A new chapter

No, it's not another installment of Star Wars.  But today is the end of one chapter in my life and the beginning of another.  After commuting across the border for almost 18 years, I will be making calls from my home office starting next week and the prospect is both liberating and terrifying.  Either way it will be exciting and I am looking forward to new challenges.

Dysfunction Squared

Pretty soon, Jared will hold the position of Sec Def, State, Interior and any other vacant cabinet position and Ivanka will be chief of staff and baby sitter to the commander of Chaos.  Not because they are temperamentally suited for the jobs.  It's just that no one else wants them.   A stint in the tRump administration is now seen as the ultimate career killer.  Not to mention the money you'll be spending on lawyers for the forseeable  future.  Besides, that is the way The Donald has always done business.  The tRump organization was a small, family business with relatives in almost all the top jobs.  The US government is rapidly devolving into the president's eponymous business; all tRump, all the time.  What could possibly go wrong!

yuletide joy

Despite or perhaps because of the pressure of rehearsing and supporting 3 different holiday music performances, the Divine Mrs. M and I agree our holiday spirits are on the ebb.  The religious side of the holiday is covered, but the secular side is wanting.   Perhaps as we look forward to our 44th Christmas together, the pressure of the commercial nature of the holiday has dulled some of the enjoyment.  Also, the existential threat to world peace and democracy which resides in the current White House occupant has caused a deficit in holiday enthusiasm.   It's hard to enjoy when the drumbeat of current events leads to the conclusion our species is getting ready to destroy itself.  But maybe tomorrow will be different.  Family and friends coming together to celebrate tradition with a new generation should be just the thing to buoy our otherwise flagging spirits.  So, have yourself a Merry little Christmas and hopefully a joyous New Year.  I'm certainly going to try!

Non stop chaos

Now that the last "adult in the room", DOD secretary James Mattis has tendered his resignation, the media is in speculation mode about the meaning of it all.   Even the putative liberals on MSNBC with the possible exception of Chris Hayes were in a tizzy about the pullout of 2000 troops from Syria and the reduction in force in Afghanistan which are the factors generally acknowledged to have precipitated Mattis' resignation.  It seems to me the US military rarely if ever agrees to pull out of a situation once it has expended any effort, no matter how ineffectual in the area.  As one senator put it, we all knew our deployment would not have any significant effect on Russian and Iranian plans for Assad's country.   The only negative is the probable slaughter of pro US Kurdish forces by Turkey.  As far as Afghanistan, we have been loosing that war for the last 10 years.  As every great power in the world has found out, the country is a quagmire for whoever is trying to pacify the locals going back to Alexander the Great.  So, withdrawal from both of these areas is not problematic from a utilitarian perspective.   Of course, the deeper problem is The Donald's increasingly unhinged behavior as the walls continue to close in on him.  In an effort to bolster the support of his equally crazy base, he is also demanding $5 billion for his "steel slats" on the southern border.  This will not end well, and the first casualties are the hundreds of thousands of federal employees who are being furloughed as today ends.   I doubt many of them will be singing joyful Christmas carols today.

Dreaming on

Looks like the only White Christmas the Divine Mrs. M is likely to experience this year will be when she hauls out and views that old Bing Crosby/ Danny Kaye chestnut!   We are expecting freezing rain tonight and temperatures near 50 tomorrow, followed by several mostly clear days including Christmas day.   It's quite a contrast to the snowy conditions after Thanksgiving.  The weather reports are even talking about flash floods as we get rainfall on frozen ground.  These weird conditions of course are more evidence of climate change.

Savoring the irony

Schadenfreude is addictive and as the Mueller investigation and many other examinations of the tRump administration's misdeeds continue, the opportunity  for more increases.  The latest jolt was provided by a federal judge who reminded Michael Flynn he is more than fortunate to be among the first cooperators with Mueller.  This after the conservative media noise machine opined the judge would exonerate Flynn and instead rip the government for harassment.  Emmitt Sullivan told Flynn the severity of his crimes as explained in his copy of  the Mueller team's unredacted sentencing recommendation was so great he invited Flynn to keep cooperating if he wanted to avoid jail time.  It will be interesting to see how right wing pundits walk back their confident predictions now!

To Be or not to Be

While checking the media for new outrages committed by or for the tRump administration I ran across a column in the NYT asking if the extinction of humanity might not be a good thing.  The writer, a professor of philosophy at Clemson University seemed to come down on the side that thinks the loss of out species would probably be an unalloyed benefit to the planet and the other beings who inhabit it.  The author feels that the suffering we are causing animals through the destruction of habitat and the suffering we cause them by factory farming is enough cause (maybe, he says) to merit our own demise.  On the other hand, we are unarguably the apex of evolution on the planet and as such, the producers of Shakespeare, Sophocles, Da Vinci and the pantheon of creative genius our species has wrought ensures we should endure.   While not endorsing extinction, the professor suggests the further procreation of succeeding generations should be seriously re-evaluated by his fellow humans in light of our capacity to cause the suffering of fellow conscious animals and destruction of the planet's ecology.  It is a sobering read, but I doubt many of my fellows would pause for very long in the race to see how fast we can destroy the cradle of our civilization.

tRump overload

Spending 8 hours on the road listening to MSNBC the whole time leads to a surfeit of news on the latest shenanigans of perhaps the most corrupt administration in America's history.  Payoffs to mistresses, foreign policy driven by personal financial interests, a revolving  door of corrupt appointees and that is just the first five minutes of each show.  As I have said in previous posts, the avalanche of wrongdoing leads to a burnout of my ability to be outraged by individual illegal acts.  When the history of this administration is written, the sheer volume of corruption will require teams of forensic specialists to document just the most egregious examples of wrongdoing.  Nixon by comparison will look like Mr. Clean.

Wierd eating

Flipping between the Nice Polite Republicans on NPR and the less politically correct types on Morning Joe is a long standing vice I indulge during my morning drive.  Today, both programs were chewing the latest revelations in tRump world, but NPR also had a quirky story about a company purporting to advise customers about their food choice based on DNA testing.  The idea being why eat a healthy balanced diet if your genes would allow you to scarf down a |McDonald's banquet every day with no health consequences!  To me it sounds like a con to get your genetic information and resell it to others who will use it to target you for other illegal schemes. 

Finally done

With the final planting of the Bush family patriarch, a few people are starting to resurrect the corpse of the Shrub's presidency and trying to burnish his image.  Of course there is no whitewashing the war of choice W. and his merry band of nihilists foisted on the American public after 9/11.  Besides the more than 4000 service members killed in the Iraq and Afghanistan fiascos, probably more than 400,000 Iraqis and Afhans have perished so far.  This is war criminality on a scale comparable to Hitler and Stalin.  And for what.  Bush's actions have de-stabilized the Middle East for a generation and served as a potent recruiting tool for anti American terrorists.  Thanks to Dick Cheney, the Darth Vader of that administration, we spent another 8 years blithely loading the atmosphere with CO2.  This will cost posterity incalculable dollars to ameliorate amid the degradation of our environment.  So, don't tell me the Shrub was a good man.  When he is planted, there will be numerous footprints on the grave as perform a Dance Macabre.

History's verdict

The gushing eulogies for G.H.W. Bush continue, including a national day of mourning.  Pundits and popular historians continue the glowing retrospectives of the great man and his place in history.  One little known episode during his term in the White House may eventually overwhelm all of his other accomplishments and shortfalls when and if there are still historians to document the past.  It would appear that the specter of climate change was already on the minds of scientists around the world in the late 1980s.   Margaret Mead, the noted anthropologist had convened  conference calling for reduced carbon emissions with the goal of ending mankind's dependence on fossil fuels.  The head of the EPA was on board and was ready to take the lead at a climate conference in Europe.  However, his mission was derailed by John Sununu, Poppy Bush's chief of staff and one of the first denier's of anthropomorphic climate change.  That alone will taint Bush's legacy for all time.

A pleasant fantasy

During coverage of the Flynn sentencing memo last night, I had a fiendish epiphany!   Just supposing tRump resigns over the mounting evidence of conspiracy with the Russians.   Of course his replacement would be the execrable Mike Pence.  However, there are some unanswered questions regarding his complicity in the Russia scandal.  What did he know and when did he know it?  Let's just say for the hell of it that Pence pulls a Spiro Agnew at some point after Cheeto Jesus' crucifixion.  The Speaker of the House of Representatives is next in line for the presidency.  After January 3rd, that person is likely to be Nancy Pelosi!  Just sayin.....

Smoking guns, saws, etc.

As per usual, the widely anticipated sentencing memo from the Special Counsel's Office (SCO) was pretty much a dud as regards new information about the crimes and misdemeanors committed by the tRump administration.  The SCO basically recommended zero jail time for Flynn, the originator or at least the most vocal cheerleader of the "Lock her up" chant which was ubiquitous at tRump campaign rallies.  The memo commended Flynn for his cooperation, noting the SCO got everything they needed from him.   Much of the memo was redacted, indicating the investigations into at least 4 areas were ongoing.  This included a criminal investigation no one seemed to know about.  If you thought Mueller and his team were going to show the public a roadmap of their investigation, you would have been severely disappointed.  If on the other hand you are legitimately a target of the SCO, I would image you are terrified by the number of blacked out lines in the report.  It seems Flynn spilled his guts, but the auguries will have to wait.  In the meantime, the CIA spilled what it knows regarding the horrific execution of a US resident by Saudi Arabia and it doesn't look good for MBS, the crown prince of said monarchy.  Despite the "Maybe he did, maybe  he didn't" BS spouted by The Donald, it looks like the Senate may have something to say regarding our relations with this band of thugs.  And so it goes....

