America has invested her religion as well as her morality in sound income-paying securities. She has adopted the unassailable position of a nation blessed because it deserves to be blessed; and her sons, whatever other theologies they may affect or disregard, subscribe unreservedly to this national creed. —Agnes Repplier, Times and Tendencies (1931)
1.
More Arizona ink in the Guardian as Adrian Fontes speaks up about his new role as the state’s newly elected secretary of state. He defeated Mark Finchem, one of the most scary election-deniers in the country, with 52% of the votes tallied. Fontes uses the term Maga fascist for election deniers. “I use the words ‘Maga fascists’ because it’s the truth. These people are not Grand Old Party Republicans; they are Maga fascists. There is no reason for me to call them by anything other than what they are. If they feel a little sensitive about that, then maybe they ought to reconsider their position vis-a-vis American democracy and stop acting like fascists. We must stop pretending these guys have legitimate complaints, catering to their eggshell sensitivities. We must confront them again and again, treating them like the enemies to democracy that they are. We’re not name-calling, we’re truth-telling – there’s a big difference.” The Guardian went on to say Once in the hot seat as Arizona’s chief election official, Fontes intends to use his clout to press the state legislature to increase penalties against anyone threatening or intimidating election workers. With Finchem, Kari Lake, and Abe Hamadeh taking the big dumparoo here in the sunshine state, maybe there’s a sliver of hope for us desert squatters.
2.
Nothing to report in DC this week…A nod's as good as a wink to a blind bat! Nudge, nudge, wink, wink, say no more, say no more.
Welllll, there was one thing worth mentioning which was best summed up by Rep. Sean Casten (D. Illinois) on Twitter:
2:10 PM · Jan 4, 2023
My take from the floor: we have, for all practical purposes, 3 parties in Congress. Democrats, old-line country club Republicans and the MAGA/wingnut caucus. McCarthy tried to win the wingnuts with rules concessions that didn't win them over, but alienated the rest.
The first two groups have substantial differences on policy but agree that government should govern. The third group (who McCarthy tried to appease) has no real policy agenda - they just want government not to work.
Meanwhile, the country-club Republicans have spent 20 years first appeasing the tea party, then appeasing MAGA, then Q. They aren't bad people, but two decades of choosing not to lead, nor to stand up for the Constitution has left them with no one with real leadership skills.
That's how they ended up rewarding McCarthy's milquetoasty vapidity with a "leadership" title - but everyone knows he's an inch deep. His aspiration is to be the guy who everyone likes in the country club. That only gets you so far. And it won't get him to the Speakership.
IDK what happens next, but if we assume that the only candidates who can win have an R after their name we're left with wingnuts (hard to see any getting more than ~40 votes) or a CC type who has the skill, and desire to drive the clown car that is a party at war with itself).
But in all events, we are watching the break-up of a once great party. The party that abolished slavery, that created cap & trade global environmental rules, that said "the day we stop welcoming immigrants to our shores is the day we stop being Americans"... isn't today's GOP
What's left is just a party of grievance. Ironically against ideas that originated in their party. When LBJ signed the Civil Rights Act, the
GOP pivoted to embrace the racists. When Clinton/Gore embraced the Reagan/Bush cap & trade program they turned against that too.
When Romneycare was adopted nationally as Obamacare, same thing. I'm sure there are more good examples.
So they're just left - in DC at least - with an agreement to oppose progress, and a disagreement about whether that's best done through governance or by destroying the system from within. Thus the two parties, at war with themselves, destroying a once great party.
Meanwhile, we need a Speaker, and a government that works. And we need to recognize that to want those things in 2023 DC is a partisan idea. That doesn't make it bad or undesirable. But it is clear that they are incompatible with "Republican" (whatever that means) majorities.
3.
After hanging my art show at the Triangle L in November, I’ve been on creative work hiatus concerning my visual art. It’s been several years since I’ve dismantled my work space…and meanwhile clutter has built up. It’s not like I don’t need and want a certain amount of clutter and stimulation around me in my work spaces but my garden has become mighty weedy. I hope to have the space up and functional again before the end of the month.
Part of the ongoing restructuring is a storage shed I built behind my studio six years ago, a modest 6 x 10, and poor design led to some water damage. I put it off for too long, which led to some water damage on the floor, but the building was totally salvageable. I basically designed the roof to allow for some ‘breathing,’ especially in the summer heat. Don’t do that. Seal it up. So last week I removed the roof of corrugated metal and fiberglass, popped in some 2 x 4s where I had openings, and heaved OSB up top, screwed it down, and rolled out some roofing along with roofing tar. Simple and easy. Well, for younger bodies. But with the help of pharmaceuticals I finished the job in a couple days. Signed and sealed.
4.
I’m actually seeing a bit of revenue due to folks across the world streaming my music on Pandora Radio. If you use Pandora please consider putting some of my songs in your rotation. If you’re a Spotify user, consider switching to Pandora as it pays the artist quite a bit more per stream. Thank you!
Short and sweet this week…thanks for reading!
And now…
I really wasn’t sure Pandora was a thing
Very cool about getting Pandora revenue! Will add your songs to my rotation.