – Look, I too want to survive this sinking, but I look at how people insist on wearing constrictive life-vests and taking to life boats and I sympathize with those who wants to spend their time drilling holes in the hull. Better to show this ocean we don’t fear it than to cower.
Click through for fuller analogy – This is an unspooled (translation: readable) Twitter thread with an extended analogy comparing CoViD to the Titanic. I fear it won’t reach those for whom it is intended, but it’s very creative,

Medium – What Do We Do Now?
Quote – Building the kind of movement needed to win won’t be comfortable. It means working with imperfect allies and getting outside our comfort zones. It means being open to tactics we wouldn’t have been previously. It means, for many of us, putting our personal safety at risk against an opposition that’s more than willing to engage in violence against their opponents. But we can’t win without a common purpose and a willingness to let go of what’s no longer working in favor of something new. And we can’t win without thinking, and doing bigger things — outside of the systems and institutions currently failing us.
Click through for complete opinion. Medium has a paywall, but you get 3 free articles per month. This one is scary, but I believe accurate. Of course one can only do what one can do. But one can do that, whatever it is.

Food For Thought:

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Open Thread for January 6, 2022

 Posted by at 7:13 am  Open Thread, Personal, Politics
Jan 062022
 

Yesterday, I ran through all the online diagnostics before calling CenturyLink, and I’m glad I did so. I have had my current modem for more than 9 years, and it’s been obsolete for a while now. So I really have no right to complain. I checked out the current models available, and discovered that one of the three newest models is made by the same manufacturer as my old one, and the cord array looks exactly the same, so I can install it easily – no need to brinf a tech to the house in plague time. I’m expected to get it Saturday. Meantime, I have found a flow which will enable me to work faster by moving slower, so I will make it until (probably not without some colorful language in the process, though.)

Cartoon –

Short Takes –

The New Yorker (Borowitz – NOT THE NEWS!) Sean Hannity Informs January 6th Panel that Swearing to Tell the Truth Would Violate His Contract with Fox
Quote – In a written statement, Hannity said that taking an oath “to tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth” would be “a betrayal of the solemn vow I made to Fox. +The members of the committee would no doubt require me to swear on a Bible,” he said. “However, I answer to a higher power: Rupert Murdoch.”
Click through if you aren’t paywalled out. Sounds like straight news to me (but I did LOL.)

Trump called her an ‘incredible woman,’ but Ashli Babbitt was a Q-nut with a violent past
Quote – Norris’ first encounter with Babbitt took place on July 29, 2016, when Norris says Babbitt rammed her SUV in a road-rage incident in Prince Frederick, Maryland. “She pulls up yelling and screaming,” Norris told AP. “It took me a good 30 seconds to figure out who she was. … Just all sorts of expletives, telling me to get out of the car, that she was going to beat my ass.”
Click through for backstory. I don’t say “full” because there is undoubteedly more to be learned. I would also call her incredible – but NOT as a compliment!

Merrick Garland speech – Assuming this would be the major topic everyome would be interested in, I listened to it. Twice. The second time with a YouTube video which has CC and therefore I could download a transcript (how good remains to be seen,) and I will figure out a way to make that available – that one, or a better one if someone beats me to it. But, to summarize, he said –
We are working on it and we won’t stop until we get everyone. If I told you any more, it would jeopardize the investigation (DOJ policy, based on experience and best practices.) We started at the bottom and are working our way up, and that is reflected in sentincing (which by implication will go up with the involvement of the offender – also best practices.) We are also working on voting rights (if the investigation takes too long, we are going to need voting rights as we never have before.) We are also working on death threats, (and you wouldn’e believe how many of those there are, and how many categories of people who have received them.) The time to deal with threats is when they are issued, not after a tragedy. First Amendment rights are important, but “protests” like 1/6 and death threats are not protected. (I thought it was clever of him to quote Scalia to support that instead of a more liberal justice, and it was a good quote.) Bottom line: We know how critical the investigation of 1/6 is for the survival of democracy, and we don’t intend to let anyone skate. We are working as hard as we can, that’s all we can tell you, so please get off our back and let us do our job.

Food For Thought:

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Video Thread 1/4/2022

 Posted by at 11:35 am  Open Thread, Politics
Jan 042022
 

Glenn Kirschner – DOJ Press Release Promises to Hold Accountable All Those “Responsible” for Capitol Attack

Crooks and Liars – Harry Dunn Moves Capehart To Tears With Answer On Protecting Congress

Ring of Fire – Conservatives Accidentally Drive Book Sales Soaring After Trying To Ban Books

Robert Reich – The Big Picture: How We Got Into This Mess, And How We Get Out of It (No CC because no talking!)

