The Ledes

Wednesday, October 9, 2024

The Washington Post's live updates of Hurricane Milton developments are here: “Hurricane Milton, which has strengthened to a 'catastrophic' Category 5 storm, is closing in on Florida’s west coast and is expected to make landfall Wednesday night or early Thursday, the National Hurricane Center said. The hurricane, which could bring maximum sustained winds of nearly 160 mph with bigger gusts, poses a dire threat to the densely populated zone that includes Tampa, Sarasota and Fort Myers. As well as 'damaging hurricane-force winds,' coastal communities face a “life-threatening” storm surge, the center said.” ~~~

     ~~~ The New York Times' live updates are here.

Washington Post: “The Nobel Prize in chemistry was awarded to David Baker at the University of Washington and Demis Hassabis and John M. Jumper of Google DeepMind.... The prize was awarded to scientists who cracked the code of proteins. Hassabis and Jumper used artificial intelligence to predict the structure of proteins, one of the toughest problems in biology. Baker created computational tools to design novel proteins with shapes and functions that can be used in drugs, vaccines and sensors.”

Sorry, forgot this yesterday: ~~~

Reuters: “U.S. scientist John Hopfield and British-Canadian Geoffrey Hinton won the 2024 Nobel Prize in Physics on Tuesday for discoveries and inventions in machine learning that paved the way for the artificial intelligence boom. Heralded for its revolutionary potential in areas ranging from cutting-edge scientific discovery to more efficient admin, the emerging technology on which the duo worked has also raised fears humankind may soon be outsmarted and outcompeted by its own creation.”

The Wires
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The Ledes

Tuesday, October 8, 2024

The New York Times is live-updating developments Tuesday as powerful Hurricane Milton moves through the Gulf of Mexico toward Central Florida.

New York Times: “Cissy Houston, a Grammy Award-winning soul and gospel star who helped shepherd her daughter Whitney Houston to superstardom, died on Monday at her home in Newark. She was 91.”

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Public Service Announcement

Washington Post: "Americans can again order free rapid coronavirus tests by mail, the Biden administration announced Thursday. People can request four free at-home tests per household through covidtests.gov. They will begin shipping Monday. The move comes ahead of an expected winter wave of coronavirus cases. The September revival of the free testing program is in line with the Biden administration’s strategy to respond to the coronavirus as part of a broader public health campaign to protect Americans from respiratory viruses, including influenza and respiratory syncytial virus (RSV), that surge every fall and winter. But free tests were not mailed during the summer wave, which wastewater surveillance data shows is now receding."

Washington Post: “Comedy news outlet the Onion — reinvigorated by new ownership over this year — is bringing back its once-popular video parodies of cable news. But this time, there’s someone with real news anchor experience in the chair. When the first episodes appear online Monday, former WAMU and MSNBC host Joshua Johnson will be the face of the resurrected 'Onion News Network.' Playing an ONN anchor character named Dwight Richmond, Johnson says he’s bringing a real anchor’s sense of clarity — and self-importance — to the job. 'If ONN is anything, it’s a news organization that is so unaware of its own ridiculousness that it has the confidence of a serial killer,' says Johnson, 44.” ~~~

     ~~~ Marie: I'll be darned if I can figured out how to watch ONN. If anybody knows, do tell. Thanks.

Washington Post: “First came the surprising discovery that Earth’s atmosphere is leaking. But for roughly 60 years, the reason remained a mystery. Since the late 1960s, satellites over the poles detected an extremely fast flow of particles escaping into space — at speeds of 20 kilometers per second. Scientists suspected that gravity and the magnetic field alone could not fully explain the stream. There had to be another source creating this leaky faucet. It turns out the mysterious force is a previously undiscovered global electric field, a recent study found. The field is only about the strength of a watch battery — but it’s enough to thrust lighter ions from our atmosphere into space. It’s also generated unlike other electric fields on Earth. This newly discovered aspect of our planet provides clues about the evolution of our atmosphere, perhaps explaining why Earth is habitable. The electric field is 'an agent of chaos,' said Glyn Collinson, a NASA rocket scientist and lead author of the study. 'It undoes gravity.... Without it, Earth would be very different.'”

