Open Thread February 3 2025

 Posted by at 6:06 am  Open Thread, Personal, Politics
Feb 032025
 

I’ve been sitting a few days on proposing a new word to describe the government this administration is doing its best to impose. It isn’t meritocracy – no one involved has the least bit of merit. Oligarchy is closer, but isn’t specific enough. I propose we call it leucandrocracy – rule by white males. Both racism and misogyny are openly vital elements of it, and this term reflects both. Sure, it’s the oligarchs who are being given official government roles. But without the support of white men with grievances, white men terrified of people of color and people of any gender identity other than theirs – whose fear has been transformed into rage, and the rage into hatred, the oligarchs would not be where they are. Perhaps Black History Month – for those of us who celebrate it, could be an opportunity to push this.

Robyn with Wonkette‘s headline asks one heck of a good question here. Another question might be, with ideas like theirs, are they actually even human, or are they demons in human form? She provides a trigger warning for one paragraph and rightly so.

In 1944, the CIA created a written guide for, among others, civilians in occupied territory whose sympathies were with our side – a manual on how to use little sabotages to weaken the Nazis (or other axis powers). This manual has recently gone viral. I checked three sites from which anyone who wants a copy can download it. It’s not very long, especially for a government publication. The one direct from the CIA is a 12-page pdf but most “pages” contain 2 pages of text. The one at Internet Archive is the same. Project Gutenberg is the one which gives you choices on how you want it to look, including Kindle. I generally go for plaintext to a “Notepad” file and then, if I want to keep it, into Word and play with the font and font sizes until I like the way it looks, but you do you.

As much as I would prefer to focus on Black History this month, this from Joyce Vance (and other sources) cannot be ignored. Not the actions of the Apricot Antichrist himself so much as the lack of outrage in response. I realize decent people are exhausted – I am too – but this is no time to sit on our hands. It was only huge public outrage which caused the rescission of the OMB freeze memo, and even then, it was only the memo, not the executive order behind it. I hope that by the time you read this there will have been more outrage. Heather Cox Richardson does too.

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Open Thread January 24 2025

 Posted by at 6:03 am  Open Thread, Personal, Politics
Jan 242025
 

Yesterday or the day before, I mentioned three special elections coming up which should be winnable – and the more of them get in, the slimmer the house majority becomes. Here is the link to a PAC called “Youth Save Democracy” which concentrates on GenZ and Millennial voters and has a “Special Elections Fund” currently for these three elections. Also yesterday, ay least one person is rejecting the Peach Prevaricator’s pardon. When tried, she pled guilty, and said, “We were wrong. This is what I deserve.” She was sentenced to, and served, two months. Now, she has an attorney writing a letter of rejection for her to make her rejection an official matter of record. Both The Root and Democratic Underground have this story. Several DUers posted – ar least one got it from the BBC.

I pay no attention to DAVOS, and I’ll be surprised if anyone elsehere does. But Robert Reich does that for us – and oh boy, does he have their number.

I didn’t know that Elno’s grandparents were Nazis – but I can’t say I’m surprised. I did know he is on the spectrum, but it’s ben a minute since I stopped giving him any mental slack because of that. Did anyone know he had once visited Auschwitz? I didn’t. Schmidt says of Auschwitz: “There is a duality at Auschwitz that is shattering. It is simultaneously a space of utter madness and hyper-rationality.” But that’s not really a duality. G. K. Chesterton more than a century ago that if you apply strict rationality (or as Spock would say logic) to erroneous premises (such as “alternative facts”), the result is insanity. But Schmidt’s point in the essay is not that, but the disappearance from the memory, at least the American memory, of the history which produced Auschwitz and the other “camps.” And, though he doesn’t mention it, the disappearance from American collective memory which modern Nazis are attempting to make universal of slavery, Jim Crow, lynchings, massacres which taint our own history, along with hostility to just about every immigrant group we have ever seen.

