GOP Lies – Page 13 – Politics Plus

Video Thread 10/29/22

Posted by Joanne Dixon at 11:46 am Open Thread, Politics

Oct 292022

Glenn Kirschner – New evidence of Justice Alito’s lies demonstrate need for DOJ investigation & impeachment inquiry

The Lincoln Project – House Of Horrors

Thom Hartmann – Has Authoritarianism Already Taken Over?

Farron Balanced – Trump’s Chef In Hot Water For Possibly Lying To Investigators About Stolen Docs

Amy Schumer on Twitter – I gather not new, but certainly timely)

What Mehmet Oz means when he says abortion should be between “a woman, her doctor, and local political leaders.” #PASenateDebate

Thx @amyschumer pic.twitter.com/qMBSCbOMIY

— Shannon Watts (@shannonrwatts) October 26, 2022

Beau – Let’s talk about the smartest Republican in the room….

Open Thread October 27, 2022

Posted by Joanne Dixon at 6:55 am Open Thread, Personal, Politics

Oct 272022

Yesterday, the weather report said (my paraphrase of a graph) “There might be snow tomorrow [today now], but don’t hold us to that; it might just be a little rain.” Snow for Hallowe’en in Colorado used to be like rain at 5:00 pm on a Florida summer day – you could practically set your watch (time or calendar) by it. But that hasn’t been true for a while now. So we’ll see. Otherwise, a quiet day.

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Short Takes –

Letters From An American – October 23, 2022
Quote – In 1876, “Redeemers” set out to put an end to the southern governments that were elected in systems that allowed Black men to vote. “Rifle clubs” held contests outside Republican political rallies, “Red Shirts” marched with their guns in parades. Their intimidation worked. Democrats took over the South and created a one-party system that lasted virtually unbroken until 1965. Without the oversight that a healthy multiparty system provides, southern governments became the corrupt tools of a few wealthy men, and the rest of the population fell into a poverty from which it could not escape until the federal government began to invest in the region in the 1930s.
Click through for full letter. I learned about “Reconstruction” in school, but I never heard the word “Redemption” in that context. That they should use that word for what they actually did seems to me blasphemous. “Redemption” means “buying back.” Buying involves paying a price. They paid no price – they extorted a price from the powerless.

The Daily Beast – Florida Puts Raging MAGA Moms on Book-Banning Council
Quote – In the name of “curriculum transparency,” Florida’s Republican-controlled state government has appointed several anti-gay and anti-mask conspiracy theorists to take charge of a new effort at public schools: banning books. This hastily assembled censorship council—tasked with retraining public school librarians to abide by new restrictions—is the latest ploy in Gov. Ron DeSantis’ crusade to upend the state’s education system. But the council was also staffed under suspicious circumstances, with the state Education Department ignoring its own call for official candidates from local school districts and instead filling most of the slots with right-wing activists who have a history of proposing book bans. One was even nominated by a religious activist with close ties to the DeSantis administration a week before the department publicly called for candidates, according to government emails, hinting at secret coordination between them.
Click through for details. You can read or listen, your choice. Should Florida just change the name of its high schools to “Hitlerjugend” and be done with it?

Food For Thought

Open Thread October 19, 2022

Posted by Joanne Dixon at 7:09 am Open Thread, Personal, Politics

Oct 192022

Yesterday, Colorado Public Radio News had a couple of unusual animal news stories. Nine Ukranian refugees have received amnesty at Keenesburg, CO’s Wild Animal Sanctuary. And our native Bighorn sheep and introduced (70+ uears ago) mountain goats are having a turf war over nutritional supplements newly accessible due to climate change. I’ll just provide the links in case anyone wants details. Also, Virgil called – to tell me he’s in prison – apparently he had one of the vivid dreams he has been having and thinks are real, but this time, instead of thinking someone from his past had phoned him, he thought he had been home – and called to tell me where he was. What with all the other dreams, I suppose I shouldn’t have been surprised – but this is a new level and it kind of shook me. At least he still remembers who I am and that we love each other. On the bright side, my ballot arrived. 24 hours from mailing to arrival is pretty darned good, IMO.

