Republicans are the Totalitarians Now

I've been up to my usual tricks - corraling Walt with arguments reviling his precious GOP. This article from a year ago, by a Chinese historian, makes exact parallels between Trump and Mao, and shows how the GOP is decaying from a Leninist party (Hastert Rule!) into a Maoist one.

The process of Leninist degeneration in both China and the GOP was completed through the apotheosis of the charismatic leader. There are many differences between Mao and Trump, but their similarities are uncanny. Both are sons of wealthy landlords. Both rely on ties to propaganda machines to stoke hatred of ostensible enemies. Both sabotage international alliances. The political rallies of both men are vermilion spectacles of adulation as the legions hold aloft their “Little Red Books” or adorn their crowns with red MAGA caps. Such populist extravaganzas manifest their unparalleled political advantages. 

The Maoification of the GOP enables President Trump to do whatever he wants in the ostensible advancement of “conservatism,” a term which, like “communism” in China today, is rendered increasingly meaningless as it is equated with nothing more than party power and loyalty to the supreme leader. Such a party needs no electoral platform beyond supporting the president’s “agenda.” The GOP is the “party of Trump,” and Republicans who beg to differ have now “self-purged,” to paraphrase Sen. Mitt Romney (R-Utah).

SoCal Has Some Interesting Places

I need to see these things:

That’s a pink brontosaurus foot in the foreground, because you can’t get back to L.A. without passing the cement dinosaurs at Cabazon, built in the ‘70s and ‘80s to promote a restaurant that’s gone now. Kids still love them. So do Instagrammers since management went to bolder colors in 2020. What’s not to like about a road trip that ends with a big, green Tyrannosaurus rex that loves California?

Annette Hanshaw - Happy Days Are Here Again (1930)

Traffic Collision Involving Structure

I could hear the sirens. Pulse app said ‘Traffic collision involving structure.’ Sure enough, someone took out the storefront at Famous Pizza on Freeport.

Veteran's Day, 2021

My father rarely spoke of his days with Baker Battery, 666th Field Artillery Battalion - the Battle of the Bulge, and the run-and-gun race across northern Germany, but fortunately Nathan Blumberg (who grew up in Denver and after the war moved to Montana) in adjacent Charlie Battery wrote a book about his experiences ("Charlie of 666: A Memoir of World War II"), and his self-appraisal during the Battle of the Bulge: 

___ 

At some moment during a lull in the artillery battle in those first four days in the snows of Belgium, I walked into the woods near our howitzers, exhausted and disoriented. I rested my carbine against a tree, brushed the snow off a log and sat down. After minutes of silence broken only by the muffled sounds of military vehicles from the highway, I talked with myself. 

Look, I said out loud, four things can happen before this thing is over. 

You could be killed. 

Okay. 

You could be wounded and survive, possibly to spend the rest of your days crippled in some way. 

Okay. 

You could be taken prisoner. But you know about the Malmedy massacre and you have a pretty good idea of what the Germans would do to a captured Jewish corporal who is also a forward observer helping to call fire down on them. Also, since you aren't an officer or a non-com, you wouldn't be exempt from forced labor. Being a POW was a possibility you had ruled out long ago. You'd made up your mind that you would never allow yourself to fall into the hands of those fucking Nazis. You'd die first or try to escape, no matter the risk. You've hated the bastards since you were a kid, listening to the speeches of that crazy Hitler on the radio, and now you've seen with your eyes what they can do. No prisoner - or not for long. Fuck 'em. 

Okay. 

Or, at last, you could survive and come through the damndest experience of your life sound of body and knowing that never again would you experience an adventure so thoroughly dangerous, thrilling, exciting, interesting, exhilarating, fascinating, terrifying - and satisfying. Yes, satisfying. You said this is what you wanted when you enlisted. You have to rise to a dimension that allows you to accept, without reservation, whatever fate has in store for you. You have to go from "What the hell am I doing here?" to "Of all the places I could be, I want to be here. I am lucky to be here. I am honored to be here." 

Okay!

Big Bird Has A New Word For Ted Cruz

(h/t John)

 

Joy - Apollo 100

1972. When I was 15, starting to hike a lot, and the future looked good.

Miscellany

Boosted!

Monday evening! But spent most of Tuesday in a haze.

Covid-19 Rates Increasing in Eastern and Northern Europe

Covid-19 rates appear to have peaked in the Caribbean several weeks ago and are now heading down. 

In eastern Europe, Covid-19 rates are finally going down in certain places (Romania, Lithuania; flat in Ukraine). 

Still, in most of eastern and northern Europe, Covid-19 rates are climbing to alarming levels. Peaks have yet to be reached as winter arrives. 

Covid-19 rates are mostly flat in the United States, but are still high along the northern tier: Alaska, Montana, North Dakota, Minnesota. Rates are increasing dramatically along the Continental Divide - Montana, Wyoming, Colorado, plus Utah, and, sadly, despite rather high vaccination rates, my home state of New Mexico. It just underlines the importance of getting EVERYONE vaccinated!

