Glenn Kirschner – To Pardon or Not To Pardon Donald Trump for his Crimes, That… is Not a Difficult Question
American Bridge 21 – Pres. Biden announces bold response to Russia’s Ukraine invasion
Lincoln Project – Fox Loves Russia (BBA)
Farron Balanced – Supreme Court Kills Trump’s Attempts To Stifle Investigators
Armageddon Update – GOP: Guardians Of Putin
Cracked – If Internet Service Providers Were Honest
Beau – Let’s talk about failed states and the US….
Glenn Kirschner – Steven Van Zandt Interview, Part 2: The Fight for Racial Justice & Artists United Against Apartheid
American Bridge 21 – Pres. Biden announces bold response to Russia’s Ukraine invasion
Meidas Touch (barf bag alert) – Trump praises Putin’s invasion of Ukraine as ‘genius’ and ‘very savvy’
No Dem Left Behind – Invest in a bright future for working class & rural Americans (I’m ot asking for money, but I wanted to showcase these candidates for Senate)
VoteVets – Lt. Col. (Ret.) Vindman Discusses Russian Aggression Towards Ukraine
WellRED Comedy – Every Boomer Should Be Given the “Kids These Days” Translator
Beau – Let’s talk about a sign about the elections from Colorado….
Glenn Kirschner – NY Judge Slams Trump, Don Jr. & Ivanka, Orders Them to Sit for Deposition in AG James’ Investigation
Meidas Touch (Lost Debate) – Here are the 19 LEGAL CASES against Trump! (I think theremay be a misuunderstanding of the term “corpus delicti” here.)
Rebel HQ – U.S. Intelligence Accuses Conservative Website Of Secretly Helping Putin
Farron Balanced – Sidney Powell Sues Verizon To Keep Her Communications Hidden From Investigators
Armageddon Update – Super Bowl LVI
John Fugelsang – Caffeinated – Bribe Back Better
Beau – Let’s talk about San Francisco, DNA, and the rest of the country…. (This DA is Chesa Boudin, who is facing a recall election. I posted about this earlier and I was upset then and am even more upset now. He could use more help from ethical people)
Yesterday, the opera radio broadcast was “Boris Godunov” by Mussorgsky. The title role is for basses what the role of “Norma” is for sopranos – the pinnacle which everyone wants to reach but few can. Having just written about Ryan Speedo Green, and notoced that one of his teachers said his voive is still growing and will be growing for years, I wondered whether one day he would sing this. He was actually in this production in a supporting role. That gave me a smile.
Cartoon –
Short Takes –
Crooks and Liars – ‘Freedom Convoy’ Leader Pat King Arrested While On Facebook Live
Quote – He was told he was being arrested for counselling to commit the offence of mischief, counselling to obstruct police and counselling to commit the offence of disobeying a court order. King told the officer he would like to call his lawyer. “I have the right to a lawyer?” he asked, to which the police officer responded: “Of course you do.”
Click through. Police in the United States should watch this to learn how it’s supposed to be done. (And I love Canada’s use of he term “counselling” where we would say “inciting.’
Letters from an American – February 18, 2022
Friday is supposed to be a slow news day, but Heather cites four stpries, any one of which could be fron page news:
1. Yes, there was classified information in the documents Trump** took to Mar-a-Lago. And that’s not all.
2. Fake special counselJohn Durham alleges that RWNJ frenzy caused by hs reporting is not his problem.
3. In addition to the Humpty Dumpty – 1984 lawsuits, another Judge (Amir P. Mehta) declined to dismiss three other lawsuits against Trump** et al filed by member do Congress for conspiring to obstruct them in the performance of their duties.
Finally, President Biden’s address on Ukraine prompted political scientist (and journalist) David Rothkopf to point out that, in this address, Biden was speaking as the leader of the free world – and that ““It has been a long time since a U.S. president filled that role.” Sadly, the speech also made it clear that the president is pretty sure Russia will attack Ukraine.
Click through for details. Her letters are long-ish, but this one is unusually juicy.
Black History – Wikipedia – James Armistead Lafayette
Quote – In 1781, after getting his enslaver’s consent, Armistead volunteered to join the army under Lafayette. Lafayette utilized Armistead as a spy, with the latter posing as a runaway slave. Armistead joined the camp of Brigadier General Benedict Arnold, the turncoat who was leading some British forces in the area. Pretending to be a spy for them allowed Armistead to gain Arnold’s confidence to the extent that Arnold used him to guide British troops through local roads. After Arnold departed north in the spring of 1781, James went to the camp of Lord Charles Cornwallis and continued his work. He moved frequently between British camps where the officers would speak openly about their strategies in front of him.
Click through for everything we know about him. I wish it were more. I would have loved to quote the entire sections on “Emancipation” and “Later Life” but then it would not have been a short take. At least he was appreciated in his lifetime.
