SCOTUS – Page 23 – Politics Plus

Open Thread for February 18 2022

Posted by Joanne Dixon at 6:49 am Open Thread, Personal, Politics

Feb 182022

Yesterday, I actually finished one of the “buttonhole neckline” sweaters I’ve been working o. Sorry no picture yet. I’m not fluent in photography. But I do remember that has been requested and will be working on it. I found a brand new Rocky Mountain Mike parody (based on Neil Diamond’s “Sweet Caroline”) – it’ll be in Saturday’s video thread.- And, I placed a grocery order to be delivered today.

Cartoon –

Short Takes –

Letters from an American – February 16, 2022
Quote – Parker’s Washington Post story showing the Freedom Convoys as the expression of a radical fringe was an important reality check to the breathless stories from the American right hailing the Freedom Convoys as a popular movement. The story that former secretary of state Hillary Clinton allegedly spied on then-candidate Trump’s campaign in 2016 illustrates the importance of the sort of reality-based corrective the Washington Post published about the Canadian truckers.
Click through for both stories. We may never be able to reach loony-tunes RWNJs, but it’s still important – maybe even more important – for sane people to have access to the truth.

The 19th – How Ketanji Brown Jackson’s pursuit of success as a lawyer and parent got her a potential Supreme Court nod
Quote – After another stint in private practice, Jackson was nominated by then-President Barack Obama to serve in a full-time capacity on his Sentencing Commission. She was confirmed to that post in 2010. It was the first of three times that she has gone through a Senate confirmation process. “This for me was an opportunity of a lifetime, and it was well worth enduring what I can only say was the extremely nerve-wracking nomination and confirmation process,” she said at the University of Georgia. “I actually taught myself to knit as a way to channel my nervous energy during that time. If anybody wants a scarf, I’m your source.”
Click through for details. It is far from certain who will actually be nominated, but she is a top contender, and has ahown good judgment (pun intended) in some of the 1/6 trials. Not only that, she has a sense of humor.

NBC News – Scientists have possibly cured HIV in a woman for the first time
Quote – An American research team reported that it has possibly cured HIV in a woman for the first time. Building on past successes, as well as failures, in the HIV-cure research field, these scientists used a cutting-edge stem cell transplant method that they expect will expand the pool of people who could receive similar treatment to several dozen annually. Their patient stepped into a rarified [sic] club that includes three men whom scientists have cured, or very likely cured, of HIV. Researchers also know of two women whose own immune systems have, quite extraordinarily, apparently vanquished the virus.
Click through for story, including caution from Dr. Fauci. We have ONE cure from this treatment. It’s definitle hopeful, but at best hopefully definite.

Footnote: Tuesday I featured Rober Smalls. Turns out Keith Knight (“Ye Olde Gentleman Cartoonist”) is a big fan of his.

Food For Thought:

Open Thread for February 10, 2022

Posted by Joanne Dixon at 7:28 am Open Thread, Personal, Politics

Feb 102022

Yesterday, I got the trash and recyclables out, emptied the mailbox (most of which went straight into the recyclables), sent a couple of ecards, made a couple of cartoons, and called it a day. Today I am sgned up for a Zoom presentation on Walt Whitman by the “Theater of War” (which uses ancient, old, and sometimes modern literature to help people heal from various traumas. They started with Greek tragedy but have nranched out considerably.) That probably means I won’t get much more done today than yesterday.

Cartoon –

Short Takes –

Mother Jones – Why It’s So Hard to Get a Defense Lawyer Confirmed to the Supreme Court
Quote – The last time the Supreme Court had a justice who’d worked as a criminal defense lawyer was 1991. That’s the year Thurgood Marshall, the legendary civil rights advocate, retired after 24 years on the court. Since then, the court has suffered from a dearth of justices with any sort of criminal defense backgrounds. Both Democratic and Republican presidents have stacked the court with former prosecutors, who are overrepresented on the court—people like Justice Samuel Alito, who had previously served as the US attorney for the District of New Jersey. Even Sonia Sotomayor, the court’s most liberal member, spent nearly five years working as an assistant district attorney for the legendary New York County DA Robert Morgenthau straight out of law school.
Click through for story. And for why it matters.

HuffPost – Man Arrested For Storming The Capitol While Out On Bail For Attempted Murder
Quote – Federal authorities have arrested Matthew Beddingfield for his role in the Capitol insurrection, which he attended with his father while out on bail for a first-degree attempted murder charge…. HuffPost revealed Beddingfield’s identity more than 10 months ago, on March 26, in a story that built off the work of a network of citizen-sleuths. They used facial recognition software to match footage of Beddingfield at the Capitol to his publicly available mug shot from a 2019 arrest for attempted murder.
Click through for background. there’s a catch phrase going around – “Tell me you’re [blank] without telling me you’re [blank].” I have mostly seen it with the blank filled in by “white.” I’d say that applies here.

