Today is (International) Earth Day. It is also the last day of the US-Iran 14 day ceasefire, unless an extension has been or is negotiated. Today’s video is all about the SCROTUS “Shadow Docket.” It has an ad right in the middle – if I start after it, you’ll miss all the background. But he wears a very different shirt for the ad, so it should be easy to stop it, run the red dot past it, and pick up when he starts on the subject again.
From Ukrainform. You gotta respect Zelenskyy’s courage to push for a meeting with not one, not two, but three fascists, for peace negotiations. I am not a mind reader nor a prophet (my name is Joanne, not Jeane – remember her?), but I personally suspect that Putin will not stop until very single person in his military is dead, or until he is, whichever comes first.
About half of young Americans can’t name a single Holocaust site, repeating a pattern of ignorance seen in postwar Germany. Knowing what has happened to education in the US since I was in school, I shouldn’t be surprised – but I was, for about a second.
I do agree with Robert Reich. It would be a toss-up between him and Alito, if it weren’t for the fact that Thomas is a known sexual abuser.
Interesting opera scheduled for today – called “Innocence,” by a Finnish woman composer, conducted by a Finnish woman conductor, libretto in six or seven languages. Set at a wedding reception. The waitress there is a woman who lost a child in a school shooting. The groom turns out to be the brother of the shooter. No spoiler from me – I have not looked up where it goes from there. But it certainly sounds like something which would be powerful. Tomorrow I visit Virgil.
Robert Reich dismisses the 25th Amendment for one of the same reasons I do – getting the approval of the majority of this cabinet is just a fever dream. But now, I think we are both wrong on this point. The 25th Amendment strategy which the Democrats are now considering (which still needs to wait until we have majorities) is to appoint an independent commission – an alternative authorized by the 25th Amendment in lieu of the Cabinet. Kudos to those who wrote the Amendment.
Archived from The Military Times, which does not appear to have a paywall, but does want you to turn off your ad blocker. Referred by VoteVets, which now has a Substack (probably has for some time, but I only recently found it.) I have not seen this bit of information anywhere else, and it is an excellent illustration of why the DoD should be run by people who know what they are doing. not by people who can just do pushups and pullups.
This by Harry Litman could well be the headline any time a Republican is replaced with another Republican. Which is one reason why I am so lukewarm on impeaching or 25thing the Orange Ogre. I will say, if we had done it during his first term, it might have worked better than now. Then, there were a few adults in the Cabinet, even though they were Republicans. Now, there are none.
A bonus, because it’s good, for a change. From Democracy Docket, referred by The Smile. A bit of political good news, though I must say it took long enough.
Yesterday, Malcolm Nance apologized for failing to do a scheduled Substack video – because he had had to do interviews on three BBC entities and on ABC (down under.) Apparently I am far from alone in respecting his experience and analysis (and also his choices of co-hosts – Jacob has been missing for three says because he was doing interviews, not just in Denmark, but all over Europe.) Fertilizer was in the spotlight. I am no chemist, but a huge component of fertilizer is urea which is a major (or the major) source of nitrogen for fertilizer. Aren’t we all running around every day full of urea, and flushing most of it? Is it time for someone who is a chemist to come up with some way to capture that and refine it? Or am I dreaming?
Harmeet Dillon’s name has not yet, as far as I know, come up from the White House as a potential AG. But if Robert Reich thinks it is a possibility, I’m confident it is a possibility
Jesse Wegman is part of the Brennan Center for Justice. He has some thoughts about the courts here, and at least one of those thoughts is colorful.
We may as well look at this. The devil, as they say, is in the details.
Yesterday – was interesting. In the sense that “May you live in interesting times” is a curse. Eric Swalwell was accused of sexual misconduct, and has dropped out of the race for Governor, though maintaining his innocence. A quote: “I will fight the serious, false allegations that have been made–but that’s my fight, not a campaign’s.” The Iran negotiations crashed, and the UnPresident announced a naval blockade of the Strait of Hormuz (I realize that is so absurd that anyone who knows anything about it would crack up laughing, but unfortunately it’s still “interesting.” Guess we’re going to experiment with piracy now. But it’s still “interesting.”) Trinette was by to save my sanity. I hope y’all have something at hand to save yours.
