Weekend Open Thread
[guest post by Dana]
Let’s go!
First news item
A Republican speaks at the DNC:
How can a party claim to be patriotic if it idolizes a man who tried to overthrow a free and fair election? How can a party claim to stand for liberty if it sees a fight for freedom in Ukraine, an attack pitting tyranny against democracy, a challenge to everything our nation claims to be, and it retreats? It equivocates. It nominates a man who is weirdly obsessed with Putin. And his running mate, who has said, “I don’t care what happens in Ukraine.”
How can a party claim to be conservative when it tarnishes the gift our forebearers fought for?
. . .
Listen, all we’re asked to do is summon the courage to stand up to one weak man.
Second news item
The Taliban’s ongoing quest for “legitimacy” before the world:
Afghanistan’s Taliban rulers have issued a ban on women’s voices and bare faces in public under new laws approved by the supreme leader in efforts to combat vice and promote virtue.
The laws were issued Wednesday after they were approved by supreme leader Hibatullah Akhundzada, a government spokesman said. The Taliban had set up a ministry for the “propagation of virtue and the prevention of vice” after seizing power in 2021.
These obscene, tiny would-be men are successfully removing women from public, leaving only black-shrouded silent ghosts in their midst. I’ve never seen such chickenshit males. They shut down those that they are afraid of, lest the “walking coffins” find the bold courage that the women of Iran have found in the “Woman. Life. Freedom.” protests.
Third news item
Harris warned of the consequences of a second Trump term.
“In many ways, Donald Trump is an unserious man, Harris said.
“But the consequences of putting Donald Trump back in the White House are extremely serious.”
“Just imagine Donald Trump with no guardrails,” she said.
Fourth news item
Yet again exposing their anti-Semitic underpants:
Not a single Jewish or Israeli victim of terror was included in the United Nations' exhibit on international victims of terrorism.
So we have to ask, when it comes to the @UN, do Jews not count? pic.twitter.com/fpZMXP5kb8
— ADL (@ADL) August 23, 2024
Fifth news item
From President Zelensky:
I am grateful to the United States for imposing additional strong sanctions against Russia today.
Nearly 400 sanctions targets in a new US package will further weaken Russia’s ability to wage an aggressive war against Ukraine.
Pressure on the aggressor must be maintained and increased constantly as long as Russia continues its aggression. I thank the U.S. for its leadership in this important effort.
Together with all our partners, all peace-loving nations, we must restore respect to the UN Charter and force Russia to make peace.
Sixth news item
Yep:
If the Republicans had nominated a person who offered minimal lip service to American values, was not a criminal, & didn’t instigate an attack on the Capitol, 80% of Kamala’s speech would’ve been moot.
Seems like nominating someone who couldn’t clear that bar was a mistake.
Seventh news item
Bullets were found in the bodies of the six Israeli hostages retrieved from Gaza this week, the Israeli military and the Hostage Families Forum campaign group said on Thursday.
The military told Reuters it retrieved another four bodies alongside its hostages, presumed to be Hamas militants, and that those bodies did not show signs of bullet wounds.
The comments came a day after U.S. President Joe Biden pressed Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on the urgency of sealing a deal for a truce between Israel and Hamas in Gaza and the release of hostages held by Palestinian militants there…A total of 109 hostages are believed to remain in Gaza. About a third of them are thought to be dead, with the fate of the others unknown.
Eighth news item
Late last year, former President Donald Trump announced his endorsement of car dealership owner Bernie Moreno for Ohio’s Senate seat – elevating an untested candidate who’d never held public office over several other more prominent Republicans.
Two days later, Moreno’s campaign spent about $17,000 at Trump’s Mar-a-Lago resort, and then followed up by spending an additional $79,000 the next month – making him one of the Florida club’s top political spenders.
He wasn’t alone. With glitzy Mar-a-Lago fundraisers, stays at Trump’s hotels, and flights on the former president’s private jet, Republican candidates and political groups are on track to spend more on Trump’s businesses this year than any year since 2016, according to a CNN analysis of federal campaign finance data.
Trump himself has been the biggest spender, both this year and over the last decade. Between his three presidential campaigns, Trump and associated political groups have funneled more than $28 million in campaign donations to his businesses – helping convert the enthusiasm of his political supporters into personal profit.
Other Republicans have followed suit, spending millions at Trump’s properties in an apparent attempt to curry favor with the former president and signal their allegiance to him to GOP voters.
Ninth news item
We are all um, “normal,” like you:
The sight at the Democratic convention on Wednesday night of Tim Walz’s 17-year-old son leaping to his feet, with streaming eyes, a hand to his chest with a cry of “That’s my Dad” was heart piercing.
As the mother of Georgie, a 38-year-old on-the-spectrum son who still lives with me, I recognized him immediately as one of “ours,” a sweet, unfiltered, slightly bewildered-looking young man who wasn’t quite sure what was expected of him in this epic moment of political adulation…
[F]or people who are different and have no support, the world can be bleak. Their loneliness can be agonizing. Some people assume the school days are the hardest, but it’s the years after that are the social desert. Having a friendly, forgiving workplace to go to is critical. It’s often their only taste of community and what makes them such reliable and rewarding employees. The work from home movement has been a killer for people with special needs, often depriving them of the only social connections they have.
Whether on the left or right side of the political aisle, just be kind. It really isn’t that hard.
Tenth news item
The very last sentence says it all:
At the beginning of August, a coalition of bipartisan senators organized a meeting with Sullivan. Sullivan has at various times held meetings with the senators to discuss Ukraine. But during this encounter, the delegation had one, unified message: The administration needs to change its stance now before it is too late, according to a person who was briefed on the meeting.
Their argument was similar to one they and many others, including Ukrainians, have made before. The U.S. should lift all restrictions, they say, because if it doesn’t and Ukraine loses, the administration will be known as the one that didn’t do enough when it could.
That framing has at times angered senior officials in the White House who insist Washington has done more than any other country to help support Kyiv and that it shouldn’t have to risk its own national security for Kyiv. Officials in certain corners of the administration, particularly inside the White House, have told the Ukrainians that the U.S. will eventually want to reset relations with Moscow and lifting the restrictions could upend those efforts.
So now we know why the Biden administration has consistently been slow to provide needed weapons to Ukraine. It’s just another way that the White House doesn’t want to ruffle Moscow’s feathers. At first, it was the fear of escalation with Russia. That myth has been laid to rest, however. Now it’s concern that we won’t be able to re-establish relations with Russia. Unbelievable.
The other possibility is what I warned about, that the White House is propping up a war criminal dictator in the hope of normalizing relations with him. Russia is already falling apart, stop trying to rescue it. Accelerate it and start planning for a brighter post-Putin future.
Have a great weekend.
–Dana
