Tag: Hiking

  • ODDS and ENDS: KBJ, Anti-Rent Protests, Tottenham, and Hiking

    (I drink coffee and know things.)

    Ketanji Brown Jackson will be on the Supreme Court. That’s a pretty big fucking deal. I like it when American institutions start looking more like America. The process was pretty disgraceful, but I want to focus on the fact that we are a step closer to getting to RBG’s dream, which was an all-woman Supreme Court. Come this Summer, there will be four women on the Court. I think the next Justice should also be a woman, and this way one of the three Branches of Government will be Woman majority. But, I do digress. What I keep thinking about is how representation matters. My daughter is seeing more women in leadership roles in the nation. And I also know, there are a bunch of little girls that are going to school today, and their teachers are going to show them a picture of Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson, and those little girls are going to see someone who looks like them, doing important and great things. That matters. That’s huge.

    I just found this out today, but in upstate New York, back in the 1840’s, there was an Anti-Rent War. It had to do with back rent being owed under the manor system that traced back to the old Dutch Colony days of New Amsterdam. Reading up on it, I had two thoughts. First, early America really didn’t like the rule of law, and took up arms pretty quick. Second, if you protest enough, you can get the law changed in your favor. Basically, people broke a 200-year-old system of land ownership and leasing because the rent was too damn high. It happened in the past, so what’s to say that it can’t happen again.

    Tottenham has found a way to get to fourth place in the Premiere League. There is no way they will catch Man City or Liverpool, but if things got really crazy, they could pass Chelsea for third by the end of the season. But, this is Tottenham we are talking about. They do have problems closing out. They need to beat Aston Villa if they want to keep ahead of Arsenal. I will say this, if the Spurs can stay up and qualify for the Champions League, there is a chance Harry Kane might stick around. Just saying.

    Anyone want to go hiking? I know I do.

  • ODDS and ENDS: Ginni Thomas, The Kid has a Cold, and Spring

    Oh, I love it when the curtain is pulled back on “important” people. If you don’t know, Ginni Thomas is the wife of Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas. Ginni Thomas has been playing a role in many conservative issues that have, or are, coming to the SCOTUS docket, as reported by The New Yorker. Then, she started playing a role in helping organize the January 6th rally for Trump, as reported by The New York Times. Now, turns out that she was texting Mark Meadows, Trump’s Chief of Staff, some crazy ass QAnon shit right after the election, according to CBS/The Washington Post. The issue here is if Ginni’s efforts to overturn the 2020 Election have created a conflict of interest for Justice Thomas, when it comes to cases that may come to the Court in regard to the January 6th Commission law suits. That all is very important, and does raise some important questions that should be answered. What I find interesting is that Ginni Thomas, who works in the highest echelons of political advocacy, and who moves in most dignified intellectual circles of D.C, is basically just your crazy-ass conspiracy minded aunt that you have to put up with at the Holidays.

    Yup, the kid has a cold. She is sitting next to me on the couch, drawing and watching tv, while I write this. It almost feels like this is, well, normal. I have this feeling that I want to be outside all the time now. I have started looking up hiking trails further upstate, that are longer and a little more rugged. Not sure that the wife and kid will agree with this, but I’ll see if I can convince them. I kind’a feel like a little kid again when I think about getting out in nature. Like when I was a Cub Scout, learning how to camp, and identify leaves to trees. I guess I’m ready for Spring.