The New York Times lists Emmy winners. The AP has an overview story here.

New York Times: “Hvaldimir, a beluga whale who had captured the public’s imagination since 2019 after he was spotted wearing a harness seemingly designed for a camera, was found dead on Saturday in Norway, according to a nonprofit that worked to protect the whale.... [Hvaldimir] was wearing a harness that identified it as “equipment” from St. Petersburg. There also appeared to be a camera mount. Some wondered if the whale was on a Russian reconnaissance mission. Russia has never claimed ownership of the whale. If Hvaldimir was a spy, he was an exceptionally friendly one. The whale showed signs of domestication, and was comfortable around people. He remained in busier waters than are typical for belugas....” ~~~

     ~~~ Marie: Oh, Lord, do not let Bobby Kennedy, Jr., near that carcass. ~~~

     ~~~ AP Update: “There’s no evidence that a well-known beluga whale that lived off Norway’s coast and whose harness ignited speculation it was a Russian spy was shot to death last month as claimed by animal rights groups, Norwegian police said Monday.... Police said that the Norwegian Veterinary Institute conducted a preliminary autopsy on the animal, which was become known as 'Hvaldimir,' combining the Norwegian word for whale — hval — and the first name of Russian President Vladimir Putin. 'There are no findings from the autopsy that indicate that Hvaldimir has been shot,' police said in a statement.”

New York Times: Botswana's “President Mokgweetsi Masisi grinned as he lifted the diamond, a 2,492-carat stone that is the biggest diamond unearthed in more than a century and the second-largest ever found, according to the Vancouver-based mining operator Lucara, which owns the mine where it was found. This exceptional discovery could bring back the luster of the natural diamond mining industry, mining companies and experts say. The diamond was discovered in the same relatively small mine in northeastern Botswana that has produced several of the largest such stones in living memory. Such gemstones typically surface as a result of volcanic activity.... The diamond will likely sell in the range of tens of millions of dollars....”

