Good morning. Hello. How are you? #676
Kornacki downer, Biden and the Berlin Airlift lol, Stranger Things and Nome lol, An absurd decision to drive to New York, Comm Ave In Your Ear RIP
Good morning. Hello. How are you today? I am okay. I gotta work today but it’s a three day weekend, so, you know, so-so. Get to talk to a couple old friends today on the telephone so that’ll be nice.
I follow Steve Kornacki on Twitter. In fact, he’s one of the few people for which I have alerts turned on. Did you know you can do this? You can tell Twitter to send you a push notification on your phone every time a certain person Tweets. I have this turned on for my wife, for Steve Kornacki, and I think one or two other people who never Tweet, but I am not sure, because there’s no way to see all the people for which you have this feature activated. But I have it turned on for Kornacki. It’s a residual from the last elections, because he’s so good on Twitter during the elections. And we’re going through some mid-terms, so he’s Tweeting again. Other than that, during non-election times of the year, he barely tweets at all, except that he has an inexplicably love of the Kentucky Derby and other horse races, which is gross. But it’s never quite enough to get around to turning alerts off.
But then today, man, Steve, not cool:
Like… I do not need that shit right upon waking up (he says, as he puts it into his daily email that goes out at around 8:30 in the morning). What the shit America? Are you high? Okay, yes, we are living under the tyranny of the Supreme Court and fasistic Republicans, but you know who else’s tyranny we’re living under? The average non-political American that votes on half-assed “pocketbook” issues and doesn’t care about actual humans. Fuckin “politically disengaged.”
Now, look. Biden is basically useless. I’d say I’m disappointed, but I didn’t expect much. He is handling Ukraine well. He handled the pre-invasion Ukraine situation masterfully. But mostly he’s useless. Am I supposed to give him some fucking award for, yesterday, saying “we should break the fillibuster to codify Roe.” Welcome to six years ago, genius.
I think a lot about what I would say if a pollster called me. Obviously I’d say I was gonna vote for Biden over Trump, so that last poll result is the most alarming. But what would they say when they asked me about approval? Would I feel some sort of loyalty to the only party that even pretends to care about the left in America and say I approved, in hope that his numbers stayed high? Or would I say what I felt, that no, I did not approve of his milquetoastedness, even as he does manage to pack the judiciary, which is great but a lot less useful now that we lost the Supreme Court for a generation. I suspect I’d say no, I do not approve. What else are you going to say? But of course, saying you don’t approve gives Biden the exact wrong message because now that tepid middlist pillow fort is thinking he needs to be more moderate, more universalist. The fact that he is losing an approval rating contest to the most divisive, non-ecumenical president we ever had will be lost on him. My vote of no-confidence would only serve to make him become more middling. You can’t fucking win.
And, look. The January 6th hearings are doing ratings. Even Fox aired the last one. Americans fucking know what Cassidy Hutchinson said. Americans know that dude tried to commit a coup literally no one is unaware of it. And they are completely okay with it.
That is… something.
I’m reading a book about “the battle for the soul of science” or something like that. Freedom’s Laboratory by Audra Wolfe. It’s turning out to be pretty interesting. It’s central thesis is that the very concept of academic freedom — the idea that scientists should be allowed to go and research whatever they want — is a product of American Cold War Propaganda, which sounds kind of wacky but the author is doing a very good job convincing me. Good book. I am into it. It’s a little bit “look at me, brave adventurer researcher,” inserting her research efforts into the narrative, but I can let that slide. One thing I love about it is that every chapter takes between 30 and 60 minutes to read, so I can read a whole chapter before bed, get to a good stopping point, and go to sleep. Nine chapters of perfect length.
Anyway, the book mentioned the Berlin Airlift. It’s not really a book about that sort of Cold War Thing, but it mentioned it in conjunction with it being sort of the impetus for this big scientific conference in Berlin not long after. The conference was gonna be about Scientific Freedom. Big success, the conference. BUT, you know, I was in bed, reading this book that mentioned the Berlin Airlift, and I was reading it the same day that I learned that a) Biden was going to go ahead and nominate a pro-life republican judge to the bench as part of a deal with Mitch McConnell. I mean, what’s the generous interpretation of that? That Biden is hedging his bets to still nominate judges if we lose the senate? That pessimistic interpretation is the most optimistic interpretation of that deal. Just gross. But also, b) that tweet about how the Biden administration wasn’t going to do anything about Roe falling because of politics and rules. They weren’t sure certain things were legal and wanted to play it safe before the midterms.
And I’m sitting here reading and can’t help but think: what Truman would say or do if he were acting like Biden during the Berlin Airlift? First he’d issue a strongly worded statement that Russia’s actions were unacceptable. He’d say his heart went out to the three million people who now suddenly were going to live under a communist regime. But, you know, dem’s da breaks, because it’s not clear that he can do anything. He might get hurt in the mid-terms. His legal team told him they’re not sure it’s legal to fly over another country. Planes might get shot at. Nothing would get done.
Now, for every Berlin Airlift in American history there is a Bay of Pigs or some equally catastrophic fuck up where a president took a risk and lost. But it’s clear this is what America wants. They want a fucking leader who leads, who tries things. Who pushes things, who shakes the bars and looks for ways around obstacles. What other possible lesson can you take away from Trump beating you by five points in a poll?
Talked to a neighbor on our walk yesterday and they told me they almost certainly got COVID on an airplane, which is, like, the third time I’ve heard of this recently. SO I have made the probably-absurd decision that for my trip to New York in two weeks I am going to drive. Eighteen hours of solo driving for two nights in the city, that is what I am going to do. I mean, for starters, the whole thing is only adding about four hours to the total time I’ll be away from the house. I can actually sleep three hours later because I don’t need to get up at 3AM to get to RDU in time to take the first flight to LGA because that’s the only way you can be sure your plane is probably going to be on time. Also, I’m taking the days off, so probably not staying at my “regular” work hotel, at which I’ve only stayed one in the last two years, so I’m pretty sure they’re no longer accommodating my need to get checked in by 9 AM so I can nap. Which means if I were to fly I would be wandering around NYC with my bags for six hours until I could check in somewhere anyway. So I may as well spend that in my car. If I drive, and do my bar time mostly outside I think I can pull this trip off without getting covid. We shall see. Also it’s just so much more predictable to drive, I mean, sure, DC could screw me, and there could be traffic, but my destiny is much more in my hands. I’ll come into the lincoln tunnel, park the car in a garage right there, and not use it in the city. I’m leaving Saturday AM, I don’t think the tunnel is gonna be that bad at that time. Hopefully.
Flying, man. Garbage times even without taking into account the massive environmental devestation. This is a very sad realization for someone who comes from a family of airline industry workers. My father worked at Pan Am and Alaska, I worked at Alaska, my grandfather helped found one of the first national budget airlines, spent a good chunk of his life in Alaskan charter aviation. But there’s really no getting around it.
Oh that reminds me I meant to bag on Stranger Things with its comical interpretation of Nome with, like, roadside (lol) motels and an airport with, like, gates and security and stuff. That was pretty hilarious.
Is Facebook logging anyone else out randomly all the time these days? Started, like, three weeks ago. I swear, something is up over there.
And I am very sad to hear that In Your Ear in Boston, by BU, is closing. God, I used to live in that record store. Mentioned them in a GMHHAY a few months back when I bought something on Discogs and it turned out to be from In Your Ear. I’m glad they’re not going out of business completely and that they have two more locations, but it’s a real loss for Boston and especially that area. It’s weird how all of these cool businesses aren’t closing down, but they’re leaving the urban core. Goth clubs in Salem, Mystery Train in Gloucester. Next O’Brien’s will open up in Quincy or something that’d be funny. Really does seem a sort of different de-urbanization thing going on in Boston. Also seems… kinda unique to Boston? You don’t hear about that happening in NYC, or here, or Atlanta, or LA, or SF (unless, to, like, East Bay) or Seattle. Kinda fascinating.
Moody and Quiet playlist, almost all new, save Elliot Smith, the latter half new today, so that is exciting. Lotta good stuff coming out this week. Nice thing about Friday, even if you gotta work. This Spoon Adrian Sherwood jam is awesome I am very into it. And very into the new WhoMadeWho. And there’s a new Built to Spill and I kinda like it! Exciting.
Okay, well, off to the recycling center and Walmart and whatnot. Get all that done before work starts in 50 minutes. Have a lovely Friday. Talk Monday!