Glenn Kirschner – Glenn Kirschner on… What’s Next for Trump?
Lincoln Projrct – The Union
The Ring of Fire – Hannity Praises Putin For ‘Channeling His Inner Trump’
Rebel HQ – Richard Ojeda RIPS Hannity for Quoting Kremlin
Liberal Redneck – Liberal Redneck – Ketanji Brown Jackson’s SCOTUS Confirmation
Parody Project – THEY CALL THE STATE PARIAH
Beau – Let’s talk about Mariupol….
Yesterday, my mail contained a jury summons. That’s the kind of mail that gets me off my fanny to go out to the mailbox, and of course I did. Now, I’ve seen this film before, so I know it doesn’t necessarily mean I’ll have to serve. Also, it isn’t until the end of April. So it’s cool. Also, I had a hard time finding things that were both interesting and not repetetive. There was a whole lot of repetition going on yesterday. I got to the point that if I had had to read one more story about a racist Republican Senator, I might have barfed. So I filled in with the Smithsonian, which is trivial, but at least different. (The Food for Thought is also just for fun.)
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Short Takes –
The New Yorker – Radio Ukraine
Quote – The station staff has dispersed, with Bogdan Bolkhovetsky, the general manager, and Roman Davydov, the program director, holed up in a town in the Carpathians, keeping production moving over unreliable Internet and communicating with listeners by text. They don’t know how many of their broadcasting stations are still functioning, and their tower in Kyiv could be destroyed at any time. But “we are not doing anything heroic,” Bolkhovetsky told Nicolas Niarchos, who visited their makeshift studio. “We are still in a lot of luck, having what we have right now. Thousands of people were not so lucky as we are. . . . We’re just doing what we can under these unusual circumstances.”
Click through for David Remnicks podcast and/or even more articles on the war.
Smithsonian – Take the cherry blossom personality quiz to see which species speaks to you!
Quote – Six varieties of cherry blossom trees bloom in the Smithsonian Gardens, each with its own unique flowers and features.
Click through for the quiz. As usual, there are questions for which no answer is right for me, and it will probably be the same for you. But at least it’s fun looking at the pictures. (I came out as the “weeping” cherry tree.)
Women’s History – Wikipedia – Rosalind Franklin
Quote – Rosalind Elsie Franklin … was an English chemist and X-ray crystallographer whose work was central to the understanding of the molecular structures of DNA (deoxyribonucleic acid), RNA (ribonucleic acid), viruses, coal, and graphite. Although her works on coal and viruses were appreciated in her lifetime, her contributions to the discovery of the structure of DNA were largely unrecognized during her life, for which she has been variously referred to as the “wronged heroine”, the “dark lady of DNA”, the “forgotten heroine”, a “feminist icon”, and the “Sylvia Plath of molecular biology”.
Click through for bio. You may have heard of her. Watson and Crick could not have completed the DNA model without her work Women from prehistory and up to the end of the Middle Ages appear to have had less difficulty getting recgnized for their accomplishments, and lso more freedom to make them, than from the Industrial Revolution forward.
Food For Thought:
Glenn Kirschner – As Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson’s Confirmation Hearing Opens, the Republicans Launch their Attacks
American Bridge – Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson’s opening statement
Meidas Touch – Legal Expert Harry Litman Day 1 Confirmation Hearing Recap
MSNBC – Facing Racist Dog Whistles In The Senate
The Lincoln Project – Ohio GOP Debate – Any Questions
Farron Balanced – Tucker Carlson Freaks Out After Being Accused Of Spreading Russian Propaganda
Beau – Let’s talk about the Russian space agency’s new tone….
Yesterday, I overslept – probably primarily because, the day before, I had attempted a few times to install updates to my laptop, and, although it said it was “preparing to install,” it never did. I’d come bacl to check on it and it would be back to “you have important updates.” I finally figured it was not going to complete the process unless stayed there. And that worked , but it had wasted so much time fizzling that by the time it finished there was a new one. Of course I said “Arrrrrgh!” but in for a penny, in for a pound, and I got that one installed also. It reminded me of how I once asked an IT person why, every time we got updates, we lost functionality, and he said, “That’s a good question.” So I said, “Well, what’s the answer?” “I don’t know, but it’s a very good question!” But I may have figured it out for myself now. All the “important updates” are or include securoty measures, and it’s not unreasonable to think that many of the procedures we use a lot because they are quick and easy are also the features which become security holes, exactly because they are quick and easy. I don’t know how accurate that is – but I do find it consoling. So I thought I’d share it. We can all use consolation.
