Open Thread for November 16, 2021

 Posted by at 6:40 am  Open Thread, Personal, Politics
Nov 162021
 

Yesterday was another pretty quiet day. I’ll take all of those that I can get. Incidentally, as it is now a new week, maybe Nameless can get a tech out to look at his computer. I surely hope so. But it’s also the first workday after a holiday week, so it might not be today.

Cartoon –

Short Takes –

Crooks and Liars – The New Face Of The GOP?
Quote – So try to imagine what will happen if Rittenhouse is acquitted. Trump will issue a statement somehow taking credit for it. Fox News will fly Rittenhouse to New York for triumphant interviews. Social media will erupt with joy, as millions of conservatives cry “Suck it, libs!” He’ll appear on T-shirts and bumper stickers; maybe he’ll speak at the next Conservative Political Action Conference. And don’t be surprised if Trumpist candidates start seeking Rittenhouse’s endorsement and asking him to appear on the campaign trail with them.
Click through for more, including (paywalled) link to Washington Post. The only light I can see at the end of this tunnel is that George Zimmerman eventually got into enough non-political trouble to get dropped like a hot potato, and it’s probably safe to expect that to happen to Rittenhouse also (and maybe even his mother, God willing).

AP News – Workers at federal prisons are committing some of the crimes
Quote – More than 100 federal prison workers have been arrested, convicted or sentenced for crimes since the start of 2019, including a warden indicted for sexual abuse, an associate warden charged with murder, guards taking cash to smuggle drugs and weapons, and supervisors stealing property such as tires and tractors.
Click through for details. I’d file this under “No shit, Sherlock.” No prison is any better than its warden … and in 2019, the warden was Bill Barr (and before him, Jeff Sessions.) Not that that is an excuse, of course.

The 19th – The word missing from the vast majority of anti-trans legislation? Transgender
Quote – More anti-trans bills were introduced in state legislatures in 2021 than in any previous year on record. The 19th reviewed the text of 102 bills in seven states that were primarily designed to restrict access to sports or gender-affirming care for trans youth, like hormones and puberty blockers, and only seven bills mentioned the word “transgender.” Only eight passed, primarily those focused on sports, although legal battles in several states have barred most from going into effect.
Click through for story. Granted there are (probably) fewer transgendered people than just about any other minority group, there are certainly enough to account for a large (and disproportionate) number of suicide and murder victims. And no one is free until and unless we are all free.

Food for Thought –


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Video Thread 11/15/21

 Posted by at 12:10 pm  Open Thread, Politics
Nov 152021
 

Glenn Kirschner – Judge Rules Against Trump BUT Appellate Court Temporarily Blocks Release of Documents. What’s Next?

Meidas Touch – How Ron DeSantis manipulated ‘useful idiot’ Trump

Thom Hartmann – Trump’s Authoritarian Storm Is Upon Us Now

politicsrus – This Is Episode 1 HD

Now This News – Endangered Komodo Dragons Hatch at San Antonio Zoo – Some good news. They are gonna get BI-I-I-IG.

Rocky Mountain Mike – Bannon

Beau – Let’s talk about hot books in Virginia….

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Video Thread 11/14/21

 Posted by at 12:10 pm  Open Thread, Politics
Nov 142021
 

Glenn Kirschner – Steve Bannon Indicted. What’s next: from Monday’s Court Appearance to Plea Negotiations to Trial & More

MSNBC – The Quickest Way To Suppress Votes? ‘Cracking’ And ‘Packing’

Ring of Fire – Trump-Loving Congresswoman Left ‘Visibly Shaken’ After Trump Attacks Her At Dinner

Armageddon Update – It’s Just a Joke

Really American – Desantis Kills Florida

Represent Us – Rachel on the ED ad (which I poseted, but this adds so much)

Beau – Let’s talk about Little Rock, history, and making the case….

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Open Thread for November 14, 2021

