GOP Insanity – Page 63 – Politics Plus

Open Thread for December 16, 2021

Posted by Joanne Dixon at 6:35 am Open Thread, Personal, Politics

Dec 162021

Yesterday, nothing was predictable or went as expected. Butterfingers here dropped some things … and then picked up some other things, some probably dropped months ago (like 4mm beads, and earring backs.) Mislaid some things, found one that I’d been looking for. Got a package and found one item was missing but one was included I hadn’t ordered (and it wasn’t on the packing slip – and this is unheard of with this supplier.) Loaded some pictures for FFT to the library, and two just disappeared (they were still on my computer, but I had to find them in the trash to re-load them.) All just little things, but a bit disorienting. Nothing I can’t survive LOL!

Cartoon – 16 Voyager loaded

Short Takes

Mother Jones – What if Media Covered the War on Democracy Like an Actual War?
Quote – As we wind down a year that began with a televised insurrection and ends with detailed reporting on what a 2024 coup could look like, it’s more important than ever to stay grounded in that story. Call it the Big Story, in contrast to the Big Lie…. The Big Story did not begin on November 3, 2020, but it did enter a new chapter that day. Remember those surreal weeks, just barely a year ago? Protesters banging on doors at ballot-counting centers, Rudy Giuliani holding forth outside a landscaping shop, election officials reporting vile threats to their families?
Click through for more reality. Yes, Monika wants to raise funds, but who can blame her. It’s not like this isn’t important.

Crooks and Liars – Seems Like People Are Missing The Real Mark Meadows Story
Quote – The plan all along was to create a clash between “patriots” and antifa/BLM that would allow Trump to invoke the Insurrection Act and stay in office. Leftists threw a major monkey wrench into the plot by not showing up. (Thank you, leftists. Major props!)
Click through. It’s not long, and not a word is wasted. And she’s right. And I missed it too.

HuffPost – Final Child Tax Credit Payments Go Out Amid Doubt Over Program’s Future
Quote – As a main Democratic holdout in the Senate, Manchin has faced relentless questioning from reporters about his position on various elements of Build Back Better, and he lost his temper on Wednesday when HuffPost followed up with a question about whether he supported continuing the child tax credit in its current form. “This is bullshit,” he said. “You’re bullshit.”
Click through for backstory, and consequences. I find this situation painful, and I don’t even have kids.

Food For Thought:

Open Thread for December 15, 2021

Posted by Joanne Dixon at 6:50 am Open Thread, Personal, Politics

Dec 152021

Yesterday, I got email confirmation of my next visit to Virgil, which will be on Christmas Day. We have never had that happen before. I hope the weather will be kind. I also got a paper check from a class action suit into the mail to my credit union. I hate paper checks. But I do have envelopes and postage and deposit slips, and now I have the address on my hard drive where I won’t lose it, so, oh, well. Usually I send paper checks to my USAA account – they provide postage-paid envelopes – but in this suit, USAA was the defendant, and I thought that would be tacky. So the Credit Union it had to be.

Cartoon –

Short Takes

The 19th – ‘Dash for Cash’ showcases lack of pay and resources for South Dakota teachers
Quote – Teachers spent an average of $750 out of their own pocket on school supplies during the 2020-2021 school year, according to a survey of 5,400 teachers administered by AdoptAClassroom, a nonprofit that raises funds for school supplies
Click through. This just makes me want to cry. There is no rational reason why we don’t fund out public schools properly and pay teachers appropriately for what they do. It’s just pure meanness. BTW I promised I’d look up the slam poem on what teachers make – you’ll find it and the transcript in today’s video thread.

Crooks and Liars – What Wingers Are Really Saying When They Say ‘Missing Children’
Quote – That’s what right-wingers mean when they talk about missing children: It’s QAnon Lite, the belief that all their enemies are pedophiles and all their heroes are anti-pedophile warriors. Much of the discussion and activity of these beliefs now takes place with no overt reference to QAnon.
Click thought for full story. I knew exactly what the headline was referring to before reading the full story. Did you? Of course, there exist a number we can’t ever know of people whose brains are wired to want sex with children We can’t know it because most will never act on it, and most of those who do will never be exposed. But, since this kind of sex has a built-in imbalance of power, I don’t think it’s a stretch to suggest that most of them are Republicans (using the term for people who think like Republicans, regardless of party registration, if any.)

