I'm going to take a break from politics and the sad divisions within my country for a moment and post something totally different. I happened to run across this video and I was struck by something as I watched these young men listening to this song. It was the connection they made with the emotion written in the music. It was honest, real. What they showed was empathy and an open mind to something different. With so much hate floating around it was nice to be reminded that we can still make connections if we try.
Take a moment to watch...
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The boys are rather more famous for their reaction to the Phil Collins' drum drop in his song "In the Air Tonight". It comes at about the five minute mark.
(In their defense, there are drummers who got wide eyed first time they heard that riff.)
Off topic (and a brief to "politics and sad divisions"): Reuters--Headline: "Exclusive: Dozens of former Bush officials leave Republican Party, calling it 'Trump cult'"
The boys are rather more famous for their reaction to the Phil Collins' drum drop in his song "In the Air Tonight". It comes at about the five minute mark.
Yeah, I saw that. It is a bit of a wake up, as they said. The song was rather slow until that point.
I liked the one on Jolene because they weren't distracted by any video and they really seemed to feel the emotion of the song.
It's just fun to see people who aren't familiar with older artists hear their music. Especially if it is totally different from their usual genre.
Real talent becomes apparent no matter the era or the medium. Dolly Parton certainly had/has it.
"Exclusive: Dozens of former Bush officials leave Republican Party, calling it 'Trump cult'"
I guess they got tired of waiting for the elected Republicans to do the right thing.
It looks like the GOP in Georgia is trying to restrict voting. I just noticed the headline and haven't had a chance to read the article to see what that really entails. But if true it is another sad commentary on the GOP. And should be a wake up call for those in this country who really support democracy.
"It looks like the GOP in Georgia is trying to restrict voting."
I've been seeing more than one article on the continued voter suppressions much favored in today's Republican Party. It's not just Georgia. I've seen references to Pennsylvania, Michigan, Wisconsin, Arizona, a couple of others (places where the Republicans control the state legislatures as a consequence of past gerrymandering, or especially where their control has been slipping of late).
Georgia is a special case because Republicans currently hold both houses of the state legislature and they have a Republican governor. And they think that's likely to slip away on them in the very near future (looks like Tracey Abrams is going to run for governor again), so they're trying to implement the nation's most extensive and aggressive voter suppression before a Democratic governor comes around in 2022 and vetos their best efforts. They're in something of a rush to do it hard, and do it now in Georgia. They're hoping to serve as a model for other states where the Republican majority is fading. (They have a compliant state Supreme Court as well, inclined to bless their most anti-democratic tendencies in the name of their God.)
We can add to that the dedicated Trumpkins' creation of a new "lost cause" in the developing faerie tale history of the "stolen" election. That's a longer term problem.
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Short-term there's also the problem of all that money piled up in the .001% and no inclination among that .001% to invest that money in the creation of new wealth (which tends to get taxed). Instead they're increasingly gambling with it, trying to outwit the other members of the .001% and gather their sundry piles into a single, bigger pile. (This isn't directly the cause of the new social media "gamestop" type market bubbles, but it's related.)
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Today's the day we discover whether the Republicans are going to strip Liz Cheney of her position as the #3 Republican in the House (technically the "House Republican Conference Chair"). Kevin McCarthy, the House Minority Leader, met yesterday with QAnon flake Marjorie Taylor Greene and is still waffling about whether or not the Republicans are going to pull her off of her plum committee assignments. McCarthy couldn't bring himself to challenge Trump on that one (after making the pilgrimage to Mar-a-lago earlier this week).
But he might find the courage to strip Cheney of her privileges for voting to impeach Trump.
Gonna kinda tell us who they wanna be when they finally sort out which of those women gets punished and which gets a pass.
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And now, I give the floor back to Dolly Parton.
Yes, there could be some fireworks today in debate for the Republicans. And we, the average American voter, will get a feel as to who to support in 2022.
Dolly is a nice distraction. Given her childhood you know she is an empathetic person. Something we are sorely lacking right now.
Back to our diversion for a few: Kevin McCarthy (House Minority Leader) has punted on the fate of both Liz Cheney and Marjorie Taylor Greene. He's refused to agree to any punishment for either of them, a move that seems to be approved by absolutely nobody.
The Democrats are still going to go ahead with a vote to toss Greene off of all House committees and the Republican caucus seems to be committed to going ahead with a vote to eject Cheney from the House Republican leadership.
Gotta wonder what kind of future McCarthy has in the office that John Boehner and Paul Ryan both abandoned.
Diverting to another issue….
It turns out that the hard-core "let 'em get sick and die and the rest of us can live easy" crowd had it wrong. When the virus is allowed to run its course unimpeded we don't get herd immunity. We get mutations and reinfections and repeated waves of disease.
The "Swedish model" was a plan to establish a long-term plague.
And, Liz Cheney just survived a vote by the House Republicans to remove her from her leadership position. (Whether she's got any shot at getting elected to the position again next time is another question entirely.)
