Today in Crazy

In case you somehow manage to miss all the insanity coiming from the fringe right wing (which seems to e the only right wing that remains), here's a sample: Alex Jones, via Joe.My. God.:

So, they just think you’re stupid and they don’t want you knowing they are doing all of this, and they’ve got carbon systems they are putting in, that big, huge geoengineering systems, terraforming systems that are sucking carbon dioxide out of the air when it’s a trace gas that we need, and was hundreds of times higher millions of years ago than it is now.

That’s why plants and animals were so much bigger and healthier. But we’ve adapted to live in less air. This is insane, ladies and gentlemen. OK, so the question is did [Joe] Biden last February, this year, order the power turned off in Texas. T

hey did officially; they wouldn’t let them up the power. Now, we know that. So the question is did they use weather weapons to cause the tornadoes? That’s a legitimate question to ask.

What's depressing is that Jones actually has an augience, and they believe every word. "Weather machines"? Really?

This Time at Green Man Review

Ye, it's that time again, and there's a new edition of Green Man Review ready for you:

Books about books, murder, witches, games and more; Chris Ware’s Acme Novelty Library; chocolate good and meh; indie rock, Americana, jazz, Latvian, and more music including a world bagpipe omnibus

And it's all waiting for you rigt over here.

Rittenhouse Walks

Which, if you've been following reports on the trial, was pretty much predictable. There's a lot of commentary, but I suggest you check out digy's post at Hullabaloo. It's lengthy, but I found this paragraph telling:

This sort of vigilantism is routinely celebrated on the right these days. From the Trayvon Martin killing in Florida to the trial of Ahmaud Arbery’s killers now unfolding in Georgia, they have lined up in support for citizens who take the law into their own hands — as long as the targets are left-wing protesters and Black people.

Ir's being pushed by the right, but I can't quite shake the feelilng that they are willing accomplices of an overeas influence.

At any rate, check out digby's piece.

The Sparrows Are Back!

There's a flock of sparrows that roosts in a towering mulberry tree in the side yard. In the winter they move to a fairly tall juniper bush next to it -- tallenough to make them feel secure, and with very dense foliage, wihch must make it easier to stay warm.

Over the summer they disappeared. I suspect it was because of the cicadas -- we had cicadas in all the trees on my street, at least one to every tree, and the racket, starting in the afternoon and lasting throught he night, was increcible. I'm convinced that the sparrows left because they couldn't get any sleep.

At any rate, they've started coming back over the past few weeks -- I can hear them twittering their "Good night, sleep tight" chirps in the vening, and their wake-up chatter in the morning, and they've started appearing in the parkway, hopping around looking for something to eat.

It's sort of reassuring to have them back.

The Quiet Part Out Loud

This story is from yeseterdaay, soI'm playing a little bit of catch-up. Via Joe.My.God.:

In his latest journey to the edge of extreme, Donald Trump’s former National Security Adviser and felon Michael Flynn called on Saturday for a single religion in America.

“If we are going to have one nation under God — which we must — we have to have one religion,” Flynn said in San Antonio at a stop for the far-right “ReAwaken America” tour. “One nation under God, and one religion under God,” he added.

Such a vision is completely contrary to the Constitution’s guarantee of Freedom of Religion, and the separation of church and state

This, of course,is what the "religious" right has been aiming for since Reagan, and they've been very clever about it -- goig after local and sstate governments, stcking the courts and then puysing their "religious liberty" arguments as far as they could. (Consider the assault on local school boards and schools in light of stories such as this one and this one.

And lest yoou have any doubts, it's not just Christianity, it's their own nasty brand of "Christianity".

What's New at Green Man Reiew

I remembered this time, so here it is:

Mystery novels, mystery films, music of an autumnal nature, Chinese folk music, Buffy graphic novels, and lots of licorice

If your weather's anything like ours, it's a perfect day to dig in and scout out some winter readig.

We Should Have Expected This

Im sort of surprized it took this long. Via Joe.My.God.:

The Spotsylvania County School Board has directed staff to begin removing books that contain “sexually explicit” material from library shelves and report on the number of books that have been removed at a special called meeting next week. The directive came after a parent raised concerns at the School Board’s meeting Monday about books available through the Riverbend High School’s digital library app.

The board voted 6–0 to order the removal. Two board members, Courtland representative Rabih Abuismail and Livingston representative Kirk Twigg, said they would like to see the removed books burned. “I think we should throw those books in a fire,” Abuismail said, and Twigg said he wants to “see the books before we burn them so we can identify within our community that we are eradicating this bad stuff.”

The full article is here. You know who else liked to burn books? Let me refresh your memory:

On May 10, 1933, university students burn upwards of 25,000 “un-German” books in Berlin’s Opera Square. Some 40,000 people gather to hear Joseph Goebbels deliver a fiery address: “No to decadence and moral corruption!”

As part of an effort to align German arts and culture with Nazi ideas (Gleichschaltung), university students in college towns across Germany burned thousands of books they considered to be “un-German,” heralding an era of state censorship and cultural control. Students threw books pillaged mostly from public and university libraries onto bonfires with great ceremony, band-playing, and so-called “fire oaths.” The students sought to purify German literature of “foreign,” especially Jewish, and other immoral influences. Among the authors whose works were burned was Helen Keller, an American whose belief in social justice encouraged her to champion disabled persons, pacifism, improved conditions for industrial workers, and women's voting rights.

Do I really need to say more?

A Note on Blogging

Yeah, I know, it's been nonexistent for months, save for the GMR updates. Partly it's because the news is boring, but mostly it's because of my vision problems, which make it hard to work at the computer. However, I've decided that I have to give it a go, so expect peroidic posts on the news or whatever else captures my attention. Wish me luck.

There Is No Bottom

Eevery tieme you think the right can sink no lower, they find a way. Here's Dennis Preger, via Jo.My.God.

Anywhere that you have people who are governed by fear of global warming – the idiotic, irrational, sick fear of extinction of the biosphere – I mean, you understand the nonsense that we live with?

If we survive this as a free country, historians will just ask, ‘How did this happen? How did people get governed by irrational fears’?

Whether it is of the non-vaccinated, who are the pariahs of America as I have not seen in my lifetime any pariah group like this. “During the AIDS crisis, can you imagine if gay men and intravenous drug users, if had they been pariahs the way the non-vaccinated are?

The nonsense about climate cange is bad enough -- it's hardly an irratinal fear; it's a legitimate concern, especally for those who live in coastal aras, which includes most of the world's major cities. The the comments about how gay men were treated during the AIDS crisis ar simply beyond belief. Prager's left reaity in a dumpster on this one.

All this, of coure, is directed toward making heroes out of a bunch of petulant itiots with their heads full of QAnon bullshit.

The Republicsans hasve lost their freaking minds.

What's New at Green Man Review

As you might imagine, it's all about Hallowen, so click on over and immerse yourself in the holiday.

Catching Up With Green Man Review

Did it again -- missed the last edition. At any rate, here's the dope:

A Plethora of Neal Stephenson novels, Several Things of a Jethro Tull Nature, Elizabeth Bear on all things culinary, an ex-Beatle and an ex-Monkee and a bunch of Wicked Tinkers

So click on over and dig in.

