The FEMA Scandal
On "Fox News @ Night," Washington clarified that bypassing properties that sport Trump signs is part of a broader policy designed to protect the safety of FEMA personnel. So, staffers have the right to skip over houses displaying Trump signage if they feel "uncomfortable," she said, similar to the fear of aggressive animals that are unchained and running loose.So, the policy isn't specifically about avoiding Trump supporters per se, Washington insisted. The guidelines instruct FEMA workers to avoid any situation that may make them feel unsafe — such as an off-leash dog, she suggested...."So the people [with] FEMA were fearing the Trump houses like they were fearing people with vicious dogs in their backyards?" Fox News host Trace Gallagher pressed."Exactly," Washington replied. "Unfortunately, the passionate supporters for Trump, some of them were a little bit violent."..."This was the culture. They were already avoiding these homes based on community trends from hostile political encounters. It has nothing to do with the campaign sign. It just so happened to be part of the community trend," Washington went on.
I don't claim to have any definite information about this beyond having never met a FEMA person in the whole rescue operation. As I said above, that could simply be understandable triage of the sort that is normal and necessary. Her testimony invites questions, however. I'm sure we'll all be interested in the answers.
Carbon Mike
Gorge Passage
Name that Tune
I know I have heard another song to this tune, which is not unusual with tunes from folk music. I can almost hear it in my mind, but the words are garbled in memory. Perhaps one of you knows it?
Saving 'Our Democracy' in Europe
The system could defend itself more powerfully by discarding the illusion, and like Egypt just openly stating that only certain candidates will be allowed to win. That would do away with the challenge, but also a major source of the system's power -- somewhat like destroying the Ring unmade Sauron and his challenge to the freedom of the age, but also destroyed the work of the Three and the ability of the world to sustain magical things like elves. The system seems to think of its challenger as being Sauron-like in evil, given their choices of analogies for him. Will they destroy the Ring to stop him? The loss of this illusion would protect the powerful, but they would retain only a shadow of their power, only what they could hold onto by naked force and coercion.
The Logic of the Gabbard Pick
National Popular Vote Compact
That hoary left-wing idea for functionally disposing of the Electoral College is still a terrible idea. It technically only comes into force if ratified by enough states to make it binding, but it’s still worth pointing this out.
Tulsi for DNI
We bid farewell
More Kilmer
A Major Proposal
Veterans and Helene
Their backgrounds make them well-suited for a disaster response of this magnitude. “This is what we do when we go to war. We go into bad scenarios with towns turned upside down,” said Mark Elkhill, an Army veteran with the relief group Christian Rangers. (The name Christian Rangers is taken from an exercise in Robin Sage, the nearly two-week special field “final exam” for would-be Green Berets.)Most of the group with Elkhill are former U.S. Army Green Berets and this is exactly their mission: to train local people to recover, sustain and protect themselves, he said while taking a break from cutting firewood that locals will use to heat their homes this winter. “The only difference is we’re not getting shot at here, which makes it a thousand times easier,” Elkhill said.
I told somebody I was with during emergency operations that it was like 'the good-parts version of war.' It's all the eudaimonia without the downsides. It's small wonder that veterans are 'finding purpose' in it, to use the Post's chosen language.
Surprising shifts
You do that
“Obviously this is a major reckoning for the Democratic Party in terms of, particularly as it relates to young men, Black and Hispanic voters and rural voters,” said Jef Pollock, a Biden and Harris campaign pollster. “If the economy were perceived by voters as swimming, things might be different. But for now, it’s clear these voters I’m talking about — particularly young men, Black men, Hispanic men, and rural White voters — do not see the Democrats as addressing their everyday needs, and that’s something we need to think about holistically.”We certainly need to see a lot more political speeches emphasizing the holistic approach. More cowbell!The linked article contains an excerpt from a WaPo piece, presumably behind a paywell, not that I'd go there anyway.
Blinding insights
Many of them, of course, have arrived at that conclusion thanks to outright bigotry.
Cast Iron & “Never”
Never and forever are neither for men.You’ll be returning again and again.-Fritz Leiber, “The Circle Curse,” Swords Against Death
My wife of 25 years did something I warned ‘never’ to do: she put a piece of my cast iron through the dishwasher. This is the classic offense against Southerners’ sensibility that people from the north do after they move down here. This was a grill press rather than a skillet, but still
Cast iron really is indestructible, though. It took some work to clean the rust and reseason it today, but it came out just fine. I shouldn’t have worried about it.
It’s good as new, which is to say, not as good. But it’s good enough to get started rebuilding a new layer of seasoning.