Got It All In

The big move home to Colorado proceeds apace.

My youngest helped me pack all my shit in Charlottesville - helped me drive out here too - and his big brother helped me move it all from the PODS thingie into what seems like a very tiny apartment. (it's not all that bad, but I'm still going to call it Hovel III - it's got some issues)

Anyway, it's all inside, and now I'm attempting to disprove one of the basic tenets of physical science, ie: You can't reduce volume by rearranging mass.

I got the internet and the TV up and runnin' tho' - I'll call that a partial win.

So now that I've been thru a dozen or so items on a punch list that shouldn't be my fuckin' job, all I have to do is to figure out if I can do something about the Smoker Stench in a 50-year-old apartment that seems not to have had its duct work cleaned for at least half that time.

Yeehaw and away we go.

Today's Tweet

"Political correctness" is a set of demands for people to speak and to behave in a prescribed manner, based on arbitrary criteria set by someone who assumes he knows best for everybody.

So what the fuck is Rhonda talking about here?

Who's this for? https://t.co/XUbxxlLnbn

— David Frum (@davidfrum) June 9, 2023

Ms Dowd

None of our irritations with the perceived inadequacies of the media should ever allow us to suggest even faintly that the independence of the press could be compromised or coerced.

A bad free press is preferable to a technically good subservient press.

-- Nelson Madela

Is it possible the Sulzberger family has finally gotten the message?

It's unlikely, but even though Maureen Dowd starts her piece out like she usually does (hiding the razor blade deep in the apple, by "cleverly" disguising the Both-Sides bullshit as a cute little anecdote about Eugene Debs - inviting the inference that of course the situations involving Trump and Debs are exactly the same - oy).

She starts to redeem herself a bit when she finally gets around to saying there's no comparison (5th paragraph - I guess "columnists" are subject to the whole journalism thing.)

The problem I have with NYT is that they seem to think they can sit there in their Manhattan condos and pretend they have no dog in the fight - that no matter what happens, they'll be totally insulated from the shit that will roll down on them if the more radical of the plutocrats prevail.

And of course, some will thrive under a new regime because they've become extraordinarily adept at their sycophancy. (like the David Spade character in The Coneheads - total suck up to whoever has the power - sorry, I couldn't find a good video clip)

Bathroom Reading at Mar-a-Lago

WASHINGTON — It’s shocking how easy it is to imagine Donald Trump campaigning for the presidency from prison.

He’d have the joint wired, like the mob guys in “Goodfellas.” He’d be enjoying all kinds of privileges, DJing Elvis and Pavarotti; getting a steady flow of Viagra, cheeseburgers and conjugal visits (not from Melania). Maybe he’d even be able to smuggle in his special Tang-colored hair bleach.

It wouldn’t be the first time someone tried for the White House from the Big House. In 1920, after being imprisoned on sedition charges for excoriating American involvement in World War I, which he considered a capitalistic war, Eugene Debs won about 900,000 votes as the Socialist Party nominee.

“I will be a candidate at home in seclusion,” he joked when asked how he would campaign. “It will be much less tiresome, and my managers and opponents can always locate me.” He was allowed to give one bulletin a week to the United Press. With Trump, it will be Newsmax.

Trump wouldn’t be in prison for sticking by his principles, though. He’d be in prison because he has no principles. We’re watching him spiral down to his essence. At bottom, he’s a humongous, dangerous liar and a criminal. As Logan Roy would say, this is not a serious person.

The dramatic unsealing of United States of America v. Donald J. Trump is a fitting switch. Until now, it has been Donald J. Trump v. United States of America. He tried to engineer a coup against the government he was running. I bet Jack Smith will be bringing those charges later.

The special counsel made it clear that this isn’t just a “boxes hoax,” as Trump called it. You can’t purloin classified documents; leave them in the gilt-and-crystal glare of the bathroom, shower, bedroom and ballroom at Mar-a-Lago; and show them off to remind people how important you are. Trump’s ego is his greatest weakness. He couldn’t resist self-aggrandizing. Hey, I got these secret documents.

The indictment — charging Trump with violating the Espionage Act and other laws — offered devastating photos of America’s secrets stacked up like something on “Hoarders,” spilling out under the dry cleaning, a guitar case and other items.

