;)
The Commentariat -- March 9, 2020
Late Morning/Afternoon Update:
Saudi Arabia and Russia are arguing over the price and flow of oil. That, and the Fake News, is the reason for the market drop! -- Donald Trump, in a tweet Monday morning
Shorter Donald: What pandemic? -- Mrs. Bea McCrabbie
New York Times liveblog of market developments: "Five minutes into the trading day in the United States on Monday, the plunge in the S&P 500 hit 7 percent, triggering an automatic 15-minute trading halt known as a circuit breaker. The next trading halt would come if the S&P 500 falls 13 percent from Friday's close. Should stocks fall 20 percent, trading would end for the rest of the day.... It seemed to have helped on Monday: The S&P 500 recovered some ground soon after trading resumed, and was down about 6 percent by 10 a.m. in New York."
Kevin Liptak of CNN: "Fissures between the White House and national health agencies, including the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, have begun to expand as the coronavirus pandemic spreads to more American states, creating dissonance between ... Donald Trump and the professionals tasked with containing the virus further. The two sides have grown increasingly distrustful of one another, people inside both the CDC and the White House say, as officials on each side question decisions that either appear designed to downplay the growing crisis or to generate further concern.... While health officials have sought to present a realistic and cautious picture of the national situation, Trump and his political allies are hoping to relay an altogether different message: that the virus is contained, Americans face little risk, and life should proceed as normal."
Todd Spangler of the Detroit Free Press: "Former Vice President Joe Biden, riding a wave of momentum from primaries in South Carolina and Super Tuesday states, comes into Tuesday's Michigan primary with a 24-point lead over Sen. Bernie Sanders in a new Free Press poll. If Biden's 51%-27% lead in the poll, done by EPIC-MRA for the Free Press and its media partners, holds, it would guarantee him a signature victory in Michigan -- a battleground state that helped ... Donald Trump win the White House four years ago. It could also starve Sanders' formerly front-running campaign of delegates needed for the nomination and call into question how long his effort can remain viable." Mrs. McC: Looks like the primary race will be officially over by tomorrow night.
A few things Preet Bharara (& others) find slightly wanting in Donald Trump. Mrs. McC: Clean up the list a bit & make it about a third of the ad buy for the Democratic nominee (Joe Biden). Is James Earl Jones still available for voiceovers? Thanks to PD Pepe for the link.
Pete Buttigieg is hosting "Jimmy Kimmel Live" Thursday night. (Link is to a Vulture item; open in private window).
AND Nero has a twitter account:
Who knows what this means, but it sounds good to me! https://t.co/rQVA4ER0PV
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) March 8, 2020
~~~ As Akhilleus mentioned in today's Comments, Trump hasn't let Covfefe-19 interfere with his golf game: ~~~
~~~ Daniel Politi of Slate: "Around the world, leaders and health authorities were struggling to try to get a handle on the rapidly spreading coronavirus. But in the United States..., Donald Trump seems to have thought it would be a great time to hit the links with professional baseball players. On Sunday, the commander in chief played golf with current and former Washington Nationals players at Trump International Golf Club in West Palm Beach. The White House doesn't normally release details about the president's golf outings, but on Sunday, pitcher Patrick Corbin posted a series of photos on his Instagram of the game with the president." Maybe a golf club is the new fiddle bow.
Zack Budryk of the Hill: "Montana Gov. Steve Bullock (D) formally announced his 2020 Senate run on Monday, tweeting his first campaign ad.... The governor, who will challenge Sen. Steve Daines (R), announced his run on the filing deadline."
~~~~~~~~~~~
Felicia Sonmez, et al., of the Washington Post: "Governments intensified their efforts Sunday to combat the global spread of the novel coronavirus, as Saudi Arabia followed Italy in enacting new travel restrictions, Iran suspended flights to Europe, and the United States, where the number of cases topped 500, warned citizens against cruise travel. Uncertainty continued to permeate the response effort, however, amid muddled directives from the Trump administration and reports of some patients unable to access testing. A virus-stricken cruise ship made its way to California to dock -- only for Housing and Urban Development Secretary Ben Carson to decline to discuss the details of the federal response plan during a national television interview. The Department of Health and Human Services said later Sunday that the Grand Princess cruise ship's more than 3,500 passengers, at least 21 of whom have tested positive for the coronavirus, will be quarantined in California, Texas and Georgia. Some White House officials privately believe the number of U.S. cases will double -- or more -- in the next 48 hours."
