Yesterday, my grocery delivery came quite promptly (in the first hour of a four-hour window) and I got everything put away quickly except the shelf-stable beverages – and I did get those in, and have room to store them, they’re just heavy. Also, we heard from WWWendy. Please check out yesterday’s open thread for her comment.
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The Hill – Biden sidesteps GOP on judicial vacancies, for now
Quote – There’s no Senate rule that requires Biden get buy-in from GOP senators on who he nominates. But a Senate precedent known as the “blue slip” gives home-state senators tremendous sway over who gets nominated for district court vacancies in their state and the power to block nominees they oppose. Click through for explanation. In politics, everything is a gamble, but this seems reasonable.
Democratic Underground – Schmidt: The “TRUMP COUP MEMO” should be an occasion for a giant, collective, national time out.
Quote – There now exists in the public realm, documentary evidence, a written plan to kill it off and replace it with something new. It was written by the Presidents atty and presented to the President. Trump took that paper and turned it into a weapon, a poisoned shiv and stuck it into the rib cage of American Democracy. He twisted it, crazed with rage that he had been rejected and repudiated. Click through for the full thread – that’s what this is, a Twitter thread unrolled for easy reading. Schmidt knows whereof he speaks.
Experts in autocracies have pointed out that it is, unfortunately, easy to slip into normalizing the tyrant, hence it is important to hang on to outrage. These incidents which seem to call for the efforts of the Greek Furies (Erinyes) to come and deal with them will, I hope, help with that. As a reminder, though no one really knows how many there were supposed to be, the three names we have are Alecto, Megaera, and Tisiphone. These roughly translate as “unceasing,” “grudging,” and “vengeful destruction.”
By the time you read this, the September 18th event – however big or small it turns out to have been – will be over. But I for one am not naive enough to assume that it will be the last such event – and, even if not in the Capital, such events will no doubt continue happening all over the nation. By “such events” I mean any event designed to show support for Donald Trump** and all his evils in some way (superspreading optional). So I don’t think it’s time wasted to look at some of the symbols being used in these vanity parades. The lesser known ones particularly may be helpful to alert you when you are dealing with a MAGAt.
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Capitol Police prepare for a return of insurrectionists to Washington – 5 essential reads on the symbols they carried on Jan. 6
A rally in Washington, slated for Sept. 18, 2021, is being billed as an effort to support people who face criminal charges for their involvement in the Jan. 6 insurrection at the U.S. Capitol.
The groups involved in January’s attack on the Capitol carried a variety of political and ideological flags and signs. The Conversation asked scholars to explain what they saw – including ancient Norse images and more recent flags from U.S. history – and what those symbols mean.
Here are five articles from The Conversation’s coverage, explaining what many of the symbols mean.
A man carries the Confederate battle flag in the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, between portraits of senators who both opposed and supported slavery. Saul Loeb/AFP via Getty Images
1. The Confederate battle flag
Perhaps the most recognized symbol of white supremacy is the Confederate battle flag.
“Since its debut during the Civil War, the Confederate battle flag has been flown regularly by white insurrectionists and reactionaries fighting against rising tides of newly won Black political power,” writes Jordan Brasher at Columbus State University, who has studied how the Confederacy has been memorialized.
He notes that in one photo from inside the Capitol, the flag’s history came into sharp relief as the man carrying it was standing between “the portraits of two Civil War-era U.S. senators – one an ardent proponent of slavery and the other an abolitionist once beaten unconscious for his views on the Senate floor.”
Another flag with a racist history is the “Don’t Tread On Me” flag. A symbol warning of self-defense, it was designed by slave owner and trader Christopher Gadsden when the American Revolution began, as Iowa State University graphic design scholar Paul Bruski writes.
“Because of its creator’s history and because it is commonly flown alongside ‘Trump 2020’ flags, the Confederate battle flag and other white-supremacist flags, some may now see the Gadsden flag as a symbol of intolerance and hate – or even racism,” he explains.
It has been adopted by the tea party movement and other Republican-leaning groups, but the flag still carries the legacy, and the name, of its creator.
A gallows symbolizing the lynching of Jews was among the hate symbols carried as crowds stormed the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6. Shay Horse/NurPhoto via Getty Images
3. Powerful anti-Semitism
Another arm of white supremacy doesn’t target Blacks. Instead, it demonizes Jewish people. Plenty of anti-Semitic symbols were on display during the riot, as Jonathan D. Sarna explains.
