Glenn Kirschner – After saying he will testify in E. Jean Carroll trial, Donald Trump … punks out, fails to testify
The Lincoln Project – Proud Boys
Farron Balanced – Trump Rushes Back To New York As His Lawyer Botches Assault Trial
Shirley Serban – I’m So Critical (a song fpr Karens. Feel free to pause it to read the tweets.)
This Cat Is Obsessed With Her Lizard Brother
Beau – Let’s talk about two Senate plans for the debt ceiling….
Yesterday, as I usually do on Mondays, I slept even later tnan usual. When I got up, I did a few personal things, then turned to my email. and immediately saw that Grace Bumbry had died. I assure you thre are better ways to start a day. Of course, the loss of a diva (or a divo) whom I admired enough to buy vinyl of (and I was very picky when I was doing that) is just going to happen to me more and more. And, although she is gone, her achievements, including the trailblazing she did, remain and will continue to be built upon. But there sre still better ways to start a day. I did do the Name Drop, and it was someone I had heard of (it isn’t always), but I cetainly never would have known that from the first clue, as I had no idea he had served at the Battle of Lepanto, and on the way home been captured by pirates and held for five years, and the second clue was also obscure. But on the third clue I figured out the dude was from La Mancha (and it was the referenced musical which gave that away.) I’m really not a competetive person (except with myself – I always want to learn and improve) – and that’s why I’m drawn to Name Drop. I almost always learn something, even if it’s not terribly useful. And if Cervantes was a veteran of one of the most important conflicts in history, and a POW, so to speak, for 5 years, that deserves to be remembered.
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The 19th – Kimberlé Crenshaw’s work was cut from AP African American Studies. Now she’s fighting back
Quote – Crenshaw [led] the “Freedom to Learn” national day of action [last] Wednesday to protest rising censorship in schools. The day of demonstration includes rallies, book readings, teach-ins and live virtual events. The goal is to build a coalition — now including civil rights groups, Black Greek-letter organizations, the American Federation of Teachers and the National Education Association — that advocates for inclusive learning….. The “Freedom to Learn” national day of action stems from an open letter that scholars and their allies sent to the College Board, urging it to preserve the integrity of AP African American Studies by not eliminating from the course “divisive concepts” and works by academics including Crenshaw, Roderick Ferguson and the late bell hooks. In April, the College Board announced that it would make changes to AP African American Studies over the next few months, but it is uncertain if it will restore the pilot curriculum.
Click through for article and interview. On the one hand, if anyone should be for education without political bias, it’s the College Board. On the other hand, exactly because it’s a private organization, little can be done to force it to live up to standards, even its own.
Fox 31 – Stolen Colorado tiny house found at Kansas grain elevator
Quote – Hamilton County Sheriff Michael Wilson said the Colorado State Patrol notified his office Sunday evening to be on the lookout for a tiny house and that it was possibly headed toward Coolidge. It had been taken from a farm in Otero County, Colorado…. The sheriff said the men also allegedly had a stolen trailer and a Bobcat. He said the suspects are being held in jail on suspicion of possession of stolen property. The tiny house is valued at $9,000. The sheriff said the $33,000 Bobcat was stolen out of Castle Rock, Colorado, and the $25,000 trailer is from Florida.
Click through for details. Yes, this is from a Fox affiliate. But the keywords are “affliate” and “local.” One of the most maddening things about Fox, IMO, is that the affiliates generally have sound news departments with accurate local news. Unfortunately, this tends to validate all of Fox in weak minds.
Food For Thought
Yesterday, the radio opera was “La Boheme” by Puccini. That should be no surprise, since I mentioned it Friday. This opera was the first one I ever owned a recording of. I found it in the PX my first year in the service and grabbed it. That was 56 years ago. I bought a second recording of it when Richard Tucker passed away – that would have been maybe 48 years ago. I have seen it on television, and live, and I have streamed it, over the years – different casts and settings of course – I have memorized arias from it and sung them (just for myself – like whe driving between radio stations) – I have sung in the chorus of a concert version of it – I have made costume sketches of it in case I ever got the chance to help stage it – I don’t actually know the entire libretto by heart, but I wouldn’t be araid to bet that if you read me a line from the libretto (in English or in italian) I could tall you who sings it in which act and why. I know I have heard or seen it every year of my life since 1967, in fact more than once each year. Three times a year is probably low for an average, but that would still be 168 times. And i still cry with Rodolfo. In fact, I choke up/tear up just thinking about it. i gather that younger people (and some my age) who have seen/heard “Rent,” which was based on it, feel much the same about that incarnation of it. I can also tell you that it was based on “Scènes de la vie de Bohème” by Henri Murger (my translation: “Episodes from Hippie Life”), and that another composer (I think Leoncavallo, but won’t swear to that) wanted to write it, but Puccini got in first. I can tell you that the characer Musetta in the book got that nickname because her voice was as raspy as a bagpipe (of yourse that’s not how she sounds in the opera.) I can do all that, but I cannot explain why it never fails. It just never fails.
