February 27, 28

Warm this morning--starting in the 40s. But it is wet. The rain may move out and it may dry out enough for me to get outside and clean up a bit. I won't do much because one of our errands yesterday was grocery shopping and both of us were exhausted by the time we finished. I can see a time in the not too distant future when we will have to set up the delivery service with the grocery we use most. Age does catch up with you.

Antidote du jour. Tim H: “Same pair that you featured last year in Ouroboros mode. They ignored those cat beds until they were appropriate housed.”

I loved this photo posted on Naked Capitalism today. I have two cats so this resonates. It is at the bottom of the post.

I saw the ad mentioned in the CNN article. Evidently it is getting some criticism for telling people to have cereal for supper to spare the food budget. I wan't thinking of the budget when I saw it. I was thinking of the added sugar and additives in most cereals today. We haven't had those in several years and have stuck with old fashioned (as in not quick or instant) rolled oats and farina. 

Found Indian Punchline by way of Naked Capitalism and it has an interesting article on the effect of Russia's victory in Avdiivka Ukraine. The focus of our news media seems to be blinkered and focused solely on Europe, Russia, and (to a lesser extent). But there is a complex set of relationships beyond and those countries don't have a very friendly relationship with the U.S. They have a far more favorable view of Putin and Russia than they have of the West.

28**********************************************************************

 Cold today and snow. Not much accumulated but the wind is definitely not comfortable. Thankfully we didn't get the hail or tornadoes the weather forecasters predicted we might have.

CNN published this article today detailing an interesting parallel between Putin and Xi. I thought a long time ago that both were trying to recover a, to them, glorious past. A past when their countries were rich, powerful and could influence the course of history. The problem for each is that with the passage of time large parts of the past empires have splintered off and aren't necessarily willing to resume their old subordinate relationship. But they aren't the only ones who are trying to recover an imagined past. A lot of our own people want a return to the 1950s, or the 1930s, or even 1900. Back when women remained in the home, before the pill, before abortion, when America could pretend it was a Christian nation just like they dreamed the founders established it.

Lyz at Men Yell At Me has a good analysis of the effect of laws from Texas, Alabama, Missouri, and Arizona which prohibit pregnant women from getting a divorce. The justifications usually involve ensuring the continuing care and well-being of children. But keeping women in abusive relationships, or relationships that aren't working (at least for the women) may actually be detrimental to the children. But the whole aim of these laws are the same as the aim of abortion bans is to keep women in subservient and impoverished positions. As the article says, keep women doing all of the unpaid and undervalued work that keeps society functioning. I remember, some decades ago, when the news media always featured a report on how much it would cost to actually pay women for all of the caring work they weren't, and still are not, paid for. I haven't seen even that minimal acknowledgement of women's work for forty years.