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Short Takes –
The 19th Explains: What to know about Ketanji Brown Jackson’s Supreme Court confirmation hearing
Quote – The first day of hearings yielded few surprises. Republican senators outlined several lines of criticism against Jackson that were highly anticipated. Democratic senators celebrated the significance of Jackson’s nomination to the high court and touted the value of her diverse professional and personal background as a former federal public defender and vice chair for the U.S. Sentencing Commission. Republicans, however, spent a notable portion of time expressing grievances over how Democrats have treated past conservative Supreme Court nominees — most notably current Justice Brett Kavanaugh, whose confirmation process in 2018 was consumed by allegations of sexual misconduct.
Click through for more. Do you, like me, have a feeling that you could have written that short summary even before it happened?
https://crooksandliars.com/2022/03/sen-karen-berg-delivers-epic-smackdown
Sen. Karen Berg Delivers Epic Smackdown To Anti-Abortion Colleagues
Quote – For you to sit here and say that at 15 weeks, a fetus has a functional heart, a four-chamber heart that can survive on its own is fallacious. That is not true. There is no viability. I look around at my colleagues on this committee. I am the only woman on this podium right now. I am the only physician sitting on this podium. This bill is a medical sham. It does not follow medicine. It does not even purport to listen to medicine.
Click through for story, including short video.
Women’s History – Wikipedia – Matilda of Tuscany
Quote – Sometimes called la Gran Contessa (“the Great Countess”) or Matilda of Canossa after her ancestral castle of Canossa, Matilda was one of the most important figures of the Italian Middle Ages. She lived in a period of constant battles, intrigues and excommunications, and was able to demonstrate an innate leadership ability, even during difficult times…. Matilda became a myth in Italy, which found its expression in numerous artistic, musical and literary designs as well as miracle stories and legends. This legacy reached its peak during the Counter-Reformation and the Baroque Period. Pope Urban VIII had Matilda’s body transferred to Rome in 1630, where she was the first woman to be buried in Saint Peter’s Basillica.
Click through for bio. “Matilda” is the Latinized form a name of Teutonic origin, meaning “mighty in battle. She was no Boadicea (or Boudicca or whatever), but apparently she was one heck of a negotiator, and without question highly respectedin her own time. No wonder we’ve never heard of her.
Food For Thought:
Glenn Kirschner – A Tale of 2 Americas: First Black Woman Headed to the Supreme Court vs. Trump’s Racism & Misogyny
Meidas Touch – The GOP BLOCKED US on Twitter!! (Congratulations, Broothers!)
No Dem Left Behind – Marjorie “Traitor” Greene wants us to turn our backs on Ukraine and let Putin win!
VoteVets – War Powers
Radio Free Europe – Taking Calls On Ukraine’s Help Line For Russian Military Moms (and dads and sibs) – hanky alert
Brent Terhune – Elon and Grimes’ secret baby
Beau – Let’s talk about HB 800 in Tennessee….
Finally, I want to give a hat tip to a video Lona posted – a stirring prody of “London Calling called “Kyiv Calling. You can click on the link, or scroll back a few posts to see it (with her comments.)
https://youtu.be/9guzUoTNxeE
Yesterday was the Vernal equinox (at 9:33 am where I am).However, I have been keeping track of the times of sinrise and sunset for several months now – and the day that there was exactly 12 hours each of daylight and dark was not yesterday, but last Thursday. Three days off. That is close, but not close enough to be a rounding error. There musy be another factor. The fact that the eastern plains stretch out so evenly (gradually going down a little)? Maybe the altitude itself? I was tracking sunset at the winter solstice, but not yet tracking sunrise then. If Colorado transitions to year-round daylight time by November (states have some options and I think they have until next year to do it anyway), I won’t need to track any more for safety reasons, but now I’m intrigued.
Also yesterday, I received (as I do daily) Robert Reich’s newsletter. On Sundays there is always a cartoon caption contest. This week I actually thought of a caption. Because the site where one posts entries is for paid subscribers and I am a free one, I didn’t post it, but I’ll share it here.
“How much longer are we going to have to wait for these Karens to quit screaming and leave?”
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Short Takes –
The Guardian – Star Trek makes Stacey Abrams president of United Earth – and stokes conservative anger
Quote – Sonequa Martin-Green, who plays [Captain Michael] Burnham, told Variety she was “taken aback … and really moved” by Abrams’ performance. “It really signaled the culmination of the season having her there,” she said, “because she’s such this symbol of hope and strength and connection and sacrifice and building something bigger than yourself that will last generations, and that’s exactly what we’re talking about doing in the story.”
