January 5, 2022
Afternoon Update:
Katie Benner of the New York Times: "Under pressure from Democrats and a few Republicans to hold ... Donald J. Trump accountable for his role in inspiring the attack on the Capitol, Attorney General Merrick B. Garland [said] on Wednesday..., 'The Justice Department remains committed to holding all Jan. 6 perpetrators, at any level, accountable under law -- whether they were present that day or were otherwise criminally responsible for the assault on our democracy.'... Several of the attorney general's remarks appeared to respond to critics who have urged him to say more about the department's investigation into what he called 'an unprecedented attack on the seat of our democracy,' and to address whether investigators were scrutinizing Mr. Trump.... Mr. Garland did not mention Mr. Trump or any specific investigation the department might be pursuing."
** President Jimmy Carter in a New York Times op-ed: "One year ago, a violent mob, guided by unscrupulous politicians, stormed the Capitol and almost succeeded in preventing the democratic transfer of power. All four of us former presidents condemned their actions and affirmed the legitimacy of the 2020 election.... However, one year on, promoters of the lie that the election was stolen have taken over one political party and stoked distrust in our electoral systems.... I now fear that what we have fought so hard to achieve globally -- the right to free, fair elections, unhindered by strongman politicians who seek nothing more than to grow their own power -- has become dangerously fragile at home.... After I left the White House and founded the Carter Center, we worked to promote free, fair and orderly elections across the globe.... I have also seen how new democratic systems -- and sometimes even established ones -- can fall to military juntas or power-hungry despots."
Oh Noes! I missed yesterday's biggest story: ~~~
~~~ Kate Bennett of CNN: "Melania Trump announced Tuesday morning that she is holding an auction of the white hat she wore during the visit of the French first family, the Macrons, to the White House in 2018. In a statement from her office, Trump said that, in addition to the hat, the auction lot will include a watercolor by Marc-Antoine Coulon -- a French artist who drew her eyes for her NFT last month -- as well as what the statement defines as 'an exclusive digital artwork NFT with motion.' The NFT, the second Trump has sold in less than a month, features the drawing of the hat with some animation. Trump's office says some of the proceeds will go toward an initiative that is a part of the former first lady's Be Best program, but it's not clear how much will be donated. The centerpiece of the auction, the custom white hat, which Trump has signed, was created for Trump by her personal stylist, Hervé Pierre, to match the $2,105 white crepe Michael Kors Collection suit Trump wore for the daytime ceremonies at the White House attended by Emmanuel Macron and Brigitte Macron.... The three items will have an opening bid of $250,000, and bidding will only be accepted via SOL, a form of cryptocurrency." ~~~
~~~ Thanks to Akhilleus for the lead. Also to Patrick for his commentary. For some reason, both writers seem to suspect there are scams involved here.
~~~~~~~~~~
Video of an Insurrection. Rep. Jamie Raskin presented this video during Donald Trump's second impeachment trial:
The Washington Post features a series that reports on events before, during & after the January 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol: "... Donald Trump's assault on American democracy began in the spring of 2020, when he issued a flurry of preemptive attacks on the integrity of the country's voting systems. The doubts he cultivated ultimately led to a rampage inside the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, when a pro-Trump mob came within seconds of encountering Vice President Mike Pence, trapped lawmakers and vandalized the home of Congress in the worst desecration of the complex since British forces burned it in 1814. Five people died in the Jan. 6 attack or in the immediate aftermath, and 140 police officers were assaulted. The consequences of that day are still coming into focus, but what is already clear is that the insurrection was not a spontaneous act nor an isolated event. It was a battle in a broader war over the truth and over the future of American democracy." ~~~
~~~ The Washington Post also has a page of insurrection photos not frequently published, with commentary from reporters & photojournalists.
Devlin Barrett, et al., of the Washington Post: "Senior Biden administration officials have concluded that the government's Jan. 6 preparations were hampered by a lack of high-level information-sharing and a failure to anticipate how bad the day could be -- lessons they say they are applying today in an effort to prevent another such attack. Those conclusions ... are not formal findings, the officials said. But they offer a kind of road map for how the Biden White House is attempting to prevent similar assaults on the democratic functions of government.... In an effort to keep senior officials on top of security threats in Washington, Biden's National Security Council oversees weekly discussions among federal law enforcement agencies to discuss planned events like protests and any related information that points to possible violence."
