Glenn Kirschner – Trump ‘s dangerous posts continue unabated; Jack Smith’s prosecutors now being threatened/harassed
PoliticsGirl – Why You Should Care About Ohio
MSNBC – Justice Kagan shares our crisis of faith in SCOTUS (Long, and I’ll understand not watching. But I found it so moving I didn’t want to pass it by.)
Liberal Redneck – White House Cocaine
Foster Dog Who Couldn’t Walk Decides To Run Up To Her Adopter
Beau – Let’s talk about the funniest veto in history….
Yesterday, I came across a post about “Moms for Liberty,” specifically about what they should really be called, since they are anything but “for Liberty.” Nameless found the name “Klanned Kaernhood,” which is one of the terms in this post – but there are several more. Many more – this post only lists the “Top Ten.” (I kind of like “Crackpots with Crockpots” myself, but they are all clever.) Also, the shoulder continued to feel better
Cartoon –
Short Takes –
The 19th Explains: Why child marriage is still legal in 80% of U.S. states
Quote – “For some reason, most Americans do not realize that these abuses are happening,” [Fraidy] Reiss [the founder of Unchained at Last] said. “Most Americans agree that forced marriage and child marriage are terrible and heartbreaking. They imagine this happening on the other side of the world, and I wish there was something we could do to show them it’s happening here, too, largely because we have outdated, archaic and dangerous laws that need to be updated.” Nearly 300,000 minors — the vast majority of them girls — were legally married in the United States between 2000 and 2018, according to a 2021 study. Child marriage is defined as any marriage where at least one of the parties is under the age of 18. It was legal in all 50 states until 2018. Ten states have since passed bans to end the practice.
Click through for details. She’s right – most people don’t know. 300,000 may be a huge number, but compared to 300 milliom, it’s a tenth of a percent, and what’s more, spread out over 18 years, the chances of any given person being aware of one incident are not high. But that doesn’t make it unimportant. It shouldn’t happen to anyone.
Democratic Underground – Today in Gay History: Thank a gay man for your freedom!
Quote – Washington knew of a great general, the Baron von Steuben. Europe knew about this guy too: he’d been run out of every decent country on the Continent for being very gay, and he was about to be executed for it. The colonists cut a deal with them: let him go, give him to us and you’ll never see him again. They were okay with that. Von Steuben came to the United States and freaked out about how bad Washington’s army was. They were even doing stupid shit like putting latrines next to the mess hall. Von Steuben wrote “Regulations for the Order and Discipline of the Troops of the United States,” which became known as the Blue Book and was used until 1812. He organized a company of 100 men to serve as trainers for the rest of the Army. And he fixed the latrine situation right away. Under his guidance the Army turned itself around.
Click through for the history. Obviously this essay is 7 years old plus a few days late, but
I feel it should be better known.
Food For Thought
Glenn Kirschner – Rudy Giuliani meets w/federal prosecutors; likely trying to get the best plea deal to flip on Trump
The Lincoln Project – Presidents on American Immigrants
Robert Reich – The GOP’s Assault on LGBTQ Existence
Liberal Redneck – Why the Obsession with Trans People?
This Cat Was Left Behind When His Owner Moved Away (In defense of California, San Bernardino is in a red district – not Kevin’s, but adjacent to Kevin’s.)
Beau – Let’s talk about Rudy and interviews….
Yesterday, the Supreme Court handed down a decision in Counterman v. Colorado – known as “the stalking case” here – which I find upsetting, to say the least. It was not decided along party lines – far from it – so one would presume actual thought went into the decision. But I can’t help but wonder how it would have been decided had the victim been male. On the other hand, SCOTUS also decided Moore v. Harper by rejecting the “Independent State Legislature Theory,” which would have been far more damaging – could have spelled the end of democracy. In personal news, I got an email from my utility company that my rates are going down. Not a whole lot – but any at all is jaw-dropping.
Cartoon – 28 0628Cartoon.jpg
Short Takes –
The New Yorker – After Affirmative Action Ends
Quote – We have some legal clues from which to piece together what may happen next…. A preview of what such lawsuits will look like came in a recent case about Thomas Jefferson High School for Science and Technology (T.J.), a selective magnet school in Fairfax County, Virginia, that is often described as one of the top high schools in the U.S. In 2020, during the national racial reckoning that followed the murder of George Floyd, the Fairfax County school board, frustrated with T.J.’s lack of diversity, considered a number of proposals to change its admissions, in order to increase the enrollment of underrepresented and disadvantaged groups. The board thus resolved to alter T.J.’s racial composition…. The board ultimately decided to eliminate standardized tests and mandated that each public middle school in four Virginia counties and the city of Falls Church would be entitled to send a set percentage of its students to T.J…. The new admissions process was race-neutral in that an applicant’s race was not considered, and, in fact, evaluators were not provided any applicant’s name, race, ethnicity, or sex.
