Open Thread October 20 2024

 Posted by at 6:00 am  Open Thread, Personal, Politics
Oct 202024
 

Yesterday, the radio opera was “Samson” by Jean Philippe Rameau, a composer of the baroque era. I Have see/heard one complete opera by Rameau – a comic one – “Platée” – which is a very funny comedy. I’m not sure I can really honestly say I have heard “Samson” now – the libretto (by Voltaire) is intact (all the versions), but the music has been lost and not yet found (and may never be), so this score was reconstructed from drafts, and from later operas Rameau may have recycled music from this one into. The opera was not heard in Rameau’s lifetime, and in fact has never been performed until this production. The censors of that time would not allow an opera on a “religious” subject and the wealth of non-Bibilical stuff Voltaire concocted would not budge them an inch. And, of course, it was Voltaire, whose opposition to the church was notorious. (now, next wek, the opera will be “The Shining” from the Lyric Opera of Kansas City. Who knew?)  Off to see Virgil now – will check in on return.

https://www.wonkette.com/p/judge-chutkans-got-your-weekend-reading
Wonkette shares links to all four volumes (totalling 1889 pages) of the appendices released Friday. They are redacted but mostly the redactions are names. Many are identifiable.

https://19thnews.org/2024/10/latinx-artists-storytellers-border-narratives/
Last Tuesday was the last day of Hispanic Heritage Month – but this story from the 19th wasn’t available until Wednesday so I just held it till now. You know, all these people coming from countries south of us are doing so because our politics, our CIA, enabled terrible leaders to become strong in their own countries and by so doing made life hell for them. Now we are still making life hell for them by keeping them out. I’m sure there is a bad parenting analogy like this – something like bringing a child up to despise him or herself and then as adults locking the child up to prevent him or her from seeking psychiatric care. If you can imagine and phrase it better, please do. At least there are now creative artists doing their best to bring healing and we can be grateful for that.

‘New York Times’ To Cease Publication


This from The Onion is perfect for a Sunday.

https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/2024-election/trump-election-chaos-detroit-misinformation-rcna174091
This was referred by Talking Points Memo, which also vouches for the quality of the journalism of the two co-authors. i guess I hope it scares you enough but not too much.

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Open Thread October 13 2024

 Posted by at 5:54 am  Open Thread, Personal, Politics
Oct 132024
 

Yesterday, the radio opera was “La Clemenza de Tito” by Mozart. He wrote 22 operas in so many genres (and mixing them up) so that people are still arguing about what genre some of them are in. But at least some people would say he wrote four “opera seria” (“serious opera”) and this is one of them. Opera began with Monteverdi as an attempt to recreate Greek tragedy (which may or may not have included singing), and opera seria generally are based on ancient Greek or Roman plots. This one is centered on the emperor Titus, who ruled from 79-81 CE. The plot is an “idiot plot” which is generally taken to mean that if there were just one character who wasn’t an idiot, there wouldn’t have been a story. So I won’t go into it. Mozart wrote it at the same time as he was writing “The Magic FLute,” and those were his last two operas, so the music is some of his finest.

https://www.marytrump.org/p/what-it-costs-us
Every now and then, when something which will help everyone is being discussed and Republicans are asking “where will the money come from?” someone with an IQ of 100 or higher will ask, “What will it cost us not to do it?” Of course no Republican ever answers, because if they even treated it as a real question, people might learn that the answer is invariablty “a whole lot more than it costs to do it.” The people I have heard asking it include Robert Reich, Beau (and probably now Belle, though the topic hasn’t come up yet, or I’ve missed it), and now Mary Trump, all of whom have IQs which are clearly above 130. She mentions more than one project, although it’s child care which inspired the question.

https://heathercoxrichardson.substack.com/p/october-9-2024
I’m sure everyone here has heard this by now, but this is the most detail I have seen on it (outside of Woodward’s book, and it may even surpass that.)

https://steveschmidt.substack.com/p/what-trump-is-calling-for-is-fascism
Steve Schmidt is getting real (pun intended.) And unfortunately he’s right. It’s not enough to cite fascism. Too many people have no idea what that implies. It needs to be spelled out.

 

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Open Thread October 9 2024

 Posted by at 6:00 am  Open Thread, Personal, Politics
Oct 092024
 

Yesterday, I posted an article about rhe DHS Inspector General and what a (insert epothet of choice) he is, and mentioned I didn’t know the procedure for firing him. Apparently POGO does, because after the OT posted, I received from them a petition to sign. Here’s the link. Then, last week, Whitney Houston’s mother, Cissy Houston, died at the age of 90. Unless you are a huge fan of gospel music, you likely don’t know that Cissy Houston was a great singer in her own right as well as a major inspiration to her daughter. Here’s her story.

I can be blunt when I need to, but I don’t like to need to (even though I personally prefer to hear my news blunt.) I don’t like needing to know about Donald Trump**, but we do. I don’t like what his niece Mary has to say about Trump** and revenge, but we need to know it – we especially, because we on the right side of the divide are all his targets. Steve Schmidt has also written on this topic, and I plan to share his work tomorrow.

This from the Atlanta Black Star – I don’t know whether to be glad that am innocent man won one in Alabama, or outraged at the assault on he rights which had to go to an appellate court at all. I gues I don’t need to decide – no matter how I look at it, it’s both at once.

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Open Thread October 6 2024

 Posted by at 6:00 am  Open Thread, Personal, Politics
Oct 062024
 

Yesterday, the radio opera was “Madam Butterfly” by Puccini, the first opera I ever saw, when I was 8 years old. Despite the tenor being a jerk, it’s a pretty good first opera for a young person. For one thing, it’s generally gorgeous to look at. No one seems to have thought it a good idea to do it in black and white. For another, like all Puccini operas, it has catchy melodies, and Puccini takes advantage of them, not quite as leimotifs, but to associate with characters, and if nothing else, that helps clarify who is entering or exiting. And it’s a story line which has probably been told as my times, in as many languages, with local detail, as Cinderwlla. And now I’m off to see Virgil. I well as always check in when I get back.

I certainly do not want to praise the Heritage Foundation, so please don’t take it as praise when I say “they’ve thought of everything.” Everything to silence every last vestige of truth, integrity and just plain virtue from not only our goveernment but our entire society. If we lose this election, we will never be able to trust a government employee again. Ever. Not without a revolution.

If you wonder why I am citing this article by Steve Schmidt when it seems so self-evident – stick with it. I will say that, if you don’t know who MSgt Rodrick Edmonds is, hang tight – he will eventually tell you. Anwhen he does you may need a hanky. Also, “revanchist” as an adjective means “seeking revenge.” That was a new word for me, so I thought I’d try to save you a trip to the dictionary.

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Open Thread October 1 2024

 Posted by at 6:04 am  Open Thread, Personal, Politics
Oct 012024
 

Yesterday, a radio program dedicated to American composers featured Robert Russell Bennett. If you think you have never heard again, let me tell you what I have been calling him for almost 50 years now: “the man who wrote Rodgers and Hammerstein.” Seriously, hammerstein wrote the words, which is not a trivial thing, and rodgers wrote the melodies, also not a trivial thing. But bennett did all the prchestrations – yhe harmonies, the non-verbal countermelodies, the instrumentation – wrote out all the parts – and to do that, you must also know how to transpose some parts, because some instruments play in different keys from others. it ain’t easy – and it’s also not all mechanical. To do it, you must be a real musician. And he also found time to compose original works. (There is also a Richard Rodney Bennett, who is no relation – he’s a Brit -who has composed a whole bunch of movie and TV scores and been knighted for them. I have to keep pinching myself to remember they are not related, the names and their talents being so similar.) Does all this qualify as a “Now you know the rest of the story”?

Mary Trump’s morning dispatch addresses CBS’s decision not to fact check on TV in real time. If I am reading her correctly (and if she is reading them correctly) they will fact check in real time in their live blog in social media. But it seems pretty cowardly of them to fear being yelled at by Trump** – even to fear a lawsuit from him which would surely fail. I wanted y’all to know this in advance in order for you to find a more principled source (in fact, I bumped another of her articles to Thursday to make room for this one. And, if you already learned it elsewhere and have prepared, she also includes a meaty section on how finland teaches its citizens to discern propaganda.)  Also, I should say I plan on watching the debate tonight, but am not looking forward to it.

Rasmussen Reports used to have a halfway decent reputation. They were known to have a mild Republican bias, but only about 1.5 point. But then Nate Silver stopped using them, which says something – and now, I guess, they’ve lost any reputation they ever had.

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Open Thread September 29 2024

 Posted by at 6:11 am  Open Thread, Personal, Politics
Sep 292024
 

Yesterday, the radio opera was Wagner’s “Tristan und Isolde,” recorded in July at Bayreuth – the venue which mad King Ludwig of Bavaria spent a fortune on, and which has all the bells and whistles which were available in the late 19th century (Wagner would hav loved CGI.) It takes 4 hours to perform. This production is fortunate that the adulterous love affair depends on a powerful magic love potion, because the betrayed husband is orders of magnitude better looking then the betrayer. It’s just as well I won’t see it (and the only available picture is of part of a program cover which says “Bayteuth” and has Wagner’s autograph.) The music is gorgeous. This is one of only two Wagner operas I bought in vinyl when I was buying vinyl. Some musicologists say that the first chird of the overture (known as “the Tristan chord”) paved the way for the harmonies of 20th century composers. But to opera fans, it’s less the chord and more what Wagner does with it which make the opera a favorite.

It’s been a minute since we had a real head-shaking Karen story, but this one from the Atlanta Black Star definitely qualifies. SMH.

If you have seen any ads for “Trump watches” – and, if you have, I know you haven’t bothered to read the fine print – you might get a sardonic chuckle out of the facts Mary Trump brings to light in her Substack column.

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Open Thread September 22 2024

 Posted by at 5:54 am  Open Thread, Personal, Politics
Sep 222024
 

Yesterday, the radio opera was Puccini’s “Turandot.” It’s one of the most performed operas in the repertory, so I’ve almost certainly described it before. People who don’t care for opera often cite their feeling that it presents stories so improbable that it makes no sense. On this one they have a point, except that it’s supposed to be a fairy tale, so it’s not supposed to make much sense, if any. It does sweep the listeners and viewers along emotionally with great success, and maybe it’s better to just accept that and not try to make sense of it. Anyay, also yesterday, Steve Schmidt wrote a powerful piece about Ohio. I’ll just link to it, and you can see it for yourselves. Well, off to see Virgil now, and will report my safe return when I’m back, as always.

Heather Cox Richardson starts with (the disgusting) Mark Robinson, but soon swings in to the history of the two-party system, why the founders hated it, why they ended up with it anyway. Reminds me of the quote “Democracy is the worst possible system of government – except for all the other systems.”

This is certainly not news, although the way the word “Patriotism” was defined in 1774 and thereabouts would certainly be news to a lot of Americans today who think they are patriots. I hope on a Sunday you’ll have more leisure to digest it.

Cartoons by Tom the Dancing Bug are generally too large for me to just put them into a post here and still have them legible, and this one is no exception. Sometimes I can reorganize the panels and make it work, but time is tight just now, and I didn’t want to wait with this one. If the last line of the last panel doesn’t have an impact on you, you might want to check your pulse.

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Open Thread September 17 2024

 Posted by at 6:02 am  Open Thread, Personal, Politics
Sep 172024
 

Yesterday, I was still tidying up. I have been known to make the same mstake twice, but hopefully not in a two-day period, so this should be on time. Also, the New Mexico Political Report announced a week starting today of articles discussing exactly what impact Project 2025 would have in New Mexico specifically. I realize that probably none of us live in New Mexico, but even if your state has zip in common with it, seeing it applied to a particular state could get us thinking about how it would apply to our own. I’m providing a link to the introduction, which has more details. While there , I went to the home page by clicking on the logo in the upper left, and saw two stories already on how Project 2025 will affect the climate in New Mexico. The New Mexico Political Report is (or used to be and I hope still is) a creative commons site, which means that as long as you follow their rules, you can repost complete articles and not violate copyright. And then there’s this (watch the embed here – don’t go to YouTube – it is censoring VoteVets

TomCat referred to the Reichstag fire often, as I’m sure everyone recalls. The first “assissination attempt” may have been actually an intended attempt, but I still do not believe it as a bullet which caused his ear to bleed (my vote goes to shattered glass “shrapnel.”) But this really does look ridiculous to anyone with a functioning brain. Not that that precludes it from being very dangerous, as Rober Reich has also remarked.

This is a report from the Project on Government Oversight on what happens in one state – Texas – when the Census is not conducted to count every head. NOte that Texas deliberately conducted the 2020 Census so as to undercount its population. WEll, it cost them a lot of money to do that. Not that they care about that. Red states are states which turn down Federal money even if the count is correct.

Belle 18 mos

Cat

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