Sarna is a Brandeis University scholar of American anti-Semitism and describes the ways that “[c]alls to exterminate Jews are common in far-right and white nationalist circles.” That included a gallows erected outside the Capitol, evoking a disturbing element of a 1978 novel depicting the takeover of Washington, along with mass lynchings and slaughtering of Jews.
A man known as Jake Angeli, who is soon to be sentenced for his role in the Capitol riot, wears a horned hat and tattoos of Norse images. Saul Loeb/AFP via Getty Images
4. Co-opted Norse mythology
Among the most striking images of the January riot were those of a man wearing a horned hat and no shirt, displaying several large tattoos. He is known as Jake Angeli, but his full name is Jacob Chansley, and he has pleaded guilty to one of six charges as part of a plea deal for his role in the riot.
Birkett traces the modern use of Norse symbols back to the Nazis and points out that they are a form of code hidden in plain sight: “If certain symbols are hard for the general public to spot, they are certainly dog whistles to members of an increasingly global white supremacist movement who know exactly what they mean.”
Another flag was prominent at the Capitol riot, one that doesn’t strictly represent white supremacy: the flag of the former independent country of South Vietnam.
But Long T. Bui, a global studies scholar at the University of California, Irvine, explains that when flown by Vietnamese Americans, many of whom support Trump, the flag symbolizes militant nationalism.
“[S]ome Vietnamese Americans view their fallen homeland as an extension of the American push for freedom and democracy worldwide. I have interviewed Vietnamese American soldiers who fear American freedom is failing,” he explains.
Editor’s note: This story is a roundup of articles from The Conversation’s archives and is an update of an article previously published on Jan. 15, 2021.
================================================================ Alecto, Megaera, and Tisiphone, Some of these may be more accurate than those so proudly flashing them have bargained for. The Gadsden flag in particular I consider highly appropriate, implying, as it does, that the carrier or wearer is a snake. The Odinistic symbols are harder to spot, although I have seen at least one person wearing a Thor’s Hammer necklace. The flag of South Vietnam is a real surprise to me – but then, no one should be surprised that they misappropriate symbols – they do everything else.
Yesterday, it was cool enough for me to turn off all the ceiling fans. Unfortunately, the same cannot be predicted for tomorrow. All protections against destruction by overheating of electronic, food, and whatever are go. Ironically, the visitation room itself is kept so cold all year round that I will still need a winter sweater inside (as well as a tank top under it to drive home in.) Good times.
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Wonkette – Philly Cops Beat A Woman And Stole Her Kid For An Insipid Photo-Op — Now She Gets $2 Million
Quote – Philadelphia police have never even attempted to justify or explain their actions that night, which they normally do. They normally at least make up some kind of story about how they were frightened for their lives, how they thought the person they assaulted was someone else. But they didn’t, which sure does make it look like these cops were just enraged by the protests over another horrific police shooting and decided to take that out, violently, on a random Black woman, teenager, and toddler who were just trying to get home. Click through for the story. This takes me back five years to when I started doing “Everyday Erinyes” and could easily find up to three stories like this every week (without the settlement) – except that this one is uglier than most. I guess I’ll seriously start calling it Phobadelphia, PA
The Hill – Pandemic frustrations zero in on unvaccinated Americans
Quote – Experts support stricter actions like mandates to boost the vaccination rate and protect the public, although several also encourage patience while acknowledging the increased irritation. President Biden and others, however, have indicated their “patience is wearing thin.” Click through for advice which may be good but is virtually impossible to folow. Turns out sane people do not like people who willfully endanger them and their loved ones. Who knew.
Crooks and Liars – Dirty Trickster James O’Keefe Loses $165K To ‘Fraudsters’
Quote – Take a deep breath. Try not to laugh. Remember, this is an exercise in pretending to care, or at least giving the impression that you could be convinced to give a s!@#. Project Veritas has been had! They’ve been took! Hoodwinked! Bamboozled! Led astray! Run amok! They’re out $165,000 due to what O’Keefe calls an “attack” by “fraudsters.” Clck through for details. (File this under “karma”)
Glenn Kirschner – As Feds Prepare for the Pro-Trump DC Rally on 9/18, We’re Learning More About the “Failures” of 1/6
The Lincoln Project – 24 years (Of course the vast majority of rapists are not on the streets but in their victims’ homes.)
The Franklin Project – School Board Bullying IMO this fallout of January 6 is scarier than Sep 18.
politicsrus – Newsom HD – I had to push a couple to tomorrow since the recall is today.