Click through for more. The problem is, whether we are talking about education or government contracts or corporate hiring or almost anything else, any program that works is going to be sued by some B-list or C-list white person with an inflated ego and a victim complex, and we will be at the mercy of the courts.
Robert Reich – Putin, Trump, and the privatization of tyranny
Quote – Why did Putin authorize Prigozhin to lead a private army to attack Ukraine outside the Russian military chain of command in the first place? Presumably because Putin didn’t trust Russian generals to do the job. And he didn’t want to risk that the generals might turn on him…. Throughout history, tyrannical rulers have created their own private operations outside normal chains of command, run by people like Prigozhin, who are personally loyal. This give tyrants flexibility to do what they want without bureaucratic opposition. It protects them against revolt by their subordinates in the chain of command. And it gives them deniability when operations go badly.
Click through for full case. (As always, click “continue reading” on the pop-up.) Heaven only knows what’s going on in Russia – but it’s interesting to realize that it isn’t just good government which is destroyed by privatization. Bad government can also be – ultimately – destroyed by it.
Food For Thought
Glenn Kirschner – Trump gets a VERY speedy trial date; Hunter Biden pleads guilty to misdemeanor tax crimes
The Lincoln Project – Rick Reacts: We Made Trump Mad
Farron Balanced – Judge Slaps Down Conspiracy Spewing Capitol Rioter During Hearing
Liberal Redneck – Hunter Biden Pleads Guilty
After his family abandoned him, he didn’t want to live anymore.
Beau – Let’s talk about orcas and needing a bigger boat….
Glenn skipped a day and threw me off balance so I’m using this to gain it back
Talking Feds – BREAKING Hunter Biden News EXPLAINED
The Lincoln Project – When Dems Fight
PBS News – New report looks at the changing face of extremist groups in America
Puppet Regime – More unmanned attacks on the Kremlin?
Mama Cat Does The Cutest Thing While She’s In Labor
Beau – Let’s talk about the Dems ending the influence of MAGA Republicans….
Glenn Kirschner – Under applicable federal law, Judge Cannon MUST remove herself or be removed from Trump prosecution
Meidas Touch – 🚨 Jack Smith Files FIRST MAJOR MOTION in Trump Criminal Case
The Lincoln Project – This Year
Thom Hartmann – Trump Indictment is Nothing to Celebrate… [and then he makes hte case for why it is, IMO]
Liberal Redneck – Trump Indictment Round 2
House Cat Spots Two Stray Kittens In His Backyard, And Then…
Beau – Let’s talk about Trump grief and what we can learn….
Yesterday, I had sent my disability certification without the witness signature to the DMV with an explanation, and I received a response that I could sent a photo of ny driver’s license to her and she could sign as witness. What a relief! I had gotten up earlt with not enough sleep and dreading having to go out again. Instead, I got to go back to bed. After getting up the second time, I made time to write a little essay to reply to John Pavlovitz’s email – some thoughts about the Bible I’ve been trying to spread for years in comments on petitions and article but which no one seems to be picking up on. The graphic he sent was so disturbing to me I just felt this was the time. It shows numbers and kinds of anti-transgender legislation in the states, Here it is –
Cartoon –
Short Takes –
KDVR Denver – Polis makes wager: If Nuggets win finals, Disney World moves to Colorado
Quote – Colorado Gov. Jared Polis called for a friendly wager with Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis and Disney on Tuesday: If the Denver Nuggets win the NBA Finals against the Miami Heat, Disney World moves to Colorado…. The Walt Disney World Resort currently resides in the Sunshine State and has since it first opened in the early 1970s. However, recently there have been rising tensions between the amusement park’s parent company and DeSantis.
Click through. KDVR is a Fox affiliate, but as I’ve often said, they are often good at local news. And the quote sounds just like Polis to me.
Vox – A big El Niño is looming. Here’s what it means for our weather.
Quote – El Niño is the warm phase of the Pacific Ocean’s temperature cycle, and this year’s El Niño is poised to be a big one, sending shock waves into weather patterns around the world. It’s likely to set new heat records, energize rainfall in South America, fuel drought in Africa, and disrupt the global economy. It may already have helped fuel early-season heat waves in Asia this year. “A warming El Niño is expected to develop in the coming months and this will combine with human-induced climate change to push global temperatures into uncharted territory,” said Petteri Taalas, secretary-general of the World Meteorological Organization, in a statement earlier this month. “This will have far-reaching repercussions for health, food security, water management and the environment. We need to be prepared.”
Click through foor details. Republicans talk about Democrats being big spenders … but with the money they waste on fighting culture wars instead of climate change, we could really save a lot – of money, and of people.
Food For Thought