Is this the endgame

It is liable to be more like the last 2 minutes of an NBA playoff game.  Endless fouls and free throws interspersed with commercials and prolix commentary which turns the putative 2 minutes into a half hour of boredom before the result is known.  We are in for another year of investigation, leaks, punditry and speculation.  By the time Cheeto Jesus resigns in disgrace rather than face near certain impeachment and conviction, both democrats and republicans will be exhausted.  In the reporting the latest news of the Mueller investigation, the MSM is breathlessly predicting the imminent revelation of the silver bullet which proves conspiracy between the tRump campaign and Russia, while Faux News and Rush Limbaugh dismiss the special counsel's efforts as a nothingburger.  The last 2 minutes are about to begin.

History revised once again

For those of us who lived during the 12 years of Reagan/Bush, the fulsome praise being heaped on the corpse of George H.W. Bush can seem like some sort of collective amnesia by the media.  I know it is frowned upon to speak ill of the dead, but the truth is, the father of the shrub came from a patrician family who basically felt it was his burden to serve the unwashed masses and they should be grateful for his leadership.  Having not been on his 40,000 plus Christmas card list, I am liberated from the necessity to fawn on him as so many of the MSM will continue to do at least until his remains are lowered into the prepared space at his memorial library.  Bush senior's legacy is somewhat constrained by his alleged participation in the Iran-Contra affair under Reagan, his sleazy tactics in the 1988 campaign for the Presidency and his unforgivable pick of Clarence Thomas to replace the immortal Thurgood Marshal on the Supreme Court.  Perhaps worst of all was subjecting the republic to the stewardship of his spawn for 8 years.  We dodged another 8 years of Bushism in 2016, but at the cost of being saddled with Cheeto Jesus.  Words fail me at this point.

It's raining shoes

I've probably used the title of this post before, but the centipede which is the investigation of the tRump *presidency keeps dropping shoes at an increasingly frenetic rate.   The latest Gucci loafer to fall was one of Michael Cohen's.  The erstwhile consigliere of The Donald now admits he lied to Congress when he told the House and Senate Intelligence committees that the Trump Organization's pursuit of a Trump Tower Moscow ended in January 2016.  He now maintains he lied about the date in support of Cheeto Jesus' public comments regarding the project.  In reality, Cohen says now, he continued negotiating with Russian officials until June 2016 at about the time of the Republican Convention which nominated his boss.   The fact Putin knew the details and could leak them at any time would have compromised tRump as a candidate and thrown the GOP and the entire country into turmoil.  If Putin's goal was to sow chaos in America, an October surprise revealing the details of the lies told by the candidate would have done the trick.  An even better strategy is seemingly the one the Russians followed, namely helping elect a candidate who was severely compromised by the information they possessed about the Tower negotiations.  As Lawrence O'Donnell pointed out last night, tRump has spent his entire life chasing three things; Money, Fame and sex.  It seems the Russians were helping provide all three, with the chief among them the money which will eventually result in the American chaos Putin has schemed all along to achieve.  There are still a lot of shoes left to drop.

Who is playing who

This smacks of an "inside baseball" type post for political junkies like myself.  Of course the Paul Manafort case is getting big play by the MSM.  I don't know about Faux News and talk radio.  The gist of the stories is Manafort took a plea deal with the special counsel's office, but then lied to the investigators and in addition relayed what questions he was being asked to Cheeto Jesus' defense team.  In what now looks increasingly suspicious, The Donald completed and submitted the answers to the questions Mueller's team had for him.  Many pundits, attributing superhuman powers of deduction to Mueller's people have speculated they not only knew of Manfort's perfidy ahead of time, but allowed for it in their interactions with the *president's men.  In this iteration of events, Paulie M not only screwed himself, but allowed tRump to incriminate himself.   I'm not so sure the special counsel wasn't played a little bit in this case.  I think Mueller and most of his people are not prepared to deal with a totally amoral person in the president's office who is willing to lie and lie about anything and everything.

All the *president's men

The weather here remains awful.  We have a traveler's advisory with more snow on the way.  Ugh!  With that out of the way, let's get back to the story of the degradation of our democracy by the Liar-in-Chief.   In an interview with the Washington Post, Cheeto Jesus dismissed his government's report on climate change.  "I don't believe it", he said.  I suppose if Vladimir Putin told him the climate is going to hell, he would be a believer.

The Good, the Bad, and the Worst

The release of a government report on climate change and the harrowing effects we can expect in the future is part of the process of winnowing society into deniers and those of us who believe that we must do something or risk the very existence of modern civilization.  As Paul Krugman points out in the NYT today, denialism can no longer be the province of honest skeptics.  To argue against anthropomorphic climate change is a bad faith enterprise and Krugman rightly proclaims these bad faith individuals and organizations are operating from an immoral perspective.  Michele Goldberg goes further in her column.  Besides the immoral members of Cheeto Jesus' entourage, she calls out the amoral types who are drawn to this administration because of a lust for power.  Aside from a few national security types she believes are trying to prevent tRump from blowing the world up, the administration is made up of people who are either true believers (in what, I'm not sure) or sycophants like Lindsay Graham who want to be "relevant".  In either case, these people are greasing the skids leading to a poorer and more violent world for our descendants.  Shame on them!

Generation Now

Having read Bill Mckibbens latest doomsday warning in the New Yorker magazine, I am reluctantly hopeful that millenials and their children will pull us back from the apocalypse with scant help from the boomer generation and the vestiges of the "greatest" still alive at this point.   As the present administration (if you can dignify it with that appellation), continues to dismantle the EPA and any other department capable of making a difference in the fight against climate change, the consequences of inaction become more manifest each week.  The wildfires in California are just the latest in a long chain of events which would have sparked outrage 50 years ago along with demands for action.  In the age of tRump, mega storms, droughts and super fires arouse yawns among the somnolent media, which for the most part has come to be Cheeto Jesus' foil on a daily basis.  Mckibben says we can expect more of the same climate changes in the short term and on a longer time horizon we can anticipate the drowning of many coastal areas before the turn of the century.  Heat waves will make large portions of the tropics uninhabitable as the combination of rising temperature and humidity will not allow unprotected humans to survive outside for more than a few hours during the day.  Heat related deaths will soar in the southern and southwestern US.  At some point, our children's generation will come to into power and will have to deal with this dystopian future.  How they react will show whether humanity has a future on this planet or if we should shut off the lights and let the cockroaches take over.

Post Thanksgiving notes

As usual, our family thanksgiving consisted of 7 hours of heavy duty cooking, 30 minutes of frenzied eating, 2 hours of cleanup followed by 10 desserts and the requisite cleanup from that.  Finally, a few beautifully played Thanksgiving themed hymns featuring the talents of the Divine Mrs. M and an exhausted and thoroughly stuffed exit for most of the family.  I'm sure this scenario was played out in countless American homes yesterday.  For most of us, the cooking, cleanup, etc. take up most of the day with scant time to reflect on the "meaning" of the day.  In the era of tRUmp, what are we being thankful for?  We have a buffoon for a president, a sprawling military establishment keeping watch on an American Empire, a planet careening toward climate disaster and very little oversight on any of these issues.  Instead, we are thankful for family and all the ties that bind us together.  For the time being, that will have to do.

Misgivings instead of Thanksgivings

The Centers for Disease Control just issued a death sentence for the romaine lettuce industry in Canada, Mexico and the US.   By advising consumers to not eat romaine, processed, whole head, hearts or baby, virtually every farmer and processor of romaine in the three countries has just had their business model upended with financially disastrous consequences.  Yuma, Az. is the most likely suspect in this latest outbreak which has sickened consumers in the US, Ontario and Quebec.  Mexico has not reported any cases so far.  Romaine suffered a severe blow early this year when consumer sickness was traced back to lettuce grown in Yuma.  The source of contamination was an irrigation canal.  It's likely the same problem has occurred in the same area, but government investigators will probably take months to confirm that conclusion.  In the meantime, suspicious consumers will avoid all kinds of leafy greens, despite the fact more testing and vetting of said greens is going on in any farm involved in interstate trade than at any time in history.  I was going to write a post about my own interaction with a local restaurant I supply with kale and other greens on a sporadic basis.  I shared my concerns with some greens which looked less than perfect and my customer didn't hesitate;"Don't worry, we cook everything" he replied.  Anyone for a boiled romaine salad?

worked up about democracy

Last weekend I was made uncomfortable when Stacy Abrams, the democratic candidate for Georgia governor, gave a non concession speech in which she admitted her opponent, Brian Kemp will likely be declared the winner.  However, she went on to accuse him and other officials of suppressing the votes of large numbers of her fellow Georgians, primarily people of color.  The inference being the entire procedure was illegal and the election of Kemp was illegitimate.  Having lived through Bush vs. Gore, I expected Abrams to graciously concede the election in the interest of harmony.  On closer examination, I reluctantly agreed with Abrams.  Kemp and the republicans basically stole the election via voter suppression and they need to be called out and their methods exposed and condemned.  What we should have learned from Al Gore's well mannered concession is the GOP cares not a whit for democracy when the question of power and control is in the balance.  They will lie, cheat and steal to maintain their grip on power and use whatever means are available to do so.  I support Abrams' lawsuit which will expose the corruption in the Secretary of State's office.  Sunlight and public knowledge is the only antidote to this disease which is killing our democracy.

Too Winter, Too Soon

Well, it turned out even worse than I had thought.   A winter storm pelted the North Country last Friday, dumping nearly a foot of snow on Casa Monzeglio and surrounding areas.  The aftermath features mid winter snow piles which are unlikely to melt this week.  In fact, a bout of record cold is predicted in the days leading up to Thanksgiving.  Meanwhile out long political winter continues as the nation waits for Robert Mueller to issue a report on Russian interference in the 2016 elections and the tRump campaign's collusion with said ratf*cking.  The talking heads on the liberal networks attribute superhuman guile to the special prosecutor, claiming he is playing 11 dimensional chess compared to the checkers his opponents are using.  I wish I could believe that upbeat assessment.  As debased and obviously incompetent as Cheeto Jesus appears, he still has smart people working for him and I wouldn't count the administration out until the last indictment is presented.  A cornered animal is likely to react in ways unanticipated by even the most seasoned hunter.

