Paved with sedition

       Despite the prospect of appeal, it looks like Stewart Rhodes, the Yale educated insurrectionist will be spending his golden years in federal prison.  Unless of course Cheeto Jesus manages to avoid the same fate and wins the election in 2024.

       Rhodes, a former staffer of Ron Paul was tried and convicted of seditious conspiracy in connection with the January 6 riot at the Capitol in 2021.   The charge is rarely made and the evidence must be overwhelming to convince a jury the person in the dock actually wanted to overthrow a legitimately elected government.  Assuming the DOJ makes good on Merrick Garland's pledge to hold everyone involved in the insurrection accountable this conviction bodes ill for the twice impeached failed former president.

Kale, politics and advent

      A more diverse trio would be hard to imagine, but yesterday, after some rain and warm weather, I continued to harvest kale in the garden.  After two weeks of freezing temperatures which put everything else besides the collard greens into a season ending swoon, the kale looked none the worse for wear.  As long as it can take up moisture through its roots, kale is good down to temps in the low teens.  Collards are a little more tender, but so far they are surviving also.

     Meanwhile, in politics, Mike Pence can't seem to make up his mind whether to grovel at the altar of tRump or commit sacrilege and go his own way.  Kevin McCarthy continues to try and placate the likes of Marjorie Taylor Greene in order to secure enough votes for the Speakership.  Why he wants to subject himself to the humiliation this will eventually come his way is beyond my understanding.

     Finally, tis the season for the Divine Mrs. M and I to sing in our chorus.   This year's concert will feature Handel's Messiah and it promises to be a glorious rendition if I do say so myself.  If you are in Plattsburgh this coming weekend we will be performing at 3 p.m. on Sunday in the Giltz auditorium at Plattsburgh State.  Come one, come all.

Not so mighty

        According to a recent article in the NYT, excessively dry weather in its watershed has left long stretches of the Mississippi River at the lowest levels seen since records have been kept.  The piece goes on to say that shipping will become more expensive for the $17 billion agricultural products which pass down the river to ports on the Gulf of Mexico.  The lower water levels will force shippers to put less weight on barges which will increase traffic on the diminished river.

      The same thing is happening on the Rhine river in Europe.  Even popular river cruises are being interrupted by low water levels.   Much of Germany's industrial production moves on the Rhine, so it will cost more to transport goods, again leading to higher prices for consumers.

     We face an existential crisis as climate change becomes more apparent and starts affecting things like water levels in rivers.  It is a short step from higher freight pricing to water shortages and rationing in cities around the world.   The alarm bells are ringing.   Will we answer them or hit the snooze button one more time?

Will it ever end?

        Sarah Palin lost her bid to "represent" Alaska in the House of Representatives.   Does this mean our long national nightmare is over.  One can hope.  However, her spiritual descendants, Lauren Boebert and Marjorie Taylor Greene have Palin's stchick down, so no, the nightmare will continue.  

      How Palin came to represent all the worst impulses of the GOP is fodder for a doctoral thesis,  but to put it in plain terms, Palin was and her ideological soul mates in the 2020s combine the American male fetishization of women with a toxic shout out to the worst, sexist impulses of the white male party members.  Had she been a little more on point during the 2008 campaign, she would have been a heartbeat away from the presidency.  If she was a little less lazy, she could have captured the 2012 nomination.   Fortunately for us, she was and is too lazy to even finish a term as Alaska's governor.

     On such slender threads hang our democracy...

Deja Vu

      Another day, another mass shooting.  Five innocents massacred plus a dead shooter a couple of days before Thanksgiving in Chesapeake, Virginia.  I can hear the thoughts and prayers already.  I get so tired of the pathetic excuses offered by politicians as to why they are unable to formulate policies to end the carnage.  At least stand up and admit you are bought and paid for shills of the firearms industry.

Another day, another hate crime

       Colorado Springs was the scene of yet another mass shooting over the weekend, with 5 people confirmed dead and many injured.   It probably would have been a lot worse if not for quick action by club patrons who disarmed and restrained the gunman until police arrived.  

      The state simultaneously elected Jared Polis, the first openly gay governor in the US and Lauren Boebert, a gun toting right wing crank.  Colorado has been trending more and more Democratic recently, but there are still areas where hatemongers like Boebert can still find support.  Much like New York, Colorado is dominated by a single large city which tends to distort what would otherwise be a fairly red state.

     Right wing violence will continue to be a problem in this country as long as unstable and impressionable people continue to be radicalized and have access to weapons of mass destruction like the AR-15 the gunman was carrying.   It is a problem facing red and blue states and I'm not sure what can be done to curb the violence.

Long live the Queen

       The Queen of Democratic politics, Nancy Pelosi, said yesterday she will not run for a leadership position in the next Congress.  Although she indicated she will remain as a member of the House at least for the short term, I doubt she will stay until the 2024 elections.   Perhaps the most effective Speaker in history, Pelosi became a lightning rod for Republicans who rained down a toxic mixture of partisan rancor and misogyny on her.

      Pelosi's political savvy is unmatched, but at 82 years of age with an ailiing spouse who survived an attack by a nutcase looking to kneecap her if she had been present, it is time to pass the reins to a younger generation.   So, instead of misogyny, the new majority leader, likely Hakeem Jeffries, will have to deal with racism.   Welcome to the world of partisan politics, circa 2022.