** Ryan Nobles, et al., of CNN: "Fox News host Sean Hannity was concerned about ... Donald Trump's strategy and conduct before, during and after the January 6 attack on the US Capitol, according to a letter sent to him on Tuesday by the House select committee probing the insurrection. The committee asked Hannity for his voluntary cooperation with their investigation, noting it had received 'dozens' of his text messages sent to and from former Trump White House chief of staff Mark Meadows that indicate that he had 'advance knowledge regarding President Trump's and his legal team's planning for January 6th.' In the letter, the panel said it wants to speak with Hannity specifically about his communications with Trump, White House staff and his legal team between December 31, 2020, and January 20, 2021, when President Joe Biden was inaugurated." Update: The Washington Post's story is here. ~~~
~~~ ** The full text of committee chair Bennie Thompson & vice-chair Liz Cheney's letter to Hannity is here, via the committee (linked fixed; the linked page also links to a facsimile of the letter). MB: The letter is kind of a bombshell, as Thompson & Cheney indicate that Hannity knew Trump's state of mind before, during & after the insurrection. The funny thing about the tidbits we're getting is that, for the most part, we're learning what people allegedly said to Trump or to others in his inner circle (like Meadows), but we don't learn Trump's reaction. (The exception is the phone call, made during the insurrection, between Trump & Kevin McCarthy.) We sort of have a picture that everyone is talking at Trump, while he said nothing. Especially because of "expletive-laced" nature of the McCarthy-Trump shouting match, I doubt that was the case.
Ryan Nobles & Annie Grayer of CNN: "Rep. Bennie Thompson, chairman of select committee investigating the January 6 insurrection, wants to hear directly from then-Vice President Mike Pence, who certified the 2020 presidential election despite an extensive pressure campaign led by ... Donald Trump and his allies to halt the process. Thompson, a Mississippi Democrat, wants Pence to voluntarily speak with the panel about what he witnessed on January 6 and the conversations he was privy to in the days leading up to it, which could provide extensive insight to the panel's investigation."
Greg Sargent of the Washington Post: "For weeks, Rep. Liz Cheney has hinted that the House select committee examining Jan. 6 might urge the Justice Department to consider prosecuting Donald Trump.... Some comments from Cheney herself -- and clarification I've now obtained from a Cheney spokesman -- shed new light on where this is going. The short version: It's likely the committee will explore recommending changes to federal law to further clarify that obstructing the electoral count in Congress is a crime subject to stiff penalties.... The committee wants to determine whether [during the insurrection] Trump indicated a desire to see the mob continue disrupting the electoral count. We don't know if it will prove this."
Nicholas Wu & Kyle Cheney of Politico: "The select panel investigating the Jan. 6 insurrection has issued a subpoena for the phone records of pro-Trump commentator and radio host Sebastian Gorka, who previously had not been known to be of interest to the committee. Gorka filed suit Tuesday, accusing the committee of overstepping its authority and asking a court to block Verizon from turning over the records."
Mary Jalonick of the AP: "Trapped in the gallery of the House, occupying balcony seats off-limits to the public because of COVID-19, roughly three dozen House Democrats were the last ones to leave the chamber on Jan. 6, bearing witness as the certification of a presidential election gave way to a violent insurrection. As danger neared, and as the rioters were trying to break down the doors, they called their families. They scrambled for makeshift weapons and mentally prepared themselves to fight. Many thought they might die. 'When I looked up, I had this realization that we were trapped,' said Rep. Jason Crow, D-Colo., a former Army Ranger who served in Iraq and Afghanistan. 'They had evacuated the House floor first. And they forgot about us.'"
Kyle Cheney of Politico: "Three more police officers who responded to the Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol -- including two who aided the evacuation of lawmakers -- have sued Donald Trump, seeking damages for their physical and emotional injuries.... [In all, ten officers have] sue[d] Trump and accuse[d] him of instigating the attack."