“The classified documents Trump stored in his boxes included information regarding defense and weapons capabilities of both the United States and foreign countries, United States nuclear programs, potential vulnerabilities of the United States and its allies to military attack and plans for possible retaliation in response to a foreign attack,” the indictment said. “The unauthorized disclosure of these classified documents could put at risk the national security of the United States, foreign relations, the safety of the United States military and human sources and the continued viability of sensitive intelligence collection methods.”

Well, that’s bad.

The indictment is based on information from Trump’s own lawyers, staffers, phone records and security cameras. This isn’t the work of some insider or Trump hater who’s out to get him. And it makes clear that there was a very deliberate effort by Trump to hold on to and conceal these documents that he was going to use for heaven knows what and show to God knows whom.

The former president directed his valet, Waltine Nauta (named as a co-conspirator with Trump), to move about 64 boxes from a storage room to Trump’s residence and bring about 30 boxes back to the storage room — without informing the Trump attorney who was supposed to be reviewing the material.

On top of that, the attorney said, Trump later encouraged him to go through the documents that he did review and pluck out anything really bad. Trump even made a plucking motion.

During the 2016 campaign, Trump was always boasting about his devotion to protecting classified information, to mock Hillary. The prosecutors thoughtfully included some of his old comments, like this one: “In my administration I’m going to enforce all laws concerning the protection of classified information. No one will be above the law.”

Those statements obviously carried the same weight as his 2016 comments vowing to be so busy as president that he would never play golf. What an utter phony.

The Republicans who jumped out in front of the indictment to defend Trump should be ashamed. Unfortunately, shame is long gone from the Republican Party, except for a vestigial smidge in Mitt Romney’s office.

Up until now, Trump has managed to slink away from innumerable seamy episodes, from bankruptcies to vile personal misconduct, by proclaiming himself a victim.

I was trepidatious, after watching the lame performances of James Comey and Robert Mueller. But Jack Smith seems to be bringing an impressive skill set and temperament to his prosecution of Trump. Maybe he developed them in his years nailing war criminals at The Hague.

In his brief appearance at the Justice Department Friday afternoon, Smith emphasized the risks that this kind of mishandling of sensitive information poses to the people who have volunteered to protect us.

He praised the F.B.I., the agency that Trump and the Republicans have been trying to tear down and defund, saying the agents there work “tirelessly every day, upholding the rule of law in our country.”

Republicans used to embrace the rule of law. Now, many describe the Jan. 6 rioters as martyrs and say Trump shouldn’t be prosecuted. Kevin McCarthy called the indictment “a dark day for the United States of America.”

But Smith is intent on reminding Americans that the rule of law is a fundamental tenet of our country.

Trump ranted on Friday about Smith being “a deranged psycho.” Naturally, he also attacked Smith’s wife, the award-winning documentarian Katy Chevigny, who produced a documentary about Michelle Obama and contributed to Joe Biden’s campaign, as “the biggest Hater of them all.”

But Smith is not likely to be cowed. The guy’s tenacious. In an interview a few years ago, Smith discussed his passion for Ironman competitions. He talked about the time he got hit by a truck while riding his bike and fractured his pelvis. He was back doing a triathlon 10 weeks later.

Today's Wingnut

Pareidolia

noun

par·​ei·​do·​lia ˌper-ˌī-ˈdō-lē-ə -ˈdōl-yə

The tendency to perceive a specific, often meaningful image in a random or ambiguous visual pattern.

The scientific explanation for some people is pareidolia, or the human ability to see shapes or make pictures out of randomness. Think of the Rorschach inkblot test.

Even if I could accept this crap as not being Photo Shopped or Midjourneyed, the explanation is pretty simple.

79 Years Ago

On 10 June 1944, four days after D-Day, the village of Oradour-sur-Glane in Haute-Vienne in Nazi-occupied France was destroyed when 643 civilians, including non-combatant women and children, were massacred by a German Waffen-SS company as collective punishment for resistance activity in the area.

The Germans essentially murdered all people they found in the village at the time, as well as people brought in from surroundings. The death toll includes people who were merely passing by in the village at the time of the SS company's arrival. Men were brought into barns and sheds where they were shot in the legs and doused with gasoline before the barns were set on fire. Women and children were herded into a church that was set on fire; those who tried to escape through the windows were machine gunned. Extensive looting took place.

