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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Sep 022024
 

Yesterday, Faithful America declared the week which begins today and runs through the 8th to be Christians Against Trump** Week. Now that’s the kind of CAT person you don’t even have to like cats to be. Sane Christians with any pet, or no pets, are welcome. The idea is to use social media for good to spread the truth that Chrisutanity is not about Trump**, and what it is about. Most of us are probably not on social media of any kind, but if anyone is, this is the week to spread truth on it.

Robert Reich is working on another video series whic, like “DEBUNKED!” will air on Fridays, starting September 6. It’ll be called “Spreading the Truth about the 2024 Election,” which seems a little unwieldy, but accurate. There’s more information at the link. I will, as I did with “DEBUNKED!” link to each installment in Saturday’s Open Thread.

This from Talking Points Memo is by itself, at least for me, more than enough reason to defeat DonOLD at all costs. But it’s scary. If I wanted to illustrate this story, it should likely be witha picture of a projector, because this is all projection. Violence is always from people with an authoritarian stand, It’s neither of the right nor of the left. But here in the west authoritarians have drifted strongly to the right, because a righ wing economy produces de facto oligarchy, which assists establishing authoritarian rule.Personally, I have observed violence at leftist protests, but not from the left. Where it has occurred, it has come from right wing counterprotesters.

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Nov 292023
 

I can’t remember a time in my life when I have just been so tired (and also sleepy – they aren’t the same thing). Not that I have ever been exactly a ball of fire, even as a child, but this is getting ridiculous. I am hoping (not without reason) that most if not all of this is related to having been off my meds for so long and the difficulty in catching back up (and delays in getting refills are not helping.) I was also off of OTC (but doctor approved) supplements for all of that time, and one or two of those are also energy related, but at least those I have more control over. Thanks for your patience and wish me luck.

I’ll leave you with this cartoon, which actually choked me up, revealing so plainly, as it does, everything which is wrong with “conservative” claims to be “Christian” – with just two pronouns. Do you suppose any of them would be smart enough to get it (assuming they would be anywhere they might see it?)

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Aug 202023
 

Glenn Kirschner – Trump’s lawyers make ABSURD request – ask Judge Chutkan set an April 2026 trial date in DC case!

The Lincoln Project – Roger Stone on November 5, 2020

Thom Hartmann – U.S. Rep. Vows To Use Force To Achieve Far Right Takeover…

Puppet Regime – Vladimir Putin, film critic

This Dog Stared At The Wall For Hours Until Finally Realized He Was Home

Beau – Let’s talk about Colorado, Alabama, and a General’s house….

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Aug 172023
 

Glenn Kirschner – Trump is indicted in Georgia for RICO conspiracy for trying to steal the 2020 presidential election

Thom Hartmann – God Wants Immigrants To Suffer & Die Says GOP

Robert Reich – 5 Facts About Trump’s Indictments

[There’s more after the VPN commercial]
Liberal Redneck – Ohio and the Future of Democracy

Wild Child Kitten Grows Up Looking After Rescue Puppies

[I chose this basically for one sentence – near the end – you’ll recognie it – it’s the one that ends “and it’s never failed me yet.”
Beau – Let’s talk about Texas, Paxton, the feds, and assumptions….

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Everyday Erinyes #377

 Posted by at 5:02 pm  Politics
Jul 022023
 

Experts in autocracies have pointed out that it is, unfortunately, easy to slip into normalizing the tyrant, hence it is important to hang on to outrage. These incidents which seem to call for the efforts of the Greek Furies (Erinyes) to come and deal with them will, I hope, help with that. As a reminder, though no one really knows how many there were supposed to be, the three names we have are Alecto, Megaera, and Tisiphone. These roughly translate as “unceasing,” “grudging,” and “vengeful destruction.”

I suspect anyone who reads here could write a column on how horrible the SuprememCourt’s overturning of affitmative action is, and, while those columns would differ in phrasing, they would all make many of the same points. So I’m not going to go there. In case anyone is wondering why military academies were expempted, I’m pretty sure it’s because the military has (accurately) presented diversity as a military preparedness issue long enough and hard enough that even this SCOTUS did not feel comfortable going against it.
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Military academies can still consider race in admissions, but the rest of the nation’s colleges and universities cannot, court rules

A person protests outside of the Supreme Court in Washington, D.C., on June 29, 2023.
AP Photo/Jose Luis Magana

Kristine Bowman, Michigan State University; Kimberly Robinson, University of Virginia, and Vinay Harpalani, University of New Mexico

In a 6-3 ruling on Thursday, June 29, 2023, the U.S. Supreme Court struck down the use of race in college admissions at Harvard and the University of North Carolina, outlawing the use of race in college admissions in general. The Conversation reached out to three legal scholars to explain what the decision means for students, colleges and universities, and ultimately the nation’s future.

