Glenn Kirschner – DOJ declares Donald Trump DOES NOT have immunity for Jan. 6 speech inciting violence at the Capitol
PoliticsGirl – Fox News Viewer?
Thom Hartmann – Putin Reveals Latest Cause Of Ukrainian War
Mrs Betty Bowers – Gossiping with God
Mama Dog And Her Puppies Found Under A Bus — See Them All A Year Later!
Beau – Let’s talk about Medicaid and what to do if you’re now ineligible….
Glenn Kirschner – Judge unseals order directing Rep. Scott “Pardon Me” Perry’s cell phone disclosed to prosecutors
Robert Reich – Deregulation is Destroying Us
VoteVets – The Line
Patrick Fitzgerald – George Santos (not brand new but PolitiZoom just found it)
Dog Rescued From Side Of Road Gives His Cat Friend Kisses
Beau – Let’s talk about when the boss shows up and photos….
“SLAVA UKRAINI!” – “Glory to Ukraine!”
On the anniversary of Putin’s ill-advised invasion there have been many accolades paying tribute to the resolve and bravery of Ukraine and its people. Out of the many options commemorating this sad day I wanted to be as inclusive as possible. I decided by sharing the many wonderful lightings in Ukraine’s colors of landmarks around the world would be a good format.
But the problem that ensued was where to draw the line. That’s why I’m late getting this posted: It was hard to stop downloading them – and I’m still leaving many out.
Some of the GIFs are of a landmark or landmarks in a single region, while others are of varied locations. I’ll try to very briefly identify them below the GIFs, so look for an easily recognizable one as a marker to determine the order.
Empire State Building
Eiffel Tower
Memphis Bridge, Copenhagen Castle, Denver City Hall, Stenbock House (Estonia), French Embassy and Ludwigsburg Palace (Germany)
Colosseum
Los Angeles: 2nd Street Tunnel and City Hall
(SIDEBAR: The 2nd Street Tunnel has played a pivotal role in many movies: Blade Runner, Flashdance, Terminator, Rocky IV, Lethal Weapon 2, etc.)
Helsinki Town Hall, Kyiv Opera House, Parliament Building – Lisbon, Lviv Opera House – Ukraine, Cibeles Fountain – Madrid, Flinders Street – Melbourne, Metropolitan Opera House – NYC
San Francisco City Hall
UK Sites: St. George Hall – Liverpool, 10 Downing Street, The Eye – London, Trafalgar Square – London, St. Albans Cathedral
Niagara Falls, Oslo City Hall, Peace Tower – Ottawa, Sarajevo City Hall (Bosnia), Parliament Building – Madrid, Sydney Opera House, Toulouse City Hall (France)
Chicago: Chicago City Hall, the Rest Are of Chicago’s Merchandise Mart, Featuring “Art on the Mart”
Washington, DC: Immaculate Conception Cathedral, Kennedy Center and National Cathedral
Yesterday, the radio opera was “Lady Macbeth of Mtsensk” by Dmitri Shostakovich. It was based on a novella of roughly the same name, as unfair as that name is to the protagonist, who is essentially reacting to being abused, not only by her husbamd, but by her father-in-law, and then by an employee of the family business with whom she has an affair which essentially begins with a rape. No, murder is never justified, but it really is not hard to have empathy for her. There is a revised version from 1962, which the composer felt was different enough to rename it “Katerina Izmailova,” but it’s the original version (and the original title) which is usually heard today. The opera is one of many of his works which got him into deep doodoo with Stalin (he used to keep a fully packed suitcase by his front door so that if the secret police came in the middle of the might he’d have some possessions to take with him.) As always, I’ll comment when I get back from seeing Virgil.
Cartoon
Short Takes –
Crooks & Liars – Why Hasn’t Russia Destroyed Even One US HIMARS System In Ukraine?
Quote – The HIMARS (High Mobility Artillery Rocket System) has been credited with changing the trajectory of the war. Though Ukraine only has about 20 of these systems sent from the United States, Russia seems to have no counter. And many have wondered why Russia has not managed to destroy a single one of them
Click through for article and video. I don’t know much about Czech history or culture. I would not have expected this. But, upon reflection, it fits very well with the little I do know. (And it’s most amusing.)
A Jim Crow–Era Murder. A Family Secret. Decades Later, What Does Justice Look Like?
