Music – Page 21 – Politics Plus

Open Thread March 24, 2023

Posted by Joanne Dixon at 7:13 am Open Thread, Personal, Politics

Mar 242023

Yesterday, there was a very odd story out of Russia – first a bit of background: “eternal flames” are not unknown here, but apparently in Russia there are a gazillion of them, relics of the Soviet era. In a town in the Moscow region but not Moscow, a fifth-grade boy apparently had had enough of the one there, and literally estinguished it. Using a fire extinguisher of the type that are required in cars there), he didn’t spray it (which would not have worked) but tossed it into the flame. An explosion ensued and the flame was gone. I guess there are bunches of dissatisfied people just about everywhere, and some will go to ridiculous lengths to make it known.)

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Short Takes –

Crooks and Liars – Dark Money Groups Sue To Remain Anonymous
Quote – At the heart of the lawsuit is the argument that anonymous political speech is protected by the First Amendment. Terry Goddard, a former Arizona attorney general and the driving force behind the Voters’ Right to Know Act, said the arguments against disclosure aren’t new — and have been rejected by courts.
Click through. Because of course they do. If you were pouring money into taking away other people’s money so you could kep more of yours (and keep getting more), you’d not want anyone to know who you are either.

ABC News – What is gender dysphoria and what does transgender youth care consist of?
Quote – Across the country, Republican lawmakers have introduced legislation that restricts transgender health care for minors. At least eight states have passed laws or policies restricting this care, and 23 more state legislatures are considering similar legislation of their own. Medical experts say that understanding transgender identities, gender dysphoria and how gender-affirming treatments work is key to understanding the impact these bans may have on patients.
Click through for details. I’m counting this as a women’s history month article. That’s because I have a theory that LGBTQIA+ phobia ia all based in misogyny. Anything other than straight male is othered. (And if we could eliminate all fear of LGBTQIA+, misogyny would remain.) But we must keep trying. All of us.

CPR – The beloved musical ‘1776’ is coming to Denver, and its cast is as diverse as the Second Continental Congress was not
Quote – A reimagined take on a Broadway classic is coming to Denver, and it’s challenging audiences to think about our country — who we are and why — with a new perspective…. When it premiered on Broadway in 1969, the musical “1776” won three Tony Awards, including Best Musical. This iteration of the musical still depicts the Second Continental Congress meeting in the summer of 1776 to write the Declaration of Independence. But, this new production — by directors Jeffrey L. Page and Diane Paulus — features a diverse cast reflecting many representations of race, gender, and ethnicity. That is to say, it’s not all white guys.
Click through – in a way this is fluff – which is why I made it an extra – but I bring it up not because it’s Denver, or because it’s a musical I love, but because of the inclusivity.

Food For Thought
(I wish this were actually from Campbell’s. But “Customer Service” ia a private account, a person or geoup that loves returning the finger to those who give it to “woke” products.)

Video Thread 3/21/2023

Posted by Joanne Dixon at 11:55 am Open Thread, Politics

Mar 212023

Glenn Kirschner – Trump posts about his arrest, urges protest; NY DA Bragg reassures his employees of their safety

The Lincoln Project – Victory

Farron Balanced – Trump’s Lawyer Says Trump Isn’t Lying, He’s Just Not Telling The Truth

Parody Project – WHITER SHADE OF FAIL (Totally useless information – “Procul Harum” is actual Latin for “At a distance [from] these [females])

Dog Scared Of Kittens Becomes Proudest Foster Mom

Beau – Let’s talk about Russia recovering it….

Open Thread March 20, 2023

Posted by Joanne Dixon at 10:51 am Open Thread, Personal, Politics

Mar 202023

Yesterday, I managed to get the weekly email out before sunset, and was able to slow down a little and saw a headline in the ProPublica newsletter of a follow-up to the story of the teens who don’t want to be sent back to their abusive father. Under pressure from public opinion and a couple of prosecutors, the judge has (at least temporarily) vacated his order, and the kids will be able to see the light of day while this is being hashed out. It’s not a total victory, but it is a cease-fire and allows them to breathe.

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Crooks and Liars – Jack Smith Subpoenas The Maids At Mar A Lago
Quote – That includes Mar-a-Lago staff like a housekeeper and restaurant servers, as well as Trump political aides like Margo Martin, who was a press assistant in the White House and then stayed with Trump as he relocated to Florida after leaving office. The prosecutors, led by special counsel Jack Smith, are “casting an extremely wide net—anyone and everyone who might have seen something,” an unnamed source told CNN.
Click through for details. This takes me back to Agatha Christie and other detective novels featuring the British upper class. I don’t know why, but it appears to be unsurmountably difficult, not just in fiction, but IRL, for the wealthy to grasp that nothing is secret from the help.

