Over the past two days I have seen two news stories that have resonated on this July 4th.
The first was about a group of people sworn in as new American citizens. Their home countries were varied, but they all chose to come to the United States to try to build a new life. Some are already serving in our military, one built a life giving back to her adopted country through medical service as a nurse. She was the first person to get the Covid-19 vaccine outside of the test groups, making history and again serving her adopted country with her leadership.
The second story just occurred early this morning in Massachusetts around 1:30am. It involved a group of armed men wearing tactical gear who were stopped alongside the road refueling one of the two cars that were stopped. They were noticed by passing police who stopped to see what their situation was. The details are sparse at this time, but the gist of it was that these men told the police that they were not anti-government but were not subject to the laws of the United States. When the police first arrived some of the men fled into nearby woods, but others stayed. Eleven were arrested. The obvious question was what was their intent? That remains to be determined.
So I asked myself, what does it mean to be a citizen of the United States? It isn't just about taking advantage of services or opportunities if they are offered, it is about giving back, it is about taking responsibility in making our country a decent place for all of it's inhabitants. Which of those two groups of people embody those qualities? Many in the first group already appear to. The second group? Not so much.
I also ask, why are we seeing more of the second types of people crawling out of the woodwork? They have always been here, lurking in the weeds. But we are seeing more "we are above the law" types of behavior. The Jan. 6th attack on the Capitol was that type of event, as was this.
Watch this story out of Massachusetts and decide, is it the far left that is the danger to our country or is it the far right? No one is above the law if they are truly a citizen of this country. We all bear responsibility in keeping our country safe. As you enjoy July 4th, remember that it has more meaning than shooting off fireworks. It is the duty of us all, we the people, to make sure we elect officials that will show loyalty to the Constitution, not one man, and who will put the good of the country first before party. It matters.
Happy July 4th!
61 comments:
"I also ask, why are we seeing more of the second types of
people crawling out of the woodwork?"
There is no one single cause of the uptick in American political lunacies. Several things have contributed. Short version though: The Republican Party has adopted an ideology of absurdities--originally intended merely to sell their bogus 'supply side' economic theory to folks who didn't understand macroeconomics and were disinclined to discover that Reagan's great economic breakthrough theory was thoroughly bogus ("Voodoo Economics" George H.W. Bush had called it). The tale was told that tax cuts for the very rich would somehow make those who weren't rich richer. Obviously it didn't work.
Once the Grand Old Party had started selling those lies across the board they found they had already tracked out onto 'the slippery slope'. It was easier to just keep on that track, expand it to the selling of other lies as well, rather than try to fight the slide and struggle back up that slope back into reality.
That's not all of it, of course. The internet makes it easier for the crazies to find one another. The 'social media' algorithms reinforce any personal weaknesses they notice, all to keep the clicks coming, (and to get the money the follows from eyes on the screen) And we've now got an independent fascist-leaning broadcast propaganda network which was a vanguard, a predecessor to those "social media algorithms" I just mentioned, and which makes money from eyes onscreen to watch the commercials--to hell with the responsibility of actually governing--eyes onscreen for hours is where the money's made. One dedicated crazy watching hours of political posturing every night is worth 10-20 casual viewers who'll scroll on by looking for entertainment. And, of course, the country's money is getting siphoned out of the working economy and sidelined as ever fewer muli-billionaires pile up ever larger hoards of cash--leaving everyone else with less to live on and invest with.
It gets complicated--all the pieces interacting. But, I do think it was Ronald Reagan's ability to sell that fantasy of 'supply-side' economics that first tripped the Republican Party over the edge of that slippery slope. They been on that same downhill ride ever since.
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Curiously, the first time I ever heard of militant wing-nuts claiming to be exempt from the laws of the United States it was an outgrowth of that persistent and perennial Reagan Republican anti-tax campaign. The laws they were most interested in not following were related to paying their taxes. And they were getting armed up back then as well.
Oh, yeah, and Happy 4ᵗʰ of July and all that….
Money and power can be the root of evil. Sad.
It looks like the armed group arrested in Massachusetts are part of the Moorish Sovereign Movements.
All 11 men were charged with eight counts of unlawful possession of a firearm, unlawful possession of ammunition, use of body armor in commission of a crime, possession of a high capacity magazine, improper storage of firearms in a vehicle and conspiracy to commit a crime.
The group refers to itself as "a militia and state that they adhere to 'Moorish Sovereign Ideology,'" police and prosecutors said in the joint statement.
My county is down to 3 or 4 cases of Covid a day. Our trend is down. I will watch to see if we experience a turn around and reconsider my non mask wearing if I do see an uptick.
I was watching a few of the 4th of July events on TV and it is good to see so many people out enjoying themselves. We almost look normal. I hope we can maintain that trend.