Yun Li & Eustance Huang of CNBC: "Stock futures tumbled Monday morning as investors braced for the economic fallout from the spreading coronavirus, while a shocking all-out oil price war added to the anxiety. Futures on the Dow Jones Industrial Average indicated an opening drop of more than 1,300 points. The S&P 500 futures indicated a 5% drop at Monday's open. The sharp declines in the futures market signaled more turbulence ahead after a roller-coaster week that saw the S&P 500 swing up or down more than 2.5% for four days straight. The S&P futures trading was briefly halted overnight." The New York Times' live updates are here. ~~~
~~~ Jeanna Smialek of the New York Times: "The Federal Reserve Bank of New York on Monday announced that it will ramp up the amount of short-term loans it offers banks, an effort to keep cash flowing smoothly through the financial system as markets gyrate amid fears about economic fallout from the coronavirus." ~~~
~~~ Michael Bloom of CNBC: "With U.S. stocks set to plunge at the open, investors will be watching for additional market circuit breakers that could halt trading. Futures contracts hit 'limit down' on Sunday evening after CME-traded stock index futures contracts sank 5%, halting trading below that level and preventing futures from falling any further. According to the New York Stock Exchange, a market trading halt may occur at 'three circuit breaker thresholds' on the S&P 500 due to large declines and volatility. The exchange classifies this at three levels based on the preceding session's close in the S&P 500."
Darius Tahir of Politico: "The government's top infectious disease expert on Sunday said that the coronavirus outbreak is getting worse and warned elderly and sick people to think twice before traveling or circulating in crowds. The remarks from Anthony Fauci, the director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, signaled a change in tone from health officials representing the Trump administration, making it clear that the outbreak is past the point where it can be prevented from spreading or easily tracked. That contrasted with the more measured language from some Trump officials including Vice President Mike Pence." (Also linked yesterday.)
Matt Wilstein of the Daily Beast: "After Surgeon General Jerome Adams advised on State of the Union Sunday morning that older Americans and those with underlying medical issues should 'think very carefully' before taking long flights or going into big crowds, CNN host Jake Tapper noted him that all three men currently running for president -- Joe Biden, Bernie Sanders and Donald Trump -- fall into that at least one if not both of those categories. 'Should those three stop traveling? Should they stop holding rallies?' Tapper asked. Without answering that question directly, Adams told Tapper that he has been reminding President Trump to wash his hands frequently. 'But speaking of being at risk, the president, he sleeps less than I do and he's healthier than what I am,' the surgeon general, who is in his mid-40s, insisted." (Also linked yesterday afternoon.)
Two Degrees of Separation. Toluse Olorunnipa, et al., of the Washington Post: "A growing sense of concern and uncertainty about the reach of the novel coronavirus has begun to take hold in the White House, after an attendee at a recent political conference where President Trump spoke tested positive for covid-19, the disease caused by the virus. Trump was photographed shaking hands with Matt Schlapp, the chairman of the American Conservative Union who confirmed that he had been in direct contact with the infected man during the Conservative Political Action Conference last month. The handshake at CPAC put Trump just two degrees of separation away from the virus that he has sought to minimize.... There is growing tension among Trump administration officials, who now see the rapidly spreading outbreak as a black swan event that could consume the president's fourth year in office, even as Trump remains reluctant to see much cause for concern.... The White House is ... being cleaned more regularly and people with flu-like symptoms are being urged not to come into the complex.... Trump, 73, had no campaign rallies scheduled as of Sunday evening, marking the first time this year that there were no such events on the books."
