Open Thread October 31, 2022

 Posted by at 6:42 am  Open Thread, Personal, Politics
Oct 312022
 

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!

Cartoon – Nameless for the animation

Short Takes –

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

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Open Thread October 30, 2022

 Posted by at 6:44 am  Open Thread, Personal, Politics
Oct 302022
 

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.

Cartoon –

 

Short Takes –

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.

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Video Thread 10/29/22

 Posted by 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)

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

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Open Thread October 24, 2022

 Posted by at 6:46 am  Open Thread, Personal, Politics
Oct 242022
 

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.)

Cartoon – 24 1024Cartoon.jpg

Cartoon 2 (Holiday) –

Short Takes –

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

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Video Thread 10/10/22

 Posted by at 11:46 am  Open Thread, Politics
Oct 102022
 

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….

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Open Thread October 10, 2022

 Posted by at 6:54 am  Open Thread, Personal, Politics
Oct 102022
 

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.

Cartoon – 10 1010Cartoon.jpg


Short Takes –

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.)

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Open Thread September 25, 2022

 Posted by at 7:10 am  Open Thread, Personal, Politics
Sep 252022
 

Yesterday, the radio opera was Rúsalka, sung in Czech, by Antonín Dvořák (there’s not actually an accent on the u -I put one there to remind myself that’s where the stress is.) Like every other culture, the Czech cultur is rich in fairy tales. But, if you think the Brothers Grimm are grim, don’t look up the Czech ones, because they are grimmer. A Rúsalka is a female water spirit (it isn’t her name), and her story is that of the Llittle Mermaid, only darker. She is a fresh water being, she doesn’t go to a sea witch, but a lake or river witch called Jezibaba, and forfeits her voice to become human. The prince falls for her but everyone in his castle is terrified of this speechless woman who seems so cold (she didn’t get a soul in the deal, you see.) A foreign princess comes to visit, and the Prince is tempted, and the Rúsalka fears all is lost and goes back to the water. The prince tries to stop her but it is too late. She has become a different kind of water spirit, one who exists to lure human men and kiss them, which condemns tham to hell for eternity (she did get her voice back, so she tells him this – she doesn’t want to doom him.) But he chooses to kiss her anyway. Not exactly a happily ever after ending for sure. The one aria from it which is often concertized is the “Song to the Moon,” about how much she loves the prince and wants to be with him. The role is for a soprano, but this aria isn’t high, and a mezzo-soprano can sing it, and in fact the best, IMO, I ever heard it was done by a mezzo, Frederica von Stade (also, Joshua Bell did a lovely violin version). But I digress. Dvořák also used Czech fairy tales as the bases for some tone poems, of which the three I can remember are “The Noon Witch,” “The Wood Dove,” and “The Golden Spinning Wheel.” All the music is lovely, and all the stories are gruesome.

Cartoon – 25 0925Cartoon.jpg also Rosh Hashanah loaded

Short Takes –

CPR News – Elijah McClain’s autopsy report changed to death by ketamine
Quote – “The forensic evidence revealed that the cause of death was undetermined. Specifically, the pathologist who conducted the autopsy stated that he was unable to conclude that the actions of any law enforcement officer caused Mr. McClain’s death. In order to prove any form of Homicide in the state of Colorado it is mandatory that the prosecution prove that the accused caused the death of the victim.” Even with this new cause of death being ketamine, it is unclear how prosecutors move forward with holding those who touched McClain that evening accountable for his death without a homicide declaration on the death certificate.
Click through for updates. We pretty well knew this. But now it’s official – but the manner of death is still wrong. I think our AG tried hard for accountability, but has been stymied, as usual, by law enforcement sticking together regardless.

Crooks & Liars – Ukraine Returns 215 POWs, Including Azovstal Defenders In Prisoner Swap
Quote – An amazing swap, as in total Ukraine returned 215 prisoners of war, 205 Ukrainians and 10 foreigners. The entire leadership of the Azov regiment appears to have survived and were freed, including commander Denys Prokopenko. British national Aidan Aslin, sentenced to death by Russian proxies of Donetsk, also swapped. Ukrainian medic and songstress Kateryna “Ptashka” Polishchuk aka “Birdie” was also among those released, just days after Russia released an interrogation video of her.
Click through for more details. This is astonishing, particularly since Putin has started conscripting. But I’ll definitely tke it.

Food For Thought

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Open Thread August 8, 2022

 Posted by at 7:06 am  Open Thread, Personal, Politics
Aug 082022
 

Yesterday, it was a pretty unexciting day until the word came out that the Inflatin Reduction Act had been passed by the Senate. I picked up a very short, graphic short take about it, figuring there will be plenty of time to discuss it at length.

Cartoon – .(which  forgot to insert before posting, but went back and added later)

Short Takes –

Letters from an American – August 6, 2022
Quote – “Gentlemen,” [Garfield] said, “ideas outlive men; ideas outlive all earthly things. You who fought in the war for the Union fought for immortal ideas, and by their might you crowned the war with victory. But victory was worth nothing except for the truths that were under it, in it, and above it. We meet tonight as comrades to stand guard around the sacred truths for which we fought…. [W]e will remember our allies who fought with us,” he told them. “Soon after the great struggle began, we looked beyond the army of white rebels, and saw 4,000,000 of [B]lack people condemned to toil as slaves for our enemies; and we found that the hearts of these 4,000,000 were God-inspired with the spirit of liberty, and that they were all our friends.” As the audience cheered, he continued: “We have seen white men betray the flag and fight to kill the Union; but in all that long, dreary war we never saw a traitor in a black skin.”
Click through for the background and what happened next. White supremacy = corruption. President Garfield was ambidextrous, multilingual, and so good at multitasking that he could write in Latin with one hand and Greek with the other at the same time. That means nothing – but this speech meant something. So, of course, they killed him.

Twitter – This happened yesterday at approximately 5 pm Eastern. By now I’m sure there is a real article of analysis up somewhere, but I didn’t want to wait:

I believe it goes to the House Friday. No need for tiebreaking there.

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