Cartoon – 19 Cornwallis RTL

Short Takes –

truthout – Ron DeSantis’s Ousting of Elected Official Sets a Dangerous Precedent
Quote – In an early August press conference, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis delivered a shocking announcement: He was abruptly suspending Andrew Warren, the elected chief prosecutor for Hillsborough County (Tampa) and an outspoken critic of the governor…. All three of Warren’s opinions cited by DeSantis… stand in direct opposition to the governor’s political goals. The two public officials have clashed over these and other issues repeatedly over the past several years…. Warren … argues that his removal violates the will of Tampa voters who elected him in 2016 and 2020. These voters were further disenfranchised when his replacement was handpicked by DeSantis, who lost Hillsborough County by a nine-point margin in the last gubernatorial election.
Click through for details. This is not even the first time DeSantis has done this. I thought the first time that this couldn’t possibly be legal or constitutional. Yet he seems to be getting away with it.

The Daily Beast – New Book Reveals Jim Jordan’s Dirty Tricks With Impeachment
Quote – The book presents a less than flattering portrait of Jordan, who would likely be the Judiciary Chairman if the GOP takes back the House. He is instead consistently shown to be far more interested in defending Trump than getting down to the truth. The book includes scenes like Jordan heading to the White House to read a transcript of Trump’s call with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky before it was released to the public, only to receive a partial account that excluded more concrete evidence of a quid pro quo. Trump’s team, Bade and Demirjian say, wanted House Republicans to go on the record defending Trump before they knew all the facts.
Click through for more, including specific examples. It should be no surprise that Jordan is not actually the loose cannon he appears to be – that is a deliberate choice to muddy whatever waters are likely to impede fascism.

Food For Thought

Video Thread 10/18/22

Posted by Joanne Dixon at 11:54 am Open Thread, Politics

Oct 182022

Glenn Kirschner – J6 panel subpoenas Trump; Supreme Court rejects Mar-a-Lago docs case; could indictments be next?

Meidas Touch – Bombshell January 6 Footage EXPOSES GOP LIES about Nancy Pelosi (Repetetive, but at least short)

The Lincoln Project – Time for Answers

Ojeda Live – Politics IS NO JOKE!

Tiny Foster Kitten Becomes King Of His House

Beau – Let’s talk about Biden, Hannity, and a voicemail….

Open Thread October 16, 2022

Posted by Joanne Dixon at 6:49 am Open Thread, Personal, Politics

Oct 162022

Yesterday, the radio opera was “Il Corsaro” by Verdi. I had never heard of it, but I instantly assumed it was based on Lord Byron’s poem, “The Corsair,” and it turns out I was correct. It’s early Verdi, before 1850. The protagonist (the pirate) has his headquarters on a Greek Island (Byron was obsessed with the Greek Islands) while the antagonist is a Turkish pasha. Being grand opera as it is, three of the four principal characters are dead by the time it ends, and I wouldn’t be too sure the fourth won’t also suicide after the curtain falls (although she might not. She’s pretty tough.) The music is stunning. I can see why some of the 20th century’s biggest stars wanted to bring it back into the repertory. Sadly the 20th century – at least the second half – was a tough time for “new” opera (“new” meaning anything unfamiliar to the sudience.) Opera lovers are not yet completely out of that mind set, but it is getting better. More forgotten operas are getting revived, and mre new ones are being premiered by major houses – and getting good responses – than any time in my life. Many are not what one would expect. One was based on “Marnie” (not the Hitchcock movie, exactly, but the book that inspired it.) Another was based on a Luis Buñuel‎ movie (surrealism – think Salvador Dali but in a movie. In other words, weird.)

Before diving into the short takes, I want to quickly share this link from Joyce Vance where you will find all 291 of the election deniers who will be on the ballot in 24 days, sorted by how likely they are to win their elections, and searchable by state and by office they are running for. If for any reason it doesn’t work for you, here’s the link to Joyce’s newsletter and you can try from there, but you will be confronted by a couple of silky chicken moms, each with two chicks, and I warn you, they look strange.

