Yesterday, I set up all the e-Christmas cards for y’all and my personal list. I like them to go out early – not everyone checks their email on special days, so I scheduled them to go out the 23rd. (And that includes a birthday card to Trinette, who was born on Christmas. Is that appropriate, or what! And her children were also born on or very close to holidays. Her older son was born Jan 3 and the younger on Valentine’s Day.)
This kind of goes along with what Robert Reich was saying last week about the story of “The Rot at the Top,” and the need to re-associate it with the actual roe et the top, namely corporation CEOs.
The title of this The F* News article includes the phrase “A Running Tally,” which suggests to me that it may be worth saving the link. Of course, with Trump**, it’s a coin flip whether a broken promise is a good or a bad thing, depending on what the promise was and how it is broken. Obviously, this can’t cover everything – but it is a needed attempt to start bearing witness.
Belle judges
Cat
Today’s cartoon is a video for Christmas making fun of MAGA-type Christianity. I hope it gives you a chuckle or two.
Yesterday, I had blood drawn for four tests. The appointment was for 3:00 pm, and I was prompt. The actual draw too well under a minute, and by 6:00 pm I could see the results on line. If I had been worried, that would have been a real blessing. In fact, just about everything was in normal range, and most right in the middle of normal range (I didn’t have to do the math – they gave me colored graphs.) I also had over 100 emails – but it was Cyber Monday and today is Giving Tuesday and Thursday is Colorado Gives Day. So that comes as no surprise. I have a bunch of stuff picked out, and most of it I still think is important, but I’ll try to put newer stuff in as extras this week. Also, as I came to post this, I realized I hadn’t posted yesterday. I do apologize.
Robert Reich provides the news sources he relies on for the truth. All are good (I will say the New Yorker has become a little to far right for me, and there are others.) I would add to Reich’s list Wonkette, The F*ing News because I often don’t have the time or energy to do my own sarcasm, and from them I get it ready made. For people who can tolerate videos, there’s “Legal AF” with Harry Litman, which is under the Meidas Touch umbrella, and he doesn’t have the annoying habit the brothers do of repeating things over and over, On Substack you can take your pick – besides Cox Richardson and Reich himself, I trust Joyce Vance, who doesn’t just stick to law and the courts, though that’s her area of expertise. Also, sign up for one unpaid subscription on Substack and whoever you subscribe to will occasionally (not often enough to drive you nuts) recommend other Substackers, and Substack will send you a short email with those recommendations. As Joyce often says, We are in this together.
So Erin Burnett at CNN is “an observant Catholic.” Well, I’m a Catholic. And I’d like to tell Erin Burnett a story. Many years ago – in the late seventies, to be precise, a gentleman named Charles Buswell was the bishop of the Pueblo, CO diocese. And I use the word “gentleman” advisedly. He was such a sweet, real Christian that he was written up by Time magazine. Alamosa was in that diocese then (may still be), and he had come to Sacred Heart parish there for I forget what ceremony – it might have been confirmations – and was relaxing at a barbecue afterward when I got into a conversation with him. In that conversation be mentioned that he has released from his vows a priest who was trans, and had recently completed surgery. “He said, I think that transgender is considered to be when the soul of one sex is born in the body of the other?” and I replied, “That is what I have always understood.” He grinned and replied, “Our diocese then should get the credit for having ordained the first woman priest.” That is how a real Catholic responds to transgender. You know, Christine Jorgenson was still alive then (she died in 1989). Her glory days were over then, but they lasted long enough into my childhood for her to be discussed in our home and for my mother to have given me the explanation on which I agreed with the bishop. Gender affirming care is not something frivolous. It’s much like needing an abortion when the fetus is already dead. Oh, wait – they oppose that too.
Yesterday, Steve Schmidt referred and linked to an opinion piece in the New York Times by Stanley McChrystal, a now retired General who was in command in Afghanistan intil President Obama relieved him of that command for running his mouth in Rollong Stone. Steve didn’t provide a gift link, so I am providing an archived one. It’s titled “Why Kamala Harris has won me over.” It’s another “policies are not the issue, the issue is character” essay, as was, for instance, Judge Luttig’s, but it’s longer with examples (and it’s interesting that his examples of character were two Deomoctats and a Republican, and the Republican was Lincoln, while his one example of lack of character was Republican Nixon. But that’s among us. I don’t want to step on his centrist stance. Particularly when the only people who are going to listen to him are centrists. MAGAs are mostly lost, and the few who are coming around are doing sofor reasons that won’t get published in an op-ed.) Also yesterday, Senator Hickenlooper used his “Giddy-Update” newsletter to spread the truth about Aurora, Colorado, which, despite all the furor about Springfield getting louder, has also bee receiving harassment from MAGA dupes.
Sometimes living in Colorado can be un-bear-able. Thank you. I’ll be here all week. Don’t forget to tip your waitstaff.
If you aren’t able to read or watch Joe Biden’s speech to the UN on Tuesday in full (Robert Hubbell has links: full text and video), Heather Cox Richardson‘s summary is a pretty good substitute. I admit I teared up when I came to “My fellow leaders, let us never forget, some things are more important than staying in power. It’s your people…that matter the most.”
Yesterday, I read in HuffPost that, now that Jpe Biden has dropped out, his job approval numbers started to go up and have steadily continued to rise. That is certainly a good thing, but it still made me cry, to think of all the artisis, musicians, ans so many others who were nort appreciated until after their deaths. Yes, Joe is still alive to see some of this. But the full measure of his contributions to America will not be appreciated until later – and may be much later. He deserves better. However, there is some bad news with good news. I guess it’s really not news that the Russians are at it again, but it is news that the DOJ just made some important arrests in connection with it. And here’s the official video version.
