Glenn Kirschner – Bad day for Trump: Supremes order taxes released; Special Master may end; Lindsey Graham testifies
The Lincoln Project – Two Mwn
Robert Reich – Big Midterm Victories That Give Me Hope For The Future
Mrs Betty Bowers – Thanksgiving in a House Divided!
Rooster Loves To Leap Onto His Parents
Beau – Let’s talk about whether a Democratic tactic worked….
Yesterday, I had already picked out short takes for today – being a holiday, and specifically a holiday for gratitutde, I didn’t want to be gloom and doom, and i haven’t changed them. But I was – you migt say sucked in – by the title of Steve Schmidt’s newsletter for the day: “It’s time to pick up JFK’s unfinished business.” An an unpaid subscriber, I didn’t reveive the full article, but he opens discussing oratory. JFK was no mean speaker, but Schmidt transitions to MLK’s Promised Land speech and Bobby’s extemporaneous speech on MLK’s death – “one of the greatest pieces of oratory in American history” and “the greatest extemporaneous speech in American history” respectively – and links to videos of them. Truly, all three men deserve our gratitude, and if yours is up to the associated grief at their loss, you can read (part of) the article here and link from it to videos of those two speeches. I don’t know whether they have CC; I couldn’t. Also, Virgil called, and Pat emailed to let me know that, between Thanksgiving and multiple famiy birthdays, we may not see her for a couple of days.
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Crooks & Liars – Russian POW Offers Himself In Exchange For Stolen Raccoon
Quote – A Russian prisoner of war (POW) has offered to exchange him for a raccoon stolen by Russians from the Kherson zoo. The relevant statement was made by Kherson Regional Council First Deputy Head Yurii Sobolevskyi on Facebook, an Ukrinform correspondent reports. The video shows the Russian military saying: “I, Oleg Mokashov, a private, born in 1975, from Novosibirsk, am asking the government of Russia to swap me for the Kherson raccoon.”
Click through for story, meme, and video. This seems to be a new level of trolling (which apparently is not always a bad thing.)
Open Culture – Jim Henson’s Commercials for Wilkins Coffee: 15 Twisted Minutes of Muppet Coffee Ads (1957-1961)
Quote – Drink our coffee. Or else. That’s the message of these curiously sadistic TV commercials produced by Jim Henson between 1957 and 1961. Henson made 179 ten-second spots for Wilkins Coffee, a regional company with distribution in the Baltimore-Washington D.C. market, according to the Muppets Wiki: “The local stations only had ten seconds for station identification, so the Muppet commercials had to be lightning-fast–essentially, eight seconds for the commercial pitch and a two-second shot of the product.”
Click through for video collection. Yes, I could have put this in the video thread, but I already have Mrs. Betty Bowers there, and this is pretty unusual – typical Henson, and quite amusing.
The Warning – “0ur faith sought the harmony of man with his surroundings”
Quote – There is an accompanying arrogance that rides comfortably with obliviousness and ignorance. It gives license to people in the present who know nothing of the past to indict the totality of the struggle for justice and progress against a present standard that is as deluded as it is preening. It is also not cost-free. There is a cost for fighting over the past, which cannot be changed, and it is a terrible one. The fight costs the future and strangles the imagination needed to create it…. Apache, Black Hawk, Kiowa, Comanche, Chinook, Lakota are the names of the great tribes, which the US Army has named their helicopters. They are named in honor of the warrior spirit and fierceness of those tribes’ warriors. Yet, the greatest attribute of a warrior in Lakota culture was not fierceness, deadliness or success. It was humility. Strength will be required to forge reconciliation. Weakness will be required to sustain more fighting. Humility will be required to listen. Listening will be required to hear, and hearing will be required to obtain wisdom. There is great wisdom in the culture of America’s native peoples who have forged this nation from its first hours. Harmony is at the center of much of American Indian belief. The white man has much to learn from this. There was a Lakota word for “white man” that roughly translated as “fat taker.”
Click through for full article (you may have to click “Let me read it first.”) The faith in the title is the faith of Native Americans. I don’t always agree with Steve … but he certainly knows a thing or two about what we as Americans need to do, and he’s not shy about saying it.
