“We do not believe any group of men adequate enough or wise enough to operate without scrutiny or without criticism. We know that the only way to avoid error is to detect it, that the only way to detect it is to be free to inquire. We know that in secrecy error undetected will flourish and subvert.” –J. Robert Oppenheimer
This Stormwatch Monday Open Thread remains open – VERY OPEN – a place for everybody to post whatever they feel they would like to tell the White Hats, and the rest of the MAGA/KAG/KMAG world (with KMAG being a bit of both).
“….because if you’re not rooted in principle – ah – if all we are is listless vessels that’s just supposed to follow – you know – whatever happens to come down the pike on Truth Social every morning – that’s not going to be a durable movement.”
Used in a tweet
To Hillary Clinton, Trump supporters are 'deplorables.' To Ron DeSantis, they are 'listless vessels.' The truth is, Trump supporters are patriots.
Ron DeSantis is showing his true colors. The pressure of polling in third place is getting to DeSantis and now he is lashing out at… pic.twitter.com/S6UU4790W9
Note how the reference to “Truth Social” was skillfully removed in Community Notes to make sure that DeSantis’ meaning was portrayed as “not about Trump” – when it clearly was. What the heck is happening at “X”?
Nothing that a bit of music can’t help us get through!
How about some vocal and orchestral epic?
Heck – let’s try some orchestral Western, too!
And maybe a string quartet, Bluegrass-style?
No breathers allowed in local politics.
Fortunately, there’s still time for a brief stop in here.
What’s shocking is how much national politics filters down into state and local politics. People are worried about big national ideological issues causing friction at our level. Sometimes the friction is there – sometimes it’s not. Sometimes it’s an inch away from all hell breaking loose. But this is where the reality happens, and trying to solve that reality for the best effect is HARD.
I must thank DePat, Steve, Carl and TradeBait for carrying the weight of authorship, and everybody else for bringing the news. God bless you good folks for what you’re doing. Your carrying the load is helping me carry the message.
This Stormwatch Monday Open Thread remains open – VERY OPEN – a place for everybody to post whatever they feel they would like to tell the White Hats, and the rest of the MAGA/KAG/KMAG world (with KMAG being a bit of both).
Our various sister sites, listed in the Blogroll in the sidebar
Our beloved country is under Occupation by hostile forces.
Daily outrage and epic phuckery abound.
We can give in to despair…or we can be defiant and fight back in any way that we can.
Joe Biden didn’t win.
And we will keep saying Joe Biden didn’t win until we get His Fraudulency out of our White House.
Word of The Week:
starboard
noun, adjective
The right-hand side of a ship or aircraft as one faces forward.
Nautical that side of a vessel which is on the right when one faces the bow: opposed to port (larboard). See port.
That side of a vessel which is on the right hand of a person who stands on board facing the bow; — opposed to larboard, or port.
Used in a sentence
“On this fascinating ship of political fools, beware RINOs off the starboard bow, coaxing us toward various rocks, while never forgetting the wise navigators astern, keeping us on the straight and narrow path to freedom and victory.”
Time for some classical.
And maybe some classic country, too!
The battlegrounds are shifting now. The establishment game of endless division is clear. I’m learning a LOT about how politics is mainly about perpetuating politics. However, I believe that WE THE PEOPLE have ways to cut through that and find American unity. I’m excited.
I miss being here with you all. I now realize that I’m YEARS ahead of the people around me, because I had this resource of honest people speaking honestly. Please continue to cherish each other. This is a great place. I can feel the cost of my absence to my own understanding, and I will have to do something to make sure I have more time to be here.
And yes – I STILL hope that every one of you is STILL having a great summer!
This Stormwatch Monday Open Thread remains open – VERY OPEN – a place for everybody to post whatever they feel they would like to tell the White Hats, and the rest of the MAGA/KAG/KMAG world (with KMAG being a bit of both).
Our various sister sites, listed in the Blogroll in the sidebar
Our beloved country is under Occupation by hostile forces.
Daily outrage and epic phuckery abound.
We can give in to despair…or we can be defiant and fight back in any way that we can.
Joe Biden didn’t win.
And we will keep saying Joe Biden didn’t win until we get His Fraudulency out of our White House.
Word of The Week:
deranged
adjective
Disordered; especially, disordered in mind; crazy; insane.
Disturbed or upset, especially mentally.