Click on photo to enlarge.

~~~ Guardian: "On a distant reef 16,000km from Paris, surfer Gabriel Medina has given Olympic viewers one of the most memorable images of the Games yet, with an airborne celebration so well poised it looked too good to be true. The Brazilian took off a thundering wave at Teahupo’o in Tahiti on Monday, emerging from a barrelling section before soaring into the air and appearing to settle on a Pacific cloud, pointing to the sky with biblical serenity, his movements mirrored precisely by his surfboard. The shot was taken by Agence France-Presse photographer Jérôme Brouillet, who said “the conditions were perfect, the waves were taller than we expected”. He took the photo while aboard a boat nearby, capturing the surreal image with such accuracy that at first some suspected Photoshop or AI." 

Washington Post: “'Mary Cassatt at Work' is a large and mostly satisfying exhibition devoted to the career of the great American artist beloved for her sensitive and often sentimental views of family life. The 'at work' in the title of the Philadelphia Museum of Art show references the curators’ interest in Cassatt’s pioneering effort to establish herself as a professional artist within a male-dominated field. Throughout the show, which includes some 130 paintings, pastels, prints and drawings, the wall text and the art on view stresses Cassatt’s fixation on art as a career rather than a pastime.... Mary Cassatt at Work is on view at the Philadelphia Museum of Art through Sept. 8. philamuseum.org”

New York Times: “Bob Newhart, who died on Thursday at the age of 94, has been such a beloved giant of popular culture for so long that it’s easy to forget how unlikely it was that he became one of the founding fathers of stand-up comedy. Before basically inventing the hit stand-up special, with the 1960 Grammy-winning album 'The Button-Down Mind of Bob Newhart' — that doesn’t even count his pay-per-view event broadcast on Canadian television that some cite as the first filmed special — he was a soft-spoken accountant who had never done a set in a nightclub. That he made a classic with so little preparation is one of the great miracles in the history of comedy.... Bob Newhart holds up. In fact, it’s hard to think of a stand-up from that era who is a better argument against the commonplace idea that comedy does not age well.”

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The Commentariat -- March 14, 2021

Late Morning/Afternoon Update:

The New York Times' live updates of Covid-19 developments Sunday are here.

A Florida Man/Nowhere Man. Gabby Orr & Meredith McGraw of Politico: "... Donald Trump finds himself adrift while in political exile. And Republicans, and even some allies, say he is disorganized, torn between playing the role of antagonist and party leader.... He backed away from creating a third party and has soured on the costly prospect of launching his own TV empire or social media startup. His vow to target disloyal Republicans with personally-recruited primary challengers has taken a backseat to conventional endorsements of senators who refused to indulge his quest to overturn the 2020 election. And though he was supposed to build a massive political apparatus to keep his MAGA movement afloat, it's unclear to Republicans what his PAC is actually doing, beyond entangling itself in disputes with Republican icons and the party's fundraising arms." ~~~

     ~~~ Marie: I'm sure we're not surprised. The only things Donald Trump has ever done in the last 40 years is collect money from suckers and tell lies about himself & people he doesn't like. He's just keeping up the tradition.

A Texas Man. Kyle Cheney of Politico: "A Texas man who joined a mob at the Capitol on Jan. 6 told two rioters he had set up a security company as a front to access law enforcement-grade weaponry that could be used to 'take back our country,' according to private, encrypted messages revealed Saturday by prosecutors. Guy Reffitt, who drove from Texas to Washington, D.C., also said in recorded conversations that he and others were carrying firearms during the siege of the Capitol. He also encouraged his two associates to join the 'Texas Three Percenters' militia, according to the messages posted to Telegram.... Prosecutors described the arrangement in an effort to persuade a judge that Reffitt is too dangerous to be released before his trial on charges related to the Capitol assault. Reffitt is a self-described Three Percenter, which prosecutors describe as an ideology rooted in the notion that the current government is the equivalent of British oppressors and can be overthrown by armed militias. They noted that Reffitt misled the FBI about his company -- TTP Security, LLC -- telling them it had no connection to the Texas Three Percenters. Rather, he said, it stood for 'Tactics, Techniques, and Procedures.'"

I forgot! It's National Pi(e) Day! ~~~

~~~~~~~~~~

An Awakening. Marie: What with most Americans losing an hour of sleep time last night (except those living in Arizona or Hawaii), and what with a discussion in yesterday's Comments thread about "Nessun Dorma" ("let no one sleep") AND about "reaction" videos, it seemed like a good time to publish this guy's reactions to what he calls "Nissan Dorma" (precisely what I told the Italian rental company when my hired car wouldn't start). You probably won't want to watch the whole thing, but the guy's reactions are priceless:

Griff Witte, et al., of the Washington Post: "Compared with its developed-world peers, America has always been a study in contrasts, a paradox of exceptional achievement and jaw-dropping deprivation. Rarely have the disparities been rendered as vividly as in recent weeks and months. Historic breakthroughs in science, medicine and technology coexist intimately -- and uneasily -- alongside monumental failures of infrastructure, public health and equitable access to basic human needs. America can put a rover on Mars, but it can't keep the lights on and water running in the city that birthed the modern space program. It can develop vaccines, in record time, to combat a world-altering illness, but suffers one of the developed world's highest death rates due to lack of prevention and care. It spins out endless entertainment to keep millions preoccupied during lockdown -- and keep tech shares riding high on Wall Street -- but leaves kids disconnected from the access they need to do their schoolwork."

By R. Bolling. If you find the dialog balloons hard to read, you can click on the picture to increase the size. Thanks to PD Pepe for sending the cartoon my way.

