March 12

 Looks like we will have sun for a while at least. And Temperatures in the mid to high 60s. If it stays dry I will do some more rearranging on the patio and, perhaps, get some of the dead plants out. They have done their last job and kept soil from splashing out in heavy rains. I might get some of the smaller plants filled from the large planters and start some of my cold tolerant seeds--carrots and beets, etc.

Bill Astore asks a question I have asked for a while now: where's my country? As a former military officer he looks at the question from the angle of military and foreign affairs. I always looked at it from my perspective as a woman as the so-called "men's rights" movement got going and deeply penetrated the Republican Party. I have felt increasingly like some people are trying to erase me and other women. We see that in the more and more draconian anti-abortion which basically erases women's agency in medical matters. We see it in the increasing attacks on accomplished women (and black/brown women and men) as DEI hires. And I feel increasingly under attack as both old and female with the attacks on Social Security and Medicare. I made an observation the other day that the Nazis were at least honest when they euthanized the infirm, elderly and otherwise, because they called them "useless eaters." Our politicians are not often that honest.

I did notice the stories about Trump's environment appointees and their plans to, as Bill McKibben writes, MAKE AMERICA FILTHY AGAIN. MSNBC had a segment on Rachel Maddow's show last night about the Federal case against the petrochemical plants in part of Mississippi which has been scrapped in light of the new directives from both DOJ and the EPA (no longer protecting the environment). I had read about the area ten years ago in an article because of the high levels of cancer--a "cancer alley." The situation still hasn't changed. The company is still insisting that the solution is for the people, who have lived there all their lives and whose families have lived their for generations often since it was a plantation in the Civil War era, to move away. I have noticed this mind set in the business class before. Most of them have no attachment to place and don't understand that others might have a strong attachment. The "solution" the propose is one that protects their "interests" (meaning profits) but does nothing for the people to be displaced. Trump had that attitude when he couldn't understand why Palestinians wouldn't want to move the "nice, safe" new homes elsewhere while he and others like him build a middle eastern Riviera.

Another memory that goes along with the above piece: I grew up in the northwestern part of Indiana and about 45 years ago I attended Indiana University's northwest campus. One of my teachers told my friends and me about driving back from somewhere in the south. He could see the brown dome of pollution over the area when he was still more than 50 miles out. I made similar drive from another direction a couple of years later and saw a similar sight. I have no idea what was in that cloud. We had refineries, steel mills and power plants and businesses I can't even remember now. And I was breathing that s##t all my life. I was born in Chicago and lived in various places in Lake and Porter counties.

It looks like the Trump supported continuing resolution which isn't "clean" as Mike Johnson tried to convince everyone. Johnson managed to get the Republicans who have NEVER voted for a continuing resolution to get on board. Trump and his economics officials promised that any additional spending in the bill will be ignored and the bill won't hamper them from continuing to cut people, agencies, and spending as they wish. Joy Reid has a good dissection of the situation. Schumer contends that accepting the horrendous bill the Democrats can preserve the Democrats power in the Senate and House. He claims that if the bill fails and the government shuts down Trump and his minions can decide what is shut down, who is considered "nonessential" and there is no clear road out of a shutdown. Problem I have is one Reid seems to have. I don't see any difference in the distinction. Either way Trump et al., will do as they will with feeble pushback.