Civil Discourse – Courage
Quote – After all of the speculation over whether there might be some type of standoff at Mar-a-Lago if charges are filed against Trump, we get this quiet concession from the lawyers. It’s an early acknowledgment that Trump isn’t above the law in these anticipated proceedings. He will have to follow “normal procedures” just like anyone else who is charged with a crime. Of course, he will be doing it with a Secret Service agent at his side. The agent will presumably go through all of the booking procedures with him and accompany him in court. That’s a good reminder that we are in uncharted territory from here on out, but unprecedented doesn’t mean the procedural rules don’t apply to Trump. It’s a good sign that his lawyers have been forced to concede that before charges are even filed.
Click through for full article. Of course I can’t possibly track the entire internet and every newspaper in the country – but, to my knowledge, Joyce Vance is the only attorney to publish a matter-of-fact description of what may be expected if and when. I think it’s worth sandwiching in.

The 19th News – The radio divide: How airplay reinforces the gender gap in country music
Quote – The year 2015 was especially emblematic, [Jada Watson,… the principal investigator of the SongData project,] noted, with Gary Overton, then the chief executive of Sony Nashville, saying, “If you’re not on country radio, you don’t exist.” After that came “Tomato-gate,” when radio consultant Keith Hill told an industry publication, “If you want to make ratings in country radio, take females out,” before going on to compare women artists in country to the tomatoes, not the lettuce, of the salad of country radio. These remarks were “pretty indicative of how the industry mainstream works,” Watson said of country radio in the years following the fallout surrounding The Chicks. “If you’re not a White, cisgendered, heterosexual, able-bodied male, you’re not on air and you’re not on the radio and so you don’t exist within that space. There are multiple barriers to access to [the country music industry] and the biggest one is radio.”
Click through for analysis. I don’t hate country music, but am not a huge fan. I do, however, highly appreciate many of its performers, past and present, who understand what love of country means – and act accordingly. To name just a few, Woody Guthrie, Willie Nelson, Dolly Parton, Brad Paisley. It’s the fans who are shallow, not the genre.

Food For Thought

Open Thread March 19, 2023

Posted by Joanne Dixon at 6:55 am Open Thread, Personal, Politics

Mar 192023

Yesterday, the radio opera was Richard Wagner’s “Lohengrin,” which is a sequel to his prior opera, “Parsifal.” Parsifal is identified with Sir Percival of the Round Table and both names are associated with the Holy Grail. Neither of these two operas is racist, but both are misogynistic to a degree. But anyone who can handle the misogyny in Disney, and the story of Cupid and Psyche, can probably handle these. While the Met was free streaming during the pandemic, I watched a production of it, and it had no trouble holding my attention. I was about to type “It has a bittersweet ending,” and I stopped to think, and the fact is most of Wagner’s operas do not have the kind of catastrophic endings for which opera is famous. If his are not exactly gleeful, at the very least they are triumphant. Even the end of the Ring cycle, with Siegfried murdered and Brunnhilde dies along with her horse in his funeral pyre, and the day of the gods is over, the balance of nature is restored when the Rhine maidens get their god back and the age of humans begins. I would not call that a total loss. I wonder whether that was one reason he didn’t want them called “operas” but “music dramas.” Anyway, the story – Elsa is accused of murdering her little brother after their father died, making the brother the Duke of Brabant. This was in the 12th century, when the custom was trial by combat, and Elsa has no one to fight for her until this dude shows up, in a boat powered by a swan, and says he will fight for her and marry her, but she must never ask his name. He wins, and spares the life of the other guy (not really a mistake as the real villain is that guy’s wife) and marries Elsa. That other dude’s wife (whose name is Ortrud) works on here like Fox News and gets her to ask his name. Just at that moment the guy who lost the combat breaks in and the anonymous groom kills him in self defense. He then calls a town hall, explains he must now leave, reveals his name (Lohengrin) and that he is the son of Parsifal, and denounces Ortrud. Ortrud is all “Durned right I’m a witch, and I did all that and also turned the Duke into a swan.” At this point he goes over to his swan, kneels, and prays, and the swan turns into Elsa’s brother, very much alive. Ortrud is outgunned. Lohengrin still has to leave, though – the knoghts of the Grail lose their powers when they cease to be anonymous – but it is certainly a happy ending for the people of Brabant who get their rightful Duke back, and Elsa loses her husband but gets her brother back, and no one gets killed but the bad dude.

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Mother Jones – “This Was My Baby”: The Family of Black Man Killed By Cops While Experiencing Mental Crisis Speaks Out
Quote – According to [the family’s attorney, Mark] Krudys, the video at Central State Hospital shows Otieno seated on a chair at one point and then lying on his stomach on the ground, however it’s unclear whether or not he got there on his volition. For nearly 12 minutes, Krudys said all seven officers were on top of him, ultimately asphyxiating him. Virginia State Police weren’t notified about his death until three hours after the fact, according to [Prosecutor Ann] Baskervill.
Click through for story. It didn’t take very long to send the case of the seven officers to a grand jury, nor to charge three of the hospital staff. This is a case which is likely to get a lot of national attention.

