Sunday Serendipity

36 thoughts on “Sunday Serendipity”

1. jack, thanks. perfect wakey wakey music

2. yep, better stay awake, Kyiv.

   in the guardian this morning:

   A renewed attack on Kyiv from Belarus could take place if Wagner Group mercenaries follow their leader Yevgeny Prigozhin into the country, a former chief of the UK General Staff has warned.
   Lord Dannatt told Sky News’ Sophy Ridge On Sunday programme: “Apparently he’s left the stage to go to Belarus but is that the end of Prigozhin and the Wagner Group? The fact that he’s gone to Belarus is I think a matter of some concern.
   “What we don’t know, what we will discover in the next hours and days is… how many of his fighters have actually gone with him.
   “If he has gone to Belarus and has kept an effective fighting force around him, he then presents a threat again to the Ukrainian flank closest to Kyiv which is where all this began on February 24 last year.
   “Although it would appear that this matter is closed I think it is far from closed and the aftershocks will reverberate for quite some time.
   “They (Ukraine) need to watch that flank very carefully and make sure they have got some manoeuvre units such that they could repel a renewed attack from the direction of Belarus.”

3. patd – attacks from Belarus was something that was discussed at the start of the invasion of Ukraine. The major issue is the expansion of theater to another country.  Ukraine could blast away at that country to protect itself.  And, working from memory, the majority of citizens wants to not support russia invading Ukraine. But, that does not mean a deal was not worked out to have a war criminal lead an attack from there.

4. Jack,

   Thank you.  This is beautiful.

    

5. Perhaps it was all a ruse to draw out and see who all would join the “coup attempt”. Then Prigo gets to retire having done Poot a big solid.  At that level of play, everything gets tricky   But basically, Ground Floor, Prig, Ground Floor  
    

6. Full disclosure: i’ve read some criticism of the twitter account i posted yesterday accusing the owner of, and i’ll be diplomatic, sensationalism, so if you peruse it, be skeptical, or better yet, seek-out more reputable sources.  Good effing luck doing that when it comes to Russian affairs 😬 
    
   Anyway, i’ll try to avoid posting from that site, henceforth (the one owned by the absolutely-not-free-speechist)

7. Yesterday, was the 20th annual pride festival in Holland. They had their first one in Grand Haven last week. The Ottawa County Commissioners here are led by a group that calls themselves “Ottawa Impact”. 8 of the 9 members elected to the county commission were members of “Ottawa Impact”. However, 2 of them have renounced their membership to “Ottawa Impact”. As a result, many of the votes on issues have ended by a count of 6-3, with the 2 former Ottawa Impact members voting with the lone Democrat on the county commission. This week, the Ottawa Impact commissioners voted to censure one of their former members because he hasn’t been going along with their agenda with his votes against their proposed bills. Saying, he is supporting all the things that he is supposed to be against as a Republican. Also, because he has voted the same on many issues with the lone Democrat on the commission and he has developed a “camaraderie” with him as well. They are also looking to remove this rebel Republican from all of his committees for 6 months. The Ottawa Impact people have been trying for months to remove the current director of the Ottawa County Health Department. It’s involved in a court battle over this right now. The Ottawa Impact people are upset that the Ottawa County Health Department had a booth at the Grand Haven Pride Festival last weekend. Plus, they had a booth at yesterday’s pride festival in Holland. They said these pride festivals, as much as people hate the use of the word, they promote “grooming”. Anyway, I walked around Holland’s pride festival yesterday. Doug Zylstra, who is the lone Democrat on the Ottawa County Commission had a booth there. I walked up to him and he shook my hand. I told that he has given me new appreciation for the people that “I” work with. I told him that I’ve lived in Ottawa County for nearly 30 years and that this is the first time I’ve really ever known the names of any of the county commissioners/or paid attention to what they have been trying to do. He thanked me for that. Anyway, it’s a sad situation politically here right now. Have a great Sunday everyone!

8. Ahhhh, Bach. 

   So the Russkies are back to missile attacks on civilian areas in Kyiv. Fucking war criminals.

9. Sturgeone – I don’t think he can get a life insurance policy now.
    
   Corey – hold outs in a state that is getting back to normal.  I was born in Detroit, lived the next twenty-one years of my life there, until I was given the opportunity to learn certain skills, that most people do not need, by the Nixon administration.