So now we got black ethnic kookery breaking out as well. Well, I guess it was bound to happen.
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"My county is down to 3 or 4 cases of Covid a day."
We're running 130 new cases daily, on track to hit 200 daily in short order--ten days, a couple of weeks maybe. The positive test ratio, "positivity" they're calling it these days, is 12%, suggesting that they're probably significantly undercounting the new cases even at that rate of 130 per…. But there's been little 'give' in the vaccine resistance among the natives. We seem to be stuck at ~35% fully vaccinated. Everybody that wanted the vaccine has had their chance to get it.
Heavy Trumpkin country. Seems like they're trying to win the Darwin Awards. Hospitals are filling up again; they're still not getting vaccinated.
I had noticed an increase of late in the number of store clerks, cashiers, waiters/waitresses, and etc. wearing masks, a bow to reality I'd call that. I'd even run across my first mother with masked child at a Walmart's the other day.
I'm not back to wearing the mask myself yet, but I have gone back to steering clear of crowds--back to doing any necessary shopping at first crack of the stores' doors in the morning, for instance. (And avoiding situations that involve waiters/waitresses.)
Post Script: Morning news brings us the report that one of the local hospitals ran out of ventilators (and the other local hospital didn't have any extras to share--so they're rushing some more in from elsewhere in the region). The number of persons currently hospitalized with covid now exceeds anything we saw during the height of the pandemic, and still the vaccination rate in the county is stuck at ~35%.
So now we got black ethnic kookery breaking out as well. Well, I guess it was bound to happen.
I don't know that these guys are run of the mill racists. They seem to have some kind of hang up about some kind of treaty they think the US had with Morocco way back when. But they do seem to follow some of the same ideas as other extremist groups, that is the arming up and not recognizing the government's authority.
There apparently was a march in Pennsylvania by a white supremacist group yesterday. There were about 200 people carrying US flags declaring the last election was stolen. The usual nonsense.
I'm not back to wearing the mask myself yet,...
They are saying that the vaccines are effective against the delta variant that is becoming dominant here now. But they do suggest that even those who are fully vaccinated may want to wear a mask in crowded areas where the cases are surging. The vaccines are not 100% effective in preventing all illness.
The number of persons currently hospitalized with covid now exceeds anything we saw during the height of the pandemic, and still the vaccination rate in the county is stuck at ~35%.
The virus will take advantage of vulnerable areas, such as those with low vaccination rates. There is no cure for stupid. It's got to be hugely frustrating for your poor medical personnel who are being run ragged.
It's been in the mid to upper 90's here again yesterday and today. No rain. I got up early again today to water everything I could. But even with all of that I have a banner year for raspberries. They may not be super big, but they are prolific.
"I don't know that these guys are run of the mill racists."
I didn't accuse them of being "run of the mill racists". I said they were engaged in ethnic kookery; they recruit from a specific ethnic group.
"The vast majority of Moorish sovereign citizens are
African American…."
TheGuardian
However, their recruiting practices are not the cause of their kookery. It works the other way. It's their particular version of nuttiness that tends to attract more blacks than whites.
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"There is no cure for stupid."
There are, however, penalties.
"Stupidity is the only universal capital crime; the
sentence is death. There is no appeal, and execution
is carried out automatically and without pity."
R.A. Heinlein ― The Notebooks of Lazarus Long
Our put-upon medical personnel will probably have to endure their current travails long enough for flu season to hit them with a double whammy before it finally lets up.
After that the Trumpkins will mostly have acquired their immunities the hard way, but they probably will have acquired them. Enough of them anyway to take the pressure off of the local medical personnel.
Might get grim before that end rolls 'round, with a few less Trumpkins to trouble the world, but that end will come 'round eventually.
Might get grim before that end rolls 'round, with a few less Trumpkins to trouble the world, but that end will come 'round eventually.
Perhaps something the GOP sycophants should have taken into account. I see that some GOP Governors are starting to appeal to the citizens of their states to get the vaccine. The penny is finally starting to drop that they may not get back to normal after all.
I didn't accuse them of being "run of the mill racists".
No, I just meant that they were not quite like the White supremacist groups out there who are racist. They seem to think they are not subject to the laws of the United States because they are covered by some, non existent, treaty that was signed between the US and Morocco. Their extremism derives from something other than racial bias.
Yes, they are primarily African-American.
They actually kind of remind me of the Travelers you may find in Europe who live under the radar financing their activities by illegal, non violent, means. Although that's not to say they would not be violent.
"I see that some GOP Governors are starting to appeal to
the citizens of their states to get the vaccine."
Yeah, it seems to have finally begun to dawn on them that the Biden administration is willing to let them acquire their immunities the hard way rather than try to force the vaccine.