Rosa Flores, et al., of CNN: "Children detained in an overcrowded government-run tent facility at the US-Mexico border say they haven't been able to shower for days or contact their parents, according to lawyers who interviewed them this week. Lawyers from the National Center for Youth Law spoke with about a dozen children in Donna, Texas, this week.... The children were terrified, crying and worried about not being able to speak with family members..., said [the director of the National Center for Youth Law].... The allegations ... come as concerns mount over the growing number of children in Customs and Border Protection (CBP) custody. Earlier this week, CNN reported that there were more than 3,700 unaccompanied migrant children in the agency's custody -- a record high. On Saturday, Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas announced he is directing the Federal Emergency Management Agency to support efforts for 90 days to shelter unaccompanied minors who have crossed the border." ~~~

~~~ Update. Nick Miroff of the Washington Post: "The Biden administration is deploying the Federal Emergency Management Agency to the Mexico border to help care for thousands of unaccompanied migrant teens and children who are arriving in overwhelming numbers and being packed into detention cells and tent shelters, the Department of Homeland Security said Saturday evening. The deployment marks another escalation in the administration's response to the growing crisis at the border. It is part of what DHS said would be a 90-day government-wide effort at the border, where an unprecedented number of minors are arriving without their parents each day and must be sheltered and cared for until they can be placed with a vetted sponsor, usually a parent or relative already living in the United States. About 8,500 teens and children are living in shelters run by Health and Human Services, and unaccompanied minors are arriving more quickly than HHS officials can place children with sponsors."

David Kirkpatrick & Allen Feuer of the New York Times: An examination of the histories of Proud Boys Joseph Biggs & Ethan Nordean "shows that local and federal law enforcement agencies passed up several opportunities to take action against them and their fellow Proud Boys long before they breached the Capitol.... Local police officers have appeared at times to side with the Proud Boys, especially when they have squared off against leftists openly critical of law enforcement.... The Proud Boys have made little effort to hide violent intentions.... Yet the Proud Boys' belligerence fit the definition of terrorism, other officials said: unlawful violence and intimidation for political aims. Members raised money to travel across state lines to dozens of rallies with the intent of street fighting, at least once explicitly targeting a Muslim community in upstate New York for harassment -- activities that could have justified the scrutiny of federal law enforcement." The details are disturbing. When these guys each attacked someone else, the victim was arrested, but the Proud Boys weren't. When police contacted Proud Boys in anticipation of expected violence, it was to help them out, not to warn them against attacking adversaries.

Kyle Cheney of Politico: "A U.S. Army reservist who participated in the Jan. 6 Capitol riot was widely known as a white supremacist and regularly discussed his hatred of Jews while working at a New Jersey-based naval facility, according to new evidence revealed by federal prosecutors late Friday. The reservist, Timothy Hale-Cusanelli, who worked as a security contractor at Naval Weapons Station Earle and held a secret-level security clearance, was arrested and charged Jan. 15 for allegedly breaching the Capitol. At the time, prosecutors described him as an 'avowed white supremacist' and Nazi sympathizer, a determination based in part on evidence provided by a confidential source to the Naval Criminal Investigative Service and a YouTube channel in which Hale-Cusanelli expressed those views." MB: Or, as Sen. Ron Johnson would put it, a patriot "that loved this country." (Also linked yesterday.)

The Pandemic, Ctd.

Katie Lobosco & Veronica Stracqualursi of CNN: "Some Americans are already seeing the latest round of stimulus payments hit their bank accounts, as the first batch of funds is rolled out.... The White House on Thursday had announced that payments would go out as soon as this weekend for those who have their direct deposit information on hand at Treasury and the Internal Revenue Service. Processing of the first batch of stimulus payments began on Friday and more will roll out in the 'coming weeks,' an official with the Treasury Department told reporters on a Friday call. By Saturday morning, several people had posted on social media about seeing their stimulus payments pending in their bank accounts." ~~~

     ~~~ Update. Mary Papenfuss of the Huffington Post: "Americans waiting to get their stimulus checks were growing increasingly frustrated Saturday after discovering some banks won't make checks available to them for days, even if they've already been deposited by the federal government. The official payment date for the 'Economic Impact Payments' is March 17, but millions of dollars in checks had already landed in countless bank accounts by Friday, The Wall Street Journal reported.... Chase, however, issued a statement that it will release the payments beginning March 17, apparently even if the money lands in accounts earlier. Wells Fargo said the same: that it will treat all checks as arriving March 17, whether they arrive earlier or not." MB: It's worth noting that big banks can make millions off use of the money for the days they hold these checks.

Amanda Burke of the Berkshire Eagle: "After Yo-Yo Ma received his second jab of a COVID-19 vaccine at Berkshire Community College Saturday, he transformed his 15-minute observation period into a concert for the newly inoculated. The world-famous cellist and part-time Berkshires resident completed his vaccination course at the field house clinic, and he 'wanted to give something back,' Richard Hall of the Berkshire COVID-19 Vaccine Collaborative told The Eagle. Yo-Yo Ma took a seat along the wall of the observation area, masked and socially distanced away from the others. He went on to pass 15 minutes in observation playing cello for an applauding audience, in what Hall called a 'very special' concert that capped the day's vaccination event." ~~~

The New York Times' live updates of Covid-19 developments Saturday are here. (Also linked yesterday.)

A Message from the Former Guy. I hope everyone remembers when they're getting the COVID-19 (often referred to as the China Virus) Vaccine, that if I wasn't President, you wouldn't be getting that beautiful 'shot' for 5 years, at best, and probably wouldn't be getting it at all. I hope everyone remembers! -- Donald Trump, in a racist statement released Wednesday ~~~