Insane.
Used in a sentence
Rep. Jamie Raskin, D-Md., slammed former President Donald Trump’s legal defense in his criminal case over the 2020 election as “deranged.”
Used in a Truth Social post
“Do you think that A.G. Garland, and Deranged Jack Smith, understand that we are in the middle of a major political campaign for President of the United States? Have they looked at recent poll numbers?” Trump wrote.
Used in a theory
I’ve been wondering why Trump keeps referring to “deranged” Jack Smith, when the history of John (his real name) Smith shows no indication of ever being deranged in any way, or even having ever been a mental patient, unstable, etc.
And yet – well – when this allegedly sane person Jack Smith read off the weird crap charges against Trump, with utter seriousness, he sounded to me like a nutcase.
HOLD THAT THOUGHT.
I believe that Smith is an “MK ULTRA” subject, and that Trump is hinting at this. It is my contention that MK ULTRA leads to a variety of forms of brain damage, as side effects of the process of mental manipulations.
Among the people who I suspect have been conditioned by MK ULTRA (see many earlier posts), for a variety of purposes:
Whitey Bulger
Robert Mueller
Loretta Lynch
Merrick Garland
Christine Blasey “Two-Door” Ford
Whitey Bulger was likely used to test MK ULTRA’s capacity to carry out murder.
Robert Mueller’s sad dementia and wrecked brain seem very post-MK to me. Recall Mueller’s close relationship with Bulger during Bulger’s work as an “informant” who was murdering other criminals (likely under MK ULTRA).
Merrick Garland likewise shows damage from tampering, IMO.
Loretta Lynch had nearly complete amnesia about critical events when she had to testify. IMO she would pass a lie detector test about any items in her “selective memory” – because of MK ULTRA.
Christine Blasey Ford is a powerful example of the derangement resulting from MK ULTRA. She is a human puppet who can be made to say anything. Clearly this is “deranged”.
I believe that MK ULTRA was used to take over DOJ. “They” literally brainwashed critical people in DOJ and FBI.
This Stormwatch Monday Open Thread remains open – VERY OPEN – a place for everybody to post whatever they feel they would like to tell the White Hats, and the rest of the MAGA/KAG/KMAG world (with KMAG being a bit of both).
Our various sister sites, listed in the Blogroll in the sidebar
Our beloved country is under Occupation by hostile forces.
Daily outrage and epic phuckery abound.
We can give in to despair…or we can be defiant and fight back in any way that we can.
Joe Biden didn’t win.
And we will keep saying Joe Biden didn’t win until we get His Fraudulency out of our White House.
Word of The Week:
precinct
noun
A subdivision or district of a city or town under the jurisdiction of or patrolled by a specific unit of its police force.
The police station situated in and having jurisdiction over such a district.
An election district of a city or town.
Precinct map of Manhattan
More country music!
This one helps me get it. SEEING the lyrics helps to make sense of the sentiment.
I love the way his “round up” verb doesn’t have an object. That’s very important. The object could be anybody. Very important to remember.
As I see politics more up-front and personal, but also PEOPLE, I’m seeing where things are both breaking and healing, and it’s hard for me to communicate the hope and frustration.
I also see the specialness of this place, and how the world needs more of what we have here – a kind of deep honesty without prejudice (used in all senses of the word).
Be the Q Tree, people!
I am beat from local work. But it’s good, too. Resting now, relaxing, and saying thank you for being here.
This Stormwatch Monday Open Thread remains open – VERY OPEN – a place for everybody to post whatever they feel they would like to tell the White Hats, and the rest of the MAGA/KAG/KMAG world (with KMAG being a bit of both).
Our various sister sites, listed in the Blogroll in the sidebar
Our beloved country is under Occupation by hostile forces.
Daily outrage and epic phuckery abound.
We can give in to despair…or we can be defiant and fight back in any way that we can.
Joe Biden didn’t win.
And we will keep saying Joe Biden didn’t win until we get His Fraudulency out of our White House.
Word of The Week:
Dunning–Kruger effect
noun
The Dunning–Kruger effect is a cognitive bias whereby people with low ability, expertise, or experience regarding a type of task or area of knowledge tend to overestimate their ability or knowledge. Some researchers also include the opposite effect for high performers: their tendency to underestimate their skills. In popular culture, the Dunning–Kruger effect is often misunderstood as a claim about general overconfidence of people with low intelligence instead of specific overconfidence of people unskilled at a particular task.