It's too early for this

With a winter storm warning for the North Country on tap, I am going on record to say it is too early for winter to arrive.  Neither the Divine Mrs. M or I have snow tires on our respective vehicles and instead of a snow blower, my tractor is still sporting a rototiller attachment.  Meanwhile we could have up to 7 inches of snow on the ground by tomorrow afternoon.  Despite my knowledge that this area is liable to reap very few benefits from global warming, I was hoping for a shorter winter.  Alas, it is not to be.

The sulking of the presidency

It seems since the start of the blue wave last week, the *president has hunkered down and managed to snub veterans as well as world leaders while abusing aides and staff at the White |House.   It is finally sinking in that the voters have administered a thrashing to his agenda, if you mean by that the chaos he has heretofore gleefully spread around the country.  He probably knew in his heart of hearts (if he has one) that the new Democratic House will subpoena his tax records.  This alone will put the fear of Flying Spaghetti Monster into him.  For all his braggadocio about his vast wealth, I'm pretty sure we will see the returns of a large scale grafter whose claim to fame may very well be his ability to launder money for Russian oligarchs.  As well, the colonoscopic investigations of many of his cabinet appointees will probably lead to a rash of resignations, further depleting an already anorexic staffing situation.   Finally, despite his installation of a partisan hack as attorney general, the day of reckoning with Robert Mueller and his investigators is coming and there is little he can do to stop it.  The question now becomes will he continue to sulk in his lair until his crimes are fully exposed or will he lash out at his perceived tormentors with the full powers of the presidency, up to and including his ability to embroil the nation in a war of opportunity.   Let's hope the sulking continues and Fox and Friends offers less sanguinary alternatives to him.

Weather changes

As with most changes, the climate altering effects of mankind's unsupervised dumping of millions of  tons of CO2 into the atmosphere each are a mixed bag.   A new 12 month fire season has devastated some areas of California.  Everyday high tides inundate parts of Miami Beach.  Torrential rains have wreaked havoc on farms in the Southeast and Central US.  Here in the North Country climate change means going from a fairly nice fall season to a midwinter temperature regime in what seems like a heartbeat!   It was actually snowing this morning.  According to some experts, we may see more of the same during the next few decades.  Some areas of the planet may actually have colder winters than previous records due to changing ocean currents and the obliteration of the polar ice covering the Arctic Ocean and Greenland.  Climate skeptics, a diminishing band of shills paid for by the petroleum industry, will point to areas such as this one to bolster their "theory" that climate change is not happening.  Unfortunately for our area, it looks like we will get all the negative aspects of the coming changes and few of the positive, such as a much longer growing season.  Alas, no tomato harvest in December in the near future for dedicated gardeners like me.

The wars that have not ended

Armistice Day was supposed to commemorate the "war to end all wars".  The horrors of WW1 are well documented.  Millions of men died as the modern machinery of war led to mass slaughter of combatants by machine guns, poison gas and gigantic artillery shells which churned up the opposing lines during the many battles.  Politicians vowed this obscene killing would never happen again.  20 years later the nations of the world were at it again on an even more gigantic scale.  Very few politicos were ready to declare the end of WW2 the end of all wars.  Since 1945, millions more have perished in so called "brushfire wars" fought by proxies of the post WW2 superpowers, the US and the USSR.  Following the fall of the Soviet Union, the focus has shifted to terrorism as disenfranchised groups pursue their grievances through undeclared war on whichever regime they blame for their troubles.  Throughout this transition from organized mass slaughter to indiscriminate terror, the victims have changed from well trained warriors to hapless civilians, including many women and children.   I guess humanity learned something from the first world war.

Waving

The parameters of the democratic victory on Election day continue to grow.  With votes still being counted, many contests that had been called for republicans are now tilting the other way as absentee, provisional and overseas ballots are tallied.  In the absence of close races in many republican leaning districts the counting of these votes have not mattered until this year.  It looks like dems will gain 35-37 seats in the House and if all the contested Senate races break for the democrats the GOP will have netted one seat in a wildly favorable year for them.   Many pundits, especially conservative leaning (that is the majority) ones were quick to denigrate the gains made by dems on the national level.  They conveniently discounted the 335 and counting state legislative seat which flipped to the donkey party.  You can tell tRump is scared by the moves he is making to try and shut down the Mueller investigation.   Things can still change, but it looks like America has decided we don't want a wanna be authoritarian to have an unfettered chance to turn our country into a dictatorship.

Consequences and Truth

The news gatherers on my local NPR station were musing this morning on the results of the elections and their significance to the North Country.  As with many rural areas in NY,  we have more in common politically with districts in Southern Alabama than with most of the rest of this state.  Ironically, we did have a couple of democratic assemblypersons from this area who were able to secure a significant number of taxpayer dollars upon which many local governments depend.  As with other rural areas around the country, despite the rugged individualism people like to project, we are dependent on the decadent economy of NYC and its suburbs to generate enough revenue so some of it can be diverted to this and other pockets of poverty to help keep the lights on.  So, one of these revenue diverting democrats was defeated by a republican and presumably that area will get less government largesse.   Meanwhile, Billy Jones, a democrat representing my district in Albany will get help from his downstate peers to keep propping up Franklin and Clinton Counties.  We also sent Betty Little, a republican back to a state senate where she will now be in the minority.  I have a feeling we won't be getting campaign flyers from her office touting her ability to bring home the pork this time around.  Finally, although she won comfortably, Elise Stefanik, our congressional representative will find the playing field in Washington quite a bit less to her liking.  She will now be a minority member on the Armed Forces committee and will probably not be bragging about her ability to keep Fort Drum and the 10th Mountain division in beer and skittles.  Elections do have consequences!

Smells like democrat spirit

As predicted by this blog yesterday, the dems have reason for optimism this morning, but also to think long and hard about the implications of their election day split decision.  The politics of fear clashed with those of hope and they fought to a draw.  The democrats now control the House with its powers of investigation and the purse.  The GOP controls the Senate with its power to confirm presidential appointees.  Overseeing this split congress is an executive branch which is about to learn what happens when the opposition has subpoena power.  The daily tweetstorms from the White House will be approaching Category 5 as advisors confront the *president with the bad news.  Meanwhile, progressives will have to deal with defeats of champions in Florida, Georgia and Texas.  The big takeaway is Andrew Gillum, Stacy Abrams and Beto O'Rourke proved that the left wing of the democratic party is alive, well and can be competitive anywhere in the country.  These three represent the new face of the party, along with the more than 90 women elected in the House.  The party is changing and is far more representative of the nation's population than the republicans who basically represent cranky old white men and women who want to go back to a never never land of white supremacy.  All in all, I am cautiously optimistic for the first time since Election Day in 2016.

Hopeful, but not giddy

Having read my usual morning quota of punditry, I tend to agree with one who is almost as old as me and watched the republicans win 5 out of 6 presidential elections dating back to Tricky Dick's re-election in 1972.  I was old enough to have cast a vote for the doomed George McGovern.  As Adrastos said, experiencing that much losing tends to give you a pretty thick skin along with a healthy appreciation of the foibles of your fellow man.  In today's elections, I think we are depending on women to keep our democracy safe for future generations.  Hundreds of women are running for congress and thousands more for state and local positions.  They will guide us through the next couple of years and hopefully show us the way to a Trumpless future. 

Calling all democrats

I mean democrats in the literal sense.  The democracy which many of us hold dear without thinking too much about it is in danger and both Democrats and Republicans need to keep that in mind on Election Day.  Without a check on the executive branch, the environment, foreign relations domestic policy in general and the hacking of the Department of Justice in particular are a grave threat to America.  As the breaches of democracy become more flagrant and egregious there is the danger of continued complacency.   All registered voters need to make their voices heard because the alternative is government not by the people, but against the people.  VOTE.....

This and that

Sorry for the lack of posts this week.   It has been a hectic several days as this boomer household tries to deal with child and eldercare issues.  We are truly in a situation where the Divine Mrs. M is trying to balance care for her 98 year old mother with day care for 2 grandchildren.  I have provided occasional respite and moral support, but the chief responsibilities have fallen on the most caring and loving individual I have ever known. 
Meanwhile, we are a week out from an historic election.  As a nation we will make a choice to either hold the Liar in Chief accountable or not.   It is not as simple as the previous sentence makes it seem.  We cannot directly vote for tRump, and each individual congressional race is not necessarily seen as a referendum.  However, the GOP in general is a tRump enabler and it desperately needs a firm electoral defeat to remind it of the responsibility the legislative branch has to be a check on the executive.  Everyone needs to get out and vote with that in mind.
The garden continues to produce beautiful fall vegetables.  I harvested several heads of cauliflower and an abundance of broccoli yesterday.  Beets and carrots are also in good form.  I planted next year's garlic crop just before the rain started yesterday and while the beds were a little soggy, the extra application of compost kept them from being downright muddy.  We will see how this all turns out next July, but of course I have high hopes.