Food For Thought
Yesterday, the lead article in Colorado Public Radio news was that the state House Minority Leader (Republican) had died, suddenly and unexpectedly, at the age of 55. Nine days before the election. Cue conspiracy theories in 3… 2… 1…. When he took that office, he was described as “right in the middle,” which in today’s Republican party I would normally translate to “maybe halfway sane.” But according the the Speaker, the Marjority Leader, and the Governor, he was better than that. This is not good news. Also yesterday, it was announced that Bolsonaro LOST in Brazil. Com one, Americans – if Brazil can do it, we can too!
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Nameless for the animation
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Democratic Underground (tblue37) – Neal Katyal’s mom dressed as RBG for Halloween:
Quote – My 87-ish year old mom going out to party tonight as RBG. Meanwhile I’m at my desk reading RBG opinions prepping for oral argument in my death penalty case Tuesday.
Click through for picture and some comments. I simply couldn’t resist.
Crooks and Liars – Marge Sent Ominous Tweet Hours Before Violent Attack On Paul Pelosi
Quote – On Thursday night, controversial Georgia Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, who asked former President Donald Trump for a pardon before he disgracefully left office, tweeted an ominous message.”Just wait until tomorrow,” Rep. Sporkfoot tweeted [that] night.
Click throough for article. I hate to give her even the tiniest amount of oxygen, but this…
Food For Thought
Yesterday, the radio opera was Aida, by Verdi, from the Los Angeles Opera. Several years ago, the Met broadcast Aida one Saturday with Violeta Urmana (who is absolutely competent, but not, IMO, terribly exciting.) Peter Gelb announced from the stage that Ms. Urmana was unwell and the role would be sung by Latonia Moore (of whom I hd never heard, and that was probably true for most of the audience.) Before the first act was over, I was on Google looking her up – I was that impressed. I knew she would, before too long, be a star in her own right, not a backup. In this broadast, she was the star, singing Aida as an established diva in her own right. I’m not always right in my predictions – but boy, was I right about this. The opera is so well known I don’t think I have to say much about it. It’s set in ancient Egypt because it was commissioned for and premiered for the openong of the Suez Canal. It doesn’t exactly make the Egyptians look like the good guys – but that’s also true of the Ethiopians – the only really good guys are Aida herself and Radames, both of whom are torn by conflicting loyalties. Amneris is pretty sneaky – but she is torn also. The opera is famous for the Triumphal March and for all the animals on stage (sometimes including elephants.) With these broadcasts, one can go on line and see some still photos from the production – sometimes just one or two, sometimes more. This one had 20. But if you were to look at them, if you tried to figure out the relarionships from what they looked like, you’d be fooled. The casting is the most color-blind I think I have ever seen. It warms my heart.
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International Campaign for Tibet – Chinese woman’s racist WeChat post calls for Tibetans in Lhasa to be “wiped out”
Quote – Tibet is one of the clearest cases of institutional racism in the world today. Chinese authorities have spread racist narratives about Tibetans. A Chinese state media report on Tibet in 2008 asserted that prior to its “liberation” (meaning Tibet’s conquest by Chinese armies), “Tibet remained a society of feudal serfdom under a theocracy, one even darker and more backward than medieval Europe.” A Chinese state media report also claimed in 2021 that Chinese rule has taken Tibet “from a society under feudal serfdom to socialism, from poverty and backwardness to civility and progress.”
Click through for article. Nothing is ever black and white – and that includes racidm, or tribalism. It must once have had some survivak vakue, since it’s apparently hard wired – at least in some of us. If only there were an easy answer.
Wonkette – We Wish We Were Half As Fierce As This Tennessee Mom Throwing Out The Homophobic Christian Trash
Quote – Those [six examples given] are just the local news stories our pal JoeMyGod has aggregated about (white heterosexual) conservative Christian leaders abusing children in the past week. It’s kind of a thing he does, aggregaing those stories. And the numbers are staggering. And [censored] MAGA trash wants to lead a Nazi-style campaign against drag queens and trans kids and public school teachers who tell those kids it’s OK and that they’re not going to hell for who they are? Want to call drag queens and loving teachers “groomers”? Go eat a sidewalk.
Click through for story and video. I put this here because it so perfectly expresses what I feel (and you probably do also) about Christofascism and those who peddle it. And it has CC. If you cannot see Twitter videos, cuts from it are on YouTube here and here, but not the complete version.
Food For Thought
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….
Yesterday was, of course, Sunday. And the week before it was long and busy, and everyone, including me, is exhausted. Besides myself, we are also talking about all of my sources. So we’ll have one old-ish article, (old news recently come to light), and one scoop from Axios. Since the scoop is about Tucker Carlson, it is full of sound and fury, and may well signify not very much, but it is at least interesting – and reveals a possible crack in the MAGA wall (no, not that one, the one that prevents any truth from reaching them.) We will hope for more news today. (Better news would be particularly nice.)
