The Weird Times
Inner Monologues and Desultory Reporting from Outer Spaces: Issue 233, October 27, 2024 (V5 #25)
Do the best you can until you know better. Then when you know better, do better.—Maya Angelou
I have come to know the types: the born Nazis, the Nazis whom democracy itself has created, the certain-to-be fellow-travelers. And I also know those who never, under any conceivable circumstances, would become Nazis.—Dorothy Thompson (1941)
Freedom, by definition, is people realizing that they are their own leaders.—Diane Nash
Books, Music, Art, Culture
What You Can Learn from Just Seven Pages by Hannah Arendt: She wrote this book in the 1950s, but it's frighteningly relevant right now, Ted Gioia, The Honest Broker, 10/25/24 “Large numbers of people, crowded together, develop an almost irresistible inclination toward despotism.” Book: The Human Condition (1958)
Sol Yurick on Trying to Find Any Trace of His Novel, The Warriors, on the Big Screen: “I looked for my novel on the screen. I found the skeleton of it intact. Its revolutionary content was missing,” Sol Yurick, LitHub, 10/24/24: “Many young men, now in their thirties and forties, have told me that seeing the movie (again and again and again) had been a defining moment in their young lives.”
Phil Lesh, Grateful Dead Co-Founder and Bassist, Dead at 84: The musician pushed the band toward long-form improvisation, electronic experiments, and nightly free-form “space” interludes, Richard Gehr, Rolling Stone, 10/25/24: “His bass flowed like a river would flow. It went where the muse took it. He was an explorer of inner and outer space who just happened to play bass. He was a circumnavigator of formerly unknown musical worlds. And more.”
On the Power of Literature and Being a Writer in the “Age of Angst:” “The literary mind cannot be isolationist, Elif Shafak, LitHub, 10/22/24: “When we write fiction we connect with something bigger than us, older than us, and definitely, wiser than us.”
eden ahbez: Mystical Man of Mystery, Mark DaPonte, Culture Sonar, 10/21/24. He wrote three hits: “Nature Boy,” (Nat Cole), “Hey Jacques” (Eartha Kitt in 1955) and “Lonely Island” (Sam Cooke in 1957). His only album is “Eden’s Island,” but he inspired Paul McCartney, Donovan and many others.
How Harlan Ellison’s Outer Limits Episode Told a Vast Story in a Confined Space: It's been 60 years since this episode graced television screens for the very first time, Don Kaye, Reactor, 10/22/24: “Directed by Byron Haskin from a teleplay by Harlan Ellison, “Demon” starred Robert Culp as Trent, a mysterious man with no memory who is tasked with preserving not just all human knowledge but the human race itself from a hostile alien race called the Kyben.”
Kama muta: the powerful emotion you didn’t know you had: Goosebumps, tears, a sense of solidarity… There’s a name for that feeling, and its manifestations – from Swifties handing out friendship bracelets to strong responses to political messaging – can bring good and ill, David Robinson, The Guardian, 10/26/24
The Grandparents Fighting Against Book Bans, Huda Hassan, The Cut, 10/22/24: “I want to make sure my grandchildren grow up in a world where they can read and form opinions based on knowledge, not on a narrow truth.”
Fernando Valenzuela, pitching ace of ‘Fernandomania’ fervor, dies at 63: The Mexican left-hander roared into the 1981 season with a nearly unhittable screwball and had Los Angeles Dodgers fans rocking to “Fernandomania,” Brian Murphy, Washington Post, 10/23/24
I know no one’s going to show me everything
We all come and go unknown
Each so deep and superficial
Between the forceps and the stone
—from “Hejira,” Joni Mitchell
Politics, Economics, Technology
General Kelly's October Shock...and the GOP's spittle-licking reaction, Charlie Sykes, To the Contrary, 10/24/24: “In a remotely sane political universe, retired Gen. John Kelly’s “October shock” would turn the presidential race upside down….This warning is from Trump’s former chief of staff, and it comes just a week after the former chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Mark Milley, called Trump “fascist to the core” and “the most dangerous person ever.” Trump’s former defense secretary Jim Mattis — another general — seconded Milley’s warning.”
Hitler’s Enablers: The complicity of conservative nationalists in the Nazi takeover of Germany in 1933 offers disturbing parallels to the current American political situation, Christopher R. Browning, NY Review of Books, 11/7/24 issue: “This “rejection of rationality” and “contempt for truth and reason” was central to the rejection of the Enlightenment tradition, democracy, and the “liberal, capitalist West” by National Socialism.” Book: Takeover: Hitler’s Final Rise to Power, Timothy Ryback
Elon Musk’s Secret Conversations With Vladimir Putin: Regular contacts between world’s richest man and America’s chief antagonist raise security concerns; topics include geopolitics, business and personal matters. Thomas Grove et al, Wall Street Journal, 10/25/24: “…the contacts also raise potential national-security concerns among some in the current administration, given Putin’s role as one of America’s chief adversaries.” DW: And doesn’t this make crystal clear why Musk is giving over $100 million and the full support of Twitter to Trump? Election interference by Russia (are you listening?) in plain sight.