Click through for story. Keep an eye out for the show if yu use whichever streaming service it is that carries Discovery (I’m not on any.) I did see a gorgeous photo of her in cosyume over on one of George Takei’s sites. (If an actor, in order to “deserve” a role, had to be able to do IRL everything the character does – that would be the end of stunt doubles. And also of the Marvel franchise.)
Eight House Republicans Side With Vladimir Putin Against The United States
Quote – The Suspending Normal Trade Relations with Russia and Belarus Act, which passed by a 424-8 margin, allows President Joe Biden to increase tariffs on products coming from the two countries and requires the US Trade Representative to seek suspension of Russia’s participation in the World Trade Organization.
Click thrugh for list. I don’t know whether anyone else is calling them “The Hateful Eight,” but I certainly am. And particularly when one considers the numbers and names of the low-lifes who did vote for it.
Women’s History – Wikipedia – Andrée Borrel
Quote – Andrée Raymonde Borrel, code named Denise, was a French woman who served in the French Resistance and as an agent for Britain’s clandestine Special Operations Executive in World War II. The purpose of SOE was to conduct espionage, sabotage, and reconnaissance in occupied Europe against the Axis powers, especially Nazi Germany. SOE agents allied themselves with resistance groups and supplied them with weapons and equipment parachuted in from England. In September 1942, Borrel was the first female agent of SOE to arrive in France by parachute.
Click through for bio. Women in resistance movements in any war under any government are well aware they may not have a long life. Andrée Borrel did not live to see her 25th birthday. But what she accomplished in that roughly 24 and a half years was remarkable.
Food For Thought:
Glenn Kirschner – Mark Meadows’ Double-Wide Voter Fraud: Meadows Now Faces Federal AND State Criminal Investigation
Lincoln Project – The Parties on Putin
Tweet – Presidents Clinton and Bush bring sunflowers to Ukrainian church to show solidarity
America stands united with the people of Ukraine in their fight for freedom and against oppression. pic.twitter.com/O7INc9S1tq
— Bill Clinton (@BillClinton) March 18, 2022
MSNBC – GOP Fears Losing SCOTUS Clash To Biden, As Judge Jackson Rallies Dems
Liberal Redneck – Hunter Biden’s Laptop
Cracked – If Toilet Paper Commercials Were Honest
Beau – Let’s talk about Ukraine’s personnel problem….
Yesterday, the opera was “Rodelinda” (by Handel) which dates from before 1750. It is an opera seria, a form which was still used in Mozart’s time (and he wrote a few, including one when he was 14), but he largely moved away from the form. Opera was characterized by featuring noble characters being noble (and others, of course, in opposition to them) and really didn’t have any dialog, but was a series of arias through which the story was told. There was no chorus, but all the soloists were singers I am familiar with and like., including Sasha Cooke, whom I hadn’t heard since she played Kitty Oppenheimer in “Dr. Atomic.” That was in 2008, and she doesn’t appear to have aged a day.
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Short Takes –
Democracy: a Journal of Ideas – “Middle-Out” Biden’s New Deal?
Quote – When Biden speaks of middle-out versus trickle-down he is doing more than drawing a political contrast. He is making a highly consequential argument about economic cause and effect, how prosperity is created, and the role of government. And we’ll give you a hint about what he means: The answer is not tax cuts for the rich.
Click through for analysis by a couple of dudes who have been working on these principles for years.
Law and Crime – Project Veritas Loses Defamation Lawsuit Against CNN for Depicting Twitter Ban as Part of ‘Misinformation’ Crackdown
Quote – “Furthermore, while there is some difference between violating a policy by providing incorrect or misleading information and violating a policy by truthfully providing someone’s private information (and potentially exposing a person to harm), the distinction is not enough to make the statement at issue actionable as both violations are similarly damaging to the journalist’s reputation,” the ruling continues. “Project Veritas’s allegations and arguments do not plausibly suggest that the truth (as pled in the Complaint) would have a different effect on the mind of the average reader in terms of the reputational harm.”
Click through for more, including full ruling if you are so inclined. My translation would be “Just because the reporter made a mistake on which loe-life thing you did this time doesn’t make it defamation.” So nice to see “Project Varitas” lose.
Women’s History – Wikipedia – Ada Lovelace
Quote – [Ada Lovelace] was an English mathematician and writer, chiefly known for her work on Charles Babbage’s proposed mechanical general-purpose computer, the Analytical Engine. She was the first to recognise that the machine had applications beyond pure calculation, and to have published the first algorithm intended to be carried out by such a machine. As a result, she is often regarded as the first computer programmer.
Click through. A spiritual ancestor of Grace Hopper – and an interesting human being in her own right.
Food For Thought:
