Humor – Politics Plus

Open Thread April 24 2025

Posted by Joanne Dixon at 6:00 am Open Thread, Personal, Politics

Apr 242025

Yesterday, The Mango Moron accused Volodymyr Zelensky of “sabotaging [the] U.S. peace plan for Ukraine” because of course he did. And a disagreement between Elon Musk and Scott Bessent “erupted into [a] West Wing shouting match.”

There’s a reason why Dan Froomkin calls his Substack “Press Watch” – because it’s all about, not just truth, but how truth should be presented. In other words – it should be read by journalists so that we don’t have to read it. Unfortunately, that isn’t happening. This article is a case in point.

I’ve never been a “first let’s kill all the lawyers” person. I do appreciate the jokes, and I may just tell one (with a slight twist) – but the lawyers we see on YouTube such as Glenn Kirschner, Michael Popok, and Harry Litman are honest and dedicated defenders of how the rule of law is needed to – and needs to – define and maintain democracy. This from Harry Litman I’m going to call a full disclosure post. (And may I suggest that the signers are in general also lawyers who can be trusted.) OK, joke. A man goes into a curio shop (in a place like Galveston, Atlantic City, or San Francisco – you’ll see why) and is fascinated by a brass rat. The owner advises him the rat has mysterious properties and warns him the price is non-refundable. He buys it anyway and leaves and continues walking around the city. Soon he notices he is being followed by rats, and that the number is increasing. As he continues walking the number of rats continues to grow, and he starts to run. The rats also start running, and there continue to be more and more of them. He speeds up and runs to the beach. When he gets there, he throws the brass rat as far out into the ocean as he can. All the rates follow it and drown. He then returns tot he curio shop, where the owner says, “I told you no refunds.” The man says, “I don’t want a refund. I want to know if you have any brass Trump** voters.”

Open Thread February 26 2025

Posted by Joanne Dixon at 5:51 am Open Thread, Personal, Politics

Feb 262025

Yesterday – well, let me back up a little. Last week, the guy who had been posting a column of political cartoons daily announced he would not be able to do that any more, for health reasons. He offered, if someone would strp up, to share all his sources, including international sources, and also tips for getting around some issues. I do not get all my cartoons from there – I take them where I find them – but a lot do come through DU. Well, yesterday, his replacement posted (and clearly took all the tips they could get.) So that will make life a bit easier for me. (All the Dr. Seuss cartoons I have used came to me through DU, for one thing.) Also, the backlash against MSNBC was growing, and rightly so.

Talking Points Memo points out a problem which would be laughable if it weren’t so serious. At least it explains in part why some say Elon Musk can’t be fired since no one hired him. Much kudos and many promotions to Judge Colleen Kollar-Kotelly, not only for asking and pressing the right questions, but for not going into a screaming fit while doing so – she certainly must feel like it.

Joyce Vance departs from her usual tone to share a number of things which are being done in response to this administration by people who may have read the CIAs’s “Simple Sabotage” – or maybe are just very creative. Barf bag warning for the AI video.

Open Thread February 16 2025

Posted by Joanne Dixon at 6:02 am Open Thread, Personal, Politics

Feb 162025

Yesterday, the radio opera was “Ariadne auf Naxos” by Richard Strauss. It is one act with a prologue which is about as long as the Act. This performance was chosen by Lise Davidsen, a Norwegian soprano. I would imagine (demonstrating a lack of imagination) that a Norwegian soprano would be likely to model on someone like Swedish Birgit Nilsson or Norwegian Kirsten Flagstad, but Davidsen has more imagination than that, so her most admired model is the late Jessye Norman, who sang the role of Ariadne in this broadcast. There’s a black history fact, if you will. The opera itself is an atypical comedy, the premise being that a serious opera and a comedy act similar to Commedia dell’Arte are presented on the same stage at the same time, and the participants have to interact somehow improvising as they go, and that is what happens in the one act. In the prologue, the situation is set up, with the prima donna throwing a fit, the composer throwing another fit, and the comedy troupe being more accepting and trying to calm everyone else down. There aren’t any punchlines, the humor is all situational and subtle. And the music is beautiful. Richard Strauss got hos start with “Salome” and “Elektra,” both of which include two or more murders and neither of which can really be called beautiful – although exciting fits, and maybe even enthralling. But Ariadne is compositionally more like his final opera, “Der Rosenkavalier,” which really is beautiful, especially the waltzes, though Richard and the Johanns were completely unrelated.