What (Really) Happens If Trump Wins? Like Hitler, Trump Has Made Clear His Plan is Dictatorship, Not Democracy, Rachel “The Doc” Bitecofer, The Cycle, 10/21/24: “All you need to end a democracy is a leader willing to suspend or end the Constitution and a supporting cast large enough to allow him to do it. Republicans have both.”
Remember: Donald Trump shouldn’t even be eligible for the presidency after Jan. 6: The Roberts court cleared the way for the GOP’s leader to become president again, despite his constitutionally disqualifying engagement in insurrection, Jordan Rubin, MSNBC, 10/22/24
Polling has turned the US election into a game. We need to take a reality check: The proliferation of opinion polls on the presidential election makes it seem more like a sport involving personalities, when what these surveys should be doing is targeting policies, Peter Pomerantsev, The Guardian, 10/27/24
The Washington Post says it will not endorse a candidate for president: Publisher William Lewis explained the decision as a return to the newspaper’s roots, Manuel Roig-Franzia, Laura Wagner, Washington Post, 10/25/24: “This is cowardice, a moment of darkness that will leave democracy as a casualty. Donald Trump will celebrate this as an invitation to further intimidate The Post’s owner, Jeff Bezos (and other media owners).”—former Post executive editor Martin Baron. DW: Question to readers – should I cancel my subscription in protest?
Good morning. This is what fascism looks like, Lucian K. Truscott IV, Newsletter, 10/26/24: “Fascism showed its face not with jackboots and concentration camps…not yet, anyway…but rather as just another day in Capitalist America.”
How Important Is Courage? A Saturday prompt, Steven Beschloss, America, America, 10/26/24: “…it’s important for each of us to be conscious that the goal of Trump and his enablers is to break down our courage and our commitment to civil discourse and full participation in democracy…” DW: We need to be prepared for what happens after the election on Tuesday.
Obeying in advance: Media billionaires ask for tyranny, Timothy Snyder, Thinking About,10/26/24: “’…do not obey in advance’ is the main lesson of the twentieth century.”
Poll-Washing Trump's Fascist Plans: What Voters Don't Know About "Mass Deportation" Can Hurt Us All, Michael Podhorzer, Weekend Reading, 10/25/24
The double standard for Harris and Trump has reached a breaking point: One candidate can rant about gibberish while the other has to be perfect, Eugene Robinson, Washington Post, 10/24/24
Charlamagne tha God Has Some Advice for Kamala Harris and the Democrats: The “Breakfast Club” co-host talks with David Remnick about Black voters, his recent interview with the Vice-President, and why the Democratic Party needs a lot more “Bulworth,” David Remnick, New Yorker, 10/25/24: “I just want to see more honesty from Democrats. Like I always say, Republicans are more sincere about their lies than Democrats are about their truth!”
Jill Stein Isn’t Even Pretending to Not Be a Spoiler: Seriously: What the fuck is she doing? Jeff Maurer, I Might Be Wrong, 10/25/24
Is DOJ Doing Enough to Protect the Election? Joyce Vance, Civil Discourse, 10/24/24: “The Justice Department needs to add educating the public about the way it does its work as an explicit part of its role in government.”
The Secretive Billionaire Network Funding ‘Stop the Steal’ 2.0: GOP donors have given more than $140 million to nearly 50 groups working on election integrity; ‘another crusade of ours,’ Rebecca Ballhaus, Mariah Timms, Wall Street Journal, 10/22/24 (No paywall)
Trump Megadonor Tim Dunn Has a Plan More Extreme Than Project 2025: The Texas fracking billionaire wants to rewrite the U.S. Constitution to advance climate denial and other far-right priorities, Geoff Dembicki, DeSmog, 10/23/24
Online Talk About ‘Civil War’ Could Inspire Real-World Violence, DHS Warns Cops: The agency also cautioned that it’s unable to get a grasp on the full scale of the threat, due to extremists increasingly using encrypted chat tools, Tess Owen, Wired, 10/23/24
New poll has an independent populist upending the Senate with a Nebraska upset: Dan Osborn is flipping the script, and a new poll has him flipping Nebraska's crucial Senate seat, Ryan Grim, DropSite, 10/23/24
“Friends Of The Court” Urge SCOTUS To Slash Consumer Rights: Interest groups backed by conservative operatives and billionaire interests are pushing the high court to use upcoming Facebook and Nvidia cases to gut consumer protections, Freddy Brewster, The Lever, 10/21/24
The Maga legal networks that could topple Planned Parenthood and gut women’s healthcare: outcome of coming election may determine staying power of hard-right activist Leonard Leo’s crusade to reshape US courts, Melissa Segura, The Guardian, 10/22/24: “(Judge) Kacsmaryk and most of the other key players in the case to topple Planned Parenthood are tied to Leo via a vast network of nonprofit and for-profit organizations involved in the fight against abortion or other conservative causes.”
