What's New at Green Man Review

Through lock-downs, insurrections, and all the rest, Gren Man Review has a slate full of goodies for you:

On Hobbits in print and on film, An unusual Inn, Jabberwock puppets, Trader Joe’s Dark Chocolate, Classical Music and Other Winter Comforts

So hunker down with a nice warm drink and ignore the news for a while.

Backlash

Trump's little exercise in armed insurrection didn't work out quite the way he planned, to the extent that he had to issue a statement that is nothing more than dodging responsibility:

After encouraging his supporters to march to the Capitol on Wednesday, triggering an insurrection inside the halls of Congress as he sought to overturn the election result, the president turned to social media after being suspended from his accounts.

“Like all Americans I am outraged by the violence, lawlessness and mayhem,” he said in a brief video message, days before the end of his one-term presidency as lawmakers prepare to remove him from office.

He said that the rioters “who infiltrated the Capitol have defiled the seat of American democracy."

Meanwhile, there are calls from all sides of the political spectrum for his immediate removal from office. Twelve more days. Wonder what he'll try next, or whether his staff will be able to resdtrain him.

Culture Break: Ravel: Bolero: Two Versions

I don't know if I've ever posted this particular flash mob before, but it's a fairly appeapling:

And of course, who could forget this one?

A Note on Posting

Or lack thereof. Actually, a couple of notes.

1. Politics at thi point (whih is mostly what I comment on) has turned into kabuki: lots of posturing, not much subtance. Let it suffice to say that the REepublicans, after working toward this point for the last forty years or so, are openly trying to destroy American democracy.

2. The last month has been difficult because of a couple of health-related issues. Fortunately, they are under control, for the mot part, except that my vision has deterioritaed due to glaucoma and complications from the other issues. It's especially hard to work at the computer -- a matter of most web pages being low contrast (something you don't notice until it hits you in the face, so to speak), which is the most difficult condition for my eyes to deal with. This had to happen, of course, right after I got new readng glasses. We'll see if stronger lenses can help.

So that's why I've been silent for so much of the past month or so. I am recovering, so we'll see if I can get back up to speed soon.

Random Note

I have more Philip Glass in my music files than Mozart and Beethoven combined. This is from a collaboration with a number of South American composers, Aguas de Amazonas.

Happy New Year?

I keep thinnking I should post somethig philosophical about the year past, and the prospects for the year ahead, but all I aI can think of is "It can't possiblky be worse. Make the most of it."

What's New at Green Man Review

"Boxing Day has come and gone!" -- Short and sweet, but that's only the header. Our usual eclectic mis fo tyhis, that and yet more, so scoot on over and enjoy.

What' New at Green Man Review

We're back, with our usual eclectic mix of goodies:

An Appalachian Mystery, a Most Unusual Fox, Chicago’s Own Wizard for Hire, Iceland, a Family Christmas, Boiled in Lead, Fairport, and much, much more

Click on over and hunker down with a nice cup of hot cocoa and enjoy.

Today's Must-Read: What We Say, What They Hear

From Digby:

I came across this comment by a commenter named peacerme over at Emptywheel (reading this piece.) I thought it was a good way to think about the problem of prosecuting Trump.

I truly fear the codependent belief that Dems have acted out for years, that taking the moral high ground is the moral equivalent of letting bygones be bygones. This would be what happens in domestic violence when he/she or they forget about the beating last night and move on hoping it will never happen again.

Ignoring the broken laws of the Republican Party. From Iran contra, to Plame, to Iraq war, to Russian interference in our elections, to literally torturing children on the border in a way that will alter their brains for life. Dems behave with this moral superiority that is really just codependency.

There's more, of course, but my own summation, given the history of Democrats' reaction to the excesses and outright lawlessness of Republican administrations, is simply this: We say "We're better than this. It's time to move forward and leave this behind us." What they hear is "You got away with it, so you can do it again and nothing will happen to you."

I think it's way past time to remind the Republicans that the rule of law includes punisment for transgressions, anr "moral high ground" be damned.