Glenn Kirschner – Trump posts about his arrest, urges protest; NY DA Bragg reassures his employees of their safety
The Lincoln Project – Victory
Farron Balanced – Trump’s Lawyer Says Trump Isn’t Lying, He’s Just Not Telling The Truth
Parody Project – WHITER SHADE OF FAIL (Totally useless information – “Procul Harum” is actual Latin for “At a distance [from] these [females])
Dog Scared Of Kittens Becomes Proudest Foster Mom
Beau – Let’s talk about Russia recovering it….
Glenn Kirschner – NY authorities preparing for Trump indictment; Trump’s lawyers says Trump will turn himself in
PoliticsGirl – Must Do Before April 4!!
Ring of Fire – Texas Republicans Push ‘Bounty Hunting Bill’ Targeting Drag Queens
Robert Reich – This One Thing Would Increase Wages By $300 Billion
Spicy Kitten Needs To Be Wrapped in Purrito
Beau – Let’s talk about what went down over Ukraine….
Yesterday, I got an email from Move On, who have an insidious plot. They did not post the contents of the letter so I can’t provide a link, and will summarize. They want to put up three billboards with quotes on the route which Trump** must use to get to the airport, since his Mar-a-Lago heliport is gone. They want each one to highlight a different Tucker Carson text from the trove in which he admittied he does not care for Trump** This, they believe, will cause Trump** to post – let’s say shade – at Carlson every time he takes that road. This will cause Tucker’s viewers to leave him. That’s far more than they say even at the donation site. I think they don’t want the right to get even a hint of it unless and until it’s a done deal. That’s a pity, because it’s quite amusing, but it’s a good strategy. If and when they get the billboards up, we can share the details. Also, I got The New Yorker’s Name Drop answer from the first clue – and actually, any of the clues alone would have given me the correct answer. In this case it was just someone I know so much about that it would have been difficult to wrtie a clue whivh wouldn’t have given me the answer immediately.
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CPR News – As gun deaths rise, Colorado is trying something new — a public health approach to gun violence prevention
Quote – In a first-of-its-kind partnership, the Office of Gun Violence Prevention within the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment is teaming up with researchers from the Injury and Violence Prevention Center in the Colorado School of Public Health. They’ll create and maintain a resource bank of regularly updated and accurate materials regarding gun violence in Colorado. In addition to the resource bank, officials at the new office also developed a grant program to fund evidence-and-community-based gun violence prevention initiatives.
Click through for details. I really thought it was more widely known than apparently it is that guns are a public health problem. It’s too early to say what this iniriative will accomplish, but we can hope
The Conversation – The retention problem: Women are going into tech but are also being driven out
Quote – So, questions arise: Why does the technology industry have a retention problem? Why are women who are employed by the technology industry quitting in such high volumes? What factors contribute to this low retention of women in the technology industry, and what kind of support do women need to stay and succeed in it?… Mainstream media often reports on open-source software’s toxic “tech bro” culture. In recent years, high-profile leaders in open-source software have been exposed for their abusive behavior.
Click through for full article. Back in the day, women who went into male dominated professions knew we had to be tough and we prepared for it. Is it a drawback of greater societal acceptance in general that we don’t sufficiently prepare kids to cross invisible lines?
Food For Thought
Now, this is what I call trolling!
Russian state media: Finns will die of cold in winter due to cutting ties with Russia
Finns: pic.twitter.com/QYG51KRA3D
— Very Finnish Problems (@VFinnishProbs) March 13, 2023
Glenn Kirschner – Michael Cohen testifies in NY Grand jury; Trump refuses to testify in grand jury; indictment nears (Cohen is not a target of the grand jury before which he is testifying. A big difference – which Glenn taught me.)
Farron Balanced – Republican Lawmaker Has Complete Meltdown Over 4th Grader’s Rainbow Drawing
Robert Reich – What Silicon Valley Bank’s Implosion Means for You
Armageddon Update – This MOTHERTUCKER!
Pittie Thrown Away In Trash Does The Happiest Zoomies Around His New Yard
Beau – Let’s talk about an enduring math problem in Ukraine…. (for once, I knew this before he did. I’d call that a scoop!)
Yesterday, I got the email that my prescription is ready, and the verdict from my doctor that (he doesn’t know either, and the) I should stop by an urgent care facility and have them look. So today I will be doing that. So, today, I have a couple of unusual articles, and tomorrow, there may be only a personal update, or maybe a personal updant and a video thread – those are a little easier to put together than the Open Threads. Oh, and I also got the confirmation to visit Virgil this coming Sunday.