Justine Coleman of the Hill: "President Trump in an early morning tweet on Sunday accused the 'Fake News Media' of attempting to 'make us look bad' on the administration's coronavirus response. The president called the White House's plan to combat the growing outbreak in the U.S. 'perfectly coordinated and fine tuned.'" (Also linked yesterday afternoon.)
Taylor Dolven of the Miami Herald: "The U.S. State Department is warning U.S. citizens not to take cruises, delivering what could be a major blow to one of South Florida's largest industries. In a travel advisory issued Sunday evening, the State Department said there is an increased risk of infection of COVID-19, the disease caused by the novel coronavirus, on cruise ships. 'U.S. citizens, particularly travelers with underlying health conditions, should not travel by cruise ship.' The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has an equal warning, urging people to 'defer all cruise ship travel worldwide.' The announcements are direct contradictions of statements made Saturday by Vice President Mike Pence, who traveled to Port Everglades in Fort Lauderdale to reassure cruise company CEOs that cruising would continue, albeit with ramped-up screening and sanitizing protocols to be announced in the coming days." Mrs. McC: So much for message control.
The U.S. State Department is warning U.S. citizens not to take cruises, delivering what could be a major blow to one of South Florida's largest industries. In a travel advisory issued Sunday evening, the State Department said there is an increased risk of infection of COVID-19, the disease caused by the novel coronavirus, on cruise ships. "U.S. citizens, particularly travelers with underlying health conditions, should not travel by cruise ship."
Rishika Dugyala of Politico: "Sen. Ted Cruz announced on Sunday that he is under self-quarantine after having interacted with the person who tested positive for coronavirus at the recent Conservative Political Action Conference. In a statement released on Twitter, the Texas Republican wrote that he was informed of the interaction on Saturday night, and that he had engaged in a brief conversation and handshake with the affected individual.... 'I'm not experiencing any symptoms, and I feel fine and healthy,' Cruz said in the statement. 'Given that the interaction was 10 days ago, that the average incubation period is 5-6 days, that the interaction was for less than a minute, and that I have no current symptoms, the medical authorities have advised me that the odds of transmission from the other individual to me were extremely low.' He added that physicians advised him that the interaction did not meet the CDC criteria for self-quarantine. However, 'out of an abundance of caution' for his constituents, Cruz said, he decided to remain in his Texas home for a full 14 days." ~~~
~~~ Mrs. McCrabbie: This could be the first responsible thing Ted has done in his public career.
Sandi Doughton of the Seattle Times: "Testing for the novel coronavirus in the Seattle area will get a huge boost in the coming weeks as a project funded by Bill Gates and his foundation begins offering home-testing kits that will allow people who fear they may be infected to swab their noses and send the samples back for analysis. Results, which should be available in one to two days, will be shared with local health officials who will notify those who test positive. Via online forms, infected people can answer questions about their movements and contacts, making it easier for health officials to locate others who may need to be tested or quarantined, as well as to track the virus' spread and identify possible hot spots.... The Gates Foundation recently announced it's committing $5 million for coronavirus response in the Seattle area, and much of that will go for the expanded testing and analysis."
Neil Vigdor of the New York Times: "Columbia University announced on Sunday night that it was canceling classes on Monday and Tuesday and that classes would be taught remotely for the rest of week after a university community member was quarantined for exposure to the new coronavirus.... Barnard College, which is considered one of Columbia's four undergraduate colleges but is an independent institution, announced that it was taking the same precautions.... [The town of Scarsdale, N.Y.] N.Y., announced on Sunday that a middle school teacher had tested positive for the virus and that classes had been canceled for the week at all public schools there.... Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo of New York declared a state of emergency on Saturday as the number of coronavirus cases rose.
Chico Harlan & Stefano Petrelli of the Washington Post: "Italy on Sunday launched a complicated and urgent plan to restrict the movement of roughly 16 million people, a measure that unleashed confusion about how it could be enforced and whether it would be enough to slow the spread of the coronavirus. The plan to lock down large swaths of the north was the first major attempt by a democracy during the coronavirus crisis to radically halt the routines of daily life -- an effort that will have significant impacts on civil liberties. But in the hours before and after the measure became law, people continued to stream out of the northern hubs of Milan and Venice on trains and planes for southern Italy or elsewhere in Europe. Sunday, then, provided the first glimpse of a coronavirus lockdown, European-style...." (Also linked yesterday afternoon.)
