Error message

Deprecated function: Array and string offset access syntax with curly braces is deprecated in include_once() (line 20 of /home/caucusni/public_html/includes/file.phar.inc).

Open Thread

The Weekly Watch

Trump Obsession

Open Thread Image.jpg

Last week I made a comment that began, "I ain't a Trumpeteer but I also don't have TDS." Unfortunately it was read as if I finished the sentence with "like you". That is not what I said nor intended to imply. However I can understand their sensitivity since others have called them Trump deranged. Words in a blog are often misunderstood, however that's not really what I want to address. Down thread it was stated that accusations of TDS are intellectually lazy. I'm sure there are Trumpeteers that use TDS to defend him for all his craziness, but not to see the massive extent of an engineered psyop of "Orange man bad" is also naive. Let me explain below the fold...

OrangeManBad_web-2-1024x1024-3465167627.png

Album of the Week 4-26-25

Afternoon folks!

This week we start out with a couple of albums from blues harmonica players, Snooky Pryor and Sam Myers, followed by some serious acoustic country blues from John Jackson. After that there's Gil Scott-Heron's double album of jazz and blues from the bicentennial era. Then it's on to blues-rock with two albums featuring guitarist Peter Green, the first at his peak from his tenure in John Mayall's Bluesbreakers and then a late career album from him. Finishing us up is an album of prog rock from Gentle Giant.

Enjoy the tunes and have a great weekend!

Saturday Open Thread - 4/26/25: Odds and Ends

Good morning, good people! I wish for everyone good health, good financial security, good air and water, and good times as the day, and as our future progresses!

It seems the judiciary is fighting for balance of power here and there, against the incessant Executive Orders and arbitrary DOGE directives, and are also being called out when they fail in their duties. The FBI arrested a Milwaukee Judge they believe hindered ICE in some detentions. We shall see. The media colors everything, so the truth comes to the fore later. I am extremely curious and concerned about the facts of what the judge did or didn't do. My life, your life, and our system is affected by this.

Open Thread - 04-25-25 - What Comes After?

Democracy in the West is withering on the vine. European political parties are jailing their opponents and banning opposition parties from elections. How soon will that happen here in the US?

Democrats put up candidates that no one voted for. Republicans fight to restrict voting rights. Does that even matter when we essentially have a uni-party anyway?

Both sides champion restricting free speech.

Government corruption is rampant and ubiquitous.

The law is used as a weapon. Does anyone really think that the Republicans wont use the same lawfare tactics to stall the function of government against the Democrats when they regain power? If so, then what good is democracy?

If democracy is on life support, what comes after?

deadjim.jpg

Open Thread - Thurs 24 Apr - 2025 - What Comes Around Goes Around

What Comes Around Goes Around

Long, long, long ago, I worked at AMD (Advanced Micro Devices) when the company first started exporting production to Asia. Us little workers, those of us who ran the machines that made the chips, or tested them, or packaged them up for shipping, us... well, WE were pretty upset. We knew this meant that there would be less jobs, that regular workers would be screwed over and that AMD was going to go from a company that proudly cared about things like keeping production in the USA and workers' rights, to yet another typical American business.

So, TPTB exported shipping to Asia. About this time, my father retired from AMD; he didn't like a lot of these changes. I stopped working there because I was going to Grad school in PA. And... everything we, the workers, predicted came true. Thanks Reagan! Thanks Clinton! Thanks Nixon! And everyone else!


Cartoon from a while back, by John Pritchett

Pages