Saturday, July 08, 2023

Mount Mansfield with Cloud Blanket


 

28 comments:

  1. Oh, in case you missed it, Wisconsin will raise public school funding for the next 400 years [Click] A novel use of a limited veto power!
    —Alan

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  2. Europe's Ariane-5 rocket completes final launch [Click] A good review of its history and successor.
    —Alan

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  3. Just back from our morning constitutional; we saw what is surely a group of Jehova's Witnesses going along our street. During the Covid restrictions and up to now they changed to sending letters, which I think was very responsible.
    ----Alan

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  4. The spouse's novel of what might have been in 2016. Not That It Matters

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  5. Watching for the umpteenth time The West Wing. . . . Jeez, how much the r's have changed. And how good the show is is. . . .

    puddle~~

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    1. I find I always have to take a break before I can bear watching the episode where the Republican Speaker takes over and says to President Bartlet, "Mr. President, you are dismissed." 😖 I love the show, but so dislike the episodes just after Aaron Sorkin left. The fast moving camera thing is HARD (physically) to watch.

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  6. The Atlantic: The Democrats Are Now America’s Conservative Party [Click] I don’t think I would go quite so far as that, but I think it now includes both the national center left and center right.
    ——Alan

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    1. Plus a few actual lefties.
      ----Alan

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  7. ‘We have ambitious plans’: Anti-Putin forces plan fresh attacks inside Russia [Click] I wouldn’t give two cents for their chances, but it is interesting to hear their perspective.
    ——Alan

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  8. Replies
    1. Yeah, the lefty news sphere is all over this. You know what, the Pres. probably knows Abrams. He's a known quantity, blah, blah, blah. The governing class is, let's face it, the governing class. Surely, there are more important things to go on about, like kittens being vivisected in blenders and the videos shown on Twitter. Let the Pres. choose whom he wants. If he feels Abrams is qualified, then guess what? That's his decision. I mean, we're not Golden Age Athens, where every major state decision had to be passed on by the citizenry. We have a president whose job is to preside. Let him get on with it.

      There are too many groups and too damned many petitions. Today I got one wanting me to demand that Giuliani be disbarred. I'm not a lawyer. Disbarring a lawyer is a function of specialized lawyers' organizations. It's a very serious action. It is not a popularity contest. And neither are a lot of other things that this group and that organization send out endless petitions about. The citizenry votes. The citizenry has a right to informed protest. The citizenry doesn't get to decide matters of national policy or the policy of specialized, professional bodies.

      /wipes brow/ End of rant

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    2. As far as I can seem all these petition emails are simply fronts for fundraising. I ignore them.

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  9. Scientists say poisonous pea could be made vital climate crisis crop [Click] But how will people be able to tell the safe variety from the toxic one?
    ——Alan

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  10. Alan, your comment on the last thread vis a vis The Lord's Prayer gave me a good chuckle. It reminded me of a bumper sticker Mom and I saw years ago that she liked to quote:

    Jesus is coming
    And is she pissed!

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    1. Back in Sputnik days, I remember a related story. Back then the punch line had FAR more impact than today. I will try to reproduce it from memory:
      The United States shoots off a rocket that launches a satellite into orbit, subsequently knocking down an angel, who is taken into protective custody. The news leaks out, and reporters besiege the government with demands for interviews. The government gets the major news outlets together and says they will be allowed to ask the angel ONE AND ONLY ONE QUESTION, live on national TV. The day comes, the time comes, and everyone in the country and abroad is watching the TV. Finally the elected reporter asks the one question decided on by the group: "WHAT DOES GOD LOOK LIKE?" to which the angel answers: "SHE'S BLACK."
      ---Alan

      Aside: I have always liked the story of Diana and Actaeon.

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    2. LOL Of course she is. /grin/

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    3. Funny, I was just thinking about that joke yesterday, only it was a spaceship created by all the nations of the earth. . . . and the punchline was this:

      "WHAT IS GOD LIKE?" to which the angel answers: FIRST OF ALL, SHE'S BLACK."

      puddle~~

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  11. Ryan McBeth: The Truth about Cluster Munitions and DPICM (Dual Purpose Improved Conventional Munitions) [Click] Educational; well, we will see in good time.
    ——Alan

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    1. Naturally, the U.S. is one of the few nations in the world that has not outlawed cluster munitions... or land mines... So, naturally, U.S. arms manufacturers must be thrilled at the thought of getting a paying customer - I presume Ukraine will be paying for these tools of the Devil? Or are we giving them to them out of the goodness of our heart? :P

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    2. We are "sending" them, according to reports, which doesn't suggest "selling."

      And I am quite put out about it!!! 😡😤🤬

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    3. ...put out about the use, that is, not whether or not they're to be purchased.

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  12. Groundbreaking research transmits energy from space to Earth [using microwaves] [Click] Trust us, we won’t ever use the frequency that bakes your potatoes?
    —Alan

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    1. Of course we are well accustomed to TV, internet, and telephones using microwaves, but still. . .
      ---Alan

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    2. Oh, c'mon, they've been doing that in SF for decades. Not that that makes it safe or anything...

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  13. Two Thumbs Up!! 👍👍
    Vermont College in Montpelier, VT closed and their empty buildings have been for sale. This just in...

    “The school announced Wednesday that five of the buildings will be sold to the Greenway Institute, a nonprofit based in White River Junction that offers sustainable engineering education. With the sale, the Noble, Glover, Stone, Schulmaier, and Dewey Hall buildings are now set to become the new Greenway Center for Equity and Sustainability.”

    The Related News Article

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