Post Obama Blues

Kevin Drum has seen the future and it is multicultural and progressive.   Forget about tRump and the deplorables. They were part of the last gasp of white resentment of a nation which is fast changing and their level of outrage and victimization is unlikely to stoke another election victory for The Donald or anyone else looking to energize this type of voter.  I surely hope so, but if I was a democrat running for office I wouldn't count on it.   My own congressional district is a case in point.   Despite an energized progressive movement, NY 21 is overwhelmingly old and white and even with a great candidate it is unlikely to vote Democratic for the forseeable future unless as happened in 2008 the republican base splits among several candidates and one runs as a third party standard bearer.  , As unfortunate as it appears, appeals to white fears is a pretty good electoral strategy in many areas of the country for many years to come.  But, change is coming and by fits and starts, a new, more progressive nation will come.

Perceptions

The crew at Morning Joe, including the execrable Joe Scarborough were hand wringing over the democrat's seeming inability to get their messaging right as election day approaches.  In a typical case of projection, these pundits say the dems should be laser focused on health care and tax reform instead of tRump's tweets.  Meanwhile, in almost all competitive districts healthcare is the focus!  The candidates know what the electorate says they want.  The problem is the social wedge issues which cause many low information and racist voters to vote against their economic interests.  As this blog has maintained, until the boomers and their parents pass from this earth, the government will be held hostage by the one per cent and their enablers. 

the irony limit

Like the speed limit on our highways, the "irony limit" is regularly ignored by a majority of the population.  The latter was exceeded once again as a crowd at a GOP rally in Wisconsin chanted "lock her up" in reference to Hillary Clinton's use of a private e-mail server when she was Secretary of State.  Meanwhile, the NYT was breaking a story in which the intelligence agencies allowed as how tRump regularly talks to his pals all night long on an unencrypted I phone which is tapped by both the Chinese and Russians.  The only saving grace in this case is that unlike the hyper informed Clinton, The Donald is a low information individual who doesn't pay attention to intelligence briefings and probably is not spilling secrets.  Instead, the Chinese and Russians know who he is talking to and can use that information to influence the way the *president "thinks".  The thought experiment in this case as in many others with this administration is to ask "What would Republicans do if Obama did this".    Calls for impeachment would probably be the mildest threats from the howling mob in the House.   As I said earlier, the "irony limit" is so regularly exceeded in the present time it has essentially become meaningless when applied to the MAGA set.

The banality of truth

It seems these days we are living in a post truth environment.   One of the two major political parties, the *president and the party's official propaganda outlet have decided to bombard the public with non-stop lies 24/7.   Of course they are using George Orwell's playbook, aka "1984".   The only difference is the other major party and most of the news media are not on board, so the inconvenient truth is also told and most of the lies debunked in real time.  The problem is roughly a third of the American electorate wants to be lied to and actually seems to enjoy having their trust abused on a regular basis.  An additional 10-15% will buy into selective lies which reinforce their prejudices.  This is a potent base which republicans know they can count on in most elections.   Hannah Arendt wrote about the banality of evil.   We are now in the era where the banality of truth may usher in the kind of evils she exposed.   The solution is not more hand wringing by media pundits.  If it is a lie, call it out and count on the majority of the population to do the right thing.  Stop being polite if that is what it takes.  

Garden update

Well, we had the galinsoga killer over the weekend, but that is the extent of garden damage so far.  Most of the warm season crops were done anyway, but the chard, kale cauliflower, collards etc.  are thriving so far.  The 10 day forecast calls for a narrow temperature range.  We should be getting highs in the mid 40s and lows in the lower to mid 30s with a couple  of mornings in the  upper 20s.  This should not bother the aforementioned crops.  I hope to get the 2019 garlic crop planted next week.  Meanwhile, I'll keep enjoying the fruits of the summer's labor for as long as possible.

What is to be done

The title of this post is also the title of a diatribe written by Vladimir Lenin in the run up to the Russian Revolution in 1917.  I don't remember the specifics of his prescription, but violent revolution was the outcome.  Certainly that is not what I would suggest as a restorative more than a century later in the USA.  Russia pre 1917 was a backward country with more in common with the ante bellum South than the vibrant America of today.  However, the present political situation here today and then in Russia shows some similarities.  The system in both cases was rigged by the political and economic aristocracy to funnel the country's wealth to a tiny elite.  Of course the comparisons between the Romanovs and DJT practically write themselves.  The main difference between the two systems is the right of universal suffrage in the US as opposed to the fairly un representative and relatively powerless Duma in Russia.  We can vote the rascals out and establish a more level playing field if we can summon the political will to do so.  So, What is to be Done.

Bias verified

A new study by 3 political scientists from across the country lends weight to the theory that appeals to racism, rather than economic anxiety, was the key driver causing whites  who voted for Obama to vote for Donald Trump in 2016.  According to Kevin Drum, some combination of a black man in the White House and the relentless drumbeat of racial animosity directed at the President by conservative media along with tRump's appeal to the worse angels of our nature combined to cause nearly 3 million voters to switch allegiance in the last election.  A contributing factor may have been the reluctance by many men and some women to pull the lever for a female candidate.  Hillary's political baggage, accumulated over a 35 year political career probably facilitated some people's switch.  The study shows that most of the whites who switched were economically better off than the average voter.  What the study also shows is racism is still alive and well in America and appeals based on hatred of the "other" still resonate among a sizable chunk of the electorate.  It is an unfortunate truth that both the "greatest generation" and its offspring, my own "baby boom" generation will have to die off to make America great again!

Through the glass darkly

The cause of the week among the media is the killing by Saudi government agents of a ex-pat journalist working for the Washington Post.  As has become usual in these most unusual times, the *president has weighed in on what would seem to be the nonsensical side of the story.  The Saudis' first 3 or 4 attempts at explaining how Jamaal Khashoggi entered the Saudi consulate in Turkey but never left it were totally at odds with the facts on the ground.  Now, abetted by tRump, they are circulating a theory he was killed during an interrogation gone awry.  In other words, he died under torture.  That being the case, they should at some point produce a body.  If they don't, there will be another fanciful explanation and The Donald will continue to help cover the Crown Prince's sorry posterior.  As always, money is the sole driver of our Liar-in-Chief's performance which is another black mark in America's standing in the world community. 

Dog Talk

The hypocrisy of most people is breathtaking.  According to a column in the NYT by someone who "writes about the intersection of religion and politics", 70% of Americans identify as "Christians".  This is obviously a meaningless term to the people who regularly vote  for republicans and the policies espoused by that party.  The writer goes on to lament the decline in "god talk".   Terms like thankfulness, grace and salvation are no longer on the tips of most people's tongues.  In the polarized times in which we live with a rising portion of the population who identify with a religion, but not its tenets, it is no wonder few people speak out about belief in supernatural beings.  I also find it refreshing that many have abandoned even a pretext of declaring belief in a divine being who frets about the well being of billions of humans, but is curiously uninvolved in the tragedies, major and minor which befall them.  If more of us lived by the "Golden Rule", there would be less need for abstract concepts of god talk.

Frustration

One of the most frustrating aspects of the tRump administration is the sheer amount of blatant lying which goes on, mostly unchallenged by a press which can't seem to figure out how to respond to this in your face assault on the truth.   Sure, you can keep score and tell everyone the prevaricator in chief tells an average of 6.7 untruths per day, but most people don't encounter sociopaths on a regular basis and are ill equipped to deal with an avalanche of lies.  At a certain point, most of us tune out.  This is bad in a democracy which depends on engagement.   When the *president declares an obviously true story to be "Fake News", a certain, diminishing segment of the electorate takes him at his word.  Democracy dies a little with each lie.

Polling and #metoo

Well, it seems the first senate polls after the Kavanaugh confirmation hold good news for republicans.  From Texas to Tennessee to Arizona and Nevada, GOP candidates rolled out to leads beyond the margin of error.  Even Beto O'Rourke, the poster boy for a reimagined democratic message featuring a bold progressive agenda which most Americans support.  This latest news is just more confirmation the lizard brain in most of us is dominant over the socially conscious thought process.  White men and the women who have internalized the patriarchy are still reliable GOP voters and until the democratic constituencies of women, people of color and youth match or exceed the voting rates of the former, the party will continue to languish in the midterm elections.  Unless tRump manages some outrage in the next few weeks, it looks like the senate is out of reach for the moment.

Confirmation

Turnout is key, but a new CNN poll in the wake of the Kavanaugh confirmation vote shows women preferring democratic candidates over republicans by a whopping 30%.  This is an historical bump by any standards and presages a blue tsunami.  Unless the pollsters are totally mistaken, the GOP has managed to alienate women, people of color and younger voters.  Relying on cranky old white men as your base does not seem like a winning strategy in the long run.  The supply of this demographic is shrinking over time and if the shift of women to the democratic side is a more than one election cycle phenomenon, the Kavanaugh confirmation may come to be seen as the GOP Waterloo.

Tired

I'm tired of the winning and the losing.  Keeping score these days is an exhausting experience.  The worst part is the refusal of the republicans to compromise on any issue.  As the Kavanaugh debacle confirmed for progressives, the GOP, led by McConnell will use their narrow majority to ram any tRump favored nominee through the confirmation process.  The transformation of an independent judiciary into a partisan arm of the party is accelerating.   The next democratic president may find himself hamstrung even with congressional majorities by a Supreme Court ready and willing to find any progressive legislation unconstitutional.  This latter day gilded age may last until the results of climate change turn most people into reluctant democrats since the GOP with its refusal to deal with the results of anthropomorphic climate change will have backed us into a corner.   At that point, we'll all be losing.

Be Careful

Republicans got what they wished for on Saturday.  A reliable fascist vote on the Supreme Court in the person of alleged sexual assaulter, Brett Kavanaugh.  I think they may have actually gotten more than they think they did.  They woke American women to the fact that despite all the gains the fair sex has made in the last hundred years, to a large chunk of the electorate, they are still second class citizens who should shut up and embrace the status quo.  I do believe the GOP and its congressional enablers have misjudged the reaction of women to Dr. Blasey Ford's testimony.   Women are mad as hell and while many will take an active role in politics, many will be content to let their displeasure with the patriarchy be on display at the ballot box in November. 

