News and Updates

1. I have been trying to write a response to the Senate Republicans’ predictable whitewashing of Donald Trump’s Fascist coup attempt of January 6 last weekend, but every time I sit down to write anything I find myself so enraged by the sheer treasonous gall of it that nothing of any use comes out, so perhaps I will just forego that post.

2. I will say that I am not surprised by the fact that the Republican Party has now overwhelmingly declared itself in favor of sedition, insurrection, and treason. It’s been a long time coming with that party, and that verdict is what happens when an open Fascist faces a jury of his accomplices who have made it perfectly clear that they are more than happy to collude with his defense lawyers in order to avoid facing the actual facts of the situation. It is long past time for all Americans to treat the Republican Party as the existential threat to the survival of the American republic that it is.

3. Also a warning: An insurrection that is not punished is called a dress rehearsal. The next time right-wing extremists stage a coordinated assault against the United States of America with the active support of the Republican Party, we may not be so lucky.

4. You may take the rest as read. I will move on, however, at least in this space and at least for the moment.

5. I started off thinking “Oh, those silly Texans confused by a bit of winter” and then I looked at the actual conditions there and thought, “Damn, those poor bastards are really in trouble, aren’t they?” I mean, those were some legit cold temperatures – cold even by northern standards – in a place that isn’t built to handle that sort of thing, and you have to be concerned for them. The houses aren’t built for it, the roads aren’t built for it, their wardrobes aren’t built for it, and, as we’ve discovered, the power grid isn’t built for it. Of course, that last was a deliberate decision to isolate the Texas power grid from the national grid in order to avoid federal regulation and maximize short-term profits, so I hope the proper people are going to face consequences when all this is over. It’s not an accident that the same governor who told Texans to let grandma die during a pandemic in order to keep the stock market from declining is now claiming that this is all due to a Green Energy plan that hasn’t actually been implemented yet and proclaiming how sure he is that his constituents would rather freeze to death than submit to commonsense regulations. Delusion knows no limits with such people.

6. Did you notice that our Actual President has already declared the area a federal disaster and made them eligible for the appropriate benefits even though they didn’t vote for him and without demanding they kiss his ass? Isn’t it nice to have an actual adult in the Oval Office these days?

7. Meanwhile closer to home, it has been ditch-digger weather here for a couple of weeks, though we’re not going below zero Fahrenheit tonight for the first time in a while and by the weekend we may even approach the freezing point, whereupon Wisconsites will have picnics because people here are used to this sort of thing. We have warm coats, insulated homes, and a power grid that can handle the cold, and we’re grateful for it

8. When I was in college I did a lot of theatrical lighting on a campus that had no formal theater department but as many as a dozen student groups putting on productions, depending on the year, and every semester was a quest to find out how many shows I could work on before it was too many and the stress and workload would drive me around the bend. The answer was six, by the way. I may be having that sort of semester this spring as well only without the theater, as I have my advising job plus four classes (3 preps on 3 different campuses) with 140 students. It’s busy. But hey. Kids in college, and all that. We press on.

9. About six months ago I ran across a file of recipes from Kim’s days in Pittsburgh and thought to myself, “Huh, that’s an odd place for that” before putting it back. Naturally Kim needs that file now and I have no recollection whatever where it might be. I’ve looked all through the house for the last four weeks to no avail. It is a deeply aggravating thing.

10. On a cold winter’s night there is nothing better than a Leon Redbone playlist and a warm beverage.