This Time at Green Man Review

I actually remembered yesterday, then forgot, then remembered, and forgot againand finally left msyself a note late last night so I'd remember this morning. At any rate, here's the latest edition of Green Man Review:

Bothy Band’s “Old Hag” tune, CBGB Punxs, Hot Chocolate, Russell T Davies back as Who Showrunner and It’s Autumn!

If, like us, you're suffering through a spell of gloomy weather, it's a perfect time to click on over and ejoy.

What's New at Green Man Review

This biweekly schedule is really throwing me off, but here's the latest edition of Green Man Review:

Red Molly cover Richard Thompson’s “Vincent Black Lightning”, All Things Neverwhere, live rock and roll from New Zealand, lots and lots of Kit Kats, and much more

If your weathr's anything like mine, it's a good evening to click on over and browse,.

What's New at Green Man Review

Holiday weekends always throw me off -- meant to do this yesteray and lost track of what day it was. At any rate, it's the new edition of Green Man Review:

All things whisky; Child ballads and Welsh mythology; demon barbers and swamp things; Rick Danko, singers from Queens and Florida; a rat in a tin can, and much more

As you can see, something for everyone, so click on over and enjoy.

What's New at Green Man Review

I meant to post thos yesterday, but my rain went AWOL. At any rate, it's anoteher edition of GMR chock full of googies:

some Grateful Dead, Lady Astronauts, Swedish and American jazz, a Tenth Doctor tale, and much more

There's lots more, as always, so fid a nice col spot and dig in.

what's New at Green Man Review

Yesterday's eition is up, and chock full of googidies:

Many things Boiled in Lead, several things Ian MacDonald, Elizabeth Bear on chocolate, Peter Gabriel in concert, Danger Girls, Wobblies, and SF-inspired folk music

We're due for some really hot wather, so you may want to find a nic cool place to kick back and enjoy.

Sociopath of the Month

This story's a couple of days old. but I keep coming back to it:

Venture capitalist and Ohio Republican Senate candidate J.D. Vance spoke on Friday about the “cultural wars” being waged by the left and took aim at politicians without children who “don’t have a personal indirect stake” in improving the country. “And why is this just a normal fact of American life, that the leaders of our country should be people who don’t have a personal indirect stake in it via their own offspring, via their own children and grandchildren,” Vance asked, noting that he was not referring to people who are unable to have children.

There's a certain lack of bASIC humanity in evuidebe here -- it is, after all, ,perfectly normal, and actually considrered virtuous, to care about people whether they're relatives or not.

And I can't help thinking there's something very biblical about this --Old Testament biblical, considering how concerned the ancient Hebrews were with inheritance and bloolines.

At any rate, the man's a jerk.

Vias Joe.My.God.

What's New at Green Man Review

It's that time again, with another knockout edition of Green Man Review:

Jerky; Alice’s Restaurant on film; Roger Zelazny and Stephen Brust; all things Looking Glass Wars; Norwegian death metal, Palestinian oud, early country rock, modern jazz, and much more

So scoot on over for some nice summer reading.

Catching Up: What's New at Green Man Review

I was all set to post the first of these on the publication date -- and had no internet. For over a week. So, here we go, csatching up: Fort, GMR for June 27:

B-52s live, Beowulf, Fables, Beer, Banks’ Culture series and Its Summer!

Followd by today's offering:

A Pig Roast, Grateful Dead Beer?, Kage Baker on Terry Gilliam, live music from Penguin Cafe Orchestra, another look at Chicago’s Field Museum and Other Summer Matters

Enjoy!

Ber Late Than Never

This biweekly publication schedule at Green Man Reveview has got me completely screweed up. It's late, but here itis: What's New at Green Man Review for June 13:

Oysterband Gone Trad, Constantine Isn’t That Hair Colour, Music to Tickle Your Fancy, Yet More Chocolate, Anthony Bourdain, Gaiman’s Sandman and Other Matters

You know the drill. Enjoy.

What's nNew at Green Man Review

Yes, its been two weeks, but it was worth the . Just looke:

Simon R. Green and Elizabeth Bear, Naomi Kritzer’s and Everina Maxwell’s full-length debuts; faux-Italian SF and revived pulp fiction; Brian Wilson tribute and food and footie on film; fantasy jazz, lo-fi country, Väsen from the archves; lots of chocolate, and more;

And of course, there's more, so chceck it out.

Vax Wars

I'm trying to figure out how something that used to be a routine heath care measure b,ecame a political football. The anti-vaxxers are making a lot of noise, and to what purpose? The governor of Florida is threatenting fo fine cruise lines that ask passenges for proof of vaccination, and now the anti-vaxxers have started their ownn dating site. And that's just a couple of stories from last evening. I guessit goes back to Trup's stellar reaction when the pandemic first hit -- "It's a hoax!" -- and the fact that his followers will not only believe what they's told, but take it as holy writ. Thans. Trump!

Oops!

My brain has been on hiatus lately, so this is a cach-up for all you Green Man Review fans: S

pace opera from Elizabeth Bear, Kage Baker’s last Company novel; lots of dark and milk chocolate, music from South Africa, Mali, China and Canada; Two Fat Ladies on DVD, and more

As usual, it's chock full of goodies, so scoot on over and enjoy.

what's Nwe at Green Man Review

A day late, but better late than never, right?

A Fat Music Review Section, Four British film mysteries, Live music from from Tatiana Hargreaves and Allison De Groot, Jennifer wallows in two historical fictions with delightfully authentic voices, Evil Kit Kat Bars, Willingham’s Fables series, Bordertown fiction and Other Cool Matters

So hop on over and enjooy.

The Latest from Green Man Review

My brain shut off yesterday and I forgot to post the latestl isue of Green Man Review. Well, here it is, better late than never:

Chicago’s Field Museum’s Cyrus Tang Hall of China, Live Music from Midnight Oil, A Potpourri of Music Reviews, Some Mars Fiction, Lots of Chocolate and Other Cool Stuff

So dive in and enjoy.

The Creationists Were Right!

There were dinasausrs on the Ark. We know them as "birds".

wha's New at Green Man Review

It's that time again:

Lots of Doctor Who stuff, Jennifer has a warming soup for these cold days, and music from Hawaii, Turkey, Russia, Finland, and elsewhere

Have at it, and enjoy.

Catching Up With green Man Review

I seem to have missed an editionin February, so here it is:

What’s New for the 21st of February: Charles Stross’ The Halting State, Matt Wagner’s Grendel Archives, The Talons of Weng Chiang, La bruja te prende fuego, Pappy Van Winkle, Steeleye Span and Other Matters

And here's this wee's edition:

What’s New for the 7th of March: Equal Exchange Chocolates, A Bevy of Mysteries, Wagner’s Grendel, Jesco White on Film, Ursula Le Guin Reading for You and Other Stuff to Warm You Up

hHave fun catching up. A note: I'm suffering from glauoma and my eyeseight is impaired. Working on the computer is especially difficult, which is why I haven't been posting -- I can't read the news, andit's very difficult to post. I don't know if it will get bette -- there's damage to my optic nerves, which don't repair themselves. We'l see.

In spite of the bitter cold, we have outr usual misx of goodies:

ome trad music for your listening pleasure, Spiegelman’s Maus considered, lots of dark chocolate, two looks at Garner’s Owl Service and Other Creature Comforts

So find a nice cozy corner and enjoy.