Presidential Race
Hope Yen & Will Weissert of the AP: "As the coronavirus hits more states, Democratic presidential candidate Bernie Sanders said Sunday his campaign is gauging when it may become necessary to cancel the large campaign rallies that public health experts say could be breeding grounds to spread the potentially deadly illness. 'Obviously what is most important to us is to protect the health of the American people,' Sanders said as he appeared in a series of TV interviews. 'And what I will tell you, we are talking to public health officials all over this country.'"
Kyle Balluck of the Hill: "Sen. Cory Booker (D-N.J.) endorsed former Vice President Joe Biden's presidential campaign early Monday." ~~~
~~~ Nick Corasaniti of the New York Times: "Mr. Booker's endorsement comes 24 hours after Senator Kamala Harris of California endorsed Mr. Biden, and the two senators will appear with him at a rally in Detroit on Monday night." ~~~
Sarah Mucha of CNN: "US Senator and former Democratic presidential candidate Kamala Harris said Sunday she's endorsing Joe Biden for president, the latest in a series of high-profile announcements from Democrats backing the former vice president."
Ben Smith of the New York Times: "While [Bernie] Sanders's criticism of the media has more merit than most reporters like to acknowledge, the media has often gotten Mr. Sanders right, too. His weaknesses, from a rigid attachment to the battles of an earlier generation to his struggle to persuade older black Democrats to join his revolution, aren't media inventions. They're good, fair stories. And in 2020, far more than in 2016, the media has also captured his strengths: his consistency, his commitment to the poor, his deep popularity with young people."
Zak Cheney-Rice of New York: "Trump is going to try dampening black voter enthusiasm for Biden by contrasting the two men's criminal justice records. The framing will be simple: Trump signed a bipartisan criminal-legal reform bill, the First Step Act, and has been generous with his pardon powers toward unjustly imprisoned black people.... Trump's is not a meritless strategy. It has the benefit of a soft target.... While Trump's status as a self-styled reformer is laughable, Biden's record is grotesque. Most of its lowlights occurred in the 'tough on crime' 1980s and 1990s, when he was a senator.... Back then, he viciously characterized people who commit crimes as sociopathic 'predators' who are beyond rehabilitation.... He authored the 1994 Violent Crime Control and Law Enforcement Act..., which Biden liked to call the '1994 Biden crime bill' as recently as 2015. Its main legacy is cruelty: It expanded the death penalty, eliminated education funding for imprisoned students, created harsher sentencing guidelines for a wide range of crimes, and increased funding for local police departments and corrections departments.... Perhaps more than any other official of the era, he embodied the Democratic impulse to outflank Republicans from the right by locking more people in jails and prisons.... He said he was 'not at all' ashamed of his involvement as recently as 2016."
Twitter Knocks Trump's Fake News. Cat Zakrzewski of the Washington Post: “Twitter applied its new 'manipulated media' label for the first time on Sunday to a deceptively edited video of former vice president Joe Biden. The video was shared by White House social media director Dan Scavino and retweeted by President Trump. The video was the first test of a new policy the social media company implemented on March 5 to label tweets that contain manipulated or synthetic media, ranging from edited videos to more sophisticated examples known as 'deepfakes' that can fabricate events that never happened. In this case, the altered video of Biden -- who has surged to the front of the Democratic race to oust Trump in November -- is based on a speech he gave in Kansas City, Mo., on Saturday. It was then shared on Twitter by Scavino, only edited to make it appear as if Biden inadvertently endorsed Trump for reelection.... Twitter applied the ["! Manipulated media"] label to Scavino's tweet at about 5 p.m. on Sunday evening, about 18 hours after Scavino first shared the video."