They voted 145 - 61, with one person voting "present" to keep her in her leadership position. The vote was secret, so other than the obvious Trumps supporters who spoke against her we will not know who all of those 61 & 1 present were. That means 30% voted to remove her.
The House is voting today on whether or not to oust Marjorie Taylor Greene. That is likely to pass, the only question is how many, if any Republicans will vote "yes".
Pushback
Truth can hurt sometimes.
A voting technology company swept up in baseless conspiracy theories about the 2020 election filed a monster $2.7 billion lawsuit on Thursday against Fox News, some of the network's star hosts, and pro-Trump attorneys Rudy Giuliani and Sidney Powell, alleging the parties worked in concert to wage a "disinformation campaign" that has jeopardized its very survival.
The "Swedish model" was a plan to establish a long-term plague.
Marcus hasn't been here for a while. Hopefully those poor choices haven't caught up to him.
It's not like they're gonna vote her off the island (although they do have the power to do that). They're gonna vote to deny her the committee assignments that the Republicans gave her. (There are those who seem to think that somebody who believes the SandyHook and Stoneman-Douglas school shootings were faked for the media probably shouldn't be sitting on the Education Committee.)
"Hopefully those poor choices haven't caught up to him."
He probably just can't stand to see us so relieved by reaching the end of the Trump administration.
So they pushed Game Stop up and up and up. One young man made a wise choice.
His Mother bought him 10 shares of Game Stop for around $60 at the end of 2019. When she saw what was happening she asked him if he wanted to sell or hold. He chose to sell and cashed in $3,200.00. He is 10 years old. Wise beyond his years. It's nice to see that the craziness of some people can benefit some who could use the break.
He probably just can't stand to see us so relieved by reaching the end of the Trump administration.
lol! Well, we also caught a break there. I only hope we can right the ship and enjoy a little smoother ride in the future.
It would appear that Ms. Greene was not as fortunate as was Ms. Cheney.
No, but that was only because the Democrats stood up for what was right. Most of the Republicans so far have been no where to be seen when it comes to that kind of thing.
But I have to wonder, if the roles were reversed and the Democrats were stuck with someone like Trump on the far left, would they still stand up and do the right thing? Or have we as a society really slid that far down?
I hope that those 82 million voters are a sign that we can overcome the craziness of the QAnon conspiracy theorists and the far right extremists.
Perhaps if we get beyond the pandemic it may help calm things down. Too many people are sitting idle and thinking too much. Imaginations tend to run wild.
"I have to wonder if…the Democrats were stuck with someone
like Trump on the far left, would they still stand up and do the
right thing?"
Hard to say. I have no real confidence that they would. However, that's assuming that they get stuck "with someone like Trump".
It needs be remembered that Trump didn't occur by accident. He didn't come upon the Republicans like an unbidden disease. They choose him. They called for him and he answered their call, and they embraced him when he came to them.
By the time the Democrats got to the point where they embraced "someone like Trump" they'd have to be pretty far removed from the party they are now.
The Republicans, on the other hand, have been preparing themselves for Trump for nigh onto 40 years now--since Reagan and the beatification of the fable of Reagan at least. Perhaps one could trace that trail back to Nixon and his adoption of his famous "Southern Strategy". But, since Reagan at least the Republican's path to Trump has been clear.
Lou Dobbs has been cancelled.
Maybe it is appropriate that a private company take apart the Frankenstein monster that has been created by the Republicans.
Might want to keep in mind that the private company you reference was the formulating and driving force in the creation of the "Frankenstein monster" you mention. They took the lead in that project. The Republican Party mostly just went along for the ride, first because that was easiest--FoxNews produced a coherent faerie tale history to sell their voters (no less a total faerie tale for being coherent), along with a coördinated--no contradictions allowed--public relations campaign. The lies held together because FoxNews had a lock on the audience and FoxNews produced a comprehensive, coördinated faerie tale for that audience. Later the Republican Party discovered that the deal they'd made with FoxNews meant that they had to serve FoxNews--that wasn't the way the Party elders had been figuring on it working out. They had thought they were going to be in charge. But, the PR people at FoxNews had been much quicker to realize who was driving the agenda than were the politicians. FoxNews was, after all, already internally coördinated, organized around a single, overriding objective, to an extent the political party simply could not match.
However, the rise of alternative right-wing media, forums not controlled and modulated by FoxNews, is now proving to be a significant problem for their efforts to keep the faerie tales consistent and coördinated. This shit's gettin' away from the opinionaters at FoxNews, just as it earlier got away from the national Republican Party.
Oh, sorry, I wasn't being clear. The private company I was referencing was the one that is suing Fox News for $2.7 billion. Lou Dobbs was an early casualty of that lawsuit.
There is a possibility that Fox News will not be the only focus of a lawsuit.
"The private company I was referencing was the one that is
suing Fox News for $2.7 billion."
Ah…, yes, well, I did misunderstand. Dominion, I think is the name the company goes by.
