Glenn Kirschner – 2021: The Year of Donald Trump’s Big Lie. 2022 Will be the Year of The Big Truth.
Meidas Touch – Michael Cohen draws parallels between ‘Succession’ and the Trump family
Armageddon Update | 2021 Year In Review
Robert Reich – 2021: A Year Defined by Worker Power
PBS – Photojournalists share the stories behind images that defined 2021
NBC – New State Laws To Be Enforced In 2022
Beau – Let’s talk about next year’s news cycles….
Yesterday, I kind of piddled around, pulled out the next sweater I intend to wear to visit Virg and Jewelry to go with (I may wear one weddig or wedding-type ring and one religious pendant inside, and I like to take earringd along to put into my ears when I leave to keep the piercing open) – took out some recyclables (There is room now, it got picked up), found where all the old comments are and figured out how to get to a particular page – checked what os low in the kitchen freezer and moved things from the porch freezer to re-stock – glued some cord ends onto cords – did a little knitting – downloaded some free patterns (with no clear projects in mind, I just liked some ideas) – did a little gaming – just small stuff.
Cartoon –
Short Takes
Politico – FDIC’s GOP chair to resign after partisan brawl
Quote – Earlier this month, the Democratic majority on the FDIC’s board voted to take public feedback on potential changes to the agency’s bank merger approval process. McWilliams did not participate in the vote, and the FDIC in an official statement said the action was not valid. A legal debate ensued over whether a majority of the board can put items up for a vote without the consent of the chair, with Democrats maintaining they had clear authority.
Click through for details. So, now we’ll have a Democratic chair (at least for a while). In what universe canthe top dog invalidate a vote by simply not voting when everyone else does vote? If that isn’t autocracy, I don’t know what is. Even BBM couldn’t get away with that.
Daily Kos – Adhara Pérez, 10, has a higher IQ than Einstein and Hawking. She has her sights set on NASA
Quote – When she was just 5, Pérez finished elementary school. At 6 she finished middle school, and at 8 she finished high school. Today, she’s studying two careers online—Industrial engineering in mathematics at UNITEC and systems engineering at CNCI. The University of Arizona has offered her a scholarship.
Click through for story. Of course it’s a story not without bullying in it. But there seem to be enough people in her corner now to provide her some protection. I hope.
The Guardian – Capitol attack: Cheney says Republicans must choose between Trump and truth
Quote – Cheney told CBS the blame lay squarely with her own party. “Far too many Republicans are trying to enable the former president, embrace the former president or look the other way and hope that the former president goes away, or trying to obstruct the activities of this committee, but we won’t be deterred. At the end of the day, the facts matter, the truth matters.”
Click through. I really do hope they don’t kill her.
Food For Thought:
Glenn Kirschner – Trump’s Attempt to Enlist Assistance of Supreme Court to Hide Evidence from House Select Committee
Meidas Touch – Michael Cohen: Trump WILL be indicted
politicsrus – Jesus would not be a Republican
No Dem Lift Behind – Richard Ojeda: NDLB’s New Year’s Resolutions for 2022
Now This News – Amanda Gorman Shares New Poem to Kick Off 2022
Really American – Trump Dangerously Close With Epstein And Maxwell
Beau – Let’s talk about Trump losing his base by doing the right thing…. (I saw the humor – and I also saw and still see the danger.)
Yesterday, I woke up and was delighted to see that the comment system is working. Some of us who have been using it for years at other sites are going to appear with different names – I will be Underwriter505 – which may take a little getting used to. But a least it will work and we won’t have to approve evry comment manually. Thanks all for your patience and understanding. We got comments from most who normally comment, and it seemed to go smoothly. Mitch could probably comment in Disqus, except tht he still can access the site, even just to read it, so I’ll still be entering his comments (and did, for both posts). I succeeded in making both Naeless (dmhlt_66) and Lona (Lona Goudswaard) moderators and administrators for Disqus (both already were for PP) – all before sunset. Then I turned to more routine tasks, like setting out meds and preparing posts.
Cartoon – (I really hope I’m wrong about this.)
Short Takes
Crooks and Liars – Crookie’s Trend Of The Year: Alt Names For You-Know-Who
Quote – We found out this year that “The Former Guy” refuses to be referred to as “former.” This did create a problem for his legal team, who kept trying to say you can’t indict/sue/bring to court a “former” so-called “President” while never once using the term “former” because your nightmare of a client won’t let you?
Click through for this article and links to some of the other Crookie awards. I particularly approve the “Mensch of the Year” award.
Politico – Bernard Kerik provides batch of documents to Jan. 6 select committee
Quote – Bernard Kerik, the former New York City Police commissioner and ally of Trump attorney Rudy Giuliani, also provided a “privilege log” describing materials he declined to provide to the committee. Among the withheld documents is one titled “DRAFT LETTER FROM POTUS TO SEIZE EVIDENCE IN THE INTEREST OF NATIONAL SECURITY FOR THE 2020 ELECTIONS.” … Trump ultimately opted against that strategy, but his consideration of the option is one of the key questions the panel is probing as part of its broader investigation into attempts to overturn the election.
Click through for a story you probably missed – I know I did – I don’t recall ever even hearing his name. But this may help.
Wonkette – Missouri Gov Mike Parson Vows Reporter Who Found Sh*tty Coding In State Website Will PAY
Quote – Thing is, there wasn’t any “hacking” involved, as Krebs on Security explained at the time, since the SSNs were almost right out in the open to be seen by anyone with specialized software, like a common web browser. “The newspaper said it found that teachers’ Social Security numbers were contained in the HTML source code of the pages involved. In other words, the information was available to anyone with a web browser who happened to also examine the site’s public code using Developer Tools or simply right-clicking on the page and viewing the source code.”
