The Holding Of Horses.
Pain. The last knuckle on the pinky fingers of my left hand decided it wanted not to cooperate last night. That’s all it took to make my night miserable. None of the larger joints seemed to have any problems for a change, but that one itty bitty knuckle was enough to make rest impossible for most of the night. This proves yet once again that little things can make a big difference.
There’s an interesting article in today’s New York Times reviewing the new book by Gay Talese, “A Town Without Time,” a new collection of his New York writings. One of the “little” things he notices, particularly as people get older, is how people dress. He and his wife, the retired publisher Nan Talese, live next door to a 16-story medical building. He sees cars pull up and people get out to see a doctor, and they’re dressed “dreadfully, in blue jeans, sneakers, windbreakers,” he said. If they’d only dress better, they’d feel better, he’s convinced. “Look in the mirror, you’d feel better,” he said. “You wouldn’t have to spend so much time in doctors’ offices.”
I’m sitting here in a long-sleeve compression shirt, old jeans, and baggy socks. I haven’t worn a suit in so long I’m not sure any of them still fit; they’d likely hang on me like an old dish rag. These days, I’m more likely to settle for less style and greater ease. Just the act of getting ready to take the dogs out in the cold each morning is exhausting. When I come back inside and un-layer myself, I have to sit down and catch my breath before doing anything else. Do I look like a mess? Yes. Do I feel like a mess? Yes. Would wearing a suit change that? Not one bit.
Headlines started hitting my phone late last night heralding a truce between Gaza and Israel. After 17 months of stupidly going back and forth at each other, this is good news, right? I wouldn’t start those celebrations just yet. Netanyahu says ‘last minute crisis’ with Hamas holding up approval of Gaza truce and hostage deal. Even if the Israeli Cabinet approves the deal, it wouldn’t take effect until Sunday. In between now and then, Israel is going to fire all the rockets they can. Israeli strikes in Gaza killed at least 70 people after the peace accord was announced! Remember, it was Netanyahu who torpedoed the Camp David Accords that Jimmy Carter brokered between Menachem Begin and Anwar Sadat, preventing them from being approved. Netanyahu is a war criminal who can’t be trusted. The details matter.
The FDA finally got around to banning Red Dye 3 from food yesterday. The cancer-causing dye has been illegal in cosmetics for decades, but for some stupid reason, it’s still a mainstay in a number of overly processed foods and medicines. Store-branded gummy vitamins are especially likely to be full of the dangerous stuff, along with cake icing and candy corn. Seems like a little thing, perhaps, but have you noticed the increase in cancers among younger people? Little things. Pay attention.
Local Indianapolis news stations went nuts last night as the state’s governor signed an executive order eliminating the DEI office and related initiatives at the state level. Who does that most affect? Primarily anyone looking for a state job. It means no one’s going to be making sure that the handicapped person isn’t overlooked because hiring them might mean having to make costly accommodations. At the same time, the governor also signed orders for state agencies to reconsider whether state employees actually need a college degree and to eliminate ‘burdensome’ requirements from various state licenses. Why? Because the state’s workforce is too undereducated to meet the current requirements. Little things.
Before heading out the door this morning, G took a look at the seven-day forecast. In addition to a chance for more snow on Sunday, morning temps are all well below zero for at least the first three days of next week. That means we’ll want to make sure everyone’s blankets are clean and dry. Sure, it sounds like a small thing, but it can make a big difference when one is fighting off frostbite.
I wonder what Gay Talese thinks about snow boots.
You can wonder if I really give a shit what Gay Talese thinks.
Wednesday, February 5, 2025
Life In The Stupid Lane.
The shock on the faces of White House Chief of Staff Suzie Wiles and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu let everyone know: Felonious Punk did not discuss the takeover of Gaza before opening his mouth. Everyone in the room was shocked. Allies and adversaries both quickly rejected the idea like they did the first time Punk made the suggestion. For Palestinian people, however, his statement has a horrible sense of deja vu. It was a mass expulsion in 1948 that created the Jewish-dominated country of Israel. The move was wrong then, and it’s just as wrong now. But then, right and wrong don’t seem to matter to this administration.