One of the Things

I love about eing a grown-up, is that if you decide you want pizza for breakfast, you can have pizza for breakfast.

Sparrows

One of the ubiquitous parts of city life is sparrows. By "sparrows", od course, I mean the English sparrows that somehow made their way from Europe in the distant past and made themselves at home.(There are native sparrows, but unless you've got a keen eye and a good bird book, they tend to vanish in the crowd.)

What brings this to mind is the juniper bush outside my front door -- at least, it started life as a bush. It's grown intoa bushy tree, about 20 feet high, with very dense foliage -- a perfect place for sparrows to roost at nigh -- sheldter from the elements, high enough to discourage wandering cats and rats.

However, the racket from a flock of sparrows waking up in the morning has to be heard to be believed -- everyone wishing everyone a good morning, taking roll call, who knows?

If

This is about as blatant as it gets"

The Republican chair of Arizona's state House Ways and Means Committee introduced a bill Wednesday that would give the Legislature authority to override the secretary of state’s certification of its electoral votes.

GOP Rep. Shawnna Bolick introduced the bill, which rewrites parts of the state's election law, such as sections on election observers and securing and auditing ballots, among other measures.

One section grants the Legislature, which is currently under GOP control, the ability to revoke the secretary of state's certification "by majority vote at any time before the presidential inauguration."

The Arizona legislature is, of course, controlled by the GOP -- and I'm sure they intend to keep it that way.Another reason to abolish the electoral college. Via Joe.My>God.

It's Green Man Review Time

And here we are again with our usual mix of goodies:

Live music from Lúnasa in Australia, Taco Tapes’ Trad is Rad, Robert’s Visit to the Chicago’s Field Museum of Natural History, Alastair Reynolds’ The Prefect audiobook, Tom Baker’s Birthday, Jennifer Stevenson’s Lasagna and Other Neat Stuff

So dive in and enjoy.

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.

Culture Break: Arvo Pärt: Stabat Mater

I normally try to keep the "Culture Break" entries somewhat brief, say the length of a popular song or slightly longer. However. I found myself listening to this one and got copletely lost in it. So, I'm going to recommend that you turn off the world for half an hour or so and let the music surround you:

Image du Jour

With thanks to commenter duke of gibbon at Friendly Atheist:

The article is worth reading, on how evangelical"Christians" are really just power-hungry hypocriets. Thinking back, it occurs to me that the "Moral Majority", which Reagan's handlers enlisted to boost his election chances (Tail Wags Dog! Film at 11) was never a religious movement. It was always a political movement. And evangelical "Christianity" is still a political movement.

Trump's Legacy: The Knives Are Out

And they're going for same-sex couples:

On Monday, Indiana Attorney General Curtis Hill asked the Supreme Court to strip same-sex couples of their equal parenting rights. He did so at the request of the court, which is considering taking up his case. Hill implored the new conservative majority to rule that states may deny married same-sex couples the right to be recognized as parents of their own children. The case gives SCOTUS an opportunity to start chipping away at Obergefell v. Hodges by allowing states to withhold marital privileges from same-sex spouses. If the majority wants to begin eroding Obergefell, they will probably start here.

This, of course, has been the right's strategy since Roe v. Wade -- chip away, and keep chipping.

It looks as though the Court, or at least some of the justices, are interested in taking up the case, which does indicate an intent to begin demolishing Obergefell -- the central issue here has already been decided -- twice:

What’s strange about this case, Box v. Henderson, is that it poses a question the Supreme Court has already answered—twice. The plaintiffs are eight married lesbian couples in Indiana who used a sperm donor to conceive. When a married opposite-sex couple uses a sperm donor, Indiana recognizes the birth mother’s husband as the child’s parent. When a married same-sex couple does the same thing, however, the state refuses to list the birth mother’s wife as the child’s parent. In both instances, the second parent has no biological connection to the child; Indiana’s decision to extend parental rights to the nonbiological husbands of birth mothers, but not the wives of birth mothers, is sheer discrimination.

It's always possible that Roberts and Gorsuch will stand by stare decisis and vote with the liberal wing -- after all, as the article points out, Indiana's argument is garbage, relying exclusively on a "biological parent" argument that simple doesn't stand up to even mild scrutiny. Do read the whole article -- it's a solid grounding in this issue and a pointer toward what the right will be attempting now that they've got a bunch of fascists in the courts. With thanks to commenter solitasolano at Joe.My.God.

About Face, Forward March

On gay rights, at least, under a Biden admionistration:

As vice president in 2012, Joe Biden endeared himself to many LGBTQ Americans by endorsing same-sex marriage even before his boss, President Barack Obama.

Now, as president-elect, Biden is making sweeping promises to LGBTQ activists, proposing to carry out virtually every major proposal on their wish lists. Among them: Lifting the Trump administration’s near-total ban on military service for transgender people, barring federal contractors from anti-LGBTQ job discrimination, and creating high-level LGBTQ-rights positions at the State Department, the National Security Council and other federal agencies.

Basically, he'll do everything possible to reverse Trump's policies, which of corse came straight from Pence/Jeffress/Perkins/Graham, etc. There's a lot he can do unilaterally, like reversing the ban on transgender military service, since those thingsd were done by executive order. The article goes into some detail on ways and means and is worth reading.

(Via Joe.My.God.)

Of course, good "Christians" like Franklin Graham are sounding the warning:

LGBTQ activists within the Democratic Party are pushing their godless, secular agenda with a potential Biden Administration. If you don’t conform to their ideology, agree with their sinful beliefs, teach what they say is right, they want to close you down.

They will pressure and bully politicians to get their way. It is extremely dangerous if they are permitted to proceed unchecked.

It's called "projection", ladies and gentlemen -- substitute "evangelical 'Christians'" for "LGBTQ activists" and you have the right's strategy of the past several decades.

What's New at Green Man Review

As promised, here's another edition of Green Man Review:

A Very Special Cat, a River Journey, Breakfast, Tomb Raiders, Ultimate Pogues, Indonesian Pop, Beethoven, and more. . . .

Lots of goodies, so hunker down with something warm and enjoy.

Wreck Everything

Trump seems determined to destroy the federal government on his way out:

As President Donald Trump’s tenure in the oval office winds down, his administration is apparently looking to leave a lasting effect on federal civil service employment. The administration is seeking to remove legal protections for 88 percent of the federal workforce and ultimately make it much easier for career employees to be fired, several news outlets reported this week. At least one congressional Democrat said the move appears calculated to undermine the incoming Biden administration.

The effort to destabilize tens of thousands of federal jobs stems from an executive order signed by the president late last month. The Office of Management and Budget is reportedly moving swiftly to ensure that it’s implemented before Trump leaves office on Jan. 20.

Under the order, political appointees in the White House sent every federal agency a list of positions that should be reclassified as “Schedule F” roles, meaning the employees could be terminated for a number of reasons including poor performance or failing to carry out the administration’s stated priorities. The deadline for the reclassification is Jan. 19, one day prior to inauguration.

There's a lot of speculation that Trump will try to fire everyone and fill the positions with his own loyalists. I wouldn't put it past him just to fire everyone on January 19.

I don't understand why this isn't in court already -- it's a direct violation of federal law, namely the Pendleton Act of 1883, which was passed specifically to avoid that Trump is trying to do.

We'll see if anyone tries to stop him.

Via Joe.My.God.

