delving into the underbelly

image via the internet. overcast here and not dark at all just out of the totality path.

How is it that in this day and time people still harbor superstitious nonsense about the mechanics of the solar system, about something that happens with regularity and can be predicted to the minute, a 30 minute event, the eclipse of the sun, whose totality lasts all of about four minutes?

The wackos are out predicting doomsday and retribution. Governor Sanders of Arkansas declared a state of emergency yesterday that will last until Wednesday to mobilize producers and deliverers of essential goods because the sky will dim briefly today. Another group tells us to be ready for the Rapture. Marjorie Taylor Green warns us that her big daddy in the sky is sending strong messages via earthquakes and eclipses telling America to repent! Her boyfriend goes even further claiming this may be the last normal weekend because who knows what this ‘very rare’ eclipse will bring (newsflash, solar eclipses are not rare and happen with predictable regularity) and that next is the plague of locusts that will attack mankind (he’s referring to the 13 and 17 year cycle broods of cicadas that will hatch this year and, no, they will not be attacking humans and no, cicadas aren't locusts). Alex Jones has gone off the deep end claiming that all kinds of rituals are going to be performed by Masonic, Esoteric, Satanic, Brotherhood of the Snake, and other Occult groups to usher in the New World Order! (Thanks to Jeff Tiedrich for this compilation).

And then on the way to the vet with Minnie for a wellness check NPR was interviewing a woman about christian nationalism and evangelicals and their plan for forcing a repressive theocracy on the US. Fun stuff.

And the Vatican has released a doctrine statement defining gender affirming care, gender theory, and surrogacy as violations of human dignity when it is in fact these religious doctrines that violate human dignity, that proclaim a way of being they don’t like or try to understand to be sinful and deserving of repression and violence. I suppose all those child rapers and molesters in the Catholic clergy weren’t violating the human dignity of their victims.

And then there’s this…House Intelligence Committee chair says Russian propaganda has spread through the GOP. Ya think?

And here’s a big surprise…not. Trump is lying (hard to believe I know), now that it has occurred to him it might be a big issue in November saying he believes the abortion issue should be left to the states after he foolishly admitted supporting a national ban if reelected and bragging about ending RvW. 

 

third time's the charm?

image via: https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2023/8/2/trump-indictment-tracker-where-do-cases-against-former-us-president-stand

We've been waiting for Trump to be indicted for J6 for so long that when it finally came it was...not a let down but I expected it to have a greater emotional impact. I was more excited by the indictment over the stolen classified and super secret documents and his cavalier manner of handling them and his possible sale of their contents to our enemies. Not that I think that case is more important. It's not. I guess what I really felt was sad, sad that an ex-president not only conspired to overthrow the most secure election in our history but actively participated in the conspiracy and then finally, when all their previous efforts to change the outcome of the election failed, sent an angry armed mob to the Capitol in a last ditch effort to stop the peaceful transfer of power that this country has been known for and proud of, to capture and hold at the very least, or murder at the very worst, Vice President Pence and speaker Pelosi to allow Chuck Grassley to call the election for Trump all because he lost, because he is a spoiled petulant bully of a manboy who has always been able to buy, lie, threaten, cheat, steal, or sue for whatever he wanted and get away with it and if destroying this 250+ year old experiment in self determination would get him what he wanted, sobeit.

I read the entire 45 page indictment on Wednesday. There wasn't much new that I hadn't already read about or has been speculated about, his and his 6 co-conspirators efforts through lies and lawsuits and fake elector schemes and pressure on fellow republicans and threats and ruined lives, but it was all laid out in a timeline with evidence and receipts. Five of the unnamed, and un-indicted for now, six co-conspirators are fairly easily identified, all lawyers, all knowingly acting outside the law. Several names are being bounced around for co-conspirator #6 but we don't really know who that is for sure.

