National Debt – Politics Plus

Open Thread June 27 2024

Posted by Joanne Dixon at 6:03 am Open Thread, Personal, Politics

Jun 272024

On Tuesday, Ukraine began official accession negotiations with the European Union. It’s nice to have some good news to offset what came out of the Supreme Court yesterday, and the ridiculous number of decisions not yet decided by the same. Also, I learned that Steve Schmidt has a wicked sense of humor, as is shown by his remarks about the Alan Shepard prayer.

I would think that Pete Buttigieg would be among the very last of white people to think that black lives – quality as well as quantity – don’t matter. I’d advise them to go directly to him. But I do realize that’s not as easy as it sounds.

Of course this is a concern, because bullies willalways look stronger to stupid people than they in fact are, and leaders with genuine inner strength will not look strong to stupid people. But if Joe just does what he did in the latest SOTU (and we know he can, bcause we watched him pull it off), people who are not brainwashed will get the point.

Open Thread January 26, 2023

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

Jan 262023

Yesterday, a couple of days of sleeping late and then falling into knitting rabbit hole had put me a bit behind. So I decided to try to get abit ahead instead. did go through February and figured out what days I will need new cartoons for (and one I think I can update) and picked subject matter. i didn’t actually make anything yet, except the update, which I wanted to finsh while it was fresh in my mond, but that is still a head start. And I still managed a little knitting. Also, yesterday was another good day to play Name Drop. I was fortunate enough to get it on the first clue, but I can’t imagine anyone in our generation NOT getting it before the last one.

Cartoon – I see I already poseted today’s yesterday. So, here is yesterday’s, today:

Short Takes –

Scientific American – Why Are White Men Stockpiling Guns?
Quote – The short, broad-brush answer to the first part of that question is this: men, who on average possess almost twice the number of guns female owners do. But not all men. Some groups of men are much more avid gun consumers than others. The American citizen most likely to own a gun is a white male—but not just any white guy. According to a growing number of scientific studies, the kind of man who stockpiles weapons or applies for a concealed-carry license meets a very specific profile.
Click through for description and some eye-opening stats.

Robert Reich – Five truths about the pending debt-ceiling fight that the mainstream media doesn’t want you to know
Quote – Truth #1: The fight is being waged solely by the Republican Party. The Democrats did not pick this fight. When Trump occupied the White House, Republicans voted to increase the debt limit three times without incident. Over the last quarter century, it has been raised over a dozen times. You wouldn’t know this from the way it’s being covered. Last Thursday’s [New York] Times, in an article titled “Months Before a Potential Crisis, Both Parties Kick Off a Fiscal Blame Game,” leads with the wildly false equivalence that:
Click through for more detail on #1 and for the other four. Bob is angry, and justly so.

Food For Thought

Open Thread January 23, 2023

Posted by Joanne Dixon at 7:02 am Open Thread, Personal, Politics

Jan 232023

Yesterday, I received an “extra” email from Steve Schmidt’s “The Warning” on Substack. This was far from the first in this category, but I funally have to say it publicly – Steve Schmidt is a sucker for woldlife. (Of course I’m cool with that, seeing as he only shoots with cameras.) Just a couple of days ago he shared some photos of ostriches. Actually, Heather Cox Richardson, Joyce Vance,and Robert Reich also use pictures, and it’s anyone’s guess what they’ll be of. Even as an unpaid, I get a feeling of getting to know them as human beings, just just as experts.

Cartoon – 23 Blackwell RTL

Short Takes –

Military dot com – 3 Active-Duty Marines Who Work in Intelligence Arrested for Alleged Participation in Jan. 6 Riot
Quote – The three Marines now join the other nine service members — active, reserve and National Guard — who have been arrested for alleged crimes stemming from Jan. 6. Two other men were booted from basic training as their investigations unfolded. According to the George Washington University’s Project on Extremism, out of the 940 defendants charged with crimes stemming from Jan. 6, 118, or 12%, have some form of military background.
Click through for story. Of course the concern here is who, if anyone, besides their superiors, has been getting information from them?

