Jul 052023
 

Glenn Kirschner – Biden says world leaders ask him why Trump has not been held accountable for Jan. 6 insurrection

The Lincoln Project – Raging Ron

Thom Hartmann – Unmasking the Ring Leader: Is Mark Meadows Pulling the Strings Behind the Scenes?

Parody Project – Happy Happy 4th of July (CC by creators, and full lyrics here )

The Tiniest Puppy Grows Up Wrestling With His Cat Foster Brother

Beau – Let’s talk about Kremlin games and generals….

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Jul 042023
 

In lieu of Glenn’s June recap – not a lwayer, but a legal discussion.
MSNBC – Ending affirmative action: the result of a 50-year Republican passion project

The Lincoln Project – Other Than His Crimes

CBS – Man arrested near Obama’s D.C. home for alleged threats

Parody Project – Fourth of July Special – A New Verse for the National Anthem

Foster Dog Refuses To Leave Her Crate For Weeks

Beau – Let’s talk about Trump, Smith, and a pair of Queens….

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Jul 022023
 

Yesterday, the radio opera was “Nixon in China” by John Adams.I’ve heard and/or seen it several times, although always in the same production (original cast). This production was from the Bastille Opera in Paris, and a totally different cast, including Renee Fleming and a baritone, Thomas Hampson, equally well known among opera lovers, but I think not so much outside opera. During the week, the opera came into my mind from time to time, and it occurred to me that we tend to put plays and operas into the pigeonholes of comedy, drama (tragedy), and history, as Shakespeare’s plays are categorized. One would naturally call this one a history, but, although it’s all three to some extent, I suspect eventually it will come to be seen as a comedy. The only character who is not mocked (and mocked in the most effective way – through his or her own words and actions) is Zhou Enlai. Kissinger in particular is pilloried in the second half through the mechanism of Madame Mao putting on a ballet and casting the villain as a dancer who looks like him (played by the same singer who sings the “real” Kissinger.) But there’s comedy all through, some gentle, some less so. In the meeting with Mao, Zhou, Nixon and Kissinger, three of them are attempting actual diplomacy, but Mao is telling philosophical jokes, causing Nixon and Kissinger in particular to become very confused (this, by the way, is how the real life meeting actually went, as a former aide of Nixon’s has confirmed. But it’s a hoot.) Pat is shown getting so:into: the ballet I mentioned that she leaves her seat to offer aid to the suffering heroine, which is sweet, but also humorous. And the foxtrot called “The Chairman Dances,” which was cut from the opera but has become an often-played concert piece, would have been a monumental joke in that context. Of course, it’s only been 51 years since the actual events happened, and many of us remember them as serious historical events. But within another fifty years, I suspect it will be perceived as a comedy – or at the very least as historical comedy.

Cartoon –

Short Takes –

Crooks and Liars – TX Gov. Greg Abbott Signs ‘Death Star’ Bill Overriding Local Laws
Quote – These are among dozens of local policies that could be targeted by a sweeping new Texas law that limits the power of cities to make their own rules. The unprecedented legislation, which was signed by Governor Greg Abbott, prohibits cities from enforcing or creating regulations that are stronger than the state’s in broad policy areas including labor, finance, agriculture, occupations, property and natural resources.
Click through. I am not trying to beat up on Texas here. There doesn’t need to be any more od that. I just want to note howlike the SCOTUS this is – bigots at the top requiring people under them to perform acts of cruelty. This whole mindset just has to go.

I don’t have a link for these few paragraphs from The New Yorker. They appeared in an email which did link to four articles on the subject. But I wanted to share this general overview instead, so, figuring emails are fair game, here it is:

Wielding a version of the controversial “major questions doctrine,” which it has used to neuter the Environmental Protection Agency and other federal bodies, the conservative-dominated Supreme Court tossed out the Biden Administration’s student-loan forgiveness plan today. In a decision written by Chief Justice John Roberts, the Court ruled that the Administration exceeded its authority in introducing the $430 billion program under a post-9/11 law that granted the Secretary of Education the power to modify student-loan programs during a national emergency.

The ruling raises many legal, financial, and political questions. Most immediately, it means that millions of Americans, many of them on low or modest incomes, who were expecting to get their student loans partially or wholly wiped out may now have to repay them in full. And the ruling comes just weeks before the pandemic-related pause in student-loan payments is due to come to an end, on September 1st.

While some conservatives may celebrate the sight of the Supreme Court swinging its wrecking ball at another Democratic program, today’s ruling does nothing to resolve the underlying affordability problem that gave rise to the Biden initiative—indeed, it only makes it starker. With tuition costs rising inexorably, the loan-based American system of financing higher education is broken. By pushing the burden of rising costs onto private borrowers, the system “regularly offers loans to students knowing full well that they will never be able to repay those loans, at institutions and programs where students rarely complete a degree; at low-quality institutions, online programs, or certain degrees that provide little value in the job market and no boost to earnings,” Adam Looney, a professor of finance at the University of Utah, noted in congressional testimony earlier this year. A similarly perverse logic also applies, Looney noted, “at élite master’s and professional-degree programs, where the quality of education is strong but where the tuition charged is simply too high.”

Fixing these problems would require concerted action over a long period from the executive branch, Congress, states, and educational institutions. Of course, this isn’t likely to happen. After today’s decision, the problem will just get worse.