And here's the really scary part, twice in the indictment when warned about the consequences of their stunt, the co-conspirators shrugged it off. First instance: when a 'senior advisor' (thought to be Mark Meadows) told co-conspirator 2 (thought to be John Eastman) “you're going to cause riots in the streets”, Eastman replied that there had been times in the nation's history when violence was necessary to protect the republic. Second instance: when a deputy White House counsel (also thought to be Mark Meadows) told co-conspirator 4 (considered to be Jeffery Clark) that “there would be riots in every major city in the United States” if their stunt to throw out a free and fair election and install Trump as president worked, Clark responded “that's what the Insurrection Act is for”. Let that sink in. They were fully prepared to call in the armed forces on American soil with live ammunition, to declare martial law to put down any protest against Trump's instatement and the destruction of our democracy, fully completing their coup just like every third world dictator does. And you know those are the men Trump admires...Putin, Kim Jon Un, Erdogan, Xi Jinping, the Saudi's...those men who rule with an iron hand who jail or murder their opponents.

Once in total control, Trump plans, if re-elected, to not only pardon himself, his co-conspirators, and all the insurrectionists charged and jailed for their part in storming the Capitol but also to stop any remaining investigations, as does every other republican running for president with one or two exceptions. DeSantis has said he's ready to slit throats on day one if elected. I've already referred in a previous post to the republican plans for the government and our country if they get back in power, already accumulating a list of loyalists they plan to install in every other position of power. You can learn more about that by researching Project 2025.

But back to this indictment. Only Trump was indicted and the belief is that Jack Smith wanted to get Trump to trial as soon as possible since he is a past and present danger to the republic and in fact has said he wants a speedy trial. Smith, in his press conference announcing the indictment, reiterated that the investigations are continuing and he's not done yet so we can expect more indictments, obviously the 6 co-conspirators but hopefully those members of congress who also participated in the planning and execution of the attack on the Capitol and the attempt to illegally install Trump as president.

Trump, of course, pled not guilty at his arraignment as he has every accusation and indictment against him. He's on his social media platform making the same old accusations against Biden who prudently has stayed away from and silent about the investigations, letting his independent DOJ take care of their business. Trump is continuing his assault on truth and liberty, that these investigations are politically motivated solely because Biden is afraid of Trump, that Biden has weaponized the DOJ (and here I want to insert that Smith has 86 witnesses and every. single. one. is a republican), that it's a hoax, a witch hunt, that if they can come after me, they can come after you. Well, yes, break the law and the law will come after you. Which, really, what else would you expect from Trump. As usual the republican party is silent except for those participants in Congress who were fully behind Trump's attempt to overturn the election and who continue to vocally support him and do his bidding. And of course the MAGAts who are so far down the rabbit hole of cult worship that they will vote for him even if he's in prison.

This was a sad day indeed for this country. There is no charm. Even if Trump does end up in prison he has divided and will continue to divide this nation, to make violence an acceptable response, to make it OK to lie, cheat, steal, intimidate, and threaten, to refuse to accept a clear defeat, to make it acceptable to be their worst self in public and to feel proud of that, to be openly hateful and racist and to go out of their way to make life harder for the vulnerable. This is his legacy. And this is why a third of the population of this country will never ever desert him. They will believe his lies and absurdities, they will absolve him of all wrongdoing because he gives them permission to be their worst selves.

she's so......heavvvvvvvvy

One more long post, should probably be split in two, this one about more republican political malfeasance and outright lawlessness, and then I swear I'll lighten up for a while.

Once again our governor Greg Abbott is showing us that he hates democracy and that republicans are willing to lie, cheat, and steal to remain in absolute power. Out of 254 counties, the Texas legislature has passed a bill enabling the secretary of state to re-do the results of an election in the state's largest county only, Harris, which includes the fourth largest city in the nation, the city of Houston and which votes overwhelmingly democrat. Harris County has sued to prevent the new law from taking effect September 1^st.

