Yesterday, the radio opera was Rigoletto – the second opera I ever owned a complete recording of. I haven’t seen/heard it as many times as I have La Boheme – but it’s the opera that got me an “A” in Conducting class. (I’m actually a terible conductor, but I was able to really “sell” the scene I chose – possibly the most tragic scene in an opera which is horrifyingly tragic. Verdi did that sometimes – sneaked the climax into the middle – and yet managed not to make the end a let-down. La Traviata is another example. So is Otello. And others. It’s almost as if he wanted to give the aude=ience a premonition – and a chance to warm up their emotions for the finale.) After the opera, I made 6 of the 10 new cartoons I need for February, and set up meds for the next two weeks.
Cartoon – 30 0130Cartoon.jpg
Short Takes –
Robert Reich – After Stephen Breyer, who?
Quote – As a candidate for the Democratic nomination, Biden vowed to appoint a Black woman to the court if he were elected president. (He made the promise at a debate in February 2020, just days before winning the South Carolina primary that helped jump-start his flagging campaign.) The two most likely candidates are Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit (who graduated from Harvard Law School and served as a law clerk to Breyer), and Justice Leondra R. Kruger of the California Supreme Court, who graduated from Yale Law School and served as a law clerk to Justice John Paul Stevens.
Click through for more names, any or all of whom would be well qualified (not that it’s difficult to be more qialified than Kavanaugh and Barrett – combined.) I’d love to see a black woman on the court, provided it wasn’t Candace Owens, Diamond, Silk, or the like.
Crooks and Liars – Chuck Schumer Plans Rapid Confirmation For SCOTUS Nominee
Quote – Senate sources also say that the Senate can act on the Biden nominee before Justice Stephen Breyer officially steps down from the court. So Democrats expect to hold hearings and votes before Breyer officially steps aside at the end of his term.
Click through. The article also contains a reference to the Reagan quote (when he appointed O’Conno) which Jen Psaki used so expertly whan asked about “reverse racism.”
AP News – Here, kitty: Bidens welcome cat named Willow to White House
From the article: The name Willow refers to Willow Grove,
PA< where Dr. Jill grew up. Willow is a two-year-old [former] farm cat.
Click through for 4 more pix and a link to a video. (I chose this pic to show off hre eyes.) Every cat person knows that you don’t adopt a cat, the cat adopts you – and Willow appears to be no exception.
Food For Thought:
