Open Thread for November 16, 2021

 Posted by at 6:40 am  Open Thread, Personal, Politics
Nov 162021
 

Yesterday was another pretty quiet day. I’ll take all of those that I can get. Incidentally, as it is now a new week, maybe Nameless can get a tech out to look at his computer. I surely hope so. But it’s also the first workday after a holiday week, so it might not be today.

Cartoon –

Short Takes –

Crooks and Liars – The New Face Of The GOP?
Quote – So try to imagine what will happen if Rittenhouse is acquitted. Trump will issue a statement somehow taking credit for it. Fox News will fly Rittenhouse to New York for triumphant interviews. Social media will erupt with joy, as millions of conservatives cry “Suck it, libs!” He’ll appear on T-shirts and bumper stickers; maybe he’ll speak at the next Conservative Political Action Conference. And don’t be surprised if Trumpist candidates start seeking Rittenhouse’s endorsement and asking him to appear on the campaign trail with them.
Click through for more, including (paywalled) link to Washington Post. The only light I can see at the end of this tunnel is that George Zimmerman eventually got into enough non-political trouble to get dropped like a hot potato, and it’s probably safe to expect that to happen to Rittenhouse also (and maybe even his mother, God willing).

AP News – Workers at federal prisons are committing some of the crimes
Quote – More than 100 federal prison workers have been arrested, convicted or sentenced for crimes since the start of 2019, including a warden indicted for sexual abuse, an associate warden charged with murder, guards taking cash to smuggle drugs and weapons, and supervisors stealing property such as tires and tractors.
Click through for details. I’d file this under “No shit, Sherlock.” No prison is any better than its warden … and in 2019, the warden was Bill Barr (and before him, Jeff Sessions.) Not that that is an excuse, of course.

The 19th – The word missing from the vast majority of anti-trans legislation? Transgender
Quote – More anti-trans bills were introduced in state legislatures in 2021 than in any previous year on record. The 19th reviewed the text of 102 bills in seven states that were primarily designed to restrict access to sports or gender-affirming care for trans youth, like hormones and puberty blockers, and only seven bills mentioned the word “transgender.” Only eight passed, primarily those focused on sports, although legal battles in several states have barred most from going into effect.
Click through for story. Granted there are (probably) fewer transgendered people than just about any other minority group, there are certainly enough to account for a large (and disproportionate) number of suicide and murder victims. And no one is free until and unless we are all free.

Food for Thought –


Share

Video Thread 11/2/21

 Posted by at 11:27 am  Open Thread, Politics
Nov 022021
 

Glenn Kirschner – Email From Trump Team Lawyer John Eastman Further Proves Conspiracy to Overturn Election Results

Thom Hartmann – Why FDR Didn’t Expose The Business Man Coup SUCH a difference between Butler and Flynn!

Ring of Fire – Fox Host Gets Death Threats After Encouraging Audience To Get Vaccinated

Rebel HQ – Greg Abbott Reveals His Sick & Twisted Plan For Immigrants (Watch sitting down so you don’t get dizzy from the spin.)

Armageddon Update – They Aren’t Victims, They’re DEAD!

Yes, this is a commercial for Doritos – and yes, it has people grabbing hankies.
Nunca Es Tarde Para Ser Quien Eres (It’s never too late to be who you are)
VERY rough transcript translation: Grandma – My brother, how I miss you!
Family – gasps in surprise to see Albert
Albert – My family, how are you doing?
Father – Who is he?
Albert – He is Mario – my wunderful partner.
Grandma – It’s a miracle! I was afraid you would be alone forever!

Beau – Let’s talk about a Sputnik moment and it not being one….

Share

Video Thread 10/30/21

 Posted by at 12:13 pm  Open Thread, Politics
Oct 302021
 

Glenn Kirschner – Judge Beryl Howell Gives Voice to Our Frustration Regarding DOJ’s Handling of Insurrection Cases

Meidas Touch – Steve Schmidt issues DIRE warning: “The bad guys are winning”

Thom Hartmann – Jurors Have You Ever Listened To The Thom Hartmann Program? (Well, this is disturbing.)

RepresentUs – Gerrymandering Explained… With Pizza! (and this is just the beginning.)

Ring of Fire – Republicans Suddenly Worried That Embracing Conspiracy Theories Could Cost Them

Puppet Regime – Joe Biden’s Impossible Halloween Costume

Beau – Let’s talk about Levine, the first 4-star….

Share

Video Thread 10/18/2021

 Posted by at 11:59 am  Open Thread, Politics
Oct 182021
 

Glenn Kirschner – Congress Should Refer Bannon for Criminal Contempt AND Trump for a Contempt Conspiracy Investigation

Meidas Touch – Trump in Hiding

MSNBC – Velshi: ‘Sticks And Stones May Break Your Bones, But Words Do Real Damage’

CNN – ‘He should suffer the consequences’: Impeachment witness on Trump’s lies. So Nice to see LTC Vindman.

Amazing Rabbit Changes Man’s Mind About Animals – CHIEF BRODY

Beau – Let’s talk about public health at the border and inconsistency….