Abbott's cruelty knows no bounds with his deployment of razor wire along the banks and under the water of the Rio Grande with a line of floating spiked buoys with netting underneath down the middle of the river violating federal law and international treaties instructing the National Guard and the Department of Public Safety deployments to push people back in the river including children and refuse them water, orders so inhumane that it caused at least one trouper-medic to complain to his superior listing the injuries and deaths he observed...a four year old passed out from the heat pushed with her group back into the river, a man with a severe laceration after trying to rescue his child caught on razor wire on a buoy, a young woman caught in the razor wire having a miscarriage, a 15 year old with a broken leg suffered while trying to cross, and much more. His reason? The hordes of brown people crossing illegally which is the bald faced lie republicans won't let go of because it riles up their base. Biden's border patrol and policies are doing their job, illegal crossings are down 70 some odd percent, Mexico is engaged in protecting the border, drugs seizures have increased. When informed by the DOJ that Abbott was facing a lawsuit if he did not remove the razor wire and spiked buoys, his response was 'see you in court', claiming he has 'sovereign authority'. Let that sink in, 'sovereign authority'. He is not king, he is not president, Texas is not a republic; it is one state of many in this nation. He has no sovereign authority and no right to ignore federal law. The DOJ has filed suit but what Biden should do is just send in the Army Corps of Engineers and start dismantling it all.

I've already reported that Abbott has tried to have parents of trans kids investigated for child abuse and now the Florida republican legislature passed a bill, sending it to DeSantis to sign, that legalizes taking trans children away from their parents.

Florida governor DeSantis has recently created a State Guard whose purpose, when announced, was to help with disaster relief efforts but is being trained as an armed combat ready militia under boot camp conditions in camo uniforms under his personal command. It's initial maximum size went from 400 to 1500 and it's being financed by Florida taxpayers with a $107M budget approved by the state legislature. DeSantis wants to acquire helicopters, boats, cell phone hacking technology, and the power of arrest for this force outside of federal jurisdiction. Veterans who initially joined either quit or were physically removed after expressing concern about the training. DeSantis is training his own private little army.

Florida's State Board of Education's new standard for teaching about slavery is that slavery was beneficial to slaves because it taught them valuable skills which could be applied for their personal benefit when the opposite is true, that the “history of cattle farming, river navigation, rice and indigo cultivation, southern architecture, music, and so on in this country depended on the skills and traditions of African people” (from Heather Cox Richardson's newsletter). Pretty soon they'll be teaching that slaves came here voluntarily and begged white landowners to buy them. The new curricula doesn't stop there, it pretty much white washes everything about slavery, emancipation, reconstruction, and the hard won civil rights for blacks and women, all bestowed by benevolent white men according to the new standard. HCR's newsletter goes into great detail about Florida's new curricula and I recommend reading it. 

Alabama is trying to pass a law that criminalizes miscarry and stillbirth, automatically triggering homicide investigations of the women to see if they purposely put themselves in a situation that could result in a miscarriage. That could even be a situation where the woman has an abusive spouse and doesn't leave because of circumstances like having nowhere to go.

Other republican attorneys general are petitioning out of state hospitals and doctors for the health records of trans people which ordinarily would be a HIPPA violation but is allowed if they are requested as evidence in ongoing investigations. Regardless, this is just one more attack on the privacy and rights of the trans community.

Also in Alabama, the Supreme Court confirmed they were violating the Voting Rights Act and were ordered to redraw their congressional districts to include two black majority districts. July 21 they openly violated the Supreme Court order and passed a new map which did not include two black majority districts and which the governor signed.

The Senate Judiciary Committee voted along party lines (as in democrats voted for, republicans voted against) on a bill that would require the Supreme Court to adopt a binding code of ethics in line with every other federal judge after revelations that several of the justices have received unreported money, gifts, vacations, homes, private school tuition from mega donors with suits before the court and which these justices voted in favor of. Why do republicans object to the Supreme Court having a code of ethics?

In a blatant act of lawlessness Marjorie Taylor Greene displayed poster sized photos of Hunter Biden's dick pics on the floor of the House, claiming they were proof he was making pornography. She was neither called out, censured, nor removed from committees. It is literally against the law for someone to show or publish private nude photos of someone without their consent, especially when they have been obtained illegally as these were done. Then she sent them to everyone on her email list.

Angry that their cult leader Trump is finally being indicted for his criminal behavior, republican Jim Jordan of the House Judiciary Committee wrote to the chair of the Committee of Appropriations to defund the FBI which investigates crime. So much for the party of law and order. Apparently they believe that the law is for us and not for them.

