Personal Update December 27, 2023

 Posted by at 1:14 pm  Politics
Dec 272023
 

I’m afraid I really am not feeling good today.  I could use one of those ginger mints Ruby gave Shaye – I hear both ingredients are good for nausea.  But I just got an emal I had to pass on – Alexander Vindman’s twin is running for Congress in Virginia, and pairing up with Adam Schiff for fundraising.  I personally have not given anything to the California Senate race because I don’t want to diss Katie OR Adam OR Barbara – it’s not even that they are all the same, because they aren’t – they are all distinct and each would be a fantastic Senator in diferent ways.   But I’ll quote from the email from Alexander including the link.

I’m writing to ask you to split a $10 contribution today between my brother Eugene Vindman’s campaign for Virginia’s 7th congressional district and Adam Schiff’s campaign for Senate.

Please let me explain why:

In 2019, in my role on the National Security Council, I witnessed a telephone call between then-President Donald Trump and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, during which Trump pressured Zelensky to launch a political investigation of Joe Biden as a quid pro quo to continue receiving United States military aid. I was shocked.

I alerted my brother Eugene who served as the NSC’s ethics attorney. We immediately informed our superiors and I eventually testified before a closed session of the House Intelligence Committee, on which Rep. Adam Schiff served as chair.

He led a thorough, honest investigation and eventually secured the first bipartisan vote in a Senate impeachment trial to convict a U.S. president in the history of our country. Each in our own ways, we exposed Trump’s abuse of power to the American public.

It was the right thing to do, Joanne — but we all paid the price.

Then-President Trump retaliated swiftly and fired Eugene and me from the White House, ultimately ending our decades of military service.

And Trump, the Republican Party, and the right-wing media have spent every day since seeking to take down Adam Schiff, censuring him on a partisan vote and even trying to remove him from Congress — simply for championing the rule of law.

That’s why it’s up to us to have Eugene and Adam’s backs. Because they will always have our backs in the fight for our democracy and stand up for the integrity of our Constitution like they have for years.

Just look at January 6th and the ongoing attacks on fair elections. Look at Republican attempts to strip the fundamental right to vote. Look at Trump’s plans to purge the government if he wins again.

It’s more important than ever that we have staunch voices in defense of democracy in the House and Senate. Those voices are Eugene Vindman and Adam Schiff.

So please, split a contribution of $10 or whatever you can afford today between Eugene’s campaign for Virginia’s 7th district and Adam’s campaign for Senate. Every dollar makes a difference as we approach the end-of-year FEC fundraising deadline.

Here’s one to show the anti-immigration people (not that they’ll understand it) –

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Video Thread 10/24/23

 Posted by at 12:04 pm  Open Thread, Politics
Oct 242023
 

I have another day to fill in, and we are approaching month end, which means a recap will be coming up, and require yet another. Harry Litman is out and I can’t find out why. But this video is under 10 minutes and interesting (mostly), and I certainly hope DOJ wins this one.
Legal AF – FURIOUS DOJ THROW THE WHOLE BOOK at Trump Conspirators, LOCK THEM UP

The Lincoln Project – American Leader

MSNBC – McConnell signals support for Biden’s request to bundle aid to Ukraine and Israel into one bill

Parody Project – (SITTIN’ ON HER) BUM AT THE PLAY – Parody of Dock on the Bay | David Cohen & Don Caron

Dog Surprise Reunion with Prisoner Who Saved His Life

Beau – Let’s talk about an update on Biden’s trip and more….

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Open Thread October 24, 2023

 Posted by at 6:00 am  Open Thread, Personal, Politics
Oct 242023
 

Yesterday, I was exhausted, and slept quite late. So I got busy putting this post together, and at a little before 8 p.m., I received an email informing me Margaret Atwood is having pacemaker surgery tomorrow, Wednesday. The link is to Substack, but if you are interested and don’t mind clicking the popup, you can find out more. She is due to turn 84 next month, and was only 12 whem she experienced her first extrasystole, and also she has a family history of Afib. I did see the episode of Impatient Griselda she alludes to, and no, I had no idea she was having an episode. But I take this seriously, however lightly she speaks of it. Although it’s unavoidable, I hate losing national treasures (even when it’s another nation – in this case, Canada.) And of course the pacemaker may well lenghthen her life significantly, so there’s that. I certainly hope it does.

Cartoon –

Short Takes –

Axios – Scoop: Marine Corps 3-star general advising Israeli military on Gaza ground operation
Quote – White House National Security Council spokesperson John Kirby told reporters at a briefing on Monday that there “are a few U.S. military officers with relevant experience to the operation the Israelis are conducting that are over there to share their perspective and to ask hard questions — the same hard questions we have been asking our Israeli counterparts since the beginning.”
Click through for more. Here’s what I think is going on: Republicans (by whatever name) have much in common with children (particularly toddlers), and one of those commonalities is that, in order to persuade them to do something, you have to be able to get them to think it was their own idea. I could be wrong – but all that brain power looks like it to me.

The 19th – Tammy Baldwin has won big in closely divided Wisconsin. Can she do it again?
Quote – Baldwin is one of the country’s most progressive senators, and she’s running for a third term in what could be the country’s most closely divided state. She played a prominent role mobilizing Democratic voters ahead of a Wisconsin Supreme Court election this year that became a referendum on abortion rights. A lower court ruled this fall that abortions could resume in the state. Democrats believe that 2024 voters will remember the year in which their reproductive rights were in question; Republicans hope the ruling will diminish the issue’s salience next year. Either way, Baldwin also has a formidable track record of appealing to Wisconsin’s more rural, conservative pockets with her economic agenda — and she’s already busy talking to voters and raising money as she waits for a high-profile Republican challenger to enter the race.
Click through for article. I’m old enough to remember when Wisconsin was pretty progressive overall, and I find it actually painful that that has been lost – and so acrimoniously at that. This is Scott Walker’s “legacy.” It needs to go – and I wish Baldwin every success.

Food For Thought

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Video Thread 10/7/2023

 Posted by at 12:06 pm  Open Thread, Politics
Oct 072023
 

Glenn Kirschner – Trump files frivolous motions to dismiss his criminal cases; divulges nuclear secrets at Mar-a-Lago

The Lincoln Project – Biden Warns about MAGA

PoliticsGirl – One of these things is not like the other…

Founders Sing – We Are Cowardly (CC in lower left)

Rescued Kitten Becomes One Of The Girls

Beau – Let’s talk about Newsom’s pick for Senate….

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Open Thread October 2, 2023

 Posted by at 6:01 am  Open Thread, Personal, Politics
Oct 022023
 

Yesterday was National Coffee Day. I couldn’t help remembering that some believe that Bach’s “Sheep May Safely Graze” was originally written for his “Coffee Cantata” as a metaphor for patriarchy – “God is our shepherd and I, your father, am your shepherd, and as your shepherd, I am telling you, my daughter, to stop drinking coffee!” I’m not sure that that’s true, and if it is, it might have been intended as satire of the pearl-clutchers of the time – there have always been some, and they have always been loud – but it does make a good story. I was also reminded I have a brand new coffee mug – so I made a point of using it. Yesterday was also Jimmy Carter’s birthday (although they held the party Saturday, just in case there was a shutdown, which would have kind of rained on the parade.) It was also Julie Andrews’s birthday (she’s 88), which I would have forgotten had it not been for Wonkette.

Today’s cartoon is the first of four I’ll be introducing over the month. After the fourth, I hope to get opinions on which one is the most effective – and/or if it would be more effective to use an element from one with an element from another.

Cartoon –

Short Takes –

Common Dreams – Democratic Senators Sound Alarm Over Koch-Backed Plot to ‘Eviscerate’ Regulatory State
Quote – Hours before ProPublica revealed new details about U.S. Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas’ relationship with the Koch network, a group of Democratic senators filed a brief on Thursday warning that Koch-backed entities are closely involved in an upcoming case that could further gut the federal government’s regulatory power—and enhance the strength of the conservative-dominated high court. The case in question is Loper Bright Enterprises v. Raimondo, which stems from a New Jersey-based fishing company’s challenge to a law requiring certain fishing boats to carry federal compliance monitors to enforce regulations.
Click through for article. I’m glad these Senators are on this. I will concede that it is possible to over-regulate, but it’s clear that, as long as one person is being hurt by under-regulation or unenforced regulation, we are not even close to over-regulation. (Off topic, but I think that’s the first picture I have ever seen of Charles without the you-know-what-eating grin. If that means he is less happy – good.)

London Daily – British Writer Pens The Best Description Of Trump I’ve Read
Quote – “Why do some British people not like Donald Trump?”… [W]hile Trump may be laughable, he has never once said anything wry, witty or even faintly amusing – not once, ever. I don’t say that rhetorically, I mean it quite literally: not once, not ever. And that fact is particularly disturbing to the British sensibility – for us, to lack humour is almost inhuman. But with Trump, it’s a fact. He doesn’t even seem to understand what a joke is – his idea of a joke is a crass comment, an illiterate insult, a casual act of cruelty.
Click through for every last detail. I have seen this before – I think most recently during the actual Trump** administration – but it is very detailed and every detail worth savoring, so it’s time to re-share it.

Food For Thought

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Video Thread 9/26/2023

 Posted by at 12:04 pm  Open Thread, Politics
Sep 262023
 

Glenn Kirschner – Donald Trump urges Republican to shut down government to STOP the prosecutions against him.

Thom Hartmann – Will You Vote For Puppy Killers? Why The GOP Is Betting On It

MSNBC – A general reporting to an unstable president’: Report exposes challenges for Milley under Trump

Farron Balanced – Terrified Trump Is Asking His Lawyers How Bad Prison Will Be For Him

Rescue Cat Lives In Liquor Store

Beau – Schumer, Tuberville, and turnarounds….

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Video Thread 9/24/2023

 Posted by at 12:02 pm  Open Thread, Politics
Sep 242023
 

Talking Feds – Crackpot Trump attorney on FULTON COUNTY witness list

The Lincoln Project – Fox News on No Labels

MSNBC – Nicolle: How Gen. Milley fought to contain an unstable Trump, protect ‘stability’ of democracy

Farron Balanced – Elderly Republican Senator Threatens To Wear Bikini To Protest Senate Dress Code

Cat Begs Dad To Let Him Come Surfing

Beau – Let’s talk about Trump, Meet the Press, and accuracy….

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Open Thread September 24, 2023

 Posted by at 6:05 am  Open Thread, Personal, Politics
Sep 242023
 

Yesterday, the radio opera was “La Fanciulla Del West” by Giacomo Puccini. If you have ever seen “The Girl of the Golden WEst in any other incarnation (there was a movie with Jeanette MacDonald and Nelson Eddy, for instance) You’ll know the story, complete with the blood dripping through the ceiling. (Estlin Usher got a pic of the set for that scene, but before the blood started dripping. He also got two of the bar and one of the final scene – no horse – but they look like they were taken from the very last row.) Minnie is one of the few Puccini heroines who survives the opera, but though the lovers are together, their future is far from certain as they ride off into the sunset. We can hope – and most if not all do – that it all works out. This is the last production from Beijing this season (and it was recorded in 2019); the rest of the schedule is in place, and I’m excited about it. There are some 21st century operas and some rarities from traditional composers – a lot will be new to me to hear, even if I have read about some of the operas. It will take us into December. And the Met’s radio schedule, which will pick up where this leaves off, is also out, and I am excited about it too. But that can wait. Also yesterday, the Carters showed up at the Plains Peanut Festival parade (in a vehicle). That choked me up.  Finally, yesterday I had to bring out the space heater.  Sigh.  Now, off to see Virgil.

Cartoon – 24 new Jay + yom kippur (both loaded)

Short Takes –

HuffPost – The UAW Strike Poses The Biggest Test — And Opportunity — For Joe Biden’s Economic Agenda
Quote – Since taking office, Biden cast his domestic economic agenda as a repudiation of the free-market economic policies that have dominated since President Ronald Reagan won election in 1980. Reaganomics, with its “trickle-down” upper-income tax cuts, corporate deregulation and anti-labor actions, “failed the middle class, it failed America,” Biden said in a June speech. More than any other single event, how Biden handles the UAW strike could determine the political and policy success of his grand agenda.
Click through for explanation. HuffPost is talking about siding with the strikers. And my second take suggests that is exactly what he is doing – maybe not exactly the way that HuffPost suggests, but maybe even more strongly.

Axios – Biden to join UAW strike and picket with auto workers
Quote – President Biden said he’ll picket alongside the United Auto Workers in Michigan next week — in a rare act of a president visibly joining a labor movement…. Biden, who has previously called himself the “most pro-union president ever,” had urged U.S. automakers last week to share more of their “record profits” with the workers on strike. Biden’s visit is set for the day before former President Trump is expected to appear in Michigan instead of attending the second GOP primary debate.
Click through for details. HuffPost was not expecting this. But they also carry the story so if you like, you can compare the coverages.

Food For Thought

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