Jan 132025
 

Yesterday, Virgil and  enjoyed each other’s company and also cribbage. We had another almost brand new deck – there was one little tear in one card, but they we so slick they were sliding. Getting there, now – that was a challenge. The roads, including the interstate were still slippery, even though asphalt underneath was mostly visible and the snow and ice which hadn’t melted was already wet enough that just driving in traffic splashed enough water into the air, and that water picked up so much dust, for a while there I was spraying cleaning fluid onto my windshield about every other mile. Going home was easier – although I had to stop for gas – my own fault – I had dealt with the snow on the car windows by running the engine for an hour with the heater on high. Had I spent the hour brushing and scraping, I couldn’t have gotten them nearly as clear, and I would have worn myself out and likely sprained something. I know that from long experience including a couple of fender-benders. But even going home took over an hour – getting there was closer to two hours. It wasn’t even that big a storm, and the sun was out and melting stuff all day, but the temperature never got above 32°F (0°C). OK, I’ll stop whining now and concentrate on getting this post up.

Wonkette referred me to this Mother Jones article on climate. So Republicans again are deliberately creating a mess for Democrats to clean up later so they can make another mess. Not news. But the details will be new – since the world has not has a worldwide climate crisis before, or I should say, while the human race was alive and recording history.

Heather Cox Richardson posted this summary of the California wildfires, with a concentration on the lies of the Apricot Antichrist and his supporters, late last Wednesday night, so it’s not new. But it’s a convenient summary up to that point. They’ve probably invented some new lies by now. (Off topic and not in this post – but she plays cribbage with her husband too!  Except they play “killer cribbage” whereas we play “patience with the bad vision and bad memory” cribbage.)

 

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Jan 112025
 

Yesterday, my attention was drawn to a story which everyone in Las Vegas, NV, probably is aware of but which seems to be going under the radar (literally as well as figuratively) elsewhere. It probably doesn’t help that the name of the company involved, owned by the Boer MuskRat, sounds like someone’s idea of a joke. But it’s pretty much a given that as a result of this project people will die, not to mention the property damage (less important unless one is the property owner, as the entirw population of Los Angeles County would probably tell you if you asked.)

Also yesterday, Heather Cox Richardson quoted from all the eulogies for Jimmy Carter. If you weren’t able to watch it or listen to it, as I wasn’t, you might find that Carter can be as inspiring in death as he was in life.

Joyce Vance explains why the government’s position on the documents case report is a “heads the people win, tails Trump** loses” kind of thing. Not that we really win overall, but both alternatives she discusses will be unsatisfying to the Tangerine Palpatine. Good.

For anyone with a short memory (probably not needed by y’all, but you might know someone who needs reminding), Wonkette has an article which help to refresh that memory – assuming we can get anyone who needs it to read, or listen. Republicans have no clue what they could be getting themselves (and all of us) into, and that goes double for elected and appointed Republicans who think they are untouchable by virtue of their positions and/or their money. The Nuremburg rallies were eventually followed by the Nuremburg trials and people were hanged. But that didn’t happen without a whole lot of destruction in between the two.

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Jan 092025
 

Yesterday, although it has taken a while for them to do so, Faithful America has decided to send a card of welcome and congratulations to Sarah McBride. Of course I signed it. It’s the least we can do. Also yesterday, Los Angeles, California, was in flames (and I assume still is). But y’all probably knew that before I did. Also, I may have jumped to conclusions on the story that was yanked from CPR yesterday. Today’s newsletter says it was a scheduling issue and it will be available next week. We shall see. Today is the day of Jimmy Carter’s service in the Washington National Cathedral – hence the cartoon with his tool belt.  Very few people would even be able to lift it, let alone use it.

Joyce Vance combines the fire[s] on Los Angeles and the nerve of the Apricot Antichrist thinking he can (or should) annex Canada in a comparatively short rant with a fine point. Also,  in case anyone cares, the full name of the city is “Ciudad [or maybe El Pueblo -historians aren’t agreed] del Rio de Nuestra Señora Reina de los angeles en Porciuncula.”

Wonkette has the most backgrounded story on Los Angeles which I have yet seen – not that I have made it through all my emails as I type – but if I find something better I’ll replace this with it. I note that it mentions the story about many hydrants having no or minimal water pressure and that being due to low reservoirs originates with one billionaire – the one she defeated for the mayoralty – so the fact that it is all over social media now doesn’t necessarily mean it is true. In fact, Wonkette has some evidence that at least the part about low reservoirs is false. (But Steve Schmidt fell for it hook, line, and sinker.)

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Jan 072025
 

Yesterday, reading the list of Medal of Freedom recipients, I thought “Boy, I’ll bet those people (I’m assuming three different people, but there’s no way to know) who donated those three Ralph Lauren handbags to the Association for Retarded Citizens so that I could buy them dirt cheap to use for knitting projects are sorry now.” I’m not letting them go.  Also, yes, the cartoon is old, but I missed it the first time around, and with a little imaginary bleach and a change of numbers, it fits again.  I hope everyone who experienced snow survived it and that there’ll be a little break in it for y’all

This from Wonkette would be funny if it weren’t going to harm so many of the nation’s most vulnerable people.

This report from ProPublica is massive, as it covers years of undercover activity investigating militias. (The audio version is almost three quarters of an hour.

