Open Thread October 29 2024

 Posted by at 4:56 pm  Open Thread, Personal, Politics
Oct 292024
 

Yesterday, I had managed to spend the night in bed. My back hurt when I got up, but far less so than last Wednesday and Thursday, and by the time I got toi the computer in the den, I knew i would not need ice or the TENS. Good thing too – I find my thoughts depressing enough without pain making them any worse.

https://heathercoxrichardson.substack.com/p/october-26-2024
Some time ago I downloaded and kept a copy of a training video from World War II called “Dont Be A Sucker.” You can call it propaganda if you like, but if you do, you kind of need to add that if the material in propaganda is true and has the goal of discouraging civilian violence, then propaganda can be positive. Trust historian Heather Cox Richardson to remember that the Army also provided positive propaganda to the tropps – and to share some of it.

https://joycevance.substack.com/p/the-week-ahead-aeb
You know that history is important in relation to what we are experiencing now when Joyce Vance’s “The Week Ahead” starts with history. She discusses and links to a short film comprising archival clips from the 1939 Nazi rally at Madison Square Garden. People who aren’t paying attention are likely to be shocked. Personally, I find Trump** rallies to be much more scary, partly because today the language is more coded, and the violence is more open. Who today would use the word “Gentile” at a gathering like this? You know what also scares me? Even people as old as I am, when we think od World War II and America’s part in it, think of Nazis and concentration camps, of orsiners of war in Germany and Americans workinf with resistance groups. But the truth is, if Japan had not bombed Pearl Harbor, FDR would never have been able to get enough backing to send troops to Europe. Our victories would never have been possible. Tere would have been no United Nations. No Geneva Convention. likely 1984 would have been “1984.” Joyce says “But the Greatest Generation didn’t fall into the trap.” i don’t think we know that. We will never truly know what the 20th century would have been like had Japan not forced us intot he war. But I can’t believe it would have been pretty.

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Belle Central Park

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Open Thread October 26 2024

 Posted by at 6:00 am  Open Thread, Personal, Politics
Oct 262024
 

Yesterday, having spent the week hearing about how Trump** wishes he had generals like the generals Hitler had, I think I should throw in my two cents. Hitler’s generals were not competent. This is proven by the fact that they attempted to assassinate him more than once, and failed every time. Trump** and his supporters conveniently forget that detail. Now, if he could have generals like Hitler’s generals only competent, I could live with that. Also, I did sleep in a chair, and even though I’m short on sleep as a result, my back is much, much better. I think I’ll keep doing that for a couple of weeks before trying to sleep in bed again – if as I suspect it is an arthritis flareup, those are supposed to last two to four weeks and then calm down. When my knee flared in 2018 I believe it was, it took the full four weeks, but it did calm down and has not flared since. If I can’t resolve it myself, I’ll seek medical help – but even two weeks should give me a better handle on whether to go to the sports injury center again or just to urgent care.  Also, Robert Reich‘s Election Video of the Week gotposted.

I held this story from The 19th until the weekend because it is so different from anything you’d expect to see in the leadup to a presidential election (but appropriate for Hallowe’en. I suppose the story might anger some people – I’m thinking of anti-trans people who would be upset by a family who love each other this much – and I guess it could also make folks like you and me who respect every other human to be angry at how much they have suffered. But mostly I think it’s sad. I am not trying to pick on Missouri in general nor KC in particular (Tomorrow I’ll be singing KC’s praises). These are things which could happen just about anywhere, sadly.

You probably had no idea you were waiting for Talking Points Memo to publish this opinion piece (though not without facts to back it up) addressing bipartisanship, and the current pressure, especialy on Democrats, to be more bipartisan. But here it is.

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Open Thread October 22 2024

 Posted by at 6:00 am  Open Thread, Personal, Politics
Oct 222024
 

Yesterday, The technician came to install what was necessary for the phone and internet to work.  He arrived exactly at the start of the time window I was given, and I think finished up a little early. So I am actually typing on a windows 10 desktop.  I don’t promise to stay on Windows 10 (not, I suppose, that there’s any difference readers could see), but most of my information is now on both computers (technically, on separate portable hard drive of which each has one, and yes, I did that in advance and it took forever,) so I can start transitioning in earnest.  Also, I received 2 emails from the Election Department – first that my ballot was received, and the second that it had been counted. Yippee:  I can put up that “I voted” sticker now11/

Heather Cox Richardson writes about control of the Senate – why it’s so important, how it is determined, how the 2024 election could affect it, what the Republican Party is doing to influence the election, how events in the 1890’s led to the passage of the 17th Amendment, and why the events of that decade resemble events today.

