Open Thread October 1, 2023

Yesterday, the radio opera was brand spanking new – the world premier (which was recorded, and that’s what we heard) was within the last three months – in July, at the Aix-en-Provence Festival. The composer was Sir George Benjamin, and the title is “Picture a Day like This.” The premise is that a woman whose child dies is offered a chance at a miracle if she can find one person who is truly happy and cut a button from that person’s sleeve. I was not familiar with any of the singers, but the composer was, and wrote it specifically for their voices. There is no way of knowing at a premier whether or not an opera is going to “take off” – become part of the repertory – but still, it feels like listening to history – being present when history is made. I found it easy to listen to. It’s in a single act with seven scenes, and runs under an hour and a quarter (the program was almost an hour and a quarter but that includes all the opening summary and credits and closing credits.) It was a good day for the opera to be a short one, because later in the day I was able to watch and listen to Margaret Atwood reading her story “Patient and Impatient Griselda,” loosely based on “Patient Griselda” from the Decameron but told as it should have happened, through a narrator, an alien who looks like an octopus.  It was Zoomed thanks to Theater of War productions, as part of their new domestic violence project. So I ended up spending almost three hours chained to internet entertainment after all. (I did get my next 2 weeks of pills bottled, though.) The House also got something done – voted to delay a shutdown for a month and a half. Let’s see how fast the Senate can get it to Joe to sign.  I decided to tell “A Tale of Two Jamies” today. I’m very glad Raskin is on our side. Dimon, of course, is on no one’s side but his own.

Cartoon –

Short Takes –

Robert Reich – When Jamie Dimon, CEO of JPMorgan Chase, phoned me
Quote – So I want to talk about something else that’s brewing that could become an equally large problem: another banking crisis — and how powerful monied interests on Wall Street are opposing attempts to ward it off. When interest rates rise as fast as the Fed has raised them, banks have to pay more for deposits or borrowing. But what the banks earn on their loans and bonds they own hasn’t risen nearly as fast. This is causing a huge squeeze. With the shift to working from home, commercial real estate is a disaster — and another giant headache for the banks. Banks may not have enough capital on hand to weather an economic storm. The near failure of several middle-sized banks last March shows the continued frailty of the financial system.
Click through for narrative. I’m not a banker myself, but the Reich on the left makes it uncomplicated to see what’s going on. I don’t think we should be expected to bail out these jerks – AGAIN – when it can be avoided.

AlterNet – Raskin rips GOP over impeachment inquiry: ‘Flying monkeys on a mission for the wicked witch’
Quote – Congressman Raskin, a former constitutional law professor who served as the lead prosecutor for the second impeachment of Donald Trump, told the Committee, “like flying monkeys on a mission for the Wicked Witch of the West, Trump’s followers in the House now carry his messages out to the world: shut down the government, shutdown the prosecutions. But the cultmaster has another command for his followers, which brings us here today.”
Click through for details. The first rule of insulting effectively is, don’t call them whay you hate most. Call them what they hate most.” That’s no doubt why so many Democrats are picking up on calling MAGA “children” (with or without qualifying adjectives.) I doubt whether “Wicked Witch” and “Flying Monkeys” will do it – but “Cultmaster” might hit hard. The very best insults get picked up and used over and over until eventually they change meaning- “villain” today, for instance, has only a shadow of its original punch when it meant “country bumpkin” – including all the attributes that go with that stereotye: poorly dressed, poorly washed, poorly mannered, and poorly educated.

Food For Thought