The Genesis of Christian Nationalism, Phoebe Petrovic, ProPublica with Wisconsin Watch, 10/26/24: “…it represents the culmination of various movements with roots that trace back decades. The more extreme elements didn’t just materialize a few years ago. They’ve been there from the start.”
How I Learned To Stop Criticizing Everything: There are two directions higher education can take. Here’s why I chose pluralism, Eboo Patel, Persuasion, 10/25/24: “You are amongst the most fortunate individuals who have ever lived, in one of the most remarkable and resource-rich environments human beings have ever created. Here, you can imagine new worlds. Here, you can invent your destiny. Here, you can learn to defeat the things you do not love by building the things you do.”
The Peace Trap: “Compromise” is not a dirty word, Etgar Keret, Alphabet Soup, 10/22/24: “…the first step might be to stop using the debilitating word ‘peace,’ which has long since taken on transcendental and messianic meanings in both the political left and right wings, and replace it immediately with the word ‘compromise.’”
You know you see something, but on closer inspection,
you’re just gazing at absence. No one blames you
for looking away. After a while, all social space
seems more and more empty. That it goes on
like this for infinity. Scary. But not to worry.
Authorities assure us this too must end.
—from “Society Must Be Defended,” Jerome Sala
Science, Environment
Daylighting Tibbetts Brook: An ode to an underground Bronx waterway and the restorative effort to unbury it, Emily Raboteau, Pioneer Works, 10/23/24: “The water never really went away. It still remembers where it used to be. Long ago, the Munsee Lenape called the brook Mosholu, meaning “small” or “smooth” stones. Mosholu.”
What to do about one of America's last wild places, Juliet Eilperin, Carolyn van Houten, Alice Li, Washington Post, 10/21/24: “Alaska’s Arctic National Wildlife Refuge ranks as one of the wildest places on Earth….The question of who gets to determine its fate — and whether to dig up the oil and gas that lie beneath it — could be decided this fall.”
What it’s like to run the 4,000-km migration route of the endangered monarch butterfly: A documentary follows an Ontario group's project to run and chronicle the path of monarch butterfly migration, drawing attention to the environmental destruction that threatens biodiversity, Elaine Anselmi, Narwhal, 10/22/24
The Futures of Right Whales and Lobstermen Are Entangled. Could High-Tech Gear Help Save Them Both? Entanglements are a leading cause of death for endangered North Atlantic right whales. Removing fishing lines from the ocean could help minimize this risk—but only if lobstermen get on board, experts say, Kiley Price, Inside Climate News, 10/20/24
The Slow-Motion Destruction of Tortoises’ Slow-Motion Migration: On the Galapagos’ most developed island, researchers are tracking a growing threat to the millennia-old migration routes of giant tortoises, Kevin Gepford, Hakai, 10/22/24
Holding Out Hope On the Drying Rio Grande: The once-mighty river is barely a trickle through much of West Texas. Scientists and advocates say local initiatives could be scaled up to restore flows to the river, Martha Pskowski, Inside Climate News, 10/23/24
Wildlife rebounds from ecological ‘crisis’ following wild horse roundups on Wind River Reservation: Federal and tribal biologists are amassing data on the recovery of the Wind River Indian Reservation’s rangeland, and early results suggest there were immediate, dramatic effects from large-scale roundups, Mike Koshmrl, WyoFile, 10/21/24
Ukraine Rewilding: Will Nature Be Allowed to Revive When War Ends? Amid the war’s destruction, Ukrainian scientists are seeing signs of an ecological recovery. When the conflict ends, they say, the nation should not rebuild its massive Soviet-era infrastructure and instead continue the rewilding by letting nature keep restoring itself, Fred Pearce, Yale Environment 360, 10/21/24
Vertical solar panels help farmers produce both energy and crops: The orientation of the panels means they can be easily integrated into pastures or croplands, YCC Team, Yale Climate Connections, 10/21/24
Cheap Solar Panels Are Changing the World: “This is unstoppable,” Zoë Schlanger, The Atlantic, 10/23/24: “…solar is on track to overtake all other forms of energy by 2033.”
Wind power goes small with microturbines for homes, public parks, and more: A French startup’s ‘Aeroleaf’ turbines can produce electricity day and night, YCC Team, Yale Climate Connections, 10/23/24
'I said to myself, dirt doesn't burn': The people rebuilding their homes with earth, Nick Aspinwall, BBC, 10/23/24: “…an adobe house has a better chance of surviving a wildfire.”
Wetland protections remain bogged down in mystery: For the majority of the Supreme Court, a wetland where the water is out of sight is a wetland out of mind, Derrick Z. Jackson, Environmental Health News, 10/25/24: “…the language used by the court is neither scientific nor objective.”
Soil Salinization: A Rising Threat to Ecosystems and Global Food Security: As soil salinization intensifies, it poses serious threats to ecosystems, soil health, global food security and socio-economic stability, Nima Shokri et al, Eos, 10/21/24
Microbes drove methane growth between 2020 and 2022, not fossil fuels, Univ of Colorado, Science Daily, 10/21/24: “Microorganisms growing in landfills, on agricultural land and in wetlands are contributing to skyrocketing levels of atmospheric methane, a potent greenhouse gas, according to new research.”
Math Is Still Catching Up to the Mysterious Genius of Srinivasa Ramanujan: Born poor in colonial India and dead at 32, Ramanujan had fantastical, out-of-nowhere visions that continue to shape the field today, Jordana Cepelewicz, Quanta, 10/21/24: “More than 100 years later, mathematicians are still trying to catch up to Ramanujan’s divine genius, as his visions appear again and again in disparate corners of the world of mathematics.”
You will press your ears against my wall,
I will press mine against your body,
we will love and inspect,
we will try and live
with what follows us—
but no one can change this:
we are unable to tear
our eyes from each other.
—from “Awón/Sin,” Nathalie Handal
Health, Wellness
Could poor sleep in middle age speed up brain aging? American Academy of Neurology, Science Daily, 10/23/24: “People in early middle age who have poor sleep quality, including having difficulty falling or staying asleep, have more signs of poor brain health in late middle age, according to a new study.”
The Multi-Trillion-Dollar Wellness Industry Is Making Us Sick: Alternative medicine has become a scrutiny-free wonderland for anything and everything, Jonathan N. Stea, The Walrus, 10/25/24: “Wellness has devolved into an ambiguous marketing term that can just as easily mean activated charcoal toothpaste as it does mindfulness.”
Birds, Birding
Birds and Transmission Lines: Clean energy should be making us less, not more, reliant on huge transmission lines, Laura Erickson, For the Birds, 10/22/24: “…conservationists and major organizations promoting a healthy environment for humans and wildlife should be working with government, not corporations, to support programs that will help people produce our own clean power closer to where we use it, and help us use less energy to begin with.”
Listening In on the Mysterious Marbled Murrelet Applying machine learning to forest soundscapes helps researchers pinpoint rare and threatened birds, Moira Donovan, Hakai, 10/23/24: “The murrelet is so mysterious that scientists call it the enigma of the Pacific.”
Election Prayer--->
Divine Unruly Intelligence
alive in us like ever-sprouting seeds
relentless re-awakener of rigorous vigorous sentience
compassionately ruthless destroyer of suffering
tricky teacher of surprising reality--->
Fill us with almost more splendor than we can hold
Shake loose our deepest best choices
Swoop and swoon us into righteous amazement
Inspire the shocking victory of wild goodness
—Rob Brezsny
Election Works: What you can do right now
Electing Kamala Comes Down to This: Ignore the polls. Let's finish the job!—Scott Dworkin (Dworkin Report, 10/22/24)
Eight (8!) days until the most consequential election of our lifetimes.
We must all do everything we can in the next few days to get out the vote. Sign up for one or more of Indivisible’s phone banks (includes training):
Monday, October 28 - Call voters with podcasters at 5:30 ET/2:30 PT.,
Wednesday, October 30 - Call-o-ween! Call NY voters at 6pm ET/3pm PT.
Sunday, November 3 – Mobilize voters in North Carolina at 1pm ET/11am PT.
Or you can join Indivisible’s Neighbor to Neighbor program – connect with ten of your neighbors to get out the vote.
Do whatever you can do. Give money or time. We know now we are not getting help from the media or anyone else — it’s up to all of us to fight for the future we believe in.
Please do keep in touch. We need each other, now more than ever. Our connections are what matters. I know we can do this.
Love is always the place where I begin and end.—bell hooks
Love always—David