My response to this was “More of this. Please.” Not just to the story but to the activism iy chronicles. For those of us for whom voting is second nature and not difficult, it’s challenging to grasp how difficult it is made (especially by Republicans) for some (especially for people of color – any color but “white”) and how widespread that suppression is. There really is a need for more – much more – of this kind of activism – and for recognition and praise for what already exists of it.
We could use more of this also. After yesterday, I decided some respite was needed, amd my sources have been co-operating so far.
Yesterday, I read an email from Colorado’s Attorney General which had me in tears – good tears for the accomplishment, mixed with sorrow for the lost time. I lived in the San Luis Valley from the time I got out of the Marine Corps (1976) until 1991 when the jpb situation thre pushed me and Virgil to move to Colorado Springs. That was the time of my life when I was a real cat lady. I don’t recall opiates being a problem there then. Alcohol, yes. But the big medical thing was diabetes and the fact that it hit Hispanics so much harder than non-Hispanics. Unfortunately I can’t link to the email, but I can link to the article in the Valley Courier – still in print thankfully – which tells the story also. He’s a Democrat, so I have always voted for him any time he was on my ballot. I hope he stays in office for a long, long time.
Steve Schmidt – a couple of days old – but unless his prediction has alread come to pass, not too old. And we should be ready for it, and then, even if it turns out to be wrong, we’ll be fine.
Personally I would
but I’m glad someone is saying it out loud. because there are people who do not realize how bad it actually is. And you cannot fight something if you don’t know it even exists. I think we can do this, but we cannot forget for a moment what we are up against.
This is the good news. The bad news. of course, it that it’s today’s courts it will have to go through, not, for example the Warren Court (I’m pretty sure no relation to Elizabeth.) Kroger and Albertson’s being the only two big conglomerates is already a monopoly (technically it’s a duopoly, but these two are like-minded like Charlie and David.)
Yesterday, since it was Friday, Robert Reich posted the latest episode in his “DEBUNK” series. Heather Cox Richardson posted a blistering bio of Paul Manafort.
Russian soldiers are, due to the lack of purpose-built vehicles, being compelled to use whatevet that can lay their hands on – such as golf carts – to attempt to attack. I am not pro-violence, and least of all am I pro-enjoying violence – but I have to say that Ukreainians have an excuse. Slava Ukraini!
Robert Hubbell has had it with corporate Democrats, and I don”t blame him. I have too. I am extremely upset with Adam Schiff and several others. I think Hubbell’s advice is excellent for anyone who can follow it. Since I’m obligated to post here, I cannot follow the “Keep your head down” part, but I’ll do my best to keep my blood pressure down at least. This is a two-parter and I’m sharing both parts today. And putting a quote from the second part into a second cartoon.
Yesterday, I got to thinking about how I would change mu initials if I felt I had to. I am blessed (or saddled) with quite an assornment of potential middle names. Starting with the one on my birth certificate, there’s “May” which was my father’s mother’s name, so there’s M. Her full maiden name was May Hurst, and occasionally I’ll use the H. Then there’s “Laura,” which I sometimes say is my Lutheran confrmation name, but actually I just liked it. L is the middle initial on my DD-214. Then there’s “Teresa” which actually is my Catholic confirmation name (I didn’t pick up one when I first became a Catholic since I claimed St. Joan of Arc as my patron – close enough to Joanne). But there is my own maiden name, “Stangenberger”, so I could go all the way up to JMHLTSD if I wanted to – but that seems unwieldy. Any thoughts?
I don’t know about you, but I could sure use a laugh from Andy. And this is a good one.
Heather Cox Richardson’s Letter for July 17 goes back in history to a July 18, and goes into the real life story celebrated in the movie “Glory.” I have not seen the movie, but its sound track is a favorite with clssical music radio programs, so I do know what it is about -but not how strictly it stays with the facts. Heaven knows the facts are dramatic enough. If you don’t know the story and want to read it here, you may need a hanky alert (I always do when this story comes up.)
Yesterday, Trump** announced the selection of J.D. Vance for his Vice President. I’m not sure why people are losing their minds about it. Anyone Trump** selected would have been equally awful, and this selection at least may open a Senate seat in Ohio and give Tim Ryan a second chance {although I admit it does make me want to change my initials). There wasn’t much in my inbox about the Trump** shooting. One petiton asking Republicans who have condemned it to now condemc all political violence. I signed it – but good luck with that. The second half of Heather Cox Richardson’s talk with Secretary of State Blinken has been posted. As I type I haven’t watched it, but by the time you see it, I will have done so. And, apparently, RFKJ is getting Secret Service protection – that, to me, is the worst news – or at least tied with the news that Loose Cannon dismissed the documents case. At least, the factor which pushed the SS to decide this was not a jump in the polls – it was the shooting at Trump**’s rally.
I did get an email from “Oil Change International,” a climate change fighting organization. Their website is here. And here is a source to check how your state is dealing with the issue of “certified gas.” Looking at the map of Colorado, I note that all the emissions events they map occurred in the vicinity of Denver. It’s not clear to me whether Denver (along with its environs) is particularly bad at this, or if it’s just that the population is so much denser there, and so is the usage, that the emissions events in that area are more obvious, more measurable.
This may not the biggest story – but it does, as Ursula says, make a big difference. So I’m posting it in case you missed it. See what you think.