All of the above are horrendous acts of cruelty or attacks on our civil rights and our democracy or outright acts of lawlessness but it's nothing compared to what republicans plan if they take the presidency and the Senate and keep the House. Trump loyalists have been very vocal about their plan to consolidate power in the presidency under Trump and not just Trump but any republican president. They have told us out loud they intend to remove the independence of various agencies putting them under the direct control of the president, they intend to defund the IRS so that their rich donors can continue to get away with not paying taxes, they intend to defund the FBI and the DOJ and put loyalists in charge that will investigate and prosecute Trump's opponents in retaliation for their opposition, they intend to do away with the protections afforded the Civil Service that prevents them from being fired for political reasons, they intend to do away with Social Security and Medicare, starting with putting restrictions of those working Americans who are paying in but not receiving benefits yet, voter suppression tactics will continue unabated to insure that once back in power they will stay in power, they intend to make abortion illegal nationally. This is a short list which adds up to ditching the constitution and turning our democracy with its balance of powers, into an authoritarian regime. The New York times, the Washington Post, and MSNBC have written about these well known plans.

Do not get complacent! This upcoming presidential and congressional election is even more important than the last one. Our democracy and our civil rights hang in the balance as well as the separation of church and state and any hope of combating climate change which is essential for continued human survival. 

and here we are again,

riots and violence and destruction because privileged white people don't listen. Or should I say privileged racist white people don't care how many black people are murdered. And did you see the video of the white guy who walks up with a hammer and starts smashing windows and then leaves? Or that the police precinct building that burned was evacuated 20 minutes before the fire started (granted this was just a tweet or FB post I saw) or that people are reporting on social media that they are seeing white people setting fires and smashing stuff or that the police chief of Minneapolis has reported that all the people arrested were from out of town? So who knows who is really starting the violence and fires. It's not unheard of for cops to plant guns and drugs and it's not such a big leap to think that certain cops and outside agitators would not hesitate to start the violence and destruction and then blame it on the protesters. So many white nationalists and nazis and racists WANT violence and an excuse to gun down black people in the street and they have been infiltrating police departments for decades. At least they have arrested the cop and charged him with murder, albeit 3^rd degree murder and 2^nd degree manslaughter. But he'll get off because they're all in this together. The medical examiner has stated that strangulation was not the cause of death even though anyone who saw that video knows exactly how he died. And the looting? Plenty of videos showing white people helping themselves to merchandise are on social media but you won't see any of those on the news.

For those of you who don't understand the rioting, think it doesn't help their cause, what else is left for them? Black Americans are killed by police far more often than white Americans. In 2019, 370 white people and 235 black people were shot and killed by police. On the surface it seems more white people were killed until you realize that black people make up only 12% of the population, 12% of the population accounts for 39% of the people killed by cops in 2019 so proportionally, per capita, far more black people are killed by police than white people. Black people have tried everything...being submissive, being compliant, writing letters, giving speeches, protesting peacefully and still they are shot dead unarmed by police and civilians, still they constantly have to deal with white people calling the police and being arrested for simply living their lives in public. Why do they finally riot? Because nothing else fucking gets attention! Nothing else has ever instituted change. Take a knee during the national anthem to point out racial injustice and you get spit on and fired. They are angry and frustrated and horrified when all they want is to be left alone, to not be killed by police and citizens who think they have the right to be judge, jury, and executioner over an accusation, to just live their lives with the same sense of safety that every. single. white. person. enjoys.

And what is Trump doing? He is throwing gas on embers, looting equals shooting, encouraging violence against black Americans. He wants nothing more than to use the National Guard or the Military Police (which have been put on alert) to fire on black civilians, to declare some sort of martial law, complaining that the Mayor of Minneapolis isn't being forceful enough against these protesters. He wants desperately to use the strong arm tactics his buddies Putin and the royal Saudis use. He threatened violence to the protesters outside the White House last night and is calling for his supporters to show up tonight.

If you still think we don't have a problem with racism in this country, consider this. In Atlanta, white militia members dressed their children up in camo, vests, shields, gas masks, helmets, and assault weapons and spread them out in a line to confront protesters. Their children! 

       

Their children are being taught that black people are scum and thugs and don't deserve to be treated with respect or even listened to and must be dealt with accordingly.