Hmm. Trumpolini Chickens Out. Max Greenwood of the Hill: "Former President Trump is scrapping a planned news conference on the one-year anniversary of the Jan. 6 riot at the U.S. Capitol. The former president had planned to use the Thursday news conference at Mar-a-Lago in Palm Beach, Fla., as counterprogramming for a scheduled prayer service at the Capitol to commemorate the events of Jan. 6. In a statement, Trump blamed the House select committee charged with investigating the Jan. 6 riot for the cancellation. He said he would instead touch on many of the themes he had planned to discuss at the news conference during a rally in Arizona set for Jan. 15." ~~~
~~~ Felicia Sonmez & Josh Dawsey of the Washington Post: "According to a person familiar with the matter, Trump wanted to make a scene and deride reporters at the event but had been told repeatedly by his advisers it could be the kind of coverage he doesn't want. Trump also did not know exactly what he wanted his message to be, and his team was taken aback by how many reporters were planning on attending, according to the person...."
Kyle Cheney of Politico: "Three more police officers who responded to the Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol -- including two who aided the evacuation of lawmakers -- have sued Donald Trump, seeking damages for their physical and emotional injuries.... [In all, ten officers have] sue[d] Trump and accuse[d] him of instigating the attack."
Jordain Carney of the Hill: "Sen. Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.) on Tuesday night floated smaller changes to the Senate rules that would stop short of the filibuster reforms being pushed for by many of his Democratic colleagues. Manchin, coming out of a meeting with Majority Leader Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.) and other Democrats involved in the negotiations, didn't pledge to vote for any specific rules reforms but appeared open to smaller changes.... One idea Manchin said he would support would be getting rid of the 60-vote hurdle currently required to start debate on legislation. Manchin has raised potentially scrapping the procedural roadblock in talks he's had with GOP senators on the Senate's rules.... But Manchin indicated that he still wants to keep a supermajority requirement to end debate, but that he was supportive of changing it from requiring 60 votes needed to break a filibuster to three-fifths of senators present and voting." MB: IOW, "Watch me pretend I'm a reasonable guy open to filibuster reform as I flip the bird at all you liberal wusses."
Felicia Sonmez of the Washington Post: "Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Tex.) predicted Republicans would move to impeach President Biden 'whether it's justified or not' if they retake the House in this year's midterm elections. The White House responded Tuesday by calling on Cruz to work with Democrats toward bipartisan agreement on policy matters instead of 'name-calling' and making political predictions. Cruz's comments, which he made during a podcast appearance late last month, underscore the extent to which rising partisan hostility has paralyzed Washington."
Take This Job & Shove It. Ben Casselman of the New York Times: "The number of Americans quitting their jobs is the highest on record, as workers take advantage of strong employer demand to pursue better opportunities. More than 4.5 million people voluntarily left their jobs in November, the Labor Department said Tuesday. That was up from 4.2 million in October and was the most in the two decades that the government has been keeping track.... Much of the discussion about the increase in quitting, sometimes referred to as the Great Resignation, has focused on white-collar workers re-evaluating their priorities in the pandemic. But job turnover has been concentrated in hospitality and other low-wage sectors, where intense competition for employees has given workers the leverage to seek better pay."
Frances Robles & Anatoly Kurmanaev of the New York Times: "The United States has charged a retired Colombian commando with taking part in the assassination of President Jovenel Moïse of Haiti -- the first suspect to face U.S. prosecution in the crime. Mario Palacios was detained at an airport in Panama on Monday and flown from there to Miami, after previously agreeing to cooperate with U.S. law enforcement, according to federal prosecutors. He appeared before a federal judge on Tuesday and was charged with conspiring to kidnap or kill outside the United States. He was held without bond."
Neal Boudette of the New York Times: "Toyota Motor unseated General Motors as the top-selling automaker in the United States last year, becoming the first manufacturer based outside the country to achieve that feat in the industry's nearly 120-year history. That milestone underlines the changes shaking automakers, which face strong competition and external forces as they move into electric vehicles. And it came in a tumultuous and strange year in which automakers contended with an accelerating shift to electric vehicles and struggled with profound manufacturing challenges. New car sales have been damped by a severe shortage of computer chips that forced automakers to idle plants even though demand for cars has been incredibly robust."
