Obsidian Wings

dead-heading

by russell

this is by way of a non-political post.  consider it an open thread, chime in with whatever.

it's actually a really nice day today, here in chilly old new england.  probably 80F, nice and dry.  sun is mostly out, with an occasional cloud to break up the monotony and provide a moment of shade.  

my wife and i spent the day doing yard chores.  my wife is an avid gardener, and before we bought our place she didn't have a garden for almost 15 years.  so, when we moved in, she dug in with both hands and both feet.  literally.  our family joke is that we live in the most intensively cultivated 1/8 acre on the planet.

she does most of the yard stuff.  i hire a kid to mow, i edge the beds now and then, and dig holes when we put new stuff in.  the one thing i do for her every year is dead-head the lilacs.  they're pretty tall, and she is not comfortable on ladders, so i take that on.  

i really like doing it, it's a nice excuse to be outside for a couple of hours on a nice day.  it requires just enough attention to keep from being utterly boring, but not so much that you can't sort of space out and let your mind wander around.  i also like doing it because my wife really loves lilacs, and dead-heading them means lots and lots of blossoms next year.  and, i also like doing it because it makes the lilacs look not so shaggy and disheveled.  it's kind of like giving them a nice haircut - i'm snipping out those unsightly tangles and split ends, and giving our lilac girls a fresh new look!  

plus, it lets them not spend all of their resources making seeds.  instead, they can focus on building themselves up, and putting out some new growth.  it's kind of a rejuvenating thing for them, i imagine.

i sometimes chat with the lilacs while i'm doing this.  we have a miss kim in the back, due to (i assume) our cool and rainy spring, she put out an astounding number of blooms this year.  so, as i dead-head her, i compliment her on what a show she put on.  good job, miss kim!!  i have no idea how or if this is received by the lilac.  whatever tree consciousness consists of, i suspect it is much too slow to follow human speech.  tree thoughts are probably more about air, and light, and heat, and water.  strategic thinking, maybe, to respond to stresses and damage.  defensive thoughts to ward off pests.  in any case, i send the lilacs my best intentions, and whatever gets through gets through.  maybe there is some overlap of mind there, somewhere.

there are a ton of birds in attendance while i groom the lilacs. they mostly seem agitated, rather than calm.  most of the time, when i'm in the yard, it's to fill the feeders and bird bath.  so, i sort of assume that they're annoyed, because there i am, but the feeders are still empty.  WTF, human!!  get on the job!!  i talk to them a bit, too, to let them know i'll fill the feeders when i'm done dead-heading.  like with the lilacs,i have no idea how this is received.  bird thoughts, unlike tree thoughts, are probably really fast - me talking probably sounds like weird whale songs to them.  birds seem to focus on sight, and short, sharp sounds.  they notice sudden motions, so when i'm out there i try to move calmly so i don't freak them out.  except the chickadees, who are amazingly unafraid of anything, they just want me to go away so they can eat.  like with the lilacs, i send them my best intentions, in case there is some area of mind overlap available.

i won't even get into the bugs.  bug world seems to be all about chemicals and energy waves.  plus, my intentions toward them are not always so positive, so i figure it's mostly best just to say nothing.  except for the bees, of whom we have a few kinds.  bumble bees, who must be the chillest creatures in the world, and honeybees, who are just too busy to care what i'm doing, and carpenter bees, who mostly don't care unless YOU ARE TOO CLOSE TO THEIR NEST YOU ARE TOO CLOSE TO THEIR NEST YOU ARE TOO CLOSE TO THEIR NEST, in which case they will be right in your face.  and the really tiny bees that come in various shapes and colors.  some of those guys are kind of pissy, it's good to give them a wider berth.

that, plus splitting a nice italian sub with my wife for lunch, was my day.  hope yours was as much fun as mine!

Ur GOP Senate ACA Repeal Bill Open Thread

by Ugh

The GOP Senate done released it's ACA repeal bill earlier today.  You can read the bill here if you want.  My brief, fair, & balanced summary: cruelty now, cruelty tomorrow, cruelty forever (even fits in a tweet).

Essentially, the same as the GOP House Bill. 

Was in Vegas on Mon/Tues and it was 117 degrees. Ouch.

Open thread!

The Wheels of Justice – Weekend Open Thread

by wj

A couple of stories floated by this week, possibly to little notice outside their local areas. They aren’t related to each other, but may be apropos things happening elsewhere in the country.

Here, our County DA has resigned, after pleading guilty to 1 count of perjury. That was a plea deal, as he had been charged with 12 counts.

It seems that he had been using his 2011 re-election campaign funds as a personal ATM. When caught (a newspaper article back in December), he claimed he had considered it a loan, and (finally) paid it back. Except his filings had said explicitly that he had taken no loans. In all, some dozen forms, signed “under penalty of perjury” (something a DA would presumably know something about) contained false statements.

It’s been a big local story for months, including lots of reports of serious unhappiness in the DA’s office here. But once he announced he was going to run for re-election, that state Attorney General’s office got involved -- leading to an indictment and trial. It took a while, but he’s gone. (And facing disbarment as well.)

Half way across the country, manslaughter charges have been filed against various Michigan state officials. They are charged, at least one with manslaughter charges, because they knew of the problems with the Flint, Michigan water supply but did or said nothing.

It’s common, in some circles, to say that the criminal justice system will never hold government officials responsible for their misdeeds. But an official is a fool (which, apparently some of them are) to assume that they will be able to skate if word gets out.

“Puerto Rico, Our Next State….”

by wj

I remember, way back when I was in high school, watching the Republican National Convention on TV. As they did the Roll Call of the States, to nominate their Presidential candidate, they came eventually to Puerto Rico. Like every other delegation, the island’s spokesman included a local color catch phrase when announcing their votes. In this case, Puerto Rico was characterized as “our next state.” That was over half a century ago.

Puerto Rico has held a referendum on its status several times over the years – independence, statehood, or remain a territory. Before today, every time the vote was to remain a territory, and it wasn’t particularly close. But today was different. Thanks, in part to a boycott of those opposed and in part to the mess the territory's finances are in. A substantially majority of the voters (in, admittedly, a small turnout) voted for statehood. And thus the dream of those favoring statehood may finally be realized. Or not.

Statehood for Puerto Rico has been the official position, indeed the enthusiasm, of the local Republican Party since those at least those conventions back in the early 1960s. And still is. But here’s a thought exercise for you. The Puerto Rico territorial government, lead by the Republican Party, comes to Congress to petition for statehood. In the Congress, as we all know, Republicans have a majority. So that should be a slam-dunk, right? Boycott and low turnout or not.

But somehow it’s hard to see a party which spends a lot of time and effort demonizing Hispanics** voting to admit a state full of Hispanics. Their assumption (not necessarily correct, but I can’t see them looking past it) is that a Hispanic population would elect all Democrats to Congress, thus working against them. Even though it is the Republican Party which is pushing statehood . . . and which won the referendum.

I find myself with two questions. When will Puerto Rico become a state? (If ever.) And why would someone decide to boycott a referendum like this? I just can't follow the logic.

** Yeah, yeah, I know. They only oppose illegal immigrants. And if you believe that their base embraces that parsing, I have this bridge….