Cruisin' and Newsin'
toward a brighter tomorrow
Links are at the end, begging for attention.
I’m traveling at the end of the week, which probably won’t affect the frequency of the newsletter, given how remiss I’ve been lately, but might mean some fresher photos.
Fetterman has outsize courage
Readers may or may not know that yr. editor has since childhood been afflicted with depression, and for much of that time mental health issues were not a subject of polite discussion. Some people thought it might be catching; others, including me, thought of it as a weakness of character, something which could be snapped out of. For some decades I thought everybody felt equally bad, and you were all just handling it way better than I was.
So I applaud John Fetterman for announcing his condition and getting treatment for it, and his colleagues for supporting him.1
One can’t help but notice, though, that his diagnosis came from an in-house physician, his treatment began immediately, and if he wants an outpatient therapist he’ll no doubt get one in short order. These are not the case for most people with mental health issues, and as usually is the case, politics and policy are to blame.
But, still, nevertheless: here’s a guy who persevered through a stroke and was willing to subject himself to a candidates’ debate which he had to know would not reflect well on him, and who will persevere through his depression.
And not for nothing, along the way he took down one of the most odious Republican candidates in the country.
Please clap.
Aloha, Dianne Feinstein
She probably ought to be applauded as well. Nobody wants to think they’ve transformed from a person who could do what they do into one who can’t.
Barbara Lee is about to drop in on the Democratic primary to replace Feinstein.2 She’d be a worthy choice, probably much better on policy than the other candidates who've announced to date, but does the Senate need another boomer? If she wins, she'll be 84 at the end of her term.
The other two announced candidates, Porter and Schiff, are both celebrities, which perhaps gives them an edge over their competition.
Beware a climate ‘doom loop,’ professional thinkers say
In which countries invest so much time and money addressing the impacts of global warming that they're unable to address the root causes.3
“We’re pointing to a potential situation where the symptom of the climate and ecological crisis — the storms, the potential food crises, and things like this — start to distract us from the root causes,” report author Laurie Laybourn, an associate fellow at the Institute for Public Policy Research think tank, said in an interview. “You get a feedback that starts to run out of control.”
The report’s authors do not believe that climate change has already triggered a global “doom loop” that is irreversible, but warn that in some places the dynamic could begin to take hold.
“We could get to the point where societies are faced with relentless disasters and crises, and all the other problems that the climate and ecological crisis is bringing, and will increasingly distract them from delivering decarbonization,” said Laybourn.
Yr. editor’s take on this is that we’re already past the point where, absent a complete reversal, from whatever impetus, of our current feeble incrementalism in addressing global warming, all we can do is offer the country some palliative care—making as comfortable as can be those of us who can’t take our own measures to escape the harm.
Of course the same people who refuse to take global warming as seriously as it needs taking are the ones who also take pride in blocking the palliative measures, the universal programs aimed at guaranteeing the health and social welfare of the non-wealthy here.
(See: Biden, Joe.)4
China, China, China
Whatever. Maybe we could avoid a global warming doom loop by starting a war with China. What could go wrong? We’ve already demonstrated air superiority over their balloons.
Trust Your Government
This in relation to one of the several environmental emergencies caused by chemical transportation mishaps, which themselves are related to dangerous conditions created by rail companies refusing to adequately staff their operations.5
EPA Administrator Michael Regan, who walked along a creek that still reeks of chemicals, sought to reassure skeptical residents that the water is fit for drinking and the air safe to breathe around East Palestine, where just under 5,000 people live near the Pennsylvania state line.
“I’m asking they trust the government. I know that’s hard. We know there’s a lack of trust,” Regan said. “We’re testing for everything that was on that train.”
Since the derailment, residents have complained about headaches and irritated eyes and finding their cars and lawns covered in soot. The hazardous chemicals that spilled from the train killed thousands of fish, and residents have talked about finding dying or sick pets and wildlife.
Residents are frustrated by what they say is incomplete and vague information about the lasting effects from the disaster, which prompted evacuations.
Not present: transportation secretary Pete Buttigieg, who has regulatory authority over trains and trucks transporting dangerous cargoes (and innocuous cargoes, such as people and paper towels, too), and over airlines that treat passengers like cattle who shouldn’t be in so much a hurry to get where they’re going because nothing good will come of it.
These recent derailments shine a less than flattering light on the already appalling congressional/administration decision to screw rail workers out of a decent labor settlement late last year.
(See: Biden, Joe.)6
Theory Proposes Black Holes Are The Source of Mysterious Dark Energy
Yr. Editor knows nothing at all about the subject but is inclined to agree just on an evocative basis. That and pride of place, as the University of Hawai’i led the research.7
Music soothing the less-than-savage breast
Shovels & Rope, “Manticore;”8 The Bug Club, “Green Dream In F# ;”9 Drugstore, "Anatomy."10
That, Comrades, is all there is.
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Be well, take care.
Hey, WB. You haven't heard from me in a while, but pllease know you have a faithful reader, if one scrounging for cash. I asked Jeff (of the redoubtable BLKDGRD blog) to put your blog on his roll of honor, which he did. Here's a book recommendation for you - HEALTH COMMUNISM by Beatrice Adler-Bolton and Artie Vierkant, published by Verso. And a couple of music recs - Psychic Temple, and Muslimgauze. I promise they will not force your temporal lobes to contort as much as Matthew Shipp. Keep doing what you do -it's important. -hjh
Re your snark on Biden and continued need for oil, you do understand, I suppose, that gasoline price inflation can install Republicans in power. You may also have noticed that the Republicans now control the House and that the Democrats have the most seats at risk in the next Senatorial election. Politics, you may recall, is the art of the possible. Peace.