Critter Chronicles: My Neighbor's Pear Tree

The neighbor across the alley has a pear tree in the back yard which I find myself studying when I'm out. First off, it's got to be at least thirty fee tall. I didn't think pear trees got that tall, but thinking about it, there's no reason they shouldn't. In the spring, it's covere with blossoms, which are soon hidden by leaves. And as the season progresses, it becomes laden with pears.

As the pears mature and start to fall, the tree becomes a favored stopping off place for the rabbits and squirrels in the neighborhood. (Probably the rats, too, but I don't seem them very often.) I once saw a squirrel -- and not a very big one -- making off across the parking lot with a pear in it's mouth that was almost at big as it was -- whether the plan was to bury it for later or find someplace more secluded for lunch, I never discovered.

And this fall, within the space of a day, it turned from green to bright, flame red. It was glorious for a few days, but then we had a very windy day and the leaves were pretty much stripped off -- along with the remaining pears. (We've had a very windy summer and fall -- I credit the hurricanes and tropical storms in the Gulf of Mexico, which tend to drive warm winds up the Mississippi valley.)

And still atrractive -- the branches tend to droop a bit, which gives it a graceful appearance.

I still can't get over how tall it is, though.

We Knew This Was Coming: Religion Über Alles

THe first "religious freedom" case decided by the new, ultra-conservative Supreme Court went as we should have expected:

In a preview of how much damage a conservative majority on the Supreme Court can cause, the justices ruled 5-4 late last night that religious institutions do not have to abide by a public health order in New York limiting how many people can gather in one place. . . .

Here’s the basic backstory: New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo issued an Executive Order earlier this year that created limits to how many people can gather in one spot depending on how serious the COVID outbreak was in that region. That was a responsible, science-based decision. In the most dangerous areas, that meant a maximum of 10 people could attend a religious event at one time, even with precautions, while slightly less dangerous areas allowed for a capacity of 25.

There were, however, exceptions to that rule. For example, more people could be inside a grocery store (with masks) since they’re not hanging around and chatting with each other. You’re in, you’re out, it’s essential.

The Catholic Diocese of Brooklyn and a coalition of synagogues, individuals, and an Orthodox Jewish group sued Cuomo, saying the restrictions interfered with their religious freedom by limiting their attendance. They also said it was unfair that the “essential” exceptions to the rule didn’t apply to them.

Chief Justice Roberts sided with the liberal wing, but super-Catholic Amy Cony Barrett voted predicatbly.

This follows a trend over recent years of conservatives, particularly "Christians", pushing the "religious freedom" argument as far as it will go. The courts have treaded gingerly -- too ginerly, in my opinion -- in allowing exceptions to the law, notably in regard to anti-discrimination laws. Here we see the beginnings of a wider application of the Free Exercise Clause, which is that they've been working toward.

There's much more at the link -- Justice GOrsuch wrote the majority opinion, which Justice Sotomayor eviscerated in her dissent. It's worth reading the whole article. (And the NYT article linked in the first paragraph of the quote has even more detail.)

Needless to say, the decision is being slammed by just about everyone.

It seems to me that these cases are really very simple: all rights have limits. So, if you want to do business with the general public, you have to abide by non-discrimination laws, no matter your religious beliefs. And Jesus had something to say about praying in public (Matthew 6:5-6):

5 "And when you pray, do not be like the hypocrites, for they love to pray standing in the synagogues and on the street corners to be seen by men. I tell you the truth, they have received their reward in full.

6 But when you pray, go into your room, close the door and pray to your Father, who is unseen. Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you.

The name of the case, which no one seems to want to include in their stories, is Roman Catholic Diocese of Brooklyn, New York v. Cuomo.

This Looks About Right

Trump's Idea of a peaceful transfer of power:

Image from Steeve Greenberg, via Crooks and Liars.

Thanksgiving dinner: Truly American

I was just thinking about where all those foods we serve at Thanksgiving originated. Well, it turns out that they are, indeed, overwhelmingly American in origin.

Turkey, the centerpiece of the meal, was native to eastern North America. Mashed potatoes -- c'mon, you can't have turkey without mashed potatoes: well, potatoes originated in South America. Corn and gren beans, standard vegetables, also both originated in the Americas, beans in South America, corn (maize) in southern Mexico.

Having pumpkin pie for desert? Thank the natives of what is now central Mexico. Ditto sweet potatoes (my mother always included a dish of sweet potatoes with Thanksgiving dinner), although they seem to have been more widespread, occurring down into South America.

So you see, Thanksgiving dinner really is an American feast.

As We Head Into the Season

This is something more people should keep in mind. With thanks to commenter David L. Caster at Joe.My.God.

The linked post is a story about Brian Brown of NOM once again asking for money to help forestall Democratic control of Congress, the Senate, and the White House. The real consequence of that as far as I'm concerned is that they might be able to start undoing some of the damage the Republicans have done in the past four years.

As for Brown's money-beg, I'm surprised anyone donates to NOM at all -- it is probably the most completely ineffective hate group out there. But as they say, there's one born every minute. If you need a refresher on just how divorced from reality the "Christian" right has become, click over to the post,

Review: Igor Stravinsky: Works of Igor Stravinsky

Fairly frequently I have reason to consider the relative importance of tradition and innovation in the performance of music, usually coming to the conclusion that both have value, and that a successful performer will find a balance point between moribund traditionalism and wild-eyed radicalism.

Of course, historically one of the problems with traditions were that they were so easily lost: not every great performer has had disciples willing to continue his/her traditions. Fortunately, the advent of sound recording has removed most of those problems, so that we now know how Gershwin thought Rhapsody in Blue should sound, and can experience Rachmaninoff’s thinking on his own piano concertos. And we now, thanks to Sony BMG, have a very clear idea of how Igor Stravinsky thought his own works should be performed.

Works of Igor Stravinsky is a massive set: 22 CDs of performances of Rite of Spring, Symphony in E-Flat, The Rake’s Progress and more under the direction of the composer, with additional performances by his disciple Robert Craft under Stravnisky’s supervision, and a disc (the Sympony in E-Flat disc, actually) that includes recordings of rehearsals and Stravinsky discussing his own music.

It’s hard to overstate Stravinsky’s influence on twentieth-century music. It is so pervasive that, for example, while listening to Petrouschka, I was reminded of the soundtrack for every busy urban scene in every film practically since sound became part of movies. No less a figure than Claude Debussy wrote to Stravinsky: “It is a special satisfaction to tell you how much you have enlarged the boundaries of the permissible in the empire of sound.” And this was in 1913, when Stravinsky was still only in his thirties.

Of course, I’m not one to think that the creator necessarily has the final word on his creations. Others may see things that he is too close to discern, or facets that he didn’t think important may take on new weight as times change. In this regard, I found Stravinsky’s interpretations often fairly dry – not quite academic, but without the elements of romance that other interpreters have found in the works. This is not an overwhelming objection, mind you, but after hearing something like the as interpreted by Seiji Ozawa, Stravinsky’s version is relatively tame.

I would also have preferred a different organization for the set, which is set up by type of work – ballets, symphonies, oratorios, sacred music, etc. I think it would have been more illuminating to have set this up in chronological order. Stravinsky, like most artists, when through various stages in his career, from the radical avant-gardism of his youth, through a period, much like Bartok, Kodaly, Enescu, and Vaughan Williams, of incorporating folk and traditional materials into his work, and from there into a strict neoclassicism and a modernist synthesis. This is a progression that I think could have been very well illustrated – and led to a deeper understanding of Stravinsky’s music -- by organizing the collection to take account of it.