Paying what you owe

As the patron saint of this blog, Jerry Shulman, once said, he was happy to pay taxes if he owed them.   It proved he was making money and had a successful business.  That seems to be the opposite tack of that taken by Cheeto Jesus, who continues to rally the rubes even after being exposed as a tax fraud and cheat going back decades.  I find it ironic that Jerry was a reliable republican vote during most of his life, but became fed up with the GOP in his later years as it veered further and further away from its roots.  Meanwhile, tRump mostly supported the democrats (after all, this was NYC) until the other party became corrupt enough to support a lying, tax cheating sexual assaulter for president.  It's a tale of two men and their political journeys to opposite poles.   I always respected the one and disdained the other.

Haves and have nots

Money and political power.  Republicans have it and Democrats don't for the most part.   We are seeing it in real time during the confirmation battle over Kavanaugh and the NYT article on tRump's financial chicanery over the years.  On the former, the White House deliberately hobbled an investigation into sexual assault allegations against the embattled SCOTUS nominee and the majority leader will ram the nomination through by the beginning of next week.  Regarding the report indicating that tRump's reputation as a self made man is for the most part a fantasy, there is no outcry among republicans to hold hearings into possible tax fraud.  Nor is there demands to make the *president's tax returns public.  The GOP holds all the power in Washington and they will protect the leader and his nominee from scrutiny.  The only solution is to change the dynamic in next month's election. 

Despicable Him

As Lawrence O'Donnell, the MSNBC 10 o'clock host put it, he saw the footage of tRump at a Mississippi campaign rally making fun of Dr. Christine Blasey Ford and was so repelled by it he refused to put it on his program.   That the liar-in chief can still get away with mocking victims of sexual assault shows how far we have yet to go in this regard.   That the crowd began to chant "lock her up" after his disgraceful performance says more than most of us want to hear about the coarseness of our society in 2018.   Add to that the publication by the NYT of an investigative report on the tax fraud which enabled tRump and his siblings to hoover up hundreds of millions from their father without paying taxes on most of it.   The brazenness of the frauds perpetrated by Fred Trump and his spawn is breathtaking and shows pretty conclusively that tRump was continuously bailed out of financial jeopardy by his old man.  About the only successes junior ever enjoyed involved parlaying supposed business acumen in the TV show "The Apprentice" and money laundering from his father's fortune and later on performing a similar service for Russian oligarchs.  Truly a despicable excuse for human being.

Three ring circus or carnival

As the Kavanaugh investigation grinds on, the *president hosted a Rose Garden press conference to tout his new USMCA, or as one critic put it, he ripped the cover off NAFTA and replaced it with a new acronym.   But it was more than that.   The North American Free Trade Agreement was a conscious attempt at making a more cohesive international system with the US in the lead but with other nations on a equal footing with us.  tRump wants the US to dictate terms to those he considers weaker than us.  This is a fundamental change in the system and in the long run will be detrimental to our interests.  I see The Donald as a carnival barker attempting to sucker the rubes in with tales of the three headed woman, rather than the leader we need in dangerous times.  This is not a circus, but the only habitat humanity has at the moment.  We need someone who understands this critical piece of information.

America First, Ryder Cup edition

In another epic Sunday swoon, America's Ryder Cup hopes were dashed as the singles matches became a European rout.   The Red Team (hopefully prophetic of the coming mid-term elections) was crushed by the Blue 17 1/2 to 10 1/2.   As usual, recrimination was the order of the day.  Patrick Reed, aka Captain America pouted because he was paired with Tiger Woods instead of Jordan Spieth.  Meanwhile, the Euros were perfectly happy with whatever pairings were put up by their captain, Thomas Bjorn.  In particular, the twosome of Francesco Molinari and Tommy Fleetwood cut through the Americans like a hot knife through butter.  Of course, it is easy to say the team spirit of Europe had much to do with the outcome, but more to the point, the home course in Paris was set up to take advantage of the things most of the Europeans excel at, namely driving accuracy and putting.  The big bombers on the American team did not fair well with the tight driving holes and the long rough.  Hopefully there will be revenge in two years when the Cup is contested in America.  I'll be rooting for team Red in that match!

Choosing sides

The theatrics are over.  It's time to put up or shut up.   After seeing a terrified but calm Christine Blasey Ford make a credible sexual assault case against Bret Kavanaugh and the latter going over the top and in typical right wingnut style projecting republican tactics on democrats by accusing them of a conspiracy against his nomination it will be up to a handful of senators to decide if this nomination will go forward.   That a partisan hack republican, who has spent his entire career currying favor with the worst elements of the GOP should be rewarded with a lifetime sinecure on the SCOTUS, especially after what Dr. Ford testified to is almost beyond belief.   One thing his confirmation will do is ignite a firestorm in the midterm elections which will almost certainly sweep republicans out of the house and senate.  I don't believe they realize the latent energy they are liberating among women and minorities.  I see it in the expressions of dismay from the Divine Mrs. M.  She doesn't think her feelings are general, but I disagree.  After seeing Dr. Ford's dismissal by republicans on the judiciary committee, millions of survivors of sexual assault and harassment will make their feelings known in November.  I have a feeling the GOP will regret their participation in this farce for a long time to come.   I'm sure President Gillibrand's nominees for the court will help with the reckoning.

Time to buckle up

After watching a few minutes of the *president's press conference yesterday I was feeling disoriented.  The toxic BS he was spewing and the infantile language and syntax made it seem like a therapy session for someone with a severe mental problem.  Most fact checkers heads had exploded after the first few questions.   Only the tRump faithful could have said this went well.  The topper was his disrespectful references to our northern neighbor and its Prime Minister.  Obviously he feels he can insult Canadians because their economy is only a fraction of the US.   However, they are still our biggest trading partner and they make up a disproportionate share of the economies of the states which border Canada.  Even more so the counties immediately adjacent to the border.  If Canadians are made to feel unwelcome, sales tax revenue and businesses will be affected.  tRump ran up huge vote totals in many of these places, including my own Clinton County.  I wonder how many of the small business owners who voted enthusiastically for the *president are starting to wonder if perhaps they may have sabotaged themselves.

Women and power

Rarely do the words "Women" and "Power"  appear in the same sentence.  More often, "powerless" is the descriptive.  That may be changing.  I believe, despite the Divine Mrs. M's gloomy election forecast, that women's white hot rage at the sexual abuse which has been pervasive in our society.  Individually women do feel isolated and alone, but I think many will surprise themselves in November with the power of the ballot.   Republicans underestimate this dynamic at their peril.

Priorities

Naturally, the media I consume was all over the latest allegations of sexual impropriety by Brett Kavanaugh.   The New Yorker, which basically precipitated the #metoo movement with its story about Harvey Weinstein's perversions came forward with another accuser from Kavanaugh's days at Yale where he seemed to participate in one drunken debauch after another.  In a just world, he would have withdrawn his name for consideration and slunk back to his sinecure on the circuit court.  Meanwhile, the Cape Fear river in North Carolina has still not crested and it is a week since Florence plowed ashore.  In a just world, people would be more worried about the implications of that story than whether a drunken frat boy exposed himself to a woman 35 years ago.  What a world we live in.

Soap Operas

As usual in the tRump era, truth is always stranger than fiction.  The Kavanaugh saga continues to roil the national conversation.  Now an obscure but highly placed apparatchik who worked for the late unlamented Antonin Scalia and is a friend of the SCOTUS nominee is now suggesting in tweets that while Christine Blasey Ford may have been assaulted, it was by a Kavanaugh look a like.  He even names the poor schmo.  Unless he has some ironclad proof, Mr. Whalen has just opened himself to a libel suit.  Meanwhile, Dr. Ford now seems to have public opinion on her side as the Senate Judiciary committee majority twists in the wind, grasping at straws to explain why they need to confirm this serial liar and partisan hack to the high court as soon as possible.  Personally, I think this is a tale of 12 (including Kavanaugh) entitled white men who believe they can run roughshod over norms and procedures because they can and have always been able to.   #me too may have finally shown them that in the 21st century white male privilege, while durable may be dented by those with the courage to take them on and the issue to do it with.

Our robot overlords

Two stories I read/listened to this morning inspired this post.   On North Country Public Radio this morning, the political correspondent, Bryan Mann, was reporting difficulty in reaching our insular congressional representative, Elise Stefanik.  She has not responded to several requests for an interview.  This does not surprise me as Stefanik is about as likable and articulate as a fence post.  It seems her reps spend time on facebook and social media and shun all but a few sympathetic reporters and legacy media outlets.  A short time later I read a post by Kevin Drum on Mother Jones, reporting on the latest iteration of Aibo, the Sony mechanical dog.  It seems this model is able to charm humans much like a flesh and blood canine is able to.  It occurs to me now that Stefanik may not be a real human at all, but a Sony robot programmed to lead us.  However, they left out the charm and humanity they programmed into the dog.  Perhaps a cute little tail would help our congresscritter  turn on the charm!

Full speed ahead

The husband and father in me is horrified by Christine Blasey Ford's description of attempted rape by a couple of entitled prep school a**holes, one of which was the GOP's putative SCOTUS nominee, Brett Kavanaugh.  I'm sure the woman's father would have some choice word's to describe his daughter's alleged attacker.   A very high percentage of women have endured sexual harassment and assault during their lifetime's, but not many come forward because of the inevitability of their being labeled sluts or worse.  This type of behavior has been going on since the dawn of time, but as the sexes approach equality and more fathers of daughters treat them as equals, the less tolerance there is  for the "good ole boys" treatment of an alleged sexual assaulter.  The republicans may ram Kavanaugh through to the Supreme Court, but they may pay more of a price than they think.