(They were seriously hopin' the Biden administration would try to force the vaccine--it is, after all, a made up resistance, desperately seeking after something to resist.)
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We have "Travelers" clans been working across the American South for decades now. I would have thought they worked to the north too, but I don't actually recall running across any of them in any of my excursions north.
We have "Travelers" clans been working across the American South for decades now. I would have thought they worked to the north too, but I don't actually recall running across any of them in any of my excursions north.
Maybe they prefer warmer weather...
If they are here they don't make the news. We did have a few incidents of shoplifters working in groups to acquire their ill gotten gains. They also work in teams. I was just talking to someone today who's wife's wallet was stolen out of her purse. She was distracted by one person while another snatched and grabbed. But she had left her purse in the cart, which isn't ever a good idea.
I thought ya'll been havin' warmer weather.
Maybe they haven't caught up with the changing times?
Although over the past few days it has actually felt like fall. We were down in the 50's the other day. It was kind of a nice break, if not a little weird for this time of year. But never fear, we will be seeing higher temps again next week. Rain is still rather scarce, though.
Here is an interesting interview with George Conway about the criminal indictment of Allen Weisselberg.
(Still don't understand that marriage. George and kellyAnn, not Allen and The Donald.)
Conway confirmed a couple of points I'd read elsewhere.
On FoxNews the indictment is being treated as just another politically inspired attack on Trump (much like the prosecution of the participants in the Jan 6ᵗʰ putsch). Everywhere else it seems to be viewed as a fairly egregious example of criminal tax fraud, which is not a particularly rare crime, but supposedly this is a fairly egregious example.
Democrats in Texas have staged another walk out to avoid voting on the current voter suppression bill in that state's legislature. This time they fled all the way to D.C. in a bid for Biden's attention. They seem to have gotten it.
They are a brave group, risking arrest if they return home. It would be wonderful if their actions succeeded in stopping Republican efforts. But I don't hold out much hope of that.
"But I don't hold out much hope of that."
Me either. As I understand it, they'll need to remain on the lam 'til late August, and them being mostly middle-class or higher upstanding citizen types, they're gonna find that a hard life to sustain.
I'll wish 'em luck and a gift of endurance. They'll need both.
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Candidates are already running widely in the various Republican primaries for the next congressional elections. (Also in the Democratic primaries in a few cases, but they're fewer and farther between--early in-fighting for the role of Hero to the local Trumpkins is particularly intense compared to Democratic politicking).
The single most common claim to fitness for congressional office among Republicans/Trumpkans at this early date appears to be that the candidate will offend a great many people and "won't apologize", ever, for anything.
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The Democrats unveiled their second "reconciliation" bill of the year yesterday evening. Don't know if they can pass it over the resistance of Senators Manchin and Sinema. But, the fact that they managed to get an agreement on the bottom line dollar figure will probably kill the Republicans' faux promises of supporting a "bi-partisan" infrastructure bill. No point in the Republicans carrying on with that charade now that the Democrats have proven themselves resistant to the Republican efforts to muddy up the waters enough to block everything without having to actually vote it down.
Somebody brought up a point the other day regarding further infrastructure spending. It was basically this, we can't find enough workers now as it is, how are we going to find enough to do the jobs that will be created with this new spending?
Believe me, I can see the problem from here. Just try getting someone out to fix a hole in a garage floor and it's like pulling teeth! Just to get someone out to look at it is near impossible. If I can't find anyone before winter I may have to try myself.
Covid cases are rising again, even here in Minnesota, according to the map. The Great Unvaccinated will be the death of us yet.
"…how are we going to find enough to do the jobs that will
be created with this new spending?"
Pay more; pay the owners/shareholders less and the workers more; get the Americans who've become disenchanted with the country's ever increasing income inequality (and wealth inequalities) reënchanted with the idea of working to better themselves and their families; give them back the notion that going back to work will enable them to pay for the baby-sitter, and the in-home health services for their aging parents, provide health care for themselves and their families, and still put food on the table and clothes on their backs. Make having a job worthwhile again.
Also, we might remember that the 2008 financial crash put a serious hurt on the construction trades--and when those jobs started comin' back a lot of the contractors found it appropriate to refill those positions with immigrants (often illegals). The Americans not working those jobs since then have aged out, or moved on to other jobs, or become disenchanted (see analysis above ↑↑). We lost a lot of native talent in those trades to the financial bust of 2008 (and even in the couple of decades before that--guys hiring for general construction been lookin' to hire immigrants since the Reagan years). We've been lately building a wall to try to block their replacements. Might wanna try to figure out which way we wanna go with that.