10. Bink, my problem with Erdogan in the Ukraine mess is his trying to have it both ways. When he sat down and discussed it with Judy Woodruff he refused to take sides, said it was unacceptable to continue the war and (to his credit) said Russia retaining the land it has occupied is not part of a resolution- whether from Russia or Ukraine’s efforts. If you can square that circle in light of his “special relationship between Russia and Turkey” you have a much better ability to reconcile apparent inconsistent word salad comments than do I. 

11. a very very serious ms petri Opinion | All that hasn’t happened since Roe v. Wade fell – The Washington Post

    I don’t know how to write about all the things that have not happened in the year since Roe v. Wade was overturned. (That isn’t quite right; that makes it sound like a thing that happened, instead of a choice that people made, high-handedly, breezily, cruelly. It makes it sound like a natural event, an act of God. But the arc of the moral universe, bent ever so slowly toward justice, did not simply snap back. It was yanked.)
    I don’t know how to write about the things that haven’t happened. It is heartbreaking enough to know the things that have happened. The woman forced to give birth to a baby whose short life was spent with eyes shut, gasping for air. The woman forced to wait until she entered life-threatening sepsis before getting proper care. The 10-year-old rape victim whose state would have forced her to give birth. These stories are maddeningly cruel. They have made me want to chew glass. They have made me want to scream until my throat was raw and my voice was utterly gone.
    You know how … in a nightmare, when you are screaming, and it doesn’t make a sound? That sensation, but all the time. Whenever cruel new laws are passed. Whenever rusty antique laws snap into place. Time after time, touching millions of lives. Every day, someone’s life is ruined.
    Around the country, every day, people are living the nightmare experience of having their lives, their autonomy, taken from them, and then being forced to live those altered lives. Robbed of the most basic control over their bodies, the most basic ability to make decisions for themselves. Robbed of their lives by being robbed of their choices. Now, you can be forced to live out the consequences of someone else’s choices for you, someone who will never meet you or understand what you are sacrificing. Someone for whom this is all theoretical.

12. Yo-Yo Ma, what the world needs now

    ————————-

    Corey, at least Michigan overall is hanging tough against GOP bigots. Watched all 2 1/2 hours of Dear Leader Trump’s Hitlerian rant fest to white supremacist evangelicals last night (the so-called Faith & Freedom Coalition). Scary stuff. Really scary.

    ————————-

    On Belarus, heard several military experts say they have no useful military. So the idea of Wagner Group operating from there toward Kyiv is alarming

14. This was a doozie in Trump’s crazed speech last night. Guess he won’t be inviting Putin to the White House:

    “Using federal law, I will order my government to deny entry to all Communists and all Marxists.. So we’re going to keep foreign Christian hating Communists, Marxists and Socialists out of America”

15. Uh-oh, i’d assert that Putin is hardly a communist but someone will devote 48 hours to trying to correct me so i definitely won’t assert that

16. The Republican in peril is Jacob Bonnema. He was quoted as saying, “The circular firing squad of politics is alive and well in Ottawa County.” “If you don’t vote with them, they are going to find ways to punish you.” “I don’t think it’s unreasonable that we can’t reach across party lines these days.” They’ve censured him in part for “Violating Republican Values”. He won’t be allowed to vote in the next 6 executive committee meetings. I thanked Doug Zylstra for fighting the good fight. Thank goodness we are doing better statewide than we are locally. It’s our only hope. The Pride event seemed to be going pretty well. Plus, it had good music! It’s ALWAYS a good time to do “The Time Warp”! Events like that give me hope for our community!

17. Good to see DNC tweet today with several clips from last night’s crazed speech:

    “BREAKING: Donald Trump endorses a nationwide abortion ban one year after the conservative justices HE appointed overturned Roe.

    There is no doubt: Trump is an anti-abortion extremist who will not rest until he rips away fundamental freedoms from women across the country.”