Matt Steib of New York: "In an interview with Axios on HBO, [Donald Trump, Jr.,] challenged Hunter Biden, the son of Democratic front-runner Joe Biden, to a nepotism contest. 'Let's talk about who profited off of whose public service,' the president's eldest son said.... 'I'm not going to say I haven't benefited from my father's last name, just like Hunter Biden did. That would be foolish to say But I haven't benefited from my father's taxpayer-funded office.' That too would be foolish to say: Trump Jr. is the vice-president of an organization that the president has fattened repeatedly while in office -- from bilking the Secret Service to reportedly requiring the U.S. military to spend taxpayer funds at his hotels. DJT also saw his book shoot to the top of the New York Times bestseller list only after the Republican National Committee purchased thousands of copies."
Amy Guthrie of the AP: "Women filled the streets of the world's largest cities Sunday to protest gender violence and inequality on International Women's Day, with the mothers of murdered girls leading a march in Mexico City and participants in Paris inveighing against the 'virus of the patriarchy.' While many protests were peaceful celebrations others were marred by tension, with security forces arresting demonstrators at a rally in Kyrgyzstan and police reportedly using tear gas to break up a demonstration by thousands of women in Turkey."
News Ledes
The New York Times' live updates of developments in the coronavirus epidemic are here. "Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte of Italy has extended restrictions on movement to the entire nation, banning public gatherings and telling eople not to travel except for work or emergencies."
New York Times: "Max von Sydow, the tall, blond Swedish actor who cut a striking figure in American movies but was most identified with the signature work of a fellow Swede, the director Ingmar Bergman, died on Sunday. He was 90."
Share Article
Reader Comments (25)
anonymous (from yesterday) -
Thank you for spotlighting Dangler’s tweets, which I find most entertaining.
“In a just world, Erik Prince would be languishing in a federal prison for war profiteering.”
Re: Fatty wrapping his body around - and kissing - the flag:
“Can he be brought up on charges for sexually assaulting the American flag? That was a nauseating display. That poor flag needs to be respectfully retired after suffering that horrific abuse.”
In his response to (R-Colorado) Ken Buck’s daring of Biden and O’Rourke to try and take away his beloved AR-15, Dangler referred to Buck’s precious firearm (if memory serves) as his mechanical penis extender. Buck’s proud, patriotic portrait included here:
https://www.cnn.com/2020/03/06/politics/republican-congressman-dares-beto-biden-take-gun/index.html
I remember Judge Jeannine from the days of Court TV and The White Bronco. T’was heading for surgery the morning the OJ Trial began. (A dear friend - jokingly, affectionately - warned that no one would care a bit about moi since all would be glued to the telly.) I’ve recalled my (non-elective) surgery having randomly come upon a vid of Piro interviewing Pence. My first thought: That face has had so much work done since ‘94 it could form a union (I’d recommend striking per egregious OSHA violations). My second thought: “Mother” must not be far, since the vomit-in-throat-inducing falsifiers were seated somewhat closely. My third: Where the bloody hell *is* “Mother”? Have there been any sightings? I mean, have there?
Just entertaining myself after perusing The News. And learning of more local (NYC) health alerts. (Tonight’s e-mail informed that the monthly seminars at Columbia U. have been cancelled until further notice.) On a brighter note, I’ve a deeper understanding of Lady Macbeth, what with all the hand-washing. And wringing.
If only I liked alcohol (never have - even bartended way back) I’d be knocking it back. Like, right now. Instead, some stretching & breathing modalities before entering quasi-sleep, perchance to spring forward.
remain healthy, one & all
@Hattie: Not sure what I'd do if I lived in NYC. Covid-19 apparently is not airborne, so it's safe to breathe the air, but a very high percentage of the food I used to buy when I lived in the city was "handled" by someone. Also, I often bought prepared foods. Not anymore.
Freezing & refrigerating don't kill the virus, but reportedly cooking does, so I'm going to be eating hot vegies all summer, though I do have some old mesclun lettuce seeds that, if they take, will give me a salad break. Maybe I'll stop in at Home Depot early some morning & buy a packet or two of romaine seeds. As for regular grocery shopping, I'll also do that early in the morning & seldom and in a rural grocery store, not the ones I usually go to in town on the dicey theory that the rubes who work & shop at the rural store are less likely to have traveled to, say, Italy.