~~~ Conservative Kathleen Parker of the Washington Post has the correct response. Thanks to Ken. W. for the link. Also too, in today's Comments, Akhilleus gets it so right. Marie: I used to compare Trump to Nero's fiddling while Rome burned, but as Akhilleus's analogy makes clear, Trump is way worse than Nero. (Also linked yesterday.)

S.V. Date of the Huffington Post: "A dog rescue charity with links to Lara Trump has spent as much as $1.9 million at ... Donald Trump's properties over the last seven years and will drop an additional quarter-million at his Mar-a-Lago country club this weekend. According to a permit filed with the town of Palm Beach, Florida, Big Dog Ranch Rescue estimates it will spend $225,000 at the club where Donald Trump has taken up full-time residence since leaving the White House. All the profit from that spending winds up in his pocket. Internal Revenue Service filings show that the group has spent as much as $1,883,160 on fundraising costs at Mar-a-Lago and Trump's golf course 18 miles north in Jupiter starting in 2014. Lara Trump, the wife of Eric Trump, started being listed as a chairwoman for charity events in 2018, and the group's president, Lauren Simmons, visited the White House in 2019 for the signing of a bill addressing animal cruelty." (Also linked yesterday.) ~~~

     ~~~ See also Akhilleus' comment below. I'll have Akhilleus know, however, that according to a report I didn't read & won't link, Donald made a "surprise appearance" at Lara's Mar-a-Lardo doggie scamapalooza.

Annals of "Journalism," Ctd. How Fox "News" Could Kill You. Philip Bump of the Washington Post: "Republican men are a central part of coronavirus vaccine resistance," and Republican men are the group most likely to get their "news" from Fox "News," which often features anti-vaxxers & other vaccine skeptics. For instance, right after Fox aired President Biden's address to the nation Thursday in Tucker Carlson's time slot (the TuckerCam incident!), Carlson interviewed vaccine skeptic Alex Berenson. The message: "the oppressive government was mandating that you do this scary thing [-- get vaccinated --], because this is what leftist government does." Coincidence or cause-and-effect??? ~~~

     ~~~ Marie: While it's acceptable, if stupid, to oppose the stimulus because the deficit! or lazy, mooching poor people! But it's unacceptable to oppose life-saving healthcare initiatives because Joe Biden. Fox "News" doesn't know the difference. BTW, even if the so-called "fairness doctrine" (-- which required broadcast networks to air opposing views --) were re-imposed, I don't think it would apply to Fox "News," which is a cable, not a broadcast, network. The basis for the fairness doctrine was the broadcast networks were granted rights to use "public" airwaves; cable networks use privately-owned cables to air their content. ~~~

     ~~~ Marie: I would like to ask Tucker Carlson who he thinks is the better citizen, he or Yo Yo Ma.