CBS – States across the country mark the start of 2022 with new laws going into effect (More new laws)

CNN – Cheney reveals what Trump was doing during January 6 insurrection (not like any of this is news, but testimony is always nice to have.)

Beau – Let’s talk about a New Year update….

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Open Thread for January 3, 2022

 Posted by at 7:03 am  Open Thread, Personal, Politics
Jan 032022
 

Yesterday, I kind of piddled around, pulled out the next sweater I intend to wear to visit Virg and Jewelry to go with (I may wear one weddig or wedding-type ring and one religious pendant inside, and I like to take earringd along to put into my ears when I leave to keep the piercing open) – took out some recyclables (There is room now, it got picked up), found where all the old comments are and figured out how to get to a particular page – checked what os low in the kitchen freezer and moved things from the porch freezer to re-stock – glued some cord ends onto cords – did a little knitting – downloaded some free patterns (with no clear projects in mind, I just liked some ideas) – did a little gaming – just small stuff.

Cartoon –

Short Takes

Politico – FDIC’s GOP chair to resign after partisan brawl
Quote – Earlier this month, the Democratic majority on the FDIC’s board voted to take public feedback on potential changes to the agency’s bank merger approval process. McWilliams did not participate in the vote, and the FDIC in an official statement said the action was not valid. A legal debate ensued over whether a majority of the board can put items up for a vote without the consent of the chair, with Democrats maintaining they had clear authority.
Click through for details. So, now we’ll have a Democratic chair (at least for a while). In what universe canthe top dog invalidate a vote by simply not voting when everyone else does vote? If that isn’t autocracy, I don’t know what is. Even BBM couldn’t get away with that.

Daily Kos – Adhara Pérez, 10, has a higher IQ than Einstein and Hawking. She has her sights set on NASA
Quote – When she was just 5, Pérez finished elementary school. At 6 she finished middle school, and at 8 she finished high school. Today, she’s studying two careers online—Industrial engineering in mathematics at UNITEC and systems engineering at CNCI. The University of Arizona has offered her a scholarship.
Click through for story. Of course it’s a story not without bullying in it. But there seem to be enough people in her corner now to provide her some protection. I hope.

The Guardian – Capitol attack: Cheney says Republicans must choose between Trump and truth
Quote – Cheney told CBS the blame lay squarely with her own party. “Far too many Republicans are trying to enable the former president, embrace the former president or look the other way and hope that the former president goes away, or trying to obstruct the activities of this committee, but we won’t be deterred. At the end of the day, the facts matter, the truth matters.”
Click through. I really do hope they don’t kill her.

Food For Thought:

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Video Thread 1/2/2022

 Posted by at 11:35 am  Open Thread, Politics
Jan 022022
 

Glenn Kirschner – Trump’s Attempt to Enlist Assistance of Supreme Court to Hide Evidence from House Select Committee

Meidas Touch – Michael Cohen: Trump WILL be indicted

politicsrus – Jesus would not be a Republican

No Dem Lift Behind – Richard Ojeda: NDLB’s New Year’s Resolutions for 2022

Now This News – Amanda Gorman Shares New Poem to Kick Off 2022

Really American – Trump Dangerously Close With Epstein And Maxwell

Beau – Let’s talk about Trump losing his base by doing the right thing…. (I saw the humor – and I also saw and still see the danger.)

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Open Thread for January 2, 2022

 Posted by at 7:27 am  Open Thread, Personal, Politics
Jan 022022
 

Yesterday, I woke up and was delighted to see that the comment system is working. Some of us who have been using it for years at other sites are going to appear with different names – I will be Underwriter505 – which may take a little getting used to. But a least it will work and we won’t have to approve evry comment manually. Thanks all for your patience and understanding. We got comments from most who normally comment, and it seemed to go smoothly. Mitch could probably comment in Disqus, except tht he still can access the site, even just to read it, so I’ll still be entering his comments (and did, for both posts). I succeeded in making both Naeless (dmhlt_66) and Lona (Lona Goudswaard) moderators and administrators for Disqus (both already were for PP) – all before sunset. Then I turned to more routine tasks, like setting out meds and preparing posts.

Cartoon – (I really hope I’m wrong about this.)

Short Takes

Crooks and Liars – Crookie’s Trend Of The Year: Alt Names For You-Know-Who
Quote – We found out this year that “The Former Guy” refuses to be referred to as “former.” This did create a problem for his legal team, who kept trying to say you can’t indict/sue/bring to court a “former” so-called “President” while never once using the term “former” because your nightmare of a client won’t let you?
Click through for this article and links to some of the other Crookie awards. I particularly approve the “Mensch of the Year” award.