Newly normal

1 in 1000 year flooding rains on a yearly basis seem to be the new normal in the wake (literally) of Hurricane Florence's march through the Carolinas and into the Northeast.  Harvey had a similar effect on the flood plain around Houston last year.  Throw in Maria's effect on Puerto Rico and Irma on the West Indies and the picture becomes clearer.  Warmer oceans mean more energy for huge storms that will wreak havoc on coastal areas.  It is only a matter of time before insurance companies will look at the forecast for continued climate change and either jack up insurance premiums to the point where most people cannot afford them or else discontinue offering policies in coastal areas.  At that point, the government becomes the insurer of last resort and national bankruptcy follows.   People need to make their votes match the urgency of the situation and elect representatives who take the threat of anthropomorphic climate change seriously and are prepared to move toward a carbonless economy in the not too distant future.

Anita Hill redux

This time the story may have a different ending.  When Anita Hill came forward during Clarence Thomas' supreme court confirmation hearings she was savaged by Republicans and Democrats alike.  "uncle Joe" Biden, Chairman of the Senate Judiciary committee was the ring leader of the charade which stripped Hill of her humanity and ignored the pain she went through.   Dems, at least, can't do that if/when Kavanaugh's accuser appears before the committee with her account of drunken sexual assault in the late 1980s.  Certainly any republican women in the senate cannot  in good conscience do anything less than make their best effort to investigate the accuser's claims.  Of course even without this latest charge, Kavanaugh disqualified himself from anything but censure and a possible jail cell because of his penchant for lying before the senate during two different confirmation hearings.   Thanks to our puritanical society, drunken sexual assault allegations will far outweigh lies when all is said and done.   Too bad the Assaulter in chief is not held to the same standard.

Sociopathy

I meant to write about the sociopathy of *president the other day, but current events drove it out of my mind.   However, in the wake of the Hurricane Maria controversy it bears a revisit.  It seems a scientific study in the wake of storm which devastated Puerto Rico a little over a year ago shows that up to 3,000 residents died before their time due to conditions related to the storm and the bungled government response.  tRump and his media apologists; Rush Limbaugh et. al. can't bring themselves to believe that someone who died of unnatural causes due to power outages several weeks after the storm was actually killed by said storm.  This is not even the point.  The president is supposed to be the empathizer in chief.  As the mayor of San Juan noted, all he had to do was apologize and feel some of the island residents' pain.  Instead, he dismissed the deaths of 3000 people as a Democratic Party plot to smear him.  As with any sociopath, he is incapable of the simple human trait of being able to identify with fellow humans.   As one pundit put it, "The worst human being in the country is still president".

This and that

Driven out of the headlines by Hurricane Florence, the Kavanaugh nomination to the Supreme Court churns ahead.  It seems unless the dems can prove the Judge was an ax murderer in the not too distant past the GOP has the votes to ensconce him on the high court for the next several decades.  I wouldn't bet the farm on Susan Collins and Lisa Murkowski siding with the pro choice arguments against Kavanaugh.  McConnell better hurry up with this nomination and many others, since it is looking more and more like the Blue Tsunami may flip the Senate this November.  Lyin Ted Cruz is in a flop sweat in Texas as Beto O'Rourke prepares to eat his lunch.  If the dems can win in Texas, albeit against a pathetic candidate, it should make Dean Heller in Nevada start looking to break the lease on his D.C. digs.  The weather remains moderate in the North Country and the last planting of beans is ready to pick.  Spinach is growing strongly and the last lettuce planting will beat the first frost.  It's my favorite time of year!

Climate Change anyone?

The latest forecast for Hurricane Florence is predicting the monster storm will stall over the coast of North Carolina and dump up to 35 inches of rain in some areas.  After dropping this Biblical total the latest track shows it meandering down the coast of South Carolina and possibly making landfall at Savannah, Ga.   Of course, it's still early and the storm won't even approach the coast until tomorrow evening, but it sounds devastating.  Florence could potentially strengthen to a Category 5 storm before landfall, making it the first such storm in recorded history to strike the |US mainland this far north.  I think there are millions of climate change deniers in Florence's path who are about to have a change of heart regarding anthropomorphic driven changes in our weather patterns. 

The only thing tRump has to fear

Just kidding.  The Donald has lots of things to fear; flipping associates, the Russia investigation, money laundering charges, etc.  But the immediate threat to his popularity is the devastating investigation of the White House by Bob Woodward.  The reporter of Watergate fame is out there plugging his book on every media platform and is calling for America to wake up to the threat represented by Cheeto Jesus and the out of control executive branch.  The excerpts which have been published so far show an executive branch in panic mode.   Coupled with the anonymous op-ed in the NYT last week, it's a one-two punch which would probably lead to the resignation of anyone more self aware than the present occupant of the Oval Office.  One thing you can say about the *president;  he has elevated farce to an art form few could match.  Inspector Clouseau  would doff his cap in homage.

Homestretches

It's that time of the season.  The leaves are turning colors, the summer vegetables are starting to wane, the Yankees are competing for the pennant and the Giants look like they want another high draft pick again this year.  Despite knowing better, I made one last planting of spinach on Saturday.  Hopefully it gets big enough to winter over and provide an early spring green.  The weather was dry over the weekend, but rain is promised later today through tonight so the fall veggies should get a boost.   Although the temps were in the low to mid 40s the past couple of nights, warmer weather is in the forecast, so even the late August plantings of spinach should mature in time for the farmers' market ends on Columbus Day weekend.   Asked about the gardening season by friends at the Battle of Plattsburgh festivities I said it was mostly positive, although on the dry side.  As with all things related to farming and gardening things could always be better! 

Old Dogs, old tricks

With the twin spectacles of the Kavanaugh hearings and the snipe hunt in the White House, the pundit class has plenty of fodder on which to chew.  As usual, it is all sound and fury, signifying nothing.   Despite Democrats' best efforts Kavanaugh is likely to be confirmed by the herd of sheep also known as the Senate republican caucus.  Rachel Maddow holds out some hope that Lisa Murkowski and Susan Collins may bolt after the latest revelation that partisan hack Kavanaugh lied through his teeth to them by saying he believed Roe vs. Wade is settled law.  He forgot to mention he doesn't believe that when it comes to the Supreme Court deciding it!  Collins got rolled during the tax cut debate and will probably again express her belief that the nominee will do the right thing.  In this case it means thwarting or delaying progressive legislation for the next 30-40 years.  Meanwhile, at Camp Runamuck, the counselors are hiding under the furniture as the *president rants at their perfidy.  The comparison of The Donald to King Lear also comes to mind, but this administration leans more toward farce than tragedy at this point.   Also, their has to be some sympathy for the main character. 

More of the same

As if things couldn't get any worse for tRump and the GOP, now comes an "essay" from a probable appointee of the*president who was granted anonymity by the NYT to basically announce he was part of a babysitting cabal dedicated to curbing the worst excesses of The Donald.  This, of course, let to an extended rant by the *president and handwringing by the usual republican suspects.  The latest polls, which haven't even taken this latest fiasco into account show tRump's approval percentage in the mid 30s.  The Blue Wave is starting to look like a tsunami at this point, although it remains to be seen how much damage can still be done before some restraints are placed on this heedless, lawless mountebank.

Obsessing

"Fear", the new Bob Woodward book about the tRump *presidency is out and naturally, the left wing media is all over it.   It turns out Woodward mostly corroborates Michael Wolff's and Omarosa's tell all books about a White House in turmoil trying to restrain a chief executive most of his staff calls an idiot behind his back.   Woodward puts a sheen of respectability on these hot takes and despite denials from an obviously embarrassed staff, this latest reportage pretty much puts to rest any claims The Donald may make concerning his performance in office.  Being compared unfavorably to a fifth or sixth grader is probably an insult to 10 and 11 year olds.  The scary thing is this dolt inherited a good economy and decent relations with most countries and so far has done his best to screw the pooch.   The one crisis which could have benefitted from executive branch management, Hurricane Maria and it's devastation of Puerto Rico, was bungled from the get go and pretty much proves that tRump is very much not ready for prime time.  We can only hope we get through the next two years without anything else going wrong.

Same old

Laboring in the garden yesterday in 90 degree weather was curiously refreshing.   I sprayed for cabbage worm (organically) uprooted weeds, then watched as a thunderstorm undid most of that work without easing the chronic dryness which is stressing the later plantings of cole crops and spinach.  Altogether we received about .2 inch of rain which was almost worse than nothing.  The Divine Mrs. M believes farmers in general and myself in particular are inveterate complainers who would be unhappy no matter what weather conditions obtain.  I have to agree with her in most respects.  However, as I said, despite the hot weather and inadequate rainfall it was a good day overall.

Cooling off

As if to answer yesterday's whiny post regarding hot weather, today is predicted to be 20 degrees cooler and with a little rain last night the latest changes should prove to be restorative to the garden.  More precipitation is predicted for next week, but as with most of the weather this season it will probably be too little and too late.   This is the toughest stretch in the gardening season as we simultaneously try to keep up with weeds, watering, insects, harvest and planting.  The planting part is actually ending now.  I put the last lettuce transplants in last night and need only make one or two more spinach plantings and I will be done with that aspect.  The weeds however continue to bedevil me.   Perhaps I'll be able to catch up this weekend.

It's hot out there

It's feeling more like early July than late August here in the North Country.  With the temperatures topping 90 degrees yesterday and predicted to do so again today, those of us without air conditioning are eagerly awaiting some relief.   The worst part of this heat wave is the high minimum temperatures overnight.  It was 72 degrees this morning at 6 a.m.  Historically, that should be close to the high and low to mid 50s would be our low temperature.  For anyone with cool weather crops in the ground this climate regime is a nightmare.   Meanwhile, the hot weather veg is maturing more quickly than anticipated.  That means a likely early end to corn and tomatoes and the lack of replacement with spinach, kale and other cool weather crops.  If this is the future, I'm going to be looking for a used DeLorean.

