Merry Xmas, Pesky Jesus, Colorado Ballot, Michigan Tapes, Poison, Hitler

Wisconsin conservative James Wigderson brings us this holiday cheer:
A commercial that is entirely truthful.

  • Libertarian Michael A. LaFerrara is an atheist who has no problem celebrating Christmas as a secular holiday.
     
    Key principle:
    The secular meaning of the Christmas holiday is wider than the tenets of any particular religion: it is good will toward men—a frame of mind which is not the exclusive property… of the Christian religion.
     
    Seems fair.
     
    Let’s include values, not restricted to, but central to, Christianity:
     
    Love for all humanity, care for the migrant, help for the homeless, those less fortunate.
     
    Values some of us in the faith seem too willing to forget.
     
    Our friend Infidel753 has a parallel contribution:

  • In Happiness Between Tails da-AL shares a photo essay in praise of diverse Christmas figurines.
     
  • PZ Myers suggests that maybe Japan does not yet understand Christmas.
     
  • I missed this during the post-assault surgeries and recovery that still continues.
     
    North Carolina pastor John Pavlovitz notices that when conservative public figures boast about their Christian values, they never seem to mention Jesus.
     
    I have a thought:
  • Mark Waulberg (No, not Mark Wahlberg, the other Mark) offers wisdom on money and life:
     
  • Vincent at A Wayfarer’s Notes finds inspiration in a bath towel, and translates for us the Book of Hebrews in praise of God and human potential.
     
  • Nan’s Notebook has a gentle correction for us religious types with our negative stereotypes about atheists.
     
    Key theme:
    From my perspective, I tend to think this happens because those who believe in god(s) are simply unable to understand/accept that there are individuals who view life … As It Is.
     
  • Disaffected and it Feels So Good plunges right into the legalities and reactions to Colorado bumping mr Trump off the ballot.
     
  • Cato’s own Julian Sanchez knocks down a couple of reactions to the Colorado court decision keeping mr Trump off the ballot.
     
    One, from folks like me, is moral:


    Julian clobbers that view:


    Second, also from folks like me, is practical:
    It’s a fool’s errand. The Supreme Court is stacked for Trump.


    It’s tough sledding to oppose Mr. Sanchez.

  • Vixen Strangely at Strangely Blogged rebuts folks like me who react to Colorado, wanting instead to defeat mr Trump only at the ballot box. We don’t quite get the combination of backroom lawlessness with outright political violence.
     
    Key message:
    Trump’s people do not respect the law because they have decided that supporting Trump is something higher than the law.
     
  • In Letters from an American, Heather Cox Richardson looks into the Wayne County, Michigan 2020 election issue and finds a major story behind the story.
     
    An armed mob stormed the home of Michigan’s secretary of state Jocelyn Benson and threatened other officials. Their momentum was suddenly countered at a public meeting by a larger than large group of voters who quietly but firmly pointed to the law, insisting their lawful votes be certified.
     
    Key outcome, quoting Secretary Benson:
    The voters won. Facts and the rule of law carried the day.
     
  • tengrain at Mock Paper Scissors looks into the newly discovered audio (Lordy, there’s a recording!) of then-President Trump trying hard to pressure Wayne County officials in Michigan to illegally refuse to certify votes for Biden.
     
    tengrain examines the details
    then
    does a pro and con analysis on using the tapes to prosecute mr Trump.
     
  • Tommy Christopher brings us CNN’s Jake Tapper with a line-by-line comparison of mr Trump and mr Hitler on poisoning the blood.
     
    Tommy also provides video:


    Jim Acosta calls BS as mr Trump denies being a student of Hitler.


    And, of course, a note from me:

  • Hackwhackers goes cartooning with mr Trump’s Mein meditations.
     
  • In The Life and Times of Bruce Gerencser, Bruce dissects the human tendency toward moral equivalence and suggests with, some force, that when it comes to Biden v Trump both sides are very much not the same.
     
  • Right wing media shock jock Joe Rogan attacks Joe Biden as too old after hearing that Biden actually thought airports were part of America’s Revolutionary War. News Corpse covers Rogan’s unwittingly comical response when he is finally told the quote was from Donald Trump, NOT Joe Biden.
     
    Key Rogan reaction:
    Uhbuddaduh, Uhbuddaduh
    (Truth in reporting: that is my interpretation of poor Mr. Rogan.)
     
  • driftglass explains the three part strategy of Nikki Haley’s campaign.
     
    Key summary:
    Like every other politician and media person who still envisions a future for themselves in the Republican sewer, for Nikki Haley there is no way forward except cowardice, complicity and the saccharine flattering of ghouls who should horrify you.
     
    Doesn’t sound good when you put it that way.
     
  • At The Onion, the nation’s politicians are exhausted after another day of tirelessly serving the will of the people. That was um humor.
     
  • The anti-education wing of the Republican party wants to replace woke portions of school life, mostly non-existent, with material from PragerU.
     
    Unfortunately, Prager University is not a University. It has no campus, no curriculum, no faculty, no student body, no credentials, and does not confer degrees.
     
    It is simply a series of brief right-wing videos produced by Dennis Prager.
     
    The Propaganda Professor takes a deep dive into the major themes offered by the video series and pounds each one to pieces. Very little in these small videos possess the virtue of truth.
     