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Open Thread January 23 2025

 Posted by at 6:02 am  Open Thread, Personal, Politics
Jan 232025
 

Yesterday, following a day of undeserved pardons (and commutations), a day which itself followed a few days of richly deserved pardons (and commutations), many not even reflecting any crime, but issued for protective purposes – The Huff Post Fringe had words. Also, this happened. The link is from The Root, but I’m sure others are not getting left out of the purge. Meanwhile, The Root compiled a list of what it describes as the Canteloupe Caligula’s “most worrisome” executive orders.

This is only the second article from the Contrarian, and it has already come a long way. It is a roughly 18 minute video, and it has CC, and it has a transcript for which you have several options, including saving as a PDF (which I did), saving as something else, printing (which should mean either to paper or to your hard drive or a thunb drive), and reloading. I did save it as a PDF, haven’t looked at it yet, but assume it’s more accurate than YouTube – not that that’s hard.) Mechanics aside, the episode is a “how did we get here” story which should frighten (but not, I hope, paralyze) you.

When I read this article from Steve Schmidt in situ, I also looked at one of the comments – the first one (I don’t know whether they change position as time passes, so I’ll add it was by Martin Dillon.) It ended with “Are there no Republicans that want to save this country?” My mental response to that was “Yes, there are, but few, if any, are in office, elected or appointed.” And that makes them difficult to find. Many have re-registerd as Independent or Unaffiliated. Don’t try to look for them in Congress or State legislatures. Look for them in your community. There are at least 3 Special Elections coming up, to replace Congressmen who have been appointed to some other position, and there are non profits who want to save democracy helping to fund Democratic candidates. That’a the place to start. And sooner than later.

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Open Thread January 19 2025

 Posted by at 6:07 am  Open Thread, Personal, Politics
Jan 192025
 

Yesterday, Axios published the evaluation of the 10 US cities that “did the best” in 2024. Colorado Springs is on it at #5. We are in one of only two blue states on the list, and I believe the only red city in a blue state. Of course, in general, red areas have considerably more room to improve than blue ones. It doesn’t mean we’re one of the top ten places to live, speaking economically (though speaking scenically, we probably are.) Also, the radio opera was Puccini’s Tosca – a tragedy in the literary sense, but also politically. The eponymous heroine’s lover, whose life she tries and fails to save, his friend, and she herself are on the right side of the autocracy vs. democracy divide, and although she manages to kill one pre-fascist (who is a real piece of work – I can only think of a couple of others in opera who even come close to his pure evil), his flunkies only fail to catch ans torture her because she suicides first. Yes, I know, Napoleon was no liberator, but you can’t blame people of the time for thinking he was or might be. Even Beethoven thought that – until he didn’t. “Tosca” is a very tight story- everything moves the plot, even the one comic-relief character, so the more you know about it the more heart-wrenching every note is – and the harder it is to look away. (A side note – this is the opera which contains the aria over which Puccini won a copyright infringement lawsuit against the composer of the song “Avalon.” Of course I was not on the jury – I wasn’t born yet -but had I been, and just knowing the two pieces, I would have been inclined to vote the other way. Only one phrase that’s in the opera is in the pop song, it’s not used “verbatim”, and it is developed very differently.)

I expect everyone here knows this by now, since it came out on Friday. But Sundays are for good news – and right now it just doesn’t get any “gooder” than this. The Contrarian was where I first saw it.

This also came out Friday and started me wondering what else on our wish list would be announced today. Whatever would have been, I would have added. We need all the good news we can get just now.

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Open Thread January 15 2025

 Posted by at 6:00 am  Open Thread, Personal, Politics
Jan 152025
 

Yesterday (OK, just barely, but after midnight) I read this article from Democratic Underground regarding the Special Counsel’s notes on the Insurrection case. The link to the New York Times is probably paywalled, but if you copy the URL into the home page of archive.is, it will tell you when it was last saved (and I’m sure it will have been) and you can read it there. Or, since it’s a “developing story,” you can save it yourself and see whether there is anything new. Also yesterday, Wonkette featured a graphic sourced from the New York Times which is essentially the Political Compass with different names for the axes – distinguishing between “fiscally” and “socially” liberal and conservative. Those terms were in common use in the 1980s, but I haven’t heard them much lately. Particularly for people who don’t spend much (if any) time on politics, they may well be easier to grasp. The graphic includes only US actual voters from 2016, and shows pretty clearly what kind of people are obsessed with money. Since Hillary won the popular vote in 2016, it looks to me that there was a disproportionate number of Republicans in the sample. But it’s still valuable information. For one thing, it shows even more clearly than Robert Reich can explain why the Democratic party should NOT “move toward the center.” Also, the whole article is packed with information, and I’ll link to it tomorrow.

