Links of interest, very belated

I've neglected posting blogs but I've still written some, and I will catch up eventually. These links mostly or completely from 2024.

I managed not to write about DeSantis and the Florida culture skirmishes where DeSantis tried via legislation to force Florida public schools to be much less woke. This had many fronts. Don't say gay. Nothing about trans kids. Curriculum on slavery. Punishing Disney for stating their opposing opinion. So fun all around. This is the settlement agreement about the Don't Say Gay bill (as it was dubbed in the press). No formal instruction in lots of areas for K-3, but informal discussions can and will take place. 

Plastic Waste Deal. Not a deal yet, but a bunch of countries are coming closer to limiting plastic manufacturing. This is a good idea considering all the plastic bottle waste. A lot of that could go to aluminum, which is highly recycled, unlike plastic. And countries probably need to force industry that way since it's not happening even with people being educated. Some things do happen from the top down. 

Donny's Donors and who they want for VP. Good to check back on this. 

A summary of the evidence in Trump's payoff trial. There isn't any summary of the defense, but there wasn't much of a defense. A lawyer named Costello testified, but didn't have much material evidence to back him up. He also got skewered on cross examination. 

El Salvador has been a mess for decades. Finally a leader is having partial success in countering the gangs. But the bleeding heart progressives have to criticize anyhow. I want to watch and see if he is able to help this benighted country. I hope he can. 

The European parliament elections saw a surge of anti-immigrant votes and a major decline in greens and liberals. For what it's worth, being a lower-turnout affair. And an article about how France has changed. Not so stodgy and with a sense of chaos? 

Video showing Biden's shuffling gait walking in a cemetery in France at the D-Day commemorations. Jill holding his hand, guiding him, helping with balance. Biden reaching for headstone to steady himself. I noticed this before Biden's poor debate performance. Full video of Biden's interview by Hur, special counsel. 

Trashy racist meme from Trump's campaign spokesman. Correction, an outspoken supporter, also asian.

The new mayor of Chicago is trying to force through an agreement with the teachers' union and huge high-interest borrowing. The superintendent and the entire school board that he appointed disagree with his plan. What a mess. 

Mark Zuckerberg's whiny letter to the GOP-dominated House Judiciary Committee. They pressured us, he whines. 

Too late to matter, but a transcript of the Harris/Trump debate. 

Parking this here. A transcript of the J6 Committee with the blunt assistant White House Counsel. The one with the panda poster in the background. The one who told off Eastman after Jan. 6. There is also a treasure trove of J6 transcripts.

Image: Ian Miles Cheong 

Short: Accusation about paid protesters

I don't have much time to write this. However, I want to get it on my blog. I've seen commenters say that the protesters against Trump, including the violent protesters, are paid by the DNC and/or left-wing groups.

To this accusation, I say WHERE IS YOUR PROOF? By that, I mean where is the strong evidence? Most commenters have no evidence. Some say that this is just like Wisconsin, where union protesters were bussed in and paid (I haven't verified it one way or another, but it sounds plausible). Or maybe it's just like all protests--they are all staged and managed!

Here are three articles on the protests in San Jose:

• New York Times - protests were individually and locally organized.
• Washington Times - assumption that the San Jose protests were organized by MoveOn.org with little evidence provided.
• Washington Free Beacon - following the money given to progressive organizations, implying that it buys violence.

So what evidence is there? From what I've seen, some progressive organizations pay organizers (as do conservative political groups).Some are involved in organizing protests. However I found no evidence that these paid organizers were involved in protest against Trump in Chicago or San Jose. 

So, if someone is going to claim violence was paid for, they better bring on the evidence, particularly the money trail. 

Image: blackrepublican.blogspot.com

Interesting factoid: How Trump was shut down in Chicago

What I knew about Trump's rally in Chicago is that he complained about protesters disrupting it. He tried to get mileage out of it, but it wasn't a huge event in a campaign where we have all sorts of Republicans running scared, and you have Donald insulting people left and right. If you can't show pictures of a horribly mangled person or a flag-draped coffin, it's no more than a blip in this campaign.

So it was interesting to learn that the protesters got hold of a lot of bona fide tickets. There were hundreds of them inside the arena and thousands outside. Most of the insiders were playing mum, planning to disrupt the rally while Trump was speaking. However, some protesters (there was more than one organized group plus freelancers) were starting their protests early, and being hustled out. Among the Trump supporters (roughly 6000), there was a lot of suspicion. Perhaps security got wind of what was likely to happen, and cancelled the rally.

There were fist-fights after the announcement (purportedly--no pictures that I saw). If anyone was seriously hurt, it didn't make the news. Trump called the protesters thugs, but they weren't very thug-like if so few engaged in fights. The Trump supporters weren't too thuggish either.

The reason I looked into the details is because Jonathan Chait wrote a scare piece about how leftists who are against free speech squelched the rally. Nothing I read made me worry that the protesters wanted anything but to express their opinions in a very noticeable way. Most were even hoping to avoid battery, so I think Jonathan Chait should calm down.

Trump was probably right to cancel the rally. It would've been a big embarrassment for him, one way or another. Nonetheless, I hope to see more big counter-demonstrations against Trump. Maybe I'll even go to one.

Image: pbs.org

Extras. A couple other reports about the rally. Breitbart is one of many that play up violence that didn't even occur (yet and/or at all). Some violence that did occur.