The Pandemic, Ctd.
The New York Times' live updates of Covid-19 developments Wednesday are here: "Public school officials in Chicago canceled classes for Wednesday amid a clash with the teachers' union, whose members had threatened to stay home in a bid to force instruction online during a coronavirus surge. Union members had criticized the district's response to the Omicron variant, which has pushed cases in the city to record levels, and said conditions in classrooms were unsafe. The Chicago Teachers Union said late Tuesday night that 73 percent of members who voted favored pausing in-person instruction." ~~~
~~~ The Washington Post's live Covid-19 updates for Wednesday are here.
Some Thoughts about Covid from the Stupidest Senator. David Edwards of the Raw Story: "Sen. Ron Johnson (R-WI) this week doubled down on his campaign to promote the so-called 'natural immunity' that occurs after one has been infected by Covid-19. During an interview with WCPT, Johnson said that vaccine scientists are wrong to think that they 'can create something better than God.' The Wisconsin Republican recalled that he had tested positive for Covid-19 last year while being free of symptoms."
Beyond the Beltway
New York. Luis Ferré-Sadurní & Grace Ashford of the New York Times: "Former Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo of New York will not be prosecuted in the criminal case involving allegations that he groped a former aide in the Executive Mansion in 2020, the Albany County district attorney announced on Tuesday. The announcement came on the heels of recent decisions by district attorneys in Nassau and Westchester Counties not to bring charges against Mr. Cuomo on other sexual misconduct allegations. And it brought to an end the only criminal charge thus far related to a blistering report from the state attorney general that led to his resignation in August. While the Albany district attorney said he was 'deeply troubled' by allegations against Mr. Cuomo made by the former aide, Brittany Commisso, his statement underscored the difficulties of building a criminal case out of them.... David Soares, the Albany County district attorney, said in a statement[,] 'While we found the complainant in this case cooperative and credible, after review of all the available evidence we have concluded that we cannot meet our burden at trial.'"
Way Beyond
Canada. Catherine Porter & Vjosa Isai of the New York Times: "The Canadian government announced Tuesday that it had reached what it called the largest settlement in Canada's history, paying $31.5 billion to fix the nation's discriminatory child welfare system and compensate the Indigenous people harmed by it. The agreement in principle forms the basis for a final settlement of several lawsuits brought by First Nations groups against the Canadian government. Of the overall settlement, 40 billion in Canadian dollars, half will go toward compensating both children who were unnecessarily removed, and their families and caregivers, over the past three decades. The rest of the money will go toward repairing the child welfare system for First Nations children -- who are statistically far more likely to be removed from their families -- over the next five years to ensure families are able to stay together."
News Ledes
AP: "A large house fire in Philadelphia[, Pa.,] early Wednesday killed 13 people, including seven children, and sent two people to hospitals, fire officials said. Officials said at a news conference later in the morning that there were four smoke detectors in the building but that none were operating. Firefighters and police responded to the fire at a three-story rowhouse in the city's Fairmount neighborhood around 6:40 a.m. and found flames coming from the second-floor windows, fire officials said. The house had been converted into two apartments, police said. The fire was brought under control after less than an hour."
CNN: "Amtrak passengers traveling through Virginia were delayed for about 30 hours Monday night after trees downed during a winter storm blocked the train's path. About 120 passengers were on the Crescent Train 20 when it was stopped north of Lynchburg, Amtrak spokesperson Christina Leeds told CNN.... While trains and automobiles are on the move again, Virginia is still recovering from the storm. More than 187,000 customers were still without power as of early Wednesday morning, according to PowerOutage.us."
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Reader Comments (18)
Marie: FYI, it appears that the link to Shamshity's letter is broken. Clicking on it elicits no response.
@unwashed: Thanks. Microsoft seems to have a new system for pdfs that make it impossible to link them. So I found a work-around. But this is going to be a problem for every pdf I try to link in the future.
