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Discussion: The Rose Garden and White House happenings: Listening to voters’ concerns

In the gun owner system, the owners are split into two separate yet equally important groups: those posing for holiday cards, and those who shoot puppies.  These are their stories... [cue Law & Order intro noise]

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Discussion: What does Putin want (and whatabout it)

Informative:

FARA in Focus: What can Russia’s Foreign Agent Law tell us about America’s? (Journal of National Security Law & Policy)

FAFSA in Focus: https://studentaid.gov/h/apply-for-aid/fafsa

Farfisa in Focus:

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Discussion: The Trump Indictments

Morganna said:

mjc said:

A shot across the bow maybe? she says hopefully.

Finally heard tape of one of Defendant's comments this morning, imo couldn't be clearer tampering with witness(es).  Seems likely any random street thug would be locked up if it could be proved he said anything like that.

eta: otoh, does this mean the judge totally dismissed the other dozen or so instances??

eta again: NYT says $9,000, so apparently judge recognized most instances?  Still peanuts, but at least a warning

Apparently $1,000 per violation is the maximum allowed in New York State. Of course, jail could be the next option. We can only dream.

$9,000 ain't a lot, but on top of that, he'll have to attend his son's graduation which he had no intention of doing, so there's some justice.

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Discussion: Voyager 1, launched during Jimmy Carter's administration, is back to sending signals.

It went silent a few months ago. Engineers at Jet Propulsion lab sent corrective instructions over billions of miles to re-program the space probe.

It worked. There is still fine tuning to take place but it is still "alive."

The original plans, called for it to stop sending signals in about 5 years after launch.

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Discussion: What does Putin want (and whatabout it)

nan said:

But, we have no opposition in the US and freedom of speech is attacked as "disinformation" and Biden kills journalists too.  Some of this ranting at Russia is projection. 

I suppose it's not surprising you can't imagine Russians, Georgians, or Ukrainians wanting democracy given you yourself seem to scorn it.

We have choices in this country, and they make real, material differences. It matters if abortion is legal or not -- something that depends on who wins  elections at both the federal and the state level. It mattered whether we invaded Iraq or not. It mattered whether we had decided to uphold our nuclear deal with Iran or not. It matters whether we open up pristine Alaskan wilderness to exploitation or if we declare it road free. It matters if we use government to push us toward an emission-free future or not. It matters in all sorts of ways, large and small. Elections are meaningful.

When people complain, as you do, that they're not meaningful, and that it doesn't matter, it can mean a few things. It could be ignorance -- not realizing just how many things are impacted by who governs. It could be lack of attention -- not making the connection between events that happen and who governs (this is especially common because there are many delays between change and effect. As an easy example, think of the impactful, but lengthy, way the Supreme Court's makeup changes and then begins to yield different rulings, which themselves often take a while to play out and have visible impact).

It is also sometimes a sign of tunnel vision, of someone dismissing things that are important, but which aren't important to them. Think, for instance, of voters who dismiss reproductive rights as an issue.

Another aspect to this is that democracy gives us choices, not guarantees. It's a big country. On many issues, you're going to find yourself holding a minority opinion; perhaps even an extremely minority opinion. Change can be hard, but not impossible. The fact that few people share an opinion today doesn't mean they can't be convinced to do so tomorrow, but there's also no guarantee that you ever will change enough people's minds. Your complaints here seem to be along the lines of this -- too few Americans share your foreign policy views. And your explanation for this is conspiracy and the over-privileged decision that democracy doesn't matter or even really exist.

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Discussion: What does Putin want (and whatabout it)

nan said:

Right, they get 3% and yet wield great influence. I'm still waiting for you to answer my question? Why would a country celebrate Sephan Bandara with streets, statues and holidays? He's got his picture hanging in government offices. Where else in the world does that guy have so many fans?

How do you explain that?

I remembered PVW’s answer from a couple of years ago. Didn’t you?

PVW said:

As Ridski notes, nations often (always?) have problematic heroes. In the Eastern European context, specifically, I get the sense that Nan isn't very familiar with the region's history in WWII and afterward, when peoples and states were being crushed by either the Nazi or the Soviets, sometime serially, sometimes simultaneously. And in that context, heroes of national liberation were often aligning themselves with the Germans against the Russians, or the Russians against the Germans. She seems truly baffled by why post-Soviet and post-Communist states may have been so eager to join NATO and the EU, unable to conceive of any motivation beyond American machinations.

Russia itself is actually a great example of this complicated history -- look at how central Putin has sought to make the fight against Germany to Russian national identity, and how he's explicitly tied that history to his current war against Ukraine, and how that's required elevating Stalin, one of history's great moral monsters.

Nan also doesn't seem to have a good understanding of the cultural and legal landscape within Russia if she thinks the force of the state isn't being brought to bear against ethnic groups there. Ask the Chechens, the Tatars, the Dagestanis, or any of the many other ethnic groups within Russia where they fit in Putin's vision of a Russian, Orthodox civilization.

Someone on these threads frequently reminds us to avoid turning the news into Disney fairy tales. That's good advice -- an attempt to grapple with the actual history of the region would be a good start.

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Discussion: FTC Votes to Ban Noncompete Agreements

I was presented with one of these long ago and asked advice from a lawyer. He said never sign away your ability to earn a living. I crossed that sh*t out and told the employer, and they accepted it. I know not all employers will accept it. If leaving the company takes knowledge, they should compensate the employee for the duration of the non-competition agreement. But the fact that companies like Burger King force this on people is deplorable. It depresses the value of their labor.

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Discussion: Bring Out Your Dead! The celebrity death thread....

Paul Auster, grew up in SOMA and graduated from Columbia High School. Famous as a Brooklyn author, but his sweeping novel "4 3 2 1" has a protagonist who grows up (in multiple ways) in Maplewood and vicinity.

Paul Auster, the Patron Saint of Literary Brooklyn, Dies at 77 - The New York Times (nytimes.com)

[Edited to add] Found the video of the talk he gave on Zoom, hosted by the South Orange Library, on 4/3/21 about that novel and talking about his memories of growing up. 

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Discussion: Handyman

I'm not sure if you're still looking, but just in case anyone else pulls this thread up ij future, a friend of ours has a handyman service, who helped work on our panto productions. His name is Gordon Brown (not the former UK Prime Minister), and here's his info: https://www.gmbhandymanservices.com/

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Discussion: The NYT Spelling Bee Thread

Got the QB yesterday with a little hint from the Buddy. Had no idea "churchy" is a word. 

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