Recently, I started a subscription to the newsletter of “The F*cking News” whose motto is something like “If you prefer your news delivered with profanity, this is the news for you.” I can take or leave profanity, but I do like the attitudes and world views which lead journalists to use profanity, so I thought I’d give it a go. This report which headlines my first newsletter from them (and also the page to which it links – they are apparently using old print newspapers’ quaint habit of putting multiple unrelated articles on the same page) doesn’t have much profanity but it is chock full of attitude, and presents demonstrable facts from a perspective of the appropriate reaction to them.

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Open Thread October 12 2024

 Posted by at 6:00 am  Open Thread, Personal, Politics
Oct 122024
 

Yesterday, I heard from my “frosted sister” who lives in Bradenton, FL, right in Milton’s eye. I didn’t hear sooner because she had evacuated (which I was hoping she did), but she’s going back by Monday. The only structural damage to her house this time is to a room that’s more loke a covered porch, but she also lost a shed and a lot of fencing. (Michael, I think it was, took out all her windows, and she only just finished getting them fixed earlier this year.) I’m just glad she and her family and all their pets are safe. But now there’s this (Joyce Vance)   Finally, Robert Reich’s election video week is here.

There has been a lot of complaining by people who do not follow politics that “We don’t know who [Kamala] is.” This week she has addressed that with appearances in the media which this article from HuffPo addresses – and also the effect of it on the polls (mostly good).

Living through Hurricane Milton must be just like living through the pandemic for those in the path, except that the liars aren’t in power (at least not in federal power) and not everyone lives in the danger zone. Doktor Zoom’s “Don’t make me”is actually pretty mild. I’m a “Don’t make me rethink free speech” level myself.

Belle EVs

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Open Thread September 29 2024

 Posted by at 6:11 am  Open Thread, Personal, Politics
Sep 292024
 

Yesterday, the radio opera was Wagner’s “Tristan und Isolde,” recorded in July at Bayreuth – the venue which mad King Ludwig of Bavaria spent a fortune on, and which has all the bells and whistles which were available in the late 19th century (Wagner would hav loved CGI.) It takes 4 hours to perform. This production is fortunate that the adulterous love affair depends on a powerful magic love potion, because the betrayed husband is orders of magnitude better looking then the betrayer. It’s just as well I won’t see it (and the only available picture is of part of a program cover which says “Bayteuth” and has Wagner’s autograph.) The music is gorgeous. This is one of only two Wagner operas I bought in vinyl when I was buying vinyl. Some musicologists say that the first chird of the overture (known as “the Tristan chord”) paved the way for the harmonies of 20th century composers. But to opera fans, it’s less the chord and more what Wagner does with it which make the opera a favorite.

It’s been a minute since we had a real head-shaking Karen story, but this one from the Atlanta Black Star definitely qualifies. SMH.

If you have seen any ads for “Trump watches” – and, if you have, I know you haven’t bothered to read the fine print – you might get a sardonic chuckle out of the facts Mary Trump brings to light in her Substack column.

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Open Thread September 23 2024

 Posted by at 5:52 am  Open Thread, Personal, Politics
Sep 232024
 

Yesterday, I went to see Virgil. Going down there were a few scattered showers – not enough to keep the wipers going – and it also stayed overcast enough I didn’t need to wear sunglasses. Again, we played cribbage in our way – had quite a variety of good hands, middlind hands, and awful hands,more or less evenly divided between us. I can’t be sure, since we do’t keep running totals, but it felt prettty equal no me. Coming back, the sun was out, and I needed to shield the driver’s side window, and that worked. I nuked a leftoer meat from a crockpot made a while ago and the leftovers frozen. I’m calling it Chicken Marengo – although there is in fact no standard recipe forChicken Marengo, and its legen id fake, asthechefwho is supposed to have rsustled it up was not present at the battle. (The fact that there’s so much fake history floating around really makes me appreciate people like Heather Cox Richardson who set things straight.)