Politico – Bernard Kerik provides batch of documents to Jan. 6 select committee
Quote – Bernard Kerik, the former New York City Police commissioner and ally of Trump attorney Rudy Giuliani, also provided a “privilege log” describing materials he declined to provide to the committee. Among the withheld documents is one titled “DRAFT LETTER FROM POTUS TO SEIZE EVIDENCE IN THE INTEREST OF NATIONAL SECURITY FOR THE 2020 ELECTIONS.” … Trump ultimately opted against that strategy, but his consideration of the option is one of the key questions the panel is probing as part of its broader investigation into attempts to overturn the election.
Click through for a story you probably missed – I know I did – I don’t recall ever even hearing his name. But this may help.

Wonkette – Missouri Gov Mike Parson Vows Reporter Who Found Sh*tty Coding In State Website Will PAY
Quote – Thing is, there wasn’t any “hacking” involved, as Krebs on Security explained at the time, since the SSNs were almost right out in the open to be seen by anyone with specialized software, like a common web browser. “The newspaper said it found that teachers’ Social Security numbers were contained in the HTML source code of the pages involved. In other words, the information was available to anyone with a web browser who happened to also examine the site’s public code using Developer Tools or simply right-clicking on the page and viewing the source code.”
Click through for details. I see “Kill the Messenger” is alive and well among those who want to drag us back to the Dark Ages in every possible way.

Food For Thought:



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Video Thread 12/30/2021

 Posted by at 11:43 am  Open Thread, Politics
Dec 302021
 

Glenn Kirschner – The Law’s Perception Problem; When Will Justice Come for Meadows, Giuliani, Clark, Trump & Others

Meidas Touch – Did Donald Trump LEAK Melania’s nude photos??!

Crooks and Liars – “The former Senator was not mincing words.”

The Lincoln Project – Last Week in the Republican Party

Really American – GOP Embraces “Fresh” Faces Of Hatred

Brent Terhune – Storming the Burger King Remember he’s a satirist)

Beau – Let’s talk about questions and the Potter case….

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Open Thread for December 30, 2021

 Posted by at 6:44 am  Open Thread, Personal, Politics
Dec 302021
 

Yesterday, I got in touch with BlueHost (It requires both BlueHost and WordPress to run PoliticsPlus) The passwortd TC had given me had been reset, so I got directions on what to send to whom at BlueHost to get credentials of my own, amd sent it all off off. I may not need help from BLueHost to update the comment system, but eventuually I will need them, and I value their advice. So progress is being made (even if it looks a little like sausage is being made,) Thanks to everyone for your feedback. We will get where we are going – and we’re not suffering all that much in the interim, which is a great comfort. Oh, and I also took out trash and recyclables. What with the holiday I don’t even know for sure whether there will be pickup tomorrow, but I have no problem leaving the polycarts/ wheeliebins/whatever they are called out until the contents are collected.

Cartoon –

Short Takes

Law & Crime – Federal Jury Convicts Ghislaine Maxwell of Sex Trafficking and Enticing Minors for Jeffrey Epstein’s Abuse
Quote – After a whirlwind trial slated for six weeks wrapped up in half of that time, a federal jury on Wednesday found Ghislaine Maxwell guilty of sex trafficking and conspiring to entice minors for years of Jeffrey Epstein’s abuse. Maxwell stood trial for six federal offenses for conduct spanning from 1994 to 2004, roughly breaking down into alleged violations of the Mann Act and a distinct federal anti-sex trafficking statute. She was convicted of five of them, adding up to the possibility of several decades imprisonment for Maxwell, who turned 60 years old on Christmas Day.
Click through for details. Is it just ne, or is it easier to get an convicion on a woman than it is on a man? (Not tht she isn’t guilty, but that there are so many men who are guilty and still at liberty.)

Reuters – Russia shuts Memorial Human Rights Centre in ‘one-two punch’
Quote – Russia’s Memorial Human Rights Centre was ordered to shut by a Moscow court on Wednesday, a day after its sister organisation – Russia’s oldest human rights group – was forced to close. The Human Rights Centre [kept] a running list of individuals it classifies as political prisoners, including Kremlin critic Alexei Navalny. The list includes Jehovah’s Witnesses and Muslims convicted of terrorism that Memorial says were victims of “unproven charges based on fabricated evidence because of their religious affiliation”.
Click through for the story. Autocrats are not even pretending any more.

AP News – Judge refuses to dismiss alleged Proud Boys leaders’ charges
Quote – “Defendants are not, as they argue, charged with anything like burning flags, wearing black armbands, or participating in mere sit-ins or protests,” Kelly wrote in his 43-page ruling. “Moreover, even if the charged conduct had some expressive aspect, it lost whatever First Amendment protection it may have had.”
Click through for more. I don’t know anything about Judge Kelly (like, for instance, who appointed him), but he appears to understand the First Amendment very well.

Food For Thought:

 

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