18. Very interesting take here from a much respected Carnegie Institute Russia scholar:

    Below is a brief description of Prigozhin's mutiny and the factors that contributed to its outcome. We, as observers, initially missed important details due to the scarcity of information and lack of time for in-depth analysis. Here's the perspective that currently seems most…

    — Tatiana Stanovaya (@Stanovaya) June 25, 2023

    “Prigozhin’s rebellion wasn’t a bid for power or an attempt to overtake the Kremlin. It arose from a sense of desperation; Prigozhin was forced out of Ukraine and found himself unable to sustain Wagner the way he did before, while the state machinery was turning against him. To top it off, Putin was ignoring him and publicly supporting his most dangerous adversaries.”

    Much more at the link above.

19. Ah, Craig, but Poo-tin has wrapped himself in the cloth of the Russian Orthodox Church.   

    https://www.reuters.com/world/europe/transfer-holy-icon-shows-russian-orthodoxys-new-sway-under-putin-2023-06-03/

    “President Vladimir Putin’s decision to move one of Russia’s holiest icons from a museum to a Moscow cathedral highlights his growing reliance on the Church as the Ukraine war drags on…”

    “Putin needs to show that the war is not his personal military activity, but that there is a higher, metaphysical mission in Russia that he is trying to fulfill.”

    “On Sunday, this year’s Trinity Sunday, the 15th century artwork will take its place in the Cathedral of Christ the Saviour, a vast church that was blown up under Josef Stalin but rebuilt in the 1990s after the fall of the Soviet Union.”

20. Book recommendation: How To Stand Up To A Dictator 
     

    Fascism. Kleptocracy. Internet disinformation.  This book has it all. Sadly, it’s non-fiction.

21. https://time.com/6219423/chokepoint-capitalism-doctorow-giblin/

    “Chokepoint Capitalism is the title of a new book co-authored by Doctorow, an internet freedom activist, and Rebecca Giblin, a scholar at the University of Melbourne.”

    “The pair coined the term to describe what they say is the defining feature of the modern economy: corporations weaponizing their power to crush competition and lock in customers.”

    “The idea behind free market capitalism—that firms would compete fairly and thus drive prices down—has been corrupted in practice, Giblin and Doctorow argue. Chokepoint capitalism, they write, ultimately results in higher prices for customers and lower wages for workers. At the same time, the system diverts record profits to corporations, which they can reinvest to further cement their power.”

    Chokepoint Capitalism may be the next book after The Seven Generations And The Seven Grandfather Teachings, if my blood pressure can handle it.

22. The noteworthy point is that virtually everyone inherently knows that etc etc 

    He’d facilitate an unfortunate abortion just like any other rich schmuck before you could say Jack Robinson.  

    He’s grasping at the abortion straw.  

    As in grasping at straws.

    His elected-to-office supporters are even beginning to appear The Fool to they own people.

23. https://www.newstatesman.com/world/europe/ukraine/2023/06/russia-plan-blow-up-zaporizhzhia-nuclear-plant-drafted-approved

    “Russia plan to blow up Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant has been “drafted and approved”

    “According to Budanov, who leads the Main Directorate military intelligence organisation, the cooling pond of the plant has been mined by Russian troops. Without cooling, the nuclear reactors could melt in a period of between ten hours and 14 days. He believes Russia would be able to raise the voltage in the power supply lines to the plant, bringing about a nuclear accident at the lower end of that time frame. As Budanov put it during the interview, “Technical means could be used to speed up the catastrophe.”

    “Ukrainian military intelligence has also been able to establish that Russian troops have moved vehicles charged with explosives to four of the six power units. It is not clear if the International Atomic Energy Agency was granted access to these units during its visit on 15 June.”

    Well, the last 24-hours was semi-euphoric until Wagner caved (or looked like it caved fit the benefit of optics). If true, this is terrifying.

24. Sweet, his malicious lies terrorized these people …Giuliani Ordered to Pay Georgia Election Workers’ Attorney Fees

    https://news.yahoo.com/giuliani-ordered-pay-georgia-election-205815524.html?soc_src=social-sh&soc_trk=tw&tsrc=twtr&s=01

25. With John Dean showing up from fifty years ago on media and book discussions above time for my recommendation of the times.  Watergate A New History by Garrett M Graff.  A very good writing of the Nixon presidential era from Ellsberg to goodby.  He has access to material not available years ago and to interviews of the participants that were not done until they were nearly done. He does updates to many missing or confusing events.
     