However, I’m not going to say pass this up. It’s a tremendous collection, the music of Stravinsky straight from the horse’s mouth, so to speak. But shop around: since I bought my set, as might be expected, the price has skyrocketed, if you can find it at all.

If you’d like to hear the way one of the twentieth century’s most important composers thought about his own music, go for it.

(Sony / BMG Int’l, 2007)

Antidote

Could there be anything more adorable?

Wake up little boi pic.twitter.com/6nVAKEpBXD

— Cats With Unexpected Auras (@UnexpectedAuras) November 19, 2020

Culture Break: Arvo Pärt: The Deer's Cry

A bit of a break from the chaos that's ruling the news these days. I haven't listened to Pärt for a while, which is maybe a little odd, considering that one summer, in my (relative) youth, his Passio was my beach music (early in the morning, when there weren't many people around yet. At that point, it was the only work of his available in the U.S. (Strangely enough, there's not a whole lot of his music on YouTube. Go figure.)

Needless to say, I did review it, but that's one of the lost works from our horrendous move to a new host at GMR. Look for it in the next edition on November 29.

Today's Must-Read: But Don't Call It "Terrorism"

From Digby, this is something that Trump deserves to be branded with -- these are his supporters, who he has encouraged and parised as "patriots":

What would you say if you saw this in another country?

There is new and disturbing information in the alleged militia plot against the governor of Michigan.

The 14 men charged had far more violent plans than just a kidnapping, according to federal and state authorities.

New filings claim there was a Plan B the militiamen had drawn up, that involved a takeover of the Michigan capitol building by 200 combatants who would stage a week-long series of televised executions of public officials.

Actually, we've seen this before, on live television from the Middle East.

Read the whole thing, and hope that the Biden administration comes down hard on these "patriots" and others like them. (Can we repoen Alcatraz? Or maybe some coral atoll in the Pacific that's about to go under water.)

Thanks, Trump

I went to the Field Museum yesterday -- my last chance for at least two weeks: they're closing again until December 5, maybe longer, depending, in accordance with new guidelines from the state and city because of the new spike in COVID-19 cases. My cousin e-mailed me that the Art Institute is also closed (I had inquired about the "Monet in Chicago" exhibition); the Shedd Aqarium is closed; the Adler Planetarium has been closed, not being set up to encourage social distancing; the Nature Museum, ditto. Also, all Park District facilities, including the conservatories and field houses, are closed.

Lincoln Park Zoo is open, but closes for the day at 3 pm. two hours early.

And COVID-19 deaths have hit 250.000 and show no sign of tapering off. And now the forecast is for 2,000 deaths a day.

Just think how different it would be if we'd had a president who actually did something about the pandemic instead of denying that it existed. And now, of course, instead of trying to ameliorate the second wave, he's trying to steal the election.

Tofay's Must-Read: The End-Game(s)

Digby has a very interesting post that relies heavily on a piece by Fred Hiatt in the Washington Post (behind a paywall) describing three possible scenarios that explain Trump's behavior in the wake of his election loss:

The Washington Post’s Fred Hiatt summarizes the various theories about what Trump is actually doing with his inane refusal to concede the election despite the fact that he clearly lost. In anyone else you would be talking about doing some kind of intervention and getting him some professional help, but this is Trump and he acts irrationally every day and his supporters love it so he remains in power, doing what he does[.]

The three scearios Hiatt outlines all make sense, given that it's Trump's reality we're dealing with, but underlying this is something more important, which Digby notes in her final comment:

From the moment Mitch McConnell stole the Supreme Court seat from Barack Obama in 2016, it was clear that the Republicans had finally completely gone rogue. They made it clear before Trump was even nominated that they no longer cared about hypocrisy and were going to retain power by any means necessary. Trump made that easier by taking all the slings and arrows from the rest of the country and allowing them to pretend that they were secretly embarrassed by him but couldn’t really do anything because their voters are a bunch of rubes and you can’t tell them anything.

They know now that they can get away with anything if they find the right points of leverage. It’s wide open now. The beltway establishment embodied by Hiatt is finally starting to come to grips with that. Let’s see if it sticks.

I've been pointing out for a while that this is what the GOP has been working toward since Reagan and their unholy alliance with the "Christian" right. Trump, with his ability as a rabble-rouser and complete lack of any concerns other than his own comfort, finally made it possible (with the connivance of the media, whether deliberate or just lazy).

Read the whole thing. It's worth it.

Yes, It's Been Two weeks

And our new edition of Green Man Review is up:

Alternate Histories, Arthur Redux, Seafood, Teenage Superheroes, Music — Traditional and Not, Rodents, and more. . . .

So click on over and hunker down with a nice hot drink (if your weather is anything like ours today), and dig in.

I Wasn't Just Being Paranoid

I ran across the idea that the Trump regime is trying to tie up the vote counts in key states to throw the selection of electors to the GOP-dominated legislatures. It seemed to me a characteristic move for the right -- they don't believe in the will of the people anyway. It turns out I wasn't just being freaky:

The idea loosely involves GOP-controlled legislatures dismissing Biden’s popular vote wins in their states and opting to select Trump electors. While the endgame was unclear, it appeared to hinge on the expectation that a conservative-leaning Supreme Court would settle any dispute over the move.

Still, it has been promoted by Trump allies, including Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, and is an example of misleading information and false claims fueling skepticism among Trump supporters about the integrity of the vote.

However, the state legislators aren't gong along with it:

Republican leaders in four critical states won by President-elect Joe Biden say they won’t participate in a legally dubious scheme to flip their state’s electors to vote for President Donald Trump. Their comments effectively shut down a half-baked plot some Republicans floated as a last chance to keep Trump in the White House.

State GOP lawmakers in Arizona, Michigan, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin have all said they would not intervene in the selection of electors, who ultimately cast the votes that secure a candidate’s victory. Such a move would violate state law and a vote of the people, several noted.

I was right -- there's nothing they won't try to stay in power.

Via Joe.My.God., who includes a tweet from Newt Gingrich (remember him?) that concludes his determination of who selects the stat's electors with "the Legislature, not the Secretary of State, Governor, or court".

He forgot to include "the votes of the people".

Election Fraud!!1! (Updated)

The Trump campaign has released a bunch of affidavits that prove the election was stolen:

Overnight the Trump campaign released 234 pages of what it says are affidavits from poll watchers who claim to have witnessed election fraud or other forms of alleged interference.

The substance, however, leaves a lot to be desired.

Reuters DC reporter Brad Heath posted several excerpts of the affidavits as examples, reporting that “it’s mostly allegations that they couldn’t get as close as they wanted to the counting, couldn’t re-enter the room after they left, etc. Pretty standard election stuff.”

There are a number of examples, including one that appears to have been digitally offered, but this is the one that stuck out for me:

One Republican poll watcher found it suspicious that members of the military would vote for Joe Biden. pic.twitter.com/xnFqBluLRS

— Brad Heath (@bradheath) November 11, 2020

"Far left" lawyers/law students aside, the idea that military personnel would vote for a Democrat seems to be beyond the realm of the possible for this person -- after all, we've been told that soldiers ar conservative.