Share

Video Thread 10/15/2021

 Posted by at 12:06 pm  Open Thread, Politics
Oct 152021
 

Glenn Kirschner – Bannon to Appear Before Congress on 10/14. When he doesn’t show, Congress Should Use Contempt x 2

The Lincoln Project – Last Week in the Republican Party

MSNBC – Original Victims Of Havana Syndrome Reveal Identifies, Describe ‘Painful Symptoms’

Really American – I wanted to put this up yesterday, but it was age restricted. I hope that hasn’t happened again.

Liberal Redneck – Making Fun of Madison Cawthorn (Excerpt)

Lonely Baby Rhino Starts Wrestling With A Goat

Beau – Let’s talk about the new Superman and the supermad….

Share

Open Thread for September 19, 2021

 Posted by at 7:03 am  Open Thread, Personal, Politics
Sep 192021
 

Yesterday, I listened to the opera on the radio (an even more obscure one than last week) but mostly just got ready for my long day today… and by the time wou read this I was be on the road. Yes, I promise to drive safely.

Cartoon –

Short Takes –

Law & Crime – North Carolina Court Issues Permanent Injunction Against State’s Voter ID Law Because of ‘Discriminatory Purpose’ Against Black Residents
Quote – “The majority of this three-judge panel now concludes that the evidence presented to the Court, when viewed in the totality of circumstances, points to the conclusion that S.B. 824 was enacted in part for a discriminatory purpose and would not have been enacted in its current form but for its tendency to discriminate against African American voters,” the court concluded… “[T]his Court permanently enjoins the law in full,” the judges noted.
Click through for details and some background. You may already have seen this good news, but not in this much detai.

Reuters – Amid high security, small pro-Trump crowd rallies at U.S. Capitol
Quote – About 100 to 200 protesters showed up, some carrying the flags of the right-wing group Three Percenters over their shoulders. It was far fewer than the 700 people organizers had expected and the thousands who brought mayhem to the Capitol on Jan. 6. Hundreds of officers patrolled the Capitol grounds and a black eight-foot-high (2.44 m) fence that surrounded the white-domed building for about six months after the attack was reinstalled, reflecting unease about a potential repeat of Jan. 6. One hundred National Guard troops were on standby.
Click through for the story. I assume everyone knows this by now, butI still didn’t think it right to ignore it.

The Guardian – Jared Polis becomes first sitting governor to marry in same-sex wedding
Quote – “The greatest lesson we have learned over the past 18 months is that life as we know it can change in an instant. We are thankful for the health and wellbeing of our family and friends, and the opportunity to celebrate our life together as a married couple,” Polis and Reis said in a joint statement…. Reis told the Colorado Sun that Polis proposed last winter while the couple battled Covid-19 in their Boulder home. Right before Reis was hospitalized, Polis got down on one knee.
Click through for a bit more, including photo. Mazel tov, my governor. Mazel Tov. L’Chaim!

Food for Thought –

Share

Open Thread for September 15, 2021

 Posted by at 7:18 am  Open Thread, Personal, Politics
Sep 152021
 

Yesterday, I changed my mouse battery – twice – because the first “new” battery didn’t work. That may have been the high point of the day – which is fine with me!

Cartoon –

Short Takes –

The 19th – Texas is pushing the most anti-trans bills in the country. Advocates fear deadly consequences.
Quote – “We just have a fraction of the data and can see that we’re in crisis,” said Victoria Kirby York, deputy executive director of the National Black Justice Coalition. “It’s past epidemic, and these state legislatures are making things worse.” … As greater numbers of anti-trans bills have been introduced across more states within the last two years, more trans homicides have taken place in those states. Last year, 56 percent of trans homicides took place in states that attempted to pass anti-trans legislation, per a review of ACLU and Human Rights Campaign data by The 19th. Still, research proving any direct link between the deaths and the legislation is lacking.
Click through for story. There have always been trans people and I don’t remember it being an issue when I was a child or a teen or a twenty-something. I do remember Christine Jorgensen, however. (I don’t remember her getting death threats, though yes, she did get some harassment, but it wasn’t amplified, nor was it legitimized.)

The Hill – Five things to watch in the California recall election
They are – 1. What’s turnout like?
2. Does Democrats’ strategy pay off?
3. Were the polls right?
4. What does the result tell us about the state of politics in California and nationwide?
5. How does scrutiny affect Elder?
Click through for discussion of one or more. By the time you read this, it will be over (though mayme not couted.) Even those of us who don’t live there can learn from watching.

Wonkette – Anti-Maskers Try To Pull A January 6 On School Board, Swear Selves In As Replacements
Quote – Last week, a ragtag group of people who don’t even have children in California’s Poway Unified School District invaded a closed school board meeting, as part of a rally organized by dark money-funded astroturf group “Let Them Breathe,” and refused to leave. Police declined to force them out and instead suggested the school board adjourn the meeting instead. You know, for their own safety.
Click through. I’m not trying to terrify Colleen, especially on e recall election day, but this is all over the news and I can see why. These people have what a former boss of mine ised to refer to as “brass balls the size of church bells.”

Food for Thought –

Share
 Older Entries  Newer Entries