(Trump's Great Wall is still a massive waste of money either way that discussion comes out. A wall ain't gonna keep 'em out without people guarding the wall, and even if we hire people to guard the wall, by the time they get to the wall they're already IN the United States and therefore legally eligible to apply for asylum. The Great Wall of Trump is considered a visible marker by the immigrants--just gotta get to the wall--just touch the wall and ya get to apply for asylum--if the Border Patrol won't come find ya then ya go lookin' for them, tell 'em ya touched the magic wall and are therefore already IN the United States; that's how that works. The only way to stop that is to build a Great Trumpkin Wall on the Mexican side instead, and, of course, the Mexicans ain't gonna allow that.)
"I may have to try myself."
If it comes to that you'll want to remember that the concrete contractors put re-bar in their concrete for a reason. A hole in the garage floor probably doesn't call for re-bar, but might be a good idea to swing by an old fashioned hardware store or farm supply store where they'll cut off a little bit of fence wire from an opened roll rather than asking you to buy a whole roll yourself. (Find the right place and they just might give you a few square feet for the good PR it gets them.) You'll want something stronger than your average chicken wire--2"×4" standard fencing (size of the holes) is probably what you'll want, or something near to it. It comes in either 4' or 5' tall rolls under the customary name of "woven wire"--small piece, size of the patch you're considering, is all you'll need. (You can probably get by without it, but concrete contractors weave steel reinforcements inside their concrete for a good reason.)
I think I've found someone who will come out to look at it today.
Lol! Yeah, when my dad and uncle poured the slab between the house and garage at our old house they threw everything but the kitchen sink in there.
According to excerpts in a new book out General Mark Milly was genuinely concerned that Trump would try to stage a coup after he lost the election. He made clear that he thought those who supported Trump were akin to Nazis.
The cement guy came out and looked at the hole in my floor/apron. He said he could just cut out a square around the hole and fill it. Yes, with rebar too.
Hopefully it won't cost an arm and a leg.
"…he could just cut out a square around the hole…"
Sounds right to me.
"Yes, with rebar too."
Also sounds right to me. Deeper hole to work in will allow for heavier steel; something more than just some woven wire reinforcement across a shallow surface patch.
All sounds right, and that's best I can say, not seeing it in person.
Hope you get a price you can like, or, at the very least, something you can live with.
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"General Mark Milly was genuinely concerned that Trump
would try to stage a coup…"
I've read some squibs mentioning just that. Apparently he was also surreptitiously organizing a program for the country's top military brass to resign sequentially. After such delays as they could manage to generate, one after another after another, forcing Trump to appoint and install new top officers, then get them sworn in, only to have them eventually resign rather than accept his orders. All to delay the day that Trump might find a general who'd follow his orders--a planned out military resistance rather than accede to Trump's planned coup.
Luckily, Trump wussed out at the last minute, or there might have been some serious bloodshed that day, not just the few deaths that did occur. And they never did have to implement 'the plan'.
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Chuck Shumer has scheduled a first vote on the supposedly "bipartisan" infrastructure package for Wednesday next. Ballsy move that; they haven't gotten it written yet. Schumer's trying to get out ahead of McConnell's scheming to kill the bill, and out ahead of the howls starting to come up from FoxNews. He's putting down markers, put out or get out and walk home.
Yeah, He's been in the business awhile. He's booked out 3 to 4 weeks. But That's fine. I just want it done before winter. Haven't got the bid yet.
At least there are true patriots out there who recognize and will do what they can to stand up to the authoritarianism of the current Republicans.
I think It's going to take someone with guts and the same political scheming ability to stand up to Moscow Mitch.
"…there are true patriots out there…"
If you're talking about General Miller and his co-conspirators, I endorse their sentiments, but I question their tactics. I would have been inclined to try to organize an en masse resignation of the Joint Chiefs of Staff and the various Generals and Admirals of the respective forces.
However, it may well be that General Miller knows something I don't know--like there might have been a few generals and admirals just a little lower on the totem pole than Miller who'd be inclined to stay on and support Trump's coup. Maybe Miller wanted to delay the day they could respond positively to Trump's orders to support his coup.
$500 to remove and replace a 12"x12" square of concrete.
"$500…"
That doesn't strike me, right off the bat, as an outrageous price--either high or low.
I don't know your local market; so, more than that I can't say.
'Cept that you can obviously afford it--it's "something you can live with".
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(Small job contractors working with residential homeowners often find it appropriate to get enough money up front to (hopefully) at least cover the cost of material--in my experience, anywhere from a third to a half is usually considered appropriate.)
I was kind of hoping that it would by under $500, but I can see where it is supply and demand working. I'm probably lucky I got someone to come out at all!
Oh, yes, half up front is standard for any residential construction job here as well.
The stock market is tanking today on Covid-19 fears. Cases are rising because of all of the Great Unvaccinated. They just don't seem to understand that they are the ones shooting us in the foot.
