April 30

Welcome to the last day of April and to the end of the first third of 2023. I didn't have much to say over the last two days. Nothing to do in the gardens, well at least not much. I could be filling pots but it has been too wet or too cold to spent time outside. My original thought in January that I would be looking for transplants in the second week of May has become the reality. The warm spell a couple of weeks ago were, as usual, not a good predictor of the season. Yesterday started, as today has, with sun. The temperature reached the high 70s before the clouds moved in and temps dropped into the mid 50s and I had to close the door and windows. The weather channel predicts a similar pattern today.

Caitlin Johnstone posted this today. She is very right about propaganda. We are fish swimming in a sea of propaganda. We all live within bubbles of "information" telling us what is expected of us and what we should expect of others and of our society. That works pretty well so long as the results are somewhat in line with expectations. Right now they don't. Right now you can work hard, follow the rules and still wind up with the short end of the stick, or with no stick at all. I see two strategies pushed by the propagandist: its your fault or its THOSE PEOPLE (you know, too dark, too poor, not straight, not male). Either way the people at the top who have gathered most of the income and most of the wealth set the rules that have demolished the ladder of social and economic mobility.

April 27

 Still dark outside. Our internet was down most of yesterday. We'll see how today goes. Mom was more affected than I was. I simply put a stack of DVDs on and pulled out the iPad with my library on it. I don't put anything on whatever cloud space I have because I don't want to call up a book and find I can't retrieve it because the internet is down. I still am amazed about how dependent we are on that service.

I am also amazed at what snowflakes some Republican lawmakers are. In Montana they procedurally gagged a Democrat who is the only trans-woman elected to their legislature. And that during a debate on a law aimed directly at the trans-community. Robert Reich has a good take on the fascist tendencies past (Nazi Germany) and present which share a strong strain of sexual insecurity.

Spineless McCarthy finally got his caucus to pass (barely) his so-called debt ceiling bill. After telling them that the original bill would not be changed, he changed it to include what ever the wing nuts wanted. Government by bribery.

The Panama Canal has been affected by a major drought. The Authority controlling the operations have reduced the shipping traffic 5 times this season (since January) because the water levels of the two artificial lakes supplying the water that the canal requires to transit the ships. The drought is also fueling a social unrest as water shortages are occurring in other areas of Panama.

Panama isn't the only drought stricken area. Italy, thanks to scant rain and a very poor snowfall, is looking at a second severe drought.

 

April 26

 We did get sun yesterday followed by a very chilly night. The temperature should get up into the low 50s. It is still too cold over night to put any transplants out. I think I will put off getting any for another two weeks. The local supermarket moved all their transplants inside for a bit. I look but they have nothing I want to grow.

East Palestine update. So far it is following a familiar pattern: disaster strikes, pledges of help until "every person is made whole," intense press coverage, then it all falls away and the most vulnerable are left to somehow get by.

Now they wait for the snow to melt and pray.

I have heard a lot over the last 40 years of "grade inflation," the practice of giving a student a higher grade they didn't earn. But we always thought military medals like the Bronze Star were for combat valor. Evidently not.

All over the world working people have been engaging in strikes and other actions to get higher wages and benefits in the wake of drastically increasing prices for everything. This piece in the Guardian features the Chief Economist at Bank of England who thinks they should all chill our and simply accept that they are poorer. That reminds me of Medieval priests telling their people that they were in the stations to which god had placed them and aspiring to anything more was heresy. For that economist for whom the inflation is most likely an inconvenience to suggest others who can't cover their heat, or electricity, or rent, or food should accept poverty is just about as clueless.

Well, the Supreme Court has decided to let the climate and disinformation suit agains Exxon and Shell go forward. A lot of information is out in the ether about the decades long effort by the oil giants to obfuscate and deny what the burning of their products are doing to the environment. What ever the lower courts decide I am sure the case will come back up to the Supremes.

Shortly after finding that Guardian story above I found this one. The Chinese government is not very happy with young graduates from universities who don't want to turn a wrench after working for years to get their educations. I guess no one is really happy with the younger generation.

When factory "farming" becomes insane. So many economist talk about efficiency but a totally efficient system is brittle and can fail spectacularly. 

April 25

 A bit wet this morning. How long the rain will stay I don't know but the Weather Channel says they should move out and give us partly sunny conditions later.

Punchbowl has a good survey of what McCarthy is facing in trying to get something on his plan to not address the debt limit. Key take away #1: McCarthy must get a hefty pound of flesh that would be taken out of the programs Republicans value the least--those that benefit the poor, the working class, women, children. Key take away #2: some in his fractured caucus don't want any agreement to raise the debt ceiling.

Military spending world wide is ramping up. According to this article it reached $2.2 Trillion of which the share belonging to the U.S. is $877 billion as of 2022. 

Well, Joe Biden has announced his campaign for reelection. Anybody surprised. I really hate reruns.

April 24

Errands today. Trying to wake up and only on my first cup of coffee.

However, I found this first thing. Depend on China to throw a turd in the punchbowl. I don't remember reading that any of the former Soviet Union annexed the former "Soviet states" under any kind of "international law." Nor were any of them annexed by the Russian Empire with any kind of recognition in international law. "International law" seems to be a euphemism for "military occupation." Russia is simply reverting to an old playbook.

Just saw an interesting and very brief item during a very brief segment on the Bed, Bath, and Beyond bankruptcy filing. Also filing for bankruptcy were David's Bridal and Party City. We didn't have any need to patronize either of the last two but they were big players I their respective industries. I worked in a small party supply store which found it impossible to compete against Party City and Walmart. But we seem to be in age when giants falling is a common occurrence. It has been for the last 30 years. We did like Bed, Bath and Beyond and shopped there for specific items, like our stainless steel cookware. Mom remarked that the prices were a bit (maybe a more than a bit expensive) but we found the quality was worth the price. That, however, had changed over time.

We have been debating whether we should get a COVID booster in the fall. Experts are divided on both the utility of getting a booster for a variant which may disappear in the next few weeks or months. This article on NBC indicates that the experts are suggesting that "young, healthy" people should not get boosters but the elderly and those with other health problems  should. But evidence has also indicated the boosters aren't any more effective than the original. I question whether the "young, healthy" criterion should be "young and healthy" or "young or healthy." We are not young but we are reasonably healthy which is a factor in our considerations.

News stories about various AI applications, including making medical diagnoses, led to another heretical thought in my mind. So much of our technology in infantilizing us. We rely on something to make decisions for us. We don't have to read maps or directions if we get GPS. We don't have to be skilled at parking our cars because the cars can park themselves. We don't have to weigh medical decisions or make a doctor's appointment because AI platforms can diagnose our problems with any intelligent thought from us.

Reuters posted this article on food insecurity which has reached pandemic levels again.

Every news cast throws out something that has me shaking my head in amazed disbelief. Today it was a man-on-the-street interview with voters about who they might vote for. Republicans and Democrats both cited age as a factor. The Republicans mentioned Biden's age but were more forgiving of The Former Guy even though he is only four years younger. Age should be a wash when you are talking about two men who are both in their 8th decade.

Charlie Sykes writes about a communication from Richard North Patterson which called up echoes from my past. And no I did not try to get a book published--I was a history student (and later grad student). At the time the circulating controversy concerned white historians who dared to write about Black history (or Native American history or any other minority history.) The argument then wasn't about "cultural appropriation" which I think is a ridiculous notion since people have always adopted techniques, arts, ideas and religions from other people. It is only in our commodified culture that such things become suspect. Enough digression. The activists argued that white people didn't have the "experience" to write about the black history. It assumes whites have never experienced slavery, discrimination or subjugation. One of the professors suggested that perhaps we should get someone from Ancient Greece or Rome to write about the lives of the Greeks and Romans since modern historians didn't have the experience required.

April 23

Sunny and, I hope, dry today. But the temps won't get out of the 40s. It might be warmer on my patio which is at 40 right now.

From the BBC this piece of depressing story. 

Another depressing bit but from Le Monde this time. We have heard the facts before--the drop in life expectancy, for example, or the drug overdoses. What did surprise was the statistic that 1 in 25  five-year-old children would not reach age 40. Americans are definitely dying of America's ills.

One of the commentators last night said something that struck me as very appropriate: The Republican Party hasn't been hijacked by T(he Former Guy), he merely gave it permission to be what it wanted to be. Unfortunately what it has wanted to be is an anti-democratic, White Christian (sorta) nationalist cabal than only caters to its own kind and those funding it (millionaires and billionaires).

Thomas Zimmer writes about "The Sabotage Of Twitter." I never used Twitter. I didn't see the utility in a site that gave you a whole 110 (I think it was) to express something. That is the online version of a "sound bite" and everyone know how inadequate, often misleading those. I also never believe much of what Elon Musk says. His "digital town hall" is a euphemism for open season on anyone who disagrees with the most vicious and vitriolic voices. The "blue checks" were never a reliable guarantee that the source was really who or what they claimed to be. And without them that is even more the case. His move to make people to pay for those blue checks was also an illusion. Anyone could pay for a blue check for some bogus identity. He paid twice as much for Twitter as it was worth because he failed to do his research. He intended to offer so much that any competitor would be frozen out and board members would be so salivating over their part of the pay out they would agree. Then he would come back and threaten to pull out. They surprised them by suing to force him to fulfill the contract he signed. Now he wants to squeeze as much as he can to make up for his bad deal. And lets not get sucked into the argument that somehow Twitter is necessary for democracy and its "sabotage" is some how a disaster. Democracy in one form or another existed without Twitter and will exist in some form if it fails.

Chris Hedges writes about the "United States of Paralysis" and the demise of democracy. Because our politics is paralyzed we can't address any of the vital issues plaguing us. The latest Congress is a prime example.

April 22

Sunny so far this morning it is sunny and I hope it will be warmer. Temps are in the low 40s right now. We are approaching the last week of April which looks like it will have a more normal series of daily temps and some rainy days.

We have made some progress with our furry problem children. About four years ago they were sitting at the windows which we had open when a neighbor's cat tried to attack them through the screen. They went into attack mode and, when they couldn't get at that other cat, went after each other. We developed a way to keep them separated which was a bit of a problem in a two-bedroom apartment. Every morning we shifted the cats around between the rooms without actually seeing each other but were used to the smell of each other. About ten days ago we finally allowed them both full run of the entire apartments. Well, besides a couple of aggressive incidents it has gone fairly well. And we were able to easily separate them on those occasions. I hope they will continue to be peaceable with each other.

Bill Astore has a good post this morning. I would make another observation: all too often the claim of "standing my ground" or "defending my castle" are accepted without any real examination. And these claims are given priority over another considerations. Rittenhouse actually placed himself in the situation where he was "threatened" by active choice. Texas governor Greg Abbot has promised to sign a pardon for a convicted murder who aggressively attacked peaceful protestors who did not threaten him. I also think police claims to feeling threatened are too often accepted without serious examination and cross-examination.

There is so much going on in Florida politics that is totally unsavory and that is a euphemism. This is just another example. If they really do want to do this they should mandate that the jury that decides a death penalty on an 8-4 vote must be present at the execution. Given how many prison sentences over the last few years have been overturned on various grounds (coerced confession, fraudulent witnesses, planted evidence, exclusion of evidence of innocence) to vote to kill a person (that is the meaning of the words "death penalty") on anything but a unanimous vote is a travesty of justice.

April 21

We hard rains overnight with high winds. My wind chimes have been tinkling frantically. I pulled the first weeds from my containers. I hope things dry out a bit so I can get more of my pots prepped.

This piece, found on BBC, sound horribly familiar. India has experienced a rise in "Hindu nationalism" over the last few years that the Modi government has bought into. The effort to erase parts of history which Hindus might find uncomfortable reminds me of the effort to erase from accounts of American history that deal with slavery or Native genocide. I wonder if the effort to erase the Mughal era will go so far as to demolish the Taj Mahal? Anyone remember when the Taliban blew up the Bamiyan Buddhas because their religious sensibilities were offended?

The vicious civil war in Sudan between two generals has captured the news to the point where an anchor this morning declared that the U.S. HAD to do something about the situation. Why? And What can we do? There are a lot of problems in the world and we are not omnipotent, omniscient, or omnipresent. That is the definition of a certain god.

Le Monde published this story on flooding in Peru which sounds eerily like what has been happening in California. The experts cited attributed the unusual rain events to a "coastal El Niño" which is a localized warming of waters in the eastern Pacific.

Our Colorado river basin isn't the only river system having problems as another Le Monde article demonstrates. The Rhône has warmed significantly while its flow has both decreased and slowed. It has also significant demands on its water.

David Kaiser noted "The Problem of Authority". We don't really have a source of authority anymore and can't really agree on one. A few years ago a couple of women came by canvasing for some kind of educational "reform." They didn't like my answer to their last question positing that school discipline would be improved it we "brought prayer back into the classroom." I replied, strenuously, "Absolutely NOT!!" and asked "whose prayers?" That ended the conversation because they relied on the authority of their religion which I didn't share. Consider the piece above about Hindu nationalists trying to erase the Mughal era. I have seen at least three academic history arguments in my (sorta) misspent time in academia. I remember when history was primarily political/diplomatic history. I took an economics history class but it was offered by the Economics Department. I also took philosophy history but in the Philosophy Department not from the History Department. There were no "gender studies" or "black history" or other such segments of non-white, non-white-male history. By the late 1980s there was a backlash over those slices of history which we are still seeing today. Point here is that the Historical Orthodoxy shattered and, I think, for the better. But we still haven't found a new balance much less a new orthodoxy.

Another example of how screwed up some people are. An idiot fires a gun at a girl and her father who try to retrieve a ball that went into his yard. Another idiot fires on a car that mistakenly drives up on his driveway when the driver has already turned around and is leaving. A old idiot shoots, his door, a 16-year-old black boy who stands 5ft8inches thinking he is a grown 6ft black man trying to burgle his house. And this total efing idiot made pipe bombs to blow up reenacts and wrote letters claiming to be Antifa. As I said--screwed up.

April 20

 We had quite a light show yesterday evening as thunderstorms rolled through.

Robert Reich writes about "retirement"--specifically his from teaching full time and more generally. I can sympathize from a slightly different viewpoint. I spent my working life trying to find the work I wouldn't want to retire from and never really found it. Now that I am retired I can do what I really like to do. I do my needlework when I really want to do it and read what I really want to read--a mystery today, history tomorrow etc. I am a lot happier.

India is about to overtake China in population. China posted its first drop in population since records have been kept and the first drop in birth rate. India is still growing and is younger. Another report claimed that the world population had a 50% chance of reaching almost 10 billion by 2050.

The Hill reports that more than 60 million Americans live in states where they will be exposed to spikes in particulate pollution.

Taiwan where industry vies with agriculture for water. After two scant typhoon seasons the reservoirs are at a fraction of their once normal capacity.

More on air pollution as the annual Mongolian sandstorms spread yellow dust on China, the Koreas, and Japan. Wild fires in Thailand are causing more pollution there. People in Beijing wore masks before COVID and are wearing them after COVID.

Le Monde covers another drug shortage story. After shortages of amoxicillin and paracetamol last winter, they say mifepristone is now in short supply. Unlike the U.S., where the fear is that some activists in robes will decide that scientists and doctors can't make decisions on which drugs to approve and patients with their doctors can't be trusted to make the decision of whether to use a drug, the French problem is a supply chain issue.

The Clarion Ledger claims that the major tornado (wind speeds in excess of 200mph) which went through the Mississippi delta flattening Rolling Fork and Silver City, has caused more than $100million in insured damages. The uninsured losses might be higher yet. Luckily we haven't had any Billion dollar events as of April 13. 

April 19

 We did have a nice sunny day yesterday but it didn't really warm up because we had a brisk wind. The cats were not happy because I kept the windows and doors closed. We did our usual shopping and just vegetated for the rest of the day. Today we have other errands so I'll see how much I of my e-mail and other reading I get done.

Well, Fox News settled with Dominion and will pay a bit more than three-quarters of a BILLION dollars. The only statement the company came out with acknowledged the Judge's adverse determinations on SOME of the questions involved in the defamation suit. That is NOT any kind of admission that they did anything wrong. Robert Reich has a very accurate assessment: money is not accountability. The amount of the settlement sounds like a lot to most of us but the Fox Corporation is worth $17Billion. The Founding Fathers considered a "free press" as necessary an "informed" citizenry. It's been noted since that "free" didn't mean "fair." I would also say "free" doesn't mean truthful or factual.

Naked Capitalism has an article on the child labor scandals and the political moves to weaken or eliminate child labor laws. This, I think, the only story, at least the only I have seen, that looks at who and what organizations are pushing this trend. Surprise! Surprise! Major scrooges pushing it: hospitality and restaurant, construction, meat packing and other that require low paid labor. And efforts to apply the laws and curbs the exploitation seem to give the real criminals a slap on the wrist and destroys the kid and their families. I said a good 30 years ago that the period from the 1930 to about the turn of the century was an anomaly and we are reverting to conditions someone in the 19th and earlier centuries would recognize. No effective labor unions. A "family income" derived from a man + a woman who makes 50 or 60% of the "breadwinner's wage", and several children older than 6 who each earn one-quarter what the man made. No wide spread public education. No birth control. Perhaps someone will form a new version of the Pinkertons.

Here is another article Naked Capitalism is reposting from The Oil Price which addresses a major problem with the hidden costs of so-called green energy. I read other criticisms of alternatives which talk about some of the costs that are often ignored but they rarely come from the environmentalists or politicians pushing the alternatives.

Listening to some of the news, and not the political clown show, I have to wonder what the hell has happened to some people in this country. An elderly man shoots a 16 year old black boy who simply knocked on his door by mistake. Another older man shoots at a car that mistakenly turned into his drive, and then turned around and was leaving when he fired killing a woman sitting in the car. Two students bludgeon their Spanish teacher to death for giving them low grades. When did people become so entitled and so frightened? People I know, or knew, had guns at home. I had guns at home in the past but not for many years. But none of them would, and nor would I, have even thought of shooting without even saying a word. Something has happened to us as a nation.

John Michael Greer has one of the best summaries of our current situation in this chaotic world. 

April 18

 It was very windy yesterday and last night. It blew a bucket and large pot around on the patio--both were empty. I almost had a heart attack thinking by three-tier pot tower had been blown over. It is still in place.

So this finally made the mainstream media. I have seen accounts of the Chinese "police" stations in cities across the country. It is hardly surprising when the Chinese government responds vigorously and ,sometimes, self destructively to any whiff of criticism. We shouldn't be surprised that they are reaching out to punish Chinese critics, whether Chinese citizens or not. I am glad our law enforcement agencies are acting.

This is the most hopeful development in education in a long time. I have long questioned our laser focus on college/university education for all.

Robert Reich has a pretty good account of the "debt ceiling" (which he says should be called a "deadbeat ceiling") non-debate going on. McCarthy insists on linking any measure to raise the ceiling to spending cuts but I doubt he would be able to get his own caucus to agree on any program of spending cuts. The Biden Administration continues to hold to its position that there should be no link. I can agree that there should be spending cuts but I doubt anyone on either side would like my suggestions. I also think the debt ceiling should be either raised or eliminated altogether. I very much dislike the football it has become and the hypocrisy of the Republicans who are only against raising it when a Democrat is in the White House. I also dislike the probability that no matter how the debt ceiling standoff ends we will see a similar standoff when it comes to the next budget debates which will probably involve the threat of a government shutdown.

April 17

We had snow on the cars this morning and the forecast predicted more today with low temps. No gardening today. I did get out to check the rose (no living roots--😞) and I don't see any chamomile coming up (😞). The asiatic lilies and the indigo are doing well and some more valerian is poking up above the soil.

It is cool enough that we have changed back into our winter sweats. And we welcome the cats snuggling on out laps.

I just had a strange problem with Blogger. Somehow I was kicked out and had to try to remember what my Google password was. After several minutes of swearing and shouting, I finally did get it right. Damn!! At least I am back.

I was reading this about the time I got into the article yesterday about Walmart's closing four stores in Chicago's low income south and west. I think there is some parallels here but I rather think our politicians are going to go in the path they have so far. No criticism of big business or the limits of business or of how inefficiently they handle anything but finding a way to squeeze out a profit has in the last 70 years has changed our politico's attitudes. Putin evidently has recognized that business can't (or won't) achieve any goal besides shoving as much profit into their own pockets. He evidently has decided that business can do business but the government will regulate and direct them--basically forcing them to contribute to political endeavors. That might be why so many high up business officials have taken swan dives out of windows over the last couple of years.

Another casualty of Brexit. No the Orient Express isn't cancelled entirely--only the section that goes from London to Calais. Evidently the regulations for passengers going to and from the Continent have caused considerable delay and frustrations.

I just saw a piece on Patheos, which I didn't read and to which I will not link. I am more interested in the question in the title: should politically active churches lose their tax exempt status. I say no--all churches should be taxed. So should any other faith based institutions of what ever religion. I would be all for such institutions being able to deduct the costs of their social or charitable activities but not their political costs. I live within blocks of three churches which run schools, usually K-8 grades, and two have food pantries. Those are valuable resources for the community and they should be able to reduce their taxes as an encouragement to continue. 

April 16

 We had heavy rain yesterday afternoon. I decided to take a day off working on putting the gardens in shape. I am rethinking my plans to put in tomatoes and peppers. They are warm weather plants but they don't like really hot weather and I am getting a feeling that we will have some of those over 95F days sooner rather than later and more of them. We'll see if my feelings are any more accurate than some of the weather forecasts. It is cloudy, cool and wet. We had the windows open a crack and the patio open a bit but the temperature in the house dropped enough that the furnace came on. The cats are not happy because I closed everything up.

California is still water logged from the series of atmospheric rivers that came through over the last month or so. And the snowpack has just begun to melt. During the broadcast version of this story provided a term that seems appropriate for our times: weather whiplash.

CNN posted this article which has an interesting title. Why interesting? Because it is rare that anyone says anything about "limits" in our society. We don't like limits whether in our military/diplomatic efforts or in our personal ambitions or in our economic models. The term "big box store" was invented for Walmart and made a lot of sense in the rural and suburban environment where people found it far more convenient to go to a single large store to get what they needed rather than to several small stores scattered over a wide area. But there was always a cost for the people living nearby. I saw critical studies forty years ago which showed that a Walmart in one county sucked jobs and economic activity out of surrounding counties. The lost jobs outnumbered the jobs Walmart created. And the profits went to the corporate headquarters. And the local governments lost tax revenue as small businesses closed. And as those small business owners disappeared the local charitable and civic organizations shriveled. 

April 15

 Should be another sunny day with temps in the low 80s. That is considerably warmer than normal for mid April. And we might get SNOW on Monday. Update: sunny now and most of the clouds have moved off.

The other day I linked to an article where a person used ChatGPT to check a medical diagnosis and came up with something the doctor didn't which turned out to be correct as later tests showed. However, this story is about a doctor who decided to checkout ChatGPT for himself with some real patients histories after he had removed any identifying information. He found the program was about 50% right in that the right diagnosis was among the six it listed. In one case, the patient might have had a lethal experience because the right diagnosis wasn't listed. The program couldn't ask the questions the doctor would have asked and depended on the doctor providing complete and accurate descriptions of the symptoms. Computer docs are a ways off yet.

Bill Astore has a succinct and very accurate evaluation of all of America's wars since the end of WWII. The lessons we should have learned and probably haven't:

What can we learn from the Iraq War, then? Let’s start with these basic lessons: Don’t fight a war based on governmental lies and unfounded fears. Don’t fight illegal and immoral wars. Don’t fight undeclared wars. Don’t meddle in the societies of other people where you are seen as invaders and about which you are ignorant. Don’t wage war, period, unless the domestic security of the U.S. is truly threatened.

Those seem like the right lessons to me, not lessons about how to recognize insurgencies or how to respond more quickly to asymmetries like IEDs and ambushes.

In sum, learn this lesson: Vietnam, Iraq, Afghanistan, were and are countries with rich pasts and proud peoples who were not about to submit to American invaders and agendas, no matter how well-intentioned those invaders believed or advertised themselves to be.

The problem: we still have rush in as though we were rescuing the poor deluded peoples of distant lands we don't know anything about--not the language, the history, or the culture.

April 14

Well, half past April. The weather look good so I will probably get the last shepherds hook set and some more of the gardens ready. I cleaned out a bit of the shed--primarily by taking out some of the large pots I empty each year. I also pulled out the on-the-fence pot hangers. Soon I will get those filled and ready for planting.

I found this first thing this morning. The contrast between Reich's experience (having to reimburse Bill Gates for lunch) and Clarence Thomas's "belief" that he didn't have to declare his expensive gifts from a deep-pockets Republican donor. The founders intended to protect the Supreme Court and all Federal judges from political pressure by giving them lifetime job security. However, I doubt they ever thought they would make then unaccountable for their actions. They could be impeached but that has proven to be a toothless political remedy. And I doubt that we will have the kind of political situation that would yield any real consensus on court "reform."

Listening to the discussion of DeSantis' new six-week abortion ban which might as well be a complete ban because the exceptions demand conditions that few women will feel free to exercise. I had a nasty, cynical thought: Republicans of DeSantis' stripe are basically saying screw the women because the men who will support us will be more than the number of women who will leave. I really hope they are proven wrong and both men and women desert them.

I got the last shepherds hook set and the bucket filled. Also took out the hydrangeas--no good roots left on them. Cut back the dead stalks in the valerian pot and trimmed the rose. However, I didn't see any new growth--yet.

Listening to the news coverage of the newest secret documents leaker. We always take those stories with a big, big dose of salt. I read a bit of James Kunstler's latest Clusterfuck Nation where he makes his skepticism (or worse) very plain. He is also extremely anti-Biden for policy reasons which get lost when he goes on an anti-bided binge. However, Yves Smith at Naked Capitalism includes the same info and same sources with the same questions but is more readable.

This will be interesting. Evidently COVID-19 mRNA vaccine maker BioNtech is facing law suits from people claiming they were harmed by the vaccine. A quick and dirty Google search didn't yield much for U.S. based suits but that may change depending on what decision comes out of the German Courts.

The Baffler has an interesting, but very long, article on our current cycle of separatist movements splintering nation states.

This is mind boggling. A fire at a dairy farm in north Texas causes an explosion that kills one person--and 18,000 cows. Here is another account with more details. And from the Daily Wire.

April 13

Still dark outside but it looks like it might be sunny. I could see the moon for a bit. We'll see what happens. I got a good start with reworking the garden pots. I think I can get the shepherds hooks stabilized. I found a long crack in one of the buckets which I patched with one of the super strong tapes. I hope it holds. All of the garden centers are busily getting their plants out. I think I will advance my plans a bit. I usually start getting plants the second week of may but the last week of April sounds goods--now. If the weather forecast for the next month proves good I should have everything planted by mid May.

I saw this story late yesterday and my first comment was "I bet the stores are all on the south side." The south and west sides of Chicago are lowest income areas and have had difficulty attracting merchants--especially those that sell fresh foods. I wonder if Walmart's business plan is the problem. They are into the big box model and most of their efforts to do smaller "express" stores have failed. Also they may have squeezed their suppliers to the point where they can't get their profits that way any more. 

Did you all notice that the price of postage stamps is going up--again. Would you believe the price to send a first class letter was $.03 the year I was born. I thought I remembered stamps at $.15 and decided to check my memory. It was right on point. The price has tripled since the mid-1990s.

Japan plans to get serious about increasing their birth rate which last year was the lowest since they started collecting the data in the 1890s. NHK has a long article on the government's plans which includes direct cash subsidies and forgiveness of student debt. Like most of the developed world Japan has a problem: fewer young workers to support a growing number of elderly people. Even China faces that problem.

Watching BBC and its coverage of the Paris demonstrations against Macron's pension "reform" legislation. I am always amazed how the programs that benefit people in the lower economic classes suddenly are too expensive. Over the last 30 years in this country the age at which we can qualify for full Social Security has increased from 62 to 65 and finally to 70. It seems to me that lower classes are expected to be robbed of a dignified old age. Most of us--some of us don't qualify for much of a Social Security payout. Perhaps the power that be would rather we worked either til we died or were unable to work and get thrown out on the street.

We are under a "red flag" order meaning the fire danger is high. I gather that several brush fires have already burned. At least we haven't had, so far, the situation I was on the news last night in New Jersey.

April 11, 12

 Nice and sunny. We have to go out for an appointment with Mom's audiologist. We almost forgot about it but, thankfully, the office called to remind us. We aren't quite into April mentally and it felt like we were still in last week. Well, back on track. I got a couple more pots cleaned out. Thinking about l want to put in this year. We are going to make a stop at the Ace Hardware store for some things Mom wants so I will also look for the flexible, collapsable hose and the garden blocks I want.

We decided to let the cats interact. We have kept them separate since that damned cat someone else lets roam tried to attack them through the screen on the open window. They went apeshit and tried to attack that cat and then continued with each other. So far things have been better than we thought it would be. Mainly a bit of growling and hissing. Only one attack as they both wanted to occupy my lap. The fight didn't last long. I hope they will finally get to tolerate each other.

I found this article on CNN this morning. I have always been heavy and advised to lose weight. I finally gave up on the dieting and I have never really liked exercise. It always took time out of my day for little real value. So now the medical people are questioning weight loss in older people. Even moderate weight loss in otherwise healthy older people is associated with increased mortality. I think they need to expand the study.

I remember Tupperware fondly. I never sold it but I did use it--a lot. Over the years my collection of Tupperware dwindled and it was easier to buy various storage containers in the store put out by the makers of the baggies. I imagine most people my age followed a similar pattern and those millennial and younger generations don't even remember it. Well, on consideration, it isn't surprising that the company is now in trouble.

Responsible Statecraft has a good summary about how little economic sanctions have done to accomplish the aims our government has said they want.

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Hoping to get out an get some gardening work today. I should get the shed cleaned out and rearranged. We picked up the blocks I need to get the shepherds hooks secured in the bucket pots. I will have to empty the buckets to get that done but now is a good time to do it. We should still have a few more warm and dry days. The local garden shops are busily putting out their plant stocks. I am trying to hold off and not yield to temptation. Our average last frost date is May 15 unless that has changed over the last warmest two decades in history. That last thought sent me to Google and the new last frost date for my area is April 28. Yep--things have changed. But this is still a time of year that can break a gardener's heart with a late freeze.

I wonder if anyone is surprised that the leaked defense department documents indicates Egypt is (was?) thinking about selling weapons to Russia. Most of the developing world either supports Russia or isn't on either side. They all view U.S. policy with a very skeptical eye for very good reasons. Not very many remember that Egyptian policies under Nasser in the 1960 involved playing off the U.S. and the Soviet Union to get what he wanted. I doubt many even know who Nasser was. I really hope no one is surprised that our government surveils our allies as well as opponents (and everyone else).

We keep hearing that the sanctions on Russia are working and that their economy is quickly becoming a basket case. James Galbraith takes a different view and takes a contrary position about the interpretation of the facts, not the facts. Yves Smith at Naked Capitalism offers a different view occasionally using her contacts in Russia. As she notes, those sources tell her that they are short of only a few items like car parts or expensive import goods that are the first items cut when the budget is tight. I noted above that not all countries are on board with the sanctions and some are actively circumventing it. The sanctions have always been porous. I have always thought that the sanctions was, from the earliest days, and exercise in whose economy would be bankrupted first and that is still an open question.

April 10

 Still dark so no idea of what the weather is like now. The weather channel is predicting a dry week with partly cloudy to sunny conditions with temperatures in the high 60s to mid 70s. I found some valerian shoots in that pot. This will be the third year for that plant so I should dig it out in the fall and replant some roots for next year. I have to check out how to do that.

I don't know how many were really surprised by the decision on mifepristone out of that Texas court last Friday. I expected it because the idiots carefully judge shopped to find another idiot in a robe who would go along with their notions. I didn't expect the Oregon case which I suspect was in the works, basically decided, but half off publishing until the Texas case was decided. The attack in Texas is part and parcel with the aim to "dismantle the administrative state." It basically attacked the process by which the FDA approved mifepristone not the drug itself. But taken to its illogical extreme, which today's Republican Party is so good at, what drug is safe from challenge? All it would take to invalidate any approval is a plaintiff who finds a sympathetic judge who is willing to throw out any scientific method and evidence to reach the desired decision.

The whole argument has gone off the rails. Not long ago some Republican politician, a governor I think, plaintively bleated at a news conference that he "wished" he didn't have to make that decision, he "wished" women "could make the decision." I wished a reporter had asked why women "couldn't" make that decision. Obviously, at base, he thought they "couldn't" because they might not make the decision he thought they should make. Somehow possessing ovaries and uterus renders women incapable of making good moral decision so they require male guardianship. Once upon a time that was part of our legal theory. It still is in places like Iran, Pakistan, Afghanistan. From the arguments from Alito and Thomas on the Dobbs decision that they would like to turn our jurisprudence and society to back two centuries.

Robert Reich asks "Is the GOP becoming the American fascist party?" I always distrust equating U.S. tendency toward totalitarianism with modern such movements such as Naziism, Fascism, Soviet style socialism, Xi's China. Why? Because there has always been a strain of such intolerance  in this country. Our nationally mythology tells us that the Pilgrims came to the New World so they could enjoy freedom of religion. Let's define that "freedom" a bit more. Those Pilgrims were English expatriates who objected to the Anglican Church. As Calvinists they didn't see much difference between Anglicanism and Catholicism. But the settled in The Netherlands where they had complete freedom to exercise their faith. The Netherlands were, perhaps, the most tolerant society in Europe. So why uproot themselves for an uncertain future in a wilderness? Because they were afraid that the Dutch permissiveness would tempt their children away from the pure Calvinist faith. In Massachusetts they established a democratic theocracy which was incredibly intolerant. They expelled Roger Williams and his followers when Williams disagreed with the treatment of the local Indians. William set up his own colony in Rhode Island. Our histories cover the witch trials but neglect that more Quakers were hanged for over staying their non-welcome than witches. The tendency toward intolerance reappeared frequently through out our history.

Reich covers the Nashville soap opera but like so many concentrates on the race issue and neglects a couple of other troubling factors. First, the supermajority in the state legislature is threatening Nashville and Knoxville with serious economic sanctions if they reappoint the legislator expelled last week. We have two competing tyrannies involved: the tyranny of a minority which underpins the Republican supermajority and the tyranny of that supermajority which can steamroll any opposition. The founders feared both. Second, the threats of the Republican legislature are aimed at cities that are majority Democrat. Similar actions are happening in Mississippi where the Republican majority state officials are trying to undercut the Democrat majority of Jackson by establishing a separate justice system for that city. They are also trying to take control of a large chunk of money the Federal government approved to modernize the water system inn Jackson so some of it, maybe most of it, can be used for majority white areas. Texas Republican state officials are trying to take over the school district of Democrat Dallas.

News flash: the 132nd mass shooting THIS YEAR. Five  four dead, so far, with several injured in Louisville, KY. OOPS--another list says it is the 145th mass shooting. 

April 9

 Happy Easter to all who celebrate the holiday. We don't for a number of reasons. The commercialism which is second only to Christmas in the demands that we heroically buy things. We are really very tired of being the targets of sales pitches. Neither one of us define ourselves as Christian of any stripe and haven't for decades. And, finally, we don't have family (especially children) who look forward to the celebration.

We both celebrate the returning light and warmth. The winter, though not severe by any measure (not much snow, no extended freezing temps), was dreary. The sun always improves our moods.

MSNBC has a listing of the top 19 countries on the State Departments list of those Americans shouldn't travel in. None are a surprise because all have serious civil unrest, sometimes outright civil war, are engaged in war, or have a habit of kidnapping people for ransom of some kind. Or all at once. Not exactly places for peaceful vacation.

I read most of this article; it is a bit long. However, the essence can be distilled. During the COVID pandemic a key factor in fighting the virus was trust in government. Where that trust was lacking, the virus spread rapidly. In the absence of such trust building a local organization that people trust for information and for other supports (tests, vaccines, food, water, etc.). The article describes the situation in Brazil where the national president minimized the seriousness of the pandemic and provided minimal support for, especially, the poor people in the favelas. Where those local, grass-roots organizations did form and did provide accurate information and material support, the rates of infection were significantly lower than in areas where such organizations failed to develop. In this country, those populations which had the lowest trust in government agencies or who aped the attitude of The Former Guy had higher rates of disease and death. Right now I don't see much trust in once trusted institutions.

I just cleaned out a couple of the containers. I will need new lavender plants but I saw some growth in the container that I planted with asiatic lillies last year. No new growth on the rose and nothing yet in the indigo pot.

April 8

It looks like we might have a sunny and dry day again. I will see if I can get a couple of containers on the patio cleared today. But before I do that I have a ham to get divided into meal sized portions. We went to our local dairy for our usual milk, cream, butter, and coffee. And we stopped at a grocery store on the way home for a few items we were either out of or low on. It wasn't worth a trip to the other store several miles further. That will be next week when we need some things we can only get there. However, the grocery store had hams on sale and the price was too good to pass up even though we didn't really need more ham. I have a couple of other things to do in the kitchen today so I will be busy.

Going through the blogs and other sites I found this piece by Ugo Bardi on THE SENECA EFFECT which describes how scientist experts are viewed when trying to warn the general population of a looming disaster. I remember when I first read about Bill McKibben's 350.org which tried to persuade people that our societies had to keep CO2  in the atmosphere below 350 ppm. Being a curious soul I looked up what the concentration of CO2 was at that time. OMG--it already exceeded the 350ppm advocated and had since 1985. I remember when the oil companies were trying to get the Federal Government to open up the Alaska National Wildlife Reserve because dire consequences would follow not doing so. I looked up two facts: how much oil was estimated to be under that patch of permafrost and how much oil our economy used. I found out that, if we completely drained the reserves (unlikely), we would get enough to fuel our economy for a whole...three months.

From Infidel753 a discussion of the conundrum of "free speech." I could be more tolerant of the speech of those I disagree with if they didn't try to force me to live by their ideas. Unfortunately, to quote Lord Peter Wimsey in GAUDY NIGHT (by Dorothy Sayers), "the first thing a principle does is kill someone." 

April 7

 Sunny and dry so far today. Checked the containers and they appear to be ice free but very wet. Haven't seen any more signs of new growth. Over the week end, if it stays dry, I will begin cleaning up the pots and cutting back dead growth.

Treehugger posted this article on how to recycle glass. I didn't realize that recycling glass could be so complicated.

Over the years my cats have lived longer. When I was a child most lasted ten years or so. My longest lived cats were Demarimasu (19), Sawagimasu(19), and Hiero Kuma(17). We  now have two Leana (7) and Candy (4). Them may out live us. Especially if they last as long as this cat in England. She is almost 32.

The title of this article is a bit misleading. It tells us that the water level in Lake Meade has risen "defying predictions." It gives the impression that the level is approaching "normal" levels and it will continue to rise. The article makes it clear that, although the lake does have more water in it, the lake is nowhere near full. How much more the level will rise depends on how much more water they get from snow melt and future rains.

April 6

 We had periods of heavy rain thunder, lightning and wind yesterday, and were under tornado warnings off and on. Today it is nice and sunny with some clouds. I hope to get my spade out to see how easily the containers will dig. I hope they are all thoroughly defrosted.

After the last week of The Former Guy coverage I am giving the news a rest. We'll see what else I find to comment on.

Bill Astore has a new piece on his substack site about "The Need to Confront Reality." He cites a Phillip K. Dick article from the 1970s where Dick writes about the "spurious realities" created by corporations, government, the media. It reminds me of a book written by Daniel Boorstin, The Image. That was written in the mid 1960s. And it is getting worse in our "facts aren't facts" age. Or as, I think it was, Kelly Anne Conway said of TFG's administration's lies "We have alternative facts."

And here is another change resulting from the pandemic: hotels are no longer cleaning rooms every day of a guest's stay. Much of the changes seems geared to the luxury tier the hotels fall into with the top tier still providing full housekeeping but the lower levels offering fewer services. Somewhere a long while ago I read an article which described the ways in which companies made customers perform many tasks that employees once did. They then lowered prices a little bit and reaped the benefit of lower labor costs (not as many employees needed.) Anyone remember when you would drive into a gas station and the attendant filled your tank, washed your windows and checked your oil? A pundit just recently predicted that "self checkout" would soon be the industry norm for retail and grocery stores.

The Erin Brockovich Report features a new book by a woman doctor recounting the 1978 Waverly Tennessee train wreck that devastated her town. It had be wondering just how many train crashes occur in the U.S. each year and found a Wikipedia page with a listing. First thing I noticed was that there hasn't been one single year since 1980 in which there has not been any crashes. NOT. ONE.SINGLE.YEAR. Second, the numbers of crashes each decade have been increasing.  I can't say anything about the consequences in property damage or lives lost because I only looked to see how many crashes and didn't focus, for the most part, on severity. Also the list includes all kinds of rail accidents including at least one monorail and several trollies.

This seems to have been gaining traction over the last few years. More and more over the last 25 years I have thought that the 20th century after about 1930 was an aberration. Much of what we consider normal would have been unthinkably strange to people before then. My paternal grandfather graduated from 8th grade and the state considered him qualified to teach. Neither of my parents graduated high school. My father enlisted in the U.S. Navy before his graduation date and my mother got married. Even though she had all of the credits for a diploma the authorities refused to give her the diploma because she was only 16. Later she did get a GED because she needed it to enroll in her nursing degree course. Of my generation only the oldest of us siblings finished high school. Later my younger sister also got a GED to pursue a social work degree. School was normal not paid labor in heavy industry. By the 1970s my mother could get credit and bank accounts in her own name without a husband or other male relative's signature. That was not normal in an earlier age. Unions had won an 8 hour day, 40 hour week with vacation time, overtime pay, pensions, and health care that often included dental and vision care. Since about 1980 much of that has disappeared. We are regressing.

This sounds distressingly familiar. Interesting that a supposedly "fascist" Italian government sounds so American Republican.

April 4, 5

We had a busy day yesterday. Mom needed to get a replacement Social Security card so we went to the local office. That was the most time consuming site but it went very quickly once our turn came up. We had to stop off at the bank. Our change jars were full enough that we decided to empty them and put the money into our accounts. I needed to get new checks and a couple of check registers. We are going back to cash and checks rather than doing everything electronically. Mom had an issue with her computer stemming from an incident I told you about three or four months ago where scammers almost got a lot of money but we had to put a block on her electronic banking and put an added pass word on all accounts. She decided that it wasn't worth the frustration to re-establish the system. We both requested that they send paper statements. I have electronic banking but I haven't had any accounts on it for several years. That stop took a bit of time but it wasn't as frustrating as Mom feared it would be. The last stop was Target to get my new glasses. That pretty much took care of our morning. We napped most of the afternoon.

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Reading over what I wrote yesterday I realized that we have gone back to older ways of doing things. Several years ago we got tired of changing out non-stick pans every four or five years because their coatings flaked. And we treated those pans far more gently than we ever had. We have completely changed over to cast iron and to stainless steel. We also went back to cooking largely from scratch. I say "largely" because we still do use some prepared ingredients but not that many. We had gone heavily into electronic banking but too many of the systems we had to interact with became balky and dealing with the computerized persons on the other side was too frustrating. We finally got the bank fully back after a scam to drain our bank account nearly worked last December. But other things are equally frustrating. Mom preferred using FireFox but lately she has been getting messages that her machine has been locked and she had to call "support" to unlock it. We never made that call, disobeyed the admonition to not turn off the computer and ran her anti-virus scanning software. Finally, I told her to get off FireFox and use Safari (yeah we use Macs). That seems to be working.

The Former Guy had his first day in criminal court. He seems a ghost (but a malicious ghost) of his former self. Someone said that his people "leaked" the possibility that he would speak (before the hearing, during the hearing, or maaaybe after the hearing) which fixated the news media on the courthouse. Well, all he said was "Not guilty, your honor." At least until he had his pity party of a speech last night. I don't know who is more pitiful: TFG or blubbering Lindsey Graham begging for people to send any money they could to save their messiah and, if they couldn't, to send prayers. I was amused by the news anchors who wryly noted that TFG had suckered them in (again)into covering him leaving Mar-a-lago, of his motorcade traveling to the airport, to him trudging onto his branded airliner, arriving at the New York airport, trudging off the plane and into his limousine, of his motorcade traveling to his tower, leaving the tower and being driven to court, going into court, sitting in court, leaving court, motorcading to the airport.

TFG isn't the only sore loser in the former Republican Party. Did you all see the truly pathetic performance from the losing Republican candidate in the race for the Wisconsin Supreme Court. He wished he had an "honorable" opponent to whom he could concede. He ran a vicious campaign which the Democrat met with equal force. Someone mentioned that the Republicans used to laugh when the Democrats remained mannerly in spite of vicious Republican ads. But the Democrats have decided that they don't have to play by the Marquis of Queensberry rules if their opponents have jettisoned the playbook.

Of course, many of the news sites are covering the indictment and closely examining what it sets out. Not being a lawyer I really can't say whether the New York AG has a weak case, a strong or something in-between. I do, however, vehemently disagree with those who argue that it isn't really important. That basically argues that just because TFG was once, and is running for, president he should somehow be excused responsibility for so-called accounting law violations. Sorry, the law is the law as the Republicans remind us when the alleged miscreant is a Democrat. The opinions I have seen so far are pretty much divided for and against the case mostly following how they writers feel about TFG. I despise the ultimate con man but I will wait and see if the charges are proved and will do the same when it comes to the other cases being investigating.

April 2

 Sunny this morning. Thankfully the worst of the weather over the last couple of days skipped us. We had wind and heavy rain but no tornadoes. A number of tornadoes went through several states overnight with a lot more damage and several more fatalities. It got cold enough last night for frost to form a the grass and cars as well as on roofs. I got half of the patio swept out during a lull in the rain and wind. I still have the other half to do but that will wait until the temps warm up.

David Kaiser has a good retrospective of the last century and a half of our history. The last paragraph is disturbing. Summary: for most of this country's history the major parties, the major institutions and most citizens shared an interest "in preserving the legitimacy of the government." But now that shared interest has broken. Most people don't remember when respect for government was deep and wide spread--they are too young. But another thought just jumped into my mind: the government itself has been responsible for the decline in respect. The Korean War, Vietnam, demands for civil rights resisted vigorously and now seemingly being rescinded in various sneaky ways, NAFTA, off-shoring of jobs. Through all it people in the lower levels of the economy feel not only forgotten by government but directly hurt by the policies government promises will help and protect them.

I saw that only three members of the U.N. Security Council voted for a Russian draft resolution calling for an independent investigation into the explosions of the NordStream pipelines. Only three of the fifteen members of the Council voted for it while the other 12 members abstained. Only Brazil and China supported it. Sweden, Germany and Denmark are already conducting their own investigations. I would guess that Russia would like to be in a position to tailor the results to their own narrative as would the U.S. 

April 1

 Well, Happy April Fools' Day and there sure are a lot of fools out there. 

The Indictment dominates the news cycle and I have already heard enough. I was glad when it came down. At least a majority of the members of the grand jury ruled that there was probable cause to believe that The Former Guy committed criminal acts. Now the matter has to go before a court where the issue will be heard in a court and subjected to examination and cross-examination. Now the DA has the harder task of proving the matter beyond reasonable doubt to a jury that has to rule unanimously. We have taken pride for generations that we are a "nation of laws not of men" and that those laws apply to all. It annoys me when some whine that "we have never indicted a President (or ex-President) before. So what. We have been damned lucky given some of the occupants of the White House we have elected. 

Another thing annoys me: most of the pundits focus on the "hush money" payments. Yeah, that is so salacious--paying off a porn star. But those business records aren't the only ones TFG and his people falsified. His organization and the CEO were convicted not long ago of corrupt business practices that involved similar falsifying of records and tax evasion.

As you have probably guessed I have already switched to something else: the Harry Potter marathon on the SyFy channel.

We woke up to severe weather alerts on our phones. Evidently thunderstorms rolled through with the threat of tornadoes. Most of that has passed and we have grey skies with drizzle. And much cooler temps. It was around 65F yesterday but can't be much above 40 now.

March 31

 Last day of March which is the end of the first quarter of 2023. The year is continuing the chaotic pattern of the last several years.

Well, we have seen another unprecedented move: The New York Grand Jury has issued indictments (still under seal until the arraignment) against TFG. I have been listening all morning to snippets from his Republican sycophants bemoaning the "witch hunt." Robert Reich distills the arguments and rebuts them succinctly. About 130 years passed before a President (Andrew Johnson) was impeached (but not convicted.) Another 130 years passed before a second President (Bill Clinton) was impeached (but, again, not convicted). Barely 30 years passed before a President (TFG) was impeached twice (but not convicted either time.) Only one President (U.S. Grant) has ever been arrested--for speeding in a horse-drawn carriage. Although several Presidents (I won't list them) had been associated with scandals they were never brought into court over them. I am amazed that we have gone so long before this kind of thing happened. 

I am constantly amazed at the inane comments politicians make. One state representative commented on the demand for gun safety laws by insisting that "you can't legislate away evil." Well, maybe not--but you can legislate against evil actions. Or, that what ever measure is proposed won't stop X, Y, or Z incident. Well, perhaps not but it might make the incident more difficult, mitigate the casualties, or might prevent incident A. Or, the measure will not prevent all gun deaths. Well, what they are really saying is that because they can't prevent all deaths they can't prevent any deaths. And it is interesting that they claim they can't legislate gun safety but they sure can legislate a woman's options for health care.