" ... Johnson said that vaccine scientists are wrong to think that they 'can create something better than God.' ... "
Although the word "casuistry" is associated with Jesuits, Christian Brother high school teachers were no slouches when it came to ratiocination. They taught us, in the early '60's, that when God wanted something done on earth, He (always He) often used man to do it. Not all the works of man were implementation of God's Will ("No, today we're not talking about The Problem Of Evil, put your hand down Mr. N.__________"). He did not go in for showy miracles, like making a new vaccine appear by magic under your Christmas tree. He worked through the natural development processes, one of which includes giving mankind big brains and opposable thumbs.
Hence, Ron Johnson doesn't understand that to the REAL god-bothered, EVERYTHING comes from God. Even vaccine-makers.
RJ's evangelical fan base knows that, so when RJ says you can't improve on God, they should stone him for a heretic for not ackowledging God's agency in all things. But, they don't, because, hey, it sounds anti-vax so it must be good theology.
Those of us who studied logic (not me; I got off logic and philosophy at age 19 when it seemed clear that the turtles went waaayyy too far down) should realize that mixing government (senators with no brains) and theosophy (God dint do that! I intuit so.) leads to category error.
But we knew that, right?
More on the imminent death of "customer service," illustrated in two incidents attendant on the Pacific Northwest's recent Deep Freeze.
First plumbing problems. Dateline Fir Island, Washington.
Frozen hot water line, which was a problem in itself, but as is often the case, the big problem comes with the thaw. Three burst copper lines revealed themselves in an unheated laundry room.
Managed the repairs with the help of a friend, a process that took three days due to my incompetence, but aided by those supply chain problems we've heard to much about. No locally available propane torch cylinders, no Shark Bite half inch caps for copper pipe and a nice young lady who knew nothing. I will always remember the lady.
Scene: Home Depot yesterday.
Had been to the Ace hardware store, Lowes and now Home Depot...
After looking over the shelves of boxed plumbing parts ten minutes or so and not finding what I needed, asked for help. Another ten minutes passed and a young lady wandered in my direction down the aisle from the back depths of the building, head down, looking at her phone. When she neared me, I asked if she was in plumbing. She looked up and said yes I'm a plumbing "associate," but added hesitantly and quietly, "I don't know very much about plumbing."
She didn't, and while I appreciated here honesty I wondered why she was there. She looked like she did, too.
We never found the part I sought.
Then the Fir Island propane delivery that didn't arrive.
We had called for a delivery and were told it could not be delivered for two or so weeks unless we paid a fee for expedited delivery.
With images of the Donner Party in mind, we agreed to pay 200 extra dollars to have the propane delivered to the address within 72 hours.
But no propane. Not on Friday, not on Saturday, by which time most of the snow was off the roads. We called the company's customer service. The person (located somewhere, anywhere, nowhere?) who answered was literally unintelligible to an English speaker. With all the delays, holds, dropped calls and incoherent explanations, that session took an hour, from which we gleaned that 72 hours meant 9 days of 8 hour business days, tho' no one had communicated that outrageous fine print when we had made the delivery arrangement.
Finally, a phone number for a local (within the state) manager. Another call. Bad roads, sick driver excused proffered, and agreement that the 200 dollars would be refunded....sometime.
Propane delivered yesterday, finally.
When we get to it, we're changing companies. There's still one left who has people in a nearby office we can talk to, but as the power has shifted from the consumer to the corporation (Stock market up again more then 200 more points the other day) those options are disappearing fast.
In fact, they are almost gone.
It's not just propane torch cylinders, select plumbing parts and computer chips in short supply.
Ken: Here's a column from your favorite beˆte noire, someone I don't read because you do it for us, but today I took the plunge cuz he was writing about "–-Joan Didion–-Conservative." Wow, I says to myself, now that's something I can't ignore. Ross Douthat, hilariously, reduces Didion, a complex thinker and writer , to the binary "Is she liberal or conservative?" which is to completely miss the point of Didion–-and probably missing the the point of most human beings. One wants to say, as a starter, as one commenter did, "Ross dear"–– while handing him a cup of tea–– and telling him this: Didion GREW up––matured–-aged–- became aware of the plights of the disenfranchised, thus turned away from conservatism. How many of us started out as green buds but blossomed into flowers as one poet put it; Although–-someone like Ron Johnson (and his ilk) from Wisconsin is the exception.
