April 14

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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