Aug 142023
 

Yesterday, I saw Virgil and we were able to play cribbage. I think I’ve mentioned that the deck is not new, so it’s sticky, and there are at least a half dozen cards, 0maybe as many as 10, that bend in half, both of which make it hard to shuffle and also hard to deal, which can result in some strange happenings. For example, I had a hand with two 7’s, two 3’s and one 5 (including the starter.) Well, that’s a nice hand, but I don’t recall seeing anything quite like it before. But several hands later, I  got the exact hand again, And several hands after that, I got a hand with two 9’s, 2 aces, and a five – which is essentially the same hand, just different denominations. And a few hands after that, I got that exact same hand again. Very strange. All in good fun, of course. I guess a little weirdness never hurts.

Cartoon –

Short Takes –

The New Yorker – Can “Cop City” Be Stopped at the Ballot Box?
Quote – I reached out to Mayor Dickens to ask whether he believes that Atlanta voters should be able to decide, after all the conflict and concern expressed in the past two years, whether to build the training center in the South River Forest. A spokesperson, in an e-mail, disputed the notion that a referendum could repeal a city ordinance. This initiative, he wrote, “would violate the constitutional prohibition on the impairment of contracts. That said,” he added, “we welcome public dialogue and engagement around our goal to build the most progressive Public Safety Training Center in the nation.”
Click through for story, of which, if you aren’t aware, it is not Freya’s fault. I would point out that “”progressive” does not mean the same thing in training police that it does in politics. In police training, it appears to mean something like all the latest gadgets to more effectively vcontrol people. Also, IANAL, but the theory that a referendum cannot revoke a city ordinance appears to me to be in violation of the people’s right to petition the government for redress of grievances, a right guaranteed by the First Amendment. It’s an empty right if the government in question claims in advance that there can be no redress.

al dot com – ‘Get them off their fannies:’ Gov. Kay Ivey on how to grow Alabama’s workforce
Quote – According to the U.S. Department of Labor, Alabama has a labor participation rate of 72.1 percent. Only three states rank lower even as the state’s workforce of about 2.3 million represents a new high mark. Still, ranking near the bottom nationally in labor participation somewhat offsets the fact that Alabama is 7th nationally with a 2.2 percent unemployment rate. The unemployment rate, of course, only includes those looking for jobs. “Today, over 2.1 million people are employed in Alabama,” Ivey told the chamber audience. “That’s the most in state history, y’all.
Click thrugh for details. If you have so many job openings that you can’t fill them all, even with people who are not looking for work (and probably NOT “sitting on their fannies”), woudln’t it be a good idea to make your state more friendly to potential workers? Like with reproductuve rights and other health care, and diversity and friendliness? What am I missong? (Heck, they can’t even keep both Senators in the state. Tuberville has moved to Florida – not that he isn’t a good fit there.)

Food For Thought

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Aug 042023
 

Glenn Kirschner – The 3 most incriminating witnesses in new Trump indictment? Meadows, Pence and …. Trump himself!

The Lincoln Project – Unintelligent Life

MSNBC – ‘Fearless’: The judge Trump will face in Jan. 6 criminal coup trial

The Ring of Fire – Biden’s Biggest Election Threat Isn’t Trump It Is Voters Not Showing Up

Great Dane Finds a New Grandma On Hiking Trail

Beau – Let’s talk about Biden, complaints, and jobs….

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Aug 082022
 

Yesterday, it was a pretty unexciting day until the word came out that the Inflatin Reduction Act had been passed by the Senate. I picked up a very short, graphic short take about it, figuring there will be plenty of time to discuss it at length.

Cartoon – .(which  forgot to insert before posting, but went back and added later)

Short Takes –

Letters from an American – August 6, 2022
Quote – “Gentlemen,” [Garfield] said, “ideas outlive men; ideas outlive all earthly things. You who fought in the war for the Union fought for immortal ideas, and by their might you crowned the war with victory. But victory was worth nothing except for the truths that were under it, in it, and above it. We meet tonight as comrades to stand guard around the sacred truths for which we fought…. [W]e will remember our allies who fought with us,” he told them. “Soon after the great struggle began, we looked beyond the army of white rebels, and saw 4,000,000 of [B]lack people condemned to toil as slaves for our enemies; and we found that the hearts of these 4,000,000 were God-inspired with the spirit of liberty, and that they were all our friends.” As the audience cheered, he continued: “We have seen white men betray the flag and fight to kill the Union; but in all that long, dreary war we never saw a traitor in a black skin.”
Click through for the background and what happened next. White supremacy = corruption. President Garfield was ambidextrous, multilingual, and so good at multitasking that he could write in Latin with one hand and Greek with the other at the same time. That means nothing – but this speech meant something. So, of course, they killed him.

Twitter – This happened yesterday at approximately 5 pm Eastern. By now I’m sure there is a real article of analysis up somewhere, but I didn’t want to wait:

I believe it goes to the House Friday. No need for tiebreaking there.

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Feb 062022
 

Yesterday, the opera house was dark. Not because anything newsworthy happend, but as part of a scheduled five week winter break The radio broadcast was a program of arias and duets recorded from Mat broadcasts during the period 1931-1941. No, the sound quality wasn’t what it is today, but compared to old 78 records, it was superb. The greatest stars of that decade were all retired (or dead) by the time I came to opera – and the greatest stars when I came to opera are all retired or dead now. Of course the same is true of theater and movies. Think “Little Caesar” (1931), “King Kong” (1933), “Camille” (1936), and 1939 with “Goodbye Mr. Chips,” “Gone with the Wind,” and “Thw Wizard of Oz” all in the same year. Remembering history may not be quite as important in the arts as it is in politics, but it doesn’t hurt either.

Also yesterday, I finished cleaning out TomCat’s Inbox … and also the “Sent” folder, the only other one which had anything in it except for the “Archive”, which is where I ave been putting any emails with information on accounts on other sites, or subscriptions, or any friends we may not have been aware of. That will be slower.

Cartoon –

Short Takes –

Letters from an American – February 4, 2022
Quote: For a long time, the idea that that economy thrives when the government supports ordinary Americans was not controversial. Democrats began to make it the centerpiece of our system in the 1930s when, after a decade in which the government worked only for the wealthy, they offered a “New Deal” for the American people. Over time, lawmakers from both major parties embraced it, believing they had finally figured out a truly American system that would serve everyone…. But in the 1980s, Republicans argued that this system stifled economic development by hampering the ability of producers to put their money where they thought it would do the most good. Instead of supporting workers, they argued, government should cut taxes to enable those at the top of the economic ladder to accumulate capital and invest in the economy. Tax cuts became their go-to solution for any sort of economic crisis. The government should support the “supply side” of the economy. Any attempt to use the government to help the “demand side” was, they said, “socialism.”
Click through for the full article. The problem is that seeing is NOT believing. Messaging is believing, and the false econimic message has been so powerful that even overwhelming evidence has not been able to dislodge it.

HuffPost – Unexpectedly Strong Jobs Report Caps A Better Week For Joe Biden
Quote – This week’s good breaks: the strong jobs report (which came with corrections making the past two jobs reports look far better than they did at the time), bipartisan backing for his strategy to counter Russia, a small step toward passage of a bipartisan economic package designed to counter China and a successful operation to assassinate a terrorist leader.
Click through for further discussion. This is very much tied in to the previous short take. Messaging is still the biggest problem.

Axios – HBCU presidents: Black history lessons are being “stifled”
Quote – What they’re saying: Some educators also want to reduce the focus on the usual high-profile figures. [Howard University president Wayne] Frederick told Axios that Black history lessons should include education about everyday Black heroes throughout the years — not just a handful of iconic Black figures. The lessons should include “men and women who’ve had the African American experience and who’ve done amazing things,” he said, pointing to the late Dr. LaSalle Leffall Jr. — the first Black president of the American Cancer Society.
Click through for a helping of truth. What president Frederick says has also occurred to me – and I may just feature some invisible Black people in fields I happen to know about. Anyone who is aware of invisible black people in fields I don’tknow much about is welcome to send me suggestions.

Food For Thought:

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Jan 212022
 

Yesterday, the day after my booster, I felt pretty good. A little drowsy. The injection site was a little (almost unnoticeably) sore, but it wasn’t hot or even warmer than the other arm. I waited until today to say anything, because I am such a delayed reactor – but if I were going to react, I would have felt something by then. So drowsiness is it – and that may not even be a reaction to the shot but from stress. I admit to being a worrywart.

Cartoon –

Short Takes –

HuffPost – Both DOJ And Jan. 6 Committee Closing In On Trump And His Family, New Filings Show
Quote – In a federal court filing Tuesday, lawyer Bilal Essayli said prosecutors asked his client, Jan. 6 defendant Brandon Straka, about his connections to Trump personally. “The government was focused on establishing an organized conspiracy between defendant, President Donald J. Trump, and allies of the former president, to disrupt the joint session of Congress on January 6,” Essayli wrote.
Click through for more. This is where leaks come from (and I doubt the prosecutors will be pleased about it.)

Press Watch – Where are the interviews with regular Americans terrified for our democracy?
Quote – It’s all highly reminiscent of what amounted to a near-boycott of Biden-supporter coverage before the 2020 election. New York Times columnist Jamelle Bouie wrote in July 2019 that “anti-Trump voters are practically invisible in recent mainstream political coverage” – even though they represented the majority of Americans. It didn’t get any better in the ensuing 16 months.
Click through for OpEd. Press Watch is a non-profit dedicated to keeping all of the media honest – or as honest as pissible. Someone at DU posted a link to and a quote from this article … and it really struck a chord. I have now subscribed to their newsletter.

The Daily Beast – Capitol Rioter’s Bail Revoked After Cops Find AR-15 in His Car During DUI Arrest
Quote – In his car, the cops found an AR-15, 60 rounds of ammunition, and combat fatigues. Conditions of his bail as he awaits trial for allegedly assaulting a police officer on Jan. 6 prohibited firearm possession, excessive drinking, and drug use, leading the Justice Department to request he be remanded into custody.
Cick through for details, although the headline pretty much covers it. Outrageous as this is, it’s pretty much what one has to do to get bail revoked if one is white.

Food For Thought:

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Nov 202021
 

Glenn Kirschner – While We Must Accept the Rittenhouse Jury’s Not Guilty Verdict, We have Much to Learn & Miles to Go – Here’s the link to his OpEd.

Meidas Touch – McCarthy’s Harangue

Thom Hartmann – Inside The GOP’s New “Leave It To Beaver” Southern Strategy  Mitch

Armageddon Update – Screaming From The Sane Center

Brent Terhune – We’re Hiring!

Beau – Let’s talk about the other case and verdict…. He’s right, we need to look at the good along with the bad. You can read more here, but Beau pretty well covers it.

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Nov 072021
 

Yesterday the radio opera was Carmen – an opera set in Spain, by a French composer. The Carmen was from Georgia (not ours, the one in Asia.) The Don Jose was from Poland, and the Escamillo from Germany. The performance was done in Vienna, Austria, and the radio station broadcasting it is in Chicago. I suspect Republican heads would explode.

Cartoon –

Short Takes –

PoliticusUSA – Adam Schiff Confirms That Trump’s Staff Are Flipping On Him
Quote – When MSNBC’s Lawrence O’Donnell asked if any of the nearly 150 interviews conducted by the 1/6 Committee contained Trump officials, Rep. Schiff answered: They do include people from the former administration. They include people in the private sector. They include people are experts in some of the — for example, the social media issues that we’re investigating. So they run the gamut.
Click through for a little more. Of course he can’t name names at this point.

Crooks and Liars – Rittenhouse Juror Dismissed After Telling Racist Joke
Quote – To make matters worse, the jokester tried to defend himself by claiming that the so-called joke had nothing to do with the current trial, showing how utterly clueless the juror was not only to what the trial was about but to his own inherent racism.
Click through for story, including complete “joke.” I am so glad the bailiff reported him …

Politizoom – Thank You Brandon Trends As October Jobs Report Is So Stellar Not Even Fox News Can Spin It
Quote – Revenge may be best served cold but Crow is a dish that Fox News really does not digest well at any temperature. Be that as it may, they’re eating a lot of it. The October jobs growth exceeded the original prediction of 450K and came in at 531K. People are rejoicing, and right-wing media is not sure quite what to do.
Click through for more detailed good news. If you have no idea how “Brandon” got into this, you can look here (NSFW).

Food for Thought –

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Everyday Erinyes #258

 Posted by at 10:23 am  Politics
Mar 202021
 

Experts in autocracies have pointed out that it is, unfortunately, easy to slip into normalizing the tyrant, hence it is important to hang on to outrage. These incidents which seem to call for the efforts of the Greek Furies (Erinyes) to come and deal with them will, I hope, help with that. As a reminder, though no one really knows how many there were supposed to be, the three names we have are Alecto, Megaera, and Tisiphone. These roughly translate as “unceasing,” “grudging,” and “vengeful destruction.”

Harry Golden, who invented, wrote, and published a home-made newsletter he called “The Carolina Israelite,” was writing in the fifties about the cultural significance of employment, and how, whether or not it is a good idea, we tie our worth to our job. And our identity. At that time, the work that gave people their identity was always outside the home. Unemployed people, even some retired people, would find reasons to leave the house every morning and return in the evening because they were literally ashamed not to. (What a blogger he would have made had he lived a generation or two later than he did!) I thought of that when I read this.

I’ve always had, I think a pretty good work ethic when I have had a job – doing it to the best of my ability, and with my heart – not watching the clock – even identifying with it to a degree. Two if the user names I use elsewhere than here on the internet include prior job titles in some way. But being now retired, and one of the lucky ones who can live on my retirement, I don’t miss it. I don’t need a job title to give me self respect. And I also am not a white supremacist. Apparently, those two things may be related.
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How the quest for significance and respect underlies the white supremacist movement, conspiracy theories and a range of other problems

Unemployed Blackjewel coal miners, their family members and activists man a blockade along railroad tracks leading to their old mine on Aug. 23, 2019, in Cumberland, Kentucky.
Scott Olson/Getty Images

Arie Kruglanski, University of Maryland

President Joe Biden’s fundamental pitch to America has been about dignity and respect. He never tires of repeating his father’s words that “a job is about more than a paycheck, it is about … dignity … about respect … being able to look your kid in the eye and say, ‘Everything is going to be OK.’”

In strikingly similar language, Princeton economists Anne Case and Angus Deaton affirm that “jobs are not just the source of money.” When jobs are lost, they wrote in 2020, “it is the loss of meaning, of dignity, of pride, and of self respect … that brings on despair, not just or even primarily the loss of money.”

I am a psychologist who studies the human quest for significance and respect. My research reveals that this basic motivation is a major force in human affairs. It shapes the course of world history and determines the destiny of nations. It underlies some of the chief challenges society is facing. Among others, these are:

In all these cases, people’s actions, opinions and attitudes aim, often unconsciously, to satisfy their fundamental need to count, to be recognized and respected.

The very term “supremacism” betrays concern for superior standing. So do names like “Proud Boys” or “Oath Keepers.” Systemic racism is rooted in the motivation to put down one race to elevate another. Islamist terrorism targets the alleged belittlers of a religion. Conspiracy theories identify alleged culprits plotting the subjugation and dishonor of their victims. And the extremist faction of the Republican Party cares exclusively about winning, no holds barred.

Torch-bearing white men marching at night, shouting
Chanting ‘White lives matter! You will not replace us!’ and ‘Jews will not replace us!’ several hundred white nationalists and white supremacists march through the University of Virginia campus in Charlottesville on Aug. 10, 2017.
Evelyn Hockstein/For The Washington Post via Getty Images

Triggering the quest

This quest for significance and respect must first be awakened before it can drive behavior. We don’t strive for significance 24/7.

The quest can be triggered by the experience of significant loss through humiliation and failure. When we suffer such a loss, we desperately seek to regain significance and respect. We are then keen to embrace any narrative that tells us how, and to follow leaders who show us the way.

The quest for significance can also be triggered by an opportunity for substantial gain – becoming a hero, a martyr, a superstar.

Over the past several decades, many Americans have experienced a stinging loss of significance and respect. Social scientists examined the perception of social class in the United States between 1972 and 2010. The results of their research were striking: In the 1970s, most Americans viewed themselves as comfortably middle class, defined at the time by conduct and manners – being a good neighbor and a good member of the community, exhibiting proper behavior.

In contrast, by the 2000s, membership in the middle class was determined primarily by income. And because incomes have stagnated over the past half-century, by 2010 many Americans (particularly the lower-income ones) lost their middle-class identity entirely.

Small wonder, then, that they resonated to the Trump campaign slogan that promised to make America (or Americans) “great again.”

Piling on

The COVID-19 pandemic compounds people’s sense of fragility and insignificance.

Isolation from loved ones, the danger to our own health and the dread of an economic disaster are all stressors that make a person feel weak and vulnerable. They increase the attraction to ideas that offer quick fixes for loss of significance and respect.

Though the ideas that promise restoration of significance and dignity range widely, they share an important core: They depict the promotion of different social values as paths to significance. Promoting freedom and democracy, defending one’s nation or one’s religion, advancing one’s political party – all aim to earn respect and dignity in communities that cherish those values.

When the quest for significance and respect is intensified, other considerations such as comfort, relationships or compassion are sidelined. Any actions that promote significance are then seen as legitimate. That includes actions that would otherwise seem reprehensible: violence, aggression, torture or terrorism.

An intense quest for significance does not invite reprehensible actions directly. But it boosts a person’s readiness to tolerate and enact them for the sake of significance and dignity.

The path ultimately taken depends on the narrative that identifies significance-bestowing actions in a given situation. Depending on one’s moral perspective, such actions may be seen as “good,” “bad” or “ugly.” One might have an entirely different moral evaluation of the Black Lives Matter movement and the Proud Boys and yet recognize that, psychologically, both represent routes to significance.

A gallows with a noose hanging on it at the Capitol Building in Washington, D.C.
A noose is seen on makeshift gallows erected on Jan. 6 at the Capitol before Trump supporters violently stormed a session of Congress.
Andrew Caballero-Reynolds/AFP via Getty Images

The allure of violence

A special danger to societies stems from the primordial, significance-lending appeal of violence.

Among animals, dominance is established through “trial by combat,” to use Rudy Giuliani’s recent turn of phrase at the rally before the Capitol insurrection. And as President Theodore Roosevelt famously observed, walking with a “big stick” makes other nations pay attention and respect.

Most narratives adopted by violent extremists identify a real or imagined enemy at the gates, and fighting such enemies is depicted as worthy and honorable: For Trump acolytes, the enemy is the “deep state.” For much of the far right, the enemy is, variously, immigrants, refugees, people of color, Jews, Asians, or even reptilians who plot to dominate the world.

Evangelicals view Trump’s alleged battle against the “deep state” as divinely inspired. And a QAnon message from Jan. 13, 2018, stated: “You were chosen for a reason. You are being provided the highest level of intel to ever be dropped publicly in the history of the world. Use it – protect and comfort those around you.” These views sow division among segments of society, inviting fissures and polarization.

The quest for significance and respect is a universal and immutable aspect of human nature. It has the potential to inspire great works but also tear society asunder. The formidable challenge these days is to harness the energies sparked by this fundamental motive and channel them for the betterment of humanity.

[Get the best of The Conversation, every weekend. Sign up for our weekly newsletter.]The Conversation

Arie Kruglanski, Professor of Psychology, University of Maryland

This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article.

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AMT, if my own attitudes, and those of others like me, are interfering with our understanding of what needs to e done to combat white supremacy (I don’t sat “eradicate” because I doubt that is even possible), then please help us to get a grasp if that – I almost said “get a grip.” That too.

The Furies and I will be back.

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