Have a go at it Ken––if you can.
https://www.nytimes.com/2022/01/05/opinion/joan-didion-conservative.html
To Ken once again: We must have been writing at the same time. I feel foolish now , going on about Dough-nut, when you and family have gone through such a catastrophe. Good luck with all that and I must say, your take on all this was, if I may say so without you thinking I'm not sympathetic–-fodder for a good comedy script.
and Patrick: good show!!!!!!
Customer service. Is there really such a thing? Been thinking it's
sort of an oxymoron.
If I do finally get through to a live (?) person, I turn out to be the
one apologizing. Sorry, could you repeat that, I don't understand.
Could be that's their modus operandi. If the customer gets frustrated
they'll give up and we win and they usually do since I'm not a
confrontational customer.
And you usually can't take your business elsewhere since we're
dealing with too many monopolies in this day and age.
Can't wait for trump's rally in Arizona, another virus surge for his
worshippers in the near future. The maskless, the clueless, the
vaxless.
P.D.
No worries. We're fine. Anne is over her bout with mild Covid and the Fir Island problems, now mostly taken care of, were self-imposed, stemming from the capitalism half of my socialist life.
The frozen pipes and the propane delivery debacles occurred at a rental. Their underlying problem: Countering the zeitgeist, we try to provide good customer service to our renters ..
Yes, the situations were kinda funny, even Marx Brothers so, but I take the decline of customer service as a dark symbol for the decline of so much else in our polity.
It's been a long time since I had a dispute with my father, the proprietor of a small hardware store, about the sign prominently displayed near the cash register. "The customer is always right."
I told him that sentiment was often wrong, and tho' I didn't say it then, I believe it bothered me too because I sensed it to me craven,
the businessman cast as lapdog and I didn't like to view my father that way.
Today the slogan would read, "The customer is a pain in the ass..."
And thanks to you, P.D., I think I'll skip this Douthat...
Ron Johnson has just been informed the no corpses, skeletons, or mummies have reported any symptoms of covid and suggests that we all try to emulate what must be God's most perfect immune system, the dead one.
@Ken Winkes: I have three types of heat in one of my houses (propane, electric & oil) and two in the other. I also have generators at both houses that go on automatically if the power goes out. Still, I don't feel 100 percent safe, because I'm not. Your propane company sounds like mine, but worse. NOBODY ever says, "I'll have it out there in 72 hours," and means 72 business hours. If they meant 72 business hours, they would say, "within 9 business days." Since nine business days is almost two weeks, nobody would likely pay an extra $200 for getting delivery a day earlier in a two-week window. Nitwits.
Anyway, especially because that property is on an island, I'd consider getting a backup power system.
I didn't read Douthat, either, and as Didion is a cousin of mine (by marriage), I took unusual offense at even the headline. As P.D. lays out very well, Didion was -- as much as a well-read person can be -- an original thinker, and her interests & observations didn't neatly fit into political categories.
Ken,
I feel your pain, brother.
Being a DIY kind of guy, I’m often in a Lowe’s or Home Depot trying to find someone who knows what they’re talking about. More than once I’ve felt compelled to follow a customer down an aisle after overhearing a “sales associate” giving them wrong, and in at least one case, very bad advice (no, you should never use an extension cord with a space heater putting out 1500 watts. This is how houses catch on fire.). I have been tempted at times to ask one of these sales people if they can show me where they keep the left handed monkey wrenches, just to see the reaction.
And kudos for not immediately blaming Joe Biden for supply chain problems. The other day (at Lowe’s, in fact), I heard two guys grumbling about supply chain issues. A third guy offered his reason: Biden’s doing it to hurt people who didn’t vote for him.
Okay. Thank you, Sean Hannity.
All that aside, I did go into an auto parts store recently and was pleasantly surprised when a store employee stopped me from buying a particular product. “Don’t waste your money” he said. “This thing stinks. The ads all say ‘great’, but it doesn’t work.”
So customer service might be down but it’s not entirely on the slab. If you’re lucky, that is.
But don’t get me started with trying to call AT&T!
N.
