Open Thread January 14, 2023

 Posted by at 7:01 am  Open Thread, Personal, Politics
Jan 142023
 

Yesterday, I got confirmation to visit Virgil tomorrow. This is the second visit in a row I’ve had to follow up on my request, but it pays off not to get upset, and I think they are rotating assignments or something because the name in the “signature” was new to me. So I think I’ll just start adding “Thanks in advance for your confirmation” or the like to my emails. It’s easy to do, it’s not insulting, and it could save a whole lot of grief on both ends. I also heard from a friend in California, one town up from where I grew up (but we had to join the Marines and be stationed in North Carolina to meet) letting me know that the rains had been heavy, but that she is fine. That area is separated from the ocean by what they call “the foothills,” although they aren’t at the foot of any mountains, they are just there. They are tall enough that a couple of inches, or even a couple of feet in sea level rise is not going to affect the area, but of course rain is another story. I’ll have to start paying more attention to the weather, beyond my own weather and the big headline storms.

Cartoon – (So many of TomCat’s cartoons were  clairvoyant.  This one is from January 2015.)

Short Takes –

Wonkette – Oh Sh*t, Ohio Student Noticed Top Secret Anti-Racist Message Of ‘The Sneetches’
Quote – This is where we are: You can’t read The Sneetches because a kid might notice discrimination is wrong. And that’s exactly what red state governors and legislators have been accomplishing. She added that the school district is “really not about suppressing any viewpoints or dialogues,” which it did, actually. In addition, so everyone will have something to groan about, she also insisted “We do not ban any books,” which is true, because all she did was ban a teacher from reading one. Congratulations, rightwing hoax-panic over “critical race theory.”
Click through for story. Children, like adults, differ, and not all of them have brains that fit the “tabula rasa” theory. Some are quite intelligent.  So, while I of course would not call any kind of censorship healthy, no matter how hard they try, some facts are going to get through.

Robert Reich – What to do about America’s “labor shortage?” Easy. Pay people more.
Quote – The reason people aren’t working is that work doesn’t pay them enough, given declining wages and the increasing costs of childcare, eldercare, and transportation. Both the Fed’s solution (slow the economy so employers can find the workers they need without raising wages) and the Republican corporate solution (slash safety nets so people are so desperate they have to take any job available) are cruel. They would impose huge burdens on many of the most vulnerable people in our society. If we want more people to take jobs and we wish to live in a decent society, the answer is to pay people more.
Click through for details. I don’t get it. Is it because Reich’s background is technically in the field of labor, not economics, that “serious economists” don’t take him seriously? He is right on this, he is virtually always right, and he has cold, hard facts to back him up.

Food For Thought (Our system can handle gifs, but not, for some reason, this one.  But uyou can see it in moton here.)

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Open Thread January 6, 2023

 Posted by at 6:56 am  Open Thread, Personal, Politics
Jan 062023
 

Yesterday, Steve Schmidt published a Substack column about which he felt so strongly that he made the whole thing available to unpaid subscribers. Basically, he wanted to oppose the idea that “the enemy of my enemy is my friend.” He refers to the inability to see situations and alignments as other than binary as “an addlement in the American character.” I’d’ love to tell him it’s not limited to Americans – C. S, Lewis complained about the same “addlement” in Brits in the 1940’s and 50’s. It isn’t specifically American. It’s just human. He got onto the subject – the rant, if you will – because Sean Hannity and Stephanie Ruhle were both on their respective netwotks tring to tell Boebert the same thing and he wanted to point out that, because Hannity and Ruhle agree on this one thing, and both oppose Boebert, that doesn’t make Hannity a good guy. I’m sure the fact that Hannity is not a good guy is not news to anyone here… but he was right to point it out. There is a lot more in the column, so I’ve linked it in case anyone wants to pursue the idea. Aside from that, and the fact that it’s still cold, and my space heater for the computer room died, and the one from the living room is inadequate for this space (but I do have a new one on order), it’s pretty quiet.

Cartoon – 06 Jan6 in used

Short Takes –

Newsweek – Secret Service Members Found To Be Part of Far-Right Extremist Group—Report
Quote – The list of dues-paying Oath Keepers included 21 people who said they were currently employed by DHS at the time their names were added to the list. A total of 306 identified themselves as being affiliated with DHS…. The Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC), which monitors extremist groups, describes the Oath Keepers as advocating “for Americans to prepare for inevitable conflict with the government by stockpiling goods and supplies, engaging in paramilitary training and working to create small, self-reliant community networks.”
Click through for details. Surely no one is surprised by this. But it’s always good to have proof. And, of course, the question is – “Now what?”