It is past time for our society to actually put into practice what we claim to be, a place of opportunity for all Americans regardless of skin color but that will never happen as long as we refuse to call out these white supremacists and nazis for what they really are...domestic terrorists...and then deal with them accordingly.

Edit: I read today statements by the mayor of Minneapolis, the governor of Minnesota, the police chief of Minneapolis, and a report by a resident of Minneapolis that the city is under siege. Peaceful protests against the murder of George Floyd take place during the day and after curfew, bands of roving white right wing militia members spread out and start fires and bash in storefronts, even removing plywood put up for protection. There are eye witnesses to this but by the time the police and National Guard show up they have melted away. Predictably AG Barr is blaming 'the radical left' and Antifa for the rioting and destruction without any proof whatsoever and despite the fact that some of those arrested are linked to the far right militias that have been threatening their wet dream of a new civil/race war ever since Trump was elected and in several cases it is the cops themselves that are escalating the violence.

no pictures, just words

I'm so excited! The vanity is in with sink and marble top installed, cabinets and mirror are back up, doors are being painted, quarter round along the baseboard is in, light fixture is back up. Still need to grout the last bit of tile, door and closet molding still needs to go up, doors need to be rehung, sink faucet and shower hardware need to be installed, towel bar and soap dish (which I don't have yet) need to be mounted. Sounds like a lot still to do but it's mostly piddly shit. And no more pictures til it's finished.

I did finish my watercolor of the water lilies but forgot to take a picture of it before I left last Monday. Hesed House which sponsored the watercolor class is having an art opening for all us students tonight so you'll have to wait til I get my painting back to see it. I'm such a tease, right?, refusing to show you pictures.

Yesterday I got rid of the leftover hardy board from repairing the outside siding of the house after Harvey that has been laying on the floor of the shop and being in the way. We have new neighbors, well, not so new, they moved in after Harvey, but had been buying the house (owner finance I think), doing all the maintenance for a couple of years, a young man Jose and his wife and younger brother and his parents. Anyway, they've been working on a small outbuilding that needed some hardy board and I offered it to them.

I also have another heaping cart full of hay grass and other undesirable weeds. The big backyard looks pretty ratty right now being between the chickweed and anemones going to seed and the fleabane and evening primrose starting up. Our neighbor who lives across the road our street ends at and who mows my not crazy neighbor's lot is just itching to mow the big backyard. Every time he mows my neighbor's yard, he volunteers to mow ours. I tell him we don't have a lawn, we have a meadow and that these early wildflowers are an important food source for bees.

And of course, things in this country are just getting worse and worse. Still no massive testing, no tests really even available, weird restrictions for people to get tested, everything being canceled...the Rodeo in Houston, all baseball, basketball, hockey, high speed auto races, Disneyland and Disney World closing, conferences canceled, the Glass Art Society annual conference canceled, museums closing, schools closing, universities closing and turning out their students from the dorms who have no other place to live, stock market crashing, and on and on. Democrats are trying to get paid leave, free testing, and other help for citizens while the Republicans put up roadblocks. But all those Republicans who scream that we have no money for universal health care or SS and Medicare or financial help during this crises or any number of policies intended to help the common folk had no problem finding half a trillion dollars for Wall Street overnight with the promise of another trillion. Because, folks, you don't matter. Only the rich and banks and industry matters. And now we know for certain that Trump put the kibosh on any aggressive response, or any response at all, to the coronavirus back in January because he was worried about how it would affect the stock market and his reelection chances (are we surprised?). And today he is all over twitter blaming Obama (and China) and lying about Obama's instant reaction to the swine flu outbreak 10 years ago (which btw had no impact on the stock market because like him or not he was a strong leader) and his own non-response to this pandemic. After his disastrous press conference Wednesday night, which was supposed to calm the nation (his speech was written by Kushner who Trump has put in charge of the federal response because who knows why, god forbid he put actual doctors in charge) the states finally realized that they were on their own and governors and mayors are taking the lead in trying to protect their populations. Too late of course. Just like his stupid travel ban which surprise surprise which excludes countries where he has properties.