Really American – Recall The GOP
Eyepop Productions – Boatlift This was made in 2011, and I saw it then on PBS – so it’s actually no longer untold – but many people aren’t aware of it.
Beau – Let’s talk about Biden, mandates, reactions, and Orwell….
Yesterday, I piddled around with a bunch of small household tasks. Can’t say as I really accomplished much, but sometimes getting a bunch of little stuff out of the way does feel like accomplishment.
Cartoon – Incidentally, I own a framed copy of the print made from this rendition by Bryan Moon of that occasion. I love his work.
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Crooks and Liars – Pathetic Arizona Manbabies Cosplay Gomer Pyle At Elementary School
Quote – Now, I could write a normal article, citing The Washington Post and Daily Beast, outlining the absurd and outrageous details of this dangerous nonsense. Frankly, these three don’t deserve the national attention or my resultant rise in blood pressure. Instead, I shall vent my spleen, and open a good, old-fashioned can of Brooklyn whoop-ass on them, as god and my DNA intended. In case you missed this, click through. The principal is physically fine, as is the other staff member, but both were naturally terrified. Since, she has received so much support from the community, she can’t talk about it without tearing up with gratitude
CNN (H/T Carrie B) – Like Washington and Jefferson, he championed liberty. Unlike the founders, he freed his slaves
Quote – It was 230 years ago Sunday that Robert Carter III, the patriarch of one of the wealthiest families in Virginia, quietly walked into a Northumberland County courthouse and delivered an airtight legal document announcing his intention to free, or manumit, more than 500 slaves. He titled it the “deed of gift.” It was, by far, experts say, the largest liberation of Black people before President Abraham Lincoln signed the District of Columbia Emancipation Act and Emancipation Proclamation more than seven decades later. Click through for the full (and virtually unknown) story. It deserves to be known far and wide. (Without going into detail, it appears possible that Carter Burwell, composer of the music for many films, especially Coen Brothers films, is a descendant.)
Yesterday, I tried to rest as much as possible. I brought the trash and recyclables carts up to where they “live” and collected a couple of packages from the mailbox — which required shoes but I think was worth it.
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I simply must add that 300 years later, to the day, was the very first Jerry Lewis Muscular Dystrophy telethon. I’m sure there’s no connection.
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Crooks and Liars – If God Wills It
Quote – There is no question that Hurricane Ida was a horrible storm which caused a lot of damage. The suffering will continue for weeks as people are without power and it is sweltering hot. But as a friend of mine always says, you gotta look for the happiness in the crappiness. A clear example is that the offices of James O’Keefe and Project Veritas got wiped out: Click through for comments. The quote is pretty much the whole story, but you know people who read “Crooks and Liars” are going to be smart-alecky, at least some of them.
The Hill – The Memo: Attacks on democracy seep down to school boards, election offices
Quote – In many places there is fear — fear for the safety of the low- and mid-level officials who do the unglamorous work that keeps democracy knitted together and fear for what happens if they decide it’s just not worth it. Click through for story. This is important. You’ve heard of people who can’t see the forest for the trees – but in my experience, Democrats, politically are more likely to be unable to see the trees for the forest. School Boards (usually unpaid and elective) and election worker (most volunteer, seasonal, and paid a little, but some employed year round by county offices) are critical to our ability to keep our democracy … which is why Republicans, who see every leaf on every tree, and most of the bugs on the leaves, are systematically undermining them.
“my stateline” – Emails released in FOIA show hundreds of parents thanked Pritzker for issuing school mask mandate
Quote – A House Republican who sought “data, studies, scientific or medical articles, and correspondence” from people advocating in support of school mask mandates got her answer in dramatic fashion on Tuesday. Governor Pritzker’s office responded to an August 10th Freedom of Information Act Request filed by Rep. Tony McCombie (R-Savanna) by sending a staffer to her legislative office in Springfield to hand-deliver 870 pages of studies and letters from parents that supported the mask mandate. Click through for details. This is priceless. I realize that even multiplied by 10 or 20 (the numbers usually cited to compare those with opinions to those actually writing) 870 is a drop in the bucket in a state the size f Illinois, but it certainly is impressive. Dumb Republicans. (Yeah, I know, I misspelled “Damn.”)
Yesterday it was pretty hot again. My lab results came, and look pretty good. They actually arrived Friday, but I was expecting 3 packages yesterday (which turned out to be four), so I waited in order not to go out more than necessary. Between the heat, the smoke, and the idiots, I really don’t feel terribly safe outside, even though vaccinated.
