invoking the insurrection act, argentina propped up, h's birthday, cafe mutton, ratatouille
note to americans...
when 47 says he could invoke the insurrection act, but chooses not to... we should translate it to... "i would invoke the insurrection act but i don't have the support of the generals"... yet...
yesterday i was grateful for getting my music and music device sorted out, and the sci-fi book club...
today i am looking forward to celebrating h's birthday and a trip to cafe mutton to see our niece and have a wonderful lunch at her restaurant...
Meanwhile, Michael Stratford of Politico reported today that the United States has signed an āeconomic stabilization agreementā with Argentinaās central bank, offering extraordinary assistance to Argentina as its economy under Trump ally Javier Milei plummets. The agreement commits the U.S. to swapping $20 billion in currency to prop up the Argentine peso, in addition to at least two previous direct purchases of pesos.
Argentinaās systematic importance to the administration is, as Krugman notes, both that the administration wants a Trump-like politician to succeed and apparently that some of Bessentās hedge-fund billionaire associates invested heavily in Argentine bonds in a bet on Milei. Bailing out the government even for a short bhile will let them get their money out.
dictators and oligarcs everywhere rejoice... no matter how badly you mess up your economies, 47 will bail you out... at least until his friends and allies are made whole from their bad investments...
there is the world of ordinary people, and the world of the super wealthy... the world as it is and the world as it shouldn't be... power and its pursuit is the fundamental problem for humanity... most of us don't have much and most of us don't want much... we wish to have the basic necessities... meaningful work, some time off from work... and... perhaps a few "luxuries"... we want to be free to do what we please, as long as we aren't hurting anyone or anything... we don't want to be marshaled to the purposes of selfish and misguided "elites"... defined mostly by having the resources of god...
i am looking forward to traveling up to hudson, ny, today... about 1 1/2 hours north of us... our niece owns and is chef for cafe mutton... a chef extraordinaire... what they can do with the most humble ingredients is not to be believed...
speaking of humble ingredient dishes, i made a ratatouille from a bunch of garden veggies last night... impromptu... i used this recipe from saveur... it bakes in the oven at 400 degrees f... it is an unctuous, caramelized, vegetable stew... delicious...
i love cooking... in the current political climate it is one of the ways i hold on to my joy...
In the company of a real friend, we should aspire to become wiser, more sensitive, more able to cope with the complexity of existence, more resilient and more generous.
[alain de botton, via the marginalian](In the company of a real friend, we should aspire to become wiser, more sensitive, more able to cope with the complexity of existence, more resilient and more generous.)