Beyond the Beltway

Kentucky. Matt Zapotosky of the Washington Post: "The boyfriend of Breonna Taylor on Friday filed a federal lawsuit against the Louisville government and the police officers involved in the botched raid in which his girlfriend was killed, alleging law enforcement made false claims to get a warrant to search Taylor's apartment and violated his constitutional rights. The 38-page lawsuit by Kenneth Walker casts Taylor's death as preventable and alleges broad, problematic practices of the Louisville Metro Police Department: nighttime raids and a failure by officers to clearly identify themselves."

New York. Shane Goldmacher of the New York Times: The popularity Gov. Andrew Cuomo garnered from his daily coronavirus briefings represented "the apex of an Icarus-like arc for a leader convinced of his own hype and indestructibility. Less than a year later, Mr. Cuomo's governorship is imperiled, as he faces allegations of groping, sexual harassment and inappropriate behavior made by six women; an independent investigation into those accusations; an impeachment inquiry by state legislators; a federal investigation into his handling of nursing homes during the pandemic; and collapsing support from leaders in his own party.... [In] his self-regard, his disdain for fellow Democrats [and] his imperious demeanor, Mr. Cuomo alienated allies and enemies alike on his way up in politics, and [he] now finds himself sliding from hero-level worship to pariah-like status with the kind of astonishing speed that only the friendless suffer." ~~~

~~~ Tal Axelrod of the Hill: "A former Albany reporter on Friday became the seventh woman to accuse Andrew Cuomo (D) of sexual harassment, adding to a growing pile of allegations against the embattled New York governor. Jessica Bakeman, who worked as a statehouse reporter, detailed a number of instances in New York Magazine in which she says Cuomo harassed her. Bakeman prefaced her accounts by saying that Cuomo had put his hands 'on my arms, my shoulders, the small of my back, my waist' throughout her time as a reporter in the capital.... She [said] that she did not believe Cuomo was interested in her sexually but was asserting his power as governor." MB: Read the accounts Axelrod repeats & you're apt to agree with Bakeman's assessment. (Also linked yesterday.)

West Virginia. Ken Ward of the Mountain State Spotlight, published by ProPublica: "The federal government is seeking to collect nearly $3.2 million in fines from coal companies owned by West Virginia Gov. Jim Justice after the firms violated the terms of a major water pollution settlement, according to documents filed Thursday in federal court. U.S. Department of Justice attorneys said in their filing that Southern Coal Corp. and two related companies failed to renew required water pollution permits, leading to unauthorized discharges at three mining sites in Tennessee and one in Alabama. Those permits are required so regulators can limit the runoff of everything from mud to toxic metals from coal operations. The companies' actions triggered fines under the terms of a 2016 settlement with the Environmental Protection Agency.... Justice, a billionaire listed by Forbes as the richest person in the state, owns a vast empire of businesses, including coal mines, resort hotels and agricultural interests, many of them regulated by the state agencies that report to him. While Justice's adult children have day-to-day control over the family's business operations, the governor has continued to guide the empire." Justice was a Democrat. In 2017, he became a Republican. MB: I'm sure that has nothing to do with how mean the EPA is under Democratic presidents. (Also linked yesterday.)

Way Beyond

U.K. Laura Smith-Spark, et al., of CNN: "A London Metropolitan Police officer has been charged with the kidnap and murder of 33-year-old Sarah Everard, whose disappearance on a walk home has reignited a national debate in Britain on women's safety and sexual assault. Wayne Couzens, 48, appeared at Westminster Magistrates Court on Saturday for his first hearing. He has been remanded in custody and will next appear in court at the Old Bailey in London on March 16, according to Met Police. Everard disappeared on March 3 while walking in Clapham, south London, prompting an extensive police search in the area." ~~~

