gratitudes, censorship, my photography, jb pritzker creates a public record, bailing argentina out
yesterday i was grateful for my niece shaina and their wonderful restaurant, cafe mutton...
today i am looking forward to meeting with my cemetery colleagues and the start of a quiet weekend...
An Exhibition of Silenced Artists Sends a Warning in New York City
Donāt Look Now: A Defense of Free Expression centers art impacted by President Trumpās crackdown on DEI, anti-Palestine sentiment, and other forms of suppression.
i passed by the public library in my home town this morning and spotted a sign opposing censorship and advising the reading of whatever you want... literature and art is under attack especially from conservatives (liberals do it too, just not as much historically and certainly not in the present moment)... censorship is never a good idea... a society can't critique itself effectively if that critique is censored... we need critique... especially in this moment, when the drive to prevent it is intense because of the right's authoritarian drive... this will get worse before it gets better...
one of my photos from this morning's walk...
my walks have been more image productive lately... i am able to play closer attention to what i am seeing... which means i am less worried about "things" than i have been... which generally means there is less worrying me about my day to day life, since national politics remain a shit show trending in a direction i am not happy with...
Today Illinois governor J.B. Pritzker established the āIllinois Accountability Commissionā to compile evidence against federal agents who have harassed, intimidated, brutalized, and detained American citizens and legal residents in Illinois.
i applaud J. B. Pritzker's decision to create a record of the abuses of federal officials in his state... there isn't a lot he can do about it in the present moment... but... when the time comes to hold those responsible accountable, there will be a record...
Today economist Paul Krugman noted that the administrationās $20 billion gambit to save Trump ally Javier Mileiās government in Argentina, with another $20 billion in the works, is a visceral wake-up call for parts of rural America in a way that cuts to social welfare programs have not been, despite the fact that rural areas depend on those programs more than urban areas do. Now Trump is talking about importing beef from Argentina. Farmers were already upset that Trumpās tariff war ended Chinese imports of U.S. soybeans; now ranchers are outraged at Trumpās focus on Argentina rather than on Americans.
let's hope the ranchers and farmers get the message that 47 is in it only for himself... i find it interesting that he is going to such lengths to bail out an authoritarian leader who has implemented the policies his government advocates... which failed to lift the argentinian economy and, i am guessing, tanked it?... in any case, the policies don't work and a massive bailout from the united states is keeping it afloat... can one expect something similar to happen to us?... and who will bail us out when it does?... no nation is both big enough and friendly enough to do that... i don't wish misery on people who voted for 47, but i hope the misery that does come their way helps them realize he is not the answer to whatever problems they were experiencing...