Read the whole post. It's fairly short, and highly entertaining.

Freedom from Consequences

That seems to be what Supreme Court Jusice Samuel Alito is demanding here; this came under the broad heading of "religious freedom":

During his half-hour-long speech, Alito warned that not only is freedom of belief increasingly under threat, but freedom of expression is as well.

"One of the great challenges for the Supreme Court going forward will be to protect freedom of speech. Although that freedom is falling out of favor in some circles, we need to do whatever we can to prevent it from becoming a second-tier constitutional right,” he said.

The fallacy here is that somehow -- if, or course, you're the "right people", you should be able to say or do whatever you want without consequences. If you indluge in, for example, anti-gay bigotry, then expect to be labeled a bigot. Cloaking it in a belief in "traditional" marriage (one man and -- how many wives was that, King Solomon?) doesn't quite disguise the meaning: you can believe what you want. Where that freedom ends is when you claim the right to force others to cater to your beliefs.

And that's the second fallacy, which too many people seem ready to accept: forcing others to cater to your personal beliefs is somehow an inherent part of "religious freedom". Unfortunately for that argument, it's a given that all rights have limits. As for being called a bigot -- snowflake!

It's a fairlly revealing article, in one respect, at least: in the age of Trump, the masks are coming off.

Via Joe.My.God.

Culture Break: Eskil Romme: Forårsfred

Believe it or not, I do listen to something besides loud obnoxious rock and impenetrable contempoerary avant-garde music. I actually listen to quite a bit of Nordic traditional music. Eskil Romme is one that shows up a lot on my playlist. This is from his album Himmerlandsmelodier, which I reviewed as part of this group.

A Couple of Thoughts on the Election

Trump and the Republicans are going to keep suing to stop the counting of votes or invalidate results in a few key states. Most commentators I've seen are saying that the lawsuits have no chance of winning, but I'm not sure that's the point. If they keep the counts from being certified before the deadline, then the Republican-dominated legislatures in those states will choose the electors. Guess who they'll vote for.

In the meantime, Trump is doing everything he can to be sure that what's left of the government is a shambles. Digby has an interesting post that touches on that as well as the GOP reaction in general. Rather that try to pick out a quote -- it covers a lot of ground -- just read the whole thing.

And I just got an e-mail from the Chicago Board of Elections thanking me for being one of 800,000 Chicagoans who voted by mail or voted early.

Well, It's All Over

but the lawsuits. Trump is not going to concede, the GOP will demand recounts in swing states, and they'll keep trying until it gets to the Supreme Court, where Trump's stable of lackeys will overturn the will of the people -- if the "Christian" trumpanzees can't persuade God to do it..

And they've already started pushing Republican-dominated state legislatures to throw out the vote and choose their own partisan slate of electors.

Stray Thought for the Day

Both the sun and the moon rise in the east.

Does that mean the universe is right-handed?

The Next Step

Toward Donald Trump, President for Life. After all, he's already claimed victory in the election; how better to make sure that it happens?

As ongoing vote tabulation in several key battleground states continues to slowly narrow President Donald Trump’s path to reelection, the New York Times reported late Wednesday that the Justice Department has told federal prosecutors that U.S. law permits armed federal agents to enter ballot-counting locations to investigate alleged “fraud,” heightening fears of possible intimidation efforts by the Trump administration. . . .

The Times noted that the Justice Department’s email, authored by Principal Associate Deputy Attorney General Richard Donoghue, “created the specter of the federal government intimidating local election officials or otherwise intervening in vote tallying amid calls by President Trump to end the tabulating in states where he was trailing in the presidential race.”

While U.S. law bars the stationing of armed officials “at any place where a general or special election is held,” Donoghue claimed in his email that the statute “does not prevent armed federal law enforcement persons from responding to, investigat[ing], or prevent[ing] federal crimes at closed polling places or at other locations where votes are being counted.”

What better way to insure the vote goes your way -- I mean, is fair and accurate?

And you can bet real money that they will find fraud, if they have to invent it themselves.

I think, if I were the governor of any of these states, I would have these federal agents met by armed state troopers.

It Ain't Over 'Til It's Over

Yes, Election Day was yesterday and we still don't know who is going to be president for the next four years. Trump, of course, has claimed victory, based on the voices in his head, but they're still counting votes -- millions of mail-in ballots. For some reason, only a few states allow absentee/mail-in ballots to be counted before election day. The thinking behind that eludes me.

This is going to wind up in the courts. It's already been there, and that's going to be a big problem, now that the GOP has stacked the Supreme Court with Republican hacks. Digby has a post quoting extensively from an article by Ian Millhiser examining the legal landscape -- or at least, part of it:

Two significant legal events occurred last week that could determine whether the winner of the 2020 election actually becomes president. They could also shape American elections for years to come if the Supreme Court’s 6-3 Republican majority remains in place. The first was the confirmation of Justice Amy Coney Barrett, which not only gave Republicans a supermajority on the Supreme Court, it also most likely made Justice Brett Kavanaugh the swing vote in election cases. While Kavanaugh’s approach to election law is extremely conservative, he’s staked out a position that is slightly more moderate than the views of his most conservative colleagues Justices Samuel Alito, Clarence Thomas, and Neil Gorsuch.

The second event is that, last Monday, just minutes before Barrett was confirmed, the Supreme Court handed down a decision that prevents ballots that arrive after Election Day in the state of Wisconsin from being counted. Kavanaugh joined that decision, and he also wrote a separate concurring opinion that endorsed a radical reading of the Constitution that would upend at least a century of established law.

Briefly, Kavanaugh signaled that he wants to give federal courts — and his Court in particular — an unprecedented new power to overrule state supreme courts and to potentially rewrite state election law. Some of the implications of this view are discussed below, but the upshot is it means that Kavanaugh appears ready to change longstanding rules that have governed elections for a very long time.

That's bad enough, but it gets worse:

There is, however, a crucial question that the Supreme Court has yet to resolve. If the courts change the rules governing an election after voters have already cast their ballots, are voters who did not comply with these new rules disenfranchised, even if they followed the rules that were in place when their ballot was cast?

Three justices, Thomas, Alito, and Gorsuch, have all claimed that voters who followed the rules that were in place when their ballot was counted can have their ballots tossed out anyway if a court later changes the rules.

ANd how long, do you suppose, before we dispense with holding elections at all, and just let the courts decide who our elected officials are going to be? American democracy -- it was fun while it lasted.

Today's the Day

Actually, it's not, really -- that will be when all the votes have been counted and totals certified -- after all the lawsuits and delaying tactics from the GOP. (This is a sample of what we can expect. And if you think the Trump regime is going to stick with lawsuits, get a load of this -- and click through and check out the locations that are being "monitored".)

But, when all it said and done, today is Election Day. I fully expect Trump to declare himself the winner as soon as the first results are in, no matter what they show.

No, I am not going to hover over the TV or Internet as the results come in and watch all the pundits make fools of themselves. I'll watch a movie or something. And try not to think about things like this:

(

With thanks to John Cole at Balloon Juice.)

It's a Strategy, Of a Sort

A couple of stories I ran across that resonated with each other. First, the blowhard himself:

President Trump has told confidants he'll declare victory on Tuesday night if it looks like he's "ahead," according to three sources familiar with his private comments. That's even if the Electoral College outcome still hinges on large numbers of uncounted votes in key states like Pennsylvania.