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The Good in Us – The Sickness unto Death, Part I
Quote – When the news of the Sandy Hook shooting broke, my daughter was at school. I spent the hours before I had to pick her up agonizing over what to tell her. I didn’t want to say anything. I wanted to pretend nothing had happened. I wanted to protect her from knowing because what use could that terrible knowledge be to a child?… The very fact of Sandy Hook broke something in me. And, if you’re an empathetic human being, it broke something in you, too.
Click through (and click “continue reading.”) Apparently there are some issues with it, especially with the links -if you have any problem, this may help.
Thw 19th – For Native women in power in Minnesota, confronting the crisis of missing and murdered Indigenous people is personal
Quote – Less than two years since it began operating, the [Office for Missing and Murdered Indigenous Relatives], led by a Native woman, Juliet Rudie, is a key liaison for families navigating the complicated law enforcement system, and pushing for clear data to make sure victims aren’t invisible It is also working to reshape the landscape that has allowed cases to fall through the cracks, including forging new training standards for Minnesota police officers. Every agency in the state has a tribal liaison.
Click through for story. There are a lot more people who know this is a problem than there are people actually working on it. Kudos to Minnesota.
Food For Thought
Glenn Kirschner’s recap for April would have sppeared today. I was able to find a substitute.
Talking Feds with Harry Litman – BRAND NEW Trump Criminal Probes are Beginning ACROSS the Country
Sen. Whitehouse Delivers Opening Statement at Judiciary Cmte Hearing on Supreme Court Ethics Reform+
MSNBC – Democrats have a ‘legislative secret agent’ to fight GOP on debt ceiling crisis
Farron Balanced – Fox Feared Release Of Disgusting Tucker Carlson Texts So They Fired Him
Parody Project – A DAY IN THE LIFE (of a Swindler)
Tiny Shivering Kitten Gets Huge And Floofy
Beau – Let’s talk about understanding term polling….
Glenn Kirschner – In closing arguments, Proud Boys BLAME DONALD TRUMP for the Jan. 6 attack on the US Capitol
Thom Hartmann – Distressing Truth Scientists Don’t Want To Tell You
Farron Balanced – Donald Trump Gives Jim Jordan The WORST Compliment A Politician Could Get
Parody Project – CALLOUS MAN – A Parody of Piano Man
Hissing Feral Cat Becomes A Couch Potato
Beau – Let’s talk about true propaganda….
Yesterday, the radio opera was “Peter Grimes” by Benjamin Britten. It’s based on a poem by George Crabbe (1754-1832) called “The Borough.” It is also one of two operas I would never take Virgil to or even let him liisten to, despite the fact that he learned to love opera almost as much as I do – and not just the ones considered easy to like, but also some baroque and 20th/21st century stuff (“Tea: A Mirror of Soul” composed in 2002 by Tan Dun is probably his all time favorite). Rather, it’s because they contain or allude to conduct which could be abusive directed at a young boy. The other is “Amahl and the Night Visitors” – such a sweet opera, if you can only get around that one thing. Certainly, if there is a villain in either one, it is intended to be society (that’s more explicit in “Peter Grimes” but also I think true of “Amahl.”) Peter is a fisherman, and is an outsider, and “an ordinary, weak person who, being at odds with the society in which he finds himself, tries to overcome it and, in doing so, offends against the conventional code,” as described by the tenor who originated the role. He’s intended to be sympthetic. But – there are those dead apprentices. People who don’t know opera may still be a little familiar with this one through Brtitten’s “Four Sea Interludes,” orchestral peces which describe some of the many moods if the ocean. The title tenor role is sufficiently demanding, both vocally and dramatically, that many who play it are known as Wagnerian “heldentonors.” The tenor today is British, and a Britten specialist, and is certainly built lke a heldentenor (of course there are exceptions.) He’s little known outside of the UK (which I predict will change) but has won numerous awards there.
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Daily Beast – Pro-War Russians Duped Into Torching Kremlin Military Offices
Quote – Throughout Russia’s war against Ukraine, baffling reports of Russian pensioners trying to set military enlistment offices on fire have emerged with amusing frequency. But they’re not what you may think. Seen at first glance by some as brave protests against the war, the string of bizarre arsons have actually been part of a now widespread scheme in which scammers convince the confused pensioners they’re on a secret mission to help the war effort.
Click through for story. Our MAGAt problem is so obvious, and so severe, that it’s easy to forget that these people are not confined to the United States. They are all over the world.