Daily Beast – The Green Lantern Theory Destroyed Jimmy Carter’s Presidency. Now It’s Hitting Joe Biden.
Quote – The problem with being a president who promises to clean things up after a villainous predecessor is that the press corps treats you like a superhero—which sounds like a good thing until you realize that just means you get blamed for things you can’t control. That’s what happened to Jimmy Carter, and it’s what’s happening to Joe Biden now thanks to what Dartmouth political scientist Brendan Nyhan has called “the Green Lantern Theory” in which voters believe a president can do anything through sheer willpower, like the DC superhero.
Click through for details. Ms. Clift used to be in the McLaughlin Group, so she’s some kind of conservative, but she was never a nutcase, and this is pretty reasonable – if I can use that term for a solid explanatin of unreason.

Food For Thought:
I can’t put the whole presentation here because it’s six panels, each a different “Truth-in-Advertising” re-named Kelloggs product. It starts with “Kelloggs Corp Flacks” and only gets better. I think you’ll want to share it too.

Video Thread 12/14/2021

Posted by Joanne Dixon at 11:58 am Open Thread, Politics

Dec 142021

Glenn Kirschner – With Trump’s COS Meadows’ Democracy-Ending PowerPoint, It’s Beginning to Look a Lot Like . . . RICO

MSNBC – TRMS – Details Of Intimidation Of Georgia Election Workers Puts New Scrutiny On Trump Campaign (Barf Bag Alert)

Thom Hartmann – The Reckoning Is Coming For The Media

The Lincoln Project – Hotline

Really American – GOP Initiates Trump 2022 ‘Slow Moving Coup’

SumofUs – The Tiger & The Buffalo spoof ad

Beau – Let’s talk about voting traditions in the US….

Video Thread 12/12/2021

Posted by Joanne Dixon at 12:27 pm Open Thread, Politics

Dec 122021

Glenn Kirschner – NY AG Tish James Subpoenas Trump; Will he Testify or Plead the 5th?

Thom Hartmann – Generals LIED To Congress About Trump’s Jan 6th Coup! (Politico is pretty right leaning, so this message has particular credibility)

Rebel HQ – AOC Bluntly Drops Truth On Coward Republicans

Ring of Fire – Trump Supporters Harassing People Door To Door Looking For Voter Fraud

John Fugelsang – Caffeinated – 10 Facts About ‘Illegals:’ A Guide for Racist Idiots

Puppet Regime – Xi’s Xmas Surprise

Beau – Let’s talk about the thing we missed in Crenshaw’s speech….

Open Thread for December 12, 2021

Posted by Joanne Dixon at 7:21 am Open Thread, Personal, Politics

Dec 122021

Yesterday, I visited Virgil.The sun wasn’t that bad in the morning, although I think I will start looking at the almanac hor how the time of sunrise moves. From four weeks ago to two weeks ago, the sunrise got ten minutes earlier. From two weeks ago to this visi, sunset got a total of two minutes earlier, and all of that was in the first few days – it’s been the same for nine days in a row. So I’m sort of expecting it to start getting later instead of earlier in a day or two. The days will still get shorter until the soltice, but all of that will come from the sunrise getting later, and none from the sunset getting earlier. The visit was good, and Virgil returns all greeting with thanks.

Cartoon –

Short Takes

From an email from Democracy for America:
[On Thursday,] at the direction of Mitch McConnell, Joe Manchin, and Kyrsten Sinema moved forward with a one-time exemption to the filibuster to raise the debt ceiling.
That’s right, Senators Joe Manchin and Kyrsten Sinema, who have both previously stated that they would not support any filibuster exceptions under any circumstances, even to protect voting rights, just made an exception to the filibuster.
If Manchin and Sinema are going to make an exception to the filibuster when McConnell wants to, they should be bending over backwards to make that same exception to protect voting rights.
Join DFA as we tell Manchin, Sinema, and all Senate Democrats: If you’re willing to make an exception to the filibuster in order to raise the debt ceiling, you must make that same exception to protect voting rights.