~~~ David Milliken & Natalie Thomas of Reuters: "Police in London clashed with mourners and protesters on Saturday after more than a thousand people gathered to mark the killing of a 33-year-old woman, hours after the police officer charged with her murder appeared in court.... Early on Saturday an impromptu memorial with flowers and candles sprang up around the bandstand on Clapham Common in southwest London, near where Everard was last seen alive. Kate, Britain's Duchess of Cambridge, was among those who paid their respects.... By late Saturday around a thousand people - mostly women - gathered at the site to pay their respects and protest at the lack of security they felt when out alone. Some chanted 'shame on you' at police who were present. Campaign groups had wanted to organise a formal vigil, but London's Metropolitan Police said people should not gather due to coronavirus restrictions. The head of the force, Cressida Dick, said any vigil 'would be unlawful and would be unsafe'. As tensions mounted, Reuters witnesses saw police drag several women away from the gathering on Clapham Common."

U.K. If you wonder why Harry & Meghan's son is not a prince, it isn't because the royals are racists; it's because the current palace rules, adopted in 1917, limit the number of princes & princesses. Queen Elizabeth can change the rules, and in fact she did, to grant princely titles to Prince William's younger children, who didn't qualify under George V's 1917 rules.

Comments Off

Reader Comments (13)

Wait, wait...Two million bucks? From a dog rescue charity? To FATTY? What the hell kind of scammy crap is this? And who is forking over all those doggy bones? Why, it’s Lara Trump, aka Mrs. Little Dracula, knucklehead Eric’s wife who now, apparently, wants to be a senate person-thingie, or whatever you call those R’s who say NO to everything except treason, love white supremacy, appoint Nazi judges, and trade insider trader stuff they hear about in insider tradey hearings.

And not for nothin’, but since when do the Trumps give a raggedy-ass chew toy about animal rescue? These people fly thousands of miles to SHOOT animals, then skin them, cut their heads off and hang them on their walls. If that’s animal rescue, I’m teaching my dog to run like hell if any of these fuckers drives down the street.

Dog rescue, my ass. Just another sleazy operation to pad daddy’s fat pockets. These people must lie awake in the dead of night dreaming up new ways to scam money. Not a one of ‘em has worked a single honest hour in their lives.

March 14, 2021 | Unregistered CommenterAkhilleus

On the "better citizen" question: can Ma even really BE a citizen? I mean, he was born in Paris France, which is bad enough, (and in EUROPE) but then too basically his parents were Chinese! So, like, how can he even be a Merkin? Really, Marie, you should be more sensitive than to ask such questions, like as if there was any hope of YYM beating out TC in the citizen race (did I say "race"? Sorry.)

March 14, 2021 | Unregistered CommenterPatrick

@Patrick: No fair giving Tucker the answer -- although I admit your cheat-sheet does exactly fit his "logic."

March 14, 2021 | Registered CommenterMarie Burns

TURN IT UP A NOTCH:

It's Sunday once again only we lost an hour somewhere along the way. Entertained throughly by Ak's and Patrick's zingers my sleepy self soared to new heights by the lad who hears Pavarotti for the first time:

"It just stirs something in me––-I'm shook!––that was like heaven in my ears..."

An awakening for sure. I'm going to carry that with me for a good part of the day–-at least until it gets dark––again.

March 14, 2021 | Unregistered CommenterPD Pepe

3/14 is also Albert Einstein's birthday. A coincidence?

We shouldn't denigrate Lara Trump 'cause she must be
really brilliant. She was paid $180,000.00 a year to work
on her father-in-law's 2020 campaign. (Wickipedia).
He probably has asked for the money back.

