From Pine View Farm

Dis Coarse Discourse 0

Speaker of the House Mike Johnson walks with a colleague.  Johnson says,

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The Privatization Scam, Medicare Disadvantage Dept. 0

Thom and Congressman Mark Pocan responds to a caller’s question about “Medigap” coverage. Thom also discusses the racist origins of the “Medigap” itself.

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Through the Smokescreen 0

Man:  In conclusion, America must ban immigrants from inferior nations and instead celebrate European culture.  Woman:  You mean you want a strong social safety net?  Man:  Er, no.  Woman:  Excellent high-speed train systems?  Man:  No.  Woman:  Universal health care?  Man:  Bi,  Woman:  Liberal democracy?  Man:  No.  Woman:  Respect for science and the Paris climate accord?  Man:  No.  Woman:  Generous vacations and paid family leave?  Man:  No.  Woman:  Bicycle-friendly cities like Amsterdam and Copenhagen?  Man:  (Angrily)  Look, I mean I like white people, okay?  Woman:  Oh, right.

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Vaccine Nation 0

Unfortunately, there is no vaccine against stupid.

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QOTD 0

Virgil:

Rumor, swiftest of all the evils in the world.

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All the News that Fits 0

In the midst of a longer post about the who-shot-john over Green Day’s having the unmitigated gall to express a political opinion, Vixen Strangely states an obvious truth–one which, like many obvious truths, is too seldom remarked on–and states it very well.

Fox News talking heads are not political analysts. They are propagandists.

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The Ultimate Election? Reprise 0

Dick Polman lists three reasons to be (cautiously) optimistic about this year’s presidential election. Here’s one (emphasis in the original):

Biden is the anti-fascism candidate. Trump’s 2020 coup plot, his Jan. 6 incitements, and his current vows to end democracy as we know it, obviously play well with duh dolts in duh Republican base, but the majority of the electorate refuses to swallow his criminal swill. President Biden says, “Our message (in 2024) is clear, and it is simple: We are running a campaign like the fate of our democracy depends on it. Because it does.”

Follow the link for the others.

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Dodging Deception on the Disinformation Superhighway 0

At Psychology Today Blogs, David Evans suggests that three simple questions can help us protect ourselves against deceivers on the Disinformation Superhighway (emphasis in the original).

Follow the link to read a real-life application of his reasoning.

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Training Day 0

Giant one-eyed monster labeled

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A Notion of Immigrants 0

Farron discusses a Fox News reporter who called out a right-wing lie. (Yeah, I know, but stranger things have happened.)

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The Ultimate Election? 0

The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette’s Gene Collier is not sanguine. A snippet:

Unfortunately, election year is here, and if that big fat American reality fills you with hot dread, it’s only because you’re an American who’s been paying attention. By some immutable law of journalism I am compelled to tell you that the presidential election of 2024 is the most important of our lifetimes, as ever, but this time we’re serious. It might be our last.

Follow the link for his reasoning.

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“An Armed Society Is a Polite Society” 0

Yet another “responsible gun owner” is polite to his child.

When they (police–ed.) arrived, a man said he was handling his gun when it accidentally went off.

His son was struck by the bullet and taken to an the hospital with serious injuries.

One more time, “accidentally” and “negligently” do not mean the same thing.

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QOTD 0

Dorothy Parker:

There’s a hell of a distance between wise-cracking and wit. Wit has truth in it; wise-cracking is simply calisthenics with words.

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Courting Disaster 0

Above the Law’s Joe Patrice is less than impressed with Chief Justice Robert’s Year-End Report on the Federal Judiciary.

Here’s a bit from his assessment:

Trolls gonna troll.

Follow the link for context.

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The Voter Fraud Fraudsters 0

Kim Bock, whose company was hired by the Trump campaign to investigate possible voter fraud, explains how his investigation proved that there was no there there. A nugget:

The findings of my company’s in-depth analysis are detailed in the depositions taken by the Select Committee to Investigate the January 6th Attack on the United States Capitol. The transcripts show that the campaign found no evidence of voter fraud sufficient to change the outcome of any election. That message was communicated directly to White House chief of staff Mark Meadows.

(snip)

More important, claims of voter fraud made by others were verified as false, including proof of why those claims were disproven.

Read the whole thing. It’s a fascinating look at the nuts and bolts of his investigation.

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The Crypto Con 0

Title:  Post-Holidays blues for a crypto-broker.  Image:  Man sitting in front of fireplace staring at an empty Christmas stocking.  Woman says,

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News You Can Lose 0

David explains why he has given up on cable news.

Me, I’ve gone him one better.

I gave up on broadcast news years ago, when I realized that

      1) broadcasters were choosing to sacrifice accuracy to entertainment and eyeballs and
      2) I can read more in ten minutes than some talking head on the telly vision or the radio can spout at me in an hour.
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A Notion of Immigrants 0

Grung_e_Gene tries to figure out why one of the two major political parties in a country that has boasted of itself as a “nation of immigrants” is so all-fired frightened of immigrants.

Methinks he makes some points worth consideration.

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If One Standard Is Good, Two Must Be Better 0

Frame One:  GOP Elephant waves his arms angrily in the air while saying,

Via Job’s Anger.

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Still Rising Again after All These Years 0

Field tries to understand Nikki Haley’s attempt white-wash history in ignoring the uncomfortable fact of America’s Original Sin.

Here’s a bit of his article (emphasis in the original); follow the link for the entire post.

Nikki went all pretzel with her attempt to answer the question because she did not want to offend republican voters. Particularly those MAGA loyalist (sic) who she is still trying to court. In the world of half of republican voters, and most MAGA loyalists, the Civil War was more about good Americans just wanting to hold on to their property without the government telling them what to do, than it was about enslaving and cruelly treating fellow human beings. This part of American history has been completely whitewashed by the American right, and Nikki Haley knows this. So rather than show some courage and speak the truth about the real reason for the Civil War (or as they call it in the South: ‘The War of Northern Aggression’) Nikki chose to dodge and obfuscate.

(Broken link fixed.)

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