 Posted by at 7:23 am  Open Thread, Personal, Politics
Nov 142021
 

Yesterday, On the morning trip, there was enough cloud cover I didn’t have to use the visor much, though it was very helpful when I did. Coming home – well, let me back up a little. First, the visit was good and Virgil returns all greetings.OK. I already said the package with the visor contained some other things. What they were was clear-plastic-lined fabric screens, each about 16″x 20″, stretched with a wire frame flexible enough to fold them into about a 9″ circle if you’re smart enough – I’m not, but they came that way. I opened two and didn’t touch the second two. They came with little suction cups but there’s not an obvious place to put them. I clipped a couple of binder clips to one and took it and a second one to the car. As much as we talk about the sun moving from East to West, we often ignore in our speech the effect of the earth’s axis on that. Here in Colorado, the axis is so skewed at this time of year that the sun sets virtually due South – to the left of the car from Las Animas to Pueblo, and left and behind me when I’m heading north to Springs. As I got to Pueblo and the dangerous-due-to glare turns, I stopped, and clipped one of the scrrens to the driver’s window, far enough back not to interfere with the left rear view mirror. When I started going north, that screen was far enough back to slow down the sun – not strong enough to stop it, which itself coul have been dangerous, just effectively enough for it not to hurt my eyes and drive me nuts. So I guess now I know what they are for. Between them and the visor extender, driving is now a lot easier and feels much safer. Mission accomplished.

Cartoon –

Short Takes –

Common Dreams – ‘Arrogant Insensitivity’: Defense Lawyer in Arbery Murder Trial Ripped for Bid to Bar Black Pastors
Quote – Gough, referring to the founder and marketing mascot of the fast-food chain Kentucky Fried Chicken, curiously added that “if a bunch of folks came in here dressed like Colonel Sanders with white masks sitting in the back,” before trailing off.
Click through for story, which is all over but this is a good take on it. Personally, I think the prosecution should give Sojourners a call (and possible also ask the black pastors) to look for white pastors to put on the stand who will really shame the defendants with both barrels.

DHS Sounds Alarm On RW Terror Against School, Health Officials And Congress
Quote – DHS issued a bulletin Wednesday warning that the holiday season ushers in a “diverse and challenging threat environment” with threats “posed by individuals and small groups engaged in violence, including domestic violent extremists (DVEs) and those inspired or motivated by foreign terrorists and other malign foreign influences.” You can substitute the term “right-wing extremists” for “domestic violent extremists.” Probably not all DVEs are right-wing but it’s clear from the DHS bulletin that the ones it’s most worried about are:
Click through for more. My, it’s nice to have a DHS that actually cares about our secuity,not just bashing people of color and other minorities.

Wonkette – What’s In The Infrastructure Bill? What’s In Build Back Better? Which Is Which? Wonkette Gets Servicey!
Quote – On the off chance you may have missed it, the House passed the Bipartisan Infrastructure Framework (BIF) late Friday [11/5], with the second, much larger part of Joe Biden’s first term agenda, the Build Back Better reconciliation bill, likely to be passed the week prior to Thanksgiving, as long as Joe Manchin doesn’t decide it needs to include tax credits for diesel pickup trucks that “roll coal” on bicyclists and drivers of Prii. In Monday’s White House presser, Principal Deputy Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said Biden would sign the infrastructure bill into law sometime next week…. Obviously, Biden wants to use the passage of the BIF as leverage to move Build Back Better to completion, which seems like a pretty sound strategy, and if your House or Senate critter is doing town halls this week, let ’em know you want Build Back Better to pass, yes, even if they’re Republicans.
Click through for what we got. There is also a companion article, What’s In The Build Back Better Bill? Your Servicey Wonkette SUPER MEGA-LISTICLE!, which details what we hope to get. Wonkette may have a frivolous attitude, but it also has facts.

Food for Thought –

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Open Thread for November 13, 2021

 Posted by at 6:38 am  Open Thread, Personal, Politics
Nov 132021
 

Yesterday, I mostly got ready for today’s drive. I also tried to collect a little extra news and videos, so Saturday’s posts may be a trifle dated.  Also yesterday, Steve Bannon was indicted by the DOJ on 2 counts of Contempt of Congress – one for not providing documents, and one for not providing testimony

Cartoon –

Short Takes –

Mother Jones – The Furriest, Cleverest, and Hands-Down Cutest Way to Fight Climate Change
Quote – But it’s tricky to quantify exactly how much carbon a healthy kelp forest gobbles up. A redwood tree, for instance, grows to be massive over hundreds of years, locking away lots of carbon over long timescales. (Unless it catches on fire, in which case the carbon goes back into the atmosphere.) Things are more in flux underwater. All manner of critters, including sea urchins, are nibbling on kelp—and pooping out the carbon. Plus, the churning sea breaks off bits of the forest, which fall to the seafloor and decompose, releasing stored carbon. So a kelp forest constantly decays and grows back, sequestering and releasing carbon all the while.
Click through for story. So long I have been screaming into the wind that messing with nature when we don’t know what function everything serves is simply suicidal. This explains a lot. Just don’t get dizzy from all the twists and turns.