Let me tell you a story about charismatic Christianity (which is not a denomination, but exists across many denominations. While stationed in Okinawa, I started attending a charismatic Catholic prayer group. The people there were clearly doing their best to live as Jesus had taught, and I was comfortable. There was a church-approved pamphlet called “Life in the Spirit” which was used for instruction, and without going into detail, it was sound. When I left the USMC and moved to Alamosa, the Catholic church there had a charismatic prayer group also, which I also attended. It also used the “Life in the Spirit” literature. Until one day, the group leader received a bunch of new booklets intended to replace “Life in the Spirit.” The English ones were entitled “You will receive power” (the Spanish ones were titled “Recibirán Poder.” I was 30 at the time, which is not terribly old, but I was a grown-ass adult.” I immediately saw that this new emphasis – biblical though it was – would be the beginning of the end. Because it would attract people who want power (and put off those who don’t.) People who want power are the last people in the world who should have it. I left the group. The “charismatic Christian” in this article sounds like a case in point. People who want power do so because they believe that, with it, they can do anything they want – with no negative consequences. Reality simply doesn’t work that way.
Archived from The New Yorker. Just in case you thought there was nothing worse than MAGA.
At least this from Robert Reich is good. If you can stand another story – my dead friend Fred, who was an announcer at my favorite radio station and who died not that long ago (and the station played recorded tributes to him from co-workers, former co-workers, listeners for what seemed like a month, and who was an atheist and the kindest, most generous person I have ever met) was Hungarian-Italian-American – he would have been so happy about this.
From Andy Borowitz: “Ghost of Pope Francis to Viktor Orbán: ‘I Warned You Not to Let Vance Near You!'”
OK, I was wrong. The previous episode wasn’t the last one.
Yesterday, the radio opera was Mozart’s Don Giovanni, as I said it would be. Don Giovanni is not the nicest person in opera (how’s that for understatement?) but he has some truly gorgeous music to sing, and Speedo handled it like silk. Made my day. Also, 81 years ago today, Franklin Delano Roosevelt died. May he rest in peace (unless he wants to come back and strangle the current office holder.) Now – as the original Pollyanna would do – here are some (actual) good news stories to help you get through all the (also actual) crap.
This from The Root doesn’t start so well – but turns around pretty sharply. I was touched.
This from CBS Pittsburgh is a new way to raise money for a good cause. The cause is for children, the idea and organization are from a child the products are all made by children. Apparently the kids are all right.
A very short video from ABC News (the American one), including some information of which I, for one, was not aware.
Yesterday, I heard something that I had not heard for years – but tht I have heard more than once just in the past week. A pundit on a webcast said, “I don’t want to be a Pollyanna.” The implication is that Pollyanna was an unfailing optimist. She was not. (If you want a literary optimist, go to Doctor Pangloss in Candide (Voltaire.) Pollyanna was a clear-eyed realist. What she did do was use “one weird trick” to keep herself going – keep herself afloat – when faced with bad news or bad circumstances. That technique is simple, and easy to use, and it is psychologically sound. It is to find something, even something completely unrelated, that isn’t bad – that one can feel good about. And it works. This is why my email inbox – and probably yours – keeps getting emails saying things like “Last night (referring to Tuesday), Democrats held the State Supreme Court in Wisconsin, keeping the court’s majority.” That’s the Pollyanna tidbit to help us all keep going. And that is just one example. “Count your blessings – the phrase and the song – is another. Of course Pollyanna is a fictional character, but dammit, even a fictional character does not deserve to be turned into her exact opposite. (OK, end of rant. Although I’m getting to the point where I may do one on “decimate.” Or possibly “perverse.”) The featured image to the left was produced by Iran with a nod to the Evil Emperor’s Easter “truth.” And I did finally electronically file my federal and state tax returns. Federally, I owe notheing and will receive nothing. State, I may or may not get $19.00.
You know, this from The Conversation would have been 100% predictable, had anyone thought about it in advance. It is also IMO 100% disgusting. But don’t take it from me. Y’all have perfectly good minds.
This from POGO is old – it was originally posted in 2025, but reposted last week for fairly obvious reasons. It’s still pertinent.
