Open Thread May 8, 2023

Yesterday, before going to visit Virgil, I started to print my auto insurance ID card (since the new policy had begun 2 days earlier) and nothing was happening.  I went to the control panel and also into the details in the print command, and all I can come up with is that my printer had somehow become diconnected and then reconnected itself, with the reconnection making a “copy” in the printer list. I retried, selecting the copy, and got the printout. I don’t know how this happened except that it must have happened within the last three weeks or so. I use the scanner function more than the print function, and the last time I used the scanner, about that long ago, it worked fine. In the process of figuring out what to do today I tried the scanner, and it did not respond until I selected the copy in the device list. If that’s all Greek to you, I apologize, but I’ve never had anything like this happen before, so I really don’t have the vocabulary for it. And I haven’t had time for a deep dive into the manual.  I’m just glad I got the card printed in time. Virgil was in good spirits, and we played three games of Scrabble and a bit over. He returns all gretings, especially the lovely anniversary ones. I wore an older sweater because I know he likes it – before he was incarcerated and when he was helping put away laundry, I’d have to go searching for it in his closet – he never put it in mone (and he actually remembered that, when prompted.) As of Saturday, we are now officially getting 14 hours of sun each day, so it gets easier every time now up till midsummer, and will be nice and easy for some time after that. Of course, I’m still tired out.

Cartoon –

Short Takes –

Robert Reich – King Charles III
Quote – The British monarchy is an archaic vestige of the country’s feudal past. Some argue that it should be dispensed with altogether. I’m in sympathy with this argument, but I wonder if it misses something…. Here in America, many of us romanticize our presidents and their families, at least at the start of an administration. Remember Camelot?… Because our presidents head the executive branch of the government, the two roles — the projected glamor and the political reality — often get confused, leaving us disappointed if not disgusted…. I’m not suggesting America have a royal family. It’s just that Britain’s infatuation with its own may have some social utility there that we Yanks don’t understand.
Click through for article (and click “Continue reading”). It’s not that long, it’s kind of different, and I think he’s on to something.

Daily Beast – How Bidenomics Has Finally Defeated Reaganomics
Quote – The last thing many of us expected when Joe Biden became president was that he would be a revolutionary. But just over two years into Biden’s presidency, there is no doubt that he has done more to dramatically transform U.S. policy and thinking in more areas than any of his predecessors since Franklin Roosevelt. America had failed to adequately invest in its infrastructure for over six decades when Biden made it a priority once again. Biden’s prioritized investment in combating climate change to a degree that no past administration ever did. On foreign policy, he executed the pivot away from a Middle East and terrorism focus to a long-term commitment to placing the Indo-Pacific region and our rivalry with China atop our list of priorities.
Click through for opinion – which seems wildly optimistic to me, but I certainly hope it’s on target. In a sane world it would be, but if we were living in a sane world, would we ever have attempted trickle-down in the first place?

Food For Thought