1946 — Wedding
1977 — Inauguration
1977 — Oval Office
1978 — Fishing
1980 — Official Presidential Portrait
1992 — Habitat for Humanity
1993 — Woodworker — His Chess Set
1994 — His Faith
2002 — Nobel Peace Prize
2013 — Celebrating MLK’s “I Have a Dream” Speech
2018 — Taking a Walk with Rosalynn
2019 — Injured but Still Working
2021 — 75th Anniversary
2023 — Rosalynn’s Funeral
The recent slaying of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson has other bigwigs running scared. Meanwhile, his alleged killer, Luigi Mangione, has become a folk hero.
Granted, what Mangione did was wrong. Violence is never a good way to make a point. However, considering how many people have died, how many families have been bankrupted, because greedy health insurance companies repeatedly denied perfectly legitimate claims, it may have been only a matter of time before somebody snapped and took such a drastic measure. I could go on and on and on and on how our health “care” system is totally broken, but that would be a whole other essay.
The death of Brian Thompson has other top dogs extremely nervous. “Wanted” signs featuring health CEOs are popping up all around New York City. Corporate websites are removing the names of their top managers, and senior executives are being urged to remove their digital footprints as much as they can – including details about where their children attend school. They are contacting security companies and hiring more guards. That, of course, is the wrong reaction.
A far better response would be to amend their policies and approve more claims, especially for life-saving medicines and procedures. When insurance companies are raking in money hand over fist and their senior executives are living like emperors, there is no excuse for treating patients as human cash cows, rather than as people who need medical attention.
Every civilized country on this planet has universal health care. It may not be free – and everybody supports it with taxes – but at least people don’t have to worry about drowning in medical bills and having to contemplate personal bankruptcy. Every year well over 500,000 US residents go bankrupt thanks to medical costs; I would not be at all surprised, thought I would certainly be downhearted, if some people took, shall we say, a more drastic way out.
During the 1920s, the Republican administrations of Harding, Coolidge and Hoover shifted the focus of government away from supporting the Little Guy (and Gal) to sucking up for the obscenely wealthy. All three aforementioned Republican presidents progressively deregulated our financial system. It all came to a head in October 1929, when the Great Depression began and GOP deregulation caused banks to fail across the nation, causing enormous economic hardship for millions. As a result, the bankers were viewed as rapacious hogs, while bank robbers were regarded as new Robin Hoods rather than violent villains.
The torches and pitchforks are starting to come out. Working class Americans are struggling to pay the bills and put meals on the table. We are sick and tired of being ignored, of politicians breaking their promises, of our voices being drowned out by the jingle-jingle-jingle of the filthy lucre from ultra-rich donors. Mangione just might have fired the next “shot heard round the world” – or at least across the United States.
So, who is the worse killer – Mangione, or Thompson? Mangione (allegedly) killed only one person. Thompson has a lot more blood on his hands; his killings may be indirect, but the blame still falls ultimately on him, just as blame for the Holocaust ultimately falls on Hitler.
Attention 1%-ers: Be afraid. Be very afraid.
Yesterday, the radio opera was “Hansel and Gretel” by (the original) Englebert Humperdinck. It was a performance from 1982 (Christmas Day, actually) which featured Judith Blegen as Gretel. I mention her because she is an unusual talent – she could as easily had a career as a violin virtuoso as she had as a operatic soprano, and I know that because I took lessons from one of her former violin teachers. You won’t find his name in Wikipedia, because only some of her teachers of voice and violin are named there. Gian Carlo Menotti denied that he had written his opera “Help, Help, the Globolinks” with her in mind – but he certainly had no difficulty with her playing Emily in the American debut, which requires the lead soprano to also play the violin. Hansel was played by Frederica von Stade, whom I mention because of her sense of humor. One of her voice coaches was a cat person, and at their first lesson, the coach’s cat threw up on her shoe. All she said was, “I hope it wasn’t my singing.” That’s not to belittle the rest of the cast, who were also excellent – just personal memories of mine. Off to see Virgil now – will check in when I get home.
From Wonkette, a piece of good news that everyone else appears to have missed. I thought it belonged on Sunday. I doubt we’ll get many more for some years.
And one more piece of good news, also from Wonkette. No spoiler.
Okay, this, from Steve Schmidt is now VERY late (yet still far more recent than the history it discusses.) Steve Schmidt may not know as much history as Heather Cox Richardson does. But he does have a flair for knowing about moments of history which invoke strong feelings – and for telling them so that you almost feel you are there. The Christmas he tells of here was also in a dark night for America. That we came through it may give us some hope. But you may still need a hanky.
Yesterday was another day I didn’t do much. I enjoy being idle, but I’d also like to get more done. Oh well, if I don’t, then I’m the one who has to live with it.
Robert Reich – the reich on the left – is right. How right is he? So right that I feel the need to emphasize it by meming a quote from it for today’s cartoon.
Christmas Eve is past, but, as Joyce Vance points out, this is too important to ignore. I suspect some (not here, but elsewhere) may be thinking that at least he’s turning his crazy on someone besides us. But at a veteran, I have to point our that out military IS us – and when you include the families and colleagues and friends in whose circles veterans, active duty military, and those now considering enlisting live, that involves a lot of us.
WASHINGTON, DC – JANUARY 16: Former U.S. Labor Secretary Robert Reich testifies before the Joint Economic Committee January 16, 2014 in Washington, DC. Reich joined a panel testifying on the topic of “Income Inequality in the United States.Ó (Photo by Win McNamee/Getty Images)
Time just got away from me. But I had worked on a post earlier, so rather than waiting until 2025 I’m just going to go ahead and share it.
I was hoping to post it yesterday so I could slip it in as a Boxing Day article – so I’m just going to pretend it’s STILL December 26th.
Boxing Day, a UK holiday tradition celebrated the day after Christmas, was once a day to donate gifts to those in need. But it has now evolved to become a part of Christmas festivities, and an extension for those of us wanting to participate in the PoliticsPlus Holiday Festivities – but got tied up with other things.
To start I created some GIFs of the drone light show employing 4,981 drones to create the Guinness record-breaking holiday display over Mansfield, Texas on November 26, 2023
The spectacular show was created by Sky Elements Drone Shows and UVify, a North Texas-based drone company.
To be honest, I’ll post the YouTube source video – but they make so many cuts and change of speed it was a bit difficult.
(And you might want to kick up the speed in YouTube because the drones tend to move pretty slow in performing their precision aerial display.)
In the same order as the video:
And here’s the source YouTube video:
And I borrowed a Jacquie Lawson Christmas message to add the one word we’re all hoping for:
And it just wouldn’t be Christmas without a reprise of those Caroling Penguins. (That song STILLS makes me chuckle just thinking about it.)
♩ ♪ ♫ ♬
Hark! The Herald Penguins sing:
Please don’t eat our little wings!
Eat a goose down to the bone,
But leave Penguins all alone.
♩ ♪ ♫ ♬
Baby ducks are very sweet,
Tastier than Penguin meat.
If we’re carried in your store,
Please, don’t shop there anymore!
…
Yesterday, Colorado Public Radio newsletter sent this. A little late. I knew this existed, and the origin story, but there’s more detail in the article. Fortunately there are still enough people who have the Christmas Spirit to keep it going. And enough kids to enjoy it.
I find it difficult to believe that anyone at The F* News would believe in any kind of miracle – and this isn’t one IMO – the 46% he and The Conference Board refer to are all people who voted for Kamala, or would have had they voted. But it’s an eye-catching header. We can hope that it gets widely read and quoted.
Harry Litman of Talking Feds calls this a “change of pace” post, which is certainly an understatement. But I have no problem taking time to recognize that these people to whom we go for expertise and wisdom are also human, and have human likes and dislikes. And he also has a list of podcasts he has made and will be continuing to make, which “dive deep into seven critical areas where Trump will be looking to attack government as we know it.” Four have already aired, but are still available (and I assume transcripts are also. At least I hope so.) The next one, coming up Monday – well, I’m thrilled that he considers my state’s attorney general to be “pure gold.” I certainly do, but what do I know.
Yesterday, I continued knitting, finishing a couple of small things. I also tried a cup of coffee flavored with Torani’s white chocolate flavor syrup. The flavor of white chocolate seems to me such an unobtrusive, mild flavor that I wasn’t expecting much, but they nailed it ) Earlier this month they sent me an email announcing it was their 100th anniversary. I’ve dealt with them before – they’ve always made more flavors than you’ll ever see in the stores, but I wasn’t prepared for just how many they do make. I splurged on a sampler pack of flavors designed to go with coffee, and the white chocolate was one of those. Also, I stepped away from the computer for a while because the mouse I am now using is one that you never have to change the battery, but you do have to charge it periodically, and it ran out of charge. It’s charged now obviously, since this post is up. I hope y’all had as peaceful a day as mine, whatever, if anything, you celebrate.
This, by Marc Elias, was recommended by Joyce Vance a few days ago, and I put it aside until after Christmas. Maybe I should have put it aside until after New Year’s Day, hoping we would all gather more strength by then to grasp it and act on it. But here it is. I have to hope that he is at least correct in not expecting us to have a full-blown fascist government. I am not so confident.
Heather Cox Richardson on the history of polarization in the United States, starting with Nixon. To my mind she omits the one thing Gingrich did which had the most dire consequences, although there is plenty of evidence without it. (He removed the requirement for Congressfolk to maintain a residence in DC. Yes, that could be reinstated, but it would take far longer to build trust back again than it required to deteriorate it.)
Yesterday, I considered starting a crockpot, but decided against it. Instead, I did a little knitting – very little and not really necessary, just a short flurry of mild OCD. But nonetheless satisfying.
I’m not thrilled to be sharing negative news on Christmas – but it won’t hurt to know a little more about the Georgia case, from Harry Litman at Talking Feds.
If you have been wishing for a recipe for a holiday cookie (I say holiday because her family celebrates both Christmas and Hanukkah, and I’m not sure which tradition this comes from. I suspect Hanukkah but could be wrong), Joyce Vance has you covered. They sound quite decadent. I can figure out a substitute I could use for the flour that I could have, but, although I’ve been collecting information on egg substitutes, I’m not sure about that one. Also, there’s no need to go to the linked article she recommends, since I’ll be using it tomorrow.