One thing I haven't seen much on is the odds of getting a severe case of Covid-19 from the Delta variant if you have already had Covid? I know people out there who have already had Covid who think they are immune and the vaccine isn't really necessary. Are they as protected as those who have gotten the vaccine?
The CDC is trying to avoid getting quoted on any questions not conclusively established by solid evidence. They've been pilloried during this pandemic for giving preliminary opinions based on partial knowledge and then revising their opinions and pronouncements when more evidence came in. This has happened even though the preliminary opinions were almost always fairly clearly marked (by the CDC) as "preliminary" opinions. (Those caveats were often dropped from prominence when the pronouncements made it to the news media.)
Nevertheless: It appears that the immunity conferred by surviving the virus is comparable to that conferred by best of the vaccines. (Some evidence suggests that the more severe the symptoms, the more solid the immunity conferred, but that's kinda unsure just yet. When you're starting with a base of 95% immunity, measuring that last 5% with any certainty requires more data than they've collected just yet.)
As for those avoiding the vaccine: They understand quite well, most of them. They won't admit it, most of them anyway.
It's a matter of loyalty to Trump and to tribe. They will "believe" whatever is necessary to remain loyal to Trump and to tribe. Pretending they're stupid, or that they "just don't understand" is counterproductive. It means you'll probably be inclined to continue to waste time and effort trying to show them the truth. They have their own truth--and that is their loyalty to Trump and to tribe. They will "believe" whatever is necessary to support that truth.
So, they will dismiss any evidence you might wish to show them about 'reality based, real-world' true facts under whatever pretext is necessary. This is not a good-faith misunderstanding on their part. For most of them it is a willful rejection of reality. We need to accept that, and to proceed accordingly.
Loyalty to Trump and tribe is more important to them than reality (which they don't really like anyway).
The German people of the early/mid 20ᵗʰ century knew about the concentration camps, and the slave labor, and the gas chambers, and the cremation ovens running 24/7. They just pretended not to know. So it is here.
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The Republicans have decided to get out and walk home rather than allow themselves to be compromised. Politico
It's a matter of loyalty to Trump and to tribe.
I don't know for sure about Trump, but I can see tribe. And for tribe it is Trump. The people I am thinking of have had Covid, I think even the kids. So hopefully they have some immunity to Delta.
So, they will dismiss any evidence you might wish to show them about 'reality based, real-world' true facts under whatever pretext is necessary.
I have not even made much of an attempt to change their minds. I know it is a wasted effort. Sad, but true.
The Republicans have decided to get out and walk home rather than allow themselves to be compromised.
That looks like it has been another wasted effort. It really makes me want to remodel or remove the fillibuster, even with the danger of blowback.
Could be one side or the other is bluffing. And then again, maybe not.
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There are 50 Republican Senators. Two independent Senators (one of whom declares himself to be a Socialist, the other, Angus King, being actually independent of any political party so far as I can tell), and only 48 Democratic Senators (two of whom are Joe Manchin (I've already explained my views on him as a moderate Republican in hiding) and Kyrsten Sinema).
Ain't gonna be no revision to the filibuster rule until the Democrats get several more Senators. They need a majority, not a limping-along minority coalition. Waste of time brooding on the question now.
However, I too have decided I'd support a revision or even an outright repeal of the filibuster should the opportunity present itself in the foreseeable future.
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I expect the Republicans will repeal the filibuster in a New York minute soon as they can come up with a 51ˢᵗ Republican Senator (and also come up with a Republican President to sign McConnell's filibuster proofed legislation).
Meanwhile back at the ranch our version of Herman Munster is blocking State Department nominees in an effort to extort some kind of deal with the White House over another issue.
I would be so happy to see him get the ax. But I will not hold my breath, Texas being Texas.
Ain't gonna be no revision to the filibuster rule until the Democrats get several more Senators.
I can only hope and pray that enough voters are actually paying attention and starting to understand the danger posed by the dysfunctional right wing in the country. Starting with their disinformation campaign about the vaccine and the cost we are starting to pay for such distortions.
The only way out now is to raise the number of Democrats in Congress. The Republicans are not interested in working with any reason.
Local hospitals are filling up with covid patients again. There are two. One is now overflowing and now looking for another building which they can convert on an emergency basis into a covid ward for patients who don't need ICU level medical care or ventilation. The other is setting up tents in its parking lots again.
The dedicated Trumpkins remain resolute; the vaccination locations remain empty all day every day. Folks who wanted the vaccine already got the vaccine. That's holding firm at around 35% of the eligible local population.
Dumbass sumbitches.