Because I'm always concerned I won't be able to get out of the driveway in winter, I keep an extra fridge in the basement & collect something like a month's-worth of food on hand. Normally, the basement fridge gets unplugged in about April, but I'll leave it on & in use this summer.
I'm not dumb enough to think I can escape this virus, because I think Lombardy R Us, but I'm not planning to invite it into my house through carelessness.
PREET'S CRITIGUE :
https://www.huffpost.com/entry/preet-bharara-trump-greatest-hoax-faults-coronavirus_n_5e65d8bfc5b68d6164568ca9
Hattie: I heard that "Mother" is on the campaign trail for Trumpledump, as prep for "their" own campaign for both continuing as VP and declaring "their" 2024 campaign. My spouse is almost sure that presiDUNCE will dump Pence in favor of nasty li'l Haley, so that he can crow about having a woman on the ticket. After his shipping off of Mulvaney to northern Ireland, and hearing a piece this morning on the number of nonSenate-approved people in the administration/cabal, I can well believe dump would let Pence swing in the wind, despite Pence's continual licking of his boots.
Another Day in TrumpWorld
Schools closing, some citizens being quarantined, some dying, others scared crazy, hospitals unsure of how to handle the oncoming pandemic, CDC told to shut its mouth, testing kits unavailable, those that are don't work properly, dozens more falling to the sickness every day.
What does the Fatty administration do?
Here's Mike Pence's very thoughtful and measured response.
Fatty's very presidential response to Americans dying? Hit the golf course.
And today we have a huge cruise ship with thousands on board and over twenty confirmed (so far) cases of coronavirus, docking in Oakland. What's the plan?
Ben Carson sez "We can't release the details of our very excellent top secret plan for what to do with these thousands of people."
Why?
Answer 1: Trump doesn't want to give away his stable genius plan.
Answer 2: 'Merica's enemies might try to steal his wonderful ideas.
Answer 3: There IS no fucking plan.
But don't worry folks, go out and shop, buy stocks, go to Trump rallies with thousands of other future Covid-19 carriers. Everything under control. Any information that contradicts the Trump propaganda is the work of enemies of the (trumpy) state.
Seriously, this goes way beyond irresponsibility. Irresponsibility is the starting point of everything Trump does. It's ground zero. It's where he is during REM, before he's even conscious enough to fuck us up. This is outright criminality. This is inhuman. This is if people have to die so that I don't look like an ignorant putz, so be it.
This is Trump.
About the half-pence, my guess is that once the pandemic kicks into high gear (thousands infected), Fatty will blame it all on his white headed testicle cozy. Mother will have to get a mop to dry the tears. Fatty will point out that little mikey was a hopelessly inhuman asshole when it came to getting his homophobic paws around an HIV epidemic in Indiana back in the day. He also once declared that smoking never killed anyone.
Fatty, of course, will plead ignorance of those episodes in the half-pence's sordid history, but will then vow to get it all under control. Just as soon as he's back from the golf course. Who will he pick? Maybe Haley, maybe not. She seems pretty good at self-preservation, at being able to walk the line between obsequious toady and conniving climber. She might reckon that being second to a guy overseeing yet another national disaster could tarnish her very carefully curated brand (hang around long enough to fuck things up, then bail before the ship goes down).
And if his polling numbers are toilet bowl bound, the Orange Menace will do anything he has to do to try to rescue himself. If that means throwing a running dog lackey like the half-pence off the train into an alligator filled swamp, so be it.
How none of these toadies get this fact is waaaaay beyond my poor powers to reconnoiter. He even says as much. He tells his own kids they're stoopid to trust him! So why would this long line of jabroni jagoffs think he'll be there for them?
Stupid is too easy. Has to be some kind of brain-heart-soul disease that remakes one from a human being into a hate-filled, power mad, moronic zombie willing to walk into fire for an authoritarian Nazi asshole as long as he promises some small pittance for such lapdog, never returned, loyalty.
