Eyes to the skies: it's Harvest Moon time!
Folklore tells us that the nearest full moon to the autumn equinox is so-called because it rises soon after sunset, allowing farmers to harvest their crops.
The last supermoon of 2023 peaks on Fri, Sep 29.#HarvestMoon #FolkloreThursday pic.twitter.com/SQf9MLQVfe— Mark Rees (@reviewwales) September 28, 2023
Not that our, shall we say, alternatively sane neighbors need any more excuses, but IMO it’s not a good omen for getting anything useful accomplished this weekend.
“Democracies don't have to die at the end of a rifle. They can die when people are silent; when they fail to stand up and condemn threats to #democracy…The answer to the problems we face is engagement.” @POTUS offering hope and possibility — not MAGA’s#ExtremeRepublicanShutdown pic.twitter.com/eiOHWS6Oml
— Christine Pelosi (@sfpelosi) September 28, 2023
House Republicans have turned their backs on the bipartisan budget deal that two-thirds of them voted for just a few months ago and are marching us toward a shutdown.
It’s time for them to stop playing political games with peoples’ lives and keep the government open. pic.twitter.com/pz7HaA3RWz
— The White House (@WhiteHouse) September 28, 2023
New ad just dropped pic.twitter.com/q3fTHZFOSJ
— Biden-Harris HQ (@BidenHQ) September 28, 2023
Everyone needs to see this. President Biden blasted Tommy Tuberville today: “The strongest military in the history of the world… accused of being weak and ‘woke’? Frankly, these extremists have no idea what the hell they’re talking about.” pic.twitter.com/DlagxTjdzp
— Biden’s Wins (@BidensWins) September 28, 2023
Pelosi on MSNBC on Trump musing about Milley being executed: "It should be something that would eliminate someone as a prospect for any public office." pic.twitter.com/sZkVE77JvZ
— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) September 26, 2023
GOP grifters gonna grift… guess somebody figures he’ll need another sycophant job shortly:
What’s funny about this photo?
The House is holding important votes in DC tonight, people are scrambling to avoid a shutdown, but this Republican Congressman decided to skip town to joyride with a billionaire when his own party has just a single-digit margin and needs his vote. https://t.co/A9f6OO4mWm
— Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (@AOC) September 29, 2023
Probably a better way of coping, since nobody expects public holidays to go smoothly…
Many millions of Chinese tourists are expected to travel within their country, splurging on hotels, tours, attractions and meals in a boost to the economy during the 8-day autumn holiday period that began Friday. https://t.co/mnGV5iHs8Z
— The Associated Press (@AP) September 29, 2023
======
Hot off the wire — may her memory be a blessing:
BREAKING: Senator Dianne Feinstein, an "icon for women in politics," has died at 90 years old, ABC7 Insider Phil Matier has confirmed. Here's a look back at her life and legacy: https://t.co/Af2qoPCv2W pic.twitter.com/R8bEnTKQya
— ABC7 News (@abc7newsbayarea) September 29, 2023
Baud
The problem with that Biden ad is that DeSantis is such a dweeb.
RIP Senator Feinstein. Thanks for your votes.
OzarkHillbilly
Shasta County, where the stupid goes to thrive and self perpetuate:
May he get what he deserves, a car mechanic to do his open heart surgery..
mrmoshpotato
Listening to this week’s Bradcast with digby and driftglass. They’re reviewing the second GOP debate, excuse me, GOP shitshow.
I hope no one subjected themselves to the GOP stupidity unfiltered.
MisterDancer
RIP Senator. A powerful life in many ways.
Hopefully there are clear Senate rules that stop McConnell from pulling the shady shit he did when she was out for medical reasons.
mrmoshpotato
I will moon the Supermoon! That’ll show it!
Yarrow
RIP Senator Feinstein.
MazeDancer
DiFi’s pioneering, landmark service was amazing.
And helping Dems pass more judges at the end should be praised. Because, unless it is different for dying than resigning, the GOP won’t let anyone back on Judiciary.
mrmoshpotato
RIP Senator Feinstein.