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"Meanwhile back at the ranch…"
Mitch McConnell is now threatening to block a necessary raise of the federal debt ceiling--more than just a government shutdown, this is a threat to precipitate an American debt default, something previous congressional leaders on both sides, including Mitch McConnell, have declared to be disastrous financially and irresponsible even as a threat.
I's guess he's probably trying to incite a little stock market panic for Biden to have to deal with. And perhaps he's even wanting to "one-up" Ted Cruz.
We got ten days before the borrowing authority officially runs out and the Biden administration is forced to adopt "extraordinary measures" to juggle already appropriated funds in order for the government to keep paying it's bills as they come due.
(McConnell made the threat obliquely, so he could deny having actually made the threat later, when he has to back down.)
First word from Janet Yellen is that the government could run itself cashless, even with those "extraordinary measures" as early as the end of August (more probable they can manipulate things to put off an actual debt default until maybe September some time).
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Looks like hyper-partisan politics has broken out in the House over the House Select Committee on the Jan 6ᵗʰ insurrection; been all kinds of public hyperventilation goin' on in D.C. Can't say much of it surprises me yet, except that Liz Cheney seems immovable. She thinks Trump must be investigated and, so far, she ain't budging from that position. That one might suprise me a bit.
For the last couple of days we have been experiencing a weird hazy, smoky type of sky. They are saying the source is from the wildfires out West.
But I suppose it could be from anywhere.
It has been so strong that our temps never really got as high as they were predicting. However, that won't last. We will be back in the 90's soon. I raised my mower to 4 inches. We did get a little rain today. Not enough, but better than nothing.
Dumbass sumbitches.
You can say that again! I am fast losing patience with people who are walking around with their head up their asses. Pardon my language. But they are now posing a danger to the health and well being of the entire country.
Mitch McConnell is now threatening to block a necessary raise of the federal debt ceiling-
Yeah, I saw that too. McCarthy appointed 2 wingnuts to the Jan. 6th commission, Pelosi declined to accept their nomination, so McCarthy withdrew the other nominees. Childish much?
I was also surprised and pleased with Liz Cheney on this. She's looking tough and smart, betting that conservative voters are going to jettison those who back Trump.
A judge ordered one of the Capitol rioters to unlock his laptop in court. The FBI is saying there may be incriminating videos of the riot on it. Score one for the good guys.
Folks who wanted the vaccine already got the vaccine. That's holding firm at around 35% of the eligible local population.
If the possibility of death doesn't do it, maybe the requirement of proof of vaccination to get into some places may. Canada just announced they are opening their borders to those who are fully vaccinated. They will require proof. I see the possibility of that requirement spreading. Canada is the canary in the coal mine.
"But I suppose it could be from anywhere."
It IS coming from the American west coast. I've been following the progress of the smoke as shown by satellite views on my morning news for a few days now. Yesterday's early news showed It breaking along the Mason-Dixon line as it approaches the Mississippi River--going to the north and leaving Arkansas mostly clear, but most of Missouri (and points north) afflicted by the smoke. (Oklahoma, which is south of the Mason-Dixon line, is fairly widely affected--but that's just to the west of where it breaks north. Right in there near the corners--Kansas, Missouri, Oklahoma, Arkansas, is where it started to break north in a big way; that point'll shift over time as the jet steam meanders.)
The new Trump book entitled "I Alone Can Fix It" is going to tell us that Trump told the authors that the only regret he has about his response to the covid-19 pandemic was that he didn't send in federal troops to crush the Black Lives Matter protests that rose up after the murder of George Floyd.
(Trump seemed to have had a rather cavalier attitude about the relationship between question and answer.)
I might have to buy that book.
I was reading an Op Ed by Gary Abernathy regarding Trump supporters.
When supporters of former president Donald Trump hear media pundits analyze them with the usual collection of belittling observations, they must be tempted to respond, “Hey, we’re right here! We can hear you!”
Yes, they are indeed here, and living among us. And they have every right to be insulted by being accused of believing a “big lie,” and by the implication that they are violent, or traitors, or mindless sheep — racist sheep, of course. They’re fed up not just with the overt insults, but also with more subtle digs, such as former defense secretary Leon Panetta saying last week that he worries that Trump “will continue to try to somehow sway his followers” to attempt another Jan. 6-style uprising. Followers? No one refers to President Biden’s “followers.” It’s a word generally reserved for adherents of cult figures.
Yes, well, if the shoe fits..
But, really, I think Abernathy only looks at this situation from the point of view of Trump supporters. There is a whole other group of people out here who are just average non-activist types of people who are just fed up with those who follow, yes follow Trump's line of BS and that of right wing media with a blind eye. Yes, almost like a cult. We are losing patience with the path Trump supporters are leading this country down, including the results of their misguided ideas about the Covid-19 vaccine. I have more sympathy for those in our medical community who are finding it harder and harder to treat people whose illness could so easily have been avoided. As the Governor of Alabama said, it is the fault of the unvaccinated that we are again going in the wrong direction on Covid.