Food For Thought

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Jun 302023
 

Glenn Kirschner – Trump NOW claims he LIED about having classified document. Here’s why the “bravado” dog won’t hunt

Thom Hartmann – Right Wing Billionaires Are Slapping SCOTUS in Golden Handcuffs – No Shades of Grey Here..

MSNBC – Neal Katyal’s ‘unforgettable’ argument prevails in SCOTUS case crucial to democracy

Parody Project – Sixteen Tums

Twitter – Flying Squirrel fakes own death, creates crime scene

Beau – Let’s talk about Putin, Pulp Fiction, and pieces of information….

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Jun 292023
 

Glenn Kirschner – Trump lashes out at Jack Smith’s understanding of the law. Here’s why Trump is yelling into the void

PoliticsGirl – What we can Learn from the Titan Sub Tragedy

The Lincoln Project – Same Case

Randy Rainbow for President! (2023-2024 Tour Announcement)

Cat Hides From Her Foster Mom For A Year — Then She Does This

Beau – Let’s talk about Biden, the rails, and sick days….

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Jun 282023
 

Glenn Kirschner – Trump audio recording REVEALED; proves his classified documents crimes AND his declassification lie

The Lincoln Project – When Dems Fight: Ted Lieu

Farron Balanced – Republican House Speaker Held Orgies With People Seeking Political Favors

Rocky Mountain Mike – Runaway Coup (Parody of “Runaround Sue” by Dion)

Training Dogs in Prison Changed This Man’s Life

Beau – Let’s talk about learning from ERCOT’s advice….

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Jun 252023
 

Glenn Kirschner – Jack Smith continues to investigate Trump on all fronts; puts Republican fake electors in grand jury

PoliticsGirl – Hunter Biden Plea Deal

The Lincoln Project – The Best People

Randy Rainbow – Donald in the John With Boxes

These Senior Cats Fell In Love During Retirement

Beau – Let’s talk about Hunter Biden’s charges….

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Jun 252023
 

Yesterday, the radio opera (again from Vienna) was Richard Strauss’s “Salome.” The libretto is a translation of the play by Oscar Wilde. if you know the Bible story, you know it’s pretty twisted – and more so in the play – and still more so in the music. John the Baptist, who was the good guy in the Bible story, is depicted as a fire-breathing judgmental pseudo-Christian. He does have has some excuse since Herod, Herodias, and Salome are all depicted as spolied, entitled, and perverted billionaires. The only decent person in it is poor Narraboth, a guard who has as much of a crush on Salome as Herod does, but not the means to even get her to notice him. So why is it still popular, after all this time? I would say, because sometimes people need to look, really look, at evil and depravity, and these great artists do not make it exactly palatable, but they do make it possible. It’s not pretty, because it’s not meant to be. Strauss’s “Elektra,” based on one of the plays in the Oresteia (IIRC the second of the three) is similar in tone and succeeds for the same reasons. After those two, he lightened up some. But he never stopped having things to say about people which are not easy to admit.  ALso yessterday, things started to get pretty wild in Russia.   There are too many open possibilities for me to start going into it now.  But if you see something about Russa onsources which are good at breaking news, like AP News the Guardian, NBC (justa few), you might want to pay attention.  And if you see or hear anythig about “Swan Lake,” you difinitely want to pay attention.

Cartoon –

Short Takes –

PolitiZoom – GOP ‘Weaponization’ Outrage Due To 3 Words NOT In Title 18 (Federal Crimes)
Quote – Th[e]se three words aren’t in any criminal statute listed in Title 18 of the U.S. Code. As a result conservative’s knickers are in a twist (more like an atomic wedgie) so they have been and will continue to flood public discourse including the news with louder and crazier claims of Democrats “Weaponizing” government. The mashup of irony and hypocrisy is stunning in and of itself and countess things have been written and said about it that include examples of Republicans having done so so often in the past against Democrats. I won’t rehash it here. Instead, since this is about laws, specifically crimes and federal law I want to as actual lawyers would say keep “on point.” And the point is sharp – federal criminal statues don’t include the words “Except for Republicans.”
Click through for story. i almost said “opinion” – but it’s an opinion well founded in facts.

KRCC* – ‘Why are we having to beg?’ Group of Club Q survivors renew call for Colorado Healing Fund to release money
Quote – Some survivors of the attack on Club Q say they are still pleading for funds raised in their name seven months after the deadly shooting. At a press conference Tuesday in front of Colorado Springs City Hall, a small group called on the Colorado Healing Fund (CHF) to release the remaining dollars in its possession. Jerecho Loveall [for example] was shot in the leg at Club Q. He says he lost his job in February when he had a breakdown after trying to work while still coping with his physical and mental injuries. Loveall says he’s had to submit receipts to organizations that channel money from the healing fund for bills and groceries, sometimes waiting weeks for a reimbursement check to come in to feed his three children.
Click through for details. *KRCC is the radio station at Colorado College, a private college in Colorado Springs. The station has been accepted under the umbrella of CPR (which in turn is under the umbrella of NPR) and is editorially independent of the College, so it can break stories like this.

HuffPost – The Dobbs Decision Unleashed An Unapologetic Abortion Rights Movement
Quote – The last year has been devastating for abortion rights in the U.S. since the Supreme Court repealed nearly 50 years of precedent in the Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization ruling. The suffering that Dobbs has brought is hard to comprehend on a national scale. But from something so terrible, so unthinkable, came a full-blown resistance that centered abortion rights in the national conversation.
Click though for details. I see it too – I see it in smaller, more private ways, but I agree it is real.

Food For Thought

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