Oct 032024
 

Yesterday, it seemed that people in or near my age are dropping like flies. John Amos (84), Pete Rose (83). Also yesterday, I was directed to the website of “Evangelicals for Harris” to see the ads they are putting out. I have no idea where they are running, but they’re worth a look – and a share with any Evangrelicals you might know (“Evangelical” is not a denomination, it’s a way of looking at faith, and in itself it is not bad. But it is unfortunately very vulnerable to being distorted by people who want power. There is, sadly. a Biblical justification for that – in at least one of the Gospels Jesus says that when the Holy Spirit comes, “you shall receive power.” Political power is not what he meant – and since all our Bibles in English are translations from something, I suspect a mistranslation for something more like “abilities.” But when a book designed to help people understand the concept and learn to walk the walk, in English titled “Life in the Spirit” was translated into Spanish under the title “Recibirán Poder”, I saw instantly where the movement was headed, and dissociated myself from it immediately. From the movement – not from its original good ideas.)

Yesterday also too, although I am confident that real news media such as the Guardian and maybe Reuters and AP covered it, but Axios was the only outlet which sent me an email about Jack Smith and his new filing. Everyone else had their head up in the debate. IMO, Jack Smith’s filing is , eeven with redactions, not only more interesting but also more important. But I’m sure more information about it is coming – and more interpretation as well.

I don’t guess it gets any more real than this. When I think of County Clerks and Secretaries of State I have known over the years, it makes me want to cry – as if that would do any good.

Vanity Fair is a Condé Nast publication (like The New Yorker and, of all thing, Wired), so although the original link was to a “one free article”, I archived it, so you can get it back if needed. We’ve heard a lot – a whole lot – of stories of people losing their parents to Fox News, or to Trump**, or to Trumpism. But this one, from Caroline Giuliani, takes the cake. (Incidentally, Belle calls it a mustread for all Americans)

mostly Cat

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Sep 172024
 

Yesterday, I was still tidying up. I have been known to make the same mstake twice, but hopefully not in a two-day period, so this should be on time. Also, the New Mexico Political Report announced a week starting today of articles discussing exactly what impact Project 2025 would have in New Mexico specifically. I realize that probably none of us live in New Mexico, but even if your state has zip in common with it, seeing it applied to a particular state could get us thinking about how it would apply to our own. I’m providing a link to the introduction, which has more details. While there , I went to the home page by clicking on the logo in the upper left, and saw two stories already on how Project 2025 will affect the climate in New Mexico. The New Mexico Political Report is (or used to be and I hope still is) a creative commons site, which means that as long as you follow their rules, you can repost complete articles and not violate copyright. And then there’s this (watch the embed here – don’t go to YouTube – it is censoring VoteVets

TomCat referred to the Reichstag fire often, as I’m sure everyone recalls. The first “assissination attempt” may have been actually an intended attempt, but I still do not believe it as a bullet which caused his ear to bleed (my vote goes to shattered glass “shrapnel.”) But this really does look ridiculous to anyone with a functioning brain. Not that that precludes it from being very dangerous, as Rober Reich has also remarked.

This is a report from the Project on Government Oversight on what happens in one state – Texas – when the Census is not conducted to count every head. NOte that Texas deliberately conducted the 2020 Census so as to undercount its population. WEll, it cost them a lot of money to do that. Not that they care about that. Red states are states which turn down Federal money even if the count is correct.

Belle 18 mos

Cat

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Aug 302024
 

Yesterday, I came across a new Randy Rainbow, and this time I can’t cut the ad for Groun News without losing content. But after his last video, I looked it up, and it really isn’t bad. I can see why he and Trey both like it. Even without a subscription, it a lot franker than the MSM. Anyway, here’s the link to Randy

As you can see by her title, Heather Cox Richardson wrote this late on Tuesday (and I saw it Wednesday.) Very little of it was actually news even then. But it’s a nice potpourri of things that happened and what an eventful week it was, even as early as Tuesday. If you haven’t already fastened your psychological seat belts, this might be a good time to do so.

I’m very much not a fan of puppy mills, and I can’t believe that anyone here would be. But murdering a breeder is a couple of bridges too far. And if someone crossed that bridge, and took those puppies, you can bet any important body part that he or she didn’t do it to rescue them.

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Aug 292024
 

Yesterday, my opinion of Jack Smith rose yet again – not just because of the new indictment, not even just because he has empaneled a new grand jury to authorize the superseding indictment, but because no one outside that tight little circle evenknew that a new grand jury was looking at it until it was published. That’s amazing. Also yesterday, Crooks and Liars had a story about a GOP chair who had been rejected by whatever in-group she was the chair of, but who refused to leave. Law enforcement was needed to remove her from the State Convention (not, obviously, Presidential, but Michigan’s primaried for state legislatures are coming up.) A judge ruled that the use of law enforcement in this case was legitimate. I hope the Colorado GOP is paying attention.

Personally, I don’t need to know something will hurt me directly in order to know that its bad. If it hurts someone else who doesn’t deserve to be hurt, it hurts me too. But I guess that’s just what makes me not a Republican. Still, it can be useful to realize how policies which hurt particular people end up hurting everybody (and the converse.)

Well, this is interesting. (And that’s throwing roses at it.) Greg Abbott and Ken Paxton must have become jealous of all the attention Harris and Walz are getting and decided thay wanted some of that. Sotty, Greg and Ken, attention because people hate you is not the same as attention because people love you. I hope you get sued within an inch of your useless lives.

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Jul 102024
 

Yesterday, I got an email from Common Cause sharing its accomplishments at the state level. Unfortunately, I couldn’t find anything a their website with the same information. They cite four states – Ohio, Minnesota, New Mexico, and Connecticut (I’m far less worried about New Mexico and Connecticut than about the other two.) Also, Colorado now has avian flu in Weld County (dairy ranching country, nowhere near me) and one case of bubonic plague in Pueblo County (I’m 15 miles from the county line, but do go there to visit Virgil.) With only the one case and the experts looking into it, I’m not worried about it now, but I will be watching for updates. And then, i learned Steve Schmodt, after losing two family dogs within months of each other, has a new puppy, a 3 pound Havanese named Mabel.

Jasmine Crockett is someone we need more of. Smart – but not only smart, but also knowledgable and realistic. I hope Democrats are listening.

Marcie Jones is fairly new at Wonkette, but she has the style down. Here she points out that, as bad as Project 2025 is, Trump’s personal plans may be even worse

“Morals of an Alley Cat”, Tfrump, political cartoon

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Jun 242024
 

Yesterday, Trinette came by. I didn’t have a lot for her to do, but we had a good talk. She says hi to everyone.

This sems like a pretty big deal to me. I hope we are successful in the end – and maybe Nepal can be next.

I haven’t seen all the decisions handed down Friday by SCOTUS, but I did see this report on this one. Despite having lived practically on the banks of the Rio Grande for almost 20 years (in Alamosa), I have no idea whether this is good decision or not. Certainly there are a whole lot of other states which get water from the Rio Grande, and I wouldn’t want those states to get screwed (one of them is mine.) If I knew who the 5 and the 4 were, I’d have a far better idea just from that.

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Jun 152024
 

Yesterday, the Daily Beast had an article titled “Who Will Live Longer—Trump or Biden?” My immedaite response was “your answer to that depends on whether you believe in science, or in the folk belief that evil lives longer.” And then I thought, no, it won’t really. Because the same people who believe folktales are true are the ones who think TFG is good.” So, either eay, the answer is Biden. And Robert Reich’s DEBUNK Episode 3 was published.

Tina Peters is not what I would like to see from Colorado in national news. Not that this story is directly about her, but it’s about what Mesa County is doing to attempt to move on from her, and her name is the one that leaps out.

For Pride Month, here’s an article about the life (and death at 86) of a transgender woman to whom we all owe gratitude if we ever use anything involving microchips. I don’t ecpect her legacy to impress any gender bigots, of course, but I also don’t expecct any of them to be reading this.

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Jun 012024
 

Yesterday, as promised, Robert Reich posted Episode 1 in his new DEBUNK series. This kink is to his Substack addres; it includes a transcript of his video (just under 3 minutes) and a link to it (and it has good CC.) Also, I got my new water heater inspected by the regional authority (I forget what they call it. The inspector wants a bit more support on a couple of tubes at the top, but he won’t have to come back – he can email my plumber and the plumber can email him back a photo. It’s good to ba able to go through the mud room again without special leak-proof footwear (which is also uncomfortable.)

This from Talking Points Memo is thoughtful, scary, and I believe motivating to keep up the fight for justice, which sadly will never end,

This is more a curiosity than breaking news – certainly I was curios after reading the headline, and also curious to see whether the method shared by someone at Democratic Underground to make a paywalled article accessible to anyone would work. (Spoiler: It does. Yippee!)

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