Subsumed ... resumed.: September 2022

Another Israel? Who is Helped Here?

It's not good for America to have allies utterly dependent on us for their own survival.

Biden Signs Stopgap Spending Bill With $12.3 Billion in Aid to Ukraine
The House passed the bill and sent it to President Biden, who signed it just hours before a funding lapse would have forced a government shutdown.

Added: ANOTHER $12.3 billion. I wonder if the American media is even tallying these billion-dollar transfers in weaponry and humanitarian aid, and outright cash that is not being tracked sent into a corrupt country. This should be -- and perhaps already is -- a midterm issue the American people should be discussing:

When will the blank-check billions to Ukraine end? If the independent Ukrainian Army (*cough, cough*) hasn't "won" in seven (7) months fighting, and repelled the Russians back to the territories seized during President Obama's term in 2014, then what will winter fighting look like?

Why are we there? When will a wiser mind step up on behalf of Ukrainian and European civilians and state that America's endgame is NOT to overthrow Putin at the cost of so many civilians, but to negotiate a peace that BOTH sides can live with? Russia is not Palestine; this will not end well for America or the world, and whoever is telling you otherwise is not truly interested in the health of the planet nor the people that populate it.

Why is Tom Friedman's voice more influential or important than the voice of every red-blooded American, citizen or just worker-resident? Why does his preferences -- to overthrow Putin? -- have weight with American voters who elect Senators who fund American wars? Just askin'. (It me: flatlander in da free worl'. Self deprecatory as fuck, but asking teh serious questions all the same, sir....)

Think political bunnies, think.

The American people will not support this, or continue to look away as we waste yet another nation and burn up the planet in pursuit of wealth for our own... Brains will win in the end. And America is great on developing... connections, but brains? Not so much of late.

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Speaking of, how's that Ilya Shapiro making out for himself of late? Twins on the way, I hear, conceived during his short-lived employment fiasco at Georgetown. That's not a mind fit to lead the world, let alone the nation, but in America? That's a 21st century career success story... may his sons one day right his wrongs. We leave it at that then.

Faster Tom... Faster!

Back when this glorious war began -- on February 23 (the press reports the 24th, but the invasion began on the 23rd), many people understood that if the US got involved, it would go long. We'd hoped a injection of weapons alone would protect the Ukranian people, but oh, they've become dependent on billions to free themselves, and they still need so much more.

Tom Friedman, the top foreign-policy mind writing for the American newspaper The New York Times, is just starting to catch on to the implications of long-term American involvement in this latest glorious war. Why they don't think of these things months previous to invasion, instead of now that the US has so many "sunk costs" is mystifying. (You might think war strategy, and survival instincts and methodologies do not come naturally to a non-military-trained mind like Mr. Friedman, who is essentially helping to lead Democratic politicians with his political columns in America. God help him, god help us. He's too slow a thinker to be a leader, much less advising the people who employ the advisers. This war is not a good look for America. We own it, even if we're not yet admitting it... I don't think Europe will forget our actions as quickly as what we did in the Middle East either. Americans be warned what's being done in yoru name, and will be held accountable to your children...)

Friedman in the NYT:

By claiming territory that he doesn’t fully control, I fear Putin is painting himself into a corner that he might one day feel he can escape only with a nuclear weapon.
In any event, Putin seems to be daring Kyiv and its Western allies to keep the war going into winter — when natural gas supplies in Europe will be constrained and prices could be astronomical — to recover territories, some of which his Ukrainian proxies have had under Russia’s influence since 2014.
Will Ukraine and the West swerve? Will they plug their noses and do a dirty deal with Putin to stop his filthy war? Or will Ukraine and the West take him on, head-on, by insisting that Putin get no territorial achievement out of this war, so we uphold the principle of the inadmissibility of seizing territory by force?
Do not be fooled: There will be pressure within Europe to swerve and accept such a Putin offer. That is surely Putin’s aim — to divide the Western alliance and walk away with a face-saving “victory.”
But there is another short-term risk for Putin. If the West doesn’t swerve, doesn’t opt for a deal with him, but instead doubles down with more arms and financial aid for Ukraine, there is a chance that Putin’s army will collapse.

Things That Make You Go HMMmm...

People Gotta Live Somewhere, Lady.

To the right, to the right, to the right...

roxane gay

@rgay

40m

Every car on the right side of the block, parked, has someone sitting in it.

Who's Afraid of a SCOTUS Term?

Ruth Marcus urges the Court to Slow Down

As if the country has not been harmed for decades, awaiting decisions from above about what is stewing in American society...

It's time, Ruth. It's time for change. For the men and the boys, as well as the women and girls. For the queers and non-conformist singles, as well as for heterosexuals and married families. For the whites and the blacks, the documented newcomers and the non-citizen workers. For all of us in America, Ruth.

Not just the ones -- like yourself -- who have been benefitting for years based on the rules put in place that favor your identity groups.