  • CalicoJack in The Psy of Life finds data to support a plausible thesis. A growing American minority are okay with anti-democracy authoritarianism as long as control stays with white supremacists.
     
    I essentially agree:
  • At Scotties Playtime, a Republican Congressman explains how many of his conservative colleagues are blackmailed after motel sex with strangers.
     
  • Imani Gandy and Jessica Mason Pieklo of Rewire News Group manage to bring some sense for us out of the Texas abortion landscape. It’s in audio form, but a transcript is promised soon.
     
  • Frances Langum notes a prominent conservative who suggests women don’t need the right to vote.
     
  • Infidel753 sees equivalence between abortion restrictions and gun restrictions, with a ray of hope in some sort of grand compromise.
     
  • Congressional Representative Mark Pocan calls on Israel to stop indiscriminate killing of innocent Palestinians.


    Killing indiscriminately is an overstatement. Israel is targeting Hamas with some regard, at least nominally, for civilian life. His essential point survives, however.
     
    Wisconsin conservative James Wigderson makes the obvious reply:


    I have a thought:

  • Question posed at The Moderate Voice about Palestinians:
    So why won’t any of the Arab states give shelter to Palestinians?
     
    David Anderson looks at the history of attempts to accomplish just that in the Arab world, which have ended in violence and hatred.
     
    Key description:
    Worst Houseguests Ever
     
  • Ted McLaughlin at jobsanger goes to polling data and figures out why elected Republicans are turning away from Ukraine, toward Putin.
     
  • Sometimes an obvious point, nonetheless, must be made.
     
    Our favorite Earth-Bound Misfit sees elected Republicans lining up behind Putin for an imaginary reason.
     
    Key fact:
    Anyone who thinks that Putin will be satisfied with conquering Ukraine hasn’t been paying attention to his stated ambitions. Putin wants to “restore” what he sees as the imperial Russian empire. That means conquering a lot of other nations, including all or part of NATO members.
     
  • The Strategic Studies Book Club explores the post conflict analysis by General Bruce Palmer, Jr. of the American failure in Vietnam.
     
    Key failure:
    Perhaps most serious was that, engrossed in U.S. operations, we paid insufficient attention to our number one military job, which was to develop South Vietnamese armed forces that could successfully pacify and defend their own country.
     
    With due respect to failed military expertise, I’d suggest that the key failure was an unexamined premise: that all communist insurgents everywhere were controlled by a central committee in the Kremlin. It never occurred to our leaders that we might simply be interfering in a sectarian war between a mostly Buddhist population and an oppressive South Vietnamese government dominated a radical Catholic offshoot.
     
    We invested so very many lives in order to keep the global Communist conspiracy from advancing a few hundred miles closer in a conflict on the other side of the world.
     
  • In the Palmer Report, fair housing expert Ron Leshnower goes to climate change, looks at Joe Biden’s policies, and likes what he sees.
     
  • Dave Dubya defends the term Democratic Socialism.
     
    Key meaning:
    It is defined by the ideal and application of a democratic republic based on fair elections and fair representation for its citizens.
     
    Key exclusion:
    It is NOT “Marxism, communism or fascism”.
     
    I dunno. Although this entire blog loves Dave, his thought does remind me of arguments on how Defund the Police may sound like abolishing police but really means something different.
     
    If a label or slogan means something different than it sounds to ordinary non-political folks, it may be wise to adopt a more accurate self-description.
     
  • Max’s Dad mourns the loss (as do we all) of actor Andre Braugher.
     
  • Michael John Scott posts a beautiful goodbye as he mourns the loss of his best friend.
     
  • Dave Columbo has a serious sounding warning about Morgan Freeman:
     
  • SilverAppleQueen resorts to third grade lessons and notices the flaw in average temperature as reported by The Weather Channel.
     
  • Author John Scalzi considers the extent to which fictional characters become independent, acquiring their own lives, within an author’s mind. Which is to say John Scalzi’s characters and John Scalzi’s mind.
     
  • @whiskeywhistle98 reacts as an elementary teacher tells true (presumably) stories about children in class.
     
  • YellowDog Granny has developed an extraordinary way to end pretty much any argument.
     
  • Clickbait satirist Reductress can help if you can’t get your partner to text you as often as a blood donation center in urgent need of Type O-Negative.
     
  • M. Bouffant at Web of Evil gets a coded satanic message from a corporate food producer while buying a half pound of salmon.
     
  • New moves from baseball in Georgia, as The Savanna Bananas bring new style in pitching, and getting a strike.
     

2 thoughts on “Merry Xmas, Pesky Jesus, Colorado Ballot, Michigan Tapes, Poison, Hitler”

  1. Burr,

    After reading your remarks, I have reached an epiphany.

    Appended at the post:

    It would seem “democratic socialism” is too complex and scary as a concept for Americans.

    Maybe it should be called “Liberalism”, or “progressivism”. Oh, but those terms have been demonized out of political discourse by the radical Right too.

    I got it! “Universal Socially Applied Capitalism” or “USA Capitalism”. How does that sound?

    Merry Christmas! And a healthy happy new year to you.

  2. yay! so glad you’re back 🙂 wishing you & yours a happy rest of the holiday season! tx much for including me here

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