March 14, 2021 | Unregistered CommenterForrest Morris

"You don't know how much this is helping me grow as a man, as a person." Thanks PD for drawing my attention to something I breezed over at first. How much good will has been generated by musicians who listened to blues and jazz and world music and Pavarotti and grew as men and women. One reason that people are assholes is they don't let the new and different into their cloister.

March 14, 2021 | Unregistered Commentercitizen625

https://www.foxnews.com/politics/alabama-gop-trump-
resolution-greatest-presidents-in-history
Alabama republicans think the former president* was
the best ever in our 245 year history. He made America
great again and stood up for the workers, etc, etc.
These people must be getting all their info from Fox News.

March 14, 2021 | Unregistered CommenterForrest Morris

Another reason people are assholes is that they are born that way, or they live with other assholes, or they watch Fox all day, although that could contribute to citizen 625's conclusion. Or they are simply entitled, nya nya-nya nya nya--

Happy post-spring-- THAT was quick! Back to real March...

March 14, 2021 | Unregistered CommenterJeanne

I can't let this snowy day go by without thanking Marie for posting the young man experiencing Pavarotti/Puccini's art for the first time. Heartwarming! So many memories! I didn't make much money over my career as a music librarian/musician, but I was reminded of the joy I have experienced introducing young people to great art--elementary students through my early music shows, taking so many on field trips to concerts, plays, art museums, Chicago architecture. Those ah ha moments that so many have expressed over the years--priceless! It was my turn to be wowed with Fresh Air's Terry Gross's interview with Jon Batiste last week, and then experience his fabulous artistry in the soundtrack "Soul" for which he won a Golden Globe.

And back to "Nessun Dorma" -- it was the ring tone on my first cell phone. When I answered a call in my office, the melody was interrupted, but I could hear the students out in the reading room finishing it. They couldn't bear to leave Calaf hanging.

March 14, 2021 | Unregistered CommenterLinda from Denver

Linda, thanks so much for your contribution here. I hope you've made out all right in the snowstorm. It appears you have your power -- or at least an operating generator. I'm sure Denver is very good at clearing out snow, but there's a limit. I got stuck in Manhattan when the city closed down one year. My favorite memory is walking down the middle of Fifth Avenue because the whole town was closed to traffic.

March 14, 2021 | Registered CommenterMarie Burns

Linda,

Your students were just the kind of audience Puccini (all artists, in fact) hope for. Thanks for that anecdote, and thanks for introducing our kids to the art that is their heritage.

March 14, 2021 | Unregistered CommenterAkhilleus

@ Linda, Denver was a former home of mine. I'll never forget the Christmas Blizzard of '82. We got 3 feet of the white stuff (not cocaine despite the age) with drifts extending up to at least 2 stories. I was ferrying nurses from home to hospital until my Saab 99 got high-centered plowing through a drift formed around a stuck 18-wheeler, after which I walked the last few blocks home. The next morning, I took my shovel, dug out underneath the car, and then drove to Georgetown to eat breakfast. The Interstate was only two tire tracks.

At the time, Federico Peña was the mayor of Denver. The city didn't have enough plows to clear the snow so he ordered the garbage trucks to just drive over the top to pack it down. The 36" of snow turned into 12" of ice. Piles of hub caps appeared along Colfax Ave. due to the subsequent ruts. I never understood how he became Transportation Sec. under Clinton after such a fiasco.

March 14, 2021 | Unregistered Commenterunwashed

Marie
Thanks for your concern about our snowstorm, and unwashed for the bit of history on a memorable snowstorm. Fortunately in our area power lines are underground, so rarely does the power even blink. I won't even consider the 18" or so of white stuff that I need to finish moving out of the driveway an annoyance as we desperately need the moisture. The memories of the smokey air from last summer's fires still hasn't completely fled my memory. Between bouts of moving snow, we took the opportunity to make a delicious French apple pie for pi day.

March 14, 2021 | Unregistered CommenterLinda from Denver
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