February 25

 Good morning, all. Clear skies at the moment but it is a very early morning. And I have already been busy with small tasks. I am about to get my second cup of coffee and putting dishes in the sink to soak for a bit before I wash them. No we don't have a non-human dishwasher. In fact, after years of having one that never seemed to work well and finally ignoring it for a couple of years, we asked the landlord to take it out and put in a cabinet to expand our limited storage. Hey, only two of us elderly women here. We don't use enough dishes to make a non-human dishwasher useful. I generally fill the sink once and use that water all day. Sometimes I skip a day because there are so few dishes to wash. I remember laughing when I saw ads for the new lines of machines that supposedly use so much less water and energy because they wouldn't actually save us anything. Like so much technology which over promises and underdeliver in our situation.

I love little stories like this one from Joyce Vance. Some knitters are making a different kind of "red hat" to counter the MAGA red hat. It is based on the Norwegian red hat protest against the Nazi occupation during WWII. The Nazis were so afraid of any show of resistance they outlawed the red "elf" cap Norwegians often wore that often appeared on the characters in Christmas stories and cards. The Norwegians found ways around the ban to still express their displeasure. That is the latest in a long history of people, usually women, finding ways to express their opposition to what ever repressive force they faced. I saw a series on George Washington's spy net work which included a woman who hung her quilts on the clothes line which signaled British movements and plans. During the decades before the Civil War slave women made quilts which were actually maps to safe houses along the underground railroad. During WWII the U.S. government banned the mailing of knitting patterns because they could be used to pass coded messages as one of the Allied operatives did in occupied France. For years after the US repressed any demonstration of defiance after the annexation of Hawaii and removal of their queen. What they didn't realize was the defiance was expressed in the symbols Hawaiian filters incorporated into their quilts. And of course, the pink pussy hats. Where there is a will there is always a way.

Corbin Trent at AMERICA'S UNDOING recounts a history which is all to familiar to me. Parts of my family have lived it also and I can see it any time I might go through Gary, Indiana (which I go out of my way to avoid). Gary's population history followed the same one Trent described in Detroit. And the causes were much the same: industry moved out, wealthy white residents moved out and taxes dried up. No new jobs moved in. Trent warms the tech workers that they are on the same trajectory and AI will accelerate that change. And the costs for maintaining a "middle class" life style keep going up.

February 25

Good morning. We are enjoying a sunny day and the snow is melting rapidly. For the next ten days or so the temperature will be too warm for any snow though we might have a couple of episodes of rain. I had to go out this morning to pay rent. Often I send it through the mail but after nearly two months I drove over to get out a bit. It is always good to touch base with the landlords.

I turned off the TV last night after Trump's first three or four sentences. I am glad I did because we old ladies need our sleep and I knew we would get a detailed description this morning. Evidently, he talked (ranted, spewed crap, claimed imaginary victories, blamed others for his failures) for almost two hours. A couple of reporters this morning said it was Trump's version of speeches by Castro (or, I could add, any Soviet leader). TL/DNL (Too long/ did not listen)

Stray thought: watching Trump's introduction of the gold medal winning men's hockey team I wondered how they felt being a prop for Trump.

Another stray thought: one of the snippets from the speech the news anchors showed what Trump claiming that prices were coming down. He always seems insulted that we think otherwise. Well, three years ago, after Mom became too frail to do our usual shopping with me and I starting keeping track of our expenditures, we were spending about $400/month. That was for the two of us with occasionally more when we replenished our staples or meat in the freezer and an occasional pizza or meal out. Now, that tally is between $500 and $600 without the pizza, a meal in a restaurant or keeping our staples at as high a level as before. I'm sorry Mr. President, my wallet says prices are up. Our expenditures for gas has gone down but only because we don't drive as much any more and only fill up once a month. One of our largest expense last year was Mom's medical care which included major surgery and rehabilitation. That was jaw dropping. Thankfully, we had the wherewithal to cover our part and, thankfully, we had Medicare and a Medicare Advantage plan.

A third stray thought: I have often thought Joe Biden made a great mistake in even trying to be elected for a second term. The press concentrated on his mental and physical condition while totally ignoring Trump's mental lapses. But his decision to pursue reelection and the Democrats failure to field a viable candidate earlier (combined with the attempt to coronate Kamala Harris without input of the mass of Democratic base) basically made Trump's election possible. I thought that Trump had lost several steps in his term. I thought it was even more evident with his campaign after being out of office for four years. His capacity was definitely diminished.

Good morning. We still have lake effect coming in spurts. It is hard to tell how much we actually have because the wind is blowing it all over. I don't expect it to stay around long because the the daytime highs should be above freezing. And some of the precipitation will shift to rain. 

Well the Winter Olympic Games has ended until 2030. I dread the Summer Olympics of 2028 because Trump will still be President and will try to make it all about him.

Stray Thought: while watching the extravaganza of the closing ceremonies I remembered when we got the stories and medal counts on our nightly news (back when both the national and foreign news occupied HALF AN HOUR every night). It was always after the fact not simultaneous. But over the last forty years things have changed. The broadcast networks and cable developed the ability to sent reports by satellite and they found that exclusive rights to broadcast the games. USA and NBC devoted extensive amounts of time to showing the games sometimes time-delayed but often in "realtime." If you were a night owl sports fan you could stay up and watch. And the countries hosting the games have made the ceremonies a spectacle. Have we lost something in this?

Second Stray Thought: I have heard a lot of frothing at the mouth about the SAVE Act and decided to read the actual bill yesterday. Much of the verbal diarrhea is overblown as to what it will actually do. To start off the SAVE bill (it isn't an act yet) requires that voters present proof of citizenship and specifies IDs that many people already have which would qualify: Military ID issued by the Federal Government, Tribal ID issued by Tribal governments, Passports issued by the Federal Government, and Real IDs (also called Secure IDs) issued by states in accordance with the requirements of the Federal regulations. I have described my own efforts to get a Real ID drivers' license and finally did so after much effort and a consultation with a lawyer (which thankfully was free). 

Given what is in the text (at the moment) I wondered what the problem is in getting one and why was the SAVE bill even necessary. I can think of a couple of problems. I have been trying to find a birth certificate for my paternal grandmother born in 1905 and paternal grandfather born in 1896. Both were born in rural areas where such records are often haphazard and many were born at home. I read about such problems when the Real ID law was passed in 2005. I also wondered what state compliance looked like since many states objected to the law because it put most of the cost of the law fell on them. All states officially comply but many people object on various grounds including feelings of Federal overreach, cost, and the effort to collect the necessary documents. Though my state has required the process for new licenses and non-drivers' state id's they do allow work arounds in case the documentation is not available. So the SAVE bill won't really have any effect on non-citizens voting (which has been shown negligible in several studies) and I have to ask why bother besides stroking Trumps already over large ego.

Robert Reich posts a political cartoon every week with a speech bubble his readers can fill in. He posts the best suggestions the next Sunday. This new cartoon showed the Supreme Court justices on their high bench looking at the tiny Trump throwing a fit way below and readers have to supply what one of them is saying. I can't enter because I am not a paying reader but my first thought  was "PLEASE!! SOMEONE FIND HIS BINKY!!" For those not familiar with that word binky=pacifier.

Feb 21

 Cloudy and cooler as expected. The next seven days should be in the 30s and 40s with some kind of precipitation possible for most of the time. We don't have any appointments next week though I plan to take the rent check to the rental office in person. After about two months largely housebound--not even going out to the mail box several days so I wouldn't have to negotiate the ice--getting out feels really nice. We aren't, in modern times, used to being immobilized by weather. But it might become more familiar in the near future.

BLOOD IN THE MACHINE posted this article about areas where Flock cameras have been destroyed. I've watched over the last half century as we have become a surveilled society. It seems as though in the argument between "law and order" and "freedom" the first group wins. So much of this has progressed not quite in the dark but in governmental bodies that few of us pay much attention to. But when it does come to into the open people really don't like it. Robert Heinlein's character Lazarus Long said "In a government of the people, for the people--don't tell the people" or ignore the people or refuse to let them speak. That only works for so long.

February 19, 20

 Rainy and cloudy but I looked out on the patio and didn't see any snow. Yeah!! The temperature today is predicted to go into the middle 50s but it should crash back to the more normal mid 30s tomorrow. I puttered around a bit with another afghan using worsted weight yarns I still have on hand. I pulled out my corded hooks to do some double hook Tunisian work. I got to the point where I really didn't want to do more crochet I am working on with size 10 thread. And I didn't want to bring out any of my three embroidery projects on hoops now. That happens every now and then. Luckily I didn't need any new materials to help me break my needlework blahs

A piece on a news/talk show last night reported that the administration has instructed DHS to "investigate" NATURALIZED CITIZENS for "voter fraud." For ever since Trump, during his first campaign for the Presidency, claimed that masses of "illegal aliens" were voting they have been trying to find examples of activity. They haven't found any significant numbers--about 20 examples nationwide last I heard which is negligible. So now they want to enlarge the target group hoping to find evidence of such fraud. I have heard more stories of Republicans committing election fraud.

However the story brought up a Stray Thought: a couple of decades ago I read an account of how IBM enabled the Nazi regime to trace Germans descended from Jews who converted and assimilated. They then removed the citizenship from those Germans and rounded them up with their Jewish neighbors. What will the administration do if (when?) they don't find the fraud they want to find? Trace the lineage and keep looking?

20*********************************************

Hard rain and high winds today. And much colder temperatures. I am sitting in front of my computer with one cat sprawled on my lap impeding my ability to type and the other one sitting behind the screen looking at me accusing me because she thinks I should already have given her the second breakfast of the day. I will probably relent because I need my second cup of coffee.

So much of the news I see skim and pass over. There isn't a damned thing I can do about it so--"que sera, sera" as the old song says. We did watch the thrilling gold medal ice hockey match yesterday between Canada and the U.S. which the U.S. won in sudden death overtime.

First interesting bit I found this morning was this piece on CROOKS&LIARS. I had never heard of psychrobacter bacteria so I immediately looked up the term and found that it refers to strains of bacteria that live in cold temperatures. They might be simply cold tolerant or they may actually thrive best at cold temperatures. The recently discovered strain was RESISTANT TO 10 MODERN ANTIBIOTICS. That is surprising since it was found in a 5000 year old layer of ice from a Romanian ice cave. Supposedly that bacteria hadn't been exposed to those antibiotics so the resistance is entirely innate. We have already had episodes of anthrax being released from frozen reindeer carcass in tundra that thawed. This episode in Russia infected more animals and some people. It doesn't take much imagination to picture the effects of an unknown disease arising from something like the psychrobacter.

Stray thought: the Federal government spent a couple of decades intensely forcing state governments to adopt the "Secure ID" drivers' licenses. To get one you had to document your identity. I have already described our problems with that since both my mother and I changed our names when we married (Mom twice.) We had to show birth certificates, marriage licenses, divorce papers for each stage. AND WE SHOW THAT ID WHEN WE VOTE. I have read the accounts of the SAVE act and I have to ask why should we need another ID that basically wants the same document chain? Why should we need ANOTHER F***ING ID?

February 18

 Another sunny day with above "normal" temperatures. We had rain last night and temperatures above freezing so almost all of the snow remaining on the patio and the shadowed areas is gone. Just checked the Weather wondering about how they think the next week or so will be and got diverted by two stories. First indicates wildfire season has already started with blazes going in western Oklahoma, and in Texas and Kansas. The second covers a 30-car crash on southbound I-25 near Pueblo. High winds and a dust cloud contributed to the mess which included several semi trucks. We expect high 50s and 60s today and tomorrow then ten days of more normal temps in the 30s and 40s. Thankfully not much precipitation and that should be rain.

Stray thought as I was reading a short piece on CROOKS&LIARS which notes the the Pharma execs are faced with a problem they should have seen coming: with the shifting attitudes of the administration concerning vaccines and the latest refusal of the Food and Drug Administration to approve the latest Moderna mRNA vaccine their funding (public and private) is trying up. I saw the snippets of "news" which showed Governor Newsom of California reminding beleaguered parties that Trump only has 2 years 10 months left before he will be gone. Unfortunately, gone maybe but forgotten not at all. Much of what Trump and his minions are doing will linger far beyond 2029 when he is supposed to leave office. And even if he does leave, who will come after and how much of his wrecking ball policies will remain?

February 18

 Sunny again with predictions of temperatures in the 50s. We are two weeks away from meteorological Spring and a month away from astronomical Spring. I am sure the weather gods are teasing us as always. they will clobber us again I am sure. Oh, well, I will enjoy this while it is here. I decided to put my needlework off til this evening. I plan to work on the genealogy project and reading for the rest of the day. Also doing some planning about meals. Mom's appetite is getting somewhat chancy. One day she will reject something she has enjoyed before. Or complain that is it way too much. I have already told her that if a bird ate the amount she does it would starve to death. I am trying to work in several small snacks over the day. We'll see how things go.

Timothy Snyder has a new post titled "Consumptive Capitalism" that is very interesting considering our personal issues. (I say "our" because dealing with Mom's health is a joint project.) That title is the one on an article he reposts from Sara Silverstein dealing with the business of health care--the very expensive business. She starts with an account of tuberculosis or (as it was called in the 19th and early 20th century) consumption. Medical "science" of the day prescribed stays in sanatoria to "hopefully" arrest and cure the disease. Silverstein makes the case that what they were really selling was hope because there were no cures before modern antibiotics were discovered. Even now the programs a months long course of multiple antibiotics unless the bug is drug resistant where the treatment is more prolonged and complicated. Just looked up the costs of treatment and it ranges from about $20,000 for the standard 4 to 6 month treatment to more than $100K for a more complicated and longer course dealing with multiply drug resistant forms and more than $400K for the "extremely" multiply drug resistant bugs. It is still a very expensive prospect which few people can afford out of pocket. At the end she notes that the "wellness" industry nowadays exceeds $2trillion. I can well believe it considering the number of ads for various drugs, nutritional aids, and devices we see every day. As Silverstein wrote the so-called Make America Healthy Again program pushed by Bobby K. Jr is a pipe dream.

Heather Cox Richardson put up another of her LETTERS FROM AN AMERICAN essays which brush on the theme of health and weird weather (which touches on the theme of climate change which on writers has called "weather weirding"). She also ties it into Valentine's Day because on Valentine's Day in 1884 Theodore Roosevelt experienced what worst day of his life when both his wife of three years died giving birth to their daughter Alice and his mother died of typhoid. The younger Mrs. Roosevelt died of (they think) Bright's disease a kidney condition often the lingering result of a strep infection. Both diseases were common diseases in the overcrowded cities of industrializing America and at a time when antibiotics were not yet available. The rich could die almost as easily as the poor just in more comfortable conditions. Roosevelt took his grief out west to a ranch he had purchased until the horrendous winter of 1886-7 killed off a huge number of free range cattle including half of Roosevelts. As a side note Richardson didn't mention was that winter ended traditional open range cattle ranching and boosted the market for barbed wire. Roosevelt himself went back east to make a name for himself in progressive politics, shedding the dismissive tag eastern politicians had given him (dude) and, eventually in 1901, succeeding the assassinated McKinley.

David Kaiser often writes an article worth reading. Today he writes about "The End of An Era." Often eras are often, provisionally, identified after the fact. I say provisionally because those eras are redefined as time passes. But I agree that the events he is talking are serious breaks from our recent past. I often cite Isaac Asimov's FOUNDATION series as perhaps the best fictional presentation of the inertia of history and how hard it is to change trajectory. I remember telling my students when I taught history in college "no great change of politics or culture happens from a single cause." 

I would question Kaiser's assertion that most Americans support the new Voter ID initiatives. It all depends on which measures of which proposals you are talking about. I also question the notion that such new Voter IDs are necessary. I remember what I went through to get the mandated Secure ID driver's license which states have been pretty much been bullied by the Federal Government to adopt. My first attempt was stymied because my current name, affirmed by the court decision in my divorce. is not my birth name. Part of the Save Act (which is still a proposed bill) demands that the names match. My mother has gone from maiden name to first married name to second married name. When I tried the second time to get the Secure Id driver's license it sailed through with no problem. I think someone far more forceful than I made a case that stuck for accepting the court establishment of name after divorce.