Colorado Public Radio – This Ukrainian refugee is sharing her country’s history, culture and spirit through cooking classes in Fort Collins
Quote – “My idea was to make a cooking class about Ukraine, Ukrainian food, Ukrainian tradition,” said [chef Tetiana] Stratilat, who mentioned in an interview that she speaks fluent Russian and Ukrainian and “a little bit English.” What she decided to bring to the cooking classroom was not just ingredients. “I explain the Ukrainian tradition, how we serve [the] table, what‘s the symbol of these dishes, give some history so the people more understand about my country,” she said.
Click through for story. Anyone surorised that all the best “Russian” food is actually Ukranian? I suppose for those of us who grew up and really spent most of our lives equating the Soviet Union with Russia, it’s understandable. But it’s time to learn the truth.

Food For Thought

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Video Thread 1/5/2023

 Posted by at 11:59 am  Open Thread, Politics
Jan 052023
 

Glenn Kirschner – Cassidy Hutchinson’s testimony shows how DOJ’s refusal to indict Mark Meadows comes home to roost

Thom Hartmann – SCOTUS Judge’s Obscene Joke During Important Case Should Scare You!

Political Voices Network – arbara McQuade: Trump’s Crew, Thomas Caught Lying? Ornato’s Memory is Foggy & Meadows is Too Quiet

Ring of Fire – Trump Allies WANT Him To Get Indicted To Help His Campaign

Terrified Pregnant Pittie Is The Happiest Mom Now

Beau – Let’s talk about what the US is getting out of Ukraine….

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Open Thread December 29, 2022

 Posted by at 7:00 am  Open Thread, Personal, Politics
Dec 292022
 

Yesterday, Jamie Raskin broke my heart with the announcement that he has been diagnosed with Diffuse Large B Cell Lymphoma, a “serious but curable form of cancer.” I’ve linked to the story which when I received the breaking news alert, said no more than that, because it is a “devloping story,” so when they know more, they’ll share more.

Cartoon –

Short Takes –

Democratic Underground (highplainsdem) – Warrior of Light: The national costume that will be worn by Miss Ukraine Universe 2022
Quote – The national costume is called Warrior of Light and designed by costume designer Lesia Patoka. It symbolizes her nation’s fight against the darkness, like an archangel Michael with a sword protecting Ukraine. The costume was made in four months, in extreme conditions.
Click through for image. No words can really express it. The amateur (and professional manqué) costumer in me just resonates to this.

The Daily Beast – Republicans Play Chicken With Kevin McCarthy’s Speakership
Quote – The “Never Kevin” camp is small: just five archconservative lawmakers have publicly said they will not, under any circumstances, vote for McCarthy. But if they stick to their guns, five votes is all it could take to throw the process into chaos—and potentially open up an avenue for another candidate to ascend to the top job. The much larger “Only Kevin” camp, meanwhile, has formed to head off that scenario before it even materializes. Dozens of GOP lawmakers, from moderates to MAGA loyalists, have said they will only vote for McCarthy for Speaker, no matter how many rounds of votes it takes. If followed, that commitment to respond to hardball with hardball would basically ensure no other Republican comes close to the gavel.
Click through for more analysis – but, for another, more imaginative (and IMO more likely) take, click here.  At least we can hope.

Food For Thought

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Video Thread 12/28/2022

 Posted by at 11:46 am  Open Thread, Politics
Dec 282022
 

Glenn Kirschner – J6 committee recommends Trump be banned from office. The 14th Amendment to the Constitution agrees. (Sure. But the Amendment is not self-enforcing. The committee is correct. Legislation is needed.)

MSNBC – Why 2022 Was A Major Legislative Year For The Democrats [Yes, it was, and we are entiled to a victory lap]

Ring of Fire – Does Farron Need to CALM DOWN? [Spoiler: yes. And he’ll work on it.]

Twitter (h/t Democratic Underground – hanky alert)

This Senior Pit Bull Is Proof That Love Can Heal Anything

Beau – Let’s talk about how Biden’s new policy is working….

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Open Thread December 28, 2022

 Posted by at 7:11 am  Open Thread, Personal, Politics
Dec 282022
 

Yesterday, They are tentatively predicting snow for tonight (for anyone who doesn’t use Weather Underground, the ten-day view is a graph. The temperature is a line {red}, but the chance of precipitation is a filled-in area – purple if it’s snow, blue for anything else.) It’s purple from around nine tonight to 4 am tomorrow. But, we’ll see. Farther down the page, they show a predicted accumulation, and those are in the single digit hundreths of an inch.