Black History
Biography – Otis Boykin 1920-1982 ( JL)
Quote – Boykin, who took a special interest in working with resistors, began researching and inventing on his own. He sought and received a patent for a wire precision resistor on June 16, 1959. This resistor would later be used in radios and televisions. Two years later, he created a breakthrough device that could withstand extreme changes in temperature and pressure. The device, which was cheaper and more reliable than others on the market, came in great demand by the United States military for guided missiles and IBM for computers…. His most famous invention was a control unit for the pacemaker.
Click through – it isn’t long. It’s safe to say that there are people waling around today who would not be alive had Boykin not existed. It’s also not too farfetched to suggest that without his work on computers, we might not have thos blog today.

Food For Thought:

Video Thread 2/6/22

Posted by Joanne Dixon at 12:10 pm Open Thread, Politics

Feb 062022

Glenn Kirschner – Pence Chief Counsel Greg Jacob Testifies, Called a “Patriot.” Jeff Clark Finally Forced to Testify

American Bridge 21st Century – Pres. Joe Biden: “America is back to work”

The Lincoln Project – Respect

Thom Hartmann – Florida’s Nefarious Plan Guts Ballot Initiative Process

Armageddon Update – The Supremes

Puppet Regime – Slim Jong Un: New Look, Same Explosive Appeal

Beau – Let’s talk about Massie’s absurd Voltaire quote….

Open Thread for February 4, 2022

Posted by Joanne Dixon at 6:42 am Open Thread, Personal, Politics

Feb 042022

Yesterday, I got TC’s old emails down to just over 3,000, which brought me to mid-July. I’m sure I won’t be doing almost 2000 everyday, but I decided I wanted to be more than half done.

Cartoon –

Short Takes –

NM Political Report – Luján recovering after stroke, surgery
Quote – The statement from Carlos Sanchez, Luján’s chief of staff, said the 49-year-old senator experienced dizziness and fatigue Thursday morning and checked himself into Christus St. Vincent Regional Hospital in Santa Fe. It was there that medical staff determined he had a stroke in his cerebellum, which affected his balance.
Click through for details. Why is this important? Because we can’t hold a comfirmation vote for SCOTUS without him. Thankfully he is smart, and checked himself in.

Crooks and Liars – Texas Parent Demands School District Ban Michelle Obama’s Book
Quote – “Another parent in Katy, a Houston suburb, asked the district to remove a children’s biography of Michelle Obama, arguing that it promotes “reverse racism” against white people, according to the records obtained by NBC News,” the report said.
Click through. It’s not very long. You can’t make this stuff up. (Kafka, Sartre, Beckett, Ionesco actually tried … and could not reach this level.)

The Nib – The Myth of the Strong Black Woman
Quote – But what about the issue we do not talk about enough: How the reality of being a black woman in America can wear away at even the most resilient and privileged of us? A few months ago, amidst struggling with my own depression and anxiety, I learned of three well-known black women who died by suicide in the past year.
Click through for article, including hard numbers. As “Maus” has shown (in case anyone had missed it), material presented graphically can have an impact as strong as, maybe even stronger than,mor conventional writing.

Food For Thought:

And Ruth Bader Ginsburg’s dream. Considering the fact that our three-branck govermnet was inspired by the Haudenosaunee Confederacy governmen (whose equivalemt to our judicial branch comprised the respected elder woman of the tribes), I believe it would be extremely appropriate.

Video Thread 2/3/22

Posted by Joanne Dixon at 12:17 pm Open Thread, Politics

Feb 032022

Glenn Kirschner – Trump Pushes Protests, Promises Pardons During Texas Rally: Reveals his Fear Indictments are Near

American Bridge – Co-Chair Cecile Richards: Biden making historic SCOTUS pick

Meidas Touch – Nikki Fried BLASTS Ron DeSantis for HIDING TESTS as Omicron surged

The Lincoln Project – Vote While It Counts

politicsrus – Our Future Needs Strong Public Schools

Radio DJ Drives An Hour Every Day For Months To Gain This Wild Pittie’s Trust

Beau – Let’s talk about fake electors and real subpoenas….

Open Thread for February 3, 2022

Posted by Joanne Dixon at 6:38 am Open Thread, Personal, Politics

Feb 032022

Yesterday, I got rid of another thousand emails from TC’s PP Email. Only about 5000 to go. It got me back to the end of August last year. Also, I note that February is Black History Month, and while I don’t plan on ignoring all other news, I will be trying to include at least one Black History story in the Open Thread every day. Incidentally, the Met Opera put up a video which I expected to be like a trailer – but turned out to be just about an hour, featuring full arias and scenes from complete productions, performed by singers from as well known as Leontyne Price down to as little known as Ryan Speedo Green – and completely unrestricted. Incidentally, if you are ever looking for an impressinve story of overcoming obstacles, google “Ryan Speedo Green”

Cartoon –

Short Takes –

Huff Post – Bomb Threats Reported At Historically Black Colleges For Second Day
Quote – For the second day in a row, historically Black colleges and universities (HBCUs) were the target of bomb threats across the country, with this latest wave coming on the first day of Black History Month. Campuses were shut down and classes moved to remote learning following the threats impacting more than a dozen schools as of Tuesday morning.
Click through for details. This is what American Naziism looks like. I got back to my inbox and saw this just after streaming the hour of operatic black history I mentioned in the intro. What a letdown. But not nearly so much for me as for students whose education is being threatened.

The 19th – The 19th Explains: Biden prepares to nominate a Black woman to the Supreme Court. What’s next?
Quote – There’s a lot we don’t know: who Biden’s choice will be, the speed at which this whole process will work, or what questions will emerge as senators consider the nomination. But we do know this Supreme Court confirmation will largely work the same as others. Here’s a guide on what to expect and what we’ll be looking at for potential nominees and the months ahead.
Click through. If I had to name a group with no lawyers and no politicians which didn’t need this explanation, the readers ot Politics Plus would be that group. But it could come in handy to share with others who are less attentive. Also, it has bckground on some names being floated.

Law and Crime – Trump Impeachment Witness Sues Giuliani, Trump Jr., and White House Officials for Allegedly Violating His Civil Rights
Quote – “This lawsuit seeks long-overdue accountability for unlawful actions,” the document says in its opening salvo. It accuses the defendants of conspiring to help the ex-president “obstruct a constitutional proceeding by intimidating and retaliating against a key witness.”
Click through for story, including the 73 page court filing if you are so inclined. Long overdue indeed – but I’m not sure why just now. Of course it will further complicate their lives (and the lives of their counsel), and that may be at least part of the reasining. In any case, LTC Vindman deserves to see them held accountable.

Food For Thought:

Open Thread for January 30, 2022

Posted by Joanne Dixon at 7:20 am Open Thread, Personal, Politics

Jan 302022

Yesterday, the radio opera was Rigoletto – the second opera I ever owned a complete recording of. I haven’t seen/heard it as many times as I have La Boheme – but it’s the opera that got me an “A” in Conducting class. (I’m actually a terible conductor, but I was able to really “sell” the scene I chose – possibly the most tragic scene in an opera which is horrifyingly tragic. Verdi did that sometimes – sneaked the climax into the middle – and yet managed not to make the end a let-down. La Traviata is another example. So is Otello. And others. It’s almost as if he wanted to give the aude=ience a premonition – and a chance to warm up their emotions for the finale.) After the opera, I made 6 of the 10 new cartoons I need for February, and set up meds for the next two weeks.

Cartoon – 30 0130Cartoon.jpg

Short Takes –

Robert Reich – After Stephen Breyer, who?
Quote – As a candidate for the Democratic nomination, Biden vowed to appoint a Black woman to the court if he were elected president. (He made the promise at a debate in February 2020, just days before winning the South Carolina primary that helped jump-start his flagging campaign.) The two most likely candidates are Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit (who graduated from Harvard Law School and served as a law clerk to Breyer), and Justice Leondra R. Kruger of the California Supreme Court, who graduated from Yale Law School and served as a law clerk to Justice John Paul Stevens.
Click through for more names, any or all of whom would be well qualified (not that it’s difficult to be more qialified than Kavanaugh and Barrett – combined.) I’d love to see a black woman on the court, provided it wasn’t Candace Owens, Diamond, Silk, or the like.

Crooks and Liars – Chuck Schumer Plans Rapid Confirmation For SCOTUS Nominee
Quote – Senate sources also say that the Senate can act on the Biden nominee before Justice Stephen Breyer officially steps down from the court. So Democrats expect to hold hearings and votes before Breyer officially steps aside at the end of his term.
Click through. The article also contains a reference to the Reagan quote (when he appointed O’Conno) which Jen Psaki used so expertly whan asked about “reverse racism.”

AP News – Here, kitty: Bidens welcome cat named Willow to White House
From the article: The name Willow refers to Willow Grove, PA< where Dr. Jill grew up. Willow is a two-year-old [former] farm cat.
Click through for 4 more pix and a link to a video. (I chose this pic to show off hre eyes.) Every cat person knows that you don’t adopt a cat, the cat adopts you – and Willow appears to be no exception.