Baud
@MazeDancer:
Not that I trust the GOP, but what they previously said is that they would not allow a temporary replacement while Feinstein was recovering from an illness. We’ll see how far they are willing to push things. It’s not like they don’t have a bunch of people who are on death’s door.
dmsilev
Sigh. Feinstein. A lot to say, but right now is not the time.
zhena gogolia
@Baud: It’s a great ad. DeSantis is actually pretty compelling in that clip. I also liked his moment where he refused to “vote somebody off the island.” I hope he doesn’t keep improving like this.
Elizabelle
Neither the WaPost nor LA Times has Senator Feinstein’s death up. Interesting to me that they were caught unaware, or couldn’t put up a banner.
ETA: They both just went up with top stories.
Scout211
OMG. I did not expect to read that this morning.
RIP Senator Feinstein. You did so much good for all of us here in California, for decades. 😢
PAM Dirac
@MazeDancer:
I may not be remembering correctly but I thought what McConnell blocked was a TEMPORARY assignment to the Judiciary Com. The D’s wanted to appoint someone and then switch back when Feinstein came back. Of course that doesn’t mean they won’t try to block any new appointment, but that might be procedurally more difficult than blocking a temporary appointment.
H.E.Wolf
Kudos to AP News for the retrospective on Dianne Feinstein’s political career
May she rest in peace, and may her legacy be her good work in the decades before her physical and mental powers failed.
Whatever Republican elected officials do or don’t do [ETA: about the vacancy on the Senate Judiciary Committee], our job is to turn out the vote for our side: in VA and OH this November; in the whole country next November.
(Postcards tomorrow evening! Great time to sign up and write a few.)
dmsilev
@Elizabelle: For whatever reason, LA Times doesn’t have a hair trigger on updating their website. The Post, on the other hand, does BREAKING NEWS banners a lot.
Edit: Now the Post has a story up.
Edit Edit: LA Times story.
Percysowner
@MazeDancer:
That’s my big concern and why I never joined the chorus of DiFi should resign. We will see what the Republicans will do and how Schumer will handle this.
bbleh
@Elizabelle: WaPo finally up, plus canned obit. Kinda late to the game, but maybe cuz they’re all swarming around Qevin like flies to a carcass.
SiubhanDuinne
@Elizabelle:
Yes. WaPo really surprised me, especially as FTFNYT had it up several minutes before I checked the Post site.
RIP, Senator Feinstein. You were an inspiration.
ETA: WaPo up now.
ETA2: As others have noted.
bbleh
@MazeDancer: @Baud: right. Newsom will appoint a new Senator, and Schumer will assign another Dem to Judiciary, and that’ll be that. I don’t know whether committee appointments — which are done by the respective leaders — are subject to filibuster, but even if they are, I doubt the Republicans would block it. Pretty sure the temporary thing was because that would require a vote of the committee itself, which IIRC was 50-50 without her.
Nina
Hopefully Newsom has someone good on tap to appoint as interim. There are an embarrassment of riches available. Not so secretly hoping for Katie Porter
hueyplong
@Baud: If McConnell’s last act is to figure a way to screw up judicial appointments until the election, Democrats should talk about it every day and remind the country that this kind of shit is how Roe v Wade got overturned. Tie it (as in fact it is tied) to the Dems’ best issue.
Saying it in 2016 didn’t work for Dems, but now the audience has the consequences in the front of their minds.
Baud
@Nina:
He won’t appoint someone who is running.
Baud
@hueyplong:
I agree. People seem more aware now. Woke, even.
Jinchi
@MazeDancer: I don’t think they can block Democrats replacing her on the committee.
Suzanne
@dmsilev: Exactly my thoughts.
Ergh.
For now, I will appreciate her long (long) life of contributions to the common good.
Soprano2
@mrmoshpotato: I’m listening to the O-Boys talking about the debate, and it sounds like “shitshow” is mild. They played a clip where at least three of them were trying to talk at the same time. It’s useless anyway, since TFG is going to be their nominee.
dmsilev
@Nina: Newsom has said that (a) he will appoint a black woman and (b) he won’t appoint anyone who is running in the primary.
