I reflected that it seemed to be in the nature of human beings to spend the first part of their lives mocking the clichés and conventions of their elders and the final part mocking the clichés and conventions of the young. —“Moonglow” Michael Chabon
1.
We all knew a guy (always a guy) in high school who we just knew was going to be a serial killer disguised as a Quick-Mart shelf stocker. Or that guy who wants to make sure that everyone abides by his rules. Maybe the same guy. Such a guy is Leonard Leo.
Never heard of him…right? Here’s a guy with too much money who might actually be more harmful to this country than the orange-faced one. According to ProPublica, In the early years of the Trump administration, he and the Federalist Society had remarkable influence within the new government. The Federalist Society had brought the legal doctrines of originalism and textualism — close readings of laws and the Constitution to adhere to the intent and words of the authors — into the mainstream. Leo had taken a leave of absence from the group to advise President Trump on judicial appointments, helping shepherd the appointments of Neil Gorsuch, Brett Kavanaugh, and Amy Coney Barrett to the Supreme Court and helping to fill more than 200 other positions in federal district and appellate courts.
He has slowly built up a foundation called the Teneo Network (the main link on their website is DONATE) and has received a $1.6 billion donation to push conservative causes from the American industrialist Barre Seid. More money has been funneled in from the Charles Koch and Bradley foundations, among others.
The records show Teneo’s members have included a host of prominent names from the conservative vanguard, including such elected officials as U.S. Sens. J.D. Vance of Ohio and Missouri’s Josh Hawley, a co-founder of the group. Other members have included Rep. Elise Stefanik of New York, now the fourth-ranking House Republican, as well as Nebraska’s attorney general and Virginia’s solicitor general. Three senior aides to Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, a potential 2024 presidential candidate, are members. Another is the federal judge who struck down a Biden administration mask mandate. The heads of the Republican Attorneys General Association, Republican State Leadership Committee and Turning Point USA — all key cogs in the world of national conservative politics — have been listed as Teneo members. Conservative media figures like Ben Shapiro of the Daily Wire, several pro athletes and dozens of executives and senior figures in the worlds of finance, energy and beyond have also been members.
2.
And in the ‘It Can’t Happen Here’ category, hateful/insecure people who are worried that adults who wear clothing that don’t align with their clothing belief systems have been promoting terror campaigns against drag performers and the LGBTQ community here in Arizona. In February, Proud Boys and other hate groups called in a bomb threat to a venue in Tempe full of families with small children. Brick Road Coffee was hosting a storytelling event was led by drag performer Felicia Minor when the call came in.
And now, at one of our own Bookman’s locations in Tucson (Marana, actually, which explains a lot) at Ina and Thornydale is having to cancel a planned Drag Story Hour event that was scheduled for tomorrow. According to a letter posted on Bookman’s website from Sean Feeney, president of Bookmans Entertainment Exchange, an organized harassment campaign spearheaded by The Bridge Church and adopted by the local Proud Boys chapter has been launched targeting this event. On the church’s website they disgustingly posted that You did it! Bookmans canceled the "Drag Story Hour" so there is no protest this Saturday. We will keep watch and reschedule if they do. Then...Listen to Minister Kim on the radio with Garret Lewis from this morning. Amazing interview, we are proud of you BCC! They posted all of the emails and numbers for Bookman’s management saying We hope that you will join us in calling, every day all the numbers below. We are hoping that many churches will decide to get involved and help stand for our community, city, and society. It is a time to stand for our children and their future. Stand for God and His Truth.
Why don’t we write to the good folks at Bookmans and let them know we’re in their corner on this. Community Relations for Tucson is James Robertson, jamesr@bookmans.com. Pastor David of the Bridge apparently has no last name. But you can call the church at 520-579-5717 and tell them where they can stick their Christianity…
3.