Losing our democracy

Paul Krugman's column in today's NYT compares recent anti-democratic measures in Congress and several states with the descent of Poland and Hungary into fascist one party rule.  Krugman opines the GOP would do the same thing as the Law and Justice party in Poland and Fidelz in Hungary have already done in the way of suppression of freedom of the press and competing political parties.  Fortunately for us, we have a dim-witted Thug in Chief who probably can't pull off the necessary political maneuvers to dismantle what is left of our democracy.  The republicans in congress are hard at work trying to remain in power so they can continue to cover for tRump's corrupt administration, but he continues to sabotage their efforts.  The latest example being his refusal until called out by the American Legion to salute John McCain's service to the country.   If this latest episode has not convinced at least some of his dead end supporters to open their eyes, Krugman's lament for our democracy may not be far fetched.

Praise and burial

Let it be said.  John McCain was an American hero.   Five years a prisoner in the infamous "Hanoi Hilton" he stayed behind when offered an early exit because he would not desert fellow prisoners to exploit his family connections.  He also served his country in Congress for over 30 years and ran for president twice.   However, for the most part it was as a partisan republican who participated in the GOP's willful destruction of customs and norms in our democracy.  That he was perceived as a "Maverick" because he deviated occasionally from his party's assault on democracy shows what a lockstep endeavor it has become.   Perhaps his most endearing quality to democrats was his opposition to The Donald, although the current *president is just the latest manifestation of his party's descent to authoritarianism.  So, yes, it is proper to mourn John McCain, but his sainthood is vastly overblown by a credulous media who succumbed to his charm and constant media pandering.

So much winning

If you are a tRump supporter, you must be getting tired of all the winning.   Certainly the people close to Cheeto Jesus must be tired, as they keep flipping to tell Robert Mueller everything they know.   The latest casualty, David Pecker of National Enquirer fame was granted immunity in exchange for spilling his guts.  It's hard to know where to start with this latest revelation.  Meanwhile, on Morning Joe, Spiro Agnew's lawyer advised the *president to resign!  Personally, I hope tRump hangs around until 2020, crippled by a  Democratic Congress and gets massacred in the presidential election along with all the craven members of the GOP who have enabled this travesty of an administration to exist in the first place.

Two Americas

The latest revelations regarding our *president are reflected in a disturbing dichotomy of belief between democrats and independents on one hand and trumpist republicans on the other.  In the face of guilty pleas by Michael Cohen and the conviction of Paul Manafort on numerous corruption charges, progressives are hair on fire and warning of a looming constitutional crisis.  On the other hand, republicans like Orrin Hatch and Lindsay Graham who voted to impeach Bill Clinton for lying about an affair with a White House intern say they are embarrassed by the latest revelation of criminal intent by tRump, but so what.   We are increasingly becoming separate tribes in this nation.  I seriously wonder what will have to happen to unite us.

It's raining shoes

The proverbial shoes are dropping fast as our *president gets closer and closer to a reckoning with his nemesis, Robert Mueller.   Cheeto Jesus spent last night at a rally in West Virginia among people who probably wouldn't care if he declared himself Emperor, but fortunately this dead ender segment of America will be shrinking in the months ahead as more and more people associated with what is fast becoming the most corrupt administration in our history begin to pay the price for their crimes.  Within minutes of each other, Paul Manafort was found guilty of bank fraud and seven other counts detailing his corrupt search for money after his connection with a criminal Ukrainian president ended.  This was followed closely by Michael Cohen, tRump's longtime "fixer" and a member of the inner circle at tRump Tower pleaded guilty to making payments to two women who claimed sexual relationships with the 45th president in the runup to the 2016 election, among other crimes.  Cohen directly implicated that the Donald instructed him to make the payments.  Coming in the wake of the Access Hollywood tapes which featured tRump bragging about grabbing women "by the pussy", the revelation affairs with a porn star and a playboy playmate would have no doubt sealed Hillary's victory.  Instead, Russian ratf*king of her e-mails and James Comey's meddling caused an abrupt drop in her polling numbers in the week before the election.  What these latest revelations mean as the midterm elections approach is a further erosion in support of our tinpot dictator as the less credulous of his supporters confront the avalanche of misdeeds by his cronies.  Break out the popcorn!

New takes on "Truthiness"

Although the term "truthy" was coined by Steven Colbert to describe the Shrub's administration and its tortured relationship with facts, it certainly fits tRump and his henchmen.  Cheeto Jesus has gone W one better however.   Bush the younger may have bent the truth to serve his policy ends.  The Donald lies for the sake of lying.   As Paul Krugman points out in his column today in the NYT, the GOP has been laying the foundations for this Orwellian assault on facts for a very long time.  Rudy Giuliani's assertion that "truth isn't truth" is just the latest manifestation of this war.  Up is down, black is white, truth is lies, ignorance is strength.  This is the reality Faux News and right wing talk radio are priming their audiences to live with.  Somewhere, Demosthenes weeps.

Weekend Update

The weather was reasonably cooperative with gardening endeavors over the past weekend.  A good rain on Friday night was followed by clearing on Saturday and Sunday.  Still planting spinach and transplanting lettuce, bok choy and Chinese nappa cabbage.  It looks like the clay based organic spray didn't work to control the swede midge in my late broccoli plantings.  According to some gastronomes the leaves are tasty, so maybe I'll be eating broccoli leaves.  Harvested the last of the late onion crop amid 6 foot weeds.   It was like playing hide and seek.   The last plantings of basil, cilantro and dill are up, so that should free up time as the season wears on.  The tomatoes are finally ripening, so the tomato sauce making time is upon us.  I'll be trading in my hoe for a spoon!

Stormy Weather

The title of this particular post could be political or meteorological.  I'm going with the weather, which has become increasingly erratic this year and promises to become even more unpredictable.  Western New York suffered through a very dry early summer and is now being inundated with record rainfall.  Farmers watched their crops wither and then drown.  Throughout the corn belt it was either far to dry or too wet for optimal crop growth.  Western wildfires cast a pall of smoke over areas that were otherwise unaffected.  I don't recall such wild swings in the weather when I was growing up on a farm on Long Island.   Amid the "Stormy" political intrigues in D.C. this year, we risk losing sight of the problems which will get exponentially worse in years to come if we delay action to reduce carbon emissions.  Our grandchildren will not thank us for this dereliction of duty.

RIP Aretha

As all too many blogs, news reports and commenters will note today, Aretha Franklin passed away today.   An omnipresent performer in the 60s and 70s, the "Queen of Soul" gave voice to a generation with such hits as Respect and Chain of Fools.  Oddly, my favorite was her rendition of a Carole King composition, You make me feel like a Natural Woman.  The song doesn't jibe with the aforementioned anthems of independent and proud women, but she sells the wistful daydreams as perhaps the ultimate respect women are due from the men who love them.   RIP Aretha, we may never see her combination of talent and soul again.

The walls continue their closure

As the political junkies among us wait for the jury to begin deliberations in the Manafort case, we are constantly bombarded with the message the walls are closing in on our panicked president* who is becoming increasingly irrational.  I'm not so sure about either proclamation.  We have been comforted by the seeming inevitability of the scales of justice coming down on tRump's head, but in reality, there is probably no smoking gun showing our fearless leader actually responding to Putin's commands, unless Omarosa was in the room at the time (Lordy, I hope there are tapes).  As far as his irrationality, it doesn't seem markedly different than his time on the campaign trail, and certainly his fans probably find his spittle flecked tirades even more attractive with the whiff of insanity mixed in.  I have a feeling we'll be hearing about those stubbornly slow closing walls in 2020.

Forgotten victims

According to news reports of an investigation into sexual abuse by Roman Catholic priests in Pennsylvania, more than a thousand victims suffered at the hands of 300 priests over a 50 year period.   Coming on the heels of other high profile stories about abuse in several other states, it is fair to ask if this is a general situation in the church.   To my knowledge, no abuse occurred in the parish I grew up in on Long Island, but relying on the observations of a child who grew up under the iron fisted discipline of the "Sisters of Mercy" is a stretch.  For all I know, one or more of my fellow students was preyed upon by the "Fathers" we all respected and feared.  What this means for the church is a quicker slide into scandal and ultimately irrelevance.   As the 70 and 80 year old attendees of daily and weekly Mass die off, are they being replaced.  I really don't know, not having attended a Sunday service in decades.  Many erstwhile catholics, including some in my family continue the rituals of baptism, communion and confirmation, but I sense the waning of religious enthusiasm.  Marx called religion "the opiate of the masses".  Unfortunately for religion, the masses now have real opiates if they wish to dispute the reality of their senses.  They don't need the intervention of a possibly pedophilic priest.

Slow motion train wreck

As we move ever so slowly toward the 2016 mid term elections, the steady drip of scandal after scandal leaks from the tRump administration.  While Omarosa is an admittedly not very sympathetic character, she is providing a view of the snake pit that is the current White House.  She was paid a salary of nearly 180,000/year for "outreach" to a black community she has derided over the years in service to a defacto white supremacist.  As her job approval cratered, she remained because she "said nice things" about her boss.   That seems to be the preferred route for those wishing to rise in Cheeto Jesus' administration.   By the time she has used her 15 minutes of fame, another scandal will take her place.  Meanwhile, the Meuller investigation continues to grind on despite tRump's spittle flecked bluster.    We all stare in horrified fascination as the train teeters on the edge of the abyss.  The question is not if, but when the wreck will happen and what will be the damage to out nation and its democratic heritage.