All in all, 643 individuals are recorded to have been murdered. The death toll includes 17 Spanish citizens, 8 Italians, and 3 Poles.

36 people escaped the massacre. The last living survivor, Robert Hébras, known for his activism for reconciliation between France, Germany, and Austria, died on 11 February 2023, aged 97. He was 18 years old at the time of the massacre.

The village was never rebuilt. A new village was built from scratch nearby after the war. President Charles de Gaulle ordered that the ruins of the old village be maintained as a permanent memorial and museum.

 - snip -

As reported by USAAF navigator Raymond Murphy - shot down 2 months before the massacre, and hidden by French resistance:

About 3 weeks ago, I saw a town within 4 hours bicycle ride up [sic] the Gerbeau farm [of Resistance leader Camille Gerbeau] where some 500 men, women, and children had been murdered by the Germans. I saw one baby who had been crucified.

- more -

The Case

We've seen the Daddy State formula playing out almost perfectly with Trump's protestations about 'the documents'.

He throws it out that Biden has 1800 boxes that are just kinda scattered here and there, and even in Chinatown!

So what are we to expect? Well ...

Today's Bad Meme

You finish big, you look up and address the crowd:

Are you not entertained!?!

Burn Him Down

🤞🏼

It should seem weird that no lawyers ever stick with Trump for more than a few months - or maybe a year, but certainly not once the inevitable new problems inevitably blow up in their faces. Trump is everybody's worst nightmare, but that has to go triple or fourple for his lawyers.

And yet, he keeps getting them to sign on.

A few have hung in there, but they're just window dressing, or more aptly, set dressing - the guy has a freakish penchant to follow the basic WWE / Reality TV formula. ie: "I'm the good guy, beset on all sides by evil-doers who wanna take my championship belt from me. And you, my noble fans, my loyal friends, you identify with me so closely that every attack on me is an attack on you, and blah blah blah - Je suis l'état, l'état c'est moi.

I get the feeling that most of these people sign on with him for no better reason than to bolster their resumé.

But the one I'm really curious about continues to be Boris Epshteyn. That guy is always there, and always fucking with everything. So maybe some day, we could start to acknowledge that the guy is most probably on Putin's payroll, and he's here there and everywhere trying to throw sand in the gears(?) Just a thought.

Trump lawyers quit in wake of indictment

Former president Donald Trump said Friday he would be bringing on new lawyers and suggested that two of his top attorneys may be departing the case, as he prepares to fight seven charges for allegedly mishandling classified documents at his Florida home.

The two attorneys quickly issued a statement saying they have quit.

“For purposes of fighting the Greatest Witch Hunt of all time, now moving to the Florida Courts, I will be represented by Todd Blanche, Esq., and a firm to be named later,” Trump said on social media, indicating that two of his other key lawyers may be leaving the legal team.

“I want to thank Jim Trusty and John Rowley for their work, but they were up against a very dishonest, corrupt, evil, and “sick” group of people, the likes of which has not been seen before. We will be announcing additional lawyers in the coming days,” Trump wrote.

In a joint statement, Rowley and Trusty said they have “tendered our resignations as counsel to President Trump, and we will no longer represent him on either the indicted case or the January 6 investigation.” They said that since the Trump indictment has been filed in Miami, “this is a logical moment for us to step aside and let others carry the cases through to completion.”

The pair called it “an honor to have spent the last year defending him, and we know he will be vindicated in his battle against the Biden Administration’s partisan weaponization of the American justice system.”

It Burns

We have no right to be shocked and surprised by any of this. Not when the smart guys have been telling us for decades that this is the kinda shit we can expect.

Yes, we should be moved by the emotional appeal of seeing people's lives disrupted (ie: upended, fucked up completely, snuffed out, whatever - pick one, they're all bad) but we also have to see this as an opportunity to stomp some conservative ass and make the point that Republicans (mostly) are getting people killed because of their foot-dragging at best, and their outright counter-humanity policies at worst.

This is really really bad, you guys.

Satellite pix of Canada on fire.

‘How Could This Happen?’

Canadian Fires Burning Where They Rarely Have Before

Of the more than 400 fires burning in Canada, more than one-third are in Quebec, which has little experience with so many and such large wildfires.

When Liz Gouari was making plans to move from Africa to join her husband in a rural stretch of northern Quebec, he promised her that Canada was a tranquil nation.

