Politics Plus

Yesterday, the Radio Opera was “La Gioconda” by Amilcare Ponchielli. No, it’s not about the Mona Lisa – she is a different “smiling woman.” It has, not a love triangle nor square, but a love pentagram. It also has the Inqusition, a spy, an assumed identity, betrayal, extortion, murder, attempted murder, and suicide. And, of course, the Dance of the Hours. I was wondering why a good Italian mother would name her baby boy after Hamilcar, the brother of Hannibal, the two  from Carthage who went so far as to bring elephants over the Alps to attack Rome, and caused Cato the censor to end every speech with “Carthage must be destroyed.” But I had forgotten that when he was born (he was a slightly younger contemporary of Verdi) Italy was not a united nation. In fact he was born in the north, in a territory including Lombardy and Venice, and who cared about Rome there? It was an intentional reference – he certainly must have thought so, since he named his own son after Hannibal. But I digress. “La Gioconda” was based loosely on a play by Victor Hugo (without whom Italian opera of the 19th century, and even musical theater today, would have been a lot less fun.)

Cartoon –

Short Takes –

Robert Reich – The second-biggest Republican lie
Quote – Wynn isn’t the first to dream up the bogus story about the IRS going after average working people. Senator Ted Cruz warns of a “shadow army of 87,000 IRS agents,” threatening Americans, and Kari Lake, the Republican candidate for Arizona governor, ties the increase in IRS agents to the FBI’s search of Trump’s Mar-a-Lago and concludes that, “Not a single one of us is safe.” Many other GOP candidates are telling the same lie.
Click through for article. Messaging should not be about “fairness,” but about truth. But dang, it’s unfair that Republicans can nessage any lie they want to and get away with it, while we are limited tothe truth. I don’t thik we are the ones who should have to change.

Sacramento Bee – California lawmakers pass bill to create fast food labor council, give it power over wages
Quote – California would become the first state to establish a fast food council charged with setting pay and workplace standards for the entire industry under a bill the Legislature is poised to send to Gov. Gavin Newsom. Assembly Bill 257, also known as the FAST Act, passed the Senate on Wednesday in a 21-12 vote. Hours later the Assembly sent it to Newsom on a final 41-16 vote…. Under the legislation, a 10-member council composed of workers, employers and government appointees would negotiate to set industry standards and pay. It would apply to any fast food chain with at least 100 locations nationwide and cap any minimum wage increase at $22 an hour next year. The council would be a first in America’s fast-food industry.
Click through for story. It CAN be done. Although it is easier in a blue state than in a red one. But what’s done in California may eventually help the nation.

Food For Thought