A C. T U. A L. L Y

As we witness the House Republican Caucus boycott the House Select Committee to investigate the January 6 storming of the U.S. Capitol, and as the chances of federal voting rights legislation dim, context is key.   The fetid brew that has subsumed U.S. politics boils and bubbles, toils and troubles.   The biggest pot stirrer is the tfg (I won’t dignify him with capitalization).   Unbidden to our TV screens, but forced upon us apparently by the economic exigencies of the mass media, we watch tfg make kings out of primary paupers and regale his loyal captive audience with two-hour guided tours of his deranged mind.   We observe him grifting his personality cult supporters out of their hard-earned minimum wages, as he runs his entirely predictable parallel presidency out of Mar-a-Logo (no typo).   The inevitable question is begged:   Will he run again? I say without a doubt, YES.   Some of my politically engaged friends counter with an emphatic, NO. ...

I think I can now safely say it, “The shit has hit the fan.” Extreme heat is not the only weather that kills.   Extreme flooding is also a killer, as we have seen this past week.   I have no words to describe the recent devastation wrought by raging floodwaters in western Europe and central China, and I will let the photos and video scream for themselves.   These photos are courtesy of USA Today and were taken in Germany, Holland, and Belgium.   As of three days ago, more than 180 people were counted as dead from the flooding. Estimates of the physical damage are being calculated.   The loss of life cannot be compensated. Answers as to how this could have happened in affluent First World countries are being demanded.   It’s an election year in Germany, and fingers are being pointed. These photos below are from The New York Times , The Guardian , and a Chinese news service.  They were taken yesterday in Zhengzhou, Henan Province, China.   ...