People are actually fairly good at estimating relative abilities, but they are not as good at estimating actual abilities – and the fit is increasingly bad at lower abilities, where people overestimate their own competence.
The effect is commonly used as a justification of authoritarianism by leftists and elitists, and as an argument in favor of the anti-popular positions of scientism.
In words
“The more you know, the more you know that you don’t know.”
“The less you know, the less you know that you don’t know.”
Relevance
There is a fake news site that exists for the purpose of fooling conservatives, and thereby discrediting them in the eyes of everybody else. As a form of insult to its victims, this website calls itself the “Dunning-Kruger Times”.
While the Dunning-Kruger Times (DKT) website claims that its stories are satire, the stories are always remarkably unfunny, and IMO are clearly not intended to be funny.
They are intended to be believable.
True satire sites of a similar nature typically run stories which slowly increase the level of absurdity until the reader recognizes hyperbole and begins to get the joke. These sites can be incredibly (no pun intended) funny, and have often had me breathless with laughter.
DKT never crafts funny satire. The goal appears to be to get reasonable people to see the story and recognize that the story is reasonable, likely to have occurred, and affirming of conservative values. The stories are easily posted to social media. The trouble is, the stories are never true.
As I have said, the stories are discrediting of whoever posts them, and many famous conservatives (Gov. Greg Abbott and Juanita Broaderick, most recently) have been fooled.
The stories are ALMOST libelous, but under the cover of satire, they remain protected and legal speech. Moreover, because the false allegations are very plausible, the accusations anticipate likely real positions by the people who are libeled, and are thus unlikely to be argued against.
It is my belief that these sites and stories are the work of the 3-letter agencies and/or the DNC, both as a psychological operation against Americans, and in particular as a way of discrediting those who would be expected to post or “like” the stories on social media.
For example, Juanita Broaddrick posted this valid tweet, showing significant public sentiment in favor of country music artist Jason Aldean.
Personally, I think that the DKT needs to be investigated all the way back to their (IMO) CIA, big tech, or DNC roots.
DKT is a discreditation site – a psy-op – and NOT a regular satire site.
Hey @elonmusk! Should @Twitter do something about "fake satire sites" that are designed to discredit target groups under the undeserved protection of "parody"? The very unfunny nature of DKT stories gives away their game of psy-op and plausibility.https://t.co/pu0tenqmhl
This Stormwatch Monday Open Thread remains open – VERY OPEN – a place for everybody to post whatever they feel they would like to tell the White Hats, and the rest of the MAGA/KAG/KMAG world (with KMAG being a bit of both).
Norgestrel is a synthetic progestin comprising a 50% racemic mixture, in which levonorgestrel is the biologically active form. Levonorgestrel’s most common use is as a contraceptive agent either alone or in combination with the synthetic estrogen ethinyl estradiol.
For your enjoyment, some country music!
As the election season approaches, I will be getting more and more involved in local politics. I may do some more placeholders, particularly for the final weeks before the election. I’ll just have to see how much time I have. My top priority on this site will be interacting with people, and reading the content that people bring here, rather than bringing my own content.
I just want to make sure people know that I’m not losing interest in this site, by my not being here or by my not doing more analytical posts. Between necessary time for health, family, and local politics, something has to give, and it will typically be posting my own content on this site.
But like Wheatie always said. We WILL get through it!
This Stormwatch Monday Open Thread remains open – VERY OPEN – a place for everybody to post whatever they feel they would like to tell the White Hats, and the rest of the MAGA/KAG/KMAG world (with KMAG being a bit of both).
This week, we begin a new half-year of Monday posts.
I am returning the post format to “Wheatie-style brevity” while sometimes adding short topics or notifications.
This Stormwatch Monday Open Thread remains open – VERY OPEN – a place for everybody to post whatever they feel they would like to tell the White Hats, and the rest of the MAGA/KAG/KMAG world (with KMAG being a bit of both).
For your enjoyment, some epic heroic orchestral music in Wheatie’s favorite style.
I will soon be publishing a statement on the end of Affirmative Action in university admissions. I thought that I might include that statement with this open thread, but I wish to do a better job and not rush it into print. Please bear with me.
Thank you, and God bless you all! -W
ENJOY THE SHOW
Have a great week!
W
Thanks to Valerie for this and other images.
PS – may you have a very, very patriotic Fourth of July!
Next week, we will start a new half-year of Monday posts.
I may take some liberties with the format! Be brave!
This Stormwatch Monday Open Thread remains open – VERY OPEN – a place for everybody to post whatever they feel they would like to tell the White Hats, and the rest of the MAGA/KAG/KMAG world (with KMAG being a bit of both).
And yes, it’s Monday…again.
But we WILL get through it!
‘Cuz Wheatie Sez!
Just like Trump!
So HOLD ON for the ride of your life!
Dedication
WHEATIE – OUR WARRIOR ANGEL
by Duchess01
Please forgive us, Wheatie, we did not know That you had left us with armor in tow We had no idea with what you dealt We did not know the pain you felt And now we can only imagine With you what really did happen Cause rarely did you complain And/or share your personal pain Of one thing we are most certain You are flying high behind the curtain Watching over us above the crowds Our Warrior Angel above the clouds Thank You, Wheatie, for caring for us While you were here among the fuss We miss you dear you have no idea Since time began in the pangaea With you there was no time In your wisdom you would chime To clarify and magnify The what where how and why We did not question when you left We were not slightly bereft But over time we wondered why You did not at least stop by Now we know where you have gone With the break of this new dawn We could be angry but are not Tho with an arrow we’ve been shot Rest peacefully Warrior Angel dear Send us a sign that you are near A butterfly a flower a kiss of rain From your love do not refrain God sends Angels to watch over us And now we have an Angel Plus A Warrior Angel of Magnificence From today and forward hence
Boilerplate, more or less, but worth reading again and again, if only for the minor changes, and to stay out of moderation.
MINOR CHANGE NUMBER 1
Now shortened.
Give them nothing.
Play smart. Every minute, the COUPISTS who stole the election – who lied – who deserve to be at the business end of the very same laws they are using so wrongly against the January Sixth defendants – are trying to set you up. Don’t be a chump. Turn everything back against THEM. Every day, every hour, every minute, every second.
YOU are responsible for your own comments, if they come knocking. YOUR choice. Just remember this…..
For an updated version…..
And for a version that includes your having righteously defended yourself…..
OTHER THAN THAT…….
The bottom line is Free Speech. Theories and ideas you don’t agree with must be WELCOME here, and you must be part of that welcoming. But you do NOT need to be part of any agreement.
Bottom line – respect other people’s FIRST AMENDMENT RIGHTS.
Our only additional requirement is that you do so NICELY. Or at least try to make some effort in that direction.
SO….. [ENGAGE BOILERPLATE…..]
We must endeavor to persevere to love our frenemies – even here.
Those who cannot deal with this easy requirement will be forced to jump the hoops of moderation, so that specific comments impugning other posters and violating the minimal rules can be sorted out and tossed in the trash.
In Wheatie’s words, “We’re on the same side here so let’s not engage in friendly fire.”
That includes the life skill of just ignoring certain other posters.
We do have a site – The U Tree – where civility is not a requirement. Interestingly, people don’t really go there much. Nevertheless, if you find yourself in an “argument” that can’t really stay civil, please feel free to “take it to the U Tree”. The U Tree is also a good place to report any technical difficulties, if you’re unable to report them here. Please post your comment there on one of Wolf’s posts, or in reply to one of Wolf’s comments, to make sure he sees it (though it may take a few hours).
We also have a backup site, called The Q Tree as well, which is really The Q Tree 579486807. You might call it “Second Tree”. The URL for that site is https://theqtree579486807.wordpress.com/. If this site (theqtree.com) ever goes down, please reassemble at the Second Tree.
If the Second Tree goes down, please go to The U Tree, or to our Gab Group, which is located at https://gab.com/groups/4178.
We also have some “old rules” and important guidelines, outlined here, in a very early post, on our first New Year’s Day, in 2019. The main point is not to make violent threats against people, which then have to be taken seriously by law enforcement, and which can be used as a PRETEXT by enemies of this site.
In the words of Wheatie, “Let’s not give the odious Internet Censors a reason to shut down this precious haven that Wolf has created for us.”
A Moment of Prayer
Our policy on extreme religious freedom on this site is discussed HERE. Please feel free to pray and praise God anytime and anywhere.
Thus, please pray for our real President, the one who actually won TWO elections.
By grace you have been saved through faith; not of yourselves. It is the gift of God. Ephesians 2:8-9
You expect me to believe that Ben Brody a political science student at UCR, a liberal college in California who was unmasked at a protest event is a member of the “far right” organization Patriot Front? Yea right, this guy is an Antifa crisis actor hired by the Feds. pic.twitter.com/BkBNJsO4Jf
I’m proud to say that Peter Hotez has blocked me. 🤣🤣🤣 Given that he has a PhD in propaganda, I’m going to take this moment to reflect on what I did that was so effective. I will then do more of the exact same thing. Tyrants might be liars, but at least they’re cowards too. pic.twitter.com/pYnsE4m7dk
What is an implosion, and what would it have been like for the Titan sub passengers?
The Titan submersible was so deep, experts told NBC News, that the forces crushing it would have been equivalent to the weight of the Eiffel Tower.
The deep-sea water pressure that appears to have crushed the 22-foot craft would have been roughly equivalent in weight to the 10,000-ton, wrought-iron Eiffel Tower, experts told NBC News on Friday. The colossal forces would have acted so quickly that it would be like the vehicle’s carbon-fiber hull “suddenly vanishing” before anyone inside knew what was happening, one expert said.
“They would have known nothing — the minute this body of water hit them, they would have been dead,” said Paul White, a professor at England’s University of Southampton, who specializes in underwater acoustics and forces.
…
“The air inside would compress down to a point, and the forces of the water rushing in and the collapse would be enormous,” he said. “Structurally,” he added, it would be equivalent of the capsule housing the crew “suddenly vanishing.”
“This whole process from start to finish is happening in the blink of an eyelid, the click of a finger,” he said. “I don’t think there would have been any suffering or any knowledge of what happened.”
(I have no idea if this is real or Photoshop – we report – you decide!)
This Stormwatch Monday Open Thread remains open – VERY OPEN – a place for everybody to post whatever they feel they would like to tell the White Hats, and the rest of the MAGA/KAG/KMAG world (with KMAG being a bit of both).
And yes, it’s Monday…again.
But we WILL get through it!
As we were always assured by our Wheatie Warrior!
Take it from Trump!
And GRAB THE RAIL if it all gets too exciting!
Dedication
WHEATIE – OUR WARRIOR ANGEL
by Duchess01
Please forgive us, Wheatie, we did not know That you had left us with armor in tow We had no idea with what you dealt We did not know the pain you felt And now we can only imagine With you what really did happen Cause rarely did you complain And/or share your personal pain Of one thing we are most certain You are flying high behind the curtain Watching over us above the crowds Our Warrior Angel above the clouds Thank You, Wheatie, for caring for us While you were here among the fuss We miss you dear you have no idea Since time began in the pangaea With you there was no time In your wisdom you would chime To clarify and magnify The what where how and why We did not question when you left We were not slightly bereft But over time we wondered why You did not at least stop by Now we know where you have gone With the break of this new dawn We could be angry but are not Tho with an arrow we’ve been shot Rest peacefully Warrior Angel dear Send us a sign that you are near A butterfly a flower a kiss of rain From your love do not refrain God sends Angels to watch over us And now we have an Angel Plus A Warrior Angel of Magnificence From today and forward hence
Boilerplate, more or less, but worth reading again and again, if only for the minor changes, and to stay out of moderation.
MINOR CHANGE NUMBER 1
Now shortened.
Give them nothing.
Play smart. Every minute, the COUPISTS who stole the election – who lied – who deserve to be at the business end of the very same laws they are using so wrongly against the January Sixth defendants – are trying to set you up. Don’t be a chump. Turn everything back against THEM. Every day, every hour, every minute, every second.
YOU are responsible for your own comments, if they come knocking. YOUR choice. Just remember this…..
For an updated version…..
And for a version that includes your having righteously defended yourself…..
OTHER THAN THAT…….
The bottom line is Free Speech. Theories and ideas you don’t agree with must be WELCOME here, and you must be part of that welcoming. But you do NOT need to be part of any agreement.
Bottom line – respect other people’s FIRST AMENDMENT RIGHTS.
Our only additional requirement is that you do so NICELY. Or at least try to make some effort in that direction.
SO….. [ENGAGE BOILERPLATE…..]
We must endeavor to persevere to love our frenemies – even here.
Those who cannot deal with this easy requirement will be forced to jump the hoops of moderation, so that specific comments impugning other posters and violating the minimal rules can be sorted out and tossed in the trash.
In Wheatie’s words, “We’re on the same side here so let’s not engage in friendly fire.”
That includes the life skill of just ignoring certain other posters.
We do have a site – The U Tree – where civility is not a requirement. Interestingly, people don’t really go there much. Nevertheless, if you find yourself in an “argument” that can’t really stay civil, please feel free to “take it to the U Tree”. The U Tree is also a good place to report any technical difficulties, if you’re unable to report them here. Please post your comment there on one of Wolf’s posts, or in reply to one of Wolf’s comments, to make sure he sees it (though it may take a few hours).
We also have a backup site, called The Q Tree as well, which is really The Q Tree 579486807. You might call it “Second Tree”. The URL for that site is https://theqtree579486807.wordpress.com/. If this site (theqtree.com) ever goes down, please reassemble at the Second Tree.
If the Second Tree goes down, please go to The U Tree, or to our Gab Group, which is located at https://gab.com/groups/4178.
We also have some “old rules” and important guidelines, outlined here, in a very early post, on our first New Year’s Day, in 2019. The main point is not to make violent threats against people, which then have to be taken seriously by law enforcement, and which can be used as a PRETEXT by enemies of this site.
In the words of Wheatie, “Let’s not give the odious Internet Censors a reason to shut down this precious haven that Wolf has created for us.”
A Moment of Prayer
Our policy on extreme religious freedom on this site is discussed HERE. Please feel free to pray and praise God anytime and anywhere.
Thus, please pray for our real President, the one who actually won TWO elections.
You may also pray for our nation, our world, and even our enemies.
Musical Interlude
In honor of dear Wheatie, we now present some music to soothe, inspire, invigorate, or relax.
Only one this time. Busy weekend.
Not sure whether I like this or hate it. You decide!
Damn. Can’t just leave on that one. Let’s have another!
OK – that’s enough. LOL.
Call To Battle
Our beloved country is under Occupation by hostile forces.
Daily outrage and epic phuckery abound.
My teen has a new boyfriend. He's super sweet. One of the trans-girls in the group is SPITTING MAD that he's dating my child, having tantrums that he "wouldn't give her a chance." This boy is straight and he's being made to feel transphobic that he didn't want to date a bioboy.
— Bronwyn E Millar Author (@gingerhaderach) June 15, 2023
Oh, you gotta read the drama! LOL!
Can you IMAGINE the horror of being exposed to an idea you don't agree with?!?
— Photo of John Wayne (@ThatOldCoyote) June 16, 2023
OMG! Le horreur, or however they say it.
If you are LGBTQ+, you should move to Michigan.
If you are a woman who wants to make your own damn decisions, you should move to Michigan.
If you are a worker who wants rights, you should move to Michigan.
We can give in to despair…or we can be defiant and fight back in any way that we can.
🧵1/ BREAKING: We've obtained internal docs from @FoxNews employees. Fox Corp is celebrating Pride by encouraging employees to read about “glory holes,” supporting a group that gives sterilizing hormones to homeless youth, & deployed woke AI to monitor everyone. EXPLICIT CONTENT:
Good. Judges are an embodiment of the Constitution.
Even Obama judges!
FWIW I’m still pushing for public release of relevant footage with full understanding of security concerns and custodial issues. That said, I’m confident that what I will present will provide important context to what actually happened on January 6.
And we will keep saying Joe Biden didn’t win until we get His Fraudulency out of our White House.
Wolfie’s Wheatie’s Word of the Week:
litmus test
noun
A test for chemical acidity or basicity using litmus paper.
A test that uses a single indicator to prompt a decision.
A simple test for the acidity or alkalinity of a substance, using litmus paper.
Use in politics:
In politics, a litmus test is a question asked of a potential candidate for high office, the answer to which would determine whether the nominating official would proceed with the appointment or nomination. The expression is a metaphor based on the litmus test in chemistry, in which one is able to test the general acidity of a substance, but not its exact pH. Those who must approve a nominee may also be said to apply a litmus test to determine whether the nominee will receive their vote. In these contexts, the phrase comes up most often with respect to nominations to the judiciary.
Lichen source of litmus (one of many):
Chemical structure of the color principle of litmus:
