Yesterday, Wonkette referred me to this clip from The Daily Show. I;ve set it to start where he starts on Alito. It is a hoot. Also, I reached my plumber, who will becoming today (and will likelty have come by the time anyone reads this.) Sorry to be so late!
This is noteworthy, particularly in Mississippi. I wish the Supreme Court would take notice.
I knew about this – you may also have read about it – but then I don’t pay attention to what Ursula calls the “Legacy media.”
Yesterday’s radio opera was Puccini’s “La Fanciulla del Ouest” (Girl of the Golden West.” It was taped before the pandemic, and it’s one of the operas I streamed during the pandemic, so no surprises, and I was glad to hear it again. Puccini is famous (notorious?) for the pathos of his doomed heroines, and most of his operas certainly fit the pattern. I am sure of only three operas where the heroine doesn’t die (one is iffy, as there are two heroines, and one dies and the other doesn’t.) This is the only one where the heroine can actually look forward to a new ife with her lover. It follows the play closely, including the blood dripping from the ceiling, and the cheating at cards, but leaving out some things because singing takes longer than speaking – her trip to the mission (on which she meets Dick Johnson – and feel free to laugh – everyone does) is not shown, only alluded to. And this summer Tme General manager’s wife will be touring with the Ukrainian Freedom orchestra, including in Kyiv and Lviv. and next year – Moby Dick.
Although today is not Memmorial Day, the National Memorial Day Concert on PBS airs tonight at 8:00 p.m. most places (but check your local listings( and again at 9:30 pm (immediately after the first airing.) If you have ever seen one of these concerts, you will likely not want to mss it.
I no longer ger newsletters from Mother Jones, but Talking Points Memo referred this article about RFKJr. David Corn has always been an excellent writer and a real journalist, and I think it’s worth sharing.
Heather Cox Richardson looks at Alexander v. South Carolina State Conference of the NAACP through the lenss of Lincoln’s “House Divided speech, including some background that most people don’t know. If only Republicans had any shame, this would devastate them. It’s a pity they don’t.
RGB version
Yesterday, Robert Reich announced he is starting a series he is calling “Debunk” in which he will debunk the ten biggest political-economic myths. It’ll run for ten weeks. Any episode i don’t share i will at least link to so you can follow it.
The headline here says it all, really. And the artice connects the dota, with each new dot adding something more appalling.
This should bring a smile to your face. (I wonder whether they invited Bernie to the ceremony.)
Yesterday, I saw Virgil. They have stocked up on playing cards while I was unable to visit, and now have at least two bridge (regular) decks, now totally new but in good condition. We both got some very hgood hands and also some disaster hands. I didn’t even try to put the wheelchair back in the car “forwards,” but I had no difficulty getting it in “backwards.” I did lose a little time coming home getting lost – but I’m pretty sure i know where I made the first wrong turn, so I should loseless time in future. Getting on the Interstate at the same exit I get off it when i go see him is IMO riaky, as the access lane getting on becomes the exit lane for the next off ramp too quickly. I was using it anyway before the hiatus, but i am enough less confident now to want to go 4 exits up and have a nice long access lane that no one has any reason to try to get off in. In other news, my “TomCat iris has bloomed this year, after i took the trouble to scrape enough obstruction away from the soil so that the sun could actually hit the rhizome. Only one stem, but three blossoms fully open and another once coming. I always though its coloration was that of a chocolate point Siamese, but this year and at very close quarters, it looks more like abluepoint when im the shade and a flamepoint when in direct sunlight. Who knew?
Not a news piece but an opinion piece, on something we have probably all thought about.
And this, as should be expected from Heather Cox Richardson, is not news, but history. And it’s history that many of us lived through. History one lives through, however, is often mingled in our minds with other events, both public and personal. This connects the dots.