Well, that's all I got. The yard is calling and I promise no politics, no teasing next post, just pictures of flowers.

no progress and Trump lies as the nation sickens

Almost no progress has been made on the bathroom this week. I had three appointments...Monday was our signing event for the Homeowner's Reimbursement Program, Tuesday a dentist appointment, Wednesday a follow-up with the electrophysiologist, an appointment I had rescheduled twice, who for the first time since I've been on the medications did not recommend the ablation for afib. I'm still having the occasional episode but they are few and far between and are fairly short and mild. If they don't bother you, he said, they don't bother me. Come back in 6 months.

While all that was going on, Rocky was dealing with a major problem on his big job. His crew made a 7” mistake on a wall they were building. He dropped by Wednesday to texture the sheetrock repair around the plumbing for the sink and we haven't seen him since. I got in there yesterday and painted the repair so whenever he shows up again he can get on with the other stuff.

You may have noticed that I haven't been writing about or commenting on the continuing debacle that is Trump and his administration. Well, I've been commenting on other bloggers' writings. I just reached a point where I couldn't take anymore. I've stopped reading articles on FB, not reading his tweets on Twitter, and I certainly can't stomach any videos with his lying asshole puckered mouth and his constant whiney complaints about how badly people treat him. When I started waking up in the middle of the night and the first thoughts that entered my head were about all the destruction he and McConnell are wreaking on this country, their total disregard for the law, their refusal to pass election security bills, and their sucking up to Putin and other despots it was time to take a giant step or two back. Not that I'm uninformed but wallowing in it is no longer a part of my day.

However...his response, or rather his non-response to the coronavirus pandemic is just plain criminal. In his mad dash to reduce the size of the government to small enough to drown in a bathtub he is endangering us all. First he got rid of the global pandemic response team because...Obama, he has effectively hamstrung the CDC by cutting its budget and instituting a hiring freeze which has left something like 700 positions unfilled and ignores the WHO, then he refused the gift of proper tests for the virus from another country because he wanted to use American tests which, surprise!, were ineffective, then he called it a hoax, then he sent a team of medical professionals to meet with the 14 evacuees from the airplane? cruise ship? in quarantine in China without any protective gear or proper tests and turned them loose into the general population, then he called it a flu and had to be schooled over and over about why the flu vaccine wouldn't be effective against it, then he lied and said a vaccine would be available in a matter of weeks when it will take over a year, then he called the death rate 'inflated', then he told people who were sick to go to work anyway because his only concern is about the stock market which is tanking because while Trump may be trying to sweep the pandemic under the rug, investors and business people worldwide aren't, so then Trump pressured the Federal Reserve to lower the already low interest rate thinking that that would solve the crashing stock market and he needs that stock market. It's the marker he uses to convince the population that he has engineered the best economy ever, though of course if you're one of those people who need several jobs just to get by or can get by with just one job but would be hard pressed to come up with an extra $400 for any kind of emergency, you already know that this 'best economy ever' is also one of his lies. And he needs that 'best economy' because it's the only thing he's got going for him and his hopeful reelection which he wants so that he won't have to face criminal charges when he's voted out (and won't have the National Treasury cash cow to raid every weekend). That's his concern here. That's why Sec. Treasury Mnuchin and Pence are in charge. No science allowed, no health workers allowed to speak to the media about what is really happening, no tests so there is no proof the pandemic is here. He doesn't give a rat's ass how many people die. And apparently he's just told the nation that he has 'shut it down', even as reported cases are multiplying and spreading throughout the country and people are dying so no need to attend a meeting at the CDC on his way to Florida. Can't be bothered with facts. (edit: apparently after all the bad press about the cancelation of his visit to the CDC, his handlers now say he will attend the meeting.)

Welcome to America under Trump and the Republicans where cryin' won't help us, prayin' won't do us no good. 

We have one chance. Vote blue. No. Matter. Who!

crazy people

The other day the son of the crazy woman who owns the lot next to us came over to mow and cut up the catalpa tree on the corner of the open shed that fell over several months ago. Then he was out there with a metal detector trying to find the metal stake at the front of the property that marks the property line and he was looking in the wrong spot, figuring it would be across from the fence line of the shop property across the street. Originally, the lot next to us belonged to the people who owned my house but for reasons unknown to me, they sold it to Frank of the Bountiful Garden whose property was on the other side of the lot. Frank didn't want to buy the tallow trees on the property line so the original owner retained 5', meaning we own the 5' adjacent to our property. This was news to her son and he finally conceded he would have to get someone out there to find the actual property line in preparation of putting up the fence. I'm pretty sure this is news to the crazy one as well and all this time she's been thinking we have not been respecting the property line, hence the fence between us, I guess. Or who knows what motivates her as far as we're concerned. I have to admit that I wish I could have been a bug on the wall to see her reaction when he told her. Don't you know she went nuts learning we owned 5' of property that she thinks should be hers.

And speaking of crazy people, the madman in the White House has kicked the hornets nest by assassinating the second most powerful man in Iran. For reasons. Trump is a proven liar and governments lie when they want to go to war (Iraq being our most recent example) and so I do not believe a word Trump or anyone in his administration or any of his Republican supporters says about Soleimani and his plans to attack US embassies and bases especially since defense officials dispute Trump's claim. So Soleimani was evil. So is Putin, so is Erdogan, so is Kim Jong Un, so is the crown prince of Saudi Arabia, Netanyahu and all the other dictators Trump so admires and in fact he alerted Putin of his intention and not Congress who has the sole power to authorize an act of war.

Not satisfied with this stupid thoughtless stunt all because Trump and his minions can't tolerate the achievements of a black man, and asked if he had an exit strategy for the events that will surely follow, he replied “I don't need an exit strategy”; Trump has threatened to bomb 52 cultural and heritage sites in Iran, 52 non-military targets. This is a war crime. Not surprisingly, our allies that Trump has spent the last three years shitting on do not support the impulsive assassination of Soleimani with no thought as to the consequences that has already endangered their own service people abroad and Trump can't understand why not while Pompeo actually said he expected the Iranians to rejoice over Soleimani's death.

And who are we to claim righteousness? How many innocent lives have we ended in our quest for oil and conquest of the world? We destroyed Iraq under false pretenses, over half a million Iraqis dead, their infrastructure destroyed, the economy decimated, caused it to fall into anarchy and terrorism, not to mention the 30,000+ maimed American soldiers, all because Dick Cheney had a hard on for Iraqi oil.

Trump has fulfilled his own prediction/tweets about Obama...a failing unpopular (and in this case impeached) president would start a war with Iran to get re-elected.

Welcome to 2020. And I thought 2019 was fucked up.

better weather, cold work, and gun nuts

Last Thursday it was overcast and rainy drizzly and cold and other than my sister and I going out for an estate sale in the morning, I got nothing accomplished all day. I know, I know, I've said the same thing about the previous days and then listed everything I did but Thursday I was so cold I spent the entire day on the couch under a blanket under the heat vent with the electric heater on and I didn't warm up til 6:30. Friday was warmer and I did more cold work on the heron box and the snowflake ornaments 

and picked up more pecans, ditto Saturday though we had a Friendsgiving with our little social group on the street in the afternoon...chili and cornbread and a salad and several deserts. It was a pretty day and fairly warm until the sun went down and it got cold again.

Also Saturday my frames/shadow boxes from my brother came so Sunday and Monday I worked on those doing a final sanding and starting to paint them but I ran out of paint so that's on the agenda for today and did more cold work on the heron box. Weirdly enough, when we re-fired it I guess it consolidated more ie more air was compressed out because I lost an 1/8” of height after I reground the bottom flat (though I didn't take that much off the bottom) so I'm having to take an 1/8” off the bottom of the neck of the inlay piece. I also worked more on the line down the front where the flashing was. I'm happier with it, not happiest, but happier.

the white line down the front is where the flashing (raised line where the melted glass oozed through a crack in the mold) was, the white will be finished out but the line where the flashing was will still be visible under certain lighting

new mounting for these tiles from last year, took them out of the expensive stands and attached them on a piece of plywood that replaced the glass from these hobby store frames for hanging on the wall

We've been having some really nice weather, supposed to be in the mid-70˚s all week, sunny, a few rain showers later. My trees are still dropping pecans, I'm picking up about a gallon's worth every day. I've shelled all I'm going to shell I think, 14 pounds, so now I'm just waiting till they stop falling to take them in and sell the rest. The gingko trees still have not turned yellow which surprises me, getting there but still more green than yellow.