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Short Takes –

The Daily Beast – The Jan. 6 Committee Gave Us Some Bad News About the Secret Service
Quote – The Secret Service has too many secrets. The Federal Bureau of Investigation requires a thorough investigation. These are among the most striking conclusions that emerged Thursday from the last public meeting of Congress’s Jan. 6 committee. Laying out its meticulously crafted case against former President Donald Trump for leading an insurrection against the government he had sworn an oath to protect, the committee made it clear that there were many targets that warranted further investigation. Not least of these were the two law enforcement agencies that had long prided themselves on being among the U.S. government’s most shining examples of integrity and service.
Click through for story. The emphasis here stood out to me.. If you would prefer a more panoramic view, you can check out HuffPost also.

HuffPost – The Most Important Midterm Elections Have Nothing To Do With Congress
Quote – Over the last two years, state legislatures have served as the epicenter of the far-right’s assault on American democracy. Republicans have used their dominance of that level of politics, one that often sails beneath the radar in major election seasons, to enact new restrictions on voting, target state election systems with conspiracy theories meant ultimately to undermine them, and potentially pave the way for future efforts to overturn elections they lose in ways former President Donald Trump failed to do in 2020.
Click through for the details. This is going to be harder to track down.The Colorado General Assembly (as we call our State House) has 100 seats, and the Colorado State Senate 35, and we have 8 Congressional Districts. Californioa has 52 Congressional Districts. I don’t know how big the State Legialatures are, but I’m guessing bigger than ours. And so are those of multiple other states. Just vole blue.

Food For Thought

Open Thread October 15, 2022

Posted by Joanne Dixon at 6:51 am Open Thread, Personal, Politics

Oct 152022

Yesterday, my BFF had a colonoscopy, which I know because she needed me to give her a ride home, which I gladly did. She had hoped to be able to drive herself home, but anyone who has either had a coloscopy ot sat beside a loved one having one, knows that’s a no-go. Her son will help her get her car back home later. She’ll hear more detailed results Monday and I may be in as much suspense as she is. She mentioned “an endometri-something” and I said,”If you do have an endometriome, wherever it is, don’t wait until it is over 9 pounds like I did.” In other news, I confirmed that the Social Security COLA for 2023 wioll be 8.7%, and the Part B Medicare premiums will go down. Very cool.

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Short Takes –

HuffPost – ‘2000 Mules’ Has Radicalized The 2022 Midterm Elections
Quote – By June 2, the right-wing polling outfit Rasmussen said 15% of survey respondents had seen the film. Multiple Republican candidates, including two secretary of state nominees in pivotal swing states, have praised the film publicly, a HuffPost review found. And the movie has inspired groups across the country to hold stakeouts at drop boxes and to mobilize again around Donald Trump’s lie that, as the then-president said in August 2020, “the only way we’re going to lose this election is if the election is rigged.”
Click through for story. Just what we needed – NOT.

The New Yorker – Has the C.I.A. Done More Harm Than Good?
Quote – It can be hard to sort out which agencies do what; players in the espionage business aren’t always good with boundaries. Both the C.I.A. and the N.S.A. make use of satellite resources, including commercial ones, but there is a separate agency in charge of a spy-satellite fleet, the National Reconnaissance Office—not to be confused with the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency, which deals with both space-based and ground-level imaging, or with Space Delta 18, the nation’s newest intelligence agency, which is attached to the Space Force. Abolishing the C.I.A. might do nothing more than reconfigure the turf wars.
Click through for details. I honestly don’t have a problem with there being 18 agencies, provided they’re not all incompetent i the same ways at the same time (And also provided that whatever part of the Executive Branch they report to both reuires accuracy and also takes the reports seriously when they come in.) Obviously, the Secret Service and the FBI are weak on one or both of those points.

Food For Thought