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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Open Thread August 25 2024

 Posted by at 6:09 am  Open Thread, Personal, Politics
Aug 252024
 

Yesterday, I was very late posting the Open Thread, and I apologize. I had it ready to go and just forgot to load and post it. I was working on writing and printing letters to my 401(k) custodian and to an urgent care facility which just sent me a bill for services in March of 2023. Had I not received a bill from them in July of 2023 and paid it, I would have just paid this one. But I don’t what to pay for aomething twice. I tried to call, but the menu wanted me to enter my employee ID number, which, since I’m not one, I don’t have. I didn’t even try to call the 401(k) custodian because I’ve tried in the past. Because there’s no such thing as one phone call. No matter how detailed you are, they leave some detail out, and you have to keep corresponding until they get it all. Anyway, with all that, i simply forgot to schedule it. I wish I could promise it won’t happen again, but sadly, I can’t.

In any case, yesterday’s radio opera was “Idomeo, Re di Creta” by Mozart. It’s one of those stories – and every culture seems to have one = there’s even one in the Bible – where someone is in potentially fatal danger, and prays to a god, promising to sacrifice the first living thing he meets when he gets home, and then that turns out to be his child. Oops. Not all of the stories end the same way, though – there are several directions it can go. In this opera, it ends up with the voice of Neptune telling him not to kill his son, but to abdicate n his favor, by which his sacrifice becomes his kingdom instead. Everyone is happy, except the princess the son doesn’t marry. But nothing was ever going to make her happy anyway. And now I’m off to visit Virgil visit Virgil

This, from The 19th, is very much peripheral. But there’s not way i could cover the substantal part of the Convention like the big boys and girls, especially since many readers have likely watched it. And its not an unimportnt side issue in view of Project 2025, for sure.

This is Heather Cox Richardson writing after the third day of the Convention. I saved it for Sunday because – because it’s kind of a sermon. An American, Democratic sermon. Don’t skip it because I said that. It is very encouraging.

Joyce Vance has some suggesions for anyone who is not inspired to do something but doesn’t know what. (Steve SChmidt has the same ones – because he quotes then from her. She’s in Scotland just now, but the animals are being taken care of.)

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Open Thread August 12 2024

 Posted by at 5:54 am  Open Thread, Personal, Politics
Aug 122024
 

Yesterday, I managed to see Virgil almost on time (I had to stop for gas on the way down, for one thing.) We played cribbage, of course, and he had the two best hands of the day – a 16 and a 17. He returns any and all greetings. The trip back was uneventful, but I got back tired, so I was slow to post.

Yes, this is alarmist. But, like Project 2025, if we don’t know about it, we won’t be ready – we won’t know what countermeasures to take, and we’ll lose time finding out. And we can’t let them win by cheating (again. Because if’s the only way they can win.)

Well, if I’m going to share one cautionary article, I may as well share this one as well, and it may as well be on a Monday. If kids were taught in school about the Political Compass, it would certainly be easier to identify where politicians are coming from – certainly in this election “right” are practically meaningless. It’s all about “up” and “down.” (Incidentally, they like to use “Authoritarian” and “Libertarian” for up and down respectively, but a better word for the latter would be “Egalitarian” IMO. It’s not only more accurate; it also hasn’t been stolen by crazies.

Belle climate

Dog

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Open Thread August 3 2024

 Posted by at 6:15 am  Open Thread, Personal, Politics
Aug 032024
 

Yesterday, I started the day by looking for baby booties, and in fact found 9 pair (10 if I can find the mate to the last one.) I can’t just ignore a baby born on my birthday. So I am now ready, be it boy or girl. Also, since it was Friday, here is Robert Reich’s episode #10 of DEBUNK.  In regard to Beau, since I live in Colorado, I should tell you that I followed that Democratic primary – started in advance, right after the state Democratic convention, and it appeared there were two front runners. She wiped out both of them, seemingly coming from nowhere. Not that it will make a difference in a district as red as that, but she’s remarkable.

Wonkette sent me to this article in People magazine. But The Root also had thoughts. I can’t begin to sort out my mixed feelings about this – but one thought which leaps out is “Now all the gun nuts will be saying, ‘See! We told you it wasn’t the guns!'”

I’m not sure when I subscribed to Press Watch, but I’m glad I did. What POGO (Project on Government Oversight) does for the Federal Government (some would say “to” the Federal government), Press Watch does for – or to – the main stream media. I like that – and I think the Founders would too. They were under very few illusions about what can go wrong in a democracy.

