Jun 152022
 

Yesterday, I learned I will have to see Virgil tomorrow instead of Sunday. Actually, I learned Monday that Sunday was out, but it took some back-and-forth to confirm tomorrow. I shouldn’t be surprised – Sunday is both Father’s Day and Juneteenth At least that fact gives me hope that the whole summer won’t be like this. Anyway, was scrambling yesterday and will be for the next couple of days. The Wednesday hearing will now be Thursday which will help a little.

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Short Takes –

Letters from an American – June 13, 2022
Quote – Once again, as it did last Thursday, the committee relied entirely on senior Republican officials and on members of Trump’s own inner circle to tell the story of how Trump tried to overthrow our government. This undercuts accusations that the committee is engaging in a “partisan witch hunt.” Notably, the committee itself is measured, polite, and serious, demonstrating to viewers what hearings used to be before they became ways to produce sound bites for right-wing media.
Click through for full letter. I’ve said I don’t want to turn into a J6 blog, and I don’t, but I couldn’t resist that quotation.

The 19th – These companies publicly oppose anti-LGBTQ+ bills. Some also fund lawmakers who sponsor them.
Quote – Lawmakers in six states who wrote, signed or sponsored anti-LGBTQ+ legislation received tens of thousands and, in a few cases, hundreds of thousands of dollars, from major U.S. corporations or their employee-led PACs and affiliates, in the 2020 and 2022 election cycles, Data for Progress found. Alabama, Florida, Arizona, Tennessee, Idaho and Texas have been prolific in their efforts to bar trans students from school sports, restrict gender-affirming care for minors and ban LGBTQ+ discussions from classrooms over the past few years.
Click through for details. This is, of course, standard, and not limited to LGBTQIA+. Probably the most egregious are companies who pretend to be green but donate to candidates in the pockets of fossil fuels. But they also work at duping POC and women of any color, as well as the disabled.

Food For Thought

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Jun 142022
 

Glenn Kirschner -Jarod Kushner’s pardon palooza will be damaging to both Donald Trump and to Kushner himself

Meidas Touch – Furious Texas Paul Reveals TERROR CELL Inside the GOP – Such a sweet, kind offer in such NSFW languague!

Robert Reich – This is How We Help People Fight Inflation at the Gas Pump

VoteVets – ‘The AR-15 Is A Weapon Of War’ – Maj. Gen. (Ret.) Paul Eaton

Liberal Redneck – First January 6 Committee Hearing Takeaways

Beau – Let’s talk about if medical training is worth it…. (and you know this appies to a lot more than medical training.)

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Jun 132022
 

Glenn Kirschner – Day 1 of J6 insurrection hearings: the curtain pulled back on Trump’s treason. A recap & breakdown

Meidas Touch – Jamie Raskin CONFIDENT that DOJ will take down traitors

The Lincoln Project – Remember

Crooks & Liars – Chris Wallace Says The Video Evidence Is Exposive [sic]

Naked Lovebird Guards His Dollhouse

Beau – Let’s talk about Lincoln the conservative…. (snicker)

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Jun 132022
 

Yesterday, I was surprised by how many of my regular newsletters were not in my inbox. Even for a Sunday, this was striking. Perhaps the internet in general (at leas the sane part) is in the same headspace I am. I want to cover the hearings certainly, but I don’t want the blog to turn into a January 6 blog. There are too many other things happening which are also important – and not being seen. Both this thread and the Videu Thread will be a little short today I will find a way to watch today’s full hearing, probably after the fact, and will post links tomorrow. I”ll continue to do that for wach hearing. And if the posts continue to be short until the hearings are finished it will be what it is.

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Short Takes –

The Hill – March For Our Lives co-founder: Senate gun reform package should be beginning of Congress’s work
Quote – The senators’ framework includes funding for school safety resources, expanded background checks for gun buyers under the age of 21 and incentives for states to implement “red flag’ laws. The proposed legislation comes in response to the recent string of mass shootings in the U.S, which prompted more debate on gun control in the country.
Click throug for story. The March for Our Lives event was Saturday, and it took place in 450 cities all over the country. I want to help prevent it from being overlooked.

