gratitudes, my angst, the last 8 years, gerrymandering, ice lawlessness, argentinian midterms, dinosaur ships, my photography
yesterday i was grateful for fiza's indian-pakistani cuisine...
today i am looking forward to yoga with maryanne and photography salon...
having an angsty day... the last number of days have been angsty... principally, i am worried about my dogs... weirdness with their bowel movements... it's really hard to have to worry about my dogs in the midst of the national shit show which already has me on edge in a general pervasive way... my day to day life hasn't changed at all... so far...
the last 8 years have been challenging... trump 1.0... pandemic... reprieve with biden 1.0... failure of justice system to hold trump accountable... biden screwing the country over by running for a second term... trump 2.0... then the normal things that go on... the normal challenges... i am lucky to be a white male and to have resources... i may be inviting trouble eventually with my trans feminine explorations, but i am too happy dressing femininely to give that up... we will see what evolves...
the shit show...
Democrats get aggressive on remapping congressional lines - POLITICO
Democrats are launching a redistricting counteroffensive across the country as they try to keep pace with the GOPās aggressive gerrymandering ahead of next yearās midterms.
i don't know that democrats had a choice here... their trend in recent years was towards fairer districting with ballot initiatives fighting gerrymandering in a number of states... my state, ny, is one of those states...
the gerrymandering arms race is so disappointing... a reflection of the moment, but antidemocratic... lets suppose democrats are able to retake house and senate next year and the presidency as well in 2028... we will have a deeply divided country reinforced with gerrymandered districts everywhere... how do we unwind that?... even if we don't go full bore authoritarian, has the system been so damaged that it can't really survive?...
Chicago immigration agents accused of tear-gassing peaceful protestors
U.S. Customs and Border Patrol Commander (CBP) Gregory Bovino, the public face of the Trump administration's immigration enforcement operation in Chicago known as "Operation Midway Blitz," has been ordered to appear in federal court on Tuesday in response to allegations that he and his officers have knowingly violated a court order by using aggressive, nonlethal tactics on peaceful protesters without warning in the city.
i haven't witnessed anything like this... another way my life seems like it always has been while it decidedly is not in a lot of places... but so distressing that it is happening at all... also distressing is the widespread opinion that the extrajudicial killings of venezuelans is illegal... is murder... suggesting that military personnel are failing to distinguish illegal orders or orders with the strong potential to be illegal... suggesting there are military personnel who will readily follow an illegal order... they are told they don't have to carry out illegal orders... this is supposed to be one of the failsafes... and while i don't want to minimize venezuelan lives, i worry that these killings will gradually come closer and closer to home... when will the first us citizen be targeted on us soil?... that is where it seems to be heading to me...
Milei's party wins Argentina's midterm election, gaining more power to push reforms
The results of Argentina's midterm elections Sunday were not widely expected. Pre-election polls had predicted a tie nationwide. Instead there was a clear win for President Javier Milei's coalition, La Libertad Avanza (Freedom Advances), which secured 41 percent of the national vote. The Peronist opposition followed with 32 percent, while regional parties divided the remainder. Voter turnout was 68 percent, below typical midterm participation levels.
milei and argentina are being propped up by the trump administration to the tune of 40 billion dollars and with favorable trading terms for their beef, for example... milei is libertarian/authoritarian... the trump administration likes him... i wonder how his party's success was achieved... it wasn't expected... economic conditions in argentina are bad... there is no suggestion in the reporting that the results weren't legit... the turnout was described as being "below typical midterm participation levels"... hmmm...
The Mixed Messages of Sending USS Gerald Ford to the Caribbean
WHEN A CARRIER STRIKE GROUP changes oceans, itās not just a moveāitās strategy. The Trump administrationās recent decision to redeploy USS Gerald R. Ford and its strike group from the Mediterranean to the waters off Latin America might sound like a shift from deterring adversaries near Europe and the Middle East to countering āillicit actorsā in the Caribbean. But beneath the Pentagon phrasing lies a far more consequential question: Why are we moving one of Americaās rarest and most capable instruments of military power from a theater of genuine danger to one of political ambiguity?
the article was accompanied by a photograph of the ford... even in the midst of a vast sea, it seems huge... i can't help but think dinosaur when i see it... isn't it pretty vulnerable to modern missile technology?... can it defend itself against hypersonic missiles?... is it a symbol of american stodginess?...
i am starting work on a photography book... my photography practice is built on daily photo walks in the morning with some additional photo making during the day... i have had the idea of putting together a catalog of a year's worth of photos... i have decided to go for it... it will be organized into weekly groups... 52 weeks... broken into seasonal sets of 13 weeks... each seasonal set will be a book and they will be assembled in a slip case... the weekly set will be sequenced in whatever way seems strong to me... the weeks and seasons will be organized chronologically... a point will be how the images reflect changes in environment and human churning from week to week, season to season... the subject material is whatever thing or scene catches my eye... so, repetitive in some ways... the point will be to observe the changes that happen across a year's time... there will be self portraits too... here are a few from last week...