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Political Wire – Pelosi Wasn’t Sure Secret Service Could Be Trusted
Quote – Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) said that as rioters raged inside the Capitol on January 6, she was concerned about the Secret Service’s treatment of then-Vice President Mike Pence, Politico reports. Said Pelosi: “I myself wondered if he could trust the Secret Service to take him to a safe place. I don’t know.”
Clck through for story. Not much gets past Nancy Pelosi’s eagle eye. And she is far from alone.
Axios – Scoop: Tucker Carlson lashes out at GOP campaign chief in irate private call
Quote – Just two weeks before the midterms, the chair of the National Republican Congressional Committee [Rep. Tom Emmer (R-Minn.)] — who is headed into a high-stakes leadership race if House Republicans win the majority — finds himself on the wrong side of the nation’s most powerful right-wing TV host…. Emmer also now finds himself under attack from two MAGA celebrities: Donald Trump Jr. and Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.).
Click through for details and names. I know, you are thinking, “Tucker Carson has a son?!?!?” Well, yes. So does Trump**. So does Herschel Walker. Hard to believe on so many levels. But nonetheless true. He has a bit of my sympathy – but I still hope that several MAGAts get well and truly burned in the battle.
Food For Thought
Glenn Kirschner – Trump STILL unlawfully concealing classified documents. DOJ must act to preserve the rule of law
Meidas Touch – Biden MOCKS Coward MAGA Republicans for Socialism remarks WHILE secretly BEGGING for Investments
The Lincoln Project – President Biden Speaks in Florida Following Hurricane Ian
MSNBC – Oath Keepers Trial Is DOJ’s ‘Biggest Case And Biggest Challenge
Sam Bee from 2019 – Columbus Day Should Be Indigenous Peoples Day ft. Congresswoman Deb Haaland
Beau – Let’s talk about the possibility of Putin using a tactical….
Yesterday, I went to see Virgil. I set my alarm a bit earlier than I had been on days I was going to see him, and that turned out to be a mistake. We live and learn. So I’ll switch it back (after I set it for Thursday’s hearing, of course.) Virgil appreciates and returns all your greetings. The weather was fine and the drive both ways was uneventful. Also, I thought I had enough sleep Saturday night. However, I still felt pretty tired upon return. Oh, yes, and Happy Indigenous Peoples Day.
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HuffPost – What The Weird Conservative Fixation On Electric Vehicles Says About Their Politics
Quote – The Biden administration has made support for EVs a top priority. The Inflation Reduction Act, the spending bill that Biden signed over the summer, included new tax credits for people who purchase EVs as well as businesses that open up charging stations. Greene has been critical of this effort from the get-go, and in February posted a 21-part tweetstorm calling the Biden plan ― which, at that point, was still under discussion ― “a one way ticket to hell.” Greene isn’t alone in making these sorts of arguments. On the contrary, the list of Republican officials who have attacked the Biden administration’s EV agenda in similar terms is long and includes everybody from Florida Sen. Rick Scott to Texas Rep. Dan Crenshaw.
Click through for three reasons why anyone with a functioning brain and who doesn’t hate Democrats could be expected to be ebthusiastic about EVs. But, Republicans … What do you want to bet that20 or even 10 years from now they will be all in favors of EVs, and will never admit they weren’t always.
CPR News – As the reparations debate continues nationally, some Denver organizations are stepping up now
Quote – Risë Jones is walking around TeaLee’s, her three-year-old tea shop in Denver’s historically Black Five Points neighborhood. Soft jazz plays in the main seating area with about 10 tables, and in the basement is a bookstore with some hard-to-find titles by Black authors…. Jones is among several Black business owners in Denver who have received grants from groups raising private funds to pay reparations for the centuries of abuse of Blacks forced into slavery…. Jones received an $8,500 reparations grant to open the shop, one of several that have been distributed…. There are several organizations that do precisely that kind of work. One of them is BRIC (Black Resilience in Colorado) a non-profit organization that officially opened on Juneteeth (June 19) of 2020.
Click through and scroll down for the article – it’s below a podcast and the picture. Hey, they’re a radio outfit, of course they like podcasts. But they like articles too. There is so much in it for me as a Coloradan to be proud of (and that TomCat would have loved.)
Food For Thought