 

Interesting Article on Narco-Style

The bane of Sinaloa:

“Buchona” is a slang term first popularized in the Mexican state of Sinaloa as a way of describing the flamboyant girlfriends of a generation of 21st century narcos who are referred to in the masculine as “buchón” or “buchones.”

Sinaloa, of course, is the coastal Pacific region that is home to the Sinaloa cartel, once led by the infamous Joaquin “El Chapo” Guzman (now serving a life sentence in the U.S.). Guzman’s wife, former beauty queen Emma Coronel Aispuro, is the buchona whose name comes most easily to everyone’s lips — the buchona máxima, if you will. She recently pleaded guilty to federal conspiracy charges in U.S. federal court and is awaiting sentencing, but her looks and her lifestyle are still a subject of passionate discourse on the internet. 

If in its early days “buchona” referred to a narco’s girlfriend, over the years, the term has taken on added meanings, expanding to include women who are linked to or have active roles in the cartels. It can also include women who simply adopt the buchona style — women with a taste for flashy clothes who don’t hide their love of partying, money or men.

Nearly-Losing Traditional Methods

Interesting tale of Climate Change in Oceania, against a backdrop of traditional skills passing with the elderly:

Lucky Star was one of three canoes sailed to Guam from Lamotrek by the wayfinder Raigetal and his crew of apprentices. What made this particular canoe so special was the fact that its sail was traditional, meaning it was woven from pandanus leaves by the women of Lamotrek.

There, in the weeks leading up to the voyage, it was discovered that the knowledge of how to weave such a sail was very nearly lost. Literally one woman still knew how to do it.

Her name was Maria Labushoilam, a 90-year-old master weaver, and she was dying. Maria would spend the last two weeks of her life teaching 15 women how to make that sail. 

From her deathbed, she taught them how to harvest, dry, and split the leaves, and then how to weave them. After she died, the women completed the sail without her. The community raised it together.

The Water-Poor Town, and the Water-Richer Town That Refused To Help

Interesting story about water and need and complacency:

In 2019, when the Exeter City Council voted on extending drinking water to people in Tooleville, several Exeter residents went to the microphone to say it was the neighborly thing to do. More argued it would strain city staff, that the state’s promises of funding couldn’t be trusted, that their city had problems of their own to fix, and that Tooleville residents had become demanding under the tutelage of activists who helped them organize. The council unanimously voted down consolidation.

This July, as the most recent drought deepened and the heat rose, one of Tooleville’s wells ran completely dry for a day and remains sputtering. The main well is expected to hit sand within months.

Without water pressure, people climbed on their roofs and poured water into swamp coolers. Others couldn’t risk running out of drinking water and sweltered, trying to keep their children still in darkened rooms. 

On Aug. 23, the State Water Resources Control Board sent a letter to Exeter officials warning that if they did not have a voluntary plan for consolidation within six months, the state would step in.

Dune's "Song of the Sisters"

Most interesting song on the Dune soundtrack.

 

Space Station Chile

John sends this:

Astronauts on the ISS indulged in a special treat after harvesting peppers that have been growing on the ISS since July. The plants are from NuMex "Española Improved" seeds, a hybrid Hatch chile. Hatch refers to a town and region in New Mexico known for its peppers. 

NASA astronaut Megan McArthur tweeted on Friday about tasting both red and green chile (the peppers turn red when they stay on the plant longer) and shared photos of the tacos she made, which she described as "my best space tacos yet."

Same Sky Postcards

This is an odd tale. How so many postcards from the Forties through Eighties ended up with the same sky for a background:

 

"Dune"

I love Frank Herbert's "Dune," but it's been 50 years since I last read it (hard to believe). Plus, I'm not a big fan of Timothée Chalamet. Would the new movie by director Denis Villeneuve satisfy me? (I made sure to choose an IMAX theater for maximum boom.) 

The answer is yes! The world of Arrakis, as I hazily recalled it, brought to life through movie magic! Timothée Chalamet is adequate. I don't know how he'll do in Part 2, when he has to launch a universe-wide jihad, but all he had to do in Part 1 was avoid getting killed and he seemed up to that.

 

Help Support Anthony Gonzales In His Time Of Need

Friend and fellow Zumba and Jamaican Dancehall dancer (and Jasper's dog groomer) Anthony Gonzales was attacked in Old Sac on Saturday night. His friends have hastily arranged a Gofundme:

Anthony was attacked Saturday night in Old Sac. He sustained some pretty bad injuries but luckily will make a full recovery. He’s currently at the UC Davis trauma center being treated for broken ribs, a punctured lung, and multiple contusions. As happy as we are that he will recover after some time. This will impact him and his business. As you may know he is one of the best dog groomers in Sacramento. He does everything in that shop including the heavy lifting of dogs. His injuries are going to impact his abilities to make money. His medical bills from this will also be astronomical as he is self employed.

Zero Trick-or-Treaters This Year

Birthday Number 65!

The kids suggested this celebratory video:

 

Ia baked a great cake!