 

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Open Thread August 2 2024

 Posted by at 6:12 am  Open Thread, Personal, Politics
Aug 022024
 

Yesterday, I was schedued to get a maintenance visit from the exterminator. But his wife went into labor, so they postponed it until Tuesday. Well, that will give me time to see whether I can find a pair of baby booties. I almost certainly can. But in case I can’t, I know I can find a sweater.Also, I replaced the pads on the bottom of my mouse, which works just fine but has been driving me nuts with the way it moves over the desk.  I knew there was a reason I had been saving those scraps of fuzzy Contact paper.  It works so smoothely and quietly now.  Oh, and the news was released that 3 prisoners of Russia are being released and returning to the US, and one of them is Paul Whelan!  Did you write to him when his brother asked people to do so?  I did, and even printed some labels because I don’t expect even American to read my 79 year old writing with ease, let alone Russians.  I don’t think I’ve ever been as happy to be recycling something as I am recycling those which are left.

Tina Peters’s trial started this week. CPR posted an article on the back story of how she got here. She’s really creepy (a word I personally prefer to “weird,” because good weird exists – but good creepy does not).  Apparently the evidence will remove any lingering suspicion that her actions might have been impulsive.  I wonder how many like her there are in how many states.

I don’t often send you to Steve Schmidt these days, but this time he was the first (at least the first I have seen) to tie JD Vance to Himmler, and I find it convincing (and, of course, frightening.)  Himmler was almost certainly smarter.  But it’s not necessary to be smart to do monumental damage.

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Open Thread July 29 2024

 Posted by at 6:03 am  Open Thread, Personal, Politics
Jul 292024
 

Yesterday, I was able to visit VirgilI arrived late, but he was just as happy as if I’d been on time.The drive was uneventful both ways but I still didn’t get my home safe comment up as fast as I would have liked. I am trying t work withmy Windows 10 laptop, and it is slower than molasses in July at the South Pole. Eventually I gave up and came to the Windows 8.1. It has glitches , but it basicallly works, and I am used to its glitches so I can deal with them. My week off helped. I am encouraged by the speed with which Democrats united behind Kamala, and also with the way younger voters, many of them first-time voters, mobilized in support, including with cash. I’m ready to get behind Kamala as much as I was behind Joe. However, I can’t not be worried about misogyny, which killed us in the Electoral College in 2016. Hemce the link today to Joyce Vance. I’ll try not to let it affect my mood here. I can’t promise to be able to sleep at night without worrying. That’s not really in my control.

Many thanks to Nameless, who put up some splendid memes while i was out – and also to everyone who commented this week.

If this is what has been keeping him going – well, he may still be around for another nine months. (Barf bag alert on article – it describes the syptoms, and links to pictures. Just don’t follow the links to the pictures.  The description is more than enough.)

Joyce Vance addresses what I fear most about the election in November. She sees what I see – and has highly positives about how to combat it – some in social media, others IRL.

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Open Thread July 17 2024

 Posted by at 6:09 am  Open Thread, Personal, Politics
Jul 172024
 

Yesterday, There was a thunderstorm warning , not exactly for my area, but for an area I’m on the fringes of. I heard one crash of thunder, but I didn’t see the Lightning, so I have no clue how far away it was. I lost no power, but my modem started refusing to stay connected to the ‘Net. I rebooted it once but that didn’t help – but I then rebooted a second time, this time leaving it disconnected for over an hour, and it’s working now. Fingers crossed it keeps working. Another 9 days of storms like this are predicted, and tha’s as far in advance as they rpredict, so there could be more. So now, though the modem is working, somehow the zoom size of my inbox in my opera browser got trashed. Everything else on that browser works, but can’t read my emails (my main source.) So I’m having to read them on edge. It’s not perfect, but it’s close enough I can make it work with the screen magnifier. So I learned that, according to Axios, there is now evidence tat Netanyahu is working behind the scenes for Trump**. I hope this news reaches some coters who are wanting to not vote for Biden because, basically, he honored a treaty he was legally bound to honor. At least he’s doing his best to hold Bibi back. Trump** will say, “Do whatever the hell you want.” If anything else new comes it, it will have to wait. I need to get this posted while I still can (at least I hope so.)

Steve Schmidt’s response to the shooting at the Trump** rally byposting a video of Bobby Kennedy’s speech in response to the death of MLK. It was a powerful speech then, and it’s powerful now, but what really hit me was one of the comments (which I normally never look at – this must have been the first time in over a decade that I have done so.) A viewer usernamed “@tedb3966” simply wrote, “The greatedt President we never had.” But Steve himself has some powerful things to say too.

I know y’all are alert and atay informed, so you probably know that Senator Sheldon Whitehouse has set his sights on Clarence Thomas. But I also thought youmight be as interested as I was to read about it from a black news outlet.

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