Money – Page 2 – Politics Plus

Open Thread June 17, 2023

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

Jun 172023

Yesterday, I scored 8 out of 8 correct on the Conversation’s weekly quiz (after a few weeks of 5s and 4s), but I can’t take that much credit. All of the wrong answers were generated by AI. In the graph at the end I was expeting to see a huge increase in the number of 8/8 scores – but, although there was some increase, the biggest increase was in 7/8. Now I wish I had looked more closely at the percentage who got each question right as I was going through. Not that that’s important – just curiosity. Also yesterday, the first major motion in the Trump** trial has been filed, and it is a protective order on the discovery. The attorneys for the defense have agreed to the motion. Solid details in the Video Thread in a Meidas Touch video (almost 9 minutes but all information.)

Cartoon – 17 0617Cartoon.jpg

Short Takes –

The Conversation – George Soros hands control over his family’s philanthropy to son Alex,…
Quote – As a sociologist who researches immigrants and minorities in Europe and conspiracy theories about them, I study how Soros became a scapegoat and bogeyman for nationalists and populists and a target of people who harbor and spread antisemitic beliefs. Baseless conspiracy theories have at times clouded his legacy as one of the world’s biggest donors to causes like higher education, human rights and the democratization of Europe’s formerly communist countries.
Click through for story. I’ve often thought how difficult it must have been for him to be constantly confronted with conspiract theories and anti-Semitic libels. I’m grateful his son is willing to carry on his work.

HuffPost – The GOP Throws A Fit Over The Pride Flag
Quote – Republicans are observing this year’s Pride Month with complaints about the rainbow flag being flown on federal properties, including at the White House. It’s another way the GOP is leaning into culture war issues that are animating its base amid broader efforts to restrict transgender rights nationwide…. “I don’t know if you know it, but simply looking at a Pride flag will not make you gay,” Rep. Mark Pocan (D-Wis.), who is gay, said at a hearing marking up the bill.
Click through for more. All this about “insulting veterans who died for the American flag.” Well, I’m a veteran, and I served with gay people who showed tremendous courage – who risked everything, including their lives, to have the honor of serving. People have died for the Pride flag too.

Food For Thought

Open Thread June 1, 2023

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

Jun 012023

Yesterday, I ended up having to go in to my doctor’s office after all to get his signature, and that of one of his staff to certify that she had seen my driver’s license and that I am really me. Unfortunately, she forgot to sign it. I tried one more email with just that page, but I didn’t get home and see it until after the office closed, so I won’t know until today whether I’ll need to go back.

Cartoon –

Short Takes –

Letters from an American – May 29, 2023
Quote – Beginning in 1943, the War Department published a series of pamphlets for U.S. Army personnel in the European theater of World War II. Titled Army Talks, the series was designed “to help [the personnel] become better-informed men and women and therefore better soldiers.” On March 24, 1945, the topic for the week was “FASCISM!”…. “The basic principles of democracy stand in the way of their desires; hence—democracy must go! Anyone who is not a member of their inner gang has to do what he’s told. They permit no civil liberties, no equality before the law.” “Fascism treats women as mere breeders. ‘Children, kitchen, and the church,’ was the Nazi slogan for women,” the pamphlet said.
Click through for more quotes, many highly prescient, and not a lot of take from Heather because the material speaks for itself.

Slate – The Urgent Warning That Got Cut From a Supreme Court Opinion 20 Years Ago
Quote – More than 20 years ago, then–Supreme Court Justice David Souter tried to warn that big money in politics risked turning United States officials into tools of an emerging “plutocracy.” We now know from recently released case files that Souter had to strike the language in his draft Supreme Court opinion in a 2000 campaign finance case, Nixon v. Shrink Missouri Government PAC, as the price to secure Justice Sandra Day O’Connor’s vote. It’s too bad, because Souter’s warning is one that American political leaders, including justices on the Supreme Court itself, needed to hear. That warning was never made and thus never heeded. Today, American plutocracy—from Congress to inside the walls of the court itself—is alive and well.
Click through for sad story. And here we are.

Food For Thought

Open Thread May 29, 2023

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

May 292023

Yesterday, I did a little work on cartoons for June (the operative word is “little” – but fortunately I don’t need that many.) I also discovered that i am apparently going to have to uninstall and reinstall my printer. First I have to find the CD. I’m pretty sure i know where it should be, but whether or not that’s where it actually is is another question. Also, I’ll have to disconnect it from the computer until I’m finished and then reconnect it, and neither end of the USB cord is exactly easy to reach. I’m wondering too whether I should use a new cord (or at least an unused one) and that would mean reaching both ends. Fortunately, having gotten my Auto ID card printed, I don’t need to print anything right away. Anyway, as i reported ysterday, there is a tentative debt ceiling deal, and I happened to come across two amusing money stories, so at least we can have a laugh or two.

