May 31

 Another nice sunny start to the day--the last day of May. I put the air conditioning on for the last three days. I have already been out on the patio to water plants. We picked up the potting mix I needed to finish filling the pots I want to fill. Saturday I will look at getting the remaining plants I need.

It seems too nice a day to think about this but better than in the middle of either a heat wave or a winter ice storm. Some years ago Ted Koppel wrote a book (Lights Out) about the fragile electric grid and its vulnerable to cyberattack. At that time he noted that replacing critical components could take 6 to 8 months. As the Doomberg article says the lag time in the replacement supply chain is more than a year. I couldn't read the whole article because the last half was behind a pay wall. But I hope the authors mentioned that the biggest problem with the supply chain is how much of it is outside the U.S.

I have been sardonically amused by the "debate" about the debt deal. What I have said about economic data and programs holds with this fiasco as well. The opinions entirely depend on what numbers the partisans are focused and the political "philosophy" they spout. I put philosophy in quotes because I don't want to imply they are really thinking systematically enough to have a real philosophy. They just have prejudices masquerading as a philosophy.

That State Farm Insurance has decided to no longer write homeowners policies in California because of the risks of wildfire and the escalating construction costs. What is surprising is that it took them as long as it has. Such insurance is difficult to get and very costly when the customer can get it at all on the east and gulf coasts after the very costly hurricane seasons of recent years.

I have seen stories on this issue for a while now. I see two different sources of the problem. One is the "organized retail theft" illustrated by the picture of the ski-masked thieves filling the carts with merchandise. I don't know when that picture was taken but it is reminiscent of stories during the Great Recession of Tide suddenly becoming a unit of currency on the streets. These are the people going after the high value values "in bulk." The second is picture of the "vagrant" taken down by the security people. Some of those may be after something of higher value but not in high volume. However, most of this group are homeless who may be going after food. However, the notion that many retailers are or are planning to abandon the cities because of the problem. If we think about that a moment we realize that the problem will simply be relocated  to small cities and towns and the suburbs. Over the last decade we have seen several episodes of this. Our local Target was robbed of electronics several times within a single month. The nearby computer store shut down after the second smash and grab robbery cleaned them out--again within a couple of weeks. Our local meat market installed a series of concrete reinforced metal pylons in front of their door at the insistence of their insurance company after a robber smashed their door trying to rob a cash register (which is emptied every night.) If the retailers leave the big cities we can expect the theft to move out to where the merchandise is.

May 30

Another sunny day--at least so far. We have errands to do so we'll see how much reading I get through.

Heather Cox Richardson posted a piece that included excerpts from a pamphlet the War Department (nowadays titled the Defense Department) distributed to military personnel in Europe in 1943 defining Fascism. Reading through it I kept seeing trends in our current turmoil.

Well, Moscow evidently experienced a drone attack which the Russian media  claimed did little damage. The discussion on the morning news/talk show I was listening to left me with a number of questions. First, is there any evidence about who actually launched the drones? I didn't hear any. Second, is there any evidence that whoever launched the drones is attached or under any control of the Ukrainians? I didn't see any. As they talked I remembered a couple of stories that makes me wonder. A couple of sabotage incidents were filmed by people who claimed to be Russian dissidents--like the bombing of military planes in eastern Siberia. 

Another interesting discussion on the same show: more high school graduates are deciding against college. Instead, they are looking for apprenticeships or mentorships. Most cite the exorbitant cost of a college education. I can agree with that assessment.

Improve the News has a piece on the vigilante movement in Haiti. This shouldn't really surprise anyone given how ineffective establishment organizations have been in curbing the gangs. It is interesting that the current (unelected) Prime Minister insisted the government needs tanks, helicopters, drones and other high tech toys. I would wonder about who the government would actually target if they got those resources.

May 29

 Happy (Official) Memorial Day. Evidently the airlines learned something after the debacle of last year. Things seem to have gone smoothly for the travelers this year. As usual we are staying home and it looks like we will have a nice, warm, sunny day. I have some plants to pull because they didn't survive transplanting. But Saturday the seasonal market opens and we will visit. Vendors there always have some interesting plants.

I hope this really hits those idiots hard. It follows a long established notion that the convicted perpetrators of crimes that attract a lot of public attention can't use their crimes as a way to benefit financially. Just because other idiots are fool enough to donate money or buy books or go to movies based on the crimes doesn't mean the criminals should be able to benefit from their crimes.

It looks like both the RepTHUGlicans and DAMNOcrats are trying to take victory laps I don't think either really deserve any credit. They merely decided on a bad that was less than dreadfully awful. I think of the station commander in the second Independence Day movie telling his pilot that he didn't get credit for cleaning up his own mess. Both sides have made the fiscal difficulties worse over time. Each side threw billions (trillions?) at problems while trying to tell us that you can't solve problems by throwing money at them. Of course, each side were referring to the problems the other was favoring for the cash. Denise Donaldson has a long post that says much the same.

David Kaiser presents an interesting take on where we are and where we might be going as a society through a look at "Seinfeld". I never watched the show. In fact, I watched very few of the shows Kaiser mentioned. Only a few of the Cosby episodes but most of the Father Knows Best and Dick Van Dyke. I always felt caught in the middle of that first "culture war." I didn't have much sympathy with the rebels but the traditional was never very comfortable. In some ways, the current "culture war" is between those who are trying to reimpose the way they think things were on those of us who say "No way, Jose." Therefore we have those who want to outlaw women's agency with respect to motherhood; who want to outlaw LGBTQ agency with respect to who they love, who they marry, and whether they can openly express their personhood; who want to erase whatever about U.S. history makes them uncomfortable such as African slavery, genocide of Natives, despoiling of the environment, etc. And we have the other side who thing we haven't gone far enough. I read last week that there are some legislators in a few states trying to roll back no-fault divorce hoping to support traditional marriage which was a miserable straight jacket.

May 27, 28

 Almost the end of another month. I have to water the gardens today and check things out. After a very cool overnight the temperature is rapidly rising. We are supposed to stay in the 70s today and tomorrow. Some of the plants that didn't like the heat seem to be reviving.

Finally got out and watered plants. Most are doing pretty well. I dead headed a couple of the. However, my rosemary and spices oregano aren't doing well at all. I'll see if they come back. I thought everything would be ok yesterday--guess I thought wrong.

I have been listening to some of the RepTHUGlican politicians insisting that recipients of food assistance had to work (somehow). A couple amend that a wee bit by insisting that "able bodied" adults are the only ones they want to target. I just looked up the requirements for an adult getting such assistance. Guess what? adults have to be at least 60 and whose income is less that 185% of the federal poverty level. That doesn't sound like a terrible drain on the public purse.

Crooks & Liars focuses on some Senators focusing on another part of the budget no RepTHUGlican wants to look at: defense contractors and their habit of price gouging. The Pentagon has never provided a satisfactory audit and yet their budget increases every year. I also have to ask why we have to spend more that the next ten most prolific countries for defense spending. China spends less than half what we spend.

28*****************************************************************

Nice and sunny today. The weather forecasts say we are in for a bit of a heatwave over the next week. I have already watered everything in the gardens. I swept up the empty seed shells the birds had thrown down. But there isn't much else to get done until next Saturday when I will see what plants the local "farm" market has this year. The quotes are because a lot of it isn't really farm produce.

I have been following the debt ceiling negotiations. McCarthy and Biden finally came to an agreement. The vote won't be until Wednesday because McCarthy promised his caucus 72 hours to read the text of any bill they have to vote on. Evidently he is also going to release it to the public. Actually those are measures I think are good. What I have heard so far still makes my skeptical antennae quiver. First, I didn't see any reduction in the Defense budget. Second, the cancellation of the funds earmarked for the IRS will benefit only the ultra rich whose chance of being audited has just gone way down. Third, I remember all too well the difficulty a couple of people I know had in getting the aid they need after debilitating health crises. The people administering the various programs insisted they work when neither were able to do so and their doctors insisted they weren't physically able. However, I agree with Robert Reich that the measure should pass because the only alternative would be a default that would be much worse. Actually, the measure that holds the spending to the current levels for the budget coming up for negotiation soon and to a 1% increase next year. If the Pentagon soaks up most of that I will be very pissed.

May 26

 We got our errands done easily yesterday. Dropped off a stack of DVDs which we no longer want to keep at the library. They have a nice DVD section that you can borrow from just like books. Then checked out a new bookstore/coffee bar. Really nice--sort of a little sister to the Tattered Cover in Denver. Only one floor but nicely laid out. I blew my budget for books for the coming month. Coffee was pretty good as well. Then we went over to our landlord's office and paid the rent. We hadn't intended to go out today but Mom wanted to take care of a balance at the local big box grocery store we generally shop at so we went over and got it paid.

Robert Reich is absolutely right in calling out the both-sidesism of the news reporting on the debt ceiling situation. After it is only a Republican who has said they don't need to negotiate with "our hostage." It is only the Republicans who have constantly moved the goal posts to include poison pills. The old saying is that it takes two to make peace but only one to make war (or any other conflict.)

May 25

 We have a couple of errands today. I got a trellis set up yesterday and changed the position of a shepherd's hook that wasn't working out. Also moved the indigo to a new container and planted some pole beans. And in a nice surprise a bumblebee flew past. Bees of any kind have been rather scarce for the last few years. The birds have been active and I am filling the feeder more frequently. A beautiful cardinal shows up and pecks as the seed on the cement the other, smaller birds have scattered. I don't sweep up the hulls as often as I used to to give them all a chance at the seed.

Denise Donaldson writes that "Normalization is a dirty word." I agree. Too many actions, trends, events, etc., have become "normalized." They shouldn't be. We shouldn't come to expect mass shootings. We shouldn't come to expect anti-anyone violence--be they Jews, blacks, women, trans, Muslims, Asians, or anyone else. I have added "normalization" to "collateral damage" and "thoughts and prayers" on my list of words/phrases I absolutely hate.

Jan in SanFran posted an interesting piece. I have seen several stories like this one. And I have seen others which are similar but subtly different. The story in the link involved individuals: ex-patriot Russians and Ukrainians. The Ukrainians refused to participate in their panel if the Russians spoke at their different panel. The Russians didn't support Putin, his war, or his army's brutality. It didn't matter they were Russians. It was no better than Putin's insistence that there has never been and is not now any such thing as Ukraine or Ukrainians. Attempts to erase people won't work. On another hand, what do you do about appearances which burnish the Russian state--like international sports events. A few individual athletes may openly express their disagreement, like the Iranian women who expressed their political opposition, and suffered retribution as a result. The Olympic organizers have tried to solve that problem by allowing the teams to participate but not under the flag of the country. Boycotts, like sanctions, are a very blunt weapon and causes a lot of, how I hate the word, collateral damage.

Jan in SanFran makes a comparison with the sanctions against South Africa's apartheid regime which finally led to the end of that government. However, throughout history, every weapon ever wielded works only until countermeasures are devised. Sanctions worked against South Africa but have been far less effective against Iran or Russia. The difference? South Africas brutal white supremacist regime which victimized the majority black population united much of the global South with the western nations. Sanctions work only when countries agree to go along. Much of the developing world see the sanctions against Russia and Iran as the West's cultural war against non-Western societies. They have a lot of incentive to evade the sanctions.

Our politicians have "negotiated" for three days this week and come up dry on a "compromise" that would avoid a debt ceiling crisis. I put those words in quotes because there is little resemblance between the definitions of the words and the way things have been working out. I am far more in sympathy with the Democrat position: the Republicans should do what they did under The Former Guy three times enabling him to add more to the debt than all presidents before him. What really irritates me is that we will probably trade the debt ceiling stand-off for a budget negotiation which will threaten a government shutdown later this same year.

May 24

 Haven't looked at the weather channel but so far it looks promising for a clear day. Well, between that first sentence and this one I checked my bank account, explored a topic that suddenly popped into my mind, and checked the weather channel. Today's temperatures should be cooler by about 10F.

I agree with Robert Reich on this: not my religion, not my god. As I said to the last religious idiots who came around trying to get my support on a petition to, as they put it, "bring prayer back into the schools:" WHOSE prayers? I can bet those pushing "allowing" teachers and students to pray in class won't allow Jewish prayers, pagan prayers, Hindu prayers, Muslim prayers... . I put allow in quotations because I have read too many accounts of "voluntary" participation leading to harassment of those who didn't volunteer.

May 23

Looks like a nice sunny day. I think the forecast I read yesterday predicted temperatures in the mid 80s. I will have to get out early to water plants. Those temperatures will dry out the plants quickly. Some of my plants are not doing as well as I would expect. But the heatwave hit too soon for them to get well establish. Most of the others are doing very well. I will have to get my dehydrator out soon for those that are doing well. I definitely have to dig out the valerian this fall because it isn't coming in as thickly as it has over the past two years. It is one of the few plants that are truly perennial in my little microclimate.

I think I am getting more than a little tired and irritated by the useless, repetitive, spiteful, and costly "investigations" coming out of the partisan divide in Washington. They aren't really investigations, at least not on the Republican side.They are intended to improve TFG's position and diminish Biden's and nothing more. Unfortunately, these exercises are funded by taxpayers. Worse the "Weaponization of Government" committee has no real rules. What ever Jim Jordan wants goes and all the Democrats can do is call him out. TFG's use of the Justice Department as his own army of bullies isn't at all discussed. "Weaponization of Government" it seems only applies to Democrats since 2020. Republicans can do no wrong.

Another day and another failed "negotiation" over the debt ceiling. How do you negotiate with a robber who holds a gun to your head and demands "your money or your life." The biggest problem is that the robbers (Republicans) want everyone's money--unless you are part of the military-industrial complex. Did anyone notice that the new demand yesterday was that the 20%+ reduction in discretionary spending was to be funneled to an increase in the Pentagon budget. So SNAP, TANF, Medicaid, IRS, etc., etc., etc., are cut while the largest budget which has never been seriously audited. Accountability?? Depends on who you are.

Well, at least some parties can negotiate an agreement. It isn't quite finalized and I wonder where the $1.2 billion the Federal government is planning to spend to shore it up will come from.

Tomdispatch has an interesting post comparing white nationalist violence  in the U.S. with Hindu nationalist violence in India. Too often the news of late has had some story about some form of nationalism rearing its head. Putin is big on Russian nationalism couples with state support for the Russian Orthodox Church and a critique of the West's decadence. Victor Organ is equally focused on Hungarian nationalism while vilifying non-European migrants trying to enter.

Bill Astore has an interesting observation about the ubiquity of the commercials for legal drugs. I think I have mentioned several times over the years that I hate the ads and hate being sold to. He ties the drug ads to the repetitive vilification of Russia. I think he is on to something there. I don't like the Russian invasion of Ukraine and what they have done there. But I don't have to see them as evil incarnate. Mobsters of the mind, indeed, no matter what they are "selling."

May 22

Last full week of May. I didn't do much yesterday. It was nice but didn't really have the energy to do more than plant the lavender we picked up Friday. Today has been more productive. I got the freezer organized so I know what we have and where it is. We generally have to do that twice a year. I have also had to change how I use my iPad and MacBook. Recently they have not kept a charge the way they used to. I think the batteries are nearing the end of their useful life. But to get some more use out of them I won't be playing any games on the iPad and I won't keep a many windows open on the MacBook. Hopefully that will keep them going.

I found this post this morning by Thomas Zimmer. He makes an interesting point that the media is asking the wrong question concerning The Former Guy. They seem to have decided that they do have to cover him because he is, unfortunately, a viable candidate to be the Republican Nominee. Zimmer says that the question should not be DO they cover hime but HOW they cover him. Towards the end of his administration many outlets were deciding to curtail their coverage especially considering the clown show his COVID "briefings" had become. And a good many also were more selective about what of his rallies, press conferences, town halls, and so-called debates they actually covered. Even his favorite Fox News was curtailing his screen time. Most are continuing the policy. Zimmer makes several more good points. The article is a bit long. 

The Free Press has a long article concerning the attempts of parents and children to deal with social media and other tech. The effects of social media on kids have been a major story on most of the news media for a while now. Some parents, like the ones featured in the article, are trying to limit their kids exposure to the technology but that is a bit of a struggle when it seems to be pervasive. The kids who don't have the smartphones are isolated in a society where most do.

Robert Reich sums up the current stand-off over the debt ceiling. I have a deep antipathy toward blackmail which should tell you where I stand. They say that it take two to to end a fight but only one to start one. I would say the same for negotiation. At the moment we don't have two willing parties to the talks. Some say that Biden is unwilling but unwilling for what? Unwilling to yield to Republican demands which will only become more extreme if he yields anything. They are holding a refusal to pay debts already amassed unless Biden agrees to shred the small part of our country's already passed budget that deals with the day to day operations. They should pass the debt ceiling and then fight over the next budget. What really pisses me off is that they threaten to put sand in the gears of government now and then to do it again with the budget. We have had more deadlocks and government shut down in the the past four decades from the failure to pass a budget. So lucky us; we get a twofer this year.

I have been reading something on the problems of big box retailers expecting to take big hits on their bottom lines because of "organized retail crime." Target alone said in a new release that they expected to lose $500million from such theft alone. The retail industry, individual chains, and allies in state legislatures are busy putting through new legislation for tougher penalties. Interestingly, people who may not actually be part of an organized theft ring are getting swept up and (surprise, surprise) the darker members of the poor populations are getting charged more frequently under the "OCR" laws because those carry harsher penalties. And according to other reports, a couple of which are detailed, the stores are blaming theft for their own failures adjust to a changed retail environment, their overenthusiastic expansion and their customers' shift to online retail.

John Ganz says he has been banished from Twitter. I remember the item he thinks might have gotten him banned. I followed a link to it though I don't follow Twitter. I saw nothing wrong with it. He didn't actually threaten anyone. No one seems to understand sarcasm or conditional constructions. But Ganz is definitely not sympathetic toward a gun toting, (supposedly) conservative philosophy that the new management is supporting.

I couldn't resist re-posting this cartoon I found on Crooks & Liars. I think it hits the bullseye on DeSantis.

May 20

 Nice and sunny today. Hoping it stays that way. Yesterday it started out that way and got so warm I changed out of my sweats into shorts and t-shirt when we came home from shopping. I didn't do much else except play and read. We had a large load this time because we had to replenish so much. The best place to get the cat supplies is the big box store that is about five miles away. If all we need is bread or fresh veggies or such we go over to our other supermarket which is less than half a mile away. It saves gas and our own energy. It took awhile to get everything into the house and put away what we brought home. We won't have to do that again for two or three weeks--when we are low on cat food. And yes our fur babies are picky.

Heather Cox Richardson has a substack post this morning on the Republicans shutting down the debt ceiling talks because the Democrats won't let them rule the show as though they we're the majority in the whole government when they are only a slender majority in the House. (Actually she posted late yesterday but I was already in zombie mode.) I am terminally disgusted with their "holier-than-thou, loud-mouthed, my-way-or-the-highway" attitude. How disgusted? Well we are watching Premier League soccer instead of news. And then the Bully-who-was-once-President decided to chime in and urge the littler bullies to hang tough and let the debt ceiling deadline pass.

Cox Richardson notes the interactions Janet Yellen had with finance ministers at the G7 and the worry expressed by questions about what is going to happen. But I doubt very much that will in any way move the Republicans. We have lived in a global political/economic world for a long time during much of which the U.S. has been the big gorilla. Our current leadership have never known a world in which this country hasn't had an outsized position and voice. The Guy's slogan in his (regretfully) successful 2016 campaign was "Make America Great Again." But he doesn't realize that the conditions that made the age in which most Americans would say we were great don't exist any more.

Two interesting stories I found one after the other. I won't link because you can easily find articles yourself. One noted that New York City is sinking at a rate of 1-2mm per year with some areas sinking at twice that rate because of the weight of the buildings. That isn't good news for a coastal city with sea levels rising and the risk of hurricanes or other storms also increasing. And Indonesia is moving its capital because Jakarta is sinking with almost half of the city already under water. It's problems are partly due to sea level rise but also because the residents have tapped into their aquifers for fresh water and the land is subsiding as the water is withdrawn.

Well, I guess there won't be much of a "green revolution" in the State of Oil and Gas Texas. Abbott just signed a new law which will levy a $400 tax for EV owners to register their vehicles and a renewal fee of $200 per year on top of the already levied $50.75 renewal fee. I can understand some kind of fee to replace the gas tax since that is what maintains the roads. But Texas has one of the lowest gas taxes in the country. This is simply gouging.

May 19

Looks like another mild day with more clouds than yesterday. Don't know how much I will get done because it is a shopping day. Update: I think showers are starting to move in but we finished our shopping and everything is put away. 

This is interesting. I take any statistics with a grain of salt. Shadowstats still puts the unemployment rate at around 25%.

OH, my, this is very interesting: the COVID virus may be far more persistent, even after death, than we thought.

May 18

 We should have a nice sunny day with moderate temperatures. I think I will work on getting the remaining containers in the garden filled. Also need to water the plants since we aren't expecting any rain for the next couple of days.

Another story about drug shortages. For a moment I thought how odd it is how often these stories are coming in. But then I thought about a time about ten years ago when Mom and I were in the local CVS because Mom needed to see the Nurse Practitioner. While I waited I looked at the shelves and was struck by the number of shelves empty or almost empty. The only shelves that were full were the ones with toys, seasonal items (I think it was just before Halloween) and makeup/grooming products. It struck me as odd because I worked as an inventory counter for a few years in two states and I remember shelves so stuffed it was hard to actually get a count. Stores never left shelves empty or even partially filled. But that trip to the CVS was just after the "Great Recession" when the pundits were trying to convince us that we were rapidly recovering. We weren't. Since then we have had a pandemic and several supply chain shocks.

Charles Hugh Smith posted a nice piece which describes how precarious our situation is in this country. We haven't used the terminology but the concept is at the base of many of our discussions here. We are both over 70 and Mom is over 90. We still both drive but we often brainstorm our options if the car dies or if neither one of us can drive. Living in a medium sized city we do have options. We still have a choice of grocery stores. And Mom has a long relationship with her medical specialist. We still haven't found a good GP but do have the alternative of several "urgent" care centers and two hospitals. But we are always considering what happens if...

Well, I guess Disney has really shown Mr. Anti-Woke DeSantis who is boss in Florida. I wonder how much of the remaining $17billion he is willing to lose for his state.

May 17

 A bit on the cool side this morning. Weather predictions put the potential high at mid-60s. I pulled out a set of sweats yesterday. During the last couple or three weeks my wardrobe has moved from winter to spring to summer and back to winter.

Yesterday I linked to a dismal story about the expected not-very-good winter wheat harvest over here. Environmental problems, however, aren't the only issues affecting the food supply. I found this story about the effect of the sanctions on Russia on the cod and crab supply. The US cod fishing and processing industry has been under pressure for a good while as the data the article noted dropping from harvesting 100million pounds of fish in the 1980s to less than 2 million in 2020. The problem there has been overfishing combined with warming ocean waters which collapsed the cod population.

Last year I saw pictures of the Po River in northern Italy with long stretches parched and dry from the drought they experienced for a couple of years. Now I watched BBC cover the flooding in the same area. This Reuters article covers it nicely.

The reports I saw this morning about the debt ceiling talks followed a very familiar course. The Republicans are demanding spending cuts they weren't able to get through the budget process as a ransom for raising the ceiling until the next time the country's borrowing bumps up against the limit. They always demand cuts that won't cut the spending directly but will do so by making it onerous for those who want or need to get certain benefits to get them. Fewer people = less money spent. They always seem to think that the programs are rife with people who could work but "won't." I have known two people who needed disability but had to go through all kinds of hoops. One was a woman, who has since died, who suffered a major stroke. The stroke left her weak and with mobility problems but the officials continually wanted her to provide new proofs that she couldn't work. No matter how many doctors attested to her disabilities they demanded more--on the assumption, I guess, that some one would finally give them the diagnosis they wanted: she was a freeloader who could work. The other has rheumatoid arthritis which has been crippling. So crippling that they are now checking out a motorized wheelchair. She also now is fighting cancer. She had to continually provide more proofs to be approved and then had to fight doctors who thought she was faking the pain to get pain killers. One actually yelled at her she needed to grow up and kick her addiction. It would be funny if it wasn't so maddening that the biggest cheats on government largess have been "upstanding" businessmen and doctors. But the Republicans want to acknowledge are the poor.

I found a mention of a fire that destroyed one of Russia's supersonic bombers but had explore the story on Google because I had exceeded my limit on the original site. Here is a story by Popular Mechanics that elaborates on the story. Key points: the fire the story focuses on isn't the only on. Several more have happened well away from the Ukrainian border. And the Russians have lost some 60 aircraft in Ukraine. Putin must be taking industrial antacids for his ulcers. Worse, the people sabotaging the aircraft are Russians.

I found this Guardian story about the problems of Brexit after finding a tease on a site that is behind a pay wall. They still haven't solved the problem of the Northern Ireland border and many of the expected  benefits of Brexit appear to have been more than countered by the drawbacks. And no one really knows how to fix the problem--or even wants to acknowledge it.

Bill Astore has a new substack post on our health care industry. As so many commentators say about so many aspects of our society/economy "follow the money." Another blogger I read frequently refer to health care as "sick care" and notes that the aim seems to be to make sure we remain sick enough to keep paying them. 

May 16

 Should be sunny and dry today which will be good to finish off some of my planting. UPDATE: Just finished planting the last plants I bought a couple of weeks ago. I still need 8 plants to fill all of the containers. I put the rosemary, spicy oregano, chives, and half of the remaining alyssum into single small pots. The other half went into the pots with the hibiscus plants.

Most of what this piece at Naked Capitalism covers remains stuck in the local news and doesn't get picked up by national media so I only caught pieces of it. I am surprised that I wasn't more surprised at the rise in attacks on hospital personnel and I am not at all surprised that the response is to create new private police forces in hospitals. I wonder how much tat would add to the cost of medical care. We are already doing that for schools so why not?

Hmmm..? This doesn't sound at all good. 

May 16

 Welcome to half-past May and hope everyone had a great Mothers' Day. Ours was quiet. Several of the family called Mom and the elder of my brothers sent a very pretty bouquet of flowers. We had spotty rain yesterday and chilly temps. The forecast is for mostly cloudy and cool again today. I will late til tomorrow to do anything outside.

David Kaiser posted "Why U.S. medical care can't be fixed." At first I read the title as "medicare" rather than "medical care" but the arguments apply to medical care generally and to Medicare specifically. Each new procedure or new drug seems to be far more expensive and deliver significantly less. It has been well reported for at least the last 30 years that medical care in the U.S. costs far more than anywhere else in the world but by every measure falls far behind all advanced  nations and many of the poorer ones. I saw a story over the weekend about two cases of ringworm in New York City where the causal fungus is resistant to multiple anti-fungal drugs used to treat it.The resistant strain has been responsible for an increasing number of cases in Asia and one of the two patients had recently returned from Asia. The other had never been outside the U.S. And I also read over the last couple of months that ringworm cases are increasing in the southern U.S. Guess which kinds of drugs are NOT being developed by our Pharma industry--anti-fungals and antibiotics. Take a look at the role the industry lobbyists have played in making sure that the companies could rake in obscene profits both on the front end when they get subsidies to develop the drugs and on the back end where health insurance companies and Medicare/Medicaid have to pay for them.

May 13

 Almost half past May. It's already been a stressful morning. My iPad suddenly shut down because the battery was almost drained. I don't know why it failed to charge over night. I was in the middle of a new e-book when it quit. Well it is now recharging but why it wasn't before I have no idea. It is recharging now so I hope all will be well. On the garden front, I saw something hopefully: the lemon balm and the mojito mint are trying to rise from near death. Yesterday was wet and cool. Today is wet and cool. Tomorrow is supposed to be less wet, overcast, and cool. I have a couple of places where they will get less sun and hopefully less heat.

I saw an interesting segment of a story on the Turkish elections coming up tomorrow. One of the interviews talked to a young woman wearing a hijab who planned to vote for Erdogan because he ended the government's ban on women's scarves. Her comment was that she felt free of the "tyranny of secularism." Another young woman, without a headscarf, planned to vote for Erdogan's opponent because she feared that the growing Islamism would take away her right not to wear a hijab. We have seen such struggles often in our history. For a long time many of the states had blue laws which forbade stores opening on Sunday. Even when those laws were nullified other laws restricted the sale of alcohol in stores on Sunday. We have had repeated struggles over gambling often led on one side by religious groups. Part of the issue over abortion is based in religious sensibilities that have never easily beside permissive secular attitudes. Sadly we never seem to find a "live and let live" balance. The young woman who is voting for the opposition in Türkiye cited harassment from religious individuals because she chooses not to wear the scarf.

May 12

 It is early yet with some clouds. Rain is supposed to move in later--just how much later is a question. I have already lost the lemon balm and, perhaps, the mojito mint. The heat just beat them up. I checked all the plants and the rest seem to be doing well. I remember a description of spring in St. Louis: the week of tolerable weather between freezing your ass off and baking in the urban oven. It feels like that here this year. If I had planted earlier the overnight temps would have killed the plants and now the heat.

Found this graph on The Free Press which is interesting. They also make a point that we have BOTH a mental health problem and a problem with an over abundance of guns. Arguing about which is the worst problem is counter productive. Worse--I don't think we have the political will or unity to deal with either.

By the way notice where the lines cross. That was during Ronald Reagan's administration when funding for the mental hospitals was cut and they started putting the patients out. I remember stories of patients being dumped out on the sidewalks of cities often dressed only in hospital gowns. I remember arguments between states as one state dumped their patients in other states or between cities for the same reason. 

The Free Press also has a bit about a controversy about the new Netflix series on African Queens featuring Cleopatra. The controversy involves the casting of a mixed race British actress as Cleopatra. Historians and Egyptian government officials are both irate. I decided to get some more details and found this BBC article. I laughed while reading the whole thing. First, I don't expect any accuracy from any media treatment of history or historical figures. Second, I have read a good bit of history and knew the Cleopatra VII, the last Ptolemy queen and the last Egyptian queen before the Romans took over, was the descendant of one of Alexander the Great's generals and became the ruler of that part of Alexander's empire when it broke up after Alexander died. Alexander and his generals were Macedonian, in other words, they came from an area just north of Greece. Third, for the writers of the series to say that they didn't know anything about Cleopatras mother who may have been black. Well, that doesn't make Cleopatra black. (Unless you are an American who is still blinded by the "one drop rule." Look it up.) And, third, what the hell does "culturally black" mean? There is NO unitary culture in black Africa just as there is NO unitary white culture in North America or in Europe.

I haven't written about the latest mass shooting in Allen, TX. I have seen a couple of bloggers whose posts somewhat reflect my own thoughts. John Becket at his Under the Ancient Oaks site on Patheos makes some good points. The mass shooting rage we have seen for a while, and more frequently, are not usual. These shooters are NOT "normal" criminals. They might be anywhere you go and may strike at any time. He mentioned the "damned if you do and damned if you don't" the open laws in Texas have created. And moving is expensive but, if you can move, it might be a good idea to go to a state with sane gun laws. Another blogger, whose name I can't remember, said she now thinks very carefully about even going out, especially to anyplace where people gather. And she is always thinking about where she can hide or how she can get out. We talked about some of this. First, we have never wanted to live in Texas and more so with its insane government. Second, we really can't simply hunker down and order everything we need to be delivered. Instead we will continue our usual pattern and do our errands when there aren't very many people around. Some commentator noted that if a lot of people decided to stay homebound and order everything on line parts of the economy which are beginning to recover from the pandemic might crash. Another way you are damned if you do and damned if you don't.

Beckett has similar things to say about climate change. Like him, I don't expect much from government. First, climate change is a global but I don't see any political will to collectively address it. Second, those areas that will be most drastically affected are also the poorest areas. They need funds they don't have and technology owned by European and American corporations to change their societies and economies and the advanced countries are unwilling to provide funds or access to technology. I would add that most are and will be unwilling to take in refugees from the most affected areas. For those who have the means moving out of coastal areas or rapidly warming areas or areas that are drought prone is an option. For the rest of us we are on our own to adapt or...

May 9, 10, 11

 It was quite chilly yesterday and today won't be much, if any, warmer. We had rain so I only got four plants put in pots: the diplodenia and the hibiscus. I just finished putting my three mints (spearmint, mojito mint, and peppermint). Right now it is break time. I might leave the nest plants till this afternoon because it is about 10:30 so it will soon be time to fix supper. I finished the vacuuming before I started the planting so it has been a busy morning.

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Another nice day and another expected for tomorrow. I should get all or nearly all of my plants in pots before the end of the week. I finished a major rearrangement of the planters on the patio, got the area cleared so I could move the trash tote to a space where it won't obstruct the view of my plants. Red veined sorrel, bee balm, stevia, and tricolor sage are all in their places leaving only three petunias, a lavender, rosemary, and chives are yet to be transplanted. After that I will see what spaces I have yet for planting.

Well, The Former Guy has been found liable for sexually assaulting a woman he claims he never met and didn't know (in spite of photographic evidence) and is on the hook for $5million for defaming her. Not a good day for the Mar-a-lago retiree. Unfortunately all of the usual Republican sycophants are squealing like wounded rabbits.

And then there is George Santos who has been indicted and arrested. I haven't read the news reports yet so I don't know what the exact charges are. Another GOP liar's pants are starting to smolder.

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Some more planting and cleanup on the patio. I get a bit irritable when I remember when, not all that long ago, when I could get all the spring work done in, at most, two days. And I had about double the number of containers then.

Caitlin Johnstone put a good article on her site: "This civilization is mentally ill: notes from the edge of the narrative matrix." I agree on so many levels. I would go a little farther though. She doesn't see any kind of capitalism she can support but I would say that the flaws she sees are endemic in every form of human government because governments are composed of people and those flaws exist in us. As Pogo said "We have met the enemy and he is US." All civilizations have degraded their environments creating catastrophic conditions. As far as the industrialization of disinformation goes--again it has happened before, is happening now, and will happen in the future on all sides of any issue. It is worse because so many of us live in informational and social bubbles. And people often choose their bubbles based on what they already believe. A relative told me many years ago he chose to join his church because the doctrine aligned with his beliefs. He didn't expect to conform to the church. 

I saw something else somewhat unnerving yesterday. A reporter asked Rep, Donaldson (R-Fl) for his reaction to the E. Jean Carroll verdict. He followed the MAGA line about how much of a witch-hunt it was and all he saw was allegations from 30 years ago. When the reporter reminded him that TFG was found liable for the actions (no longer allegations) by a unanimous jury of is peers Donaldson snorted in derision and said "Don't tell ME about THAT!!" I guess the only legitimate jury is one that gives the verdict he believes. I have seen this attitude grow on both sides of the political spectrum but most strongly and pervasively on the right for the last 40 years.

Tom Englehardt posted this piece on Artificial Intelligence today. The author of a novel I read recently had one of his characters dealing with an AI generated manifesto. He, the character, insisted that it was machine generated to give verisimilitude to the notion of a terrorist manifesto. He raised an interesting question dealing with the students using AI generated homework essays: What are their mother's are no longer doing for them? Answer: homework. He also made the observation that Artificial Intelligence isn't really intelligent--it can only do what its programers program into it. And even if AI could think and draw conclusions on its own what would that look like? Would it really transcend human thought and creativity or would it mere resemble its creators? I have been thinking of all of the science fiction I have read on the subject wondering if any really come up with a human created intelligence that is significantly different from its creators and haven't found any yet. Asimov's robots, Battlestar Galactica's Cylons, 2001: a Space Odyssey's Hal,--none of them transcend the human intelligence that creates them. I think a greater danger in AI is that we come to depend on it and lose the ability to do without it.   - 

May 8

 The last four days have been unusual because we had errands to run each day. Normally we only go out once or twice a week. We went to the dairy on Thursday, the nearby grocery store on Friday, two garden centers on Saturday and, finally, yesterday we had to go out to Target and replace our vacuum which gave up the ghost suddenly. I also got 2 dahlias, ten petunias, and two alyssum planted. Between trying to help Mom figure out what happened to the vacuum and the heat that built up on the patio while I was potting the plants I was and still am exhausted. But I will be out planting some more--focusing on the larger plants first.

Random thought: it is amazing how the freedom to not wear a mask was defended with a stolen phrase of "my body--my choice" but freedom never is discussed when the issue concerns woman making a choice whether to continue a pregnancy. Instead the argument is all about the "baby" but none of the Republican politicians talk about the "babies" when a person with a battlefield weapon (or any gun) shatters babies in school or a mall or in a house. And the argument for the "2nd Amendment" never quotes the FULL amendment which says "A well regulated militia being essential to the security of the republic--." Tell me, please, how the mass shootings we have experienced is related to a "well regulated militia."

Bill Astore has a good post on Tomdispatch today. I am 74--a bit older than he is and I remember everything he talks about: the euphoria when the Soviet Empire disintegrated, the hope of a "peace dividend" which never appeared.

David Kaiser writes about the "decline of the nation-state". He has some interesting arguments and some interesting examples but I am going to have to re-read.

We have heard way too much about "cancel culture." Don Moynihan has an article this morning about that which takes apart another article where the author claims that she was cancelled because the Proceedings of the National Academy of Science rejected it. Moynihan not only provides a critique of of the notion of cancel culture but also demonstrates how totally misleading the article is which is really an opinion piece and not really a scientific study. The situation reminds me of people who think a blogger has to open their blog to any opinion by anyone.

Jan in San Fran has an interesting, and somewhat frightening, graphic describing the increase in mass shootings (4 or more victims not counting the shooter) since 1993. Note the assault weapons ban we once had was enacted in 1994 and expired in 2004. The graph shows an increase in both incidents overall but also in the most sever incidents in which resulted in more than 7 victims.

May 7

 We had rain overnight but I hope it will clear off. The soil in my containers is wet but it is workable. We did get to one of the two garden centers I wanted to visit yesterday. Mom didn't want to go to the other and I convinced her to go to the one in town. Walking much at all leaves her very tired. I did the shopping in the local store while she remained in the car. I did get the plants so I will start transplanting a bit later today. I stuck with herbs and flowers because veggies don't do well in my little patio.

Robert Reich has a short and, I think, accurate post on both the English monarchy and our presidency. We have too often given presidents too much credit and too much blame for things/events they have no more power to control than we do. The stock market drops, the president is to blame for either doing something to cause the drop or not doing something to prevent it. Another mass shooting--well he didn't ban assault weapons or he didn't provide the fund to beef up policing (or fund what ever other measure you think would solve the problem.) Damned if you do or damned if you don't. But at the same time we expect the pageantry that the monarchy gives the British. The British, reasonably, don't expect the monarch to actually rule. That is the politicians role.

NBC news posted this story about a community on Oahu that has been using bottled water since march because their water is contaminated by PFAS chemicals (a.k.a., "forever chemicals.)

Another horrific shooting in a Texas mall. I won't link because it is all over the news. Last count 9 dead and a similar number wounded. The usual meaningless "thoughts and prayers" are issuing from the mouth of the Repthuglicans. I listened to a couple of talking heads who finally telling them to stuff their hypocritical and meaningless oral s**t where the sun doesn't shine. One commentator even reminded one sanctimonious a**hole that "faith without works is meaningless." Another of said a**holes was quoted saying that those who pushed for gun safety laws "don't trust God to solve our problems." I remember an old saying "God helps them who help themselves." What are they doing, actually DOING, to solve our very human problems?

To expand that theme: I think our politicians don't deal with real problems because they don't want to. They would far rather gin up their fringe voters on "culture war" non-issues and bash the other side for not doing anything that will really benefit ordinary people. Why solve the immigration problem when they can put forward ideas they know won't go anywhere allows them to blame the other side? 

The Denver Post has this story which, I think, can be repeated in every city and town in the country. I have read and heard so many comments from perplexed economists and politicians who wonder why so many people are not content with what they see as a booming economy. I am not surprised because I see stories like the Denver Post offering about young, single, college grads who can't find a place they can rent, much less buy, on their own. The incomes have increased but the prices have increased faster and farther. The economists tout the low unemployment but I get on Shadowstats and see how many people have been erased from the statistics. The same goes for inflation data. I have seen repeated stories which indicate that there is NO county in which a person who earns the AVERAGE income can afford housing. Where are the politicians dealing with this?

Theadora Goss has a nice, easy post that I can easily relate to. I started out in this apartment with my Mother when I was a struggling PhD candidate trying to make progress on my dissertation (which I never finished) and trying to keep solvent economically without being a drain on my mother (a goal finally achieved when I retired 12 years later.) I started out with my library (or rather the library which resulted after it was reduced in the moving process) and research materials. Over the years the research materials and most of the physical library was given away and the bookshelves that contained. We have much more space now. The library has sprung anew on my e-readers (and yes that is plural) which takes up only a bit of space in my hand. My needlework has been culled a bit but I know I will never give it up completely. Life changes and the paths do take unexpected turns.

The New York Times has a long opinion piece on the failures of the CDC during the pandemic and what can be done to reform it. I don't know what the credentials of the author are but he does seem to hit some of the major problems including a clueless narcissist President who under cut the agency at every opportunity. As experts who know about such things remind us the next epidemic (or pandemic) is a matter to when not if. However, unless something changes on the social level, I don't expect any reforms will be as effective as we might wish. An old saying tells us that all plans are great until they meet reality. Too much of what happened reminds me too much of what I read about the 1918 flu: the "Anti-Mask League" demonstrating against mask mandates, business and customers angry when lockdowns were announced, people refusing  to quarantine. Any of that sound familiar? 

May 6

I hope we have another nice day. Looks good right now. We will visit the major greenhouses to see what they have. I didn't get any work outside done yesterday. After noticing a couple of doves pecking at the seed other birds had scattered on the patio I decided not to sweep all that debris up. At least not for a while. We have also seen a couple of visiting cardinals.

Right now the channel we usually watch is covering the coronation of King Charles and Queen Camilla. I read a couple of interesting pieces yesterday about the few remaining monarchies left among the nations of the world. The British are the only ones who continue the elaborate coronation ceremonies. Watching the ceremony I can see both the numerous references to the very long past (i.e., the anointing of the king goes back to the 900s) but also an acknowledgement of the present in the presence of representatives of the commonwealth nations, the presence of religious leaders who are not Church of England, and a look to the future which they hope will continue to include kings and queens. I will say the British do ceremony and pageantry so very well. The music was also impressive invocations to history, faith , and the present political realities (one hymn sung in Welsh, Scottish Gaelic, English, Latin).

Ok, time to get to the more mundane. The WHO has declared the pandemic over. At the same time I read that I read a bloggers post which noted that her daughter had come down with a case of COVID which forced them to alter their plans. Yesterday the news announced Rochelle Walensky's resignation as had of the CDC. I read a bit more this morning and I seems to me that she isn't in synch with the WHO decision or, perhaps, with the ending of Title 42 which was a health measure in name only while being used as an immigration action. I thought early on in the pandemic that COVID was something we would have to find ways to live with it. The last time we went for Mom's doctor's appointment we noticed the hospital where he has his office has made masks optional. We aren't wearing ours any more because we still avoid crowds (because we simply don't like being in them) and are fully vaccinated. I haven't read anything on new recommendations for next fall though I did see a report from Europe that their experts are not recommending another booster. Too many of the reports of how long lasting the immunity the vaccinations is in practice are totally contradictory. Improving the News presented this take:

Cynical narrative: Walensky's time as CDC director exemplified the disorganized, mechanical, and often detached nature of America's public health system. She was often at odds with both Republicans and the Biden admin., leaving no encouraging legacy as she steps down from the position. We don't know who will replace her, but hopefully, it's someone competent enough to whip the agency and the national public health apparatus into shape and restore more respect for human life.

The public health system is a disjointed as so much else in the country--by design. 

May 4, 5

Looks like a clear day--so far.

Well, it has been a nice and sunny day. Not surprising since I had a dental appointment. It is always nice on days I have to do something I really would rather not. I intensely dislike medical or dental exams. However, my desire to keep my teeth is stronger than my dislike and discomfort.

I found this article by way of Naked Capitalism. A frequent discussion here has been the consequences of moving industrial production overseas especially when that production involves military systems and equipment. We hadn't considered the effect of industrial consolidation in this country. 

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Looks like another clear day. I might get out and do some sweeping on the patio. We like feeding the birds but they are very messy eaters. I don't sweep up as much as some might because many of the birds will pick through what has been thrown down eating what they find.

An interesting thing about yesterday's dental appointment: they were struggling with a prolonged problem with their computer system. They said it was down last week and only barely working this week. They couldn't access or print out the patient records, schedule future appointments or bill the customers. I am sure they are going to have a lot of data entry to catch up. Sometime soon I should hear from them to schedule my next appointment and bill me for the last one. What is interesting is how often these problems are coming up. We have experienced several interruptions of our internet service. It used to be extremely annoying; now, we simply swear a bit and go on. We do wonder, though, because these interruptions and system crashes seem to be happening more frequently.

Considering computers and computer systems, this piece on Robert Reich's substack site is interesting. It makes you wonder where this technology is going. El Gato Malo is also wondering especially when one thinks about what AI means for the future of truth.  That raised some memories for me. About 35 years ago when the internet was in its infancy a computer literacy course I took introduced students to how sites manipulate information. The manipulation has become more pervasive. And the real source of the information is as difficult to pin down as the truth of the info. And that doesn't even begin to address the problem of political allegiances. Woke? Not Woke? What the hell does Woke mean anyway?

May 3

We had very gusty winds last night. The whistling kept me from sleeping well. Mom mentioned seeing a flash of lightning but whether we had rain with it we don't know. It is still too dark to see if things are wet outside. Next week should be in the 60s and 70s next week with nightly temps in the 40s and 50s. We plan to visit two of the garden shops we haven't visited for several years.

I guess this shouldn't be a surprise. Bloomberg reports Chicago has just concluded a $1billion deal to sell Lake Michigan water. They are hoping to attract chip and other water hog industries as port of the "blue economy." Chicago politicians are hoping to conclude more deals with the help of a federally program. I wonder what Indiana, Michigan, and Wisconsin think of the deal. I remember when Atlanta has a severe drought that nearly dried up its reservoir and proposed building a pipeline from the Great Lakes to Atlanta. Every state and Canada protested and Atlanta didn't help its case when news stories reported that wealthy residents simply paid a low fine and continued to fill their swimming pools and water their lush lawns. Since Lake Michigan is entirely within the U.S. boundaries I don't expect much from Canada but the other three states bordering the lake might not appreciate the move.

The RHYME OF THE ANCIENT MARINER spoke of "water, water everywhere--and not a drop to drink." Well, that can be rewritten as "water, water nowhere--not to drink or to grow food." This time we are considering the conditions in Spain where the Tagus river is low and a lot of farm land in areas that grow fruits and vegetables that feed a lot of people throughout Europe.

May 2

 Cloudy and wet so far. Nothing planned for today.

Robert Reich has posted a good piece on the state of U.S. children. It seems that the most severe threat to children's welfare is--a radical Republican government. An interesting tidbit in Reich's account is that the response of such governments to violations of child labor laws by big companies. They change the laws to favor the company. I saw a study some months ago which followed the fate of legislation based on where it originated. Laws proposed by labor organizations, community organizations, or citizens' groups rare (very rarely) were rarely passed into law. Those by corporate or industry lobbying groups or those allied but supposedly independent overwhelmingly were passed. I said yesterday that we don't have two parties; we have two wings of a single party both giving allegiance to the wealthy few, the big business and industry, and the military. And the argument is they provide jobs and contribute to the GDP. That is increasingly hard to credit as they shed jobs prodigiously.

I found this by way of Doomberg and it is a jolly read. We are down to the point where the grifters are giving way to the "true believers." I couldn't get all of the Doomberg article because the last half is for paid subscribers. I included that link in case some of you would like to go there.

Almost 200 years ago, in a reaction against the "to the victors go the spoils" philosophy of staffing the government, the U.S. established a civil service. Today the pendulum has swung again and certain politicians are waging a war on the "deep state" (a.k.a., civil service).

Welcome to May. The weather is much like April--cool and wet. I think the temperatures are supposed to be higher and the conditions drier next week. I hope to get to a couple of the garden shops I haven't visited for a while. I am looking for some new things to grow.

So what am I reading? Let's start off with this piece from Tomdispatch featuring piece they published before from Eduardo Galeano's book Children of the Days. Interesting enough I picked up an e-book copy.

I don't often agree with Chris Hedges. I continue reading for a perspective I wouldn't often see. This article, however, is right on point. A few people have noticed that the so-called debt ceiling bill the Republicans are thumping their chests over did not mention any reduction in the Pentagon budget. I have often said that we don't really have two "Wall Street" parties and, yes, the military-industrial-finance-intelligence cabal is part of Wall Street. That is why I didn't vote for either Clinton or The Former Guy in 2016. I can agree that we should have a prepared military but I can't see that throwing almost a trillion dollars a year at the military has given us a truly prepared military.

I lost the current post from Robert Reich on his substack before I could link to it and I can't get it back. However, to summarize, he suggests that Biden simply ignore the Republicans and continue to pay U.S. debts. Reich cites the 14th Amendment which mandates that the public debt of the U.S. "shall not be questioned" and the Federalist #40 which addresses the role of government in paying our debt. It would be interesting to follow the resulting case through the courts if Biden followed the advice.

 The Feds have taken over and sold First Republic Bank which has been tottering since Silicone Valley Bank went under. JP Morgan won the bidding and will take over thus becoming even larger. Earlier reports said the depositors would be fully protected while the stockholder would not be.

We haven't heard much of the Mississippi flooding. According to this article the drought of last fall helped mitigate the effects because the dry soil soaked up a lot of the sudden snow melt during the mid April heat.