Kansas School District Bans Pulitzer Prize-winning Books
Quote – It’s not just Kansas. In Virginia, one school district is hard at work removing “sexual content” from their libraries. Two board members, Courtland representative Rabih Abuismail and Livingston representative Kirk Twigg, said they would like to see the removed books burned. “I think we should throw those books in a fire,” Abuismail said, and Twigg said he wants to “see the books before we burn them so we can identify within our community that we are eradicating this bad stuff.”
Click through for story, including a list to a list of 29 books from Kansas.

GOP leaders say little to condemn violent political rhetoric
Quote – The GOP’s reluctance to crack down on — or even mildly criticize — violent rhetoric in its own ranks is part of a broader pattern in which the party tries to minimize such behavior. Gosar removed the tweet aimed at Ocasio-Cortez, but the Arizona congressman and his digital director said those offended by his tweet should “relax.” Trump, meanwhile, has attempted to divert attention from the Jan. 6 violence at the U.S. Capitol by saying that last year’s Election Day was the “real insurrection.” There was no insurrection on Election Day. There was a free and fair election won by Biden.
Click through for examples. GOP condoning violence? By GOPs? Surprise, surprise!

Food for Thought –

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Video Thread 11/12/21

 Posted by at 11:51 am  Open Thread, Politics
Nov 122021
 

Glenn Kirschner – This is from the Stephanie Miller show from October 31. So nothing new, but phrased and inflected differently whan he’s talking with Stephanie.

The Lincoln Projrct – Last Week in the Republican Party

Meidas Touch – Kyle Rittenhouse FAKE CRIES on stand as trial goes OFF THE RAILS!! (Sobs but no tears…)

Thom Hartmann – Media Lies Said Youngkin was Education Candidate

RepresentUs – More on Gerrymandered Pizza

Really American – Garland Stalls, Trump and Accomplices Roam Free of Consequences

Beau – Let’s talk about an internal Democratic party debate….

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Video Thread 11/11/21

 Posted by at 12:19 pm  Open Thread, Politics
Nov 112021
 

Glenn Kirschner – It’s Raining Congressional Subpoenas; Now More Than Ever, DOJ Must Indict Steve Bannon

Meidas Touch – GOP Lies

The Lincoln Project – Rebuild

Robert Reich – Is This Fall’s Labor Strike Wave a Tipping Point?

Rob Rogers – Melting Agenda (from 11/3)

Brent Terhune – Sesame Street Muppet Speaks Out (Brent is so good at this, I feel the need to remind everyone that this is ]

Beau – Let’s talk about a message to conservative parents….

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Open Thread for November 11, 2021

 Posted by at 6:41 am  Open Thread, Personal, Politics
Nov 112021
 

Yesterday, we were a bit shorthanded here. Pat took the day off for her birthday, and SoINeedAName’s computer suffered the Blue Screen Of Death so he was just able to post a short comment from his phone. Never a dull moment!

Cartoon –

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Short Takes –

Black Girl Dies by Suicide in Utah School District Rife With Racism
Quote – A 10-year-old Black girl who was a student in a Utah school district that had been the subject of a federal racism investigation hanged herself over the weekend, leaving her family distraught over what they say were unanswered calls to address bullying. The girl’s mom, Brittany Tichenor, said she had contacted the Davis School District “multiple times” to discuss how her daughter Isabella was mistreated by her peers after starting fifth grade just months ago. Through sobs, Tichenor described during a news conference the relentless teasing that her daughter—one of just a few Black students at the Foxboro Elementary School—had endured without much help from school administrators.
Click through for background and story – if you can stand to. Rest in peace, sweet Izzy.

Crroks and Liars – Wait Until You Hear Why Cop Didn’t Render Aid To Ahmaud Arbery
Quote – Former Officer Ricky Minshaw was asked by prosecutor Larissa Ollivierre how Ahmaud Arbery appeared when he arrived at the scene. Minshew said he was face-down and looked “unresponsive to his surroundings, he appeared to be deceased.”
Click through for a little more and a video.

KSL (Salt Lake City) – District investigates after teacher turns Veterans Day talk into message against vaccine, socialism
Quote – “It was just basically full of anti-Asian rhetoric talking about how people getting free handouts like food from the grocery store is anti-American and for lazy people….” The parent also claimed Law expressed his support for the Jan. 6 riot in Washington, D.C., and that the “government telling us we should get vaccinated is the government being a bully and we need to fight back against the bullies.”
Click through for the whole disturbing tale. The station will not back up Linked in’s claim that he attended the Air Force Academy, but it’s certinly not impossible. The AFA has a long and notorious history of denyong church-state separation.

Food for Thought –

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