And speaking of fake history – though I nonlonger subscribe to Mother Jones, one of my other sources recommended this article, and when I read it, I kind of said “Wow!” Getting to the truth is much harder when people who are actively pushing a myth are fighting you every step of the way – and having found truth, getting it out so everyone knows is even harder.

The line TPM cites in its headline is not the only line they are intentionally blurring. They are also blurring the one between citizenship and the lack of citizenship. Y’know, Paul (in the Bible) was a Roman citizen. He mentions this in one of the Epistles, and basically says anyone who has enough money can buy (Roman) citizenship (“At a great price I obtained this freedom.”) Is this what we are coming to if Trump** and MAGAts win, not just the Presidency, but majorities in Congress?

We all know, or I hope we do, that the stock market and the economy are two different things – two very different things. But you wouldn’t know that by talking with investors – or with Republicans. But the person who can explain it best may well be Robert Reich. And that may well be because he looks at the economy as it pertains to reality, including real people, specifically real workers, as opposed to looking at the economy as pieces of paper with numbers on them

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Open Thread September 9 2024

 Posted by at 5:52 am  Open Thread, Personal, Politics
Sep 092024
 

Yesterday, I visited Virgil and of course we played cribbage. We had hands ranging from zero (several of those) to 26 (only one of those. I’m thinking next time I go, since I always have to wait a few minutes, I might stack the deck to give him a perfect hand, just to see his face. The drive was easy both ways. A little rain just before getting home, but not enough to annoy me, let alone endanger me.

Also yesterday (late) in her weekly “The Week Ahead” post,. Joyce Vance asks her readers to explain to her, if possible, what makes Trump** voters tick.  I am not a paid subscriber, so i can’t comment on that post, and I am not on Xitter so I can’t reach her that way.  But I would love to recommend that she read the article by Dorothy Thompson in a 1941 issue of Harper’s (link is to archive dot is so no paywall).  There’s a lot in it, but I particularly want to point out that she points out (to bastardize a quote from Shalespeare) that some are born Nazi, some become Nazi, and some have Naziism thrust upon  them.  In other words, there’s not one single reason.  But Thompson’s examples provide clues to determining who is which, which is the only thing I can think of that might help.

There’s a new Schmidt Storm, with the bonus that he provides links to last weeks “The Warning’s. To me, any reportage which promises to answer people’s questions is likely worth looking at – even if the questions aren’t your questions, the answers give insight into what others are thinking and wondering.

Heather Cox Richardson dives into the methods of Russian disinformation work. It’s not pretty. But it shouldn’t be ignored.

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Open Thread August 26 2024

 Posted by at 6:14 am  Open Thread, Personal, Politics
Aug 262024
 

Yesterday, I saw Virgil and we played more cribbage. Virgil had the two highest scoring hands of the day, 20 and 21. If you don’t play cribbage, that probably sounds small. But it’s impossible to get more than 29 in one hand (heck, it’s darned near impossible to get 29!  In order to to so, one must be dealt , in two-handed, six cards,three of which are fives, along with the jack which is not the same suit as any of the fives,  And must must not put any of those four cards into the crib.  After that, the card which is “cut” to be everyone’s fifth card must be the fourth five.  I’m not an expert and experienced cribbage player, but i’ve never seen anything even remotely close to that.)

Since this is a federal prosecution in a federal court, and it’s not in Florida, they might get this recommendation. But of course they also may not. It’s clear, at least to me, that the kind of people we need in police work are not getting hired (and if they were they could not survive in the current environment.) Police reform will not happen by improvig the training or changing policies as long as police forces are made up of bullies (who come in all races and all genders, by the way.)

If Doctor Fauci can get the West Nile virus, I would say just about anyone could also get it (it is mosquito borne.) We have it in Colorado, although only one case has been confirmed in my county. Last year was bad for it, but it looks like this year, at least in Colorado, will be less so. (We also have bird flu.) If you have any kind of vulnerability, like allergies, you mught want to check with your state’s health department (which can generally be done on line) about the likelihood. I got my local information from Colorado Public Radio, which is pretty reliable. Does every state have a public radio service, a state one, distinct from NPR?  Standing water is definitely a thing to watch.  One dude at Democratic Underground, who keeps two 20-gallon tanks in his back yard to collect rainwater,says that in mosquito season he buys maybe half a dozen or more goldfish and puts them in the tanks, and they eat any larvae laid by the mosquitoes

 

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