In a move that surprises no one, the administration pulled almost all USAID workers off the job worldwide. Aid for Palestinian refugees was completely eliminated. Funding for the mission attempting to reign in Haiti’s gangs has been zeroed out. The net effect is likely to be a higher level of global chaos as competing anti-government groups worldwide ramp up acts of terror in an attempt to gain control. The solution that Felonious Punk is likely to propose is that the US simply take over all the problem areas.
All of them. Forcefully if necessary. The international community is worried. Some say such moves violate international law, and they’re probably correct. But then, many of the administration’s domestic moves are illegal as well but that’s not stopping them. We are being governed by a group of self-serving billionaire thugs. Nothing is going to get better until we find an effective way to fight back.
One of the most stupid moves made in the past twenty-four hours was essentially firing almost everyone in the CIA. Technically, the entire staff was offered contract buyouts. Either way, the results are the same: we lose our eyes and ears around the world. Assets that have prevented untold disasters will be gone. There will be no one protecting US interests, nor the rule of law, anywhere in the world. Who benefits? Terrorists. Without the CIA on the ground, there’s damn near no one left to stop them. We are likely to be attacked both at home and abroad. We are inherently weaker now than we were yesterday.
Don’t think all this isn’t going to affect folks at home as well. Several Head Start preschools may need to close temporarily because they’ve been locked out of their federal funding. Good luck finding someone to watch the kids while you go to work, parents! And those of you who regularly shop Temu and/or Shein will want to know that the US Postal Service suspended inbound parcels from China and Hong Kong. It doesn’t matter that you’ve already paid for the goods. They’re now stuck for an unknown period of time, perhaps permanently. The same is likely to apply for some purchases made on Amazon if the origin point is either China or Hong Kong. Fast fashion, laptops and toys are likely to cost more due to US tariffs on Chinese imports. These are the things that are going to hit your pocketbook now.
What are we going to do? Yeah, I know protests are planned for today in all 50 states. They are occurring in every state’s capitol at noon, local times. I had planned on attending the one here, but I’ll be sitting in my oncologist’s office instead. Freezing rain forecast for much of the Midwest is likely to dampen attendence numbers as well. Protests are nice and all, but when faced with a person who brazenly defies laws, are protests enough? We’ve seen politicians stand in front of microphones, but none of them are having any success actually stopping any of Punk’s actions. We need a forceful plan that hits back at the administration with all the fear and furry they’ve put on us the past two weeks.
I have my moments of doubt. As G was getting ready for school this morning, I had him double check to make sure he had his house key with him. While I should be back from the doctor before he gets home, there are no guarantees even for the simple things anymore. G and I had an interesting conversation about the advantages of attending both trade school and college, given the uncertainty of the future. He’s thinking in the right direction, but part of me wonders if there’s any amount of education in any field that is going to adequately prepapre our kids for the future being dumped on them. Both will, presumably, graduate high school before the next presidential election. I don’t know how to advise them anymore. I can’t promise them anything will be left. I can’t guarantee that options available today will still be available when they graduate. Nothing is certain.
As much as I’d love to have grandchildren, I’d hate to encourage anyone to bring a child into this mess. A dear friend recently had a beautiful baby girl and I know that she’ll do everything within her power to protect that child and raise her well, but what options will she have? Will education still exist in the forms with which we are accustomed? Will appropriate pediatric medical care be available and affordable during her formative years? Could food and clothing be a challenge? This isn’t a first-time mom. She has resources. She knows what she’s doing. Still, raising this child could be dramatically different from her older siblings.
With all the different rumors and arguments I’m seeing and hearing, I have little hope for anyone forming a ‘well regulated militia’ capable of fighting back against the government with any real force. In fact, that line in the Second Amendment is practically useless in our current situation.
No matter what, we must resist.
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