Better consult my Captain Marvel secret decoder ring. Lessee...turn it this way, look it up in the code book....
Why, of course. The answer is simple!
Gee-Oh-Pee.
In other words: Wee R Fckd.
Did we expect anything would be done differently in the handling of ANY catastrophe by this administration? When the man who is responsible for steering the ship is not only asleep at the wheel but when awake can't read the directions we can foresee the drowning of all on board including the ship itself. Preet (see link above) calls Trump the biggest hoax along with many other muddy slingers but all the dumps that land on him slide off and the "yesa, boss" can be heard throughout.
And to start your Monday off to a good start I give you this:
"We need to reintegrate those who have been pushed aside back into the society, to heal the ruptured social bonds, to give workers dignity, empowerment and protection. We need a universal health care system, especially as we barrel toward a global pandemic. We need programs that provide employment with sustainable wages, job protection and pensions. We need quality public education for all Americans. We need to rebuild our infrastructure and end the squandering of our resources on war. We need to halt corporate pillage and regulate Wall Street and corporations. We need to respond with radical and immediate measures to curb carbon emissions and save ourselves from ecocide and extinction. We don’t need a “Punch and Judy” show between Trump and Biden. But that, along with corporate tyranny, is what we seem fated to get, unless we take to the streets and tear the house down." Chris Hedges
And "Talking Heads" could come back with this one.
Good thing I like my job. Looks like I will be working for many years longer than I had anticipated ...
Akhilleus re: “white headed testicle cozy” -
Fantastic imagery.
(If a tea-drinker’s turn off.)
I promise attribution.
PD Pepe re: “Preet’s Critique” -
Thank you for posting this.
Excellent.
This one would substitute nicely for a Sunday Sermon. Thanks, PD, for supplying yesterday's.
Even (especially) shorn of its deliberate religious symbology and implications, this Matthew Arnold poem's concluding lines have been speaking loudly to me for the last three years.
Dover Beach
Matthew Arnold - 1822-1888
"The sea is calm tonight.
The tide is full, the moon lies fair
Upon the straits; on the French coast, the light
Gleams and is gone; the cliffs of England stand,
Glimmering and vast, out in the tranquil bay.
Come to the window, sweet is the night-air!
Only, from the long line of spray
Where the sea meets the moon-blanched land,
Listen! you hear the grating roar
Of pebbles which the waves draw back, and fling,
At their return, up the high strand,
Begin, and cease, and then again begin,
With tremulous cadence slow, and bring
The eternal note of sadness in.
Sophocles long ago
Heard it on the Aegean, and it brought
Into his mind the turbid ebb and flow
Of human misery; we
Find also in the sound a thought,
Hearing it by this distant northern sea.
The Sea of Faith
Was once, too, at the full, and round earth's shore
Lay like the folds of a bright girdle furled.
But now I only hear
Its melancholy, long, withdrawing roar,
Retreating, to the breath
Of the night-wind, down the vast edges drear
And naked shingles of the world.
Ah, love, let us be true
To one another! for the world, which seems
To lie before us like a land of dreams,
So various, so beautiful, so new,
Hath really neither joy, nor love, nor light,
Nor certitude, nor peace, nor help for pain;
And we are here as on a darkling plain
Swept with confused alarms of struggle and flight,
Where ignorant armies clash by night."
Call it a Monday Sermon.
Beautiful morning here, but still a Monday here in the dear old USA mostly blue.
Thank you, Ken! Also, the moon was gorgeous last night, and shining through the trees was something so bright I thought it was a plane coming in low-- (we are on a flight path to Philadelphia and New York, and get hundreds of planes in the air all week--) But Siri tells me it is Venus, in the western sky. If you have not seen it, do so-- it is marvelously bright. Just like the presiDUNCE...haha... Seriously, it is beautiful, and we need some beautiful...
Yeah, right. The mal-administration* claims everything's under control and the virus is contained. There's a new case just north of me in Western MA. Just wait until it hits a place like Skid Row in L.A., or other communities of already-marginalized/compromised people. What's Fatty going to do then (other than say its California's problem)?