Click through for details. I see “Kill the Messenger” is alive and well among those who want to drag us back to the Dark Ages in every possible way.
Food For Thought:
Glenn – Ghislaine Maxwell Found Guilty by NY Jury. Prosecutors Should Now Explore Cooperation.
Meidas Touch – SHOCK: Trump’s cronies allegedly threatened Stephanie Winston Wolkoff’s life for speaking out?!
No Dem Lift Behind – NDLB’s Richard Ojeda on “The Treason Caucus”
Farron Balanced – Judge Slaps Down Capitol Rioter Who Tried To Use ‘Marjorie Taylor Greene Defense’
Puppet Regime – Is Democracy a Charade?
Karen The Hissing Emu Learns To Cuddle (I robably left out something important – but I really wanted to put in this Karen.)
Beau – Let’s talk about Rand Paul and voting…. (We – democrats – thought this fallacy was obvious. Sadly, it needs to be pointed out.)
The problem with trying to stay current through newsletters is that at certain times they all ask for donations at once. Yesterday, I had received almost 200 emails just by noon. And one has to read at least the sender and subject line in order to avoid throwing out something important. Eventually it went down to a trickle, but it did end up exceeding 200.
Cartoon –
Short Takes
Crooks and Liars – Eric Swalwell Neutralizes Internet Threat Radicalized By Tucker Carlson
Quote – If this whole Congressman thing doesn’t work out, Swalwell should definitely look into work as a detective or federal agent. He clearly has the skills necessary to get someone to straight up incriminate themselves and confess! Egads.
Click through for snippets from the conversatin. Much of it is small – I used my on-screen magnifier and had no difficulty.
Newsweek – Betty White, Iconic TV Star Dies at 99, Weeks Before 100th Birthday
Quote – “Even though Betty was about to be 100, I thought she would live forever,” White’s agent, Jeff Witjas, told People in a statement. “I will miss her terribly and so will the animal world that she loved so much.”
Click through – By the time you read this the article will be a lot longer and more detailed.
Reuters – ‘Miracle’ that no loss of life in Colorado urban wildfire -Governor
Quote – The fire was driven by wind gusts of 105 miles per hour, which caused flames to leapfrog over highways and entire neighborhoods on Thursday, authorities said. The winds created a “mosaic” burn pattern that saw untouched homes standing next to those left in ashes. Officials said on Friday that winds had died down and snow was arriving, and that they did not expect the fire to pose any more danger.
Click through for more. Snow is nice for putting out the fire, but not so nice if one doesn’t have a roof over one’s head. Nolloss of life, hiwever, is indeed wonderful
Food For Thought:
Glenn Kirschner – House Select Committee Plans Public Hearings, Interim Report, Potential Criminal Referrals for Trump
Meidas Touch – Stephanie Winston Wolkoff Reveals Melania Trump’s LEAST FAVORITE Trump Kid
No Dem Lift Behind – LIARS’ FEUD: Richard Ojeda on Candace Owens’ latest lying scandal
Thom Hartmann – What Will You Do When Trump’s True Believers Try Again? (Spoiler – It really is all about race)
Ring of Fire – Cori Bush Pushes For Republican Traitors To Be Expelled From Congress
Really American – Let’s Go Darwin: GOP Cultists REJECT Science
Beau – Let’s talk about Burlington and LAPD…. Beau has been red hot, and I need to double up a bit. These two are related so it seemed appropriate.
Beau – Let’s talk about the X factor at Burlington….
Yesterday, I heard back from BlueHost, and it appears I need some documenttion I don’t have. So I’ll be working without their help at this time. Oh well. We will get through. I’ll work on getting what I don’t have, or a reasonable substitute.
Cartoon –
Short Takes
Crooks and Liars – Mom And Son Kept Off Plane– Because Of Knives Hidden In Toy
Quote – TSA officers at the Philadelphia International Airport stopped a Cortland, NY woman and her young son from boarding a plane yesterday — because of two knives sewn into the middle of a stuffed Darth Vader Bear. Say what?
Click through for details. Although much is unanswered. This is just weird enough to make one wonder.
CPR – Multiple grass fires burning in Boulder County, evacuations in effect
Quote – The entire population of Superior is being evacuated as grass fires sparked by high winds and downed power lines rapidly grow and threaten structures. Two fires, the Marshall fire and the Middle Fork fire, ignited in Boulder County on Thursday morning. The county is experiencing gusts of wind reaching up to 80 miles per hour. Boulder County’s emergency managers advise people to evacuate if they see fire.
Click through – We expect this in the summer. Not so much in December.
Insider – The Securities and Exchange Commission’s chief litigator is joining the US attorney’s office handling January 6 cases
Quote – Bridget Fitzpatrick, the SEC’s chief litigation counsel, is poised to leave the commission to become the top deputy to US attorney Matt Graves, according to multiple people familiar with her plans. For Fitzpatrick, the move marks a return to the US attorney’s office where she once specialized in public corruption prosecutions.
Click through for story. The DU member who tipped me to this story commented that “Now might be a good time to learn the lessons those of us hyper-focused on Voting Rights learned – when Garland got Ms. Clarke over the finish line at DOJ as head of the Civil Rights Division. He hires, takes his hands off the leash, and releases his pit bulls.” He could well be correct. I hope so.
Food For Thought:
