Politics Plus

Yesterday, I got my usual weekly email from RBG’s son Jim, the record producer, about the week’s featured release. Among other things, it includes a new or newish piece which contains a musical reflection on what “home” means. This reminded me of Robert Frost’s famous quote “Home is the place where, when you have to go there, they have to take you in,” which seems timely in the context of the regime’s lust for deportation. It has always bothered me because it seems so cold. And it is cold. But I don’t think it was what Frost believed. He was using it in a character study of a very cold person (possibly a MAGAt long before his time.) Although today’s MAGAts are even colder – they won’t take you in, home or not. It comes from “The Death of the Hired Man.” I think Frost’s belief was closer to what the character’s wife answers – “I should have called it Something you somehow haven’t to deserve.” Also yesterday, the House Ethics Committee has had it with Republican crap and has instead sued the Epstein Estate (Axios).

You can, and maybe have, found this information elsewhere (Among others, Wonkette cites Mother Jones). But personally I find that their style makes one feel it as real, rather than just another news story. You may disagree.

Allow me to introduce this from the Contrarian, and why I’m posting it. When I had more free time than I do these days, I used to watch history videos from reliable sources from time to time. It’s “been a minute,” so I can’t now remember whether I got this information from two different videos or the same one, but here’s some information I learned about Russia and Ukraine. Back in the day when the Vikings pretty much owned the waterways, one of the places they raided was Russia. You probably have a mental image from British history and maybe other areas of people living in the invaded territory being killed off or at least fighting the invaders for their lives. Whatever territories that may have happened in, Russia apparently was not one of them – or at least not for long. The Russian people decided that the Vikings were highly organized and maybe even smart, so they invited the Vikings to stay and become their government. And enough did that for a goodly time (I can’t say how long since I didn’t follow it up – at the time I didn’t know how relevant it would be) the ruling class in Russia was composed of Vikings. Meanwhile, the Ukrainians were Cossacks (that’s still in their national anthem.) Cossacks were mercenary soldiers who worked for anyone who could and would pay them. But their agreements with these monarchs always included a clause that they were guaranteed self government. And I assume that means they never took an oath of fealty to any of them. And no, I don’t actually think that’s genetic – certainly not 100% or people like RFK Jr and Stephen Miller and Paul Gosar, whose families strongly reject their ideas, would all have to be adopted or illegitimate, and there’s no evidence for that at all. But if there is such a thing as national character, both nations have one which is eerily consistent with their centuries-old history.

This from The F* News is kind of connected to my introductory rant about what home means. You have probably seen the news, and I don’t suppose it takes much of either imagination or decent human feelings to see what is going on here. I believe Senator Van Hollen met in person again with Abrego Garcia over the weekend. The Uganda thing was not announced until Monday morning. Ketanji Brown Jackson brought up Calvinball in connection with the Court recently – but the regime is definitely playing it too.

Cat