“I woke up this morning with freedom on my mind…”  In reality I woke up this morning with war on my mind, and a feeling that humanity has regressed — maybe that evolution  has touched third base and has turned around?   I remember the Age of Aquarius and how this century was going to blossom into love, spirit.  and miracles, not neighbor turning on neighbor and some neighbors turning on democracy.

Then I’m taking myself to task for having emotionally all but ignored the plight of the — how many is it now–refugees  in the world already.  It’s just closer to home now, in our face.   This in-the-wings planetary war finds us in a trough almost totally  pig-snorting and bereft of honesty and other ethical sensitivity.  Hats off to the sterling exceptions, but  by no means the majority.

I know I’m old and….what is it called, an outlier....and it’s much too late for hand wringing.  Is our newly created  space force not only reality but another harbinger of things to come?  I’m hand wringing I know and lucky if anyone is still reading, but… Sounds like “Yes, but…”  to me, I know.

Let’s see, how can I recapture your attention?  I wish there was still something to realistically pray to.  The Marxist visionaries haven’t done much better, have they?  Has that dream of equality (for some}  not ended with its leaders personally profiting, their riches in a clandestine bank offshore?*

Oh, I know:  I haven’t had my coffee yet.

*See Diane Ravitch’s blog today for Putin’s wealth.

 I realize I should add the word “headshots” to my list of “alien” and “dog”,  as the meaning of those words  have become derogatory in my mind.  When I read the word “headshot” in someone’s photo story I initially processed it as meaning the result of  someone being shot in the head.

Harpers magazine says one in three folks in the United States believe life is fair.  I wonder how many of those are 1-percenters.

I missed the reason cartoonists now portray Putin without his shirt on?

How did I miss this…The May 28, 2021 issue of The Week reports that a Dutch startup has trained bees to sniff out Covid-19.  Researchers cooled down 150 bees  to make them less active, strapped the insects into harnesses, and then used a Pavlovian conditioning method to teach them the unique scent of the coronavirus.  Each time the bees were exposed to a virus-positive test sample they were also given a delicious sugar water solution–which the bees drank by extending their tongues.  When they were given a negative sample,  they received no reward.  Within hours the bees were sticking out their tongues when presented with the virus, even when no sugar water was offered.  I feel  for the assistant who had to harness the bees.

As we seem to be dumbing down a bit as gullible creatures (many believing  far-fetched conspiracy theories), the same issue of The Week  reports that a young speech pathologist has trained her dog to communicate in English.  “Dogs are thinking a lot,”  she says. “They have opinions and are wanting to share them.”  Hunger’s new book is How Stella learned to talk.

From Nan and/or the nytimes 2/18/2022:

I need hanging out to dry

every now and then…

When I sit imperious

as though impervious

to feedback curious,

sometimes furious.

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The most disturbing efforts to monitor schools and teachers for wrong-think involve actual surveillance. Bills introduced in Iowa and Mississippi would install classroom cameras that would stream lessons over the internet for anyone to observe.

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 Susan Collins, the Republican senator from Maine,  writes in an opinion piece in the New York Times today that “there is nothing more essential to the survival of a democracy than the orderly transfer of power, and there is nothing more essential to the orderly transfer of power than clear rules for effecting it. We should not depend on the fidelity and resolve of vice presidents to follow the intent of these rules; the law should be crystal clear on the parameters of the vice president’s powers and consistent with the very limited role set forth in the Constitution. Vice President Pence’s actions on Jan. 6 were heroic. But the peaceful transfer of power shouldn’t require heroes.

“Much debate has focused recently on the casting of ballots. Much more attention must be paid to the counting and certifying of votes. Our democracy depends on it. To prevent the subversion of the electoral process, Congress must reform the Electoral Count Act. A bipartisan group of 16 senators is working to do that.

“The ambiguously phrased Electoral Count Act must be amended to make absolutely clear that a vice president cannot manipulate or ignore electoral votes as he or she presides over this joint session of Congress. But other flaws in the law must also be remedied. For instance, the law’s threshold for triggering a challenge to the results of a state is far too low: Only one representative and one senator are required to object to a state’s electors. In the past, members on both sides of the aisle have challenged the vote without any real evidence of wrongdoing.

“Our group of senators shares a vision of drafting legislation to ensure the integrity of our elections and public confidence in the results. We want a bill that will be considered by committees, debated on the Senate floor, garner the support of the Senate’s two leaders and pass the Senate with 60 or more votes….”

“Our primary focus must be on avoiding another Jan. 6 by reforming the Electoral Count Act. That is the vital goal in itself, our duty to perform and a worthy mission that should not be derailed by good-faith but ultimately partisan provisions.

“We do not know if we will succeed, but we are trying to fix a serious problem.  The senators working on this legislation have philosophical, regional and political differences. When we disagree, we attempt to persuade one another — we cajole, haggle and even argue — but we do so with an eye on a common goal. That is the way it is supposed to work in a democracy. Maybe we could refer to the process as ‘legitimate political discourse’.”

For full article: nytimes.com

This is a replay of my experience in Rehab a couple of months ago….