Quote – It’s like “legal archaeology,” Burnham says. The students read old newspapers, travel to Southern towns to obtain court transcripts, and speak with surviving families. “It’s really not enough to say, ‘Those were horrible days,’ and let them pass,” Burnham told the Northeastern Law magazine in 2010. “The details matter. These stories are important, and to the extent these people are still around, their stories deserve to be told.”
Click through for story. I don’t really have words. I’m thankful for this project – but then I look at the complete erasure of reality DeSatan is perpetrating in Florida. I hope these stories do not disappear like the family photographs mentioned.
Food For Thought
Glenn Kirschner – Special Counsel Jack Smith fights PROACTIVELY for Mike Pence’s testimony before the grand jury
The Lincoln Project – Responsible
Ring of Fire – Trump Will Reportedly Accept Subpoena From Proud Boys
Brent Terhune – National Divorce
Guy Rescues A Stray Cat Every Time He Leaves The House
Beau – Let’s talk about China aiding Russia….
Yesterday, It warmed up above freezing and the snow is mostly gone from where it needs to be gone. Today (and tomorrow) should be warmer. I did listen to the concert “For Ukraine: A Concert of Rememberance and Hope.” It began with a video message from Olena Zelenska (Debra Lou Harder read out the English subtitles.) I was choked up before the first note (which was the first note of the Unkrainian National Anthem, BTW.) If you saw “Amadeus,” you’ll remember several chunks from the Mozart Requiem, and of course everyone recognizes Beethoven’s Fifth Symphony. They are actually less familiar to the performers than to the audience – opera orchestras don’t generally play sumphonies, and opera choruses seldom sing Requiems, though top rank vocal soloists do, at least on occasion. The “Prayer for Ukraine” was part of the first Met concert for Ukraine. Yes, this is alot of music analysis. But as someone cited from Heine, (it may have been the Ukrainian ambassador to the UN, or one of the two Ukrainian soloists), “When words leave off, music begins.” They posted the program on line (part of it – they cut out the advertising.) And – speaking of Ukraine and music …
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Short Takes –
The Daily Beast – Broadway Star Ben Platt Condemns ‘Evil’ Neo-Nazis After ‘Parade’ Protest
Quote – The show, a Broadway transfer from the Encores! concert series, is based on the true story of a Jewish factory superintendent, Leo Frank, who was falsely convicted of killing 13-year-old employee Mary Phagan in 1913, and who was kidnapped from prison and lynched two years later…. [A] masked activist from the National Socialist Movement, a neo-Nazi hate group, tried to leaflet theater-goers outside the Bernard B. Jacobs Theatre so they could “find out the truth” about the ADL (Anti-Defamation League), as well as Parade. “You’re paying 300 bucks to go fucking worship a pedophile, you might as well know what you’re talking about,” the masked person said.
Click through for article. This is bad enough – but the same people who staged this outrage have also designated today as a “National Day of Hate.” At least in many large cities, it’s being reported that law enforcement is providing extra protectio to synagogues.
Letters From An American – February 19, 2023
Quote – Today is the anniversary of the day in 1942, during World War II, that President Franklin Delano Roosevelt signed Executive Order 9066 enabling military authorities to designate military areas from which “any or all persons may be excluded.” That order also permitted the secretary of war to provide transportation, food, and shelter “to accomplish the purpose of this order.” … On March 2, 1942, General John DeWitt put Executive Order 9066 into effect. He signed Public Proclamation No. 1, dividing the country into military zones and, “as a matter of military necessity,” excluding from certain of those zones “[a]ny Japanese, German, or Italian alien, or any person of Japanese Ancestry.”
Click through for Letter. There is Nick Anderson the basketball player, and there is Nick Anderson the cartoonist, but the Nick Anderson to whom Heather refers is neither of them. He is a young reporter for the Washington Post. I can’t provide a gift link – my cousin is all out of them for this month. Here’s the paywalled link. But hHeather does a gret job and you may not need or want it.
Food For Thought
Yesterday, the temperature did go up before it went down, although it never for as high as freezing. Today it should, and the next several days should be warmer still. There’s no snow in the forecast for a little over a week.
This article in one of my newsletters caught my eye… and then I saw that it had also caught Mitch’s eye. I know many of y’all are also on his mailing list – and also that the contents are no surprise – but it’s good to see that someone is in a position to prove it.