Kimberly Robinson, Professor of Law at the University of Virginia

Writing for the majority in a case that bans affirmative action in college admissions, Chief Justice John Roberts wrote that such programs “unavoidably employ race in a negative manner” that goes against the Constitution.

The research, however, shows that the ban could potentially harm many college students and ultimately the United States. The reason this can be said with certainty is because in states where affirmative action has been banned, such as California and Michigan, many selective state colleges and universities have struggled to maintain the student body diversity that existed before affirmative action was banned.

Robust research shows how students who engage with students from different racial backgrounds experience educational benefits, such as cognitive growth and development and creating new ideas. For those reasons, a substantial decline in enrollment for underrepresented minority students carries many repercussions.

It means, for instance, that many students at selective colleges will have far fewer opportunities to learn from and interact with students from different racial backgrounds.

The nation’s elite colleges, such as Harvard and the University of North Carolina, educate a disproportionately high share of America’s leaders. Those who don’t attend these selective schools are dramatically less likely to complete a graduate or professional program. This is because these selective schools carry certain advantages. For instance, students who attend them are statistically more likely to graduate and be admitted to professional and graduate programs.

That means for students from underrepresented groups who don’t get into selective colleges, the chances of getting an advanced degree – which often paves the way to leadership positions – will be even lower.

The decision may also affect the workplace. Research shows that in states that eliminated affirmative action, meaningful drops in workplace diversity took place. Asian and African American women and Hispanic men experienced the most significant declines.

These shifts in elite college enrollment, leadership and workplaces will weaken long-standing efforts to dismantle the nation’s segregationist past and the privilege that this segregationist past affords to wealth and whiteness.

To help mitigate these potential harms, selective colleges will have to devote their attention to limiting what I believe are the decision’s harmful impacts and reaffirming their commitment to diverse student bodies through all lawful means.

Kristine Bowman, Professor of Law and Education Policy, Michigan State University

Protestors holding posters saying, 'Black Lives Matter' and 'Defend Diversity.'
People protest outside of the Supreme Court in Washington, D.C., on June 29, 2023.
AP Photo/Jose Luis Magana

In striking down race-conscious admissions practices, the Supreme Court overturns the court’s 1978 decision that held that race-conscious admissions were constitutional.

This reversal was not unexpected, but it will have profound implications for building and maintaining diverse and inclusive colleges and universities, particularly among selective institutions. The most effective way to enroll a diverse student body – and achieve the educational and social benefits that come with it – is to consider race as a factor in admissions. In the 10 states that have had affirmative action bans in admissions, diversity in selective institutions has declined.
This remained true even as alternative strategies were employed to achieve racial diversity, such as targeting recruitment efforts and focusing more on socioeconomic status diversity.

Although the court does not say outright that institutions cannot pursue diversity, it is not clear what diversity-related goals, if any, could constitutionally support race-conscious admissions. The court states that the benefits of diversity that Harvard and UNC articulate are not sufficiently “measurable,” “focused,” “concrete” or “coherent.” “How many fewer leaders Harvard would create without racial preferences, or how much poorer the education at Harvard would be, are inquiries no court could resolve,” the court wrote.

And yet, as Justice Sotomayor’s dissent highlights, the majority also says that race-conscious admissions with a “focus on numbers” or particular “numerical commitments” are also unconstitutional.

The opinion did not go as far as it could have in restricting the consideration of race. Institutions can still consider what a student’s comments about their racialized experiences reveal about their characteristics, such as “courage,” “determination” or “leadership.”

This provides a way for institutions to consider how race has impacted a student’s life. Although this unfairly places the burden on students of color to write about their racialized experience, it is arguably lighter than the burden that would have been borne if the court had attempted to prohibit consideration of such experiences.

Furthermore, efforts to pursue diversity through other means remain lawful. These alternative means include increasing attention to socioeconomic status, making campus communities more inclusive. It also involves checking whether students are passing classes and graduating at the same rate regardless of race.

Research hasn’t shown that these efforts will result in as much diversity at selective colleges as race-conscious college admissions. These efforts, however, now stand as a critical way forward to keep America’s elite colleges and universities diverse.