But on Wednesday, the couple was among dozens of people sitting in stunned disbelief in an evacuation center after the entire city where they lived was forced to flee from a raging wildfire.

The blaze tore through the forest and bore down on their city, Chibougamau, one of the countless Canadian communities affected by an extraordinary outbreak of forest fires whose smoke has blotted out skies across swaths of North America and forced millions indoors because of hazardous air quality.

Growing up in the Republic of Congo, Ms. Gouari and her husband, Rey Steve Mabiala, said they were familiar with evacuations of all sorts — he had once fled fighting by hiding in a tropical forest — and with how floods and droughts made worse by climate change were causing major displacements on the continent.

“Back home in Africa, there are many climate refugees, but I never thought I would become one in Canada," said Mr. Mabiala, 42, who arrived in Canada in 2018, and was joined last month by Ms. Gouari, 39, after he became a permanent resident and sponsored her admission into the country.

With three months left in Canada’s wildfire season, blazes have already scorched more than 10 times the acres of land burned by this time last year. The size and intensity of the fires are believed to be linked to drought and heat brought on by a changing climate.

Fires are burning in forests in all of Canada’s provinces and territories, except the province of Prince Edward Island and Nunavut, a northern territory that sits above the tree line, where temperatures are too low for trees to survive.

“My wife keeps telling me, ‘But how could this happen? You always promised me that Canada was a peaceful country, but now we’re starting to flee as if we’re back home,’” Mr. Mabiala said, glancing at his wife, who had a blank stare and could only murmur that she was “shocked.”

The outbreak has hit not only the western provinces traditionally prone to wildfires, but also provinces in the east, like Quebec, where it is rare for so many fires to burn simultaneously and whose residents have little experience evacuating from such blazes.

Of the more than 400 fires now burning in Canada, more than one-third are in Quebec, which has already registered its worst wildfire season on record.

Climate Forward There’s an ongoing crisis — and tons of news. Our newsletter keeps you up to date. Get it in your inbox.
“It’s really an exceptional year,” said Josée Poitras, a spokeswoman for Quebec’s wildfire prevention agency.

As even extremely cold regions in Canada become warmer, increasing temperatures and a “vapor-pressure deficit,’’ or a lack of moisture in the air, are making trees drier, said Tanzina Mohsin, a professor of physical and environmental sciences at the University of Toronto.

“We are facing some unprecedented events, including droughts, accelerated fires and heat waves, and there will be more over time, especially forest fires,” Ms. Mohsin said.

The wildfires in Quebec were sparked last week by a single lightning strike near Val-d’Or, a city about 200 miles southwest of Chibougamau, following an unusually dry spring, Ms. Poitras said, adding, “In one day, we got 200 alerts from people reporting that they had seen smoke, and that resulted in more than a hundred fires, which have gradually increased.”

In Chibougamau — a city of 7,500 people about 430 miles north of Montreal by road — city officials issued an evacuation order late Tuesday, only hours after having said that a firewall would contain the encroaching blaze. But with the fires only 15 miles away and picking up speed, residents jumped into vehicles and began heading south.

Many arrived in Roberval, a city about 150 miles southeast of Chibougamau. A drive that usually takes a couple of hours took two to three times longer as a caravan of cars and trailers moved slowly down the highway in the middle of the night.

“I’ve lived in Chibougamau for more than 40 years, and I’ve never experienced a situation like this,” said Francis Côté, 71, who was staying with other evacuees at a sports center in Roberval. “It’s the first time I’ve had to evacuate because of a wildfire.”

It was the first time that all of Chibougamau had to evacuate because of wildfires, though residents in parts of the city had been forced to leave in 2005.

Inside the large sports center where evacuees were sheltering, people sat and slept on cots, with single suitcases next to them. Some had brought along their pets.

The authorities had blocked all roads leading up to Chibougamau and other areas threatened by the wildfires, and it was unclear when residents would be allowed to return or what they would find once they did.

In an odd twist, while smoke from the wildfires was wafting across the East Coast of the United States, there was no smell or visible smoke in Roberval and other areas just south of Chibougamau on Thursday.

A combination of factors, fire officials said, laid the groundwork for the spread of wildfires in the Chibougamau area: freezing rain that weighed down trees and littered the forest floor with broken branches that became tinder; and unusually dry ground because snow melted earlier than usual and there was little rain in the spring.

