Video Thread 12/10/21

 Posted by at 12:03 pm  Open Thread, Politics
Dec 102021
 

Glenn Kirschner – Former Minneapolis Office[r] Kim Potter on Trial for Fatal Shooting of Daunte Wright: A Trial Preview

Don Winslow – #StopTheMisinformation (It isn’t really fair to blame this on the media. They were lied o by people who should have known if anyone did. I think it was Meadows himself who was responsible for this.)

Thom Hartmann – Is The Time Limit on Democracy Running Out (“MY” Congressman recently btagged about accepting some himd of honor from Viktor Orbán. Just sayin’.)

Ring of Fire – Tom Cotton Held Up Biden Nominations Because His Feelings Were Hurt

politicsrus – Keep Your Thoughts and Prayers

Mrs Betty Bowers – Life Is Precious Unless It’s Not

Beau – Let’s talk about Texas voting rights….

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Video Thread 12/7/21

 Posted by at 11:50 am  Open Thread, Politics
Dec 072021
 

Glenn Kirschner – All the President’s Lackeys: Bannon, Clark, Eastman & the Others. Watergate vs. the Insurrection

MSNBC – Biden Breaks Down How Build Back Better Act Will Lower Cost For Families Dealing With Diabetes

Meidas Touch – SCOTUS Poised to Strike Down Legal Precedent from Roe v. Wade

Rebel HQ – Ethan Crumbly’s Parents Face Justifiable Consequences. I’m not sure how long I have been saying “Responsible gun ownners should take the lead in drafting legislation to regulate gun ownership and use – because, if they don’t, the rest of us will, and they won’t like it,” but it’s been since before I was married, an our next anniversaty will be our 38th. It was so long ago that the NRA was still considered a responsible organization.

Really American – Madison Cawthorn Claims Women Are “Earthen Vessels” (but Chip has a good idea)

politicsrus Christmas Greeting (Yes, it’s early, but you’ll need time to get your figgy pudding on)

Beau – Let’s talk about not talking about race…. Most of the time I agree with Beau, and he’s right on the institutional level. But he’s wrong on the individual level. On the individual level, it’s more like, yeah, if you don’t have pancreatic cancer for example, you don’t need to talk about it in order not to be hurt by it. But if you are being eatne away by pancreatic cancer, not talking about it won’t make it go away.

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Video Thread 12/2/21

 Posted by at 12:20 pm  Open Thread, Politics
Dec 022021
 

Glenn Kirschner – Former DOJ Official Jeffrey Clark to Plead the 5th Amendment for Crimes he Committed w/Donald Trump

Lincoln Project – Last Week in the Republican Party

Ring of Fire – Corporations Are Using Inflation As An Excuse To Jack Up Prices For Consumers

Represent Us – Why We Should Make Election Day a Holiday (Look, I’m not opposed to making Election Day a holiday. But I am violently opposed to the idea that doing so will solve all out electoral problems. Frankly, that strikes me as elitism and privilege at its ugliest. Making Election Da a holiday will not enfranchise low income workers paid hourly in call centers, retail establishments, and places like hospitals and prisons where some one must work, holiday or no holiday. In fact, it may further disenfranchise the poorest, who are desparate to cover minimum expenses – time and a half or double time are a great incentive not to vote. Unless we also make voting by mail, no reason required, nationally available, safe, and dependable, and continue to support early voting and making more places available to vote, all the holidays on the world are not going to enfranchise the people who need it the most.)

Liberal Redneck – Liberal Redneck – SCOTUS and the “Pro-Life” Crowd

Brent Terhune – Black Friday

Beau – Let’s talk about a video for grown ups…

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Open Thread for December 2, 2021

 Posted by at 6:57 am  Open Thread, Personal, Politics
Dec 022021
 

Yesterday, I started working on cartoons. I need to make 10 for December, and 9 are in the first 17 days. I got some done, but didn’t finish. (I also needed to make a grocery order for tomorrow – which means tomorrow I’ll be putting away. Sigh.)