So I've pretty much stopped trying to engage certain people, MAGAts and gun nuts and by gun nuts I don't mean all gun owners, just those who don't feel safe without a gun at hand all the time, because what's the point. And to that end I did not directly reply to a new commenter on Steve Reed's blog who commented on one of his recent posts about encountering crazy but essentially harmless people on his walks with his dog. Anyway this woman commented that she lives in Texas and carries precisely because of crazy people and even recounted an episode when she reached for her gun because someone in another car flipped her off. Personally, I don't think a stressed out driver who gives someone the finger and maybe says fuck you because you cut them off or refused to let them in to be worthy of brandishing a weapon but that's just me, especially here in Texas where open carry without a license is permitted and too many people think a gun is the only solution to every annoyance. Because I didn't want his other readers to think that she represented Texas, I simply commented without directing it to her that I too was from Texas and didn't carry or own a gun, that it wasn't crazy people you encounter on the street that worried me but those who go around armed all the time. So even though my comment was several down from hers, she read it and commented again @ me specifically. First she lectured me on the gun laws here (as if I'm ignorant of those facts) and then this...”You had better be afraid of us carrying a gun because we won't be playing with you and stupidity”...belligerence and threats. She made my point for me far better than I could. I'd feel sorry for people who live in so much constant fear that they have to carry a gun all the time if it weren't for the chance that they would just as soon shoot me as walk away if I pissed them off.

And so to end on a more pleasant note, the wrens have been very active the last couple of weeks screeching at the cat and poking around. I was ready to close up the shop last week and there were two wrens in there and they would not be shooed out so I had to wait til later and then the other night there were two in the garage when I closed it up for the night. They also would not be shooed out though they can get out of the garage when it's closed up unlike the shop and I've already found two dead wrens in there that got trapped. And they often come investigate this corner of the house where I sit and look out clinging to the screens, checking out under the eaves, looking for wasp nests I guess being the wasp and bee eaters that they are.

Alright, time to get busy.

the nut at the wheel and other things

The latest piece of Trump's insanity that has come to our attention...he thinks nuking hurricanes to prevent them from hitting the US is a fine idea. What could possibly go wrong? He denies saying it of course, just like he denies saying everything people ridicule him for saying, which as far as I'm concerned only confirms that he did float the idea. And then, of course, he spent his final press conference at the G7 in France promoting his floundering bedbug infested property Doral in Florida for next years G7 meeting to be held in the US. 

We still have 17 more months of his insanity/inanity, minimum, because Congress won't get off it's ass for whatever justification and stop him so it's up to us, the American people. Vote blue no matter who.

Oh well, on to other topics. They lied again. They told us we were going to get rain this weekend. It rained in El Campo to the west, it rained in Houston to the east, it rained on the coast to the south. Us? We got a scant 1/4” of rain Sunday. But it was overcast all day and so stayed in the high 80˚s all day.

I took advantage of the cooler weather and got the last wax slab poured and basically all the cold work done that I can do for now. 

the last two molds to be made

I still have lots of fine tuning and grinding to do once the last three pieces are out of the kiln. I rummaged around and determined I have just enough glass to fill the box mold and the two gray slabs which I also got altered or trimmed down and ready for molds on Sunday.

I haven't filled the box mold yet even though time is ticking away because I've been waiting for it to dry out a little. The castings come out much cleaner when the mold is dry and I'm using dry frit  but that's on the agenda for today. 

And then this also happened Sunday (click to bigify)...

    

It's hard to tell but this is a huge limb on one of the pecan trees that broke but is resting on another big limb lower down preventing it from completely breaking off and crashing to the ground. So now we need to find a tree service to come take it down. My sister also lost a big limb on one of her pecan trees this weekend and driving through town I saw several others down, a result of no rain and high winds. Pecan trees are bad about self-pruning when they feel stressed. They've also been dropping lots of green nuts, big ones too.

Another miserably hot day out there. 9 AM and it's 83˚ and 85% humidity, high predicted to be 97˚. I'll be hanging out in the house today y'all.