Cartoon –

Short Takes –

The Conversation – Congress passes legislation that will close off presidential election mischief and help avoid another Jan. 6
Quote – Presidential elections are complicated. But in a move aimed at warding off future crises like the Jan. 6, 2021, riot at the U.S. Capitol, the Senate and House have passed legislation to clarify ambiguous and trouble-prone aspects of the process…. [A] bipartisan group of congressional leaders aimed to pass reforms to the 1887 law governing this process, the Electoral Count Act, before the end of 2022. As an election law scholar, I have suggested that Congress focus its reforms on a few crucial areas that could have wide bipartisan support. Now, it has done just that, and the omnibus government funding legislation that includes the Electoral Count Act reform passed the House on Dec. 23 and heads to the White House for President Joe Biden’s expected signature…. With these simple bipartisan solutions, Congress has instilled confidence in future presidential elections.
Click through fpr details. Before you say “It’s not enough,” let me assure you that you are correct. But it does address the main avenues used by Tyrannosaurus Ex and his mob on and up to (and since) January 6th. Of course, in anything run by humans, there will be people with the desire and drive to cheat.

What with Time magazine selecting Volodomyr Zelenskyy as “Person of the Year,” and pretty much everyone except MAGAts being in agreement, I hope I can be forgiven for writing a bit like a fangirl. I’m putting three sources together for this short take. First is a Zelenskyy origin story – I’ve seen it before, but without sourcing, and it seemed too good to be true. But now that I can trace it to Zelenskyy himself, in a video speech, on his own official page, I feel confident to share it. Next, there is the Crooks & Liars announcement of a Crookie Hero Award. Finally, and I warn this is a 45 minute video,here is a link to a documentary based on Dave Letterman interviewing Zelenskyy. Letterman does speak with other people, and gives some of his own impressions of the nation and the war (including the fact that one village he visitied gave him the honor of certifying his beard as the best in the village.) It really is worth every minute, even if you may have to save it for later.

Food For Thought

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Video Thread 12/27/2022

 Posted by at 11:49 am  Open Thread, Politics
Dec 272022
 

Glenn Kirschner – Top line takeaway from J6 committee’s report: there is more than enough evidence to prosecute Trump

The Lincoln Project – Two meetings. A World of Difference for Democracy.

Meidas Touch – Texas Governor CAUGHT LYING about FAILING Power Grid by Furious Texas Paul

MSNBC – Doris Kearns Goodwin: An Extraordinary Week For Leadership

Litter Of Kittens Found Crying In Trash Bag

Beau – Let’s talk about another statue being removed….

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Open Thread December 25, 2022

 Posted by at 6:41 am  Open Thread, Personal, Politics
Dec 252022
 

Yesterday, the radio opera was Mozart’s “The Magic Flute” – not the whole thing, but an abridged version aimed at children. And sung (and spoken) in English. With sets and costumes by Julie Taymor (very fairy-tale-y and lots of puppets.) The Queen of the Night‘s famous “Holy Racket” aria is included, of course. They’ve been using this production for some time (they have another production for the full opera in German) and their experience is that the kids are always most enthralled by Papageno. Not unexpected. He’s the most childlike – not in the sense ob being uncomplicated, but in the sense of being easily distractable, and that’s where all the humor comes from.

Cartoon –

Short Takes –

Good Word News – How do Christmas traditions vary around the world? See the pictures
Quote – In a show of resilience among Christmas celebrants, 40 Ukrainian refugees in Krakow, Poland, sold handmade items such as candles, tree ornaments and gingerbread cookies during a Christmas craft fair organized with the help of the United Nations Refugee Agency. A stall at the Ukrainian Christmas Market in Krakow, Poland…. It was an opportunity to showcase the “great talent within the refugee community,” Argaz said, adding that the idea for the event was born when UN staff members received a stone “ intricately painted” by one of the residents of a collective center, which is a dwelling that houses a large number of refugees.
Click through. There are other parts of the world included, but this struck me as special.

Good News Network – Man Spells Out ‘Hi Kevin’ in Lights for 20 Years–to Honor His Neighbor
Quote – Witmer says passersby are sometimes confused by his lights, which read ‘Hi Kevin’ across his roof, but it’s to honor the memory of a young boy who passed away from cancer in 2010…. “When I heard he had cancer and was going through chemo and radiotherapy, I wanted to support him. I had this idea to write ‘Get Well Kevin’ in my Christmas lights—what 11-year-old doesn’t want to see their name in lights?” Witmer continued to do it every year, even after his cancer went into remission and Kevin went off to college….
Click through for full story.  (Hanky alert)

Food For Thought

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