Vinay Harpalani, Associate Professor of Law, University of New Mexico

Although the court struck down the use of race in college admissions – as predicted by many experts and observers – the court left room for one narrow exception.

The majority opinion stated in a brief footnote that its ruling does not apply to race-conscious admissions at the nation’s military academies, such as West Point or the Naval Academy.

This issue had come up at oral arguments. When articulating the U.S. government’s position, Solicitor General Elizabeth Prelogar raised the point that the military may have compelling interests beyond those that universities have. Specifically, the U.S. government argued that a racially diverse military officer corps was necessary for national security. In response, Chief Justice Roberts briefly noted the possibility of a military academy exception. This was not lost in his ruling.

The majority opinion stated that there could be “potentially distinct interests that the military academies may present.” Because the academies were not parties to these cases, the court did not directly address this issue and left it unsettled.

This was not the first time that the military influenced the court’s view of race-conscious admissions. Twenty years ago, national security interests played a significant role in the majority opinion in Grutter v. Bollinger.

Citing the amicus brief of former military leaders, Justice Sandra Day O’Connor’s majority opinion in the Grutter case noted that diverse military leadership was “essential to the military’s ability to fulfill its principle mission to provide national security.” She found that “[i]t requires only a small step from this analysis to conclude that our country’s other most selective institutions must remain both diverse and selective.”

In its latest rulings, the court left alone O’Connor’s claim that diverse military leadership is essential to national security, but it soundly rejected her view that diversity can justify race-conscious admissions at the nation’s colleges and universities.

The military is not the only place where the court has noted that security interests can justify use of race. The court also cited a 2005 ruling, Johnson v. California, where the justices held that prison officials could temporarily segregate prisoners by race to prevent violence.

It seems that the court is willing to uphold use of race when government power is at stake – as with the military and law enforcement. But it will not do so for the education of America’s citizenry.The Conversation

Kristine Bowman, Professor of Law and Education Policy, Michigan State University; Kimberly Robinson, Professor of Law, Professor of Law, Education and Public Policy, University of Virginia, and Vinay Harpalani, Associate Professor of Law and Henry Weihofen Professor, University of New Mexico

This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article.

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Alecto, Megaera, and Tisiphone, since this decision, I have been thinking about the Biblical “mark of Cain,” which southern white Protestants (and other whites) decided must mean black skin, and, because it came with a curse, they (whites) were justified in enslaving them (blacks.) All that this proves is that southern white Protestants (and other whites) could neither read nor think. Taking the “read” part first, the curse attached to Cain was not a curse on him and/or his descendants. It was a curse on anyone not of his descent who would harm him or his descendants in any way, and it threatend them with seven times any evil they inflicted to be in turn inflicted on them. I wonder how the whites managed to miss that little point. But in addition to that, Seth, Adam and Eve’s third son, was the ancestor of Noah – which means that no descendant of Cain could possibly have survived the flood.

My personal opinion is that, if (I say IF) there were such a thing as the mark of Cain and people living today who carried it, it would make a lot more sense for it to be “white” skin. We – or at least far too many of us – seem to have the murdering gene in our DNA. And we seem to get away with it way too easily, while at the same time society is inflicting seven-fold or more evil on people without white skin who just mildly annoy us.

The Furies and I will be back.

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May 302023
 

Yesterday, I learned something I did not know about the Marine Corps – not all that surprising, since it happened after my time – way, way after my time. But it makes a lot of sense. I just hope some of those mementoes are representative of other faiths. The manger Christans need to respect and in a way emulate is emphatically not the one that Aesop’s dog was in.  And, yes, I did watch the National Memorial Day Concert (a day late) – it’s still available to stream if anyone else missed it the first time.

Cartoon –

Short Takes –

John Pavlovitz – Dangerous Christian Drag Show
Quote – They shamelessly don their cheap, glittery regalia, meticulously transforming themselves into a sickening inversion of who they actually are, putting on an unnatural false persona designed to indoctrinate young minds by passing as something they’re not. It is a vile bait and switch that decent human beings should be sickened by.
The political Right is the worst kind of drag show: that of hateful, heartless bigots pretending to be Christian.
Click through for essay. What can I say? He nails it.

Crooks & Liars – Dem Senator Schools Chuck Todd On Why Congress Can Regulate Supreme Court
Quote – “The Chief Justice has to make this decision, though, right?” Todd asked. “Separation of powers, whether, I mean, it’s pretty established, Congress can’t make a law that does that, right?” Whitehouse informed the host he was mistaken about how the Constitution works. “No, it absolutely can,” Whitehouse laughed. “Well, it doesn’t mean it’s constitutional,” Todd quipped. “Yes, it does,” the senator explained. “It means it’s constitutional because the laws that we’re talking about right now are actually laws passed by Congress. The ethics reporting law that is at the heart of the Clarence Thomas ethics reporting scandal is a law passed by Congress.”
Click through for story. Chuck Todd is far from alone in (apparently} believing the “SC” in “SCOTUS” stands for “Sacrd Cow.” It doesn’t. Whitehouse is a gem.

Food For Thought

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Nov 122020
 

It’s another Crazy day here in the CatBox.  Store to Door is coming to deliver groceries, and I need to put them away.  I last texted Nameless yesterday mid day.  He was back on BIPAP.  I don’t want to disturb his rest, but if I have not heard from him by suppertime, I’ll text him.  I hope you all have a great day.

Jig Zone Puzzle:

Today’s took me 2:59 (average 4:25).  To do it, click here.  How did you do?

Cartoon:

That could be either the ear or the brain.

Short Takes:

From Daily Kos: By Monday, Joe Biden’s victory in the 2020 election had been confirmed by every major media outlet, including Fox News, been welcomed by every leader of the G7 along with dozens of other foreign officials, and been celebrated in the streets of every major American city. As it turns out, all those plywood panels nailed up over windows were only there to shield sensitive eyes from just too much dancing.

When it comes to Republicans, the chorus of accolades falls away to more of a barbershop quartet … minus one. Former president George W. Bush spoke up to express his acceptance of Biden’s victory and offer the traditional best wishes for the coming term. Sen. Mitt Romney has sent along his best wishes, and Sen. Lisa Murkowski—keen to make everyone forget how she flip-flop-flipped on Amy Coney Barrett—decided to acknowledge reality. And that is about it.

But if the reaction of the Republicans over the weekend might be best described as crickets, it now seems that many of them have rediscovered their voices. And they’re using them to take up the cause of destroying democracy.

Were we expecting anything else? The only reason Crawford Caligula has taken exception is that Trump’s* political demise ensures Bush’s ability to relinquish the title “worst in US History”.  RESIST!!

From Crooks and Liars: The world is better off without people like Irvin Baxter Jr in it. A hate-mongering homophobe that, like the rest of these televangelists, had become enormously wealthy peddling poison.

Source: Pinknews

Reverend Baxter, founder of Endtime Ministries and host of End of the Age on Christian TV network Trinity Broadcasting Network, died aged 75 on Tuesday (3 November), the network said.

 

Now we know that for Republican pseudo-Christian (the opposite of REAL Christian) perverts, Trump* Virus is an STD!  RESIST!!

From NY Times: President-elect Joseph R. Biden Jr.’s transition team is preparing multiple sets of policy proposals for the economy, health care, climate change and other domestic issues, including the ambitious agenda Mr. Biden laid out in his winning campaign, while acknowledging it may have to be pared back in recognition of divided government.

Where the incoming administration lands depends heavily on two Senate runoffs in Georgia in early January.

If Democrats win both races, close aides to Mr. Biden and economists who helped advise his campaign say the president-elect will try to push through a large stimulus plan for the flagging economic recovery — most likely along the lines of the $2.2 trillion that House Democrats approved this fall. His stimulus plan under such a scenario would include hundreds of billions of dollars for state and local governments that have lost tax revenue amid the pandemic recession, extended unemployment benefits for people who lost jobs during the crisis and a new round of aid for small businesses.

His team is also developing a government employment program — called the Public Health Jobs Corps — that would put 100,000 Americans to work on virus testing and contact tracing.

A narrow majority in the Senate would also give Mr. Biden the chance to push through his proposed tax increases on corporations and the rich — tax hikes that would be used to fund the president-elect’s more ambitious plans like rebuilding roads and bridges, speeding the transition to a carbon-free energy sector and helping Americans afford health care.

But if Republicans win even one of the Georgia seats, Mr. Biden will most likely need to settle for a wave of executive actions that would bring more incremental progress toward his policy goals, while trying to cut compromise deals with Senator Mitch McConnell of Kentucky, the majority leader.

This is why Democratic wins in BOTH races is critically important for America’s future!  RESIST!!

From YouTube (a blast from the past): The Beatles – Revolution

 

While the overwhelming majority of violence and destruction is perpetrated by Republicans, I reject the tiny bit that comes from the left say they are not welcome in my revolution! This tune could not be more appropriate.  RESIST!!

68 Days Until the FLUSH!!

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