[F]or now, the Court is marching on toward fresh territory, taking on race, gay rights and the fundamental structures of democracy — this even as the shock waves of the abortion ruling reverberate through our politics and lower courts grapple with a transformed legal regime. And there’s every indication that the court intends to adopt changes nearly as substantial — and as long-sought by conservatives — as those of last term.

You see, when the laws are turned back on us -- when the People have more input into their own representation, where their dollars are spent and the policies that affect their daily lives -- we are a stronger country. We respect one another as individuals, not favored parties always in conflict.

United we once stood, divided we are falling.

Don't be afraid of change, Ruth. It's what got us all here as a nation. E Pluribus Unum. In the end, we stand stronger together when more of us are represented -- and that happens through the Legislative branch, not the judicial. Rights are not awarded from above, but earned with like-minded others. Fellow citizens.

SCOTUS is going to turn it back to us is all, and make us do the work: decide these issues more fairly, amongst ourselves, in ways where more voices are represented -- minorities working within the system too; never doubt that we can compete with you on our own merits w/o your "help". It will take time, but in the end, building upon a more stable and equitable legal foundation makes all of us stronger, "minorities" included (especially considering how immigration, medical technologies and self-awareness are reshaping demographics in America, as we speak...)

Fair is fair is fair is fair. In 21st Century America too.

Bring on the next SCOTUS term then... foot on the gas, eyes on the far horizon. All drivers: in.

America really is ready for this change, Ruth. Your generations dictated for too long, and now the younger people -- much more individualistic than the boomers and the ones they've artificially boosted -- are going to step up as the Court clears more paths for the American people to represent their own interests. It's not a bad thing, Change -- even Change that comes faster than you can control. Really.

Some of us, you might say, have spent our lives waiting for it -- these great legal shifts portending true Change for our Americas -- and getting prepared to physically on board. We've waded through the muck to get here and we're not going away. If you are one of those that got too big and heavy in the waiting years, don't expect to throw your weight around for much longer, holding back progress in America. We've got the numbers now; we're not waiting anymore.

“They’re impatient,” Harvard Law School professor Richard Lazarus said of the conservative justices, especially the longest-serving, Clarence Thomas and Samuel A. Alito Jr. “They’ve spent a lot of time waiting for this majority to happen and they don’t plan to waste it.”

Damn straight, and sexual preference has nothing to do with it, Ruth. Really.

Cherish: Cherish the Thought. Cherish the Joy. Cherish your Strength. Keep Singin' It...

I found The Immaculate Collection* in a wooden-box free library, and my HHR has a sunroof.
No leaves fallin in just quite yet, we just had the frost. I should charge for living lessons.*
Breathe in, breathe in, breathe in, exhale. And sing dammit!
------------------------------------------------------------------------
* start w/track 8.

Progress.

Miami quarterback Tua Tagovailoa doesn't return to the field in the second half. Bengals beat Dolphins, 27 - 15. That's the game.

Think about how reliant so many universities in America now are upon this uniquely American sport, and tell me where the push for change in the game is going to come from?

We are a country of force and might. Our wisest minds understand how the game is played, who wins and who loses, over time. Only sometimes, we choose to make an example of those caught playing the game of breaking the rules.

Very Eastern European actually. Everybody skims a bit from the top -- takes a little bit more than their due -- to keep the world moving. But not everybody takes more than they neeed.

And not everybody lives off the backs, or brains of others, slammed to the turf untimely in a game he likely should never have started.

Football as Extreme Sport.

Whoop, there it is... look at the way this mortal man's head is literally whipped against the turf here. Heck of a hit. Consider this player suffered a concussion too, in Sunday's game, four days ago...

They pay them well because of the health risks, like we pay workers in high-risk professions. Not for the entertainment value necessarily.

All well-paid workers are not the same...

ADDED: Remember too, this is 21st Century America. We got the rules on the books, and we got the rules the people really play by*... Best understand the difference before you get in the game, no matter your profession.

In some professions, the training manual is not what is actually being practiced in the field. Speak up and speak out when you see that. Change is dependent on it, even if you can benefit yourself -- and your own -- more by going along to get along with the stagnation and the way your parents' generation did it...

Real Change is coming to America, it's already here just not fully empowered. You just hope the legacies are ready for the changes to come.

Curiouser and Curiouser.

Who would want to remind the European countries in NATO of their vulnerabilities? Who, who?

“It’s hard to assess, does anybody benefit?” Finland’s president, Sauli Niinistö, told the news outlet Helsingin Sanomat. “That is why this is a mystery so far.”
Some European and American officials cautioned on Wednesday that it would be premature to conclude that Russia had been behind the apparent attacks. President Vladimir V. Putin likes to show he has his finger on the gas valve, they noted, but wielding that power could mean keeping the pipelines in good working order.
Many Western officials and analysts said sabotage would fit neatly into Mr. Putin’s broader Russian strategy of waging war on multiple fronts, military and economic. The sabotage drives home to a jittery Europe how vulnerable its infrastructure is.
“This is classic hybrid warfare,” said Marie-Agnes Strack-Zimmermann, head of the defense committee in Germany’s Parliament, who stressed that for now she had no evidence Russia was behind the attack but believed it was the most “plausible” culprit.
— Katrin Bennhold and David E. Sanger

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The C.I.A. had warned European governments of potential attacks on pipelines.