Also here in Arizona there was a lot of rumbling over a decade ago to establish Southern Arizona as the new state of Baja, Arizona, mostly due to the very conservative suits (Gov. Jan Brewer in drag) just north of us in Maricopa County. The idea was "To establish a new state in Southern Arizona free of the un-American, unconstitutional machinations of the Arizona legislature and to restore our region’s credibility as a place welcoming to others, open to commerce, and friendly to its neighbors,” as put forth by the former Democratic Party chairman for Pima County Paul Eckerstrom. Nothing much came of it except for some snappy bumper stickers…and as Maricopa County voted for Biden in the last election, it seems our state is leaning more blue than ever before.
But there’s an interesting article in the Conversation by Michael J. Lee, Professor of Communication, College of Charleston, who writes that secession is real and happening now state by state. Many acts of departure – call them secession lite, de facto secession or soft separatism – are occurring right now. Americans have responded to increasing polarization by exploring the gradations between soft separatism and hard secession. He says that When groups exit public life and its civic duties and burdens, when they live under their own sets of rules, when they do not have to live with fellow citizens they have not chosen or listen to authorities they do not like, they have already seceded. He sites examples such as the eleven states that refuse to enforce federal gun restrictions, tax-based school redistricting, Texas wanting to secede from the union, and, of course, the disparity of health care and ‘lawful’ prosecution around the abortion issue.
Secession and separatism ideas come from all sides of the political spectrum so this is not an indictment of Republicans vs Democrats, although you know how I feel about Republicans. Check out Lee’s (and co-author R. Jarrod Atchison) book published last year: We Are Not One People: Secession and Separatism in American Politics Since 1776.
4.
And in the “Some Shit About Me” category, I was googling around a few days ago as to whether there were any images in cloudlandia of Kartchner Caverns that I had photographed. The only one I could find was from a poster produced by Tohono Chul which is a still image that was later combined with other images to create a QuickTime movie.
What was he doing taking pictures in Kartchner Caverns? Doesn’t he know you’re not allowed to photograph inside the caverns? Huh, doesn’t he? During the googling process, this interview popped up from my time at the University of Arizona, which was like having a medical examiners badge to forbidden places. Not the interview, the CAT card. Sort of surreal to read this again as it seems a lifetime ago.
During my tenure as the Virtual Reality Annex photographer, I photographed Kartchner over three occasions. One main perk was arriving several hours before opening time and working without the tourists present. Also, for short bursts of time, the lights were turned on in a given part of the cave system while shooting. The lights are rarely turned on unless there’s a problem, or for some routine maintenance, as these caverns are living, breathing caves that are still in development.
5.
While we’re reaching into the past, I wrote a post last August called Climatosis, Part 2 (Think Local) that focused on Tucson resident Brad Lancaster who has arguably done more for the water harvesting movement here, and possibly internationally, than anyone else.
Last Tuesday Brad was featured in the Guardian which again features his water harvesting work, mostly in his neighborhood of Dunbar Springs just northwest of downtown. This urban food forest – which began almost 30 years ago – provides food for residents and roughage for livestock, and the tree canopy also provides relief to residents in the third-fastest warming city in the nation. It has made Dunbar Spring a model for other areas grappling with increased heat, drought and food insecurity caused by the climate crisis.
In Tucson, the local government provides incentives for homes that observe rainwater harvesting, whether passive or active, through a rebate program. The Tucson Water Rainwater Harvesting Rebate Program provides a reimbursement of up to $2,000 for installed rainwater harvesting systems in residential buildings. Passive rainwater harvesting, including rain gardens that source rainwater from the street, entitles one up to a $500 rebate. The Metropolitan Domestic Water Improvement District’s Conservation Rebate Program also reimburses $200 to their customers who have rainwater harvesting systems on top of the above-stated rebates. According to Tucson’s Water Conservation Report, it is because of these rebate programs that the city saved 52.1 million gallons of water! We installed an 860 gallon tank that harvests water from the roof of our main house and were reimbursed for it. It was during pandemic times so I took the necessary class online to qualify for the rebate.
BTW, out of the lower 48 states in the U.S., Colorado and Utah are the only states that are currently heavily regulated to keep homeowners from harvesting and using the rain that falls on their property.
And now…