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...