Not surprisingly, Barbara Lee, a black woman running in the primary, was not happy. She framed it as “Newsom just wants to use a black woman as a caretaker”, but honestly I think she wanted the appointment, in the (reasonable) hope that incumbency would be a leg up in the primary race against Porter and Schiff.
Marcopolo
@OzarkHillbilly: I must admit that this line from the article did catch my eye:
“The Gates Foundation has funded research into attempts to create mosquitoes that can deliver a malaria vaccine into humans”
I mean what could possibly go wrong with that? And it does kinda sound like taking a page from the “evil scientist” playbook. I do love me vaccines against nasty stuff that wants to hijack my body but just shoot it into my body using a big old needle 💉 (okay w/ nasal inhalers & drinkable doses).
bbleh
@dmsilev: @Suzanne: yes, defense will stipulate as to gerontocracy, retirement, yada yada yada. De mortuis nil nisi bonum.
Baud
@dmsilev:
I don’t want to lose her House seat, but I wouldn’t mind if she dropped out so she could be a Senator for a year at least.
Soprano2
@dmsilev: Her legacy is amazing, but IMHO it’s marred by her running last time. I also understand that if she had dementia, talking her out of running might have been impossible. Speaking from personal experience.
Anyway
RIP Senator.
Gov Newsom on the hot seat now …
Baud
It was said she wanted to die a Senator, so she achieved her goal.
bbleh
@MazeDancer @Jinchi: @Baud: ok standing committee assignments DO require approval of the full chamber, so any appointment WOULD be subject to filibuster. But again I can’t see Republicans doing that, because the future tit-for-tat would grind things completely to a halt
Maxim
@bbleh: Except that the GOP expects that the Dems will continue to be the well-behaved rule followers and not exact a tit for tat.
H.E.Wolf
Electoral-Vote.com, as usual, has interesting details re: Feinstein’s death, and its ramifications. (First story on their blog post for today – written by the CA history-professor half of that duo.)
https://electoral-vote.com/
dmsilev
@Baud: Lee’s House seat is a very very safe district, so no worries there. The thing is that Lee has said very emphatically that she regards “caretaker until 2024, but not run for a full term” as an outright insult to Black women and she’s not really the sort to back down on a strong stance.
Marcopolo
It’s funny. Not a Californian so I had little skin in the game & no vote but in that last race I was sort of rooting for DeLeon (sp?) just for the whole “get some new younger blood in the Senate” stuff but then he outed himself as a total @sshole with that LA City Council imbroglio. Happy to have dodged that.
Looking forward to seeing which AA woman Newsom picks; will be remembering Feinstein’s amazing career.
Betty Cracker
@Baud: I like Rep. Lee, but her dropping out of the race and taking DiFi’s seat for a year would be the best case scenario, IMO. She’s 77 and trailing Schiff and Porter significantly in the polls.
Baud
@dmsilev:
I’m not worried about losing it, but it would be vacant for a period of time. But it’s a moot point.
dmsilev
I saw one person wondering how long it would take for pundits to start suggesting Newsom appoint Kamala Harris to the seat, so that Biden could choose a “better” running mate. It’s so stupid an idea that yes, I’m sure there will be some pundits floating it by roughly noon Eastern.
Frankensteinbeck
@Marcopolo:
As someone with an entomology degree, with the genetics classes that came with it, I can’t think of much. You’re not injecting viruses, and mosquitos are not going to spontaneously mutate into creating viruses. It’s too absurdly huge a step.
Then again, I don’t know how the malaria vaccines work and the idea of a mosquito injecting enough proteins in its saliva to train your immune system is silly. Maybe the idea is that if you’re getting these injections over and over from ongoing mosquito bites, that will train the immune system.
Worst conceivable problem I can think of is an allergic reaction, which seems pretty unlikely. Malaria’s ability to not trigger those is part of the point. Hmmm.
TS
Is it such a great life being in congress that you want nothing else – my retirement has been the happiest time of my life – so no power, no job, smaller income, but family, friends and time to be me.
mrmoshpotato
@Soprano2:
Yup. Dump is going to come in and steamroll whomever is remaining. He could just call everyone a loser repeatedly, and his cult would still vote for him in the primary.