Yesterday, Wonkette informed me about the male-genitals-shaped balloons Trump** supporters had released Thursday outside the courthouse where he is being tried. Most of us outgrow our toddler obsession with genitals at an age much younger than these people have (God knows how) achieved. Also, there was a kerfuffle in the House involving Representatives Jasmine Crockett and Marjorie Three Names. Many people have had something to say about this. My take is that I’m going to the Atlanta Black Star to get some Black folks’ take before I even begin to formulate my lily-white take. And then, there’s this. (And no, you aren’t losig it, Jamie is still from Maryland -that was in error.)
This story from Joyce Vance is years old – but she (and the nation) have only just learned about it now. And that fact alone may be the biggest part of the story.
Sigh. I suppose we should have known this was coming – somewhere. And it will probably be repeated. It is well sourced, but I chose this link rather than ne of the sources, partly because I thought there was value in the comments.
Yesterday, I ran across a video on ice cream from which I learned that Joe is far from the first President to have a thing for ice cream. Washington did, and so did Jefferson, and Dplley Madison hostessed America’s first ice cream social ever, in the White House. I won’t embed it here because it’s over 20 minutes longbut I will provide a link in case anyone wants to check it out. The earliest ice creams, incidentaally, were made with eggs, and should therefore really be called frozen custard rather than ice cream. Among the many books I had as a little girl, there was one which mentioned frozen custard, and I wondered what it was – I was well into adulthood before I learned the distinction. Now I know, and now you know.
This from LAWdork (at Substack) was referred by the Talking Points Memo newsletter. The facts of the case itself are all too common. But the sight of conservative lawlessness being too much for even a proven, dyed-in-the-wool conservative is not quite so common. I wish AG Drommond and Mr. Glossup both complete success here.
There are multiple reason why this story from Antiques Roadshow is astonishing, touching, and mindboggling. And pertinent to America and Americans today. Christian Nationalism has in common with slavery the concept that some people are more equal than others.
Yesterday, the radio opera was “Fire Shut Up in My Bones”, the first opera by a black composer ever to be performed at the Met, now in its second season with a couple of cast changes (I’m sure due to prior commitments on the part of the original principals). Ryan Speedo Green is a much lower baritone than Will Liverman who played the leading part last time around, and was able to sng the part as originally written, whereas Will Liverman – a fine singer – needed a couple of adjustments. Terence Blanchard, the composer worked with him on that, as is generally done when the composer is alive, to maximize the integrity of the opera. For me, the test of a great opera is if it sounds better each time you hear it. So far, this one does for me. I’ll be able to give it a workout though – I bought the DVD from the Met (not that I have a lot of time to spare for watching, but I’ll find some, even if I have to do it one act at a time.) Later, I was watching a dialogue between Lawrences O’Donnell and Tribe with CC, and I had to laugh – Tribe mentioned several male justices and the CC spelled all their names correctly except for Gorsuch – he came out as “Corsets.”
What Alito is actually saying is that punishment increases recidivism. I won’t say that’s complete nonsense (although his example is), but if he were correct, the logical thing to do would be to let everyone in any prison at any level out immediately. I am certainly not in favor of that, and I doubt he would actually want that.
You may well know this already, as it’s been shared by various sources (with multiple levels of incredulity.) I find it completely believable.
Yesterday, Trinette was by – she says hello to all – we chatted for a long time, though. After she left, I renewed my PBS membership and changed my password on a website I have often bought jewelry supplies from, and which has just upgraded their site and have asked every customer to change their password. They said March 29, but I thought I’d wait and maybe avoid the rush. It went smoothly, which might have meen me waiting or it might just jhave been the upgrade working well. Anyway, it’s done. I hope everyone’s Easter went well.
Nicely done. And about time someone did.
TPM looks a litle different from other Substack users – I found two places I had to click to keep reading (both in the upper right of the page or the box) and a third when I refreshed the page to copy the URL. But I think you’ll find the information worth while.
Someone who wants to emulate Trump** had better take steps first to ensure that people believe he – or she – or they – have lots of money. The technique doesn’t work so well without that.
