I'm rushing out a midweek posting because just today(!) there are too many items that need urgent attention, starting with several I’ve only been warning about for a long time. Years, in fact. (Though I save the most egregious for last):
1. 'Amid fierce battles, Russia warns it could hit US satellites'… especially the Starlink system that Elon Musk deployed, that has proved crucial to Ukraine - but Putin’s real goal would be to degrade the spectacularly successful support from US spy/intel sats. And if he blew up Low Earth Orbit (LEO) we would all suffer in a myriad ways. Except that our armored spy-sats would continue unimpeded. And you'll recall me talking about this many times.
2. For 15 years I’ve said that Taiwan and the S. China Sea are diversions from the real goal.
4. That and the pure fact that federal deficit-to-gdp ratios always go DOWN under democrats and skyrocket under Repubs. Always. And I mean that. Always.
5. US economy rebounds in the third quarter as GDP growth of 2.6% surpasses expectations.
6. More Trump Hotels Charged Secret Service Exorbitant Rates.
7. Americans die younger in states run by conservatives, study finds. Well, again, duh? GOP run states (except Utah) suck in far more federal tax $ than they contributes and have for 150 years. And the reddest dominate the charts in every turpitude.
8. If We need any more evidence and proof of the derangement of Putin’s mentality the following link to an article gives it: “Why Russia Stole Potemkin’s Bones From Ukraine.” Especially since we in the west know the word "potemkin" primarily for one thing. As a synonym for putting up a false front. (Look up 'Potemkin Village'.)
9. Enviro bad news... but some really good news, too!
Consider what we have seen just this year: Deadly flooding and heat waves spread in the U.S. In Europe and China, droughts dried up rivers, exposing sunken warships and cutting off supply routes. In Pakistan, a heat wave sent temperatures above 120 degrees Fahrenheit, and monsoon floods submerged a third of the country. In the U.S. we are seeing dozens of '500 year" events every single year. |
Even under the most optimistic climate forecasting models, such extreme weather will get worse and become more common in the coming decades. |
And yet...
While 5 degrees of warming once seemed possible, scientists now estimate that the Earth is on track to warm by 2 to 3 degrees. That difference might not seem huge, but it translates to fewer record-breaking floods, storms, droughts and heat waves and potentially thousands or millions of lives saved in the coming decades. |
“The window of possible climate futures is narrowing, and as a result, we are getting a clearer sense of what’s to come: a new world, full of disruption but also billions of people, well past climate normal and yet mercifully short of true climate apocalypse,” explains this cogent article. |
10. And finally (for a rushed, mid-week posting), media fulminate over the PA debate, wherein Fetterman saying 'good night' at the beginning and read from a closed caption screen. In fact, Mr. Fetterman reads and writes fine, but has a slight hearing aphasia. Hence the closed caption screen. And guess what, we elect Senators to innovate and vote on POLICY, which is mostly written.
MAGAs' mean-minded prejudice attacks on Fetterman's health is belied by their support of the obviously insane H Walker and MT Green and D Trump, who crowed that he had 'passed' a mental acuity test that was designed for extreme stroke victims, that a five year old would score better on. He refused any sort of normal mental capacity test by neutral parties.
And dig it, even if JF dies in office or has to retire he won't be a dictator loving, lying lunatic like Mehmet Oz.
Meanwhile, though, there's a far more important take away from the Oz-Fetterman debate. I bet no one commented on how the Oz-statement on abortion (that the federal government should leave it all to the states) exactly echoes the position of Stephen Douglas, in the 1858 Lincoln Douglas Debates. In some places almost word-for-word...
... so let's remember what Douglas said should be 'left to the states.' Slavery. And for a cheater minority who seized power within some states to anchor in their dominance forever. Today, it is about more than abortion. That 'states rights' excuse for oligarchy and oppression includes gerrymandered permanent GOP power ignoring the populace, supported by the Roberts Doctrine.
And that is the real reason why you need to grab every insipid 'they're all the same' splitter by the scruff and tell them what you'll do to them, if they don't spread the word to every lazy-rationalizing Stein-Naderite. To vote.
41 comments:
Ok, in the Watchmen graphic novel, Laurie has a memory of her mother explaining to Laurie's stepfather how she ever let her attempted rapist back close enough to father her illegitimate child. The scene described takes place against 1950s sensibilities of gender relations, and Sally's explanation amounts to:
"[I] shouted at him, he looked surprised, couldn't imagine why I'd bear a grudge. See, it's different for him. And I couldn't sustain it...the anger..."
She can't sustain the anger at him for beating her and attempting to rape her a decade ago, so instead they fall into a sit-comish passionate scene which results in her extra-marital pregnancy.
I can't help but think of that when I keep hearing on the news that Democrats are rapidly falling in the polls, that abortion, Ukraine, and fascism were months ago, and what matters now is gas prices. If my fellow Americans are really this shallow, then Lord knows I can't save them. There's no cure for willful stupidity.
A political cartoon in last Saturday's Chicago Tribune should be plastered on billboards everywhere before Nov 8. It depicts a man filling up at a gas station, complaining, "Unfair! I voted for fascism over democracy and prices are STILL HIGH!"
Ya think?
The "abortion debate" echoes the "slavery debate" perfectly
If a woman does not have control of her own body, blood and organs then she is a "Slave" and has LESS rights than a corpse
duncan cairncross:
If a woman does not have control of her own body, blood and organs then she is a "Slave" and has LESS rights than a corpse
That's the part that makes no sense to me. Right-wingers are now pushing the idea that a fetus should be granted personhood, and that that will legally turn abortion into murder, which is illegal in all states and can't just be undone by a Democratic congress.
But that argument rests on more than the fetus being granted equal rights to adult humans. It presumes the fetus has superior rights to the person in whose body it is hijacking in order to grow.
In my view, even with fetal personhood, abortion could be self-defense rather than murder. And especially so in the cases of ectopic pregnancy, or where the fetus in question is already dead. The ideal that fetal personhood trumps female personhood seems absurd on its face.
At least remove, if fetal personhood is recognized, then a man who rapes a woman who is likely to follow up with an abortion should be charged with child endangerment--for placing a "child" in a life-threatening situation.
Larry, [from last thread]
Trump vaccines?
Perish the thought. 8)
It's an old 'point of order' for me. There are a number of health related activities that are predictable costs to us that we pay for via insurance which is supposed to deal with the impacts of unpredictable risks. A 'savings' account should suffice for a number of easily predicted costs like checkups, common vaccines, physicals, and even a number of things that drive us to urgent care that aren't emergencies.
Some of us use pre-tax savings accounts along with our high deductible insurance in order to keep policy costs down on the side that pays for catastrophic events. I tend to think of services paid from the savings account as 'subscription' health activities. If you pay for gym membership that is covered under the same umbrella. 'Stuff' you do (or oughta do) regularly to avoid some risks that lead to catastrophic events.
I can't recommend signing on to any Trump plans, though. They'd probably work out as well as his higher education degrees did. 8)
Larry,
The ideal that fetal personhood trumps female personhood seems absurd on its face.
The counter-argument for that is the perception of consent given by the woman to the risks that led to pregnancy.
Yah. There are obvious exceptions to her giving consent. I personally reject person-hood for a fetus up to some fuzzy point and skip the whole consent debate. After that point, I still don't want to get involved and sure as hell don't want my government involved.
-----
I've long argued that Roe v Wade was decided incorrectly because they made it a privacy argument. Abortion is really about liberty. Is a fertile woman free or not? Back when Roe was decided, advocates likely would have lost the case had they focused on liberty, but that's really the underlying social debate.
Alfred Differ:
"Trump vaccines?"
Perish the thought. 8)
That was my response to your assertion that there is money to be made in vaccine subscriptions. It occurred to me that an untapped source of revenue would be a way to specifically market vaccines to anti-vaxxers. They'd shell out the bucks if the seller was Donald Trump.
I personally reject person-hood for a fetus up to some fuzzy point and skip the whole consent debate.
I suggest to the so-called-originalists like Clarence Thomas that the Constitution demands a an actual enumeration of "whole number of persons" determining representation in congress. And from 1789 onward, long before universal suffrage, the census has counted women as persons. It has never counted fetuses.
they made it a privacy argument. Abortion is really about liberty. Is a fertile woman free or not
You've said so before, and I can't disagree.
Back in the 70s, some feminists argued against the Equal Rights Amendment, arguing the Constitution already protected women's rights as human rights, and that a separate amendment treating women as a special case was demeaning. However, I wonder if the amendment would have helped the cause now, making the truth of female personhood clear.
I think the amendment would have helped their case today AND the argument that they were already covered is horse pucky. The same argument would extend to all humans if we took it seriously... and we obviously don't.
As for anti-vaxxers, I doubt they'd buy it no matter who sells it. Their objection relies primarily upon distrust of stuff being pushed upon them 'for their own good'. They distrust you and me. They ingest all sorts of crap, but won't inject it if we recommend it.
The Vozd today gave a speech that ought to appeal to voters here.
Voters fed up with rootless cosmopolitan elites who degrade traditional martial values. One of his boyars warned of the “Satanic” nature of the neoliberal/neocon international wire-pullers—whose dance ‘round the Golden Calf has assumed cataclysmic proportions. Thus, Ukrainian civilians must be sacrificed, as countless Christians have been sacrificed in the name of God.
A burnt offering.
[cont.]
Those of you of little faith shall be further persuaded here. Do you think it is coincidence that such important elections are held in your nation during the month of November, the same month JFK was assassinated? Besides an unstable man who defected to and from Russia, there was a Mannlicher Carcano rifle involved, manufactured in the year 1938. The year of Munich!
(To cap it off, November 22nd 1963 was the date the Beatles released their second album, displaying their decadent hairstyles on the record jacket.)
——
Seven years after Munich, in the fateful year of 1945, you Americans began the process of fluoridating your water supplies in many of your states.
***
Are all these seemingly random facts presented above beginning to jell in your minds—into a holistic?
And that is the real reason why you need to grab every insipid 'they're all the same' splitter by the scruff and tell them what you'll do to them, if they don't spread the word to every lazy-rationalizing Stein-Naderite.
I am still convinced that if your Greens had a realistic chance to come into power, they would move to the center. And maybe, in many decades, they will do so; imagine the GOP collapsing and climate change issues becoming more and more pressing.
And from 1789 onward, long before universal suffrage, the census has counted women as persons. It has never counted fetuses.
Just an idea/speculation: What would happen if mothers could vote once for every child they have? Including fetuses?
On influenza vaccination subscriptions:
I'd rather like to have them available for free and being able to choose voluntarily if I want them or not. While there are certainly weaknesses in our healthcare system (such as exploding costs and lack of skilled workers), cheap availability of drugs and vaccines is not.
Der Oger,
They aren't free, though. You all might amortize them across the whole population by paying for them out of tax revenues (I'm not opposed), but a price is still being paid. Given the level of mistrust Americans have for their own government(s), my suggestion starts where I think we have a chance of signing on a large fraction of us.
It's not likely to happen the way I imagine it for a different reason, though. We'd have to change the system we currently live under. Trying that around here brings out the crazy loons and their ideas. We get everything from 'kill all health programs' to 'enroll and enforce it with everyone'. It's a quick way to either end a political career or cause bloodshed in the streets.
Now, I don't like to get people agitated in the lead up to what could be a distressing election day, but David your comments on Fetterman deserve rebuttal.
It is true that we don't in the current era hold Senators to the highest standards of quality. Fun fact, the term senate and the term senile both derive from the same Latin root, senex. It is a place for mature, steady wisdom. We tolerate a few who are dozing in their seats. Your Senator Feinstein for instance is widely reported to have cognitive impairment.
But is this what we should be settling for? Does this inspire confidence in our populace and give pause to the skunks of the world?
But lets discuss judgement. Fetterman has been very reluctant to give out any information. The laughable, were it not deplorable, note from his doctor notwithstanding. It is on record that he has a longstanding cardiac issue (atrial fib and an enlarged heart) that hints at a serious condition. And that he refused treatment, presumably anticoagulants. The consequences for him were a stroke. And its not a minor processing issue like Joe Biden's famous stutter, he's struggling.
There was still time for him to withdraw, for the D's to replace him and quite likely win against a mediocre R opponent. But he, or those who give him instructions, would not do it. The consequences for the Progressive cause will be on them if the Senate flips.
Even his debate performance. Heavily assisted but still not something a citizen of PA would be proud of. Post facto his people blamed the company that ran the captioning system. Angrily they replied that the system worked fine, and that Fetterman had been given the chance to do two trial runs. He, or the people who direct him, decided once was sufficient.
I don't get too agitated about "gaffes" and such but Biden's comment that Mrs. Fetterman would be a "great lady of the Senate" smells of a fix being in. Get through the election, resign for reasons of health and appoint Mrs. F. If this is the plan in advance it is a fraud. The shame of the press is that nobody has to my knowledge, asked Fetterman about this possibility.
As I said before the two electrified hazards of American politics are messing with my kids or messing with my ability to vote for the candidate of my choice.
If this is the plan then it is a damnable fraud. If they think Fetterman can bumble along and just sign what people slide in front of him then it is a sad commentary on the state of the Democratic party.
You guys don't need better marketing. You don't even need better ideas (although shedding a few of the loonier ones would help). You need better people.
Progressive values deserve better than to be represented by the Party of the neurologically impaired.
Tacitus
(for those who have turned up in times recent I am a retired physician who has a practical knowledge of neurology. David does know a lot more about comets)
Alfred Differ:
As for anti-vaxxers, I doubt they'd buy it no matter who sells it. Their objection relies primarily upon distrust of stuff being pushed upon them 'for their own good'. They distrust you and me.
Ah, but as Major Strasser reminded Viktor Lazlo, there is one exception. They trust Donald Trump. And they give him money even for nothing in return. And they believe everything he says, even the parts that contradict the other parts.
Der Oger:
Just an idea/speculation: What would happen if mothers could vote once for every child they have? Including fetuses?
It wouldn't happen in America. Even born children can't vote, so we're pretty safe from fetal suffrage.
But you inadvertently channeled an idea in Dave Sim's epic Cerebus comic. In the story, Upper Felda was a matriarchal society with mothers at the top of the political power structure. One did not become a full citizen until one had given a live birth. And the rule was "One live birth, one vote". So almost exactly what you proposed.
Strangely enough (to my ear), the society was very big on traditional marriage roles. The mothers were all Mrs. This and Mrs. That, using their husband's surnames. But the men had no political standing. They were there to do stuff like move furniture and build houses and take out the garbage.
Tacitus:
You guys don't need better marketing. You don't even need better ideas (although shedding a few of the loonier ones would help). You need better people.
You make a good point, but it would be better if the game were fair. You fail to recognize the truth of what my side is up against.
We suffer from lack of "better people" than Donald Trump, Herschel Walker, and Marjorie Taylor Greene? Really?
What happened? My irony meter just exploded with no warning.
Tacitus:
As a Pennsylvanian and an Independent, I'm not going to defend Fetterman or the Democrats, I also think they should have a better candidate.
But you said: "As I said before the two electrified hazards of American politics are messing with my kids or messing with my ability to vote for the candidate of my choice."
I agree with you here. These two issues are paramount. Everything else, domestic policy, economy, foreign policy, wokeness, crime, whatever important issue you could name is secondary to these.
Our current GOP candidate for governor, Doug Mastriano, has actively, repeatedly and illegally tried to throw out the votes of 8.7 million Pennsylvania residents* and replace them with ONE, his own. Dr. Oz has actively, repeatedly and is still currently not condemning this. He is just looking the other way, wink, wink, nudge, nudge.
Fetterman can die tomorrow for all I care. I'd vote for a cat, before I'd vote for either of them. And, if you truly believe what you just said, so would you.
*Well, technically, it's only 4.0 million who would be disenfranchised, 3.4 million would be fine with it.
As an aside, I work the elections here in my county, have for years. Every person denying the election results and claiming fraud, (only if their candidate loses, of course) is insulting me, personally.
One Fish Two Fish Red Fish Blue Fish...
It's Dueling Seussian contradictions as our fine host attempts to reconcile & steer between the Scylla of Merit and the Charybdis of Equality, even though merit is a synonym for inequality & equality is the antonym of merit.
He starts with Merit, the assertion that one group is necessarily superior to some other group in terms of worth, quality, morality, intellect & ability, and then he segues into Equality, the assertion that no identity is necessarily superior or inferior to any other individual & group in terms of worth, quality, morality, intellect & ability.
The Red State is inferior to the Blue State and the Democrat superior to the Republican, he argues, while simultaneously arguing that a demented, deficient, aphasic or brain-damaged democrat is at least the EQUAL of the uncompromised professional intellectual conservative.
His merit-based arguments constitute the Modern Sin of Ableism, aka 'discrimination in favour of able-bodied people', wherein it is now considered irredeemably evil to judge any group or individual in terms of worth, quality, morality, intellect & ability.
Equality & the principles of Ableism presuppose that everything & everyone is equal to, indistinguishable from and interchangeable with everything & everyone else:
Men are equal to Women; Incompetence is equal to Competence; Intelligence is equal to Stupidity; Criminality is equal to Law Obedience; and one irredeemable political party is equal to any other political party.
The Denouement comes & it won't be pretty, as the elite meritocratic ruling caste are judged by the very same equality mumbo jumbo enforced upon those-they-rule, which makes our 'best' (as judged by Dr. Brin) the equal of our 'worst' and leads invariably to the guillotine & killing fields.
It's tragicomedy at its best, worst, most ironic and/or 'most equal'.
Best
A while back I read a post (that I'm to lazy to find) on the passage in Exodus that levied a fine against the person causing a miscarriage by assault. The poster went into a detailed exegesis of the passage with a Hebrew word study arguing against abortion. It turned this guy thought the miscarried fetus would be viable in the bronze age.
Good lord, Tacitus, Seriously? You say absolutely nothing - whatsoever - about Fetterman’s ability to do the job… OR dire consequences, should he have to resign at some point.
Carumba, If Fetterman has a 2nd stroke and drools through his speeches he would be better than H Walker or Oz or or MTGreen or a majority of blackmailed Kremlin-controlled goppers. But he’d simply resign and the PA governor… presumably Shapiro, since Mastriano has proved (typically for modern republicans) to be a frothing-rabid monster PA citizens hate. SO WHAT’S YOUR POINT?
“I don't get too agitated about "gaffes””. What? That’s all you are going on about! And would you willingly wager on a statistical gaffe comparison between prominent dems and goppers?
“You guys don't need better marketing. You don't even need better ideas (although shedding a few of the loonier ones would help). You need better people.“
Sheisse! Shall we wager over rates of indictment by grand juries? Or rates of conviction by citizen juries for actual crimes? Or rates of proved lies? Or rates of turpitude in Red-run states vs. blues? Cause I have escrowed wager stakes that not one republican has had the guts to take up.
Seriously, man. What rants are you tuning into?
Vladimir Putin said Russia’s battle was with “Western elites,” apparently trying to win over political conservatives abroad.
It is SO working! I tune into a number of GOP agitprop sites and they (with sly methods like "he's bad but so smart!") are all-in for Putin.
Alas, Tacitus is right that dem pols are polemically stoopid, unable to make clear that the 'elites' Putin and deSantis rage against are every single profession dedicated to the application of things called facts. Nor are they able to tabulate the 'elites' controlling the GOP: Casino-mafia moguls (they made one president), hedge fund lords, inheritance brats, foreign dictators who launder $$$ through guys like Sheldon Adelson directly into the GOP...
...the exact kind of 'elites' Adam Smith denounced as the top enemies of fair markets and that the US Founders denounced as top enemies of freedom.
But oooh, Fetterman might have to read and write instead of giving glib speeches nd might have to be replaced by a sane governor at some point.
Tacitus the MD... we're much more interested in your opinion of the long list of fake cures Oz has pushed.
Dr Brin:
Seriously, man. What rants are you tuning into?
Unfortunately, it's not Tacitus who you need to convince. He's a barometer of similarly situated white voters in a crucial swing state who seemed convinced that however ridiculous the Republican candidates are, they are a safer choice than those Democrats who just have something suspiciously shifty about them.
Republican voters are why we can't have nice things.
Democrats are the X-Men, "Hated and feared by the people they're sworn to protect."
https://www.nytimes.com/2022/10/21/opinion/rural-america-politics.html
...
While rural woes are real, however, it’s hard to see how supporting right-wing politicians makes sense as a response to these woes. Republicans in Congress have made it clear that if they take control, they will try to slash the safety-net programs that do so much to support rural America. On the other side, Biden administration actions, especially the subsidies associated with climate policy, represent a serious effort — one that has no G.O.P. counterpart — to bring jobs back to declining regions in the heartland.
But what about cultural grievances, the sense of rural residents that urban elites view them with disdain? There’s surely some truth to this sense, although I have never actually heard anyone talk dismissively about “flyover country” — as a 2016 article in National Geographic pointed out, the pejorative is largely used by people who put it in someone else’s mouth, “a stereotype of other people’s stereotypes.”
On the other hand, small-town and rural Americans often trash-talk big cities, portraying them as crime-ridden hellholes, when the reality is that except in New England, homicide rates in 2020 were generally higher in more rural states
...
I don’t know how to make a systematic comparison here, but it’s not at all clear that urban elites sneering at rural Americans is any worse than the calumny hurled in the opposite direction.
The problem is that none of this may matter. When commentators call on Democrats to address rural needs, well, they’re actually doing that — certainly more than Republicans, who are preparing to pull the rug from under programs that rural areas depend on. When people call on urban elites to end their disrespect for rural Americans, well, perceptions about such disrespect may not have much to do with reality.
There have been many articles written about how Democrats need to reach out to rural voters, and of course they need to keep trying. But rural perceptions are so much at odds with reality, and rural America is becoming so monolithic politically, that it’s hard to imagine that they’ll have much success.
After a stroke, one is strongly pulled in two opposite directions. The first is to curl up in blankets and hope that nobody ever sees or talks to you ever again. That nobody will discover how wounded you are. The second is to reach out to everyone, friend or foe, and grasp for any thread of human contact that can rescue you from the most terrible loneliness imaginable. It's not a choice between cowardice and bravery, but rather between oblivion and what I call 'syntonicity'.
A speech therapist once told me to mutter choruses from oldies, to build vocal confidence.
One example is:
C'mon people now
Smile on your brother
Everybody get together
Try to love one another
Right now
From the blog post:
Even under the most optimistic climate forecasting models, such extreme weather will get worse and become more common in the coming decades.
It is the end of October, and we have 25° Celsius and sunshine instead of 10° and rainstorms. The only time I remember it to have been warmer at this time of the year was 1995. In Rome.
There is a positive side to it: Less energy consumption needed, thus more time for us to adapt, thus less time for Putin.
@ Alfred Differ
It's a quick way to either end a political career or cause bloodshed in the streets.
Our system is not perfect, either. Hospitals and any type of care institution are on the verge of collapse, since skilled workers flee from the healthcare system.
I think Norway had the best idea: to use the money generated by oil and gas, invest it, and use the dividends from those investments to finance welfare programms.
@ Fetterman debate:
Hey, it could be worse: we have a head of government who is rumored to be absent for weeks, appears to be under the influence of sedatives when publicly speaking, and cannot remember having met tax-evading bankers and corporate fraudsters who are rumored to have fled to Belarus ...
Jokes aside, voters have two choices: Voting for someone who will not try to destroy democracy and voting for someone who will. It is that simple. All other thoughts are secondary.
Der Oger:
Jokes aside, voters have two choices: Voting for someone who will not try to destroy democracy and voting for someone who will. It is that simple. All other thoughts are secondary.
While I am in complete agreement with you, there is a problem which may be endemic to America. Here, the right-wing Republicans also agree with that sentiment, but to them, it is the socialist nanny-state Democrats who will "try to destroy democracy". Republicans are openly running for office on the notion that they will crack down on what they call voter fraud, but what amounts to enabling their voter suppression or (in the case of presidential elections) voter nullification. They seem to think that this is acceptable to keep "those people" from unfairly influencing election results by voting.
So while polls consistently show "saving democracy" as an issue high on voters' priorities, Republicans and Democrats mean very different things by those words.
BTW, my wife and I just early-voted in Illinois, and my daughter has already voted absentee down at the University of Illinois. We can safely ignore the ubiquitous political ads for the next week and a half.
While the national news outlets would have us believe that Democrats are doomed in the midterms, I'm pretty confident that Illinois will remain bright blue in both state and federal offices. The one race I am concerned about, though, is by district and not one that I am able to participate in where I live. The justices on the Illinois supreme court are elected, and as I say, they are elected by district, not statewide. Two of the seats are up for election in more Republican areas of the state, and if Republicans win both, they will have a 4-3 majority on the court. There are lawsuits in the state claiming that somehow the state law which protects abortion is unconstitutional. That doesn't make any sense, but if we've learned anything recently, it's that Republican judges can insist that the law is whatever the f*** they say it is, even the things that contradict the other things.
Just to keep the suspense up, I guess.
scidata:
A speech therapist once told me to mutter choruses from oldies, to build vocal confidence.
One example is:
C'mon people now
Smile on your brother
Everybody get together
Try to love one another
Right now
I'm more of a mind of:
God, Thy will is hard,
But You hold every card.
I will drink Your cup of poison.
Nail me to Your cross, and break me,
Bleed me, beat me, kill me, take me
Now, before I change my mind.
Larry Hart:
The only Webber play I've ever seen is Phantom. But like you, I sometimes use Star Trek episodes as allegories to save a lot of preamble and contextualizing. Of course, that trick only works in a blog like this one :)
In "The Tholian Web", Kirk finds himself entirely alone in a different universe. That's the loneliness of which I speak. It can't really be described because one's higher brain functions must temporarily shut down to experience it. I will say this. If everyone could experience that alone-ness even for a moment, there would be no more tribalism or hate. I've quoted the words of Captain Ahab to Starbuck before, "let me look into a human eye".
On Superstar...
I was 10 in 1971 when Jesus Christ, Superstar was a big thing here in America. As a young Jewish boy, I barely knew anything of the Christ story other than Santa Claus (Heh), but my fifth grade Sunday School class did a comparative religion unit, and as part of the bit on Christianity, my hip teacher played cuts from the soundtrack album of the rock opera. The music infiltrated my mind so much that if anything could have converted me*, that would have. The essentially secular presentation of the story in that musical made so much sense that it spoiled me for any other renditions of the so-called Greatest Story.
My infant daughter used to get Jesus's Soliloquy from Superstar as one of her lullabies.
* Which reminds me of this bit from Marc Cohen's "Walking in Memphis" :
Now Muriel plays piano
Every Friday at the Hollywood.
And they brought me down to see her,
And they asked me if I would
Do a little number,
And I sang with all my might.
She said: "Tell me are you a Christian child?"
And I said "Ma'am, I am tonight!"
Andrew Lloyd Webber is arguably the richest entertainer in history, who could buy & sell any combo of rock/rap stars. Why?
Because live theater tickets are both expensive and VERY easy to audit against cheating.
Andrew Lloyd Webber is arguably the richest entertainer in history, who could buy & sell any combo of rock/rap stars. Why?
or maybe because he caters to an older, and thus more wealthy audience.
David
You raise a number of points. In some cases I think you misunderstand me.
Last things first, I spend relatively little time on the internet. Of the half dozen sites I do visit regularly none comes close to the level of rantage I often find at Contrary Brin!
The US Senate is intended to be a place for active debate. It also is charged with the duty of questioning and approving the nominees of the executive branch. Mr. Fetterman does not seem equipped to do either. And as to the prospects of his continued service...you don't get an implanted defibrillator/pacemaker for a minor hiccup. His unwillingness to provide medical records along with the serious judgement lapses I mentioned last time around speak to an evasive, arrogant mind set. And if Senators are no more than rubber stamps for their respective parties why not eliminate the job description?
Others here have found themselves in partial agreement with some of my points. There are places where election integrity has to be thought of. No sane person advocates Internet voting. Drop boxes, ballot harvesting operations, absentee ballots for expanded reasons...these are areas where both sides have a vital interest and where clear ground rules should be established and adhered to. I want your vote to count.
Long, long ago I recall my wife getting me a copy of The Postman. I read it straight through and considered it an inspired work. I still do in fact.
It is probably a mug's game to look for where authors "place" themselves in their work. Having gotten to know you in the decades since I'm sure you identify with the titular character. But there were a couple of minor, throwaway guys who had a line that might apply today. A tip of the cap to Rosencrantz and Guildenstern I suspect. I'm traveling and away from my shelves so pardon my paraphrasing.
It was after The Postman had been disturbed finding a cache of pills and ammo. Later he overheard a couple of low level flunkies waxing enthusiastic about how the Boss might let them sample some of the pills, a good old time being anticipated.
Then one sighed and said something along the lines of: " I remember when we expected more from life".
Biden, Harris, Fetterman, Feinstein.....you should expect more. I certainly do from Republicans when I vote that way. Which is not always. No, not at all.
Tacitus
@Tacitus,
First of all, I know I'm horning in on a conversation you're directing at someone else. Just my two cents. And I'm trying to have a real discussion, not just confrontation.
The US Senate is intended to be a place for active debate. It also is charged with the duty of questioning and approving the nominees of the executive branch.
Don't you think that ship sailed with McConnell's dereliction of that duty regarding Merrick Garland*? And how much deliberation was done, or even allowed, on Kavanaugh or Amy Coney Barrett. I'm sure some deliberation is done, as between Schumer and Manchin regarding the details of Build Back Better or the Inflation Reduction Act, but on some very significant legislation affecting national policy, it seems all that a Senator does is vote "R" or "D".
* No, Democrats didn't start it with Robert Bork. The Senate deliberated and voted on him, and voted him down on the merits, so then a different Republican nominee was eventually seated. Rejecting an occasional nominee is not a dereliction of duty. Failing to advise and give/withhold consent is.
His unwillingness to provide medical records along with the serious judgement lapses I mentioned last time around speak to an evasive, arrogant mind set.
Again, didn't that ship already sail with Donald Trump. Or Herschel Walker if you want to limit it to Senators?
And if Senators are no more than rubber stamps for their respective parties why not eliminate the job description?
Because it's in the Constitution.
Otherwise, since the most important thing Congresspeople do now is elect their Houses' dictators along party lines, and Republican presidents' judicial nominations are no more than rubber stamps for the Federalist Society, why not eliminate all branches of government altogether?
Same answer.
There are places where election integrity has to be thought of. No sane person advocates Internet voting. Drop boxes, ballot harvesting operations, absentee ballots for expanded reasons...these are areas where both sides have a vital interest and where clear ground rules should be established and adhered to. I want your vote to count.
I agree, but it seems to me that Republicans as a whole don't (want my vote to count). It's not just the parties who have a vital interest--the voters also have one. I'm all for any rules which:
1) Make it as convenient as possible for a legal voter to cast a ballot
2) Insure that only legal voters cast ballots
3) Insure that individual voters only vote once
If that helps Democrats, that's just how democracy is supposed to work. Republicans have the recourse of trying to appeal to more voters than they do. They don't have an equal right to suppress the vote just because that tactic is politically beneficial to them.
Wow, I hit the character limit. To be continued...
@Tacitus (continued):
" I remember when we expected more from life".
Y'know, you really tugged at my heartstrings with that one.
I'd say you're (we're) being Edith Keeler on this one--right, but at the wrong time. By the time we could weed out mediocre Democrats and replace them with inspiring lights, Republicans would have so thoroughly taken over the reins of power--not just the current offices, but the means of deciding future elections--that the Reich would last a thousand years.
Biden, Harris, Fetterman, Feinstein.....you should expect more. I certainly do from Republicans when I vote that way.
You have a luxury that we don't. Republicans can be elected with Widespread Republican support. Democrats in this country--certainly in your state but also nationwide--cannot possibly be elected without some crossover appeal to traditional Republican voters. To beat Donald Trump, we had to nominate the Democrat who was the most non-threatening to white, Christian rural voters. To win in West Virginia, we have to run Joe Manchin. To win in Pennsylvania (my brother lives there so I have some knowledge), we probably had to go with Fetterman.
Republicans can get away with nominating a Herschel Walker or a Marjorie Taylor Greene or a Donald Trump--all of whose qualifications are worse than those Democrats you listed above-- and still have a reasonable chance of winning their races. The fact that they anger liberals is a feature, not a bug. The fact that they have absolutely no crossover appeal to Democratic voters is a feature, not a bug.
Larry
I enjoy our conversations. I very much regret that the one time we almost were able to get together over beer at a minor league ballgame did not work out. Alas.
There are a lot of crummy people in politics.
My occasional sorties here are simply to attempt an cast a bit of light on the attitudes and opinions of a significant segment of society. Actual conservatives not strawmen/women and cartoons. In return I often gain bits of insight that help me regards those whose ideas differ.
I'll take a certain degree of abuse in exchange for that!
Tacitus
Tacitus:
I very much regret that the one time we almost were able to get together over beer at a minor league ballgame did not work out. Alas.
That time I was at a brand new job and couldn't easily get days off. I've been at the same place for five years now, and time off is easy to come by. If you're down here for a game next summer, I'd be glad to try again.
My occasional sorties here are simply to attempt an cast a bit of light on the attitudes and opinions of a significant segment of society. Actual conservatives not strawmen/women and cartoons
I recognize that you are telling us inconvenient truths. Not what I'd like to hear, but truths that reflect voting patterns for many of my fellow Americans. Trying to talk you out of what you're saying is not the point, as it's the voters you are channeling who need convincing.
I literally don't know how to reach them--both in the sense of "getting them to listen in the first place" and "convincing". Polls consistently show that most voters prefer Democratic policies to Republican ones, but that doesn't overcome fear of the accepted narratives that Democrats are soft on crime*, bad for the economy**, and want to destroy the country*** with their socialist agenda.
* Not only that we coddle criminals. The narrative is that Democrats somehow support crime.
** Dr Brin is correct that the economy functions better under Democrats. But Democrats don't genuflect before the rich and powerful, so they give their financial support to the Rs
*** Seriously! They actually believe that Joe Biden hates America and wants to somehow destroy it. While they support Vladimir Putin, who does both of those things.
Tacitus I hope a thick enough skin will disabuse you of the notion that you are 'abused' here. In fact you are always welcome.
Indeed, you are far more valuable than our reflexive flatlander trolls because you bring here the 'best' rationalizations of those struggling to hold only lifelong loyalties, in the face of grotesque zombification of the US right.
In this case I'm sorry. The Fetterman stuff was extremely weak. Still, I am edified. Hang around here. We all like you.
Related to the Blog Post: Who is primarily responsible for dyke construction in the US? The states? Federal government? The local communities?
Most levees are built by the federal government, not unlike other public works. The US Army Corps of Enginners is the public face of levee construction and maintenance, although not all levees are under their purview.
See: https://levees.sec.usace.army.mil/#/
onward
onward
Post a Comment