Harry Litman of Talking Feds (which is on both YouTube and Substack – sorry but I didn’t check to see whether or not this was a transcript) addresses the subject of preemptive pardons, going into almost every one of the pros and cons and the ethics behind all of them. The one thing he doesn’t address, which has actually been bothering me, is that technically, legally, accepting a pardon constitutes an admission of guilt. Common sense would suggest that this would not apply to a “safe harbor pardon,” but the GOP as a group has not shown any common sense since the Eisenhower administration. Also, if the Tangerine Palpitine keeps his promise to pardon al the January 6 conspirators, the implication of confession is something we are going to want to use, and oh boy, does that ever have the potential to get ugly. Much of what Harry says refers, not to Biden’s current approval rating, but to the approval rating of his legacy (a metaphor, but one that is a thing.) I implied above that I have no faith in the common sense of Republicans, and that’s the truth. I certainly don’t have a very strong faith in the common sense of historians – but I do have more faith in them than I do in Republicans. Since I won’t be around to see history’s final judgment, I’ll never know whether any of my opinions are going to be justified. But I’m putting my thoughts out anyway.

From Wonkette on ASL interpretation. Normal human beings (it’s normal to have both common sense and compassion) would not call the use of ASL interpreters in news broadcasts and videos “tyranny.” They are more likely to be delighted by it, since frankly, it’s fun to watch. Charlie Kirk brings to mind the (way too many) people who, if they hear anyone speaking anything other than English, jump to the conclusion that the speaker is talking about them, and not in a friendly way. How insecure can you get? Insecure enough to call ASL “the tyranny of the deaf,” I guess. When I was working as a costumer, including for musicals, we had a deaf singing actress and a blind singing actor. We were thrilled. We didn’t whine, we got creative – and we had an ASL interpreter at every performance. Sighted and hearing audiences loved it. But then, we are talking about normal human beings with normal common sense and compassion. (I could also rant about CC, but Wonkette has that covered.)

This is a compilation, and I’m pretty sure the first one is a rerun, but the second is new.

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Video Thread 6/14/22

 Posted by at 11:46 am  Open Thread, Politics
Jun 142022
 

Glenn Kirschner -Jarod Kushner’s pardon palooza will be damaging to both Donald Trump and to Kushner himself

Meidas Touch – Furious Texas Paul Reveals TERROR CELL Inside the GOP – Such a sweet, kind offer in such NSFW languague!

Robert Reich – This is How We Help People Fight Inflation at the Gas Pump

VoteVets – ‘The AR-15 Is A Weapon Of War’ – Maj. Gen. (Ret.) Paul Eaton

Liberal Redneck – First January 6 Committee Hearing Takeaways

Beau – Let’s talk about if medical training is worth it…. (and you know this appies to a lot more than medical training.)

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Open Thread – 12/24/2020

 Posted by at 11:26 am  Open Thread, Personal, Politics
Dec 242020
 

It’s a tired day, here in the CatBox.  I overslept this morning, so I’m running a bit late.  It’s Christmas Eve, and if you live in a red state, you need to beware.  I trust that you understand that Republicans have invented a fake version of Jesus, Republican Supply-side Jesus.  He uses Jesus’ name to spread the Nazi Republican pseudo-gospel of war, hate and greed.  Republican Supply-side Jesus is the exact opposite of the real Jesus.  The reason red state residents need to beware is that there is also a Republican Supply-side Santa.  Like the real Santa, he comes down the chimney on Christmas eve, but instead of bringing presents, he steals the presents from poor and middle-class red state children, sells them, and uses the proceeds to buy presents for Republican billionaires, like new sheets and hoods to replace the ones Republicans have worn out through excessive use.  So if you live in a red state, build a big fire in the fireplace, put flash-bangs in the stockings and replacer the cookies with turds.  Merry Christmas Eve to you all, and SantaCat knows who’s been naughty and nice.