My state Senate is taking action on censorship – book banning. At least this committee is. And our state house (the Assembly) is also blue. I hope it will pass. It looks like a good bill. It allows challenges, but limits who can legitimately make them and how frequently they can do so. And more.

Robert Reich recognizes six individuals and one group who are willing and able to say “No” to the Papaya Poopy-Pants. And he’s right, it takes courage. And they have it and they exercised it. And, to the gest of my knowledge all are still alive. But sadly, all are now out of a job. Still, all these actions are well worth applauding.

Bonus video to go with cartoon

Open Thread February 15 2025

Posted by Joanne Dixon at 6:12 am Open Thread, Personal, Politics

Feb 152025

Yesterday, my email included a Valentine from Eric Swalwell’s dog, Penny. That was a refreshing break from the rest of it. I can’t even begin to go into all the crap that’s going on. Of course, that’s the plan, and to a degree it’s working. But I’m slogging on. I do want to share that I watched most of a short video sharing, on the basis of an interview with someone who knew the family, that Dork Vader’s parents were Nazis (technically Nazi sympathizers in Canada) who apparently were too chickens**t to move to Germany, but instead moved to South Afrika because they also supported the Afrikaaners (in other words were racist.) My browser kicked me off before it finished, so I don’t have the link, but it was on the “Occupy Democrats” channel, so it shouldn’t be hard to find. For one more upbeat (or at least humorous) item, here’s Andy.

Joyce Vance provides enough information to charge Patel criminally with lying to Congress. But it’s foregone that this DOJ will not do that. And she also singles out DOJ employees who have spines and are, therefore, sadly, no longer part of DOJ.

I seldom share petitions, in large part because Freya does such a good job of it I don’t feel I need to. But this one is one that shouldn’t be missed

I couldn’t decide between these two stories, so I’m linking to both. In a way they’re related. One is about the Forest Service and the other about the Park Service, and, since one is from The F*News and the other from Wonkette, both have sardonic (a word you may be seeing a lot here) headlines. Also, both deal with the nightmarish, 1984 like, concept that we must all be identical or we’re not American, when the exact opposite is more in line with who we are supposed to be, as Americans, and as humans.)

Open Thread February 12 2025

Posted by Joanne Dixon at 6:00 am Open Thread, Personal, Politics

Feb 122025

Yesterday, I learned that Deb Haaland who was Interior Secretary under Biden is running for Governor of New Mexico. Katie Porter has already endorsed her. Now I have too (for what that’s worth.)

I’m an unpaying subscriber to Andy Borowitz, and that means that, at least on Sundays, I don’t get the whole story. Last Sunday, his post was a letter from Richard Nixon to Elon Musk from hell. I was able to read his introduction, but nothing of the letter. I thought at the time, “I’ll bet that’s priceless.” Well, Robert Reich certainly thought so. He shared the whole thing. It’s NSFW, as you’d expect from Nixon. Enjoy it.

This is John Pavlovitz at his most powerful. Giving us permission to hold individual voters accountable. Not that we need it from him – unless we are not yetgiving it to ourselves. Sometimes good people are held back by also being nice people. We can stop that now. (Healso dais, in a separate post, that it’s OK to be exhausted.)

The F* News also had a lot to say, in this case mostly about litigation and the ways in which both very different sides are reacting an responding to it. Given that in the current administration, and the makeup of the House and Senate, any halfway decent national news is more likely to come from the courts than from anywhere else, concentrating on the courts is probably a good idea. I mean, you’ll get the poisonous news that way too,but with a potential antidote as well

Open Thread February 9 2025

Posted by Joanne Dixon at 6:04 am Open Thread, Personal, Politics

Feb 092025

Yesterday, the radio opera was Wagner’s “The Flying Dutchman”, which I’ve discussed before. It was the choice of Ryan Speedo Green, who picked it because of the performance of George London in the title role. London started singing professionally in 1945, debuted at the Met in 1951, retired in 1967, and died in 1985 after his third heart attack, so I mostly missed him. (I know a lot of earlier singers from my mother’s 78 rpm record collection and of course newer ones from my own listening and collecting. And that includes a couple of the other principals in today’s recording who worked longer and lived longer.) But Speedo was just the right age to hear his recordings while studying … and to enter a competition and get financial help from a foundation London founded, continued by his widow after he died. I’ve also discussed Speedo’s story, which I find incredibly inspiring, so I’ll shut up now. Off to see Virgil, will check in upon return.