Cartoon – 29 Sojourner Truth (and Memorial Day)

Short Takes –

AP News – Jan. 6 rioters are raking in thousands in donations. Now the US is coming after their haul
Quote – Dozens of defendants have set up online fundraising appeals for help with legal fees, and prosecutors acknowledge there’s nothing wrong with asking for help for attorney expenses. But the Justice Department has, in some cases, questioned where the money is really going because many of those charged have had government-funded legal representation. Most of the fundraising efforts appear on GiveSendGo, which bills itself as “The #1 Free Christian Fundraising Site” and has become a haven for Jan. 6 defendants barred from using mainstream crowdfunding sites, including GoFundMe, to raise money.
Click through for details, I believe it’s called “profiting from a crime,” and it’s a legal no-no. If, of course, they catch you and can prove it. If you brag about it, they probably can.

PolitiZoom – MAGA Moron Buys $2,200 in “Trump Bucks” is Surprised When Bank Won’t Exchange Them
Quote – Purchaser John Amman said “he bought $2,200 worth of Trump Bucks and other items over the past year only to learn that they were worthless when he tried to cash them in at a local bank.”… This writer has to commend you, John Amann, if I were to fall $2,200 dollars deep into such an obvious scam I could not confide my idiocy to family and friends, much less advertise it On Twitter for all to see:
Click through for story. I have no trouble believing it. They used actual imagery from actual money. Sure, they tarted it up to protect themselves against being charged with counterfeiting – but what MAGA would realize that?

Food For Thought

Video Thread 4/16/23

Posted by Joanne Dixon at 12:06 pm Open Thread, Politics

Apr 162023

Glenn Kirschner – Jack Smith expands criminal probe, investigates Trump’s wire fraud by fundraising off the big lie

Thom Hartmann – Will Nasty GOP Policy Starve Poor Americans?

Farron Balanced – Jim Jordan Abuses His Power By Attacking Colleges For Fighting Disinformation

Titus and Bradley – The George & Gracie Show: “The 2nd Amendment” (O, man, this takes me back.)

Girl Is Determined To Earn This Cat’s Love

Beau – Let’s talk about confusion, conflation, and currency…. (If you get the Crooks & Kiars newsletter, you’ve seen ads trying to scare you about this.)

Open Thread November 22, 2022

Posted by Joanne Dixon at 6:58 am Open Thread, Personal, Politics

Nov 222022

Yesterday, I tried to rest as much as possible.I did manage to get a prison email off the Virgil with some pictures of Joyce Vance’s chickens – and a couple of other pictures – that should lift his spirits when he gets it, although he will still be envious of anyone who can get close to silky chickens. No matter how well it goes, am always wiped out after any of my visits Of course, when I was in my teens and even my twenties, driving used to energize me. That has not been so for many years, and that’s probably a big part of it.

Cartoon –

Short Takes –

The Daily Beast – Republicans Lost the Races Where They Spent the Most
Quote – The Daily Beast reviewed the most expensive House and Senate races in the country, and found that, with a few exceptions, Republican candidates were on the losing end. Republicans lost three of the five most expensive Senate races, per CRP data, with Democrats clinching the top three—Pennsylvania, Georgia, and Arizona. (The Georgia contest, where Sen. Raphael Warnock received the most votes, is headed to a runoff.) While Republicans [won] a slim majority in the House—far below their expectations—Democrats took all five of the most expensive races, according to CRP data.
I’ve never believed that money won elections. Granted that it doesn’t hurt, elections are decided by human beings, and, unless you are paing them directly for their votes, you can’t buy their support with campaign money. Good candidates, creatively promoted, and short, catchy, accurate slogans (“In January, I’ll be better. He will still be a con man”) work better. Some money is needed in order to maximize communication – but after a certain point, the law of diminishing returns hits.

Crooka and Liars – City Of Brotherly Love Welcomes Immigrants That Texas Governor Dumped
Quote – [On the] morning [of November 16], despite earlier denials that this was indeed his plan, Greg Abbott, the wizened little nominal governor of Texas, dropped a busload of immigrants in my city…. “The bus was sent by Gov. Greg Abbott in what he said was an effort to bring the challenges of the border to northern cities. Immigration advocates in Philadelphia called the bus ride a cruel trick played on innocent people who are legally in the United States.”
Click through for story. Susie Madrak has some words for Abbott and other Republicans. Does anyone thnk that Abbott and DeSanctimonious will ever get a clue, no matter how often and how dramatically their cruel stunts backfire?