Many of us have done our part, now it up to those who have been dragging their feet to step up to the plate.
"But, really, I think Abernathy only looks at this situation
from the point of view of Trump supporters."
I had seen that Op-Ed. My impression was that Abernathy looked at it mostly from the point of view of a Republican/Trumpkan "influencer" who was trying to purchase some respectability for his audience. (Abernathy's day job was originally in Ohio Republican Party politics, and later as an actual Ohio Republican politician, followed by a stint as publisher and editor of a small-town Ohio paper, one of the very few newspapers to endorse Donald Trump in 2016.)
I looked at it as just one more in the continuing string of claims that we simply must treat their lies as if they were respectable political propositions.
Well, that just happens to not be true. They're not respectable propositions. And we don't have to treat them as such. Those folks don't even believe in them. They're designed mostly to just get past the "straight-faced" test--supposed to be something they can pretend to believe and say out loud in front of non-Trumpkin people with a straight face.
Nope: If they want respectability for their opinions then let them quit endorsing fascism and fascists and simultaneously pretending that's not what they're doing.
They're not gonna get any respect from me by demanding it for that sort of duplicity. Respect must be earned. Following the FoxNews' doublespeak line, and following Trump ain't how respect is earned. Just ain't. And I ain't sorry to tell them so.
Abernathy's slightly more glib demand for "respect" for his audience is equally risible and equally rejected.
Abernathy says that: "they must be tempted to respond, ‛Hey, we’re right here! We can hear you!’" That's complete and utter bullshit. They have no particular desire to speak with us on this subject; they don't want to interact with us at all except in the language of their own "beliefs", which language they want us to adopt to speak to them. Screw that.
And I don't particularly give a damn if they hear me. In fact, I'm pretty much in favor of them hearing me and of them just putting up with it and continuing to keep their own nonsense silent in public, at least until they decide to rejoin the American democratic political tradition--and a reality-based discussion.
Let 'em babble their nonsense off among themselves. I know where to go when I want to hear what they're talkin' 'bout this week. I don't go there and add any reality-based comments to their babble strings. (It'd be a waste of my time anyway.) But I know where to go if I want to listen to them. They want a "safe space", they can make their own safe spaces and go hang out there and mope there 'bout not being welcomed into reality based discussions in mainstream America. That should be quite enough--may be properly considered as more than they're entitled to.
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I also spotted another article, in Reason magazine, that tried to argue that "truth" was negotiable, and something to be voted on. The clear intention was to convince us that if enough Trumpkins decided to publicly "believe" something was true, even when they knew it was not, then that "belief" was entitled to some sort of deference in accordance with the passion they applied to insisting upon their "belief" (and the number of said passionate 'believers').
Those arguments are bullshit off the git; both of 'em; Abernathy's variation included.
We shall see more of this in the future as it becomes apparent, even to them, that they're not going to make the subjected majority accepting of their minority authoritarian Party rule here in America.
Some Republican states have begun coping with the surge in covid infections and deaths among the dedicated Trumpkins by "scaling back" (as they call it) their reporting on the progress of the disease. AssociatedPress
No doubt they will soon be demanding that they be "respected" for that decision as well.
I have read that some areas with rising cases are now seeing rising vaccination rates. I hope that to be the case, but I don't know that it will come soon enough.
I looked at the numbers in my county and see that we have less than 50% fully vaccinated. The cases have been rising. I am considering masking up again, even though I am vaccinated. But the strange thing is, that I don't want people to think I was so stupid as to not get the vaccine! *sigh*
I listened to interviews done on CNN with people in Arkansas who were not vaccinated. Stubborn isn't the word for them. One mother whose son has Covid and is seriously ill still won't get the vaccine!
I rather liked the one older fellow who said he got his shots and that people should just "cowboy up" and get their shots. Do it for themselves and for others around them.
Abernathy's slightly more glib demand for "respect" for his audience is equally risible and equally rejected.
I have heard his arguments before. I just don't buy them either. You are right, this is not politics as usual. This is about something deeper. Like Biden has said, it is for our nation's soul. It is about who we are.
If we really believe in our Constitution, and the Declaration of Independence, swallowing hook line and sinker every lie out of Donald Trump and his followers, yes, followers mouths isn't the way to show that.
"I have read that some areas with rising cases are now
seeing rising vaccination rates."
That seems to be the case in some areas. It also seems to be the case that other areas are doubling down on stupid. (I seem to recall Alabama and Mississippi being mentioned as among the latter.)
"I don't want people to think I was so stupid as to not get
the vaccine!"