Cartoon – 02 1202Cartoon.jpg

Short Takes

Democratic Underground (Babylon Sister) – A day in the Life of Sue Republican
Quote – She arrives at her childhood home. Her generation was the third to live in the house financed by Farmers’ Home Administration because bankers didn’t want to make rural loans. The house didn’t have electricity until some big-government liberal stuck his nose where it didn’t belong and demanded rural electrification. She is happy to see her father, who is now retired. Her father lives on Social Security and a union pension because some wine-drinking, cheese-eating liberal made sure he could take care of himself so Sue wouldn’t have to.
Click through for full anecdote. This is not new – it was written some years ago as “Joe Republican” and credited to Michael Moore, but it applies to both sexes.

Crooks and Liars – Trump Is Now Placing Own Election Officials Across Country
Quote – Trump allies are also seeking to replace officials across the nation, including volunteer poll watchers, paid precinct judges, elected county clerks and state attorneys general, according to state and local officials, as well as rally speeches, social media posts and campaign appearances by those seeking the positions.
Click through for a little more, and through again to the Washington Post for still more. My state has laws designed to protect against nefarious behavior by anyone working the election, paid or voluntary (for example, a Republican poll worker cannot even go to the bathroom without a Republican poll worker going along, and vice versa). I’m sure the drafters of those laws were not contemplating perfidy on a scale like this … but they should help. In states which have them. I am seriously concerned about states which don’t have them.

The 19th – Supreme Court indicates it could eliminate a core element of Roe v. Wade
Quote – The court’s justices were also split on what the implications of such a ruling would mean for other major court-protected rights that are not explicitly mentioned in the Constitution, but that are predicated on similar interpretations as Roe v. Wade. Those include the right to LGBTQ+ marriage, for instance, the constitutional protection for sexual intercourse between people of the same sex, or the right to use contraception.
Click through for solid reporting. Keep an eye on Justice Sotomayor. She seems to be the one asking the difficult questions. Although Justice Kagan is also not silent.

Food for Thought –

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Open Thread for December 1, 2021

 Posted by at 6:32 am  Politics
Dec 012021
 

Yesterday was Giving Tuesday, and also the last day of November, and had I not already known that, I would have deduced it from my email inbox, which was well over 200 by 3:00 pm, and may even have broken 300 by midnoght. Next Tuesday will be a little heavy too, but not like yesterday. It’s only “Colorado Gives” Day.

Cartoon –

Short Takes

Coooks amd Liars (St. Louis Post-Dispatch) – Editorial Calls For Investigation Of Cruz And Hawley
Quote – Hawley and Cruz were the only two senators to object to certification of Joe Biden’s clear victory in the 2020 election results, citing (with zero evidence) supposed concerns about the election’s integrity. That was the same baseless, toxic nonsense then-President Donald Trump had been spewing since before the election. Such talk whipped up the mob of Trump loyalists to attack the Capitol on Jan. 6.
Click through for more. My only criticism of this is that we have really got to stop saying “Trump** loyalists” abd start saying “Trump** cultists.”

New Mexico Poliitical Report – Study: Emergency managers should plan for volcanic eruptions in the southwest
Quote – The type of volcanoes found in the southwest are also different from those of the Pacific Northwest. While scientists monitor Mount Saint Helens and other volcanoes for activity that could signal another eruption, Valentine said the future eruptions in the southwest are unlikely to come from the same spot, or vent, where past eruptions occurred. This makes monitoring for future eruptions a bit more challenging.
Click through for more science. Well, this is interesting. Though not – they say – anything to stress about.

The 19th – What you need to know about the Supreme Court case that could overturn Roe v. Wade
Quote – The court has heard cases on specific types of abortion laws, weighing in on whether different types of restrictions and regulations violate that “undue burden” standard. But this case poses a different kind of question. It’s an outright challenge to the core protections established in 1973. In its legal filings, the state of Mississippi has argued that the court should overturn Roe v. Wade entirely and allow states to individually determine whether abortion remains legal or not.
Click through for history, details, and probability estimates. I hope I don’t need to tell anyone here that this is not just a women’s issue but affects everyone. Many of us are old enough to remember what it was like before Roe.

