Frosty but not as much as yesterday when we had frost on the roofs and cars. We had frost warnings for the last couple of days which reminds me of why I try not to hurry up and plant. By next week the temperatures should be warmer but I still don't want to put anything in my containers till about Mothers' Day. I probably won't get everything in before sometime in June. At least seeing green leaves, and flowering trees and bushes has improved my mood--until I have to deal with computer problems which we still have.
John Ganz posted this interesting piece on his Unpopular Front substack site. Commentators have observed the growth of an "imperial Presidency" since the Nixon administration. As I read the post I remembered a theme I found in the various history books I have read: the stability of the society/government depended a great deal on the stability of the ruling line. The Roman Empire had its longest period of stability and relative peace (internally at least) between 98ce to 180ce. The emperors during this time came to power as adults with a record of competence after his adoption by his predecessor. Their succession was peaceful and uncontested. After the death of Marcus Aurelius that changed and the Empire was plagued with repeated contests between generals claiming the throne. During the Merovingian and Carolingian periods of Frankish history similar patterns developed. Kings often died leaving minor heirs who often died young, no heirs, or too many heirs in a system of inheritance where all male heirs had a claim to succeed. Democracies and republics have the same problems without the family drama (usually). Just because at least some portion of the citizenry can elect a leader doesn't mean that the chosen leader is wise, capable, or able to meet the needs of his time. We appear to be on the cusp of a time when the legitimacy of the "claimants to the throne" is questioned and we have no faith in the institutions which ensured legitimate succession.
Stray thought: I really can't believe that Justice Alito truly thinks they are making a "decision for the ages" in the case of Trump's claims to total immunity. NO decision is ever fully settled. Just look at the Dobbs hit job they issued. Roe v Wade was, according to Trump's three nominees to the high court, settled law--until it wasn't. I think several legal commentators had it right when they said it seemed more like the male, conservative justices simply didn't want to deal with the case before them so they shifted to more abstract themes.
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It is warm enough to do some outside work but a bit too wet. And the clouds are back so we might get more rain. If it clears up I might get into the shed and start getting things in order there. But we have some soccer games on today.
I have mentioned some very frustrating computer problems over the last couple or three weeks. I have most of the system back. The new computer can get my e-mail now but not my Blogger page. I can still get Blogger on my old computer which is still functioning well enough for that. I did cull my reading list a bit by not moving about a third of my list over and by unsubscribing to several feeds. Since I can't easily read and compose at the same time I think I will start posting only once a week. I can take notes on by hand and then incorporate them into a post later. I have thought about moving to another blogging site but haven't made a decision yet.
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