The Conversation – Ice world: Antarctica’s riskiest glacier is under assault from below and losing its grip
Quote – Antarctica is a continent comprising several large islands, one of them the size of Australia, all buried under a 10,000-foot-thick layer of ice. The ice holds enough fresh water to raise sea level by nearly 200 feet. Its glaciers have always been in motion, but beneath the ice, changes are taking place that are having profound effects on the future of the ice sheet – and on the future of coastal communities around the world.
Click through to read just how bad it is, with photos and maps.

Food For Thought

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Jun 122022
 

Yesterday, the radio opera was “The Rake’s Progress” – probably the only opera ever based (loosely) on a set of paintings (later published as engraved prints) designed to tell a cautionary tale. The music is by Stravinsky composed during his Neo-classical period, so it’s singable, and not much like The Rite Of Spring (not that I don’t like The rite of Spring.) This was the last opera to be broadcast by the Met – but from here on out until the Met picks up again in the fall, WFMT will take over and play an opera every Saturday, chosen from different opera copanies all over the world. I have not yet looked at their playlist, but have heard enough in past years to know it will be well worth listiening to. (It was through this program that I was able to hear “Scalia/Ginsburg” – though I think it was composed when both were still alive. Ironically, it take place in the afterlife, explaining to the recording angel [or someone like that] how on earth such different people could get along so well IRL. But I digress.)  The paintings and prints are all public domain and can be seen on Wikipedia.

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Short Takes –

Rolling Stone (in cooperation with POGO) – Inside the Capitol Cops’ Jan. 6 Blame Game
Quote – New documents describe critical errors in the Capitol Police’s handling of intelligence prior to the Jan. 6 attack on Congress, revealing missed warning signs that — despite the undeniable heroism of many of its officers — contributed to the agency’s failed defense of the Capitol. The documents, which were obtained by the Project on Government Oversight, add to a body of reporting by the government and the press surrounding failures by the Capitol Police intelligence division and its key leaders to clearly, consistently, and widely communicate the severity of raw intelligence threats to the Capitol and lawmakers — a failure that on Jan. 6 left Congress under-defended and rank-and-file officers unprepared.
Click through for details. I’m not sure it shuld be called an “intelligence failure” when someone somewhere deliberately suppressed some or all of the intelligence – and the reprisals reported certainy suggest that that happened. It’sa shame tha honest, patriotic officers such as Edwards, Sicknick, Goodman, and others had to suffer for it.

Crooks & Liars – News Coverage Of Hearing Cautious, Twitter Not So Much
Quote (screenshot only):


Click through for more reaction. Many people, including me, have wondered whether the hearings would change the mind of even just one person. The tweet I quote is for us.

Law and Crime – Manhattan Judge Dismisses NRA’s Countersuit Against State AG: Gun Group’s ‘Witch Hunt’ Claim ‘Is Simply Not Supported by the Record’
Quote – A Manhattan judge has dismissed the National Rifle Association’s countersuit against New York Attorney General Letitia James (D), rejecting the gun group’s accusation that it’s the victim of a political “witch hunt.” In February, the attorney general’s office warned that advancing the NRA’s counterattack would give regulatory targets a new tool to “harry prosecutors.” Manhattan Supreme Court Justice Joel M. Cohen considered the competing arguments for months before ruling in the AG’s favor, but the blistering 14-page opinion suggests that it wasn’t a close call.
Click through for parts of the “blistering opinion.” Tthis story was really the only interesting thing I could find which was not about the insurrection or the hearings.