Marie,
How are you feeling? You mentioned, the other day, that you thought you might have Covid. It ain’t fun. If you can, go get checked. The Q-tip up the schnozz isn’t something you’ll want to do again any time soon, but at least you’ll know for sure. Those home testing kits are much better now than they used to be, but I believe you can still get a false negative (you’ve got the virus but the test doesn’t pick it up), which ain’t great. Also, these tests could be less sensitive to the omicron mutation of the Trump virus.
Let us know how you are. We need you!
The Daily Show imagines if Fox News reported on what actually went down on January 6th.
Marie,
Good suggestions, but the Fir Island name is kinda misleading...it's just across the river from our home about three miles away on the diked Skagit River delta...hence..."island."
Won't be installing another other heat source there any time soon. The renter does also have wood heat, and we charge her a mere pittance, demonstrating once again our status as poor capitalists.
Or maybe just capitalists who don't have their heart in it.
Step right up…
Everyone’s a winner,
Bargains galore. You too can be the proud owner of
The quality goes in before the name goes on…
Act now! Act now!
We got a year end clearance sale, we got smoke damaged furniture, you can drive it away today.
And take as our personal gift to you, this free brochure.
Free brochure…
Tom Waits’ scat masterpiece “Step Right Up” could have been written about the Trumps, those past masters of scams, grifts, and pocket lining con jobs.
Their latest? Well, as Tom says, step right up. For a measly quarter million, you can be the proud owner of a wide brimmed white chapeau once worn by Queen Melanie at sone royal thingamajig.
Oh, wait. What’s that? Bids OPEN at $250,000? Got it. Yet another NFT scam by Mrs. Fuck-Christmas, short for Newest Fraud de Trump.
But don’t worry, it’s not a complete grift. Melanie sez “some” of the money will go to blah, blah, blah, her bullshit charity for foster kids.
The only charity that Trumps foster goes straight in their pockets. Mel doesn’t say how much will go to the kiddies, let’s just say it probably won’t be enough for a McDonald’s Happy Meal.
https://www.rollingstone.com/politics/politics-news/melania-trump-hat-nft-1278269/amp/
The Mel hat and picher auction, in SOL virtual coin, looks like a money laundering scheme. Take an item(s) worth a couple thousand bucks (the hat? I have no idea, but it's couture, baby, maybe even the haute kind), floor bid it at $250K, the guy with the hot cash bids and wins and later gets a large percentage kicked back. In a "best case" (for Mel), the bidder is actually washing Mel's illegal gelt and will get a handling fee rather than a share. Making hot money disappear is easy when the things you are selling are not really valued on a recognized scale.
It seems I'm fine. I've had multiple, persistent symptoms for three days running, though they seem to be a bit milder today. However, I probably don't have Covid. I mentioned (by phone) to a neighbor that I thought I had Covid but couldn't get a test for two weeks, so he brought me over a home test kit he happened to have lying around. I took the test this afternoon, and I know two things: (1) it worked, and (2) probably the results are negative. A blue line is supposed to show up on a test strip if the test worked, and the blue line showed up. A pink line in supposed to show up next to the blue line if the virus is present. The pink line did show up, but it was not next to the blue line; it was as far away from the blue line as it could get on the strip. So I think the pink line that showed up was superfluous & not a positive indicator. There was no pink line where it was "supposed to be" on the strip.
Anyway, I don't feel very bad. I'm going to stay away from other people until I'm symptom-free for at least 24 hours, and I'll double-mask when I do go out for necessities.
And thanks for asking.
Re: being out of "stuff", I found this very interesting...
https://popularresistance.org/why-americas-shipping-crisis-will-not-end/
From a Twenty Year Truck Driver.
I have a simple question for every ‘expert’ who thinks they understand the root causes of the shipping crisis:
Why is there only one crane for every 50–100 trucks at every port in America?
.......Let’s start with understanding some things about ports. Outside of dedicated port trucking companies, most trucking companies won’t touch shipping containers. There is a reason for that.
Think of going to the port as going to WalMart on Black Friday, but imagine only ONE cashier for thousands of customers. Think about the lines. Except at a port, there are at least THREE lines to get a container in or out.
(long article but explains a lot...)