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Mother Jones – Finally, a Peek Into the Arctic Seed Vault That Could Save Humanity
Quote – The Global Seed Vault in the Norwegian Arctic, which opened in 2008, is closed to the public and shrouded in mystery, the subject of numerous internet doomsday conspiracy theories. Now, to celebrate the vault’s 15th anniversary, everyone is invited on a virtual tour to see inside the vast collection of tubers, rice, grains, and other seeds buried deep in the mountain behind five sets of metal doors. The deep-freeze, designed to last forever, is co-managed by the Norwegian government, the Crop Trust and NordGen, the genebank of the Nordic countries. The seeds could hold answers to agricultural challenges posed by climate crisis, invasive species, pests, changes in rainfall patterns and rampant biodiversity loss are studied, and it opens three times a year to accept new deposits from other seed banks around the world. Scientists say they hope people will learn more about their work through the virtual tour—without running the risk of falling prey to a polar bear.
Click through for story, and for the link to the tour, which is over the words “invited on a virtual tour to see inside the vast” – not highlighted, but there is a thin red underline.
Justice News – Readout of Attorney General Merrick B. Garland’s Trip to Ukraine
Quote – At the Opening Session of the conference, the Attorney General provided remarks in which he discussed, among other things, the Justice Department’s role in collaborating with the Ukrainian Prosecutor General and the moral and personal responsibility he feels in pursuing accountability. “Just over twelve months ago, invading Russian forces began committing atrocities at the largest scale in any armed conflict since the Second World War. We are here today in Ukraine to speak clearly, and with one voice: the perpetrators of those crimes will not get away with them,” said Attorney General Garland.
Click through for this news. I had no idea this happened while it was happening (not that anyone did outside of those with a need to know), but I’m glad it did. The meing included Ukrainian and Polish law enforcement, and possibly others. The print is very small – instead of using the magnifier, since there was so much of it, I copied the text ans pasted it into a blank document where I could adjust the font size.
Food For Thought
From 2021, but very pertinent
Glenn Kirschner – NY prosecutors talk with Kellyanne Conway about Trump’s hush money crimes; payoff of Stormy Daniels
MSNBC – Lawrence: Why were some FBI agents ‘inclined to believe Trump’?
Armageddon Update – Red States Vs. Blue States
Patrick Fitzgerald – Three Times a Failure
The Ginger Tabby Who Fell In Love With A Shredded Box
Beau – Let’s talk about China’s peace plan and Russia’s reaction….
Yesterday, the radio opera was “La Favorita,” by Donizetti. It is from way, way back (although new enough to have pretty good sound; it’s not as old as, say Caruso), as were all the historic broadcasts offered from which to pick the “Listeners’ Choice.” Pavarotti is in it, as is Shirley Verrett (one of my favorites.) I voted, but I don’t remember for what – my preference was not that strong. Now, if one of them had been”The GreatGatsby,” from1/1/2000 … but it wouldn’t have won. Sigh. Back on topic – the “favorite” is a royal mistress who has now fallen in love with a former monk who has become a soldier in the army of the king whose mistress she is. That’s complicated enough, but just to make if more interesting, the king’s queen is the daughter of the father superior of the monastery which the favorite’s new love has just left (not amicably.) A setup like that is not going to end happily, but then, it’s opera. Even Bugs Bunny knew operas don’t end happily. Some of the characters are historical people, others not so much. The time is the mid-1300s and the king is Alfonso XI of Castile (who did exist.) I guess i should add here that my side pains are pretty much non-existent today … I just haven’t made up the energy loss yet.
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Crooks & Liars – Expert Spells Out How Russians Bought The Republican Party
Quote – But the Russian scheme to pick our political leaders went much, much deeper than Trump, according to Dr. Ruth May. A Professor of Global Business at the University of Dallas and an expert on Russia, her expertise includes the reversal of market-based institutions in Russia under Vladimir Putin, and exposing Russia’s attack on our American democracy in the 2016 presidential election.
Click through for article and a video. I would have liked a little more detail, particularly since there’s not really anything we didn’t know. Dr. May is highly credentialed, so I don’t doubt that due diligence has been done here, but it’s not really visible.
ProPublica – 94 Women Allege a Utah Doctor Sexually Assaulted Them. Here’s Why a Judge Threw Out Their Case.
Quote – It was years, Mateer said, before she learned that her experience was in a sharp contrast to the conduct called for in professional standards, including that doctors use only their fingertips during a breast exam and communicate clearly what they are doing in advance, to gain the consent of their patient. Eventually, she gave her experience another name: sexual assault. Utah judges, however, have called it health care. And that legal distinction means Utahns like Mateer who decide to sue a health care provider for alleged sexual abuse are treated more harshly by the court system than plaintiffs who say they were harmed in other settings.
Click through for details. I try to give hanky alerts and trigger alerts – but this one needs a blood pressure alert.
Food For Thought
Glenn Kirschner – DOJ declares Donald Trump DOES NOT have immunity for Jan. 6 speech inciting violence at the Capitol
PoliticsGirl – Fox News Viewer?
Thom Hartmann – Putin Reveals Latest Cause Of Ukrainian War
Mrs Betty Bowers – Gossiping with God
Mama Dog And Her Puppies Found Under A Bus — See Them All A Year Later!
Beau – Let’s talk about Medicaid and what to do if you’re now ineligible….