Food For Thought
Eat yout hearts out, Don Caron and Rocky Mountain Mike:

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Jun 102022
 

Glenn Kirschner – Trump recruits & deploys the Proud Boys on 1/6, making him part of the PB’s seditious conspiracy

Meidas Touch – Harry Litman REVEALS identity of Secret Star Witness for Jan 6 Hearings

The Lincoln Project – Last Week in the Republican Party – June 7, 2022

MSNBC’s Chris Hayes Dives Into Scapegoating of D.A. Boudin (Of course the recall is over – and, sadly, our side lost – but the opportunty to learn is always present. Incidentally, I could actually agree with Tom Cotton to this degree – there are WAY too many Republicans running around loose.)

CNN – Ex-gun industry insider speaks out about Republicans and NRA

Mini Horse Tries So Hard To Make His Very First Friend

Beau – Let’s talk about an analogy to help people understand the climate….

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Jun 092022
 

Glenn Kirschner – DOJ indicts Head Proud Boy Tarrio for seditious conspiracy. Now indict the Proud Boy’s leader -Trump (but see my comment on Rachel below)

Meidas Touch – Michael Cohen EXPOSES Donald Trump’s Strategy for the Jan 6 Hearings

CNN – Bernstein identifies the ‘real sleeper’ of the January 6th hearing

MSNBC Maddow – I’m posting this just for the first 5 minutes. It made me wonder – are the Seditious Conspiracy charges against the Proud Boys and others possibly trial runs (no pun intended) to make sure they get the evidence on the big boys right and get convictions? Tha might also explain a lot of the delay in DOJ going after the big fish.

Al Franken – Potential Jan 6th Hearing Bombshells (Not IMO his funniest, but still Al, and not terribly long)

Guy Tries To Befriend A Stray Cat For Over A Year

Beau – Let’s talk about masculinity and whether it’s toxic….

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Jun 092022
 

Yesterday, CPR News gave me all the information I needd to decide which Democrat to vote for the challenge Douglas Lamborn (or as I generally call him, Duggie Lamebrain.) There wasn’t much diffeence actually. I went with the one who had the stronger resume, who as also the one who got onto the ballot through the state assembly, which means if there is any money at all coming from DCCC, he’s the one who will get it. Of course there may noy be any. My district is +20 Red. Lamebrain himself has two primary challengers, both from the right – but that may turn out to be one too many. Election Day is the 28th, so we’ll know by July.

BTW, I put an Al Franken video into today’s video thread. I can’t claim it’s one of his funniest, but it is timely, and it’s under 8 minutes.

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Short Takes –

Crooks & Liars – Trump Demands Minions Push Back Against Jan. 6th Hearings
Quote – Instead, some operatives are offering their clients talking points to prepare them for the inevitable questions that will arise around the hearing, but with the goal of steering the conversation back to domestic issues.
Click through for not-very-long but very-revealing story. Seriously, do they think the survival of demicracy itself is not a “domestic” issue?

CPR News – Thousands of Democrats are changing their voter registration in Lauren Boebert’s district ahead of the primary
Quote – Thousands of voters have recently left the Democratic Party in Western Colorado — some as part of a grassroots effort to defeat Republican Congresswoman Lauren Boebert in her upcoming primary election. Among them is Steven Hallenborg of Montrose. “Well, I’m a lifelong Democrat, and now I’m unaffiliated,” he said. Because he changed his affiliation, he now can vote against Boebert in the June 28 Republican primary.
Click through for numbers. Unaffiliated voters receive two ballots but may only return one – their choice which one. That osn’t a lot of Democrats, but it could be enough to make a difference.

The Daily Beast – Free Gas Cards Are the GOP’s New Campaign Gimmick—and It’s Legal (BBA)
Quote – Lucky drivers pulling up to a packed Chevron gas station south of Atlanta last Saturday finally saw a little relief at the pump, in the form of a $25 gas voucher straight from the goddaughter of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s niece. The catch: They had to sit through a pitch for her political candidate of choice—college football hero, Olympic bobsledder, Russian roulette aficionado, and now aspiring Republican senator Herschel Walker.
Click through for details. The thing that leaps out at me is – more proof that it’s impossible to predict the political position of anyone based on the known positions of even their closest family and friends.

Food For Thought

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