The 19th – Toni Morrison is the face of the new Forever stamp from the U.S. Postal Service
Quote – Morrison is the newest face of the Forever stamp from the United States Postal Service. Set against a gold background, a photo of the “Beloved” author with a cherry-red smile, thick gray locs and silver orb earrings graces the stamp revealed last week at a Princeton University ceremony attended by her son Ford Morrison and other relatives. A faculty member from 1989 to 2006, Morrison was the Robert F. Goheen professor in the humanities at Princeton and part of the university’s creative writing program. Each year, the Postal Service chooses up to 30 people to feature on a stamp, selecting them from a list of 30,000 individuals recommended by the public. Morrison made the cut because of her “extraordinary and enduring contributions to American society,” a Postal Service spokesperson said in a statement.
Click through for more. I have used the stamp as today’s FFT. It won’t actually have the black line through “Forever” – that’s to prevent counterfeiting.

Food For Thought

Video Thread 3/17/2023

Posted by Joanne Dixon at 11:43 am Open Thread, Politics

Mar 172023

Glenn Kirschner – Georgia grand jurors say what’s coming Trump’s way, “Is gonna be MASSIVE!”

PoliticsGirl – To My Fellow Democrats… (And may I just say AMEN!?)

Ring of Fire – Capitol Rioter In Trouble After Lying To Prosecutors To Attend CPAC (You can stop @ 4:00)

Randy Rainbow – Life’s a F***ing Fantasy for Santos

Cat Does The Funniest Thing When His Parents Get Him A New Brother

Beau – Let’s talk about DOJ looking at specialized police teams….

Open Thread March 12, 2023

Posted by Joanne Dixon at 7:00 am Open Thread, Personal, Politics

Mar 122023

Yesterday, the radio opera was Verdi’s “La Traviata,” an opera which I have never gotten tired of yet. Based on “La Dame aux Camélias” by Alexandre Dumas fils, first as a novel, then as a play (the play in English speaking countries is usually referred to as “Camille” – ironic because in French speaking countries “Camille” is a man’s name). The Greta Garbo movie was called “Camille.” Neither the play nor the opera was performed as being contemporary when they were new (the mid-nineteenth century), being considered too scandalous. They were often set in the 18th century. An Art Nouveau (gilded age) poster survives which shows Sarah Bernhardt as Marguerite (Violetta in the opera) in gilded age dress. In the 2000’s a German director, Willy Decker, staging it for an Austrian music festival, created a production in which the stage was very minimalistic, Violetta wore a sleeveless, full skirted (just about to the knee) red dress and red spiked heels, and literally everyone else wore modern male clothing, including the women, except one dude in the third scene who showed up in drag in a mockery of her dress, emotionally kicking her when she’s down. Her doctor, who only sings in the final scene, has mute business at different points throughout, including during the prelude, often conected with the huge clock face which dominates all the scenes except the one where she enjoys her brief happiness – because in addition to being her doctor he also represents the death which is inevitable for her, always hanging over her. People either love it or hate it, and I kind of did both. I hated the isolated scenes I saw of it first, but when I was able to see the whole thing – now I don’t think I want to see it any other way. (But I can still listen to it.) Here’s a review of the Decker production when it first came to the Met, if anyone cares. It is no longer being used at the Met, which has gone all the way back to the 18th century for now. Also in the broadcast was an interview with the general manager about the plans for next year, and there will be 4 Late 20th or 21st century operas never before presented at the Met, plus two more repeated from the last two seasons. Opening night will be “Dead Man Walking.” We won’t hear it then, because the radio season doesn’t start till over a month after the house opens, but I hope and trust we will hear it sometime – and hopefully all the others too.

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Daily Beast – She Used a DNA Test to Identify Her Dad—and Her Mom’s Rapist
Quote – Cruz eventually sought help from [her attorney, Susan] Crumiller, a well-known legal advocate for sexual abuse survivors. They worked together to devise a legal strategy that would reopen the statute of limitations and allow them to seek justice. Then, in May of last year, New York passed the Adult Survivor’s Act, which opened a one-year “lookback window” for complaints of sexual abuse that were past the statute of limitations—complaints just like Cruz’s…. “My mother has had a hard life, and I hope this lawsuit will help her get the care that she deserves after OPWDD failed to protect her from her attacker 37 years ago,” she said in a statement.
Click through for story. The motto of the Daily Beast is “Truth is a beast” – and this story certainly demonstrates that.

Raw Story – Election denier Tina Peters found guilty — and could be going to jail
Quote – Peters, a pro-Trump conspiracy theorist, is best known for being indicted last year on completely separate charges of election tampering and misconduct, after she allegedly breached voting equipment to try to prove the 2020 presidential election was stolen. While her case was underway, she ran for Secretary of State of Colorado, and lost the GOP primary. She then had another arrest warrant issued against her after allegedly violating the terms of a protective order by contacting her former Mesa County office to demand a recount of that election.
Click through for details. As far as I know she’s no DNA relation to Lauren Boebert, but they are certainly two of a kind – the law doesn’t apply to them – just ask them.

Food For Thought