Built on mining and the logging industry, Chibougamau is one of the few bold names on maps of Quebec’s vast, thinly populated northern regions. For many in Quebec, it is a mysterious place associated with remoteness and extreme cold.

But Chibougamau is also being hit by the effects of global warming. Longtime residents said that the evacuation followed years of change in their community.

Since retiring as a mining worker a decade ago, Mr. Côté has managed an outdoor skating rink in Chibougamau. Fewer months with below freezing temperatures have shortened the skating season, and erratic temperatures have made it more difficult to maintain a clean, smooth ice surface.

“This year, there was a thaw in January,” he said. “It melted, I had to start over, and it took a week to remake the ice.”

“We can really see that it’s global warming that’s impacting us more and more," Mr. Côté added. “Every year, it gets worse.”

When Guy Boisvert, 79, moved to Chibougamau as a child, a white fog blanketed much of the city in winter, as temperatures regularly dropped to minus 45 Fahrenheit. Winters were long, and May brought a lot of showers, making wildfires rare and manageable.

“Sometime we’d see a small wildfire, and it would last a day or two," Mr. Boisvert said.

His wife, Shirley Gallon, 75, who has lived in Chibougamau for 53 years, added, “We never imagined we’d have to evacuate from Chibougamau.”

More recently, because of warming temperatures, the golf season has lengthened in Chibougamau, said Jonathan Mattson, 42, a city councilor and fervent golfer.

A couple years ago, the golf season began starting a full month earlier, in mid-April. Normally, the golf course feels wet.

“But this year, when I walked on the course, it was crispy — very, very dry,’’ Mr. Mattson said.

But perhaps most surprised were newcomers to Chibougamau, like Mr. Mabiala, from the Republic of Congo, who came to work in logging.

Two women from the Philippines, Ruth Cabrera and Anna Huerte, said they had experienced evacuations back home after floods and volcano eruptions.

A familiar dread — of being at the mercy of natural forces beyond their control — returned as the wildfires approached Chibougamau, turning the sky red and yellow.

Ms. Cabrera, 49, who works at a McDonald’s in Chibougamau, and Ms. Huerte, 38, who works in logging, said they did not realize how climate change could upend lives in Canada.

The two women said that their relatives in the Philippines had been astonished to learn about their evacuation.

“They were asking, ‘Oh, is there such a thing in Canada?’ ’’ Ms. Cabrera said.

How to Protect Your Health From Wildfire Smoke

Do masks work?

The best thing to do to prevent breathing in pollutants is to stay indoors. If you have to go outside, put on a mask. But a surgical mask, scarf or bandanna won’t do much to protect you from pollutants. Instead, use a N95 face mask or respirator mask. Cover both your nose and mouth.

How can I keep indoor air clean?

By some estimates, a good air filtration system can cut smoke pollution indoors by about 50 to 80%. If you have central air or an air-conditioning unit, close your windows and switch your system’s filtration settings to recirculate. Portable air purifiers with HEPA filters can work well in smaller spaces. Portable fans and ceiling fans can also help.

Who is most at risk?

All children and adults with respiratory or cardiovascular conditions are among the most vulnerable to toxins in smoke. Older adults and pregnant women are also at higher risk of serious health effects. These people should seek medical assistance if experiencing discomfort or heightened symptoms.

What should I do if I have a headache?

Breathing in wildfire smoke can cause headaches. To ward that off, restrict the amount of time you spend outdoors, and try to optimize the quality of your indoor air. The most effective treatment for headaches can vary from person to person, but over-the-counter medications like Tylenol or Advil can help. Staying hydrated is also critical.

Can I go for a run?

You probably shouldn’t, especially if you suffer from chronic respiratory conditions like asthma. During exercise, we largely breathe through our mouths, which — unlike noses — don’t have a natural filtration system for pollutants. Exercising in a highly polluted environment has been linked to cardiovascular health risks. Smoky conditions can also hinder visibility.

How can I monitor the quality of the air?

Several apps, including AirNow Mobile App, can help you track air quality levels. Home air quality monitors are limited in their abilities and reliability; keep that in mind if you choose to use one.

Happy Day

Donald trump has been indicted on 7 counts - all federal.