Colorado Encyclopedia – Amendment 2
Quote – Amendment 2 was a ballot initiative passed by Colorado voters in 1992 that prohibited the state from enacting antidiscrimination protections for gays, lesbians, and bisexuals…. Passage of the controversial amendment set the stage for a national debate over the rights of gays, lesbians, and bisexuals, while the ensuing legal struggle was the first legal case affecting homosexuals to reach the United States Supreme Court. The Supreme Court eventually declared the amendment unconstitutional, setting a precedent for the current struggle for LGBT rights in the United States.
Click through for complete history. The Q-Club massagre immediately beought me back to 1992 (although I had to look up the year.) This horrendous vote showcases the worst of our state – and a past the Supreme Court would live to bring us back to. I believe we are better than that, and offer as evidence the fact that we just RE-elected an openly gay governor. But here, and alas world wide, the struggle is far from over.

Food For Thought

Open Thread October 5, 2022

Posted by Joanne Dixon at 6:47 am Open Thread, Personal, Politics

Oct 052022

Yesterday, at roughly 1:41 a.m. her time, Heather Cox Richardson sent out her daily email for Monday, and when I got up I read it. She touched on a wide variety of topics, of which possibily the most unnerving was Moore v. Harper and the “independent state legislature” doctrine. If this case is wrongly decided, we can kiss democracy goodbye- that’s assuming we can ever get close enough to it to kiss it. I know I’m sarting to sound like the proverbial broken record, but I admit I am afraid.

Cartoon –

Short Takes –

Crooks & Liars – Offshore Tax Havens Move On Shore
Quote – Research published Wednesday details how a handful of U.S. states that are “subservient to the trust industry” are helping oligarchs and money launderers from around the globe evade taxes and hide their wealth within the nation’s borders…. “The concept of the ‘offshore’ tax haven has very much washed ashore,” says the report, which exposes how 13 U.S. states “shield the fortunes of the world’s richest people.”
Click through for details, including which states. I knew that a fw states’ laws were more favorable to credit card companies, which is why ao many are incorporated in South Dakota and Delaware, but I didn’t know about this. I’m surprised, actually – not at the states’ greed, but at the blind faith of the billionaires. Should a Republican win the Presidency in 2024, it will all be confiscated.

The Warning – Media corruption at the “paper of record”
Quote – His name is Donald John Trump from Queens. He has a “psychiatrist.” Her name is Maggie Haberman. She is the lead Trump reporter for The New York Times, and has become, like him, a singular totem of corruption. The corruption of the American media has fueled the extremist movement that threatens the republic as the journalistic ethic forged by Ed Murrow, Fred Friendly, Dorothy Thompson, Walter Cronkite and a generation of truth seekers gave way to a generation of information profiteers. The money that flows from anger, division, confusion and insanity can be counted in the tens of billions of dollars. That is the business of much of the American media. It is certainly Maggie Haberman’s business.
Click through for story. There will be a pop-up to subscribe – just click on “Let me read it first.” He certainly nails Maggie.

Food For Thought

Open Thread for December 18, 2021

Posted by Joanne Dixon at 6:53 am Open Thread, Personal, Politics

Dec 182021

Yesterday, I got my electronic Christmas cards selected, the rough drafts edited, all the addresses in a row like my ducks, and scheduled to be sent. Whew. Is that ever a relief!

Cartoon –

Short Takes

Wonkette – Manhattan DA Meeting All Donald Trump’s Favorite Accountants And Bankers!
Quote – And then there’s Rosemary Vrablic. Remember her? She was the banker who handled allllllll Trump’s shit at Deutsche Bank, which has reportedly been cooperating with the investigation since last year, when it was basically the only large bank in the entire world that was strangely willing to touch Trump with a ten-foot pole. (She’s since left the company.) The Post says Vrablic didn’t talk to the grand jury, but rather to prosecutors. They add that folks like these who weren’t employees — you know, like the indicted Allen Weisselberg — but rather who were, like, the point person for Trump in companies he dealt with, were people who “knew more about his company’s inner workings than many employees did.”
Click through to an article filled with suggestive tidbits. I don’t want to get hopes too high too fast … but this is good.

Robert Reich – Why I don’t trust the mainstream media
Quote – I’m often asked how I keep up with the news. Obviously, I avoid the unhinged rightwing outlets pushing misinformation, disinformation, and poisonous lies. But I’ve also grown a bit wary of the mainstream media –- the New York Times, Washington Post, CNN, and other dominant outlets — not because they peddle “fake news” (their reporting is usually first-rate) but because of three more subtle biases.
Click through to see how a pro does it. It’s not as hard as you might think.

AP News – Forbes editor says he testified before Trump grand jury
Quote – Lane said he was questioned for about 20 minutes by Mark Pomerantz, a former mafia prosecutor assisting in the probe, and was asked to confirm various things, including the methodology of the magazine’s list of richest Americans and Trump’s statements in the article that “I look better if I’m worth $10 billion than if I’m worth $4 billion” and that a higher net worth “was good for financing.”
Click through for more. This article didn’t mention it, but, as Wonkette pointed out, those who testify before Grand Juries in New York are granted immunity.

Food For Thought: