Yesterday, Trinette was by again – I didn’t have much in the way of recyclables (I will next week) but I did have a big bag of trash. And she was kind enough to change the batteries in my thermostat. Not that it’s terribly difficult, if I weren’t so short (I used to be 5’5″ but I’m down to 5’0″) and so easy to get off balance. She went home to work on her taxes, and I came back to my “den” to work on this. And maybe my taxes too. I don’t envy her – she has not only her own taxes to do, but her two sons – pne of whom has out of state income and will again this year at least. Me, so much of my income (all of my Social Security) is non-taxable (yes, that means there isn’t a lot of it, but it’s enough) that I really don’t legally need to file. But I do.
Yesterday, I got very little done. Most of what I accomplished was clearing a way to the best seat to watch the actual television from – now that it’s working again. Escept that when it came time, the heavy snow we’ve has the last two days had mangled the signal so badly I couldn’t watch Fortunately , “Dead Man Walking” will be streamed through Passport – but the streams don’t start until the 19th. I was hoping not to have to wait. (I’ve already waited over 20 years just to hear it.) So, yes, this is skimpy. And i’ll have listened to Turandot and been grateful.
I missed “Pi Day,” so this is a bit late. And this parody is a bit over 8 minutes (about the same as the original IIRC) but it’s worth every second of your time that it takes. It’s upbeat, but it made me reach for a hanky It says, in a dfferent way, so much of what I have been feeling. (I even put it into my email signature.)
If you’ve been wondering why suddenly TikTok is neeing named in bills and voted on in the House, and now going to the Senate, this should make it pellucidly clear.
Yesterday, I got a new email from the Theater of War and immediately thought of SpyCat, because they will be doing two readings of “An Enemy of the People” live in Ohio in April, in Mount Vernon and Gambier on the 6th and 7th respectively (and of course also on Zoom.) These productions are not just theater – there’s no stage, no sets, no costumes or makeup, just readings, and voice acting. And the whole play is never presented – selections are read pertinent to the public health topic addressed. And after the reading, audience members react, both on site and now, since the pandemic, through Zoom, and share through their experience what has touched them and what applies to today. Their website is theaterofwar.com, and it’s headed up with a four minute video describing what they do and why, with three examples (obviously very short.) But there’s also a lot of information there with more detail. “An Enemy of the People,” written in 1882, could almost be the story of CoViD and Dr. Fauci.
Robert Reich makes the case for what he calls “Nauseous Optimism,” by which he means being optimistic even when one’s stomach is churning. but he explains it better than I can.
One of the Mar-a-Lago documents case who has been known as “Employee Number 5” is speaking out on the case and his part in it. I think he’s hoping it will make a bigger difference than I think it will – but any difference in the right direction is a good thing.
Yesterday, President Biden sent his budget to Congress – a trifling $7.3 trillion. I wouldn’t count on Congres, particularly the House, to act constructively. Also, I learned VP Harris will visit Colorado today. No, I won’t be there, but I expect to get a report from CPR today or tomorrow. And I found a link to the one-woman show about Ann Coulter. It was made in 2020, and will be available through 2026. It runs abou an hour and 53 minutes. If you have never seen it, you may want to – and if you have seen it, you may want to see it again.
Off topic, but, if you havent, please check out the open thread for March 9 – there’s news about Carrie (not, sadly good).
I don’t doubt this would make a lot of people angry – if they would see it – which they probably won’t. “Le secret des grandes fortunes sans cause apparente est un crime oublié, parce qu’il a été proprement fait” – Balzac – usually quoted in English as “Behind every great fortune lies a great crime.”
If you ever read “The 19th Magazine”, or if you saw this article in their newsletter, you instantly knew I would use it. Women’s History, Black History, even music history, all in one piece – of course I would.
Yesterday, the Beau video I have posted for today actually got a “Wow!” out loud from me (right about in the middle.) The Israeli government may be negligent and pidheaded, but the Israeli Armed forces (the IDF) – well, sometimes I wish our military were as smart and as outspoken as the Israeli one is being now.
This is from the New York Times (without the paywall). You know we always put a lot of effort into GOTV efforts, because when we vote we win – we are the majority. Republicans know that no amount of GOTV will give them wins, so they are putting effort into disqualifying legitimate voters .
I’m not sure what to make of this. It’s so crazy it’s funny – but it seems inappropriate to laugh at something so likely to cause so many deaths. (I wonder what Beau will have to say, if anything.)
Yesterday, the exterminator came. After looking around inside and out, he called his office and discussed the progress, and the bottom line is we are going to try a two-month interval instead of two weeks. Yes, that’s good news, although it won’t make much, if any, financial difference – when the visits are close together, each one costs less. (And they are quite reasonable anyway.) Also, I learned that I had chosen the winning photo for next year’s calendar’s cover photo for the Natonal Parks Conservation Association. Earlier this month, I had done the same for the Nature Conservancy. I never pick winners in situations like this … and now twice in a row. But I think I know why – and it’a not a question of taste. Both groups offered three photos, of which two were purely scenic and the third included a critter (one was an adult squeaking silkmoth and the other was 3 bear cubs). With odds like that, the majority is always going to pick the critter over the still lifes. Rocks, water features, and trees just aren’t cuddly.
This is from Monday from Mary Trump. She promised updates after consulting with experts, and was hoping to provide at least some of those yesterday. It shold be possible to get to the updates from this link if she has written it yet. If it’s confusing, search for “The Good In Us”.
I’m pretty sure there’s at least one person who reads her who also watches Seth Meyers faithfully. If it’s not you, you can still catch up on Monday night’s show here.
Yesterday, Trinette was by to bring in mail, take out trash and recyclables, and start the car. (Hi back to all.) While here, she noticed I had acquired an HD antenna and had not done anything with it. I know you all think I am highly computer literate, but the truth is, I had no more idea what to do with it than a dog who has caught a car. With a book or pamphlet of instructions, I could have coped, but it didn’t come with one. But Trinette got it working and set on PBS in practically no time. What a gem!
As a veteran, I’m deeply interested in this, because no one can be a MAGAt and a good soldier at the same time, any more than one can be a MAGAt and a patriot at the same time. The mention of individual unit commanders developing their own training tells me two things – first, that there are multiple unit commanders whose hearts are in the right place (and in sync with their brains), and second, that these commanders’ own superior officers have failed them. Yes, there’s much more to get out of this report; those were just what struck me.
Dearfield, Colorado, a town in Weld County (Northeast of Denver), now a ghost town, began to be homesteaded by black people in 1910. Eventually it became the home of 300 people of color, making it the largest black homestead in the state. It is already on the National Register of Historic Places. Now, descendants of the homesteaders, historians, and others who care, want it to be designated as a National Park. I for one certainly hope the effort succeeds.
I am going to give the Furies a long-overdue Sabbatical (OK, technically only 6 months overdue but they’re exhausted) and work with some of their relatives for a while – not weekly, but when I run across something which deserves attention.
And, just now, it looks as though Ares is taking some time away from Venus, or how else to you explain what is happening with weapons of war? Any veteran, even those who support the Second Amendment in general, will tell you that weapons of war should only be kept or used by the military, not least because the military knows far more than any civilian about how to keep them safe – and how to keep innocent people safe from them. They absolutely should not be in the possession of illicit gangs, above all. And who would know that better than the god of War?
Certainly, if Ares had recently had a little heart-to-heart with Andrés Manuel López Obrador – or possibly one or more members of his cabinet, that could explain what is going on here – which has been going on for some time, has achieved some successes, and now appears poised and able to press, in a United States court, a suit which could be a game changer.
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Mexico is suing US gun-makers for arming its gangs − and a US court could award billions in damages
The lawsuit seeks US$10 billion in damages and a court order to force the companies named in the lawsuit – including Smith & Wesson, Colt, Glock, Beretta and Ruger – to change the way they do business. In January, a federal appeals court in Boston decided that the industry’s immunity shield, which so far has protected gun-makers from civil liability, does not apply to Mexico’s lawsuit.
As a legal scholar who has analyzed lawsuits against the gun industry for more than 25 years, I believe this decision to allow Mexico’s lawsuit to proceed could be a game changer. To understand why, let’s begin with some background about the federal law that protects the gun industry from civil lawsuits.
Gun industry immunity
In 2005, Congress passed the Protection of Lawful Commerce in Arms Act, which prohibits lawsuits against firearm manufacturers and sellers for injuries arising from criminal misuse of a gun.
Importantly, there are limits to this immunity shield. For example, it doesn’t protect a manufacturer or seller who “knowingly violated a State or Federal statute applicable to the sale or marketing” of a firearm. Mexico’s lawsuit alleges that U.S. gun-makers aided and abetted illegal weapons sales to gun traffickers in violation of federal law.
According to the lawsuit, the manufacturers intentionally design their weapons to be attractive to criminal organizations in Mexico by including features such as easy conversion to fully automatic fire, compatibility with high-capacity magazines and removable serial numbers.
Mexico also points to industry marketing that promises buyers a tactical military experience for civilians. And Mexico alleges that manufacturers distribute their products to dealers whom they know serve as transit points for illegal gunrunning through illegal straw sales, unlicensed sales at gun shows and online, and off-book sales disguised as inventory theft.
In short, Mexico claims that illegal gun trafficking isn’t just an unwanted byproduct of the industry’s design choices, marketing campaigns and distribution practices. Instead, according to the lawsuit, feeding demand for illegal weapons is central to the industry’s business model.
In response, the gun-makers insist that Mexico’s attempt to hold them legally responsible for the criminal activity of others is precisely the type of lawsuit that the federal immunity shield was designed to block. They argue that merely selling a product that someone later uses in a crime does not amount to a violation of federal law that would deprive a manufacturer of immunity. Additionally, the gun-makers assert that, even if Mexico’s lawsuit were not barred by the immunity law, they have no legal duty to prevent criminal violence that occurs outside the U.S.
The next legal steps
In January 2024, a federal appeals court in Massachusetts decided that Mexico’s allegations, if true, would deprive the gun-makers of immunity, and it sent the case back to trial court. Mexico now needs to produce evidence to prove its allegations that the industry is not only aware of but actively facilitates illegal gun trafficking.
Additionally, to win, Mexico will need to convince a Boston jury that the manufacturers’ design choices, marketing campaigns and distribution practices are closely enough connected to street crime in Mexico to consider the companies responsible for the problem. This is known as “proximate cause” in the law.
For their part, the gun-makers have asked the trial judge to put the case on hold while they pursue an appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court. However, the Supreme Court has been reluctant to weigh in on gun industry cases until they have reached their conclusion in the lower courts, where most of them are dismissed and a few have settled.
High stakes for the industry
If Mexico does win at trial, its demand for $10 billion in damages could drive several of the nation’s largest firearm manufacturers into bankruptcy. Even if the case were to settle for much less, a victory by Mexico would provide a template for a wave of future lawsuits that could change the way the gun industry operates.
Similar theories about dangerous product designs, irresponsible marketing and reckless distribution practices in opioid litigation have transformed the pharmaceutical industry. Civil lawsuits have forced the drugmakers to take public responsibility for a nationwide health crisis, overhaul the way they do business and pay billions of dollars in judgments and settlements.
Mexico’s lawsuit holds out the prospect that the gun industry could be next.
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Give it all you’ve got, Ares! Or, wait, please save aome energy to build up Ukraine and help them permanently and decisively preserve their independence. Thank you.