    Excellent read, brings back many memories of watching what was going on everyday back then.  i do miss somethings, in particular the jokes, the parodies and the jingles, often completed overnight in spectacular efforts.  Kind of like Randy Rainbow and the Capitol Steps knocking out new material in eight hours for play on the morning drive show, all based on the last day testimony.

26. craig, nah, he qualified it with “christian hating” as a condition. since the head russian orthodox guy attests to putie’s piety and righteousness every chance he gets, putie will be invited to sit on the inauguration platform, maybe even hold the bible for the swearing and dance the first dance instead of melania at the inaugural ball.

    not sure about kim & xi though unless they convert for the occasion.

     

27. Birth Control is next…

    Holy shit! This video of Wisconsin State Rep. Chuck Wichgers arguing against access to contraception is INSANE!
    Honestly, if you told me it was parody, I would believe you.
    Only it’s not. It’s real.pic.twitter.com/KprXy8fZef

    — Jo (@JoJoFromJerz) June 25, 2023

28. Yo! Love him. Third row center at Alys Stephens. 

29. Tracking down deadbeat dads will become popular again. 

30. Just lost power & the heat index is 115.  Thoughts and prayers, please. 

31. Assuming that someone is me, that someone does no such thing. If there’s contrary information, perhaps. BTW I agree with the vast majority of your posts. Erdogan is a special kind of shitty”ally”. His position in NATO galls my ass. He aligns with Putin on that issue- opposing expansion by inclusion of vulnerable states near or bordering Russia. I can understand why he’s doing it since his economies in a fucking shambles, and he apparently hopes that Russia can help save turkeys economy and his ass in the process, at the expense of the security of NATO states – reminds me of an asshole twice impeached and twice indicted ex president. 

32.  
    https://www.desmoinesregister.com/story/news/politics/2023/06/01/iowa-gov-kim-reynolds-signs-law-restricting-auditor-rob-sand-access-to-personal-information-courts/70203728007/

    “Iowa State Auditor Rob Sand will soon be barred from taking state agencies to court to force them to turn over documents and will be blocked from accessing certain types of personal information under a law Gov. Kim Reynolds signed Thursday.”

    “Sand is the only Democrat elected to statewide office in Iowa. Reynolds is a Republican.”

    “The law is opposed by a range of state and national auditing and accounting groups, who say the legislation represents a threat to the auditor’s independence and could harm the office’s ability to comply with standard auditing practices.”

    “The law blocks the state auditor’s office from suing another statewide officeholder or executive branch agency, department, board or commission to enforce a subpoena for documents.”

    “Instead, disputes between the state auditor’s office and other state entities will be decided by a three-person arbitration panel, with one member picked by the auditor’s office, the second member picked by the agency being audited and the third member picked by the governor. The board’s decision will be final.”

    But, but if there’s a dispute, how’s he going to know anything if he can’t access documents.? The guy has to have info to audit.

33. Hoping for power and AC by 8pm.  The summer heat is only getting started. 

34. He aligns with Putin on that issue- opposing expansion by inclusion of vulnerable states near or bordering Russia

    Article 5 is a bitch that way

35. https://www.texastribune.org/2023/06/22/texas-state-historical-association-lawsuit/

    “In an El Paso convention center ballroom, a March meeting of the Texas State Historical Association board quickly lost the composure that’s long marked the volunteer organization’s typically low-key proceedings for more than 125 years.”

    “The dispute at TSHA hinges on one rule — the board’s membership must have a roughly equal balance of academics and nonacademics.”

    “But when Bryan stepped in as executive director last fall to shore up the organization’s finances — he is the former CEO of Torch Energy Advisors, a Texas-based, multi-million-dollar energy company — he called into question how board members are classified. He thinks anyone involved in education is an academic. Other board members say that only people who teach at the college level and hold a Ph.D. are academics. But there is one thing both sides agree on: The outcome of the dispute will affect the future of how Texas history is told.”

    “Bryan has emerged as a champion for conservative, nonacademics who favor a patriotic telling of history. He supports a historical narrative that illustrates Texas exceptionalism and opportunity and freedoms across the state. That means celebrating Texas giants, such as Stephen F. Austin and Sam Houston, as well as the troops at The Alamo.”

    Rewriting history. They are scrambling.

36. NEW THREAD

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