The warning was not specific, the officials said, and they declined to say whether Russia was identified as a possible attacker.

By DAVID E. SANGER and JULIAN E. BARNES

Hurricane Ian was downgraded to a tropical storm as of the 5 a.m. National Hurricane Center advisory as Central Florida experienced massive amounts of rain.

As of the 8 a.m. advisory, Ian was moving northeast at 8 mph and winds had slowed to 65 mph. It was located 40 miles southeast of Orlando and 10 miles west of Cape Canaveral.

Jason Disharoon

@Jason_Disharoon

17h

Hurricane #Ian makes landfall in almost the exact same spot as Hurricane #Charley did in 2004.

#HurricaneIan is stronger, larger, and slower moving. Impacts are expected to be catastrophic around the landfall area and track inland.

Causeway to Sanibel.

Douglas R. Clifford / Tampa Bay Times / AP

What You Got They Can't Deny It.

Can't Sell It, o' Buy It...

Walk On. Walk On. Stay Safe Tonight!

The real rainbow children of Wisconsin.

(Let's represent ALL their interests, not just the wealthy white
children being raised and educated in Madison's suburbs?
Share that wealth, liberals! Stop taking so much more than you need?)

I Like Wisconsin, the Land. I Know Wisconsin -- People Populating those Lands, Across the State.

There is no way on god's green Earth -- not in this current political climate, not after what we have seen on our screens in these past few years -- that Wisconsin is legitimately going to elect Mandela Barnes, a nice black Democrat, as the junior senator to represent the state. If every registered black voter in Milwaukee and Madison and environs came out to vote for Barnes, there are not enough Dem votes in the state to outvote the overwhelmingly white, conservative male rural and manufacturing vote. There just are not enough public employees drawing government salaries, "suburban" moms caring about diversity and feminism, and non-farm workers in higher tech fields (Wisconsin does not have this sector, the way Chicago and Minneapolis do, outside of the research schools that do not generate employment or investment dollars to produce products here.)

The pollsters have a job to do: selling the idea that Barnes is "up" over Johnson, the incumbent white male conservative senator. Selling the idea that Barnes is a credible candidate. It's not his skin color, it's his politics and his party. This state gambled on Barack Obama: white people can indeed elect black candidates... But oh, those times were so different politically. Nobody is big hearted like that anymore, willing to give another guy a chance and hope for a lift for all. They've hardened their hearts after the cities burned and justice did not seem to be served. Whites believe they are targeted under the new identity politics, seen as enemies to others, obstacles to progress. But white people are still a pretty big voting block in many of the Midwestern states...

When the results roll in in early November, don't look to the scholars in Madison to explain what is happening with the vote throughout the state. Most of them there are "captured", willing to attend the dinners, accept the "research" dollars, feed their own families, make the statements, and smile pretty for the pictures... but understanding what is really happening on the ground in the state where they work and purport to serve the people via The Wisconsin Idea?

You can't really inherit that without putting in the work -- throughout the whole state of Wisconsin. None of your parents' friends on faculty can "gift it" to you and your husband either, when you marry into a faculty job -- the second-generation (plus the wife) riding a father's sociology profession. A Yale degree is an amazing amazing thing, much less two!, but it really doesn't help you understand how the old farmer -- and his sons and their wives -- will be voting in November. Meetings and "talks" are fun (aren't they? you host so many!) but when you surround yourselves with like-minded thinkers and speakers, you ... miss out on what is going down around you.

Like, the State of Wisconsin went down, so quickly! I remember when they were competitively ranked with Minnesota in terms of education and investment. (So sad what Scott Walker did to that state, while the people in Madison stood by and let him... Evangelical "hope for the best!" Leadership while the educated bleated and followed their secular leadership. Busy raising babies, maybe.)

Winter will come to Wisconsin this year. Already it appears, womens' rights have been lost because the alleged scholars simply haven't been able to put up much of a fight on behalf of the vulnerables -- the scholar let their guards down; the people pay...

Same as it ever was, except we pretend in America that education is based on merit, that it's the great equalizer, that if we put our smartest and wisest in the top leadership roles, that they will bring victory to the team, overall.

Don't sell out the state, and set up citizens there for a election blowout in November -- with an ensuing recount controversy -- because you have no idea the value and peoples who have created the environment here that lets you artificially prosper and try and import values that you've not yet "sold" on the streets of the state. Work to get buy in. Work. It's not just happy children and smiling mothers who vote, afterall. Get to know the people if you take their pay.

No Real Desire to Visit the Desert Southwest.

Must be the Irish in me, I like it moist and damp outdoors more often than not. Preferences, we don't have to share them all. Makes things less crowded where you're at. And less crowded and conformist = always good.

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* apropos of perusing posts of a p.t. social-media vanner with wife and two children, one in diapers, suggesting the desert sights are something Gentle pass for me.

Subsumed ... resumed.

Friday, September 30