That crossed my mind as well; I got over it. Locally, we got hospital covid wards overflowing into tents in their parking lots. We got corpse counts triple anything that occurred during the pre-vaccination waves of infections.
I quickly got over any hesitation about wearing a mask again.
Plus, fully vaccinated people can still carry covid-19 between those who are unvaccinated, like a modern-day 'Typhoid Mary', immune but spreading the disease.
In the end, I have, on occasion, pulled a mask out of the 'kit' that I carry in each vehicle and worn it on into a store or other closed area I'm entering. It depends on what sort of crowd I think I'm likely to experience inside after I scan the parking lot.
More generally, I've just taken to avoiding crowds again--doing my shopping at the crack of dawn, avoiding any setting that involves interacting with waiters and waitresses, etc. But I'm not hesitant to wear a mask again.
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(They offer a booster shot and I'll sign up for mine soon as they'll allow me.)
We got corpse counts triple anything that occurred during the pre-vaccination waves of infections.
I quickly got over any hesitation about wearing a mask again.
I can understand why. It's hard to understand why the surge is even greater? Is it the age of the people? More are out and about, rather than in care facilities? Or is the variant just that much more infectious?
I read somewhere that we could hit 200,000 cases again.
More generally, I've just taken to avoiding crowds again--doing my shopping at the crack of dawn, avoiding any setting that involves interacting with waiters and waitresses, etc.
And here I and a friend are making plans for movies and plays again, as well as dining out. I wonder if we will actually get the chance before they lock everything up again? At least our state vaccination rate is a little better than yours, but we are still seeing more cases.
Those who are fostering disinformation have a lot to answer for.
I am starting to warm up to the idea of vaccine "passports". Kind of like France is doing.
"I don't want people to think I was so stupid as to not get
the vaccine!"
The CDC has come to your rescue.
"It's hard to understand why the surge is even greater?"
The Delta variant is hitting proportionately more younger people (45 years on down into their teens) and it's hitting them harder than was the original version. But that's only part of it.
Our governor was loyal Trumpkan/Republican; no statewide mandates. In fact, no statewide response of any sort; he punted all of it to the "local authorities"; refused to take any action.
But, the head of our county health department wasn't a Trumpkin and he went at the pandemic early and hard, like white on rice, all over it immediately; masking orders, occupancy limits, lockdown of non-essential business like bars and restauraunts and movie theaters. He had the legal Orders in place and the places closed that he wanted closed long before the Trumpkins could get their counterstrike organized (and it had been properly researched for form and content (whether in the roll out, or maybe prior, I don't know which), so it stood up when they inevitably took him to court). Then the Trumpkins had to just wait it out, 'cause none of the businesses, which had initially complied with the Orders, wanted to switch back after the fact and try to fight them on behalf of their dedicated Trumpkin customers. (Or, more properly said, only a few wanted to do that, and the county health department came down hard on them soon as they showed signs of fight--and the county sheriff turned out to be sane as well--he was enforcing the Health Departments order vigorously. Sheriff's cars with lights goin' 'round and 'round, and officers with guns--chains and padlocks for the doors; trips to jail for proprietors who resisted; bail getting posted; all that stuff. They were on it. (In the end, nobody ever got prosecuted; the county prosecutor wasn't exactly on-board with the effort.) Couple of days, couple of plays on the local 6:00 news, and everybody saw the Borg; "Resistance is Futile". But that was before they realized that the county prosecutor wasn't gonna back up the health department and the sheriff.)
Anyway…that was then; this is now. Now there's no way the Trumpkins gonna let masks and vaccinations and virus-caution reappear here without a fight. They got caught unprepared to resist the county health department Orders the first time--that won't happen this time.
Local news seems to have agreed upon joint effort to convince the local Trumpkins that this is serious (all channels, except FoxNews which doesn't do local news), but the Trumpkins are smart enough to notice there's a plot afoot amongst the local news channels and that's all they need know; they ain't buyin' into it. They are resolute; no uptick in vaccinations locally (not yet anyway; people are dying; mostly Trumpkins are dying; that may eventually sink in; today is not eventually; local news' best efforts is having absolutely no effect on their willingness to be vaccinated).
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By late summer 2020, a large metropolitan health department had noticed that the director of our local county health department was quite effective at his job and hired him away to the big city; more prestige and lots more money. Which was a good thing for him. The local Trumpkins were pissed that they'd been outmarched and outfought, and they were armed (kinda goes without sayin' 'round here). So, he's gone now, and the Trumpkins are organized, and the county health department orders were lifted after the vaccine came in and they ain't comin' back. But, they held long enough for me to get my shots.
"I am starting to warm up to the idea of vaccine 'passports'."
Yeah, me too.
people are dying;
And they are okay with that, apparently. An odd stance for right to lifers. But then they do love their guns too...
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