May 31

 Good morning on this last day of May. I imagine that a lot of people, especially in the South will be glad to see the calendar page turn. Thankfully, we haven't had the same level of severe weather they have had but it has been somewhat odd. Mid summer heat alternating with early spring (or late fall) chill. So far the gardens have been doing pretty well. The Emerald Tower basil is a bit sickly but I hope it will revive. The farm market will open tomorrow for the Tuesdays and Saturdays of the coming season. Several vendors usually sell seedlings and I hope to find several for the remaining open spaces. We hope to visit the market more regularly and get more fresh veggies from the market this year. The pandemic thoroughly screwed up the pre-pandemic patterns and it hasn't been easy to get back in the groove.

Well, the jury in the hush money/fraudulent business records case convicted Trump on ALL 34 charges. I was somewhat surprised. I thought he was guilty as sin from what I heard but I knew we didn't hear everything. And others might view the evidence differently. Of course, Trump is playing the victim card proclaiming how persecuted he is by a "corrupt" system, a "conflicted" judge, and "liberal" jurors. Crap. Even the juror who claimed he/she got news from Truth Social and FOX voted to convict. It wasn't even a split decision (guilty of some, acquitted of others).

BBC, this morning, featured a new "personalized" cancer treatment entering trials in Britain. This article gives the details. It involves another use of mRNA techniques to create antigens using proteins from the tumors that may trigger the body's immune system to produce antibodies that may kill the cancer. Right now the technique is experimental and a lot of testing lies ahead.

Stray thought--Trump has continued his losing streak. Right now the tally stands 5-0. Bragg won twice (against the corporation and against Trump). Letitia James won once (tax evasion and fraud). E. Jean Carrol won twice (defamation with the judge telling Trump that by any normal definition of rape he had raped her). Three were civil court cases and two were criminal.

Another stray thought--several news anchors made a great deal about the fact that Trump is the FIRST former president to be charged and convicted of a felony. My take--we have been damned lucky that it hasn't happened before. But for Gerald Ford Nixon might have taken that dubious honor. If he hadn't died before the Tea Pot Dome scandal culminated Warren Harding might have had that record first place. We haven't had perfect presidents. We have had slave holders, presidents that sent in motion Native American genocide, authorized the incarceration without trial of American born people of Japanese ancestry, were failed businessmen. None have been quite as sleazy as the Donald. Though, now that I think about it, one vice-president (Spiro Agnew) comes close.

May 30

 May is almost over. Sunny today and I had to water one of the pots on the patio. It has a large plant and though we had, or seem to have had, a good bit of rain. Some of the plants will need watering tomorrow. 

Bill Astore posted this piece yesterday, I think. I lived through the late 1960s and 1970s. The situation now has echoes of that time. Different war, different protestors but similar responses. The major difference is that the police themselves have been more thoroughly militarized. We haven't had another Kent State (yet), but if we do the militarized police will probably do the shooting. Astore has another post (today's I think) that says something I thought as I listened to the news report that Biden had decided that Israel's attack on the tent camp in Gaza that 20+ civilians for each of the two (alleged) Hamas fighter claimed didn't violate his "red line." The Defense Department commentary made it plain that anything short of a mass deployment of personnel and tanks won't cross that line. This reminds me of the Supreme Court's "ethics code." The real trick for us is to realize that there is no "red line" just as there is no real "ethics code." It is all an illusion.

Medium published this article by Kelly Eden. I have read several articles about "ultra processed food" and noticed a lot of the confusion that Eden talks about. What actually constitutes "ultra processed?" A long time ago we cut out a lot of the prepared foods: microwaveable lunches, long shelf life sacks. We had several rules of thumb: how many ingredients, how many unrecognizable chemical additives, how much processing were involved. Over time we have added back several items we had eliminated partly for convenience or as a back up in case we couldn't get to the store to replenish our stores. However, those are our habits, and if someone else does something else it's their choice. 

May 29

Sunny with a bit of a breeze. I haven't seen the weather prediction for today yet. Hope it will be dry.

I think (hope) we are emerging from our technological hell. We spent yesterday trying to cancel one phone one service (and the phones with it) and replacing it (and getting more compatible--with us--phones.) To be fair, the Samsung A15 phones were not bad. We couldn't work with them--at least not in a timely manner. Although I could configure some of the features, I never did figure out how to answer a damned call. Punching the little green button simply didn't work--at least not for me. Mom and I both have our "senior moments" when we look at something and say "what in the hell did I want to do." At least with the new flip phones we just have to open it to answer and can easily navigate to the space for the number we want to call.

I saw an interesting article recently (can't remember where) discussing the problem of inflation and popular perceptions of "inflation." I put that in quotes because there are, at least, three ways to define the term. One is a technical definition economists use that I have to look up every time I have to think about what an economist I read has written. A second is a dictionary definition that describes increasing prices and/or declining purchasing power. The condition may or may not coincide with the technical definition. Third, is a definition that has permeates common conversation which says "Prices are too damned high." When reporters ask the "man (person) on the street" how they are feeling about the economy they usually bring in an economist who will say what the respondent feel isn't real. Or they rely on the dictionary and more statistics which show that prices aren't rising or wages aren't declining so, again, the respondent is feeling something that isn't real. Then they usually don't dig any further. And people don't like being told they are disconnected from reality.

Lyz at Men Yell At Me picked up the points I tried to make above. I remember all too often watching the very optimistic economic stories and commenting that the commentator obviously didn't do the grocery shopping.

Stray thought--I have mentioned before that holidays don't really mean all that much to Mom and me any more. Usually we just forget the holiday--until we want to go to the bank or wonder why we didn't get any mail. Evidently holidays do mean something to Trump. I can't remember a holiday over the last few years when he hasn't celebrated by putting out some kind of self-centered whine about how badly he is being treating and engaging in a spate of juvenile name calling while promising to get revenge if he wins re-election.

May 28

 Good morning. Sunny right now after a night with pulses of heavy rain. I haven't had to water the gardens more than once or twice in the last two weeks.

Stray thought--Trump has promised to deport the pro-Palestinian demonstrators if he wins the election. I have a couple questions. First, deport to where? Not all of the demonstrators, perhaps not even a majority, are foreign students. Many are Jewish protestors who oppose what Israel is doing but aren't Israelis. From what I have read you can't deport natural born citizens and can only deport naturalized citizens after legal proceedings showing cause for rescinding the naturalization of that citizen.  I do remember such rare deportations but those cases involved  people who lied on their applications and had been suspected of being Nazi war criminals. Second, do we really want to go down the road of quasi-criminalizing speech we don't agree with? I can agree that certain kinds of actions should not be characterized as speech, such as blocking highways or blocking access on college campuses to people who aren't protesting. But Trump's promise is just that--a criminalization of speech. Third, Trump white washes or totally ignores the violence perpetrated by people he can assume supports him: the white supremacists on Jan 6 and the "pro-Israel" counter protestors. The harassment of Jewish students that made them too afraid to walk their campuses should have been investigated and dealt with by various administrations who failed in their duty. Abusive harassment has become the norm.

Another stray thought--the news focuses on the "collateral damage" of Israel's attacks in Gaza especially the numbers of women and children who die. The news about the latest attack notes that Israel claims to have killed two Hamas fighters (often described as Hamas leaders) while the fires and shrapnel killed nearly 50 others. Not a good outcome unless you decided that any number of civilian deaths are justified so long as some Hamas combatants also die. (Note: if we question the accuracy of the Hamas run health agency figures on civilian deaths, we should also question the Israeli figures on Hamas casualties.) I saw ONE report about a response one Hamas leader gave to the question a reporter asked: how many Palestinian deaths are justifiable/acceptable. He said 100,000 isn't too many. We see two enemies locked in a death match. I put that phrase in quotes because damage is only collateral if it is the "unintended" result of your actions--even if the consequences are entirely predictable. The damage is real. I hate that phrase.

Naked Capitalism has a post from IM Doc that should be truly scary. IM Doc has been chronicling his experiences with patients who had less than optimal outcomes from the COVID vaccines. He has also noted new studies which back up his growing skepticism. We got the vaccines for Flu for the two years when the pandemic spiked and for COVID for about the same time. However, since the pandemic has waned and COVID has become a cyclical, and as new information has become available we have stopped. We don't like crowds and avoid them. We don't wear our masks now unless the place we are going requests it because complying is polite.

I have been a medical skeptic (minimalist) for several decades now. Some of it is a hard headed evaluation of what might happen and how much the medical care (which only might help) would cost. Mom was in the hospital for about four days with a viral    and the cost to us was a bit more than $2000. If Medicare paid 80% that makes the total cost more than $10,000. That doesn't include the ambulance and EMT charges which weren't covered. Thankfully, we were able to cover that cost. A lot of people can't. IM Doc's description of the quality of new doctors makes me even more skeptical. 

May 27

 Good morning on what looks like a rainy day--though not raining at the moment. It has been cooler lately which is nice. We turned on the air conditioning, intermittently, when the outside temperatures reached the mid 80s. Because of the lower temps it hasn't run for about a week. We try to only turn on the air in the evening to cool things for sleeping.

Stray thought--a few days ago a commentator on one of the news/talk shows threw out a line that no one else picked up: Hamas is more of an idea than an organization. The point was that Israel's war is futile because you can't kill an idea and which will inspire new generations to fight. But what no one notices is how often in human history we have fought ideas by killing as many of those who hold them as possible. Most of the last century was spent fighting Communism in the name of Liberty and Democracy. A recurring conflict has involved the adherents of one religion against another, or between those who hold on to one form of a religion against those who hold another form of the same religion. Those ideas survived the deaths of millions of believers and have revived in new forms. And the wars continue.

BBC had an interesting segment today on their regular CHIRP program today. The reporters noted a move toward dumb phones and away from the smart phones. Some people wanted to put limits on what had become an addictive activity: checking e-mail, news feeds, and other sites compulsively. Others waned simplicity: phones that had what they needed and not much else. That whole thing resonates with us. We changed our phone service and our phones with it. Then we decided to go with the service that supplies our internet and cable; but they only service their own locked smart phones. We chose what looked like the simplest but after a week of working with them have decided they simply don't work with us. There is so much on them that remembering what does what is a chore for both of us. So we are going to visit Best Buy which sells unlocked flip phones and get some information on possibilities. Sometimes getting everything in one package is not a good idea.

Bill Astore has a good piece on his Bracing Views substack. He starts off quoting Madison on the pernicious effects war has on democracy. He talks about the lost opportunities because of our spending on the military and wars. We have been involved in military actions of various intensity and duration since the Korean War. The only things about our society that have been augmented have been our military. Even the industrial complex that supports the military has been hollowed out by profiteering and off-shoring.

May 25

 Sunny for now and the nasty weather they predicted for last night missed us. Still trying to figure out the new phones and trying NOT to throw the damned thing so hard it will break. At least this phone is SOMEWHAT easier to use than the first one I tried. It is even harder for Mom than it is for me. She grew up in an age where the only phone available was in the landlady's apartment and she insisted tenants used it only in emergencies and made the call very short. I remember when most homes, in cities at least, had phones; my grandparents never got phone service on their farm. When I lived in northern Virginia we had a fight with the local phone company to get service that wasn't a party line and finally got it when our respective commands (all of us were military or civilian employees) got involved.

26**********************************************************************

Happy Memorial Day weekend. It is cloudy here with rain coming later maybe. I am won't water the plants today. I checked yesterday but, with the cooler weather and the possibility of rain, I don't think I won't need to water til tomorrow.

It looks like Trump got an unpleasant reception to the Libertarian conference. He tried to convince the audience that their aims were most aligned with his strain of Republicanism (which isn't really Republicanism) and got booed. He tried to use the old line that if they supported him they would win and got booed. Trump is really an authoritarian unmoored from any political philosophy and that isn't compatible with a small government and maximum individual liberty philosophy which marks Libertarianism. And Republicanism has proved no more a low tax ideology than Democrat philosophy. Remember who added $3Trillion to the debt with his tax cuts for his rich friends.

Found this by way of Naked Capitalism. The American pharmaceuticals industry bears more resemblance to the old traveling patent medicine shows of the 19th century every year. 

May 24

 Sunny right now but the weather people predict rain for this afternoon and overnight. We are working through some more problems with our phones. Yesterday, for about four hours, we couldn't make calls or receive calls. Sometimes we could get a call but not make one or could make a call but not receive one. We went to where we originally got the phones (and the service) only to find that a technician was on site only a few days a week and yesterday wasn't one of those days. That was the last straw. We went to the Xfinity store, since they also provide our computer and cable service, to see what they had to offer. We got a pair of lower level Samsung smart phones that would serve and got a two-for-one package for the first year. That puts the cost for the service equal to what we had been paying for two separate lines til the year ends. Even then the full price won't be significantly more. Cancelling the one service and transferring our numbers to the new phones were a pain but it is all done.

We got most of the set up done this morning. That did take a bit for two old biddies who are somewhat technologically challenged.

Stray thought--well the NCAA settlement finally came. It isn't really a surprise but it solidifies college athletics (especially football) as a commercial venture. There is some equity (how much I don't know) when some of the money our supposedly educational institutions rake in has to go to the "workers" on whom that money rests.

Earlier this week I saw some reports on BBC about the Japanese town at the base of Mt. Fujiyama with the classic view of the volcano. The authorities are building some kind of structure to block the view. The residents have had it with rude foreign tourists trying to get their selfies with the mountain. EuroNews posted this piece.

Another stray thought--is anyone really surprised that Nikki Haley decided to vote for Trump after spending the primary season before suspending her campaign telling voters how utterly unfit former President Donald Trump was, and still is, for the office? I am not. She is simply another in the parade of "Republicans" (are they really??) whose ambition, partisan affiliation and desire for "relevance" force them to kiss the Trumpian ass hoping for some crumbs from the table.

Third stray thought--on the Supreme Court's decision on the South Carolina gerrymandering case: how do you tell the difference between racial gerrymandering (prohibited) and "political" gerrymandering (acceptable for the most part.) And why should we give the party with the power to draw the district lines and whose electoral power rests on where the lines are drawn a benefit of the doubt (a.k.a., not imputing bad intentions or motives)? If it quacks like a duck and waddles like a duck, we should call it a duck.

May 22

Sunny today but I am taking things easy and doing as little as possible. We spent Monday doing laundry. We had put it off too long and had a lot to wash. I took several loads upstairs to put away and I was really feeling it in my back and legs. We decided that we should, definitely should decide on a day EACH week when we will do laundry. We are both way too old to throw two large net bags down the stairs or lug a lot of clothes back up stairs. Then Tuesday we did our grocery shopping and we had a lot of heavy stuff to bring in. We picked up two bags of potting mix so I can finish the planting and two boxes of canned cat food. We pick up gardening materials and plants only at this time of the year of we won't be getting any more soil. Even so we think it is time to go back to our once a week shopping trips. We got into the habit of stocking up for two weeks or more during the pandemic and during winter. The pandemic is pretty much over and Covid has become something we simply have to live with. And the winters haven't been so severe as to immobilize us. Time to make things physically easier on us.

Watching the Weather Channel reminds me there are many kinds of nasty weather. A storm line that went through here a couple of days ago gave us rain but in the next county east the winds took down power lines and did other damage. The damage from high-speed, straight-line winds in Houston was mind boggling. The pictures of the tall buildings with their windows broken out were stunning.

May 20

 Another nice sunny day and the forecasts have changed (what a surprise) to predict more sun and less rain. I checked the plants this morning and none require water. All of the transplants are thriving so far. We aren't getting more til next week. I still have, I think, ten pots to fill. I have some old sunflower seeds I will try in three areas. I hope they are still viable. And I have some chives seeds for smaller pots. I wonder what else in my collection might be viable.

Doomberg published this item today which doesn't surprise me and shouldn't have surprised any in our government. Our government and industries spent thirty or so years promoting globalism thinking that strengthening the ties with adversaries would make them more like us. They sounded a lot like Prof. Higgins in My Fair Lady lamenting that women weren't more like men. Substitute China or Russia for women and the U.S. (and Europe) for men and the sentiment is the same. Lately, however, Russia and China (and Israel, Iran, India and others) are demonstrating the fallacies of the argument. Globalism existed before it became an ideology and will exist after the ideology dies but in a much more limited way.

The BBC has a long report on TV detailing a 7-year investigation into a scandal involving patients infected with HIV and Hepatitis C through tainted blood products. Today's report doesn't say as one I saw yesterday that the source of those products was the U.S. Bottom line: people told by doctors they were receiving the best treatment were failed by the entire system supposedly designed to help them--government, the medical establishment, and regulators. On both sides of the Atlantic. I wonder how many over here were similarly infected. I remember stories back in the 1980s about babies given routine transfusions without any specific diagnosis. One of the reporters aid that the British public is increasingly skeptical of the governmental, medical and regulatory establishment as we are over here.

Green Prophet describes an interesting (and ancient) strategy for maintaining a livable temperature in buildings without modern refrigeration. I can think of some areas in this country where it might be useful.

Bill Astore described our political system well: burlesque. Others might have used the phrase "bread and circuses." I often thought (and said) that our two party system is an illusion. We really have one with two wings that represent financial and industrial interests. One wing gives lip service to "ordinary people" but, when push comes to shove, they almost always cater to the wealthy. I recently read a piece by Andrew Bacevich in his collection of essays ON SHEDDING AN OBSOLETE PAST in which he describes our two parties as joint communicants in the "Church of America the Redeemer." Members of the Church believe that America is the "shining city on the hill," the model for the world sent to bring the world to the light of democracy and capitalism. And where ever we carry that message the major beneficiaries are our industries (especially armaments) and financial institutions. Why else do you think our government continues to support Israel in spite of the brutal attack on Gaza and the cruel repression of Palestinians in the West Bank coupled with the failure to crack down on illegal settlements?

May 17, 19

 Our heavy fog is beginning to lift. I am waiting until it is gone before I continue putting plants into their places. The forecasters say we should have nice sun later. We are watching the Weather Channel and its coverage of the mess in the south, especially in Houston. We really didn't want to see the dissections of the cross-examination of Michael Cohen and the Beauty Pageant of Republicans hoping Trump will pick one of them for his running mate. Of course, those Republicans were from the business tax paying citizens are paying them to do. Not that it mattered much because one of the committee meetings that was postponed degenerated into a grade school bitch fight. They finally settled down long enough to recommend Merrick Garland be impeached in another fit of posturing.

Some weeks ago Emanuel Macron strongly suggested that France and the EU shift to a war economy. This week Putting replaced his long time defense minister Shoigu with a technocrat economist with the mission to firmly integrate the civilian and military economies. Estonia has increased its military spending to 3% of GDP, participated in joint military exercises and is training its civilians in "trench warfare." Poland is also. I wonder how far this militarization will go.

19**********************************************************************

Sunny for now but rain should come in later and persist through tomorrow. We are so disgusted with the continuous coverage of Trump's New York trial with the microscopic examination of various aspects incessantly. Instead we put on a channel that had the first three Jurassic Park movies. I wasn't totally unambitious and put several more plants into the pots. I remember when I would have had all pots on the patio planted in one day. But, as my brother noted a while ago, we have entered our "old, fat, and slow" age. I just turned 75 last month and I am certainly fat and slow. (In case you wonder, Brother is 73 and matches me in the other attributes.

I just finished putting most of the rest of the plants we picked up Wednesday. But the gardens are only half planted. I will need another trip to get the rest. I also reduced the number of bucket by one. I used Flex-tape last year to cover a split but I noticed that, though still holding, the area is beginning to bow. I was using the soil in some of the buckets to fill some pots so I simply used what was in that bucket and then put it in the trash. If I regain some energy I might fill an empty bucket I found earlier this year. I might use it for storage instead of planting in it. Right now I am resting before planting the last couple of pots. 

Done for the day. Time to read.

May 15, 16

 Good morning on a cloudy and cool day. The forecasters say we will have showers today. After Mom's appointment yesterday we took advantage of the sunshine and went to look at plants. I came home with about half of what I need to fill my containers: one hibiscus, green oregano, sweet basil, the emerald tower basil, spearmint, peppermint, balloon flower, four diplodenia and a small flat of moss rose. I am sure I forgot a couple. I want to see if my sunflower seeds will sprout; they are well past their date. However, we expect rain til Saturday. I will wait til then (or Sunday) and hope things dry out.

I found a cartoon this morning which explains a lot about American higher education. Check it out at Bill Astore's Bracing Views. The summation down at the right is a bull's eye: The road to hell is paved with good corporate donations.

16**********************************************************************

My energy ran out so quickly yesterday I got very little done and very little read. I hope then showers hold off for the morning so I can get a start on planting the transplants potted. We'll see. 

First major irritation of the day: Mitt Romney told reporters that Biden should have pardoned Trump to stop the criminal trial. I guess Romney forgot that the trial that is nearing its conclusion is a STATE trial and no president can pardon anyone for state crimes. But I get really tired of the notion that a past president should be pardoned for anything which seems to have grown up in the Republican Party since Ford pardoned Nixon. If crimes are alleged against ANYONE, they should be indicted and tried. If found guilty they are entitled, like all convicted criminals, to appeal and/or argue for a pardon.

It has been a productive day. I got about half of the transplants in before it got too hot to continue. I guess I will have to get out really early sooner than I would have thought. The weather forecasters predict rain later today and overnight so I didn't water anything. I will check everything in the morning and water if needed. Tomorrow should be dry so I will try to get the rest of the plants in. When we do our shopping next week I need to get a bag of potting mix and some general use fertilizer.

Although I have a big library of e-books which I have purchased and downloaded to my iPad I don't rely on the "cloud." I have been and am skeptical of putting anything I can purchase in some arrangement I may not be able to access. Primarily I was and am concerned with what happens when the internet connections go wonky for any reason. This Guardian article addresses the problem I recognized long ago: what happens to your "purchases" when the vender disappears or drastically changes the terms of the arrangement.

Bill Astore posted about what he calls "the sham debates between Biden and Trump." I am surprised Trump agreed, at least for now, because the ground rules decree "no audience" and "a microphone kill switch" so the moderator can cut off the candidate who exceeds his time. Given Trump's past actions on the "debate" stage, I don't mind either rule. However, the exclusion of the "third party" candidates gives the illusion that our only choice is between Trump and Biden. I don't really expect a real debate because issues don't matter. Haven't had such a debate for at least 30 years.

May 13

 Sunny day so far and predicted to warm (temps around 80F.) Tomorrow is supposed to be wet but we have an appointment so that won't matter.

Stray thought #1--Seinfeld gave the commencement at Harvard (I think they said). He was met with some boos and a few walk-outs which he met with humor telling the remaining audience that they were probably wondering why the University invited him. But what resonated with me which the part of his speech (featured on the Morning Joe segment) in which he told the graduates: if you are graduating after four years here with no idea what you want to do, you are the lucky ones. You can do anything. If you think you know what you are going to do, you are wrong. Almost all of the commentators spoke about how true that was for them as all had jumped around on multiple career paths. Even the two who knew what they wanted to do said the question really what how they would do it. I have four higher level degrees (Bachelor and Master) and one lower level (associate). I have worked in biology labs, as a teaching assistant or an adjunct at universities and colleges, as a paralegal, a photographer, a data processor. Who know where the road will lead when you are at the very beginning of it and you can't see beyond the first curve.

Stray thought #2--we have raised a couple of generations of snowflakes. I remember when the right wing commentariat pulled out that appellation for left wing critics of those who objected to the use of pejoratives targeting women, racial/ethnic minorities, and LBGTQ people. Somehow those targeted should simply brush it off and get with the program (what ever that was). It has morphed into opposed camps who refuse to listen to anyone not in their camp and so self-righteous that they think their attitudes the only right and holy ones. As I typed this I remembered similar times (and not just in the 1960s). The snowflake gene is buried in our national DNA.

Bill Astore has a good post on the malleability of language. This ties into my stray thought #2. I try to keep an open mind (not always successfully) when thinking about people, countries, values with which I don't necessarily agree. I remember too many times when the information I got was wrong. And I try to avoid trigger words or pejorative words. Take a look at this graphic from Astore's (reposted from someone else) and think about how you respond to each pair.

Similar pairs of words can be constructed for any controversy.

May 12

 Beautiful and sunny right now but more rain expected tomorrow and possibly Tuesday. Happy Mothers' Day. Let's see if I can gather up some stray thoughts from the last few days that I haven't expressed.

Stray thought #1--so many of the news readers have had a good laugh about RFK, Jr.'s announcement that he has cognitive and memory problems thanks to a dead brain worm doctors removed some years ago. I decided to check out the medical possibilities and discovered that there really is such a condition. It is rare but it does happen and presents the symptoms RFK, Jr. described. People contract it when they ingest tapeworm eggs which hatch and travel through the blood to the brain. Kennedy traveled extensively in Asia, South America, and Africa where he could have acquired the parasite. I still don't care much for his ideas which deserve much more critical comment than the "brain worm" story.

Stray thought #2--I have no sympathy for either the pro-Palestinian or the pro-Israel side of the college protests. They remind me too much of the wandering "preachers" who appeared on the campus of the college I attended almost 50 years ago. I called them "blooming idiots" because they came every spring but there was nothing beautiful about them. They put up a box on the quad and drew crowds venomously calling all the women sluts and whores and claiming all of us, men and women alike, were hell bound. Some students (and perhaps a faculty member or two) tried to engaged them in thoughtful discussion but found that nothing they or the preacher said mattered. They ended up shouting past each other. Exactly the same situation holds with the two sides of the Palestinian/Israeli "debate". They self-righteously shout past each other while disrupting the activities of everyone around them. I am sorry if they are losing their assistantships, scholarships, and/or student housing but why should the schools reward atrocious behavior by letting them get off without consequences? I will say that some even handedness would be nice since some of the worst violence (apart from police action) came from the pro-Israel side.

On a more pleasant note is this post from Carol Michel. She talks about the three gardeners in her garden: Carol Past, Carol Present, and Carol Future. Carol Past reminds Carol Present (who does the actual work) of the results of ambitious plans that didn't pan out well which Carol Future thinks up for Carol Present. I can relate to that.

Stray thought #3--according to the news this weekend, Trump is "selling himself"--again. Along with the digital "trading" cards featuring himself in all kinds of heroic poses, the gold sneakers, the pieces of the suit he supposedly wore when arraigned in Georgia, he has now promised oil executives he will get rid of all the regulations and environmental measures they feel constrain them and their profits if they will just raise $1Billion to get him reelected. So he will sell himself for a measly $1Billion. Problem Trump can't be bought. He can only be rented until he find someone willing to pay more. I wonder if we can find a group willing to pony up $1.5Billion if he will emigrate to Russia and disappear.

May 9

 It may be raining but it has been a good morning. We finally resolved our computer problems. The Xfinity help representative did a wonderful job of walking me through getting everything properly set up. The main problem we had was two elder women who really didn't understand the system. Things are good for now. I have absolute faith in technology f---ing up--sooner or later.

Heather Cox Richardson has a good account of Biden's appearance in Racine, Wisconsin touting his administration's partnership with Microsoft to build a new data center. It is being built on the site of the defunct Foxconn project. I thought when I read about the project that it was going to be a boondoggle like some here in Indiana where the local and state government built up the massive infrastructure and providing direct payments and tax rebates only to have the company exit stiffing the states and local governments out of the promised jobs and revenues. The new proposal seems to be more realistic.

10**********************************************************************

Everything still working well. I checked our shed and didn't really have to do much. Tried to fill the bird feeder but a plastic shield that prevents the grain from falling out of the feeder was broken. There isn't any way to fix it. Plastic gets brittle after a while and we have had that feeder for several years. We have a new one feeder on our shopping list next week. We used to put up hummingbird feeders. I think I mentioned a bit ago that I was thinking of doing that again but the temperatures get too high and we don't have much shade on the patio so we decided against it.

I have read several articles over the last few years about the efforts of various countries and central banks to eliminate cash. One African country, I forget which, tried and got such resistance from its people that they had to pull back. This article I found on Naked Capitalism describes what is going on in Sweden which has moved furthest along that path and appear too be rethinking going cashless. The article cites concerns over potential threats from Putin's Russia and other political actors and criminal gangs. We have recently seen cyber attacks on cities, on utilities, on banks. Having back-ups and perhaps back-ups for back-ups is a prudent response.

May 6, 7, 8

 Looks like we might have a nice conditions for at least part of today. Over the last several days I got most of the patio swept and arranged most of the containers. We had a short stretch of much above normal temperatures which make the current period of normal May temperatures feel almost cold. I think found a way to secure my shepherd's hooks so I can have my wind chimes without toppling the buckets they are anchored in. I might even find one of the hummingbird feeders.

I made a lot of progress cleaning out the shed. I was so low on energy at the end of the last that I just threw everything in that I couldn't leave outside. Now I have to sort all that mess and pitch the things that aren't useful or, like a couple of containers, broken. I find a few containers like that each year simply because the extremes of heat and cold, and direct sunlight breaks down both clay pots and plastic containers. Thankfully the process takes a few years before the items degrade past usefulness.

Saturday we went to our local Ace Hardware store to replace a lightbulb for the bathroom mirror/cabinet and the spray nozzle which showed serious corrosion (I don't remember when I bought it but it was well used.) They have their plant tent in the parking lot so I took a look. We didn't buy any plants but I did find something interesting: the Emerald Tower basil shown here. Burpee and other companies have been developing varieties that fit into small spaces. We will go looking for plants starting next week.

Over the last few decades I have tried to be slower to respond to "breaking news." The first reports (and, nowadays, the second and third iterations) are so often very misleading. I remember, when I first heard about the bombing Timothy McVey perpetrated, I thought the criminal had to be some Muslim fanatic. I pulled myself up and powered up my skepticism meter and, therefore, wasn't all that surprised to hear new information identifying a homegrown terrorist. That skepticism meter has been working overtime over the last decade or so in this "Era of Trump." The stories about the college demonstrations is the latest has provided the latest episode straining my credulity. 

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Why do the college demonstrations strain my credulity? It isn't the demonstrations themselves but the coverage. I follow several sources of news and the pattern is clear. Most, but not all, of the "conservative" commentators support the pro-Israel side without any consideration of the Palestinian grievances. Palestinians are almost invisible--or worse collateral damages. And they also, almost never, criticize Israeli actions. Most, but not all, of the "liberal" commentators support the pro-Palestinian side of the argument with no real consideration of Israeli grievance and no criticism of Hamas tactics. But there are no good guys or bad guys, and our various media and our government are acting as though their boys(Hamas or Israel) are wearing the white hat. But no side is thinking about deeper consideration. Like the Israel today is not the Israel of the 1940s. Like should we be supplying today's Israel with weapons, money and diplomatic cover. I don't suggest supporting Hamas but perhaps we should try to help Palestinians find something better than Hamas. And perhaps find a way to stop Israel from a defect annexation of the West Bank.

Another thing raising my skeptical antennae--the number of politicians, commentators, and ordinary people are willing to curb the right to free speech as long as it is speech they don't like uttered by people they don't like. Too many of us believe in the our own absolute rights but everyone else only has conditional rights--conditional on their whim. 

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More computer frustrations. My new MacBook isn't maintaining a constant connection to the internet. The diagnostic page says it is connected to wifi but not the internet. My old MacBook connects and so does the iPad. Damn.

May 1

Welcome to May. This year is one-third gone. Sunny with mild temps likely to go higher. All of the really rough weather has bypassed us. Over the last few days I got half of the patio swept and rearranged. I plan to do the other half today. Four of my buckets and two small pots need to be cleaned out. I plan to take out the valerian and put in something else, and nothing is coming up in the indigo and second asiatic lili pot except weeds. They are going to go. I am still restraining the urge to see what is in the garden centers though many of the supermarkets have their plants out. Most of those were hanging pots which I can't hang and have no place for--not really interesting.

Evidently the authorities ended the Columbia siege (not other word for the take over of a campus building) fairly peacefully. Interesting that the police used a ramp to get in by way of the second floor. They are still processing the 40 odd people they removed but the police and the university administration say several (at least) are "professional" agitators. Wouldn't surprise me given the history of recent demonstrations where people not affiliated with the demonstrators converted a peaceful demonstration into a damaging riot.

Several news segments spent time comparing the current college uprising to the 1960s. Though each involve young people (not children as some of the commentators have said) but there are some interesting differences between then and now. First, the students of the 1960 had much more "skin in the game." The men could have been drafted, especially if they lost student deferment's. Second, the U.S. spent both men and money in an effort to confront Communism where ever they imagined it. The argument then was between critics of American policy and those who supported the government. Today the anti-communist motive has morphed into an anti-Israel stance and the opposition is a pro-Israel vs anti-Hamas (shading into anti-Palestinian). Any anti-government sentiment seems to be a minor note in the cacophony. William Hogeland has an interesting piece on the two instances of student unrest. I will have to re-read it. He has some points I hadn't thought of.

Nationalization by another name. While some people have come out against "globalization," I have thought that process has reached its apogee.  Even the U.S. is retreating from integrating global industries and supply chains. I and, I am sure, many others remember the dislocations of the medical supply chains during the pandemic when everything from personal protective equipment, drugs, surgical gloves, ventilators to everything else hospitals depended ran out or were impossible to find. But I also remember a slump in the auto industry because parts made in Thailand were unavailable because of flooding which took out the Thai factories. And more recent shortages in canned cat food because the supply of tin for the cans was disrupted. Many companies have been "re-shoring" their operations.

My reaction hearing about Kristi Noem and her dog was: you have to be smarter than the dog.