They have less than zero credibility.
Ken and Jeanne,
Ken, thank you for the Matthew Arnold. One of his best. He doesn't beat Keats or Wordsworth (for my money), but he's pretty damn good, and this is a fine reminder of the world and our place in it. Standing on a beach, I often wonder what it must have looked like to civilizations and people from the distant past. All the surrounding detritus would be gone, but the sounds of the surf and the rolling pebbles washing up would be entirely familiar.
As for beauty (as Keats would say, beauty is truth and truth beauty; all ye know and all ye need to know), Jeanne, I spotted Venus last night, standing on my front porch. I gave her a big smile and a small wave. Always nice to see a familiar face in the sky.
In this age of Trumpish ugliness, both are reminders that there is more to life than lies and greed. Fatty wouldn't think so, but then...what else would you expect?
Er...talk about your unclear antecedents...
One may be forgiven for thinking that Venus was standing on my front porch last night, but alas, twas not the case. It was me doing the standing, seeing, smiling, waving. Venus was up where she belongs.
A certain wry humor here:
https://markets.businessinsider.com/news/stocks/us-treasury-yield-curve-below-1-percent-red-flag-investors-2020-3-1028975968
The Pretender wanted negative interests rates (as does anyone who likes to play with other people's money), and looks like he may get his wish.
Reminds me of the Twain story about the old woman who never did anything unhealthy, like drink or smoke. Then she got sick, and sicker, and died.
As Twain said, she was a sinking ship with nothing to throw overboard.
Mrs. Bea McC -
Yes. I recall your mentioning having lived in Manahatta as an NYU student. Was one, too, but was sucked into ‘impossible dream’ realm of performance vs. what I will assume were your (infinitely more sensible, realistic) academic pursuits. “If I had it to do over . . . “ - - I’d likely still dream impossibly. (she laughs aloud at self).
You’re spot on re: those who “handle” our food, etc. I’ve been fortunate to live where I’ve had all at my convenience and would estimate 99.9% of what I consume comes from a responsible health food vendor just around the corner. Now? Every jar I place into my basket. Every banana skin I peel. (Feel like a match for Tony Shaloub’s crazily germ-phobic detective.
(Though I do come by it honestly,
a Microbiologist’s progeny.)
While I know that information is still evolving, my understanding is that the “novel virus” is, indeed, airborne-transmitted. Which is why public transit (never owned or needed a car) has been feeling far less than the convenience it has.
While I cannot imagine living anywhere else - my “people” and “stuff” are here - I do so envy your basement fridge. Even this City Gal loves splashing in friends’ out-of-state gardens and experiencing a terrestrial nirvana when hand-pick dinner from a backyard. Go for those veggie seeds, Bea!
Holy Shyte! Just caught DeBlasio’s news conference re: Coveffe-19.
Atavan anyone?
Jeanne & Akhilleus -
Yes! The moon!
The moon was shining into my apartment last night!
(Amazing but that - thankfully - can occur in The Concrete Canyon.)
With a bright star (hello, Keats) nearly next-to.
Venus, eh?
Perhaps she *was* on your porch,
hoping to glimpse
a wordsmith’s countenance?
@Akhilleus: While you were out looking at the stars on your front porch (pick your antecedent!), Trump was looking forward to the coming day where he could stare at the sun.
@Hattie, when my wife went thru cancer treatment they called it Atta-girl. She wishes she still had some.
Hattie,
You smith pretty good yourself.
And you proved to this old English teacher that dangling an occasional participal can have its creative uses.
Thanks.
Ken -
You’re very sweet and way generous.
And ya don’t sound so “old” at all.
Keep on keepin’ on, Kiddo.
Hat
unwashed re: “Atta-girl”
Thank you for this “off-label”. It’s wonderful. But not what your wife has been through. I hope she’s well past treatment and moving forward in solid health.
She’s lucky to have you for her “other half”.
It's ironic that Trump keeps having press briefings to try to allay panic when the fact that he is even having briefings again shows how much he is panicking.