Friday Homestead Dispatch

Week Number One

1.
Many have said in lieu of popping a Valium® and/or if they can’t get their hands on some Oxycontin®, they read my BLAWG. I know politics are tough but dang, luckily it was a slow week for such things…*wink, wink* *nudge, nudge* *know what I mean*. So here is a photo of our boys (RIP) to kick it off today. Mikey (L) has been gone five years this month and Milo has been gone two years next month. Miss their love and antics…the poop, not so much.

2.
I tried in vain for four years to help in the effort to reverse the tide toward authoritarianism and the rise of the oligarchs in our country. But it’s here. Now.

As Hamilton Nolan writes in his Substack; There is nothing, absolutely nothing, mysterious about Donald Trump, his allies, or what they are going to do. They are going to try to loot this country for as much as they can grab. Those who are with them will get a pass and those who are against them will be their enemies. After they leave, we will find that our institutions are weaker, our government is half broken, our crises have compounded, our most vulnerable citizens have suffered the greatest harms.

A bedrock of investing is the Greater Fool Theory, which essentially says that even if you paid a foolish price for something, it can still work out, as long as you can find a greater fool to sell it to. This is the ethic of con men: They valorize those who can successfully rip off others without being ripped off themselves.

If you think that you are a savvy politician because you got Trump on your side regarding congestion pricing and meanwhile he is stripping thousands of your citizens of their birthright citizenship, you are wrong. If you think that you are a savvy union leader because you got Trump to a little better place on trade and meanwhile he is stripping every woman in your union of her right to abortion, you are wrong. If you think that you are a savvy liberal writer because you cajoled Trump into a little better place on foreign policy and meanwhile he is telling your trans friends that the government will no longer legally recognize their identity, you are wrong. You have made a miscalculation. You have not taken in the full picture of what you are dealing with here. You have been sold a worthless little bauble in exchange for something real. You have not done the math. You are the Greater Fool.

The new commander-in-thief signed an executive order on Tuesday that reversed several critical policies that President Biden had put in place. Among those was lowering drug costs for Americans. With the stroke of his pen, Trump removed a $2 price cap on certain generic drugs, did away with a provision that would improve access to high-cost therapies for Medicaid recipients, and ended an effort to expedite the evidence-gathering process for new drugs.

To put it another way, President Trump just opened the door for drug prices to skyrocket. Without the implementation of these and similar plans focused on reducing costs, Medicare and Medicaid beneficiaries will continue to face high out-of-pocket expenses for prescription drugs, and will have limited access to important—sometimes essential—prescriptions.

Any more said about the new regime steamrolling over any sense of decency in the halls of government is redundant and inconsequential coming from me. I have no power, authority, nor a large readership. Those reading this are likely friends whom I’ll see most Sundays, and sometimes we chat it up about the state of the state. I’ll have some things to say before long, I’m sure, but those who are actually ‘reporting’ the shit-show are the likes of Heather Cox Richardson, The Contrarian, The Guardian, Thom Hartmann…the list goes on.

3.
In case you have it in you to RESIST and PUT UP A FIGHT, Robert Reich published ten ways to fight the cruelty spewing from the Oval Office desk. Click the link for full descriptions but the headlines are: 1. Protect the decent and hardworking members of your communities who are undocumented or whose parents are undocumented, 2. Protect LGBTQ+ members of your community, 3. Help protect officials in your community or state whom Trump and his administration are targeting for vengeance, 4. Participate or organize boycotts of companies that are enabling the Trump regime, starting with Elon Musk’s X and Tesla, and any companies that advertise on X or on Fox News, 5. To the extent you are able, fund groups that are litigating against Trump, 6. Spread the truth, 7. Urge friends, relatives, and acquaintances to avoid Trump propaganda outlets such as Fox News, Newsmax, X, and, increasingly, Facebook and Instagram (I’m moving toward dropping FB and Instagram), 8. Push for progressive measures in your community and state, 9. Encourage worker action, and 10. Keep the faith. Do not give up on America.

And one bit of good news, as it’s my new thing, A federal judge in Seattle blocked Donald Trump’s administration on Thursday from implementing an executive order curtailing the right to automatic birthright citizenship in the US, calling it “blatantly unconstitutional”. The order has already become the subject of five lawsuits by civil rights groups and Democratic attorneys general from 22 states, who call it a flagrant violation of the US constitution.

And Senators Susan Collins and Lisa Murkowski joined Democrats in opposition to rapist and abuser Pete Hegseth’s nomination for Secretary of Defense. A final Senate vote is expected later today.

4.
And to help cheer you up a bit more, here’s a picture of a potato with a face…

5.
Speaking of authoritarians and oligarchs, I’m thinking that there’s a Gorilla At Large! Yes, GORILLA AT LARGE, THE MOST MURDEROUS DISRUPTIVE BEAST MAN HAS EVER SEEN!!

Are they laughing?

Jeebuz, this turd stars Anne Bancroft, Raymond Burr, Lee J. Cobb, Lee Marvin, and some guy named Cameron Mitchell, and it still only rates a 5.4 on IMDB. Trivia on IMDB: Broadcast on network television in the early 1980s with a special promotion from 7/11 convenience stores offering cardboard 3D glasses -- the glasses themselves featured a Scratch-And-Sniff patch that smelled like bananas. Right before the movie started, a host would instruct people at home to adjust the color and contrast settings on their TVs to enhance the 3D effect. The broadcast itself was generally considered a failure because the 3D effect didn't work very well depending on the quality of picture from individual TV manufacturers.

6.
And one more item…we have a roadie helping out with Thursday’s gig (Jan 30) at Monterey Court with the Morpholinos.

Also, many thanks to the fine crowd that partied with us last night with Dropped By Birds at Monterey Court.

And now…