The Project on Government Oversight, in the person of its President, Danielle Brian, testified before the Senate Armed SErvices Committee last week. Being on their mailinglst I received an email afterwards, including links to the testimony itself.
Quote (from email) – The testimony was especially topical as it was reported just this week that the former director of the National Security Agency took on a $700,000 contract as a cybersecurity adviser for Saudi Arabia, a nation notorious for its human-rights violations. With close to 700 former high-ranking government officials now working for major defense contractors and over 500 former servicemembers working for foreign interests, closing the lucrative revolving door and pipeline is a matter of utmost urgency.
You can click through to the video of the event (the hearing begins between 17:30 and 17:40 with ELizabeth Warren. At 27:32 Rick Scott starts speaking. At 32:17 Wilkerson’s testimony begins. At 37:23 Brian begins. I’m afraid I didn’t follow past that, so there may be some back and forth). Alternatively, you can access the written testimony as presented to the comittee, or the transcript on the POGO site (they have the same content but the POGO page has larger type and more visual spacing.) The problems addressed are of long standing, It’s good that they are being discussed at this level.
Food For Thought
Yesterday, the radio opera was “Der Rosenkavalier,” by Richard Strauss. The hosts described it as a “poignant comefy,” which is probably as good a description as any. It’s very long, and the plot is too convoluted to try to summarize, even leaving out all the “life is what happens while you are making other plans” distractions (and there are many). But I can say that it involves a young man who is having an affair with an older woman, and also an older man (with little if any class) wanting to marry a young girl,”fresh from the convent.” I cannot think of another opera – or book, or play, or mavie, or anything – where the oler woman is not the butt of the comedy, but is presented with dignity,while the older man is comedically taken to the cleaners. It’s no wonder that divas are drawn to this role – as one host said, “She’s really the only adult in the story.” When I think this was written in 1911, by a male librettist and a male composer, I’m just in awe. At the same time, I am deeply impressed by the sheer number of women conductors the Met is featuring thos season. There have been a few women conductors in previous seasons – usually when the opera’s composer has pushed for it. Philip Glass, for example, is adamant that Karen Kamensik is the best conductor of his work ever. And another contemporary opera, “L’Amour de Loin,” was conducted by a woman insisted on by the composer. But this season, it just seems there’s a different woman conductor like every other week. And it hasn’t really been that long since an orchestral musician (IIRC in Vienna) told JoAnn Falletta that he wished he had died before being conducted by a woman. Opera has always given me joy, but what is happening now in the genre is adding to that exponentially.
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The 19th – Houston public schools have a diverse, nearly all-women school board. A state takeover would oust them from office.
Quote – News that the state plans to install a board of managers to run Houston public schools has been met with public outcry, protests and legal complaints. Some are concerned that the school board appointees who will replace the trustees voters elected won’t represent the interests of the school district’s racially diverse constituents. Morath was put into place by Republican Gov. Greg Abbott, who has backed school vouchers, book bans, restrictions on diversity, equity and inclusion in hiring and other policies critics say undermine public education.
Click through for story. If Texas had a rational Governor (and legislature), I would be able to see both sides of this. But no, it is infested with Republicans. I suspect the 19th is viewing this from the same angle from which I am.
The Daily Beast – Expelled Tennessee Rep’s Friend Was Shot Dead—Then Set Ablaze
Quote – On Pearson’s second day in office, the whole world focused on horrific video released by the Memphis police showing multiple officers fatally beating Tyre Nichols. Pearson was a leading voice in the ensuing protests, but he did not forget [Larry] Thorn. He still took time to check on [Thorn’s mother, Lavonda] Henderson. And he joined the family and other friends who gathered in late March at the boarded-up church where the burnt body had been found, cellphone and wallet gone, car parked two blocks away. “He has been really there, really there,” Henderson said of Pearson. “It’s amazing.”
Click through for background. It’s not really necessary to have personal experience with gun death to be emotionally involved in wanting gun reform. But how much more emotinally involved one would be with personal experience than without it. Even once – let alone twice within a few months.
Food For Thought
Glenn Kirschner – As defendant Trump’s threats to judge & DA continue, it’s time for the judge to order him to STOP!
Thom Hartmann – Frightening Truth About GOP’s Fascist Descent Exposed
Ring of Fire – Trump Holds Emergency Prayer Call Following Arraignment
Twitter – Justin Jones and Joan Baez singing “We Shall Overcome” at the airport together
Beautiful. Justin Jones and Joan Baez singing “We Shall Overcome” at the airport together. Two legends & inspirations uniting & sending a strong & powerful message. Tennessee Republicans truly messed with the wrong person. pic.twitter.com/bLLvsHt6yw
— Victor Shi (@Victorshi2020) April 9, 2023
Terrified Puppy Completely Transforms When She Meets Another Dog
Beau – Let’s talk about the GOP in North Carolina and Tennessee….