Cartoon – 24 0224Cartoon.jpg
Short Takes –
The Daily Beast – 10 Surprising Lessons of the Ukraine War So Far
Quote – While Ukraine has pleaded for fighter jets for a year, unmanned aircraft have stolen the show … “No Time for Sergeants” was once a TV hit in America. It has been a flop for the Russian army ,,, Speaking of time, it’s time for traditional navies to realize their time will soon be up … Poland is the new Germany. (And Estonia is the new France.) … Vladimir Putin may be a madman, but at least he has the common sense not to want to be obliterated in a nuclear war with NATO … Speaking of Putin, stick a fork in him. He may not be quite done yet, but he will be soon… and besides if anyone deserves to have a fork stuck in him, it’s Putin … TikTok is more than just an annoying teenage time-waster and Chinese espionage plot … Ukraine is already in the EU and NATO whether you (or Russia or Turkey[sic]) like it or not … With friends like Turkey[sic], Israel, the global South and Elon Musk, who needs enemies? … And the most important lesson of all is, as it will be for the remainder of this century, everything is always about China.
Click through for the explanation of each point. I am doing my best to respect the newly preferred spelling of Türkiye. If the UN can do it, I should be able to.
The Nib – The Great Debate: Martin Luther King, Jr. vs Robert F. Williams
Quote – While the debate between King and Williams was waged in dueling magazine columns in pages of the Liberator over the course of 1959, I like to imagine what it would have been like inperson. Maybe I’d be sitting with WEB Dubois, who followed the discussion closely.
Click through for full graphic. The hearts and minds of bigots cannot be won with violence. The hearts and minds of bigots also cannot be won with non-violence. They also cannot be won with legislation, but I believe legislation has the best chance of controlling their behavior, and of at least achieving justice when that doesn’t succeed. But for that to happen we need to elect majorities of sane legislators everywhere and at every level – and we need exclusively sane people in law enforcement and the courts. None of this is easy.
Food For Thought
Yesterday, it had snowed and there was plenty of cloud cover, but a little after 2 pm there was already a clear path to the mailbox. BUT it was NOT a dry path. Wet concrete is darker than dry concrete and this was quite dark. So no trip to the mailbox. A couple of packages came, but neither would fit in the mailbox, so they were left on my porch, and I got them in anyway. It had snowed more by then, also. I am sharing a non-weather story from Colorado, because even if I believed in coincidence, this one is way too big to believe in – and apparently it has happened elsewhere, and could happen anywhere. I don’t quite know how to prepare for it, other than to be able to recognize it if it comes.
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Short Takes –
Washington Post (no paywall) – Opinion – Biden’s Kyiv visit shows Putin seriously misjudged his courage
Quote – What many people fail to understand about Biden, the oldest president in our history, is the extent to which he is guided by a sense of mission. He came out of retirement and ran for the White House only because he believed he had the unique ability, and thus the obligation, to save the nation from another four years of Donald Trump. And he has faced Russia’s invasion of Ukraine with the same burden of duty imposed by history.
Click through for full opinion. I don’t often get to see Eugene Robinson, but I always learn something, even if it’s just a new way of saying something I knew, or a position I hadn’t considered looking from. There’s a lot in here – I picked what I quoted because it made me think of “Rule 303,” which is the way Beau expresses duty. “If you have the means at hand, you have the responsibility to act.”
The New Yorker – Russia, One Year After the Invasion of Ukraine
Quote – I had immigrated to the U.S. as a child, in the early eighties. Since the mid-nineties, I’d been coming back to Moscow about once a year. During that time, the city kept getting nicer, and the political situation kept getting worse. It was as if, in Russia, more prosperity meant less freedom…. I asked [my friend Alexander] Baunov how long he thought it would be before he returned to Russia. He said that he didn’t know, but it was possible that he would never return. There was no going back to February 23rd [2022]—not for him, not for Russia, and especially not for the Putin regime. “The country has undergone a moral catastrophe,” Baunov said. “Going back, in the future, would mean living with people who supported this catastrophe; who think they had taken part in a great project; who are proud of their participation in it.”
Click through for full article. Every week in Everday Erinyes I quuote Masha Gessen on autocracy and autocrats. Keith, who wrote this, is her brother.
Food For Thought