Snopes, via MSN – Was Nearly 25% of the US National Debt Incurred During Trump Administration?
Quote – An estimated $3.7 trillion of added debt during the Trump administration can be attributed to Covid-19 relief measures passed with bipartisan support. A series of tax cuts passed during the Trump administration has also added significantly to the national debt. Because the $7.8 trillion increase in the national debt incurred during the Trump Administration represents nearly 25% of the current $31 trillion national debt, the claim is “True.”
Click through for details. The answer to the question as asked is “yes.” Period. There are a few details sometimes added to the question which are shakier, but don’t get distracted. Republicans simply do not want to pay their own bills.

Food For Thought

Open Thread January 20, 2023

Posted by Joanne Dixon at 7:09 am Open Thread, Personal, Politics

Jan 202023

Yesterday, Weather Undergound advised me to maybe expect snow this evening, and maybe also a couple of days from now, during the night. I’m skeptical, but I’m also paying attention. Also, CPR reported that the judge to whom the Elijah McCain murder case is assigned has deemed there need to be three separate trials. Since there are five defendants, it will be interesting to see how that shakes out. Finally, the debt ceiling, but no deal, was reached. Axios has an article about emergency measures. (Did you know that the whole point of having a debt ceiling was to prevent this sort of thing happening?)

Cartoon –

Short Takes –

Robert Reich – Back to another horrible, hellish, horrendous, totally absurd battle over the debt ceiling
Quote – Congress could defuse this bomb by simply raising the debt limit, as it has dozens of times under presidents of both parties for decades. But the MAGA radicals now in control of the House of Representatives are refusing to raise the debt ceiling unless President Biden agrees to devastating cuts to Social Security, Medicare, and other key programs. I was involved in a similar fight over the debt ceiling fight twenty-eight years ago, which holds some lessons for what happens now.
Click through for full article. This is not a first rodeo for any of us.

Letters from an American – January 17, 2023
Quote – Today the bill for the elevation of Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) to House speaker began to come due. McCarthy promised the far-right members of his conference committee seats and far more power in Congress to persuade them to vote for him. Now they are collecting.
Click through for full letter. She covers multiple abuses, starting with committee assignments, but she does get around to the debt ceiling too.

Food For Thought

Video Thread 10/12/2021

Posted by Joanne Dixon at 12:25 pm Open Thread, Politics

Oct 122021

Glenn Kirschner – Trump’s Iowa Rally, DOJ’s Inaction & the Implications for the 2022 Midterm Elections

The Lincoln Project – Package Deal

Thom Hartmann – The National Debt Lie Debunked

Ring of Fire – Cyber Ninjas CEO Says No More Audits After Getting Death Threats From Trump Supporters

Really American – Bannon And Others Defy Subpoenas: LOCK THEM UP

If cryptocurrency was [sic] honest

Beau – Let’s talk about the jobs report, early unemployment, and wages…. exactly the same as Robert Reich, in slightly different words.

Video Thread for 8/13/21

Posted by Joanne Dixon at 12:15 pm Open Thread, Politics

Aug 132021

Glenn Kirschner – Part 2 of My Conversation w/Rep. Eric Swalwell: Is Accountability on the Horizon for Trump & Company (If anyone is a member of YouTube and wants to leave a suggestion in a coment there, – Adam Schiff. Val Demings. Jamie Raskin. Ted lieu. And of Course others. The delegate from USVI – is her name Stacie Plaskett?)

Christo Alvalis – Judge Calls Trump a DIRTY ROTTEN LIAR in Court

The Lincoln Project – Back to School

Now This News – Jen Psaki Takes on GOP Debt Ceiling Talking Points

This video was made for the Democrat running to unseat him. But that doesn’t mean it’s purely partisan. There’s good, strong evidence behind it.

Drew Morgan – Social Media Coach

Beau – Let’s talk about hurricanes and vaccines….

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