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The Intercept – SECRET DONORS TO NONPROFIT PUSHING TRUMP’S “BIG LIE” ELECTION CONSPIRACY REVEALED
Quote – The tax document obtained by The Intercept, a publicly filed IRS form that included a list of donors, shows a handful of large corporate and individual donors to the Bradley Impact Fund. The contributions listed in the fiscal year 2018 filing range from roughly $782,000 to $1.5 million. The Bradley Impact Fund operates as a donor-advised fund, a vehicle frequently used to allow anonymous contributions by letting donors give to a fund and then directing their contributions to particular recipients…. “It might seem improbable that a low-profile family foundation in Wisconsin has assumed a central role in current struggles over American democracy,” [investigative reporter Jane] Mayer wrote. “But the modern conservative movement has depended on leveraging the fortunes of wealthy reactionaries.” Click through for a whole lotta detail. You will recognize some names, others maybe not so much. But if you’re going to follow the money, you can expect that.
https://www.reuters.com/world/us/homeland-security-warns-fresh-covid-19-restrictions-could-spark-violent-attacks-2021-08-13/
Reuters – U.S. Homeland Security warns fresh COVID-19 restrictions could spark violent attacks
Quote – In an interview with CNN, DHS Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas said his department considered domestic violent extremists to constitute “the greatest terrorist-related threat to our homeland.” He said the Department was seeing expressions of extremism fueled by “false narratives” and “ideologies of hate.” Click through for story. If they’d do this because of CoViD restrictions, what do you suppose they would do if their God-Emperor were arrested and held without bail? Asking for a friend.
Common Dreams – Child Hospitalization for Covid-19 Hits All-Time High in US: Report
Quote – The Delta variant, which is rapidly spreading among mostly the unvaccinated portion of the U.S. population, has caused hospitalizations to spike in recent weeks, driving up the number of pediatric hospitalizations to 1,902 on Saturday, according to data from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. Children currently make up about 2.4% of the nation’s COVID-19 hospitalizations. Kids under 12 are not eligible to receive the vaccine, leaving them more vulnerable to infection from the new, highly transmissible variant. Click through for more. I really can’t even.
So yesterday I attempted to get my new noise generator up and running … and coudn’t get a peep outof it. So I fired off an email to customer service. In the eantime, the travel size works just fine. As far as weather – we’ve been hotter – but our air quality is the pits. We are a large, smoke-filled room. I’m staying in, thanks.
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The Hill – Census shows US growth driven by minorities; white pop falls under 60 percent
Quote – A part of that decrease comes as a result of a new effort by the Census Bureau to measure the number of people who identify as multiracial, a population that skyrocketed over the last decade. But much of the drop in the white population, experts and demographers said, stems from an aging demographic that is producing fewer children later in life. “Whites, no matter how you count them, declined since 2010,” said William Frey, a senior demographer at the Brookings Institution. Click through for exact numbers and ramifications. I consider this to be excellent news, but you know you can hear RWNJ heads exploding all over.
HuffPost – 3 Former Cops Charged In Wrongful Conviction That Sent A Man To Prison For 25 Years
Quote – It is exceedingly rare for law enforcement officials to face criminal prosecution in relation to their roles in wrongful convictions. But reviewing wrongful convictions has been a key agenda item for Krasner, one of the leaders of the progressive prosecutor movement. In 2018, his office created the Conviction Integrity Unit, which has helped secure exonerations for 22 people. At least 18 of the exonerated were Black men. The detectives charged on Friday worked on at least four of the cases that the Conviction Integrity Unit has helped overturn. Click through for details, including (trigger warning) description of initial interrogation and also the Grand Jury findings document. This is why I actually sent money to Krasner’s campaign. Not much, but some. Oh, and there’s a little video too.
Reuters – U.S. Homeland Security warns fresh COVID-19 restrictions could spark violent attacks
Quote – In an interview with CNN, DHS Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas said his department considered domestic violent extremists to constitute “the greatest terrorist-related threat to our homeland.” He said the Department was seeing expressions of extremism fueled by “false narratives” and “ideologies of hate.” U.S. Representative Bennie Thompson, chair of the House Homeland Security Committee, welcomed the DHS warning but said it was “troubling that the terrorism threat increasingly is based on grievance-based violence and conspiracy theories, especially related to the election and former President Trump.” Click through. Dam right they “could” (read “will.” They won’t be happy unless they can kill all of us – but they’ll settle for any of us (and even some of themselves.) Here’s just one example.