Jig Zone Puzzle:

Today’s took me 3:43 (average 8:13).  To do it, click here.  How did you do?

Cartoon:

Tracking Santa:

 

Short Takes:

From Daily Kos: Ever-shameless, Donald Trump is now using the pardon power to promote outright corruption. In a slew of pardons tonight, Trump used the power to sabotage convictions of private-contractor war criminals, an array of Republican elected officials caught using their office to engage in crimes, and two of Trump’s own allies who pled guilty to lying to federal law enforcement officials in an effort to block special counsel Robert Mueller’s investigation of communications between the Trump campaign and Russian officials during the 2016 campaign.

Receiving pardons tonight—and surely, there will be many more coming—are George Papadopoulos and Alex van der Zwaan, who both pled guilty to lying to federal investigators probing Russian hacking and propaganda efforts on behalf of Trump. They join the previously pardoned Flynn, who pled guilty to lying as part of the same cover-up.

Also receiving pardons are three Republican congressmen caught committing crimes in office. California ex-Rep. Duncan Hunter stole donated campaign funds for his own personal use. New York ex-Rep. Chris Collins pled guilty to lying to the FBI and to attempting to commit securities fraud after being caught engaging in insider trading. Texas ex-Rep. Steve Stockman was convicted of money laundering. All three were unquestionably guilty of corruption in office; in pardoning each of the disgraced House Republicans, Trump is clearly signaling his contempt for those that would attempt to hold his political allies to account.

For good measure, and as reminder that aside from personal fealty of allies there are few things as seemingly dear to Trump’s heart as torturing or killing the innocent, Trump has also pardoned four Blackwater private contractors responsible for killing 17 civilians in Baghdad’s Nisour Square, an act that fomented terrorism against U.S. forces for years afterwards.

There’s no subtlety to these pardons, and its almost certain that they are the prelude to a host of even more egregious ones.

When I think of the egregious losses, grief and suffering these bastards caused to victims and their loved ones, I want to scream!  RESIST!!

From Crooks and Liars: Holy smokes! It looks like Diaper Don was correct with his complaints of faulty election results in at least two states. But he probably doesn’t really want to draw too much attention to them.

In Delaware County, Pennsylvania,, there was a confirmed incident of voter fraud:

In the weeks leading up to the presidential election, Elizabeth Bartman and Elizabeth Weihman registered to vote as Republicans in Nether Providence Township, Delaware County officials said Monday. There was one problem: Both women had been dead for several years.

The man behind those applications, Bruce Bartman, now faces two felony counts of perjury, as well as one count of unlawful voting for successfully casting an absentee ballot for President Donald Trump in the name of Elizabeth Bartman, his long-dead mother.

Bartman was arraigned Friday and released on $100,000 unsecured bail.

His lawyer, Samuel Stretton, said the 70-year-old takes full responsibility for the crimes, and will cooperate with investigators

“In his political frustration, he chose to do something stupid,” Stretton said. “And for that he is very sorry.”.

Bartman used his deceased mother’s driver’s license to register her to vote absentee and successfully cast a ballot for Trump in her name. He tried to do the same thing for his dead mother-in-law. But in that incident, he used her Social Security number, which triggered an alert in the state’s system. Even though Bartman signed a letter confirming that she was alive, he never tried to vote for her.

How many times have I said that, when isolated instances of voter fraud do occur, the perpetrators are virtually always Republican?  RESIST!!

From YouTube (MSNBC Channel): Trump Vetoes Defense Spending Bill Setting Up Showdown With Congress

 

The disrespect this shoes to our men and women in uniform is totally disgusting! To Trump* and the Republican Reich, our troops matter only as cannon fodder. I have no doubt the veto will be overturned.  RESIST!!

From YouTube (a blast of Christmas): Silent Night arranged by Dan Forrest from Beckenhorst Press

 

Whether or not you are one who you believes in the deity of Jesus Christ, may the celebration of his birth, albeit poorly timed, bring you peace, love, comfort and joy. This year our nation is about to be given another chance. HUGS!!

26 Days Until the Big FLUSH!!

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