Yarrow
How does the shutdown affect getting DiFi’s temp replacement seated? They’re running out of time to get that done.
OzarkHillbilly
@Marcopolo: Yeah, that’s why I didn’t make any hay over their idiot conspiracy theories. At least that one had a small nugget of truth behind it.
Trivia Man
Next up – Grassley? It would make committee appointments more exciting if he were to “leave the island” in balance to DiFi.
mrmoshpotato
@dmsilev:
Hahaha! Place your bets everyone! What’s the over/under on noon?
Baud
@Yarrow:
I don’t think it affects seating the replacement at all.
Frankensteinbeck
@Maxim:
I don’t think that’s true. Times have changed. You could definitely get 40 Democrats to filibuster anything if Republicans start playing politics with it. That’s why the rules have repeatedly changed over judicial appointments the last few sessions. McConnell wants to be an unprecedented judiciary-stacking asshole, while dealing with Democrats throwing anything he uses back at him.
jonas
@Nina: He can’t appoint someone who’s declared they’re already running for the seat — that would be a really inappropriate putting of his fingers on the scale. He’s also pledged that the temporary replacement would be a Black woman.
hueyplong
@mrmoshpotato: Normally I’d say there would be a waiting period for the obituaries before floating something like that, but in the Age of Trump, the smart money would be on the under as the usual suspects raced to see who could post it first.
I’d parlay the bet with White, Male, “Leftist”
Betty Cracker
@TS: I’ve wondered about that too. It’s a phenomenon I don’t understand, like obscenely wealthy people spending all their time working or cheating on their taxes.
trnc
@MisterDancer:
He can’t stop her replacement from being seated, but I seem to remember that he can prevent the vacated seat on the Judiciary committee from being filled.
ETA: Perhaps he was only able to do that while Feinstein was absent, so I get your point now.
MisterDancer
@H.E.Wolf: Thanks for that, they are usually a great read.
And I agree with them — just put Maxine on the job, if she’ll take it. She’s already got a ton of cred for her vocal anti-Trump stance, she’s old enough that she’s clearly a caretaker, and she’s sharp enough to make the right kind of waves in the Senate.
I don’t know if she wants to leave the House to do this, of course, because this would likely be the capstone to her career.
Marcopolo
@Frankensteinbeck: I was more thinking of the angle that if you can figure out a way to get something medically significant injected into humans using mosquitoes 🦟 then it’d be a short step to subvert that process for more nefarious purposes (though malaria on its own is pretty bad). Like, “new travel advisory for Baton Rouge: mosquitoes carrying the Ebola virus 🦠 have been sighted.”
Baud
@Betty Cracker:
Wealthy people hire people to spend all their time on taxes.
Scout211
The super moon tweet was kind of confusing. It didn’t specify what time on the 29th the super moon will peak. Morning? Evening?
I was so impressed with the moon this morning I had to look up when the peak was—it was 5:58 am this morning. It was, indeed impressive.
Deputinize Eurasia from the Kuriles to St Petersburg
@Soprano2:
Dementia is a helluva thing. I’m running a divorce for an 81 year old cranky gent (his 6th, but this time he was married 19 years). He has some significant nonmarital property claims, but is vague and unclear as to sourcing, and is being cared for mostly by his twin sister, who also has dementia, just not as bad.
She despises soon to be ex with the white hot passion of a thousand suns and likes to get him whipped up about her.
At the same time, his adult offspring are both on Team Ex Wife, so I had zero help to rely on there, and I insisted on getting a fiduciary appointed to gather financial data and make decisions – we wound up with a conservator after a contested hearing.
Because he’s not under full disability, he’s entitled to his firearms, and I spent 90 minutes with him and his sister redoing a questionable will disinheriting the offspring and giving everything that the wife doesn’t have a dower interest in to the sister. I also had a long and ineffectual conversation about why he shouldn’t bug, sue or ask the cops to arrest the son over the guns he took into his possession when the old man got hospitalized for mental issues last year.