Somehow, I suspect he'll declare victory no matter what the numbers are:

Speaking to reporters on Sunday evening, Trump denied that he would declare victory prematurely, before adding, "I think it's a terrible thing when ballots can be collected after an election. I think it's a terrible thing when states are allowed to tabulate ballots for a long period of time after the election is over."

He continued: "I think it's terrible that we can't know the results of an election the night of the election. ... We're going to go in the night of, as soon as that election's over, we're going in with our lawyers."

"We don't want to have Pennsylvania, where you have a political governor, a very partisan guy. ... We don't want to be in a position where he's allowed, every day, to watch ballots come in. See if we can only find 10,000 more ballots."

And in line with that, here's Trump loyalist and henchman Corey Lewandowski:

You know, Chris, what the president’s real concern is and the Supreme Court has made some rulings on this, is trying to get as many votes in by Election Day as possible. The concern is when you have some states that don't require a postage mark on theirs, so we don't know when they were filled out, they don't require signature verification, and some states they'll be counting nine or ten days after the election. I think that as the most industrialized country in the world we can do better than that, Chris.

We know that people can vote, we know how to count quickly, so let's get it done because I think this election is going to be won on election night with Donald Trump carrying in Florida and North Carolina and Ohio and Michigan and Pennsylvania and Wisconsin and if that's the case, there will be no need to continue to count because it will be a resounding victory.

So there is it -- just stop counting votes when it looks like the Don has won. And just in case:

If you speak with many smart Democrats, they believe that President Trump will be ahead on election night, probably getting 280 electoral [votes] somewhere in that range, and then they’re going to try to steal it back after the election. We believe we will be over 290 electoral votes on election night, so no matter what they try to do, what kind of hijinks or lawsuits or whatever kind of nonsense they try to pull off, we’ll have enough electoral votes to get President Trump re-elected.” – Senior Trump campaign advisor Jason Miller, speaking today on ABC News.

It's all of a piece with the barrage of lawsuits aimed at not counting ansentee/mail-in ballots, the repeated mantra of "vote fraud" that the GOP has been chanting for years (and in case you need to be reminded, every case of actual fraud that has been discovered has been perpretrated by Republicans), and the media blitz, led by Fox and enabled by our "free, independent press", and straight out of the Josef Goebbels manual.

Tomorrow night should be a real spectacle.

(All via Joe.My.God.)

What's New at Green Man Review

It's been two weeks, and sure enough, there's a new bunch of reviews at Green Man Review.

A Space Opera That’s Not, Earthsea Illustrated, Rhubarb, A Zombie Romance, Live Tull, Live Fiddles, and more. . . .

You know the drill. Get yourself a nice warm drink (if your weather is anything like ours today) and settle in for some really interesting reading.

The Press in Action

I've been critical of the press recently, and I think with good reason. This story only points up one of the major problems:

Democratic Vice Presidential nominee Kamala Harris didn’t hold back when confronted by a CBS News reporter asking if she’s pushing a socialist agenda. She laughed out loud at the reporter’s suggestion.

“What I will do, and I promise you this, this is what Joe wants me to do,” the California Senator, speaking about her running mate, told “60 Minutes” correspondent Norah O’Donnell.

“This was part of our deal. I will always share with him my lived experience as it relates to any issue that we confront. And I promised Joe that I will give him that perspective and always be honest with him.”

O’Donnell’s response, which was panned on social media, forced Senator Harris to laugh in her face.

“And is that a socialist or progressive perspective?” O’Donnell asked.

I don't know much about O'Donnell, but from this it's obvious she shouldn't be left unattended near a microphone. This is a prime example of our "free, independent press" buying into pre-fab memes, provided by the right wing, without question. It also looks as though O'Donnell is trying to put words into Harris' mouth. Fortunately, Harris is too smart for her:

“No,” Harris replied, breaking out in laughter suggesting she thought the question was absurd.

“It is the perspective of a woman who grew up a Black child in America, who was also a prosecutor, who also has a mother who arrived here at the age of 19 from India, who also like hip-hop,” Harris continued, still laughing. “What do you want to know?”

You have to love it.

Saturday Science: Earth: A Biography: A Sidebar: Autumn Color

Those of us who live in the north temperate zone are treated every fall to autumn color, when the leaves on the trees turn from green to red, orange, yellow, and everything in between. This is because the chlorophyll in the leaves, which gives them their green color, breaks down, exposing other pigments that have been hiding under the surface.

Chlorophyll is one of a class of photoshymthetic pigments that first made their appearance roughly three billion years ago. There are others -- look at any number of decorative plants and shrubs, which show red, yellow, orange and various combinations of color. And they all enable photosynthesis, which not only allows plants (and some bacteria) to make their own food, but produces as a byproduct the oxygen in the air we breathe.

No one is quite sure how some bacteria -- known officially as "cyanobacteria" -- first made use of photosynthetic pigments, but they did. One of the immediate results was oceans full of rust, which sank to the bottom and created what are nown as "banded iron formations" -- the source of mose of our iron ore. Once that was accomplaished, the oxygen that these bacteria were producing escaped into the atmosphere -- which at that point was composed of nitrogen, carbon dioxide, and water vapoor - and created the ozone layer, which proved to be of great significance: the ozone layer filters out most of the harmful radition from the sun and enabled life to move from the oceans to the land.

Scientists believe that land plants are descended from green algae, mostly because they contain the same kind of chlorophyll. It actually makes a lot of sense -- who has not seen a clump of algae on a shore, periodically left high and dry as the tide goes out. And the first land plants were mosses and selaginellas, which require a moist environment.

But back to fall color: What we're seeing after the chlorophyll breaks down is the other pigments, which will last until the leaves fall. There's even an order in which this all happens, at least as far as the trees themselves are concenred: here in Chicago, the firt to turn are the locusts and ashes, followed by maples and basswoods. Mixed in there are birches, ginkos, and the various others that get planted in the city. Oaks are notable for having prsisent leaves -- they turn color and die, but they don't fall. That's probably why squirrels pefer them for nest-building: the leaves hold to the twigs so you bedroom isn't constantly falling apart.

So that's all I have to say for now about fall color and how it fits in which the scheme of things.

The Pope Puts His Foot in It

I'm doing a little catching up on this one (it's been one of those weeks). You may have run across a story on the Pope's comments on legalizing civil unions for same-sex couples:

Pope Francis is calling for same-sex couples to be “legally” protected by civil union laws.

“Homosexuals have a right to be a part of the family,” the Pope says in a new documentary, Catholic News Agency reports. “They’re children of God and have a right to a family. Nobody should be thrown out, or be made miserable because of it.”

Later, Pope Francis defended his remarks in the film, saying, “What we have to create is a civil union law. That way they are legally covered.”

As you might imagine, the reaction has been less than positive among the "faithful".

Franklin Graham's response (not that anyone asked him to respond) is noteworthy for its lack of -- well, call it Christian compassoin:

Graham sees the Catholic Church’s new regard for supporting LGBTQ people in law – not religion – as so dangerous to the Christian faith he says it would mean Jesus died for nothing.

