Yesterday, the radio opera was “Louise” by by Gustave Charpentier. He didn’t call it an opera, but rather a “musical novel,” the “verismo” school was getting started at that time, and composers and librettists wanted to flag their work as different. I had heard of it for many years, but never actually heard it before. Placido Domingo recorded it in 1976 and Beverly Sills in 1977 and I missed both. Not a lot actually happens in it – just parents who want to prevent their daughter marrying the man who loves her (and she him) so they can keep her at home. But the music is pretty. Off to see Virgil now and will check in when I get home.
I’m always particularly happy to see a good news story which involves a veteran – there are so many of us who are living through various kinds of bad news. This guy is even a Texan.
This is sweet – such a small thing – wearing costumes to work – can provide so much joy to so many children. (This was actually a week ago Thursday.)
Matthew was in very critical condition and was not 100% expected to get out of the hospital alive – let alone this fast.
Yesterday, Pro Publica added a third name to the list of people who are said to be the real President behind Metmucillini. Their pick is Russel Vought. I’m sure Stephen Miller and Larry Ellison are strong influencers in on way or the other. I don’t see the man-baby knowingly giving up that much power to any one person. If you want to see that Robert Reich thinks, his map is here. Tomorrow I go to see Virgil. will of course check in upon return.
Joyce Vance tells it like it is. I don’t know what else to say.
Joyce Vance also covered this story, and in more detail. I wanted to avoid using the same source twice in one day, so I went to Preet Bharara, since they often work together and his email had essentially the same subject line. He shares less detail than she does, but the same conclusion. If anyone wants details from the indictments, let me know and I’ll share Joyce’s link.
If this quote from the article at Wonkette intrigues you, feel free to click on the link. If it doesn’t, there’s no need to. There is a nice chart about trust at the very beginning.
Perhaps ironically, given Kennedy’s assertions here, men who get married and become fathers have, on average, lower testosterone levels than those who do not. This comports with a theory proposed by evolutionary biologists that testosterone has decreased as cooperation has become more important to survival than combat, and as women have purposely avoided selecting “hugely dominant, aggressive males” as mates. You know, because we don’t want them to murder us.”
Yes, four links in one day, but a couple of them are short. This one from The 19th is good news in the sense that it is a response to bad news, but I don’t know how much impact it will actually have. I’ll be glad if it has some, but it probably won’t have enough. Our homegrown fascists are not big on respecting court orders.
On Wednesday, after posting, I found this link to Newsweek with all kinds of background information on those who were in the Young Republicans group chat. Also Wednesday, Cleveland’s “Burning River Brigade” posted this. (Its manifesto is at the YouTube site, and is also worth reading.)
Dan Froomkin of Press Watch is definitely singing my song – although he left out one of the verses (the one on misogyny). But not knowing whether it’s more effective in the long run to get where we are going piecemeal or all at once – and suspecting that piecemeal may be more effective in the long run – I’m not really complaining, but just pointing that out.
Vanity Fair has an excerpt from Virginia Roberts Giuffre’s memoir. It details her initial meeting with Ghislaine Maxwell, and some of what happened next.
If you didn’t want to watch the video with Jack Smith I linked to yesterday, but are still curious about what Jack had to say, Harry Litman has written his reaction to it here at the Talking Feds Substack. He doesn’t shy away from admitting how painful it is to be reminded of how it used to be compared to how it is now.
Yesterday, a video of a conversation between Andrew Weissman and Jack Smith was getting attention, including from me. The total time on it is an hour and almost 20 minutes. But at the beginning, the first 6 minutes and 20 seconds are the UCL spokesperson giving Weissman’s resume, and after that, Weissman gives Smith’s resume and then asks him about it, and, to a degree, ethical type questions about, e.g., how a righteous prosecution can be determined. My interest is primarily in the Trump**(*) cases, as I suppose is everyone’s here. Given a choice, I would start watching at the 34:43 mark when Andrew asks Jack to explain “special counsel.” But you could certainly wait until about the 42:00 mark. Either way cuts it down significantly
This from Common Dreams is a piece of analysis, and a fairly deep one at that. If you don’t find it helpful, that’s OK. I’m not crazy myself about how the author uses “Israel” as shorthand for “the government of Israel,” but I ay be oversensitive because I too now live in a country whose governmen does horrible things not supported by all the people.
Yes, I realize Politico is iffy. But they seem to be the ones who did the reporting which everyone else is citing as evidence of just how much trouble we are in. And Politico and everyone who is citing them may in fact be underestimating.
Research from The Conversation. It makes no sense to me, and it probably won’t to you either. But to me the key question, which is missing from the article, is what can we do about it? Can education help immunize people against it? Or is it somehow an inborn trait?
Yesterday (I am going to be silly here) Huff Post responded to the Pentagon’s new press rules by saying that they had left their response with Helen Waite. So, if Hegseth wants their response, he’ll have to go to Helen Waite. (Told you it would be silly. Sometimes silly is necessary)
I expect everyone here who plans to participate in No Kings this Saturday has signs. But just in case, here’s an article followed by a lot of possible suggestions. I probably should add that Liza Donnelly will authorize you to put one of her cartoons on your sign, provided you follow her simple and reasonable rules – don’t change anything, include her signature, and use for protest sign only.