Food for Thought –

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Video Thread 11/22/21

 Posted by at 12:11 pm  Open Thread, Politics
Nov 222021
 

Glenn Kirschner – Federal Judges Say Trump is Responsible for Directing his “Pawns” on Jan. 6; Reject Bannon Delay

Reuters – Biden ‘knew he was making history’ with Harris as VP: WH

Thom Hartmann – Why Getting Pregnant Increases Your Chance of Being Murdered By 16% (No, Thom, it’s not amazing. Horrifying, yes. Amazing, not so much.)

MSNBC – Why Biden’s Build Back Better Bill Won’t Add To Inflation

Rescued Goose, Mini Horse Are Inseparable — Watch Them Get Adopted Together

Beau – Let’s talk about CRT and thanksgiving dinner….

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Video Thread 10/28/2021

 Posted by at 11:54 am  Open Thread, Politics
Oct 282021
 

Glenn Kirschner – Unjust Ruling in Rittenhouse Case; Can’t Say “Victims” But Can Say “Looters, Rioters & Arsonists” I’m very glad Glenn addressed this. He is nicer than I would be, but that’s enough.

Meidas Touch – We BROKE Trump! (I did post the ad previously, but here’s some context.)

MSNBC – January 5th Footage Turned Over To Authorities Yes, the FIFTH. You read that right.

Remove Ron – Inhumane

Really American – Congressmembers Caught Aiding Coup Attempt

Cracked – If Hard Seltzers Were Honest | Honest Ads

Beau – Let’s talk about nonsense and a Florida man jobs experiment….

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Open Thread for October 5, 2021

 Posted by at 7:22 am  Open Thread, Personal, Politics
Oct 052021
 

Yesterday, I tripped over many interesting articles … so many I may have Wednesday finished and be into Thursday, though I can always delay something for breaking news. Videos were a bit sparser, but I managed. I’ll have two posts tomorrow. I got my next appointment to see Virgil confirmed for October 17 (a Sunday.)

Cartoon –

Short Takes –

DOJ Accuses ‘Subversive’ Texas Legislature of Passing ‘Terrifying’ Anti-Abortion Law to ‘Outflank’ Supremacy of U.S. Constitution
Quote – U.S. Department of Justice attorney Brian Netter argued in U.S. District Court for the Western District of Texas that the state had enabled a regime of “vigilante justice” in direct contravention of the U.S. Constitution’s guarantee of the right to a pre-viability abortion. He said the DOJ considered the state’s “ploy” to be an “open threat to the rule of law.” Netter later said Texas was “appointing vigilante bounty hunters” to enforce an anti-abortion measure that state actors would be immediately be blocked by a federal judge from enforcing on their own under the color of law.
Click through for story. We knew they were going to file this suit, but we didn’t – at least I didn’t – know they were going to use such inflammatory lahgiage in it.

The Guardian – ‘There’s tar everywhere’: large California oil spill fouls beaches and kills wildlife
Quote – The oil created a miles-wide sheen in the ocean and washed ashore in sticky, black globules along with dead birds and fish. Crews led by the US Coast Guard deployed skimmers and floating barriers known as booms to try to stop further incursion into the wetlands and the Bolsa Chica Ecological Reserve.
Click through for the scope of the problem, Of course this is Orange County. Plus Californi still has fires as well as CoViD.

Vox – When the world actually solved an environmental crisis
Quote – “Projections suggested that the ozone layer would collapse by 2050,” the Future of Life Institute’s Georgiana Gilgallon told me. “We’d have collapsing ecosystems, agriculture, genetic defects.” The sudden plunge in atmospheric ozone heralded a coming disaster. But the world responded. With consumer boycotts, political action, a major international treaty called the Montreal Protocol, and a huge investment in new technologies to replace CFCs in all their commercial and industrial uses, new CFC production was brought effectively to a halt over the 1990s and early 2000s. It took a while to phase out existing devices that used CFCs, but CFC emissions have been steadily falling since the protocol went into effect.
Click through for details. Of course that was then. This is now. And to solve a problem one really needs to admit that it exists.

Food for Thought –

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