Law & Crime – Our First Look at Josh Duggar Immediately After Child Porn Conviction and Months Ahead of Sentencing
Quote – Other court records indicate that the jury began deliberations at 12:17 p.m. on Wednesday. They asked for a recording of an interview with Duggar himself to be re-played — and it was, in its entirety — before jurors retired to deliberate once again. Court recessed for the day around 5:00 p.m. The jurors returned for about an hour and a hate Thursday before returning a verdict at 10:07 a.m.
Click through for more. This story just begs for snark, and both Wonkette and Crooka and Liars did not disappoint – but it’s also serious, so I decided to cover it from this source.

HuffPost – Tucker Carlson’s Jan. 6 ‘Agent Provocateur’ Is A Big Tucker Fan And An Amateur Cardinals Mascot
Quote – But the man is no fed. He is mainly known to St. Louis Cardinals fans as “Rally Runner,” HuffPost has learned, and he sprints around the outside of Busch Stadium during home games. Based on the man’s Facebook posts, he appears to have a fairly difficult life and has a tenuous relationship with reality. And he’s a huge Tucker Carlson fan.
Click through for more facts, and, sadly, more insanity (disturbing but valuable to grasp what we are up against.)

Food for Thought –

Video Thread 12/11/2021

Posted by Joanne Dixon at 12:14 pm Open Thread, Politics

Dec 112021

Mark Meadows In Contempt of Congress & With No Viable Executive Privilege, It’s Indictment Time

The Lincoln Project – Protect America

politicsrus – Protect Democracy HD

Rebel HQ – NDLB’s 2022 lineup is ready to send the GQP packing!

This Scene From The Titus Show Stuck with Trae Crowder Ever Since it Aired

Really American – Republicans COWER in Fear of Trump

Beau – Let’s talk about altering the Supreme Court…

Open Thread for December 11, 2021

Posted by Joanne Dixon at 6:45 am Open Thread, Personal, Politics

Dec 112021

Yesterday,I did the lst odds and ends of preparing for the drive.I sllao colected little advance material. Then I got to bed early. I will definitely pass greetings to Virgil today, I will drive carefully, and I will let you know I got home safe – it may not be the instant I get in the door as I’ll be eager to change clothes, but as soon as I get to the computer.

Cartoon –

Short Takes

Wonkette – When Will We Finally Accept That Trumpism Was Never About Economic Anxiety?
Quote – The Tea Party was a white, middle-class movement, and while not overtly violent, it was the product of racist backlash to Obama’s election. Republicans exploited the backlash, tip-toeing around the racism, for their immediate political gain. They cocked the weapon and handed it over to Trump, but we give him too much credit when we assume that if he hadn’t won in 2016, the problem would have gone away. (We can only imagine the violent backlash against Hillary Clinton.) A reported six out of every seven January 6 insurrectionists charged with crimes had no previous affiliations with extremist groups, such as the Proud Boys, the Oath Keepers, or the Three Percenters militia. This wasn’t a surprise to University of Chicago historian Kathleen Belew, who told Gellman: “January 6 wasn’t designed as a mass-casualty attack, but rather as a recruitment action.”
Click through for more. I’ve often thought that, had Hillary won, her Presidency would have been much like Obama’s, only with more backlash, because misgyny is deeper and stronger than racism. That doesn’t mean I don’t wish she had won – I do wish that, with all my heart. But it would not have derailed Trump**.

Crooks and Liars – Kelloggs To Permanently Replace 1400 Striking Workers
Quote – The decision follows months of bitter disagreement between the company and the union. The rejected offer would have provided cost of living adjustments in the later years of the deal and preserved the workers’ current healthcare benefits. But workers say they deserve significant raises because they routinely work more than 80 hours a week, and they kept the plants running throughout the coronavirus pandemic.
Click through. I don’t knowingly cross a picket line. Thankfully, one of the comments included a link to an article of everything they own.

Mother Jones – Baristas in Buffalo Just Formed the First Starbucks Union in the United States
Quote – In a watershed moment for the recent wave of pandemic-inspired labor organizing, workers at a Starbucks in Buffalo, New York, voted [December 9] to form the coffee chain’s first union in the United States. Despite months of opposition from party leadership, 19 workers at the Elmwood location in Buffalo voted in favor of unionizing in the election, conducted by the National Labor Relations Board. Only eight opposed.
Click through for story – If I had had to guess way in advance where this wou;d happen … Buffalo would not have been my first guess. But whatever. More power to them!

Food for Thought –