“In It To Win It” at Democratic Underground found this at Raw Story probably got it elsewhere (they usually do). It would be good news if anyone on the Court would pay attention to it (anyone other than the three who already know it, of course I mean.)
This Wonkette article is not a piece of analysis, but a collection of short factual anecdotes. Read as much or as little as you wish, but the one I am posting it for is the last one, “You Say You’re a Citizen?” I am constantly – multiple times daily – being reminded of the anecdote I’ve quoted here more than once told by Igor Stravinsky of his time in Germany, where he witnessed an atrocity, and when he tried to report it, was told by a magistrate judge, “In Germany today, such things happen every minute.” Well, dammit, in America today such things happen every minute. If we blow them off for that reason, because it isn’t us they are happening to, then we are the Nazis, and not just in the eyes of the world, but for real.
This is a guest video from More Perfect Union. It’s probably of most interest to people who have kids and grandkids. Although I don’t, and still found it very informative.
Yesterday, I slept late and tried to take it easy. Just a note on the cartoon/meme: Many, maybe most, people think that businesses open to the public are public property. They are not. They are private property and anyone other than an employee who enters one is either an invitee, a licensee, or a trespasser. Invitees are there to do business (often but not always with an appointment, as for a doctor or a dentist or a hairdresser.) Licensees are there to look around – or they are accompanying a licensee. Anything else is a trespasser. Trespassing is not a crime everywhere (that depends on local laws) but it is a tort everywhere, which means that if you trespass, you can be sued. The sample sign below makes any agent of ICE a trespasser. Whether or not any particular ICE agent is educated enough to know that, or for that matter, even able to read it, is of course iffy. But posting it or a similar sign in the best protection any private business can really put into practice.
Common Dreams. I have heard of adding insult to injury. But that does not remotely begin to describe this travesty. It’s more like adding atrocity to injury. I can’t even. And this story was not even at the top of the newsletter.
Straight from The Root. Lessons progressives and just anyone who still believes in the Constitution can learn from the Black community.
I don’t suppose there is anything in this that anyone with eyes and ears doesn’t know about. But still. The answer to Joyce Vance‘s question, sadly, is “yes.” At least in the eyes of the world.
Yesterday, Trinette was by. It’s always good to see her. Otherwise, a quiet day. It’s definitely starting to feel like autumn – which is OK.
Robert Reich on the vulnerability of the media. And, yes, we have the tool – the anti-trust act, but it needs to be used. Not just on the media. On just about anything.
This from Talking Points Memo has several stories, but the first one is the one I’m posting it for.
Yesterday, the radio opera was Handel’s “Giulio Cesare in Egitto” – which requires three countertenors, which the Salzburg Festival was able to find. I won’t go into what other productions, prior to the resurgence of countertenors (which, IIRC, started in the 1940 with Alfred Deller, but did not really start to take hold in opera until the 1970s) used to do. I will address the question of why is a German writing an Italian opera for an audience which was mostly English-speaking with a few native German speakers – it was because Italian operas (and oratorios) were all the rage. It wasn’t until John Gay and John Rich presented “The Beggar’s Opera” which was an absolute smash hit that musical entertainment in England began to thrive. (“The Beggar’s Opera” survives to this day as “The ThreePenny Opera,” thanks to Brecht and Weill. At the time – when “gay” still meant happy, it was sait that it had made Gay rich and Rich gay. But I digress.) In relation to historical accuracy, the opera is mixed. But the music is pure Handel (I assume everyone has heard “Messiah”) – not that everyone liked him – many preferred his rival Giovanni Bononcini. This led to a wit of the day coming up with the verse “Some say compared to Bononcini/ that Mynheer Handel’s but a ninny./Others aver that he to Handel/is scarcely fit to hold a candle./Strange all this difference should be/Twixt Tweedledum and Tweedledee.” And, yes, that’s where Lewis Carroll got the names. Pretty much all art is related, often in unpredictable ways.
Although I have never been a member of a labor union (paper pushers tend to have salaried jobs, which are much harder to unionize for multiple reasons), I have always supported unions. After all, what was the American Revolution if it wasn’t a form of union organizing? And the whole “independent contractor” concept was designed to make it between difficult and impossible to organize. This is a real step forward, even if it’s only one state. For now.
This choked me up a little. (Cats can also be extremely calming and lower blood pressure. But their affection is never instant – it needs to be earned – they can be excellent therapy for one person, or even one family, but usually not for just anyone.) This literally is saving lives.
If I haven’t lost count, this is one of 34 elections this year in which a Democrat flipped a seat. This one was a mayoral seat. Most of the seats have been in state legislatures. But don’t underestimate those victories. Victories like these are how people get to Congress. And it looks like there are 17 more such elections to come (which of course have not been won yet, but which could be won.)
The cartoon today is a gif called Magic Potion Kitten. I probably should save it until closer to Hallowe’en, but it charmed me too much (pun intended.)