What I’ve noticed in dementia is stubbornness, denial and an inability to hold clear logical concepts from one minute to the next. It’s really frustrating to communicate with them.
Frankensteinbeck
@Marcopolo:
There’s a name for that phenomenon. It’s called ‘mosquitos’. They’re already doing it. There wouldn’t be any point in trying to alter mosquitos to carry more diseases, nature is beating you to it everywhere it’s possible. Nature isn’t putting any effort into spreading vaccines, though. We have to do that one ourselves.
cain
@Deputinize Eurasia from the Kuriles to St Petersburg:
Sounds like everyone who votes MAGA
OzarkHillbilly
@Frankensteinbeck: I had thought that it might be targeted at the mosquitos ability to carry the virus, but not enough to look it up.
Geminid
@MisterDancer: Maxine Waters could be looking forward to her work as Chair of the banking committeee in the next Congress, and pass on a Senate appointment.
But Ms. Waters would make a good Senator, and it would be neat see Waters bring her remarkable Aikido skills to the Senate.
Ken
@Marcopolo: I think that was the plot of one of the Fu Manchu novels. Except, 1930s pulp fiction not being as constrained as modern conspiracy theories, the villain had cross-bred a flea and a tsetse-fly to carry his hybrid of the plague and sleeping sickness.
Frankensteinbeck
@OzarkHillbilly:
That’s serious structural changes rather than ‘add these proteins to your saliva’. You couldn’t do it with ebola. You’re making me wonder what the difference is between mosquitos that can carry malaria and mosquitos that can’t, and whether that can be spliced over to mosquitos with a different range. I don’t think it works, though. We get malaria mosquitos here in Kentucky, they just don’t have any malaria to bring. Something environmentally, probably temperature, blocks the disease itself’s range.
OzarkHillbilly
@Frankensteinbeck: OK, thanx. The thing that put me in mind of it was the releasing of sterile males in Florida(?). I know, entirely different.
Soprano2
@Deputinize Eurasia from the Kuriles to St Petersburg: The main problem I’ve seen in my husband so far is remembering things that were said 10 minutes ago, or remembering what he did earlier in the day. I took the car key off his keychain because he drove somewhere during the day while I was working even though I told him he cannot drive because the state of MO considers his driver’s license revoked, and until he takes his driving test on October 11 (which he will probably fail), he shouldn’t drive. There could be dire consequences if he does and get in an accident. OTOH, I can have a completely lucid conversation with him about current events, or things that happened earlier in our lives.
I’m so sorry for what you’re dealing with, it’s got to be tough especially because the man probably can’t remember what you talked about last week.
MisterDancer
Yeah. Part of why y’all don’t see a lot from me is that we’re working thru a lot of situations with my Dad. He’s…not doing great.
And part of that is trying to balance my own really negative history with him (for example: I just last year found out I have step-siblings, after decades), his desire to be as autonomous as possible, and concerns about his well-being with being alone. There’s been a LOT of discussion about if his stubbornness is just the way he’s always been, is standard aging behavior, or signs of dementia, and no one’s (including his doctors) quite certain.
It’s not the only painful thing about the situation, but it does make you really, really paranoid about nearly every interaction, every time someone tells you something and he says he said something different. Exhausting for all of us trying to caretake him.
Frankensteinbeck
@Ken:
You don’t need to hybridize sleeping sickness with anything. Sleeping sickness makes the Plague look like an amateur. It has played Hell with African history and prevented dense population growth in large areas. Now, altering fleas to carry it and spread it to cattle reservoirs in new ranges, that would be a nightmare.
rikyrah
Good Morning Everyone 😊😊😊
Marcopolo
@Frankensteinbeck: So what you’re saying is what we’d really need to do is design a tiny drone that looks like a mosquito to buzz around injecting bad things into people…
in all seriousness, I was not being serious, just having a little fun w/ the concept but thank you for grounding it in the reality based world. And it is interesting to learn that there are areas where the type of mosquito that carries malaria doesn’t carry it because malaria doesn’t occur there. I’d just assumed the two went hand in glove. Now May this thread RIP.
Eyeroller
(Sigh) About that harvest moon…Every full moon rises at sunset and sets at sunrise. That’s why it is full, the Earth is exactly between it and the sun. Conversely, the new moon rises at sunrise and sets at sunset. The harvest moon is just a full moon that happens around traditional harvesting times. And “supermoons” aren’t really that big a deal, maybe 25% brighter than typical, and a “blue moon” is meaningless. Most of the apparent size of the rising full moon is due to the “moon illusion,” a poorly-understood optical illusion (cameras aren’t fooled).
UncleEbeneezer
I know she wasn’t the only one preventing it but damn, when I think about how if Feinstein had been willing to support eliminating the filibuster, damn, so many things could’ve been added to her legacy. I’ll never understand why someone in her position wouldn’t see the writing on the wall (I’m almost out of here) and see how she could’ve enabled the enshrining of Voting Rights Act, Roe, LGBTQ Protections, Gun Restrictions, an even more robust Environmental Program (BBB) and even expanding/re-balancing the Supreme Court and so many other great possibilities with one courageous act. She was from the most Liberal state in the Union so this wouldn’t have cost her a thing and she’d have jumped right into the history books as the Senator who potentially saved America/Democracy. Her legacy is admirable on it’s own, but she really had a chance to end her story as a hero but refused to do it, and that will probably be the first thing I think of whenever it comes up. RIP. Thanks for her service. But man, what a missed opportunity too :(
UncleEbeneezer
@MisterDancer: My wife went through a similar thing with her Dad, before he died. He also was Bi-Polar. So it was always a question of whether the mental decline and anger etc., were from that, from just getting old or from the fact that he had always been kind of a self-centered asshole. My wife had a very thorny relationship with him, which made it really hard for her to balance kindness/empathy with not letting him manipulate or try to intimidate her (which he always tried to do). Warm thoughts to you and best of luck. It’s hard.
Steeplejack
@Betty Cracker:
I agree with this. Barbara Lee has been in the House for 25 years and accumulated a lot of seniority, so I’m not sure why she wants to become a freshman senator at 78 years old. Okay, to be fair, who wouldn’t want out of the madhouse that is the current House? Point taken. But “freshman senator at 78” is a negative when gerontocracy is becoming an issue. Biden is hanging in because he sees it as his mission to save the Republic—and I don’t think that’s much of an exaggeration—but Feinstein’s seat will no doubt be taken by a strong Democrat even if it’s not Barbara Lee.
Note: I think she would do fine; I just think there are more strategic choices. And I’m not a California voter, just kibitzing.
Bill Arnold
@Eyeroller:
Thanks for putting this in writing. I just mentally corrected it when reading the tweet. I mean, seriously? How is it possible to live hundreds of lunar cycles and not know this?
rikyrah
It’s Biden AND Harris 2024. Deal with it. (@What46HasDone) posted at 11:24 PM on Thu, Sep 28, 2023:
There is no doubt in my mind that today’s Republican Party would’ve handed Europe over to Hitler without a second thought.
(https://x.com/What46HasDone/status/1707612213265998133?t=MEZyc4wsY09eU-12qFF7kg&s=03)
rikyrah
Tell that truth, Kenny !
2RawTooReal (@2RawTooReal) tweeted at 9:12 AM on Thu, Sep 28, 2023:
These political pundits love to grift off of our grief. Apparently Playing politics with peoples lives & lying on democrats is profitable https://t.co/vmpK5RmQwj
(https://twitter.com/2RawTooReal/status/1707397756674076684?s=02)
rikyrah
LanaQuest aka RosaSparks (@LqLana) tweeted at 6:39 PM on Thu, Sep 28, 2023:
MTG introduced an amendment approved by House Confederates to reduce U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin’s salary to no more than $1.
Lloyd James Austin III is a retired United States Army four-star general.
Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin’s awards are too numerous to list.…
(https://twitter.com/LqLana/status/1707540486494245021?s=02)
rikyrah
Qondi Is State Department Bae’s Left Handed Guitar (@QondiNtini) tweeted at 11:54 PM on Thu, Sