Open Thread November 10 2024

 Posted by at 6:00 am  Open Thread, Personal, Politics
Nov 102024
 

Yesterday, The radio opera was “LAN Huahua” (WFMT puts Chinese surnames in all caps to remind everyone that the surname comes first), an opera comissioned for the NCPA in 2011 (completed in 2017) based on a flok ballad about a beautiful young woman who makes the mistake of believing she can think for herself in feudal China (and even have bodily autonomy.) It doesn’t end well, at least not in my opinion.  It ends with all the villagers singing her ballad, so that she will never be forgotteen.  But that to me does not compensate for all the bullying and the eventual suicide.  Lovely music, though.  Interesting fusion of Chinese ans western musical traditions put together so smoothly it’s not really easy to find the joins.  At least some of that has got to be because the composer worked so hard to find analogies between aspectss of the two traditions.

I’m sorry that this article from the 19th is heartbreatking. I’m even sorrier that it is just one more heartbreaking thing in a world of heartbreak. And that we dare not close our eyes to it.

Apparently there are people who did not see this coming. I am not one of them. I can’t tell whether the Atlanta Black Star saw it coming or not, but I can say they do report on it fearlessly. And this article is aimed at all decent people. The evil empire has another plan just for people of color.

Screenshot

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Open Thread October 18 2024

 Posted by at 6:00 am  Open Thread, Personal, Politics
Oct 182024
 

Yesterday, I learned (and I may be late to the party, but I think not, since this is so damning) that Sheldon White house (God bless him) has released a report that during the Kavanaugh confirmation, the FBI didn’t even see the content the thousands of tips called in, because all calls were redirected to the White House. Meanwhile, Axios reports that Democrats have initiateed a llawsuit against the FEC for allowing the GOP to put out ads which are not just morally but also legally questionable. Also, for a while now Steve Schmidt has been sounding increasingly nervous because Kamala Harris has not been as forceful as he would like to see. But her interview with Bret Baier on Fox appears to have satisfied him. Finally, I think this is the first time I have seen Belle pissed off. Personally I found it both amusing and inspiring. See what you think.

I have been aware for some time that Rolling Stone, though not the first name most people thing of when the phrase “news outlet” comes up, does do journalism, much of it on subjects other news media won’t touch,some of it outstanding. I just never went there till now. Maybe I thought I’d be paywalled, and maybe if I go to the well too often I will be. But i was able to see this story. You know, back in ancient Greece and Rome, and even up into the Middle Ages, European rulers literally did kill the messenger who brought bad news. I thought humanity had grown beyond that by now – I suppose the pandenic should have given me a clue.

This is perhaps an extreme example, but it is an example of what Republican policies of starving the government so they can drown it in a bathtub will always lead to. But you knew that. Although you may not have expected to see quite so blatantly it in real time.

OK, I realize this post is getting crowded, but trust me, you do not want to miss the letter which former Governor of Georgia (who is now a lawyer representing Fani Willis personally and professionally) wrote to Jim Jordan. Joyce Vance publishes a photo and describes it as “civil discourse with a little twist of bless your heart attached.” (I magnified it to 500% just to see what it looked like and it’s still very legible, just a bit blurred.)

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Open Thread October 10 2024

 Posted by at 6:00 am  Open Thread, Personal, Politics
Oct 102024
 

Yesterday, “Nobody can control the weather” was trending. It needs to be said – but it’s not entirely true. No single person or single group can control the weather. The entire human race working together cannot totally control the weather/ But the entire human race working together has some control over the climate, which means some control over the weather in the long run. We cannot bring down the temperature in any given place today. But over time, if we have raised the temperature in almost ever place, and if we can change our ways and minimize our worst habits, we have a chance of bringing it down, over time – over so much time that I for one will not live to see whether we have done it – or not.

I don’t often cite Steve Schmidt, or at least not a full article, but this one had to be shared. It is as much about morality and pholisophy as it is about politics (which should always be about morality at least, and philosophy if possible.) To make it a bit easier, let me state that he does eventually tell you who Rodney Edmonds was and what he did (and when he starts on the story, you may want a hanky.) Also, “revanchist” means “seeking revenge.” I didn’t know that, and figured therefore not everyone would, and wanted to save y’all a trip to the dictionary.)

This is a referral from Wonkette which I agree is well worth getting wider attention. Most people, including me, tend to think the economy is doing well nationally when we are doing well personally, and when we aren’t, it isn’t. Those who see beyond that are likely to look to the stock ,arket as an economic indicator, which it probably is if you are wealthy, but if not, not. Noahpinion gets us the four real indicators of a strong economy, and that is valuable to know.

FR

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Open Thread September 28 2024

 Posted by at 5:53 am  Open Thread, Personal, Politics
Sep 282024
 

Yesterday, Wonkette referred to this article in America’s Voice. It’s about something which actually happens a lot, yet is always worth celebrating. I mean, of course, the ceremony conferring American citizenship on those who have jumped through all the hoops. It goes right to my heart every time. Did you know a new citizen can change their name legally when naturalized, without having to go to court? I learned that when I was working at USAA and pulled up a piece of mail which turned out to be an N-400. I forget now what exactly he changed it to, but it was clear he was doing so to honor Dr. King. It made my day. Also, Robert Reich posted episode 4 of his current series.I didn’t use number 3 last Saturday – it wasn’t labeled as part of the series – but I did include it in the Open Thread for September 23. I’m still not 100% sure it’s part of the series, but in case it is, you’ll be able to find it.)

The 19th has no intent to disparage the men not of color who have been outspoken on this topic forever. But that’s different from what is happening here. this is a movemet to raise the voices of men of color who have been right all along but have been silent, for whatever reasons.

Well, this is nice. And it’s about damn time. If those children had lived, they’d be entering college and old enough to vote. Since they can’t, the rest of us have to vore for them -not, certainly, by voting multiple times, but by voting for people and initiatives which would have benefitted them, and against people and initiatives which disrespect them.

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Open Thread September 23 2024

 Posted by at 5:52 am  Open Thread, Personal, Politics
Sep 232024
 

Yesterday, I went to see Virgil. Going down there were a few scattered showers – not enough to keep the wipers going – and it also stayed overcast enough I didn’t need to wear sunglasses. Again, we played cribbage in our way – had quite a variety of good hands, middlind hands, and awful hands,more or less evenly divided between us. I can’t be sure, since we do’t keep running totals, but it felt prettty equal no me. Coming back, the sun was out, and I needed to shield the driver’s side window, and that worked. I nuked a leftoer meat from a crockpot made a while ago and the leftovers frozen. I’m calling it Chicken Marengo – although there is in fact no standard recipe forChicken Marengo, and its legen id fake, asthechefwho is supposed to have rsustled it up was not present at the battle. (The fact that there’s so much fake history floating around really makes me appreciate people like Heather Cox Richardson who set things straight.)

And speaking of fake history – though I nonlonger subscribe to Mother Jones, one of my other sources recommended this article, and when I read it, I kind of said “Wow!” Getting to the truth is much harder when people who are actively pushing a myth are fighting you every step of the way – and having found truth, getting it out so everyone knows is even harder.

The line TPM cites in its headline is not the only line they are intentionally blurring. They are also blurring the one between citizenship and the lack of citizenship. Y’know, Paul (in the Bible) was a Roman citizen. He mentions this in one of the Epistles, and basically says anyone who has enough money can buy (Roman) citizenship (“At a great price I obtained this freedom.”) Is this what we are coming to if Trump** and MAGAts win, not just the Presidency, but majorities in Congress?

