Scotland – Politics Plus

Yesterday, the radio opera was Puccini’s “Turandot” from Covent Garden. I won’t go into the details, having discussed it before (more than once). I’ll just mention that Sondra Radvanovsky (who is American) has a thought new to me about exactly when in the opera Turandot’s shell cracks, which in her opinion happens to coincide with the exact point in the opera at which Puccini died composing it – the rest of the opera was constructed from his notes by Franco Alfano, with mixed reviews. Personally, if I didn’t already know Puccini hadn’t finished it, I wouldn’t be able to tell any difference. Toscanini, who conducted the premier, did not agree. He felt so strongly that he stopped the premier at that point, turning to the audience and saying (probably in Italian) “At this point, the maestro laid down his pen.” Anyway, I’m off to see Virgil and will check in upon return

Not the most important news – but lovely to see Scotland doing Scotland and giving the Apricot Antichrist a ginormous middle finger.

Liza Donnelly is a good friend of Heather Cox Richardson. She is a professional cartoonist and gets published in The New Yorker. The experience she writes (and draws) about here has me green with envy. But, of course, to move in those circles one has to be in those circles – and I really don’t have the strength any more to do that.

I knew this, but I can’t tell you how happy I am to see it in print in a Colorado newspaper, even a small one. Because he will need name recognition to win the Democratic gubernatorial primary, let alone the general.

We don’t seem to hear as much about Make-A-Wish as we used to. But they are still around. And still doing good.

John D. Cundle is a Canadian (he may or may not be a US expat, but he is definitely a Canadian now) who is willing to help us keep our spirits up in any way he can. Like this.

Yesterday, I got the email from Families First (via Americans for Tax Fairness) that there will be another national protest event tomorrow. Cleaning up tie URL did not remove or change the locations it was showing me, so you may need to select “Filters” and scroll down a bit and enter your location. I realize this is short notice – but you can also filter by date and find future events, and also filter by other criteria. Also, yesterday, I got multiple emails with “Trump’s name is in the Epstein files” in the subject line. But – you know – it might not be – or at least, if there is a “client list”, it might not be in that. They were such close friends that Epstein might not have charged him. Today, had my mother lived, she would have been 119, so it is a blessing that the didn’t. For someone who lived through Roosevelt’s terms – all of them – this would be devastating.

This is from Press Watch – which means there is at least one journalist who can/will do what he is asking others to do. But I’m afraid there’s little we can do to straighten out the ones who won’t. Either they are themselves i the cult, or their publications are owned by wealth people who, whether or not they are actually in the cult, want the country to be so. There’s your answer, Dan.

This article from Wonkette – I can’t describe it any better then the title, “creepy-ass” – shows the extent to which soe men will go to have (or believe they have) total control over a woman’s body. Some men. Not all men. I might point out that Plutarch, who lived mostly in the first century CE (and into the second) tells the story of Timoclea of Thebes in two of his books, one a history of Alexander the Great, the other titles “Virtutes mulierum” [The virtues of women], which suggests that he approved not only of her but of Alexander for respecting her. The little attorney of the creepy-ass plaintiff is no better. Perhaps there are wells (dry ones would do) near where they live which could be put to good use.

Politics Plus

Open Thread August 10 2025

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