May 032024
 

Yesterday, there was a great deal of floom running through the news. I was only going to use two articles, but I added Reich because he at least gives us some ideas about what we should do in the face of such doom and gloom.

Mary Trump‘s writing here is factful (in the sense of full of facts – there are a lot) and perceptive. She does touch on a lot that we already know. but if you want to skip all or prts, pleas skip to the end. There’s a zinger in her conclusion.

I have read about this incident – maybe you have too – but this is a view of it that you may not have read (though you may have thought it, or at least some of it.)

Robert Reich writes about emotions and politics. He doesn’t say this, but I want to add it – stirring up emotions may well increase turnout. But when those emotions are in response to lies, that’s not the kind of turnout whichimproves out government, or dstrengthens outr democracy. There is plenty in this election year to rationally be afraid of – but most of the actual fear that grips voters is the irrational fears stirred up by MAGA. I’ve said this before – Trump** promises violence if he loses. And nhe may well follow trough – he’s done it before. But, if he wins, he will stir up just as much violence, or probably more violence, and there will be no one to protect us.

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Apr 082023
 

Yesterday, I was kind of in a contemplative mood. Part of that was brought on by anticipating today’s opera (and I’ll explain that when I talk about the opera in tomorrow’s thread.) Part of it was brought on by the second short take – even just the headline gave crystal clarity to that particular form of selective ignorance, as if a light switched on, and I keep thinking of new examples (such as “inscrutable oriental” – which would today be recognized as racist, but maybe not for the right reasons.)  I did receive one alert (from Axios) worth noting – “Federal judge [in Texas] rules to freeze use of abortion pill nationwide.”

Cartoon – 08 0408Cartoon.jpg

Short Takes –

The Warning (Steve Schmidt) – America’s Cancer
Quote – There is no place to compromise or meet in the middle with an extremist movement made up of fascist paramilitaries, Nazis, conspiracy loons and religious zealots. There is no avoiding their demand, which is patently ridiculous and deeply dangerous. They want power, and they want Donald Trump. They want a twice-impeached serial liar and credibly accused rapist to be the president of the United States — again. The book bans, abortion bans, birth control bans, criminalized curriculum, punitive legislation and investigations against dissenters aren’t an end. They are a gateway to abuse and ultimately terror.
Click through for article. The issue with cancer is metastasis. If it is not dealt with in time it becomes unstoppable.

Daily Beast – Prince William ‘Baffled’ by Prince Harry’s ‘Difficult’ Coronation Behavior
Quote: Harry and wife Meghan Markle have said that they have been invited to the coronation but have not yet said if they will come. In January, Harry told interviewer Tom Bradby that he needed to have a face to face meeting with his family of origin before attending, and told another interviewer, Bryony Gordon, that he wanted “an apology for my wife,” although without specifically linking it to their attendance at the coronation. Royal sources have insisted that the family will make no such gestures towards Harry and Meghan, firmly believing they have nothing to apologize for.
Click through if you like. This is very small in the overall scheme of things, but sometimes very small things can be a source of large insignt. William is baffled because he is privileged. The person who has privilege is always baffled by the person without it (or on this case, with less of it.) Men claim it’s impossible to understand women. I have heard white people assert that black people are incomprehensible. And on and on it goes. In fact, no one is incomprehensible. But privilege certainly gets in the way of comprehension.

Food For Thought

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Mar 312023
 

(The Liberal Redneck is from Tennessee, and I keep expecting avideo from him about the Nashville mass shooting. There hasn’t been one yet – and it really wouldn’t surprise me if he finds it just too hard to talk about – but i’ll keep looking.)

Glenn Kirschner – NY DA Alvin Bragg pauses grand jury investigation of Donald Trump’s NY crimes. What might this mean?

Meidas Touch – Tennessee Republican makes STUNNING admission during live interview

MSNBC – Fox News aired Dominion conspiracy theories despite fact-checking unit’s disproval

Robert Reich – The Hidden Costs of Denying Paid Sick Leave

Pittie Lets Foster Kittens Nurse On Her

Beau – Let’s talk about 2 big Trump developments, privilege, and jurors….

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Feb 012022
 

Glenn Kirschner – DOJ Considering Supreme Court Rejection of Trump’s Executive Privilege Claim in Mark Meadows Case

The Lincoln Project – Abbott Abased

Meidas Touch – Republican tries to explain how gas prices are Biden’s fault. It did not go well.

Republican Accountability Project – Kari Lake: Enemy of Democracy

Rebel HQ – Entitled Idiots Wage War On Science

Parody Project – Ted Lose

Beau – Let’s talk about Maus, Tennessee, and failing a test….

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Nov 222021
 

Yesterday, I realized it was a slownews weekend. Of course, thet oesn’t mean nothing pappened – far from it – but it does explain whi I am including a poem (a very worthwhile one, I might add) as a story.

Cartoon – 22 NatIslam uploaded

Short Takes –

The New Yorker (Sasha Debevec-McKenney) – Kaepernick

The New Yorker is famous for its cartoons and its investigative reporting. It’s also known for the fiction it publishes – but not so much for poetry. Maybe it ought to be. This one is short, only 3 lines longer than a sonnet, but gets in more than you would think possible.

Law & Crime (referral) – When in Rome? American Tourists Fined After Breaking Into the Colosseum Just to Have a Drink
Quote – “During the early hours of Monday morning some people noticed two young men drinking beer in the Colosseum, facing outwards on the second level,” Rome’s carabinieri police force said, according to CNN. “They alerted a police car nearby, which then stopped the two young men on Via dei Fori Imperiali.”
Click through for a little more. Just in case you needed reminding how absurdly stupid and stupidly absurd privilege is.

The Guardian – Fauci warns time running short to prevent ‘dangerous’ Covid surge in US
Quote – Coronavirus cases across the US are rising again for the first time in weeks, and approaching 100,000 per day. Experts fear that this week’s Thanksgiving holiday, for which tens of millions of Americans will travel for indoor celebrations with family and friends, will fuel a further surge…. “We still have about 60 million people in this country who are eligible to be vaccinated who have not been, and that results in the dynamic of virus in the community that not only is dangerous and makes people who are unvaccinated vulnerable, but it also spills over into the vaccinated people,” Fauci said on CNN’s State of the Union on Sunday.
Ckick through for full reasoning (as if reasoning ever got through to MAGAts.) I’ve got a goodly amount of toilet issue now, but I might just add another package or two to my next grocery order anyway.

Food for Thought –

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