January 9, 10

 Winter seems to have arrived--finally. The 2 to 5 inches of snow predicted looks like it has arrived. They say the winter weather watch will end about noon today. This snow will stay around for a while because the temps will stay at or below (sometimes far below) freezing for the next two weeks.

When the pundits write about our "kleptocracy" they usually refer to the upper echelons of our economy. However, this piece on Popular Information reminds us that the theft reaches deeper into the economy and many of those being fleeced are among the lowest paid.

Jan 10*****************************************************************

Most of the snow we got yesterday has been washed away in the rain and above freezing temps we got. It looks wet and the temperature is barely around freezing. 

That hearing in before the appeals court on The Former Guy's claims of immunity were spectacularly idiotic on the part of his lawyers. Their arguments, taken in isolation, made me wonder if they can think themselves out of a wet paper bag. First, they tried to turn the text of the Constitution on the impeachment process on its head. The text clearly notes that impeachment in the House and conviction in the Senate doesn't exempt a former President from criminal conviction once he is out of office. Those clowns who are parading as educated lawyers tried to convince the judges that impeachment and conviction was REQUIRED for a criminal indictment. Clearly, by the text, it isn't. Second, their faces should have been covered by a paper bag mask in embarrassment as they evidently hoped that no one would remember that one of them had argued during the impeachment a conviction in the political arena wasn't necessary because the criminal justice system was waiting and knew how to handle a criminal case. I think you can see the logical inconsistency between #1 and #2. Third, watching them paint themselves into a corner was painful (in a schadenfreude way. I was amazed at the judges self-control because I was wishing I could have hit them on their heads with a 2x4 before telling them in very uncompromising language what utter idiots they were. I was remembering George Orwell's 1984.

A BBC segment yesterday noted that 2023 is officially the hottest on record with the average global temperature was just shy of 1.5C over the pre-1900 average. We have almost hit the limit set by the Paris Accords in 2015. Some pundit said we COULD still keep from breaking that limit IF we stopped burning fossil fuels IMMEDIATELY. With the politicians in the southern hemisphere sarcastically replying "What you mean, White Man?" it ain't gonna happen.

I have seen stories about "lab grown meat" for some time now. A couple of companies are actually trying to market it now. I am skeptical enough that I am not buying. And I am skeptical about all the claims about sustainability and about how much better such systems would be for the environment. This article on Green Prophet takes apart the claims made by the proponent of cultured meat. As with so many high tech solutions to meeting our needs for anything including meat, the high tech is also more expensive in this initial stage when the production requires pharmaceutical grade growth media. At the moment, traditional field production of meat animals beats their costs and environmental footprint.

Random thought: one of the judges asked a question of The Former Guy's lawyers that echoes a scenario his acolytes have threatened if the court denies the immunity claim: a future where past presidents face politically motivated prosecution for any act while in office. Two points: first, the courts could deal with this if the judges start vigorously weeding out frivolous suits, and second, there is an equally frightening possible future if The Former Guy's claims to immunity are granted where NO president no matter what criminal behavior he/she engages in can be held accountable. Each of those futures (and possibly both) are probable given the divisive partisanship so rampant in the country now.

Stray thought: a number of bloggers I read are supporters of either Israel or the Palestinians. Each side play the game of my side did bad but theirs have done worse. Somehow the tens of thousands who have died in Gaza wipes out the thousand+ who were murdered and brutalized in Israel or the converse where the thousand+ justify the brutality of the Israeli attack on Gaza. The attempt to distinguish between Palestinians and Hamas is a doomed enterprise. Too many of the hostages who were returned noted that they were housed with Palestinian families. Hamas had to have a significant amount of support from "civilians." War is never simply a matter of one military confronting another. Each has an infrastructure of psychic and material support. Neither Hamas nor Israel can continue without such support. I don't support either side and I won't play the game of deciding who is bad and who is worse.