We all know, or I hope we do, that the stock market and the economy are two different things – two very different things. But you wouldn’t know that by talking with investors – or with Republicans. But the person who can explain it best may well be Robert Reich. And that may well be because he looks at the economy as it pertains to reality, including real people, specifically real workers, as opposed to looking at the economy as pieces of paper with numbers on them

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Open Thread September 8 2024

 Posted by at 6:14 am  Open Thread, Personal, Politics
Sep 082024
 

Yesterday, the radio opera was Tchaikovsky’s “The Queen of Spades” based on Pushkin’s novelle of the same name. (There is also a comic opera by the same name by Franz von Suppé supposedly based on the same story, but it’s very different. The Tchaikovsky opera is as serious as a heart attack – in fact, there’s a heart attack in it. Leave it to Tchaikovsky to kill off all three principals in the same opera.) None of the characters is particularly admirable, but they are interesting. There’s a paranormal twist at the end. It’s one of only two opeeras I know of where the old lady is a soprano and the young one is a mezzo (the other being “The Consul” by Menotti.)  Lots of drama and also nice music.

Also – I’m not going to try to describe this email from Sean Astin – I’ll have to quote from it:
This Sunday, I’m inviting you to the Heroes 4 Harris Kamala-Con national livestream event with heroes from Star Wars, The Avengers, Hellboy, Batman, Dark Knight, Lord of the Rings, The Princess Bride, Hercules, The Neverending Story, and so many other sagas.
You can see me, Sam Gamgee, and others talk with real-life democracy heroes like Adam Schiff, Alexander Vindman, and the Tennessee Three about how we can defeat real-life foes in 2024.

https://www.cpr.org/2024/09/05/msu-denver-simulation-skills-hub-lab-health-care-training/
I was afraid I wouldn’t find another good news story worth sharing, but it appears I had too little faith. This one – well, it’s summed up by this quote: “Having a simulation gives me the opportunity to learn from my mistakes,” Mercado said. “Whereas in the real world, I would learn from my mistakes, but it could be at the cost of somebody’s life.”

This link will take you, if you wish, to a long comment by a user whi has been an economist for 18 years, and who debunks the idea the the only obligation of a corporation is to the shareholders. He suggests that corporations should also be responsible to other stakeholeders – such as workers, consumers, and the environment. When I was in grad school for my MBA, we were actually taught that (except the environment was not mentioned – it was just over 50 years ago and although the destruction was already well under way, few then realized it.) I have no idea what happened to this philosophy. Of course even then it was more honored in the breach than the observance. But today, corporations don’t even bother to talk the talk.

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Open Thread September 6 2024

 Posted by at 6:06 am  Open Thread, Personal, Politics
Sep 062024
 

Yesterday, I read in HuffPost that, now that Jpe Biden has dropped out, his job approval numbers started to go up and have steadily continued to rise. That is certainly a good thing, but it still made me cry, to think of all the artisis, musicians, ans so many others who were nort appreciated until after their deaths. Yes, Joe is still alive to see some of this. But the full measure of his contributions to America will not be appreciated until later – and may be much later. He deserves better. However, there is some bad news with good news. I guess it’s really not news that the Russians are at it again, but it is news that the DOJ just made some important arrests in connection with it. And here’s the official video version.

My response to this was “More of this. Please.” Not just to the story but to the activism iy chronicles. For those of us for whom voting is second nature and not difficult, it’s challenging to grasp how difficult it is made (especially by Republicans) for some (especially for people of color – any color but “white”) and how widespread that suppression is. There really is a need for more – much more – of this kind of activism – and for recognition and praise for what already exists of it.

We could use more of this also. After yesterday, I decided some respite was needed, amd my sources have been co-operating so far.

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Open Thread September 4 2024

 Posted by at 6:08 am  Open Thread, Personal, Politics
Sep 042024
 

Yesterday, Joyce Vance decided that her (paywalled) post from last Friday was “so timely and so important that I’ve taken it out from behind the paywall” and republished it here. I do realize not everyone knows someone in high school, or a parent with a child in high school, or a grandparent. But lots of people do, and even if one doesn’t – I don’t – it’s still good information to have, and good to know that people are working on it. When more people vote, we win.

Well, this was certainly not on my bingo card. But I like it. A lot. I really hope there is a Democrat somewhere who is just goofy enough to run with it who has, or can get, the funding for it. It might not even need to be a very large run. Just one, with the right publicity, would do teh trick.

Robert Reich takes on mergers – and specifically the proposed Kroger-Albertson’s merger. I expect you all already knew this was a terrible idea. But possibly not all the details of just how terrible an idea it is.

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