Straight from the Root – a list (not inclusive) of companies which continue to support DEI – in fact, some are doubling down. Many are not useful to me, either because I don’t use what they sell, or because I have rejected them for some other reason, but that’s me. Also, they’re all huge. But you can always look up any company on the internet and see whether they have a DEI statement in their “about us” section.

Dennis Donovan at Democratic Underground shares a post from Norm Eisen (cofounder of “The Contrarian”) – it’s a few days old, but I haven’t seen it elsewhere (which may be just me – I had to skip a lot to get through all those emails.)

This is a 23 minute video (with not bad CC – a couple of clunkers easy to mentally correct) and I can’t – not that I would want to – make you watch it. But in addition to advice, it also has some hope. So I thought I’d add it to Sunday.

Open Thread January 14 2025

Posted by Joanne Dixon at 6:06 am Open Thread, Personal, Politics

Jan 142025

Yesterday, it occurred to me that the name Zuckerberg – with just a little bit of license – translates to “Big Rock Candy Mountain.” I couldn’t even begin to count the possible disrespectful jokes that could be gotten out of that. Also yesterday, the story which was yanked last week did get published, and I went to the new link, and it is working. Here it is. You can see why I jumped to the conclusion I did. It’s very frank.

The Reich on the left is right again. I, and progressives and liberals I am aware of, generally have positive impressions of universities, nonprofits, and labor unions. The media is in a different position. But allowing media, however imperfect, to be destroyed by The new administration’s lawsuits and other attacks is not the solution. And that goes multiple times for small and independent media, who are as much more likely to promote truth as they are to come under attack. I know I probably sound like an obsolete “broken record,” but go over to Substack, see the many people who are posting there, and if you find someone or some two or so whom you respect (and preferably whom I am not regularly citing, to broaden yourself,) sign up for a free subscription. That costs nothing but time – and knowledge is priceless.

(Edited just before midnight to add link to Jack Smith’s Volume #1 (Jan 6)

Robert Hubbell debunks all the lies being pushed by MAGA about the Los Angeles wildfire(s). Unfortunately, the LA Times, now MAGA-billionaire-owned, is widely spreading them anyway. Was it Mark Twain who said “a lie can get halfway around the world wile truth is still putting its pants on”? Or is he just one of the many to whom it has been mis-attributed? Also, you might appreciate, if you have any past or present connection to California, his next rant is here.

Open Thread January 5 2025

Posted by Joanne Dixon at 6:00 am Open Thread, Personal, Politics

Jan 052025

Yesterday, the radio opera was “Les Contes d’Hoffman” (the tales of Hoffman) by Jacques Offenbach, who is best known for having composed the “Cancan.” The Tales of Hoffman was his only serious opera, and it is not without comedy. The most obvious is, I think, the “Doll Song,” in which the soprano plays a mechanical, life sized doll with whom Hoffman has fallen in love. During this aria, the soprano “runs down” twice and the toymaker has to run up behind her and “wind her up.” Literally. Back in the day, I was driving on the Washington DC beltway, and this aria came on the radio, sung by Joan Sutherland. Even without the sight gags, she made it so funny that I had to pull off – I was so distracted with laughter – until it was over. The doll is one of three women with whom Hoffman falls in love and loses – this one because she isn’t real, the second because she dies, and the third because she has stolen his soul – well, that’s pretty un-comic. There is also an “evil genius” who in some way comes between Hoffman and all of the women he falls for. It is filled with catchy tunes, a specialty of Offenbach. If you have ever heard his “barcarolle,” which is a real earworm, this is the opera from which it comes. Also yesterday, I received several emails about Ann Telnaes leaving the Washington Post. I’ll link to Andy Borowitz on this, although Heather Cox Richardson also covered the story. We can hope hat she finds a position worthy of her talent and integrity.

In keeping with my intent to reserve the Sunday Open Thread for good news, here is a story from Colorado Public Radio, about a remarkable man, and the tribute to him which is now being paid.

This from Axios is at best halfway good news. I was hoping something better would come along, but sadly, if it has, I haven’t seen it (and I have been looking.)

Older Entries