This by Wajeeh Lion is details on the rescue of the pilot which took the longest. It isn’t going to affect the war in general, but it’s quite a story and will give you an idea of the hazards, and maybe also of the terrain of Iran – which is a lot more mountainous than desert-y and even has some mountains higher than ours in Colorado – a neat trick when a nation also has sea level and at that so close to those mountains.
Yesterday – my “day off” – I was not writing or researching, but I really have to go through inboxes regardless. So, I do want to say – if we are all still here – I’ m grateful. If not – it was wonderful knowing all of you. (P.S. – I did manage to do some laundry – mostly after the letdown.)
On Monday, Malcolm Nance said on his “warcast” that “All of us are agreeing with Marjorie Taylor Greene.” And, dammit, he was right. This is what she posted (starting with a screenshot of POTUS’s post), and I agree 100%, and I’m confident y’all will too: “On Easter morning, this is what President Trump posted. Everyone in his administration that claims to be a Christian needs to fall on their knees and beg forgiveness from God and stop worshipping the President and intervene in Trump’s madness. I know all of you and him and he has gone insane, and all of you are complicit.”
Wajeeh mentioned this during Malcolm’s and his “warcast” one day last week, and it launched Malcolm into a horror story about when he was working there and his wife was also working there (as a contractor) and they needed a maid (the Nances probably saved the poor girls life – they definitely saved her sanity and started her on a real career). Wajeeh promised to write an article on the system, and this is it.
From The Root. This really pisses me off. The CBC (Congressional Black Caucus) may be made up of public servants, but itself is just a club. The Congreaaional Back Caucus Foundation is not even a club, but a non-profit NGO, not a government entity. The scholarship program is “The CBC Spouses Education Scholarship” The spouses of the Caucus are not public servants, but private citizens. They are entitled to do what they effing want with their GD money. This is racism pure and simple.
I watched this conversation between Joyce Vance and an expert on Hungary (which is having an election Sunday), but there is a transcript if you prefer to read. It’s about 33 minutes – but I can’t think of any way you could get this much information without reading a book (or listening to an audiobook). It’s very scary – and the scariest part may well be how little of it we knew about.
Yesterday, I saw Virgil and we played cribbage. The deck we had (I just pick up whatever is closest in the games cabinet now ) was not brand new, since it was rather sticky, but it was missing no cards, and no cards were torn or peeling – that’s not always the case. Colorado prisons’ visiting rooms are always cold, but yesterday it was colder than usual. But we had fun anyway. I posted after I got back home but didn’t respond to comments – I’ll do that today. After getting home (and finally making a cup of coffee, and dinner), and while I was looking for a video for today, I tripped over a channel I was not aware of, called “Sideprojects”, whose purpose is to inform people of things you learned in history or even from (usually older) books, are not true, and how we found out. I watched one on the Roman Empire – some of it I knew, but some thinks, especially DNA things were new even to me – and Latin was my major in college, and Roman History was a requirement. I don’t know that I’d call the false stories lies, actually, because I believe a falsehood requires intent to deceive in order to be a lie. But if I “know” something which is false, I do like to learn the truth. Most of the videos, as far as could see, not looking at the whole library, run in the neighborhood of 20-30 minutes, though some are longer – and while many are history based, some correct scientific “knowledge.”
I didn’t want to put this on Sunday. Wajeeh is a Saudi Arabian political analyst who now lives in Minneapolis and is a co-host for Malcolm Nance, along with Jacob Kaarsbo, who is Danish. I’m pretty sure all three pilots who were shot down have been rescued now, thankfully. But that does not mean that he risk is over. We have more pilots, and more planes, and neither the Emperor nor Kegsbreath appears to care much. See also this.
Heather Cox Richardson writes a short history of the origin of NATO, for its anniversary. I just hope this is not also its epitaph.
From Bowers News Media. Besides demonstrating how despicable Republicans can be (even without the Mango Moron as a model, but particularly with), it’s an extremely good argument for not having “jungle primaries.” I’ve been following the California Governor’s race since Katie Porter announced for it, and I’ve been nervous for most of that time – but I haven’t been terrified until now.
From The Seneca Project. Obviously this was made to recruit people to No Kings III, so all the signs shown will have been from II or I. But many people believe that viewing this type of presentation can help build morale anyway – and besides, there is another No kings scheduled for May Day. (And the song will never go out of fashion.)