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Jan 042025
 

Yesterday, while looking at a petition to the Senate to reject Kash Patel as FBI director, I started thinking of why his photos, and particularly his eyes, unnerve me so much. So I looked up the body language of “wide-eyed stare” and discovered it has three possible interpretations – attraction, fascination, and intimidations. I’ll give you three guesses what his is, and the first two don’t count. Also yesterday, Mike Johnson was reelected Speaker. Form the remarks that have been released, I suspect some Republicans had to superglue their noses to vote for him – just holding the nose wasn’t enough. Not that we didn’t all know they were all mouthbreathers anyway (normally I take exception to that word because severe allergic reactions have caused me to temporarily have to breathe through my mouth or suffer possibly fatal anoxia – but for this it seemed to fit.)

Heather Cox Richardson revisits the year 2000 and the “millennium bug” fears. I lived through it and I expect y’all did too, and it’s hard to believe that it’s been 25 years. I still have my “Crash: the millennium bug” stuffie which, if you throw it at something hard, like the floor, makes the sound of shattering glass.) But it’s not just nostalgia – there’s, if you will, a moral: “Crises get a lot of attention, but the quiet work of fixing them gets less. And if that work ends the crisis that got all the attention, the success itself makes people think there was never a crisis to begin with.” And also some actual news.

Robert Reich sums up what our final recourses are for just about everything. You may want to bookmark this one.

(possible rerun, but id so, it’s been a minute)

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Dec 312024
 

Yesterday, I was still in shock over Jimmy Carter’s death. But at least the news sources I read were all respectful – I hear the New York Times brought up the “killer rabbit” story. That’s not his legacy. His legacy is one of goodness and decency and service – and out of all of them, I’ll link to Robert Hubbell. But in case anyone wants it, I will provide a link from Steve Schmidt to a CNN documentary on Carter’s life. I haven’t seen it, and I don’t know when it was made, but Schmidt speaks of Carter with respect, so there’s that. To change topic, I was dreading today after the avalanche of year-end email yesterday, all requesting donations, and fearing today would be worse. We’ll see how that turns out.

Wonkette is one of not a lot of news outlets mentioning the bird flu – and cats – and Louisiana. CPR touched on the bird flu but only as it affects Colorado, which is not a whole lot. Crooks and Liars did pick up the Louisiana angle, as did The F* News (am I seeing a pattern here?) and large numbers of people disregarding the advice of health professionals, regarding vaccinations and masks, certainly had a big part in spreading the pandemic farther than it needed to be.

This from Heather Cox Richardson has gotten coverage, but I haven’t seen any as detailed as her version – taking names and kicking – well, you know.

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Dec 292024
 

Yesterday, the radio opera was “Hansel and Gretel” by (the original) Englebert Humperdinck. It was a performance from 1982 (Christmas Day, actually) which featured Judith Blegen as Gretel. I mention her because she is an unusual talent – she could as easily had a career as a violin virtuoso as she had as a operatic soprano, and I know that because I took lessons from one of her former violin teachers. You won’t find his name in Wikipedia, because only some of her teachers of voice and violin are named there. Gian Carlo Menotti denied that he had written his opera “Help, Help, the Globolinks” with her in mind – but he certainly had no difficulty with her playing Emily in the American debut, which requires the lead soprano to also play the violin. Hansel was played by Frederica von Stade, whom I mention because of her sense of humor. One of her voice coaches was a cat person, and at their first lesson, the coach’s cat threw up on her shoe. All she said was, “I hope it wasn’t my singing.” That’s not to belittle the rest of the cast, who were also excellent – just personal memories of mine.  Off to see Virgil now – will check in when I get home.

From Wonkette, a piece of good news that everyone else appears to have missed. I thought it belonged on Sunday. I doubt we’ll get many more for some years.

And one more piece of good news, also from Wonkette. No spoiler.

Okay, this, from Steve Schmidt is now VERY late (yet still far more recent than the history it discusses.) Steve Schmidt may not know as much history as Heather Cox Richardson does. But he does have a flair for knowing about moments of history which invoke strong feelings – and for telling them so that you almost feel you are there. The Christmas he tells of here was also in a dark night for America. That we came through it may give us some hope. But you may still need a hanky.

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Dec 262024
 

Yesterday, I continued knitting, finishing a couple of small things. I also tried a cup of coffee flavored with Torani’s white chocolate flavor syrup. The flavor of white chocolate seems to me such an unobtrusive, mild flavor that I wasn’t expecting much, but they nailed it ) Earlier this month they sent me an email announcing it was their 100th anniversary. I’ve dealt with them before – they’ve always made more flavors than you’ll ever see in the stores, but I wasn’t prepared for just how many they do make. I splurged on a sampler pack of flavors designed to go with coffee, and the white chocolate was one of those. Also, I stepped away from the computer for a while because the mouse I am now using is one that you never have to change the battery, but you do have to charge it periodically, and it ran out of charge. It’s charged now obviously, since this post is up. I hope y’all had as peaceful a day as mine, whatever, if anything, you celebrate.

This, by Marc Elias, was recommended by Joyce Vance a few days ago, and I put it aside until after Christmas. Maybe I should have put it aside until after New Year’s Day, hoping we would all gather more strength by then to grasp it and act on it. But here it is. I have to hope that he is at least correct in not expecting us to have a full-blown fascist government. I am not so confident.

Heather Cox Richardson on the history of polarization in the United States, starting with Nixon. To my mind she omits the one thing Gingrich did which had the most dire consequences, although there is plenty of evidence without it. (He removed the requirement for Congressfolk to maintain a residence in DC. Yes, that could be reinstated, but it would take far longer to build trust back again than it required to deteriorate it.)

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