“For Pope Francis to attempt to normalize homosexuality is to say that Holy Scriptures are false, that our sins really don’t matter, and that we can continue living in them,” Graham told his nine million Facebook followers. “If that were true, then Jesus Christ’s death, burial, and resurrection wouldn’t have been needed. The cross would have been for nothing.”

Apparently, in Graham's eyes the whole point of Jesus' life was to deny gays and lesbians the right to live with dignity and self-respect -- to be treated like normal human beings.

The response from the Catholic hierarchy is no less scathing. Here's Archbishop Carlo Maria Vigano:

Bergoglio is a candidate for ‘pontiff’ of a new religion, with new commandments, new morals, and new liturgies. He distances himself from the Catholic religion and from Christ, and consequently from the Hierarchy and the faithful, disavowing them and leaving them at the mercy of the globalist dictatorship. Those who do not adapt to this new code will therefore be ostracized by society and by this new ‘church’ as a foreign body.

Vigano doesn't seem to have twigged to the fact that the "faithful" are already being ostracized. (And as Joe notes in his comment, Vigano uses the Pope's birth name, not "Pope Francis" or any of the honorifics normally used to refer to the pontiff.

This one's choice. From Bishop Thomas Tobin:

“The Holy Father’s apparent support for the recognition of civil unions for same-sex couples needs to be clarified.

“The Pope’s statement clearly contradicts what has been the long-standing teaching of the Church about same-sex unions.

“The Church cannot support the acceptance of objectively immoral relationships. Individuals with same-sex attraction are beloved children of God and must have their personal human rights and civil rights recognized and protected by law.

“However, the legalization of their civil unions, which seek to simulate holy matrimony, is not admissible.”

The part about "objectively immoral" relationships is, as far as I'm concerned, a real howler. Given that the basic moral dictum is "take care of each other", all these arbitrary rules cherry-picked from the tribal taboos of Bronze Age Middle-Eastern nomads can hardly claim to be any sort of standard for moral behavior. (In that vein, Tobin is credibly accused of ignoring child sexual abuse complaints when he was auxiliary bishop of Pittsburgh.)

There are other resonses, of course. What's most noteworthy of the lot is that their reference is to Catholic dogma and not to the teaching of Christ -- who had nothing at all to say about homosexuality or same-sex relationships.

Burn-Out

I've gotten to the point where, skimming the headlines in the morning, if they mention Trump, the latest polls, the election, etc., I skip the story. I'm not wishing for it to be November 4 -- that won't be the end of it. I'm wishing for it to be January 21, 2021, when President Biden is safely installed in office and the current resident is trying to find some dictator to take him in.

What's New at Green Man Review

Finally! Our second biweekly edition, and it's all about Halloween -- well, some of it is.

It’s Late October So Some Halloween Matters and Not So Halloweenish Matters as Well

So click on over and hunker down -- there's a lot there.

I'm Going to Say This Once

Amy Coney Barrett is a nightmare. I keep seeing headlines about how this Democratic senator called her out on something, while that one backed her into a corner, and yet another asked questions she couldn't -- or wouldn't -- answer.

It does matter. The Republican majority will vote to confirm her, she will be sworn in at the earliest opportunity, and with a majority of neo-fascists on the Court, you can kiss civil rights for anyonbe who's not a white, cis-gendered, Christian, heterosexual male good-bye.

The Season Turns

We went from a week or two of summer in late September/early October, to autumn over the past few days, and it seems as though overnight, the leaves started turning. It's mostly locusts and ashes*, which are the first to turn. There are whole stretches of streets lines with bright yellow locust trees, although, typically, there are places where they are still green.

The maple across the alley is bright flaming red-orange, although the maple next to it is still green. Ditto a pair of basswoods at one of my regular bus stops -- one is mostly that dark bronze-red that basswoods turn in the fall; the one next to it is still green. I haven't figured out the mechanism here -- it's got to be a combination of day length and exposure: it seems that trees in more sheltered locations turn later -- not always, but then nothing in nature is 100%.

At any rate, fall is here. Nice to look at, but I'm not as cold-proof as I used to be, so it's a mixed bag.

* Those ashes that are left. The emerald ash borer, which somehow got here from Asia, has wreaked havoc on the native ash trees. I can't find a count on the number of trees destroyed, but it's in the tens of millions.

Birds of a Feather

And so forth. Actually, I think this is pretty funny:

President Trump's reelection bid received a vote of support Friday from an entity most in his party would reject: the Taliban. Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid told CBS News in a phone interview, "We hope he will win the election and wind up U.S. military presence in Afghanistan." The militant group expressed some concern about Mr. Trump's bout with the coronavirus. "When we heard about Trump being COVID-19 positive, we got worried for his health, but seems he is getting better," another Taliban senior leader told CBS News.

The Trump camp's reaction is about what you'd expect:

Trump campaign spokesman Tim Murtaugh said Saturday that they "reject" the Taliban support. "The Taliban should know that the president will always protect American interests by any means necessary," Murtaugh said.

"American interests" in this context being Trump's bank account. And don't forget -- he only likes white terrorists.

Via Joe.My.God.

Critter Chronicles: A Symbiote

I've decided that, for the purposes of this blog, "critter" includes anything alive -- animals, plants, and those that are somewhere in between.

While waiting for buses yesterday, I was noticing the lichenbs growing on trees by the bust stops. One in particular, a locust, had three different types of lichens growing on it, one green, one gray, and a couple of small patches of golden orange.

And what, exactly, is lichen? you may ask. From the U.S. Forest Service:

Lichens are a complex life form that is a symbiotic partnership of two separate organisms, a fungus and an alga. The dominant partner is the fungus, which gives the lichen the majority of its characteristics, from its thallus shape to its fruiting bodies. The alga can be either a green alga or a blue-green alga, otherwise known as cyanobacteria. Many lichens will have both types of algae.

There are about 3,600 species of lichen, and they take various forms -- low-growing, crusty-looking habits, branching, filamentous, you name it. The Field Museum a while back, had a small exhibition on lichens that was very interesting. One of the examples was the door from an old pickup truck that was covered in lichen. They'll grow pretty much anywhere -- I've seen them on trees, on rocks, on old scrap metal that's been lying outside -- all sorts of places.

Fascinating critters.

At Last! Green Man Review for October 4, 2020

In case I didn't mention it before, Green Man Review has gone to a biweekly publication schedule. That means you won't see us as often, but when you do, there's lots and lots of stuff to enjoy.

Diverse Music including Vivaldi’s The Four Seasons, Warren Ellis Goes Graphic, Spider-Mans, Peanut Butter and Chocolate, A Cherryh’s Alliance-Union Universe novel and Other Pleasant Diversions

So, you can click on over and spend some time with your favorite subjects.

Yeah, I Know

I haven't been posting. The main reason is that the news is just mind-numbing. Now we're down to blaring headlines about who in the Trump regime is the latest to test positive for COVID-19. I guess next we'll be getting breathless "breaking news" updates about who's taking a dump.

Apparently our free, independent media thinks nothing else is going on in the world.

Antidote

This one speaks for itself"

Is there anything cuter than this ‘animal preschool?’ Zookeepers at the Australian Reptile Park had their hands full with baby Tasmanian devils, kangaroos, koalas, and more 🍼🦘🐨 pic.twitter.com/PKV6vScqtJ

— NowThis (@nowthisnews) September 28, 2020

Via Digby.