Memories

I heard an interesting program on NPR Saturday.  In the show, "Hidden Brain", it was posited that in experiments, false memories could be suggested and implanted in up to 25% of subjects, even if the suggestion was totally against the subject's lived experience.  Followed up by a program on Sunday; Radio Lab reported on more experiments with memory which posited that we constantly edit memories and indeed the only people with true recollections are amnesiacs who can't access and therefore edit said memories.   This suggests the reason so many republicans believe virtually anything tRump and his Faux News enablers say.  It would seem that the suggestible 25% of the population has self selected the republican party as their own.  Although this bodes ill for democracy, the scam artists who batten on this particular demographic are doing very well at the moment and should continue to do so at least in the short term.

Saying it Loud

As a teenager, I remember the slogan " Say it out loud, I'm black and I'm proud".  It was a little discomfiting to someone who spent his first 12 years in an all white bubble.  I had only seen black people as farm laborers who seemed polite but distant or the one black boy in my Catholic school 2nd grade class.  He was a subject of ridicule by the nun who ran our  class with an iron fist.  He didn't make it through the school year and left under mysterious (to a 2nd grader) circumstances.  It never occurred to me  until many years later the nuns at our school were probably racist.  So, now the shoe is on the other foot.  Laura Ingraham is barely disguising her dog whistle.  She might as well say it our loud, she's white and she's proud!  I would have to say it's a lot easier to say that in a country where you are still the majority and control all the levers of power than it was for the Black Panthers in 1970s America.  Ingraham needs to be reviled for the racist she is.

Swamp Creatures

Arguably tRumps favorite congresscritter, Chris Collins has never shied away from opportunities to parlay his position into money.  No wonder Cheeto Jesus loves him!  Unfortunately for Collins it would seem his love of money overcame his fear of the law.  He was indicted for insider trading, along with his son after he was caught on camera at a White House picnic frantically trying to reach his son to tell him to dump stock in a pharmaceutical company due to a failed drug trial.  As one of the wealthiest members of congress Collins probably felt he was above the law, especially with a DOJ stocked with tRump appointees.   It looks like some people in government haven't abandoned the rule of law.

Wins and losses

The Dems came tantalizingly close to an historic upset in Ohio, last night.   In a gerrymandered district which has reliably elected republicans since the mid 80s, Danny O'Connor trails in a race that is still too close to call.  but unless the absentee and provisional ballots break heavily in his direction, the republican will likely win, setting up a rematch in less than 3 months.  The Green Party ran a candidate who siphoned off more votes than the difference between the major party candidates and in effect cost the Democrat the election.  Having seen a similar dynamic play out in my own congressional district, I can only hope the GOP's feckless performance encourages the far right to start their version of the Greens.  That would level the playing field.  The Tea |Party needs to get more aggressive!

Saving us from ourselves

As many people have pointed out, dealing with the catastrophic warming of Mother Earth by our insistence on extracting and burning every single hydrocarbon on the planet is a difficult proposition.  By our very nature, humans are in the main incapable of sacrificing long term to ameliorate something as difficult to quantify as climate change.  We go about our daily routine without seeing the insidious nature of the threat until it overwhelms us.   Climate scientists are unhelpful because of their professional reluctance to connect the dots between increased hurricane intensity, wildfires and other harbingers of the change.   Kevin Drum can only think of two instances in the last 100 years where we sacrificed to defeat an existential threat;  the ozone depletion and the Cold War.  As Drum points out, the banning of CFC's was a minor inconvenience and the Soviets were a concrete threat we could meet with a united front for over 50 years.  Climate change is not like the Cold War, but more like the ozone hole; something that can be overcome if the cost is not high.  If we can make renewable energy sources cheaper than fossil fuels, virtually no one will object to the change.  What Drum does not posit is the necessary leadership to build out the infrastructure and advertise the virtues of renewables.  We are desperately short in that regard.  Electing tRump as president* may be the single worst thing to happen to the environment since the industrial revolution.

Hot and wet

Starting the day on Saturday harvesting for the farmers' market was a hot and brutal slog.  Evidence of the hot, dry weather was everywhere, from reduced yields on some crops to the outright failure of others.  The heavier soils in most of the gardens have mitigated the drought stress, but only enough to keep the plants alive.  The forecast was for more of the same which made the sudden storm at 2 p.m. even more welcome.  We received .8" in about an hour.  Thanks to the fact most of my gardens are on level ground the rain had no choice but to percolate into the soil.  The result was a wholesale rejuvenation and an improved outlook for the rest of the season.  More rain is predicted for the week, but most of it will come in scattered thunderstorms which may or may not fall at Casa Monzeglio. Fortunately, the emergency is over for now.

Cognitive Dissonance

After listening to Morning Joe for a few minutes this morning I came away with the feeling our *president is on a long slow slide into dementia and we better get him out of office asap.  Then I read Paul Krugman's column decrying the use of the word "populist" to describe the orange desperado.  Krugman believes tRump is consciously implementing policies and appointing officials who are deliberately hurting his base, working class voters.  These voters, Krugman opines are the racist scum on the bottom of America's shoe and they support Cheeto Jesus because he gives them permission to fly their racist freak flag.  However, as polling data has shown, much of the GOP support tRump has enjoyed comes from a relatively well off slice of the party and among the elderly.  So, what is it;  do we have a demented commander in chief who is leading us willy nilly to annihilation or a crafty demagogue who is playing the racist Pied Piper to millions of otherwise rational 'Murcans.  I'm not sure which explanation is the correct one, but neither is in the best interest of our country.  The elections are 3 months away at this point and the sentient portion of the country needs to make its voice heard, before it is too late.

Stupidity, part infinity

At a rally in Tampa the other day, there were several MAGAots sporting shirts emblazoned with Qanon.   This is supposedly an individual or group who believes that tRump engineered the Mueller investigation to expose the "crimes" of Obama, Hillary and other top democrats.  Besides this bit of idiocy, Qanon believers also are convinced the US military convinced The Donald to run for the presidency to save the country from democratic perfidy.  So if you see one of your neighbors sporting a t-shirt with a big Q on it, you have two options;  stage an intervention, or turn and quickly run the other way. 

Endgames

As the walls move closer, tRump and Rudy Giuliani seem to be babbling more incoherently than ever.   Appealing to a shrinking base of true believers, they have gone from "no collusion" to "collusion is not a crime".  I guess the next stop is "no conspiracy".   It's only a short step from there to an impeachment trial.  Giuliani especially has spared no one from his creepy uncle persona in a non-stop blitz of incoherence on whatever network will invite him to perform.  Personally, I think most of the hosts are waiting for him to match some of his more over the top moments, such as comparing the tRump organization to a crime family.  It's a twofer.  He simultaneously pisses of liberals and excites the base.  What he and his boss are actually doing is unknowable, but it appears they are preparing for a fight to the finish with Robert Mueller and the truth.  I wouldn't make wagers as to who will win.

So much winning

Aren't you tired of all the winning yet?  New intelligence has detected N. Korea hard at work producing more fissile material and the missles to deliver it.  Iran has threatened to block the straits of Hormuz and choke off 20% of the world's oil supply if we apply crippling sanctions for their non-existent violations of the Obama era  nuclear agreement.  Russia continues on its merry way, subverting political campaigns in the US.  It seems tRump, the master negotiator, is reshaping American foreign policy in ways that give new meaning to "aid and comfort" to our enemies.  Obviously he is playing 11 dimensional checkers and everything will turn out well for us and badly for our hapless opponents.

Gardening outtakes

Another dry weekend at Casa Monzeglio.   Although the soil still holds some residual moisture from last week's downpours, several sunny days with temps in the 80s and low humidity have required me to water transplants copiously and continue daily watering of new seedings of basil, cilantro, dill, beets and lettuce.  Fortunately, the lawns have cooperated and mowing is only required to knock back crabgrass and other weeds.  The grass is almost totally dormant.  Harvesting for the farmers' market includes onions, shallots, new potatoes, squash, peppers, herbs and lettuce.  More tomatoes are ripening every day and rain is predicted for tomorrow and Wed.  Things are looking up!

It's the evidence, stupid

Up until now, most democrats have assumed, based on his M.O. that The Donald knew all about the meeting at tRump Tower which Donald Jr. hosted in hopes of Russians providing dirt on Hillary.  It would seem inconceivable that someone like tRump, who is a micro controller of those in his orbit would not know.  However, until now there was no one in tRumpworld who was willing to confirm the obvious.  Michael Cohen it seems was in a position to know and now seems willing to say his master knew before it happened.  High crimes and misdemeanors indeed.

Recorder nation

I don't know about Faux News, but the rest of the mainstream media is all about the trump/Cohen recording all day, all the time.  Listening to the co-conspirators arrange the payment of hush money to yet another woman who apparently fell for the president's* late middle age charms in 2006, one feels the need for a long hot shower.   I sincerely hope there are more Cohen recordings ready to be released if only to relieve the boredom.  In light of tRump's predelictions, it seems the fixer was more than justified to make recordings.  I'm sure there are many of Cheeto Jesus' confidants who are either preparing to record mutual conversations or are congratulating themselves for emulating Michael Cohen's example. 

Gardening before the storm

It looks like we will finally get some relief from the mini drought we have experienced this summer.  I spent all the daylight available last night seeding and transplanting in advance of the promised storms.  Beets, fennel, lettuce, broccoli, cauliflower and greens are waiting somewhat impatiently for the promised moisture, so if we don't get it there will be a watering session this evening.  This part of the season is always exhausting with planting, harvesting and weeding duties all demanding attention.  It is hard to balance everything for the next few weeks.   September can't come soon enough, although I know I'll be waxing nostalgic for the delights of July!