And, yeah, presumably Lou Dobbs couldn't be counted on to tone it down pending resolution of the lawsuit.
I assume they are televising the impeachment trial somewhere. I don't know if you have been watching but I found this argument compelling.
Sadly, I realize that most of the Republican jurors won't.
I have started a new book, which I am half way through. It is called "Nomadland". It is older, written in, I believe, 2017. It follows some of those who are among the workers who have left homes or apartments behind, due to in many cases a financial downturn, and taken to the road. They are those who work at low wage jobs such as in the Amazon fulfillment centers. Many of them are older and the jobs they are doing can be physically taxing. But it is where they ended up after the Great Recession.
I suspect that there are many in the food lines we are seeing in some states due to the pandemic.
"Sadly, I realize that most of the Republican jurors won't."
That argument does not address their dependence on the good graces of Donald Trump. We are still unable to convince them that they will win against their next Republican primary opponent if they cross him. Until we can convince them that they can win their next primary in spite of crossing Trump, we'll never convince them to cross Trump.
This is why novice investors should not be in the market. And, why, something like Robinhood is of concern.
I, on the other hand, adhere to my grandfather's sage advice to never gamble with money I couldn't afford to lose. (It's more fun if ya don't have to win the bet--easier to relax and enjoy the game.)
The House "Managers" just wrapped up their case (they'll get some additional modest amount of time for closing arguments).
I'd reckon it'll all be over (Trump acquitted again) by Saturday afternoon, latest.
The defense lawyers can spend tomorrow reading names out of phone books if they want, and the Republicans will acquit Trump anyway.
Trump's defense counsel have let out the word that they'll only use around four hours of their alloted sixteen hours of "scheduled" defense of Trump.
I'm figurin' that likely means they'll come in closer to two hours than to four.
Lester Holt (host of NBC Nightly News) just told us that the Trump impeachment defense were on stage "a little less than three hours", total.
THe Senate has justvo voted to allow witnesses, with 4 Republicans originally voting "yes". Lindsey Graham who originally voted "no" changed his vote to "yes" after the roll call of votes.
Trump's lawyers in speaking to oppose the calling of witnesses said if that was passed they should be able to call hundreds of witnesses.
The question is why did Graham change his vote?
Discussion on procedure ensuing...
This is a direct result of the McCarthy call that was made public last night.
Now they are discussing how many witnesses can be called. Will this delay the trial?
Mitch McConnell tried to head this off by making a statement that he is going to vote to acquit, making it clear that he felt this should be over.
This could get rather interesting if there were people close to Trump who are willing to testify against Trump.
I, on the other hand, adhere to my grandfather's sage advice to never gamble with money I couldn't afford to lose.
A wise man.
(It's more fun if ya don't have to win the bet--easier to relax and enjoy the game.)
I've noticed that applies to football games as well. When the Vikings aren't playing it can be more fun to just enjoy the game. Although the last Super Bowl was rather boring as it was a blowout.
They didn't televise the streaker, or I didn't see that anyway. He seems to have cleaned up as he made a $50,000 bet that there would be a streaker at the game.
Need to change the wording on this earlier statement:
One of the lawyers for Trump caused laughter in the chamber when he said witnesses should be deposed in his office in Pennsylvania.
"Mitch McConnell tried to head this off…"
If this goes sideways on him, and they start taking witnesses, and they eventually get 10-12-more Republicans eventually come down on the side of convicting Trump, McConnell may come to regret that move.
I'd reckon it'll all be over (Trump acquitted again) by Saturday afternoon, latest.
That's what everybody thought, I think. Ahhh...the best laid plans of mice and men...
CBS News (Special Reporting) is telling me that they decided to call the witness after and because McConnell announced his intent to vote to acquit.
Looks like they've worked out a deal which will close out the trial without witnesses after all. It involves entering a "statement" from the proposed witness, Rep. Jaime Herrera Beutler (R-Wash) into the record, rather than bringing her in for in person testimony.
(Basically, the Republicans are going to confess for the record and then later deny that they confessed.)
Lee
” I, on the other hand, adhere to my grandfather's sage advice to never gamble with money I couldn't afford to lose. (It's more fun if ya don't have to win the bet--easier to relax and enjoy the game.)”
There I agree w you. I’ve had a couple of friends who developed gambling issues and they started out as genuine sports fans but with the betting on the games that took over and in the end they couldn’t enjoy the sports they once loved watching.
Lee:
“ He probably just can't stand to see us so relieved by reaching the end of the Trump administration.”
Been busy w other stuff. And for the record I was never a true Trumpkin, I mostly just liked him bc he was pissing my political enemies off. And yes, the gloating from those enemies now is tiresome.
Plus I fail to see what y’all are celebrating except Trumps demise. I understand THAT celebration. But what about what we’ve got now? Biden? Kamala? You think they will heal anything? Protip - they will not.
And I’ll prolly be scarce around here in weeks and months to come so don’t bother with a lengthy reply as I am unlikely to read it and more unlikely to respond to it.
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