Russia – Page 13 – Politics Plus

Open Thread October 20, 2022

Posted by Joanne Dixon at 6:47 am Open Thread, Personal, Politics

Oct 202022

Yesterday, an email from Faithful America informed me that the group was a contributor to a PBS Frontline documentary calledc”Michael Flynn’s Holy War,” which had aired Tuesday night. I went looking for it to see whether I could stream it, and I did find it here. So, I streamed it. The URL does not look like one needs to be a Passport member to stream it, but I am one, so I can’t be sure. But I’m sharing it anyway, because this is important information in my opinion. Also yesterday, I filled out my ballot, signed and sealed the envelope, stamped it, and added the most aggressively patriotic stickers I could find. I dated it as of today, so I’ll try to get it out before the mail is delivered/picked up. On top of that, (don’t faint!) Trump** sat for a deposition in the Carroll defamation case. No content released yet. This is a civil suit, which means if he took the Fifth, the fact that he did s CAN be used against him.

Cartoon – 20 1020Cartoon.jpg

Short Takes –

First we have a story from a collection of sources regarding John Durham and the investigation Bill Barr instigated into Christopher Steele, which has taken three and a half years. In all that time, he only charged three people, of which only one resulted in conviction (on a plea deal, with a sentence of probation only, which is not nothing, but it’s also not much. Incidentally, the one charge that person pled to was unrelatred to the investigation.) Two people went to trial, and the second has just been acquitted of all remaining charges (one charge was dropped.) The first trial also resulted in acquittal. Durham still hadn’t given up, but will likely now get more pressure to do so. The “investigation” appears to be simply a scavenger hunt for mares’ nests.

The Daily Beast – Humans Are Hardwired to Cheat. Here’s How We Stop Ourselves.
Quote – What evolutionary and economic theories have to do with stuffing fish filets into fish and sneaking an (alleged) vibrating butt plug into a chess match may not be immediately apparent. But behavioral scientists like University of Arizona associate professor Mary Rigdon think about sporting competitions in much the same way that biologists like Strassmann study evolution. “We have this idea that competition should naturally lead to better athletes and more exciting and entertaining sporting activities,” Rigdon told The Daily Beast. “But we started to ask the question: Is there a possibility that competition can actually generate unethical behavior?”
Click through for article. It’s not about elections, but it certainly has some application to them. But it also has application t other things. Have you ever said, or wanted to say, “It isn’t a competition” in a conversation when one person appeared to be “one-upping” others? I certainly have. Is it possible that the discomfort (or more) that many white people feel about white privilege stems from a feeling that they are being accused of cheating? I think I’ll be saving this article.

Food For Thought

Video Thread 10/19/22

Posted by Joanne Dixon at 12:19 pm Open Thread, Politics

Oct 192022

Glenn Kirschner – What will J6 committee do if Trump defies subpoena? Rep Adam Kinzinger answers that question

Meidas Touch – Ron Johnson gets UTTERLY HUMILIATED with the MOST SAVAGE Response During Debate (Not sure you can humiliate someone who has no shame – but it’s short at least)

The Lincoln Project – Protecting The Capitol

Robert Reich – Election Deniers Could Pick the Next President Without You

Crooks and Liars – A Ukrainian Boy Laments Attack On His Playground (hanky alert)

Beau – Let’s talk about hybrid Abrams…. [nothing to do with Stacey]

Open Thread October 12, 2022

Posted by Joanne Dixon at 6:48 am Open Thread, Personal, Politics

Oct 122022

Yesterday, my radio station started its fall fund drive, so I started audio streaming, beginning with “The Score” – a one-hour program about music in film which I listen to weekly, generally during that one hour every weekday when there’s a program I don’t care for. This week’s theme was “mad scientists.” Timely for me, both because I had used that hour just the day before to watch a short biography of Thomas Midgley, Jr., called “The Man Who Accidentally Killed The Most People In History.” I thought of him when the host remarked that “mad scientists” in film seem to share a total disregard for the dangers of their creations. But throughout the program, I was also wondering if the whole mad scientist thing hd become so pervasive that the concept became part of the inspiration for QAnon, and other creations of the Alt-Right, with their disdain for actual science and facts. If so, it took long enough. In literature, it traces back to the 16th Century (Christopher Marlowe) and, considering actual science developed out of alchemy, almost certainly goes back to the dawn of humanity. Has anyone besides me ever wondered how humans, with all our crazy tendencies that are hard wired into us managed to survive this long at all?

Cartoon –

Short Takes –

The Daily Beast – Kremlin TV Exposes the Real Goal of Putin’s ‘Revenge-Bombs’
Quote – [State Duma Defense Committee’s head Andrey] Kartapolov urged Russians to unite behind Putin, and his desperate plea spotlighted the true reason behind Moscow’s barrage of missiles: to curb waning public support for Putin’s mindless war…. Konstantin Dolgov, the former Russian commissioner for human rights,… yearned for pained reactions from Ukrainians affected by the strikes, asking: “Are they whining yet? Are they howling yet?”
Click through for the story. My visceral response is, “Republicans, everywhere, by any name, are all the same – the cruelty is the point.” However, Republicans everywhere, by any name, also lie. A lot. So who knows.

CPR News – Republicans hope to take back the House. Here’s what it could mean for Colorado’s representatives
Quote – While he’s not measuring any drapes, GOP Rep. Doug Lamborn said he would seek the chairmanship of the Strategic Forces subcommittee of the House Armed Services committee. He was named the ranking member of that committee in January. The delegation’s longest serving Republican, Lamborn… also currently sits on the House Natural Resources committee[.]
Click through for full article – or, even better, check out your own state’s representatives – not just yours, but all of them. Every state almost certainly has one or more reps whose presence, or chairmanship, on this committee or that committee could turn the House into even more of a horrorscape than their mere presence in the House suggests.

Food For Thought

Video Thread 10/11/22

Posted by Joanne Dixon at 11:55 am Open Thread, Politics

Oct 112022

Glenn Kirschner – Trumps tries to swap stolen documents for info he wants; FBI investigates Trump Tower and Bedminster

The Lincoln Project – Ukraine

MSNBC – DeSantis Auditions For Role Of Green M&M In White Boots

Robert Reich – Organizing a Key Battleground State with @New Georgia Project Action Fund

Brent Terhune – black little mermaid

Beau – Let’s talk about Georgia and the Herschel Walker situation….

Open Thread October 9, 2022

Posted by Joanne Dixon at 6:44 am Open Thread, Personal, Politics

Oct 092022

Yesterday, the radio opera was “A Village Teacher” in Mandarin. While it is an opers, it is in Chinese, and was written by Chinese people, it is not a “Chinese Opera” – it is a “Chinese contemporary classical opera.” Traditional Chinese opera, which goes back thousands of years, had its golden age in the 13th century under the Song dynasty (It’s pure coincidence that the dynastic name sounds musical to us.) The art form’s name – well, one of its Chinese name – is Xipu. There are regional variations, including the name of the form. Tan Dun (who scored the film “Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon” has written several western operas, including one for Placido Domingo, called “The First Emperor,” in which he inlcuded a traditional Chinese opera character and trraditional style – I saw that one on TV so long ago I think I have a VHS of it. But I digress. “A Village teacher,” just as it sounds, is about a teacher and her efforts to teach and help her students be their best selves. It premiered in 2009.

I also learned (I am now listening on the internet – my local station decided not to finish carrying the full season) that Chicago is already calling the holiday of October 10 “Indigenous Peoples’ Day.” And I got confirmation to see Virgil tomorrow.

Cartoon – 09 Manhattan Project RTL

Short Takes –

Steve Schmidt – The Warning – Christian nationalism
Quote – Christian nationalism is evil and dangerous. It is antithetical to Christianity. It is profoundly dangerous. It is on the ballot all across America. Christian nationalism is incompatible with American democracy and pluralism. When political extremists take power in the name of God there is always death…. The separation of church and state and religious freedom are profoundly important foundational achievements of the American republic. The extremists who seek power in God’s name are not benign men and women. I hope this will be a warning.
Click through for the article and a video, which will also appear in today’s Video Thread (It has CC but you may need to enable it.) To share it with others, this is the link to use: https://youtu.be/XzKc748F34g

The Daily Beast – Russians Terrified by Putin’s Bunker Mentality as He Turns 70 With His Finger on the Nuclear Button
Quote – Russians are growing increasingly worried about their leader’s state of mind. In his most recent public appearance, Putin’s eyes looked sunk and foggy. He spoke to a group of teachers from a small office over Zoom. The idea was to celebrate Wednesday’s “Teachers’ Day”—but Putin couldn’t resist ranting about the so-called “neo-Nazis” in Ukraine. “That part looked really insane,” 17-year-old student Vitaly Shatrov from St. Petersburg, whose last name has been changed for privacy reasons, told The Daily Beast. “Putin, who many compare to Hitler for the violence against Ukrainian people, speaks with teachers from some bunker about Nazis.”
Click through for story. I’m 7 years older than he is, and my doctor says I look around that much younger than he is (I think I’ve already shared this.) A different source says he has mobilized about 200,000 – and also that 335,000 have fled to avoid the draft. And he’s well aware what the repercussions would be of even a “small” (“tactical”) strike. I cannot get into the mindset well enough to predict what he might do. But I might point out that for four years we were all terrified that Trump** would press that button.

Food For Thought

Video Thread 10/8/22

Posted by Joanne Dixon at 11:42 am Open Thread, Politics

Oct 082022

Glenn Kirschner – Trump’s dangerous post about Mitch McConnell & his wife, and what it says about the Republican party

The Lincoln Project – Last Week In the Republican Party – October 4, 2022

MSNBC – Sore Loser Syndrome’: What Lowered Confidence In Elections Means For Midterms

Robert Reich – This One Thing Made Alex Jones Stop Lying [temporarily – jd]

Armageddon Update – Losers Gonna Lose

Beau – Let’s talk about Psychology and Alameda, California…

Video Thread 10/6/22

Posted by Joanne Dixon at 12:09 pm Open Thread, Politics

Oct 062022

Glenn Kirschner – Day 1 of Oath Keepers Trial: prosecutors lay out a strong case for seditious conspiracy

The Lincoln Project – MTG Trump Rally

No Dem Left Behind – Richard Ojeda lays out the blueprint for how Democrats keep the House and expand the Senate!

MSNBC – Rep. Raskin: ‘The Whole Country Should Be Alarmed About Where The GOP Is Today’

Parody Project – SPECIAL MASTER

Beau – Let’s talk about teachers, Russians, and supplies….

Video Thread 10/2/22

Posted by Joanne Dixon at 11:53 am Open Thread, Politics

Oct 022022

Glenn Kirschner – Judge Cannon continues catering to Trump, shoots down Judge Dearie’s request for info from Trump

Don Winslow Films – #GinniThomasIsAboveTheLaw (I think Don is too cynical about Liz Cheney. If we don’t see any of her testimony, I suspect it will be because she is lying in all of it. I see no point in the nation seeing her claim the election was rigged and/or stolen.)