Food For Thought:
Glenn Kirschner – Biden to Nominate Black Woman to Supreme Court; Ted Cruz is “Outraged”; and a True Story About Hope
Meidas Touch – Republicans BURYING THEMSELVES by making 2022 about Hillary Clinton!! Let them!
Lincoln Project – Twilight Struggle
MSNBC – How One Small Town Fought Off A QAnon Invasion
Robert Reich – Are Both Sides Actually Getting More Extreme?
Meet This Buddhist Cat Who Will Find Buddha Inside You Do click on the “Watch on YouTube.” Trust me, it is worth it.
Beau – Let’s talk about the Superbowl and trucks….
Yesterday, as much time as I spent trying to get organized, all I really accomplished was putting together my pills for the next tao weeks – and was happy to do that.
Cartoon –
Short Takes –
Lwtters from an American – February 12, 2022
Quote – Lincoln figured out the logic of a world that permitted the law to sort people into different places…. “It is color, then; the lighter, having the right to enslave the darker? Take care. By this rule, you are to be slave to the first man you meet, with a fairer skin than your own. You do not mean color exactly?—You mean the whites are intellectually the superiors of the blacks, and, therefore have the right to enslave them? Take care again. By this rule, you are to be slave to the first man you meet, with an intellect superior to your own.”
Click through for the complete essay. The way Lincoln put this huge moral and ethical leap inot words strikes me as very similar to Freya’s method of demolishing the individualism myth.
The Hill – A retired Russian general’s criticism may signal a larger problem for Putin
Quote – Retired Russian Colonel-General Leonid Ivashov, the head of the All-Russian Officers Assembly, has gone public with a statement that calls for Russian President Vladimir Putin to resign over the confrontation involving Ukraine. To remove any doubt as to his message, Ivashov, 78, followed the public statement with an interview on a liberal Russian media outlet, Echo Moskvy, insisting that he was speaking in the name of the assembly of retired and reservist Russian officers which he heads.
Click through for story. I know what you’re thinking, because it stunned me too – “What? There’s a liberal media outlet in Russia?” But seriously, Putin may just have triggered his country’s equivalent of our Smedley D. Butler. And with that at his back, he may very well reconsider marching forward into Ukraine. We can certainly hope so.
Black History – Wikipedia – Gwendolyn Elizabeth Brooks
Quote (from Brooks, not from Wiki. Probably her best known.) –
We real cool. We
Left school. We
Lurk late. We
Strike straight. We
Sing sin. We
Thin gin. We
Jazz June. We
Die soon.
Click through for full bio. She is better known than most of the people I am featuring, but I’m including her today because I once had the privilege of meeting her. And that is a sweet memory.
Food For Thought:
Glenn Kirschner – Pence Chief Counsel Greg Jacob Testifies, Called a “Patriot.” Jeff Clark Finally Forced to Testify
American Bridge 21st Century – Pres. Joe Biden: “America is back to work”
The Lincoln Project – Respect
Thom Hartmann – Florida’s Nefarious Plan Guts Ballot Initiative Process
Armageddon Update – The Supremes
Puppet Regime – Slim Jong Un: New Look, Same Explosive Appeal
Beau – Let’s talk about Massie’s absurd Voltaire quote….
Yesterday, I got the emails down to under 1700. I also found a way to increase how many I can delete at a time, so one more day may possibly do it. After that, I need to deal with some notofications and updates, but not all that many. So there is a light at the end of the tunnel.
Cartoon –
Short Takes –
CNN – Arizona Republican House speaker effectively dooms GOP bill to allow state legislature to reject election results
Quote – The speaker assigns all new bills to a committee for consideration before they can have full House votes, a choice that often has a great effect on a measure’s chance of success. But on Tuesday, Bowers took the unprecedented step of ordering all 12 House committees to consider the elections bill, virtually ensuring it will never reach the floor.
Click through for more. I have to say this is creative – and Democrats should pay attention. This is a technique which could be useful.
Two stories – one subject.
NBC News – A black man in Michigan tried to deposit checks at his bank. The manager called police.
MSN/WaPo – A Black doctor says she was refused service at a bank because of her race: ‘I felt like a criminal’
Click thrugh for individual details. Different states, different genders, different dollar amounts, but the same story. Either or both would be a great argument for restoring Postal Banking … if we had a sane Postmaster General. (My understading is Republicans in the Senate are dragging their feet on confirming nominees to the Board of Governors.) Meanwhile, I’d recommend Credit Unions. That’s not a guarantee, however.
The Conversation – Biden sending more troops to Eastern Europe – 3 key issues behind the decision
The Issues – 1. Does Biden have the authority to do this?
2. Have other U.S. presidents done something similar?
3. Why is Biden sending more troops to Europe?
Click through for all three discussions. I’m not a foreign policy expert, so fairly open-ended discussions like this are helpful to me.
Food For Thought:
