Yesterday, I didn’t do much. I received an order of groceries and for once got everything I ordered and nothing I didn’t. The news was light also, so I’m going with one deep and one women’s history today. When I say deep, I mean both serious and scary. Definitely worth some thought.
Heather Cox Richardson takes Talking Points Memo’s exposure of the SACR (Society for American Civic Renewal) and uses her knowledge of history to compare it to various happenings in our own history, leading up to the Civil War.
Yesterday, Trinette came by. She came straight from the hairdresser, and looked great (not the she doesn’t always.) She took out my recyclables, and, because I have now cleared as space from old boxes which is large nough to work with, vacuumed that space.once I move another piece of furniture (a table) partly into that stace, iI’ll gain access to some other areas which need to be cleared out. And I did listen to the opera, which was Gounod’s “Roméo et Juliette.” You’ve probably heard part of it – for years (and for all I know, maybe still) there couldn’t be a Miss America pageany without some young soprano singing it. I don’t dislike the opera, but I’m also not passionate about it. I hear it as elevator music. Pleasant to listen to, but not memorable. The people in the Met audience had a much higher opinion – the applause was deafening. I’m glad of that. All the major-[art singers are nice people, did a great job, and deserve credit.
Apparently I am not the last living American who doesn’t hate Merrick Garland. Joyce Vance doesn’t either. And, being a lawter, including a former DOJ prosecutor, she has some words. (For another view, here’s a gift link)
Public schools (and public prisons) are the most obvious examples of how privatization hurts everyone (except the owners of the businesses which bleed government. ITPI (In The Public Interest) is the watchdog group which monitors abuses of privatization (not that every example isn’t an abuse.) Their newsletters are often long and in fine print, difficult to read (because there is so much privatization.) This example is so egregious that they limited this newsletter to it alone.
Yesterday, still needed (and got) more sleep. Then, it being Freiday, and given that Trinette is coming today this week instead of tomorrow, I needed to so some serious moving things around so she will be able to take tham out to the bins. That left me very short on time, so today, you are getting a personal update. One article I had picked out inadvance, abd one video ditto (I line the animal videos up way in advance, basically alternating cats and dogs, and squeezing other critters in at intervals in order to keep some variety.) I’m pretty confident I’ll have more tomorrow.
Joyce Vance is getting quoted a fair amount, this article in particular. For one, Heather Cox Richardson quoted Joyce in her daily letter. HCR will recommend quote through Substacks system (and periodically I get an email of quotes), but this is the first time I have seen her put a quote into her own email.
Yesterday, I was still running late, but not quite as late. Hopefully I”ll catch up eventually.
I am of two minds about sharing stories like this one, because I don’t want to give anyone the impression that it’s only in the South (and Mississippi does get a lot of flak). Things like this can happen literally anywhere in the U.S. And you don’t even have to be a minority for it to happen to you – as you will see if you can get past enough of the violence to see the third photo. Trigger warning.
I’m actually fine with the Right Wing Media keeping these rulings and what they mean under the radar for now. Not that MAGAts would understand the implications (do any of them know what an “implication” is?) but it wouldn;t be hard to scare them into armed protest.
This is just appalling – not that the Panthers showed up, but that they felt (with sound reason) that they needed to. Crazy white people are a threat to everyone. I’m not sure who they think thay are, but I’m damen sure that, whoever it is, they’re not.
Yesterday, I learned that The Borowitz Report is now on substack. That email I received notifying me explains why I hadn’t received any newsletters for some time … although my New Yorker subscription is still up to date. This is not earthshaing in itself – I’m only sharing it to remind everyone that to read freecolumns on substack, there’s no paywall, but there is a request to become a paid subscriber, and you need to find that request and click on “Keep reading” or “Let me read it first” or whatever opt-out Substack has assigned to that particular participant. I recommend we all get used to it. Just since I started reading Substack authors, which is less than a year, Wonkette has joined it, and Talking Points Memo, and now Borowitz, and the number and names of people who blog there would suggest that one might not really need anythng else but Substack in order to be well informed. I’m not going there – I have numerous other sources I don’t want to give up – but just sayin’.
Yes, I know, Joe Manchin. But this time he’s exactly right. And if he can be right on this, he can be right on at least some other things. Which may explain why the party has put up with him for so long.
Right wing jurists. “History and tradition.” G.K, Chesterton once wrote that tradition is de,ocracy extended through time. His example was, Democracy says “Don’t ignore a good man’s opinion, even if he is (insert caste designator here.)” Tradition says, “Don’t ignore a good man’s opinion, even if he is dead.” Aside from the obvious facts that only men are included, and that all appear presumed to be “good” (IIRC he was writing in the nineteen-oughts), I have no objection to attending to the opinions of the dead. I’m fine if they vote. I’m not fine with their being dictators from the grave. History (with a little help from archeology) tells us that human sacrifice was a tradition for literally thousands of years. I don’t know, or know of, anyone who wants it back.
Yesterday, I got a couple of my hospital stay bills paid (with my HRA credit/debit card.) I haven’t paid them all because I haven’t gotten them yet – the hospital got my address wrong and then passed that on to everyone. I have like 8 MSNs (they used to be called EOBs), many have more than one provider, and one of them has so many providers it’s 14 pages. But the combination of Medicare and an HRA is a real blessing. Incidentally, today is Saint Joseph’s Day. Just two days after St. Patrick’s, and coming asthey do in the middle of Lent, they make a nice little break from Lenten fasting … if anyone is still doing that.
Robert Hubbell provided a link to a transcript of President Biden’s Gridiron speech. Unlike the White Hose Correspondents’ Dinner, video is never released from the Gridiron, so this is all we’ll get. FactBase, who posted it, attempts to provide reactions along the way. Remember, when you see negative reactions, that everyone there is a journalist. My reaction is very positive to thse remarks.
Viktor Orbán is in some ways more dangerous than Trump**. Unlike Trump**, he knows what he is doing and he is good at it. The meeting Heather Cox Richardson writes about was blatant subversion, and a public slap in the face to the United States (though it wpuld have been more public had the media bothered to notice it.)
Yesterday, Trinette was by again – I didn’t have much in the way of recyclables (I will next week) but I did have a big bag of trash. And she was kind enough to change the batteries in my thermostat. Not that it’s terribly difficult, if I weren’t so short (I used to be 5’5″ but I’m down to 5’0″) and so easy to get off balance. She went home to work on her taxes, and I came back to my “den” to work on this. And maybe my taxes too. I don’t envy her – she has not only her own taxes to do, but her two sons – pne of whom has out of state income and will again this year at least. Me, so much of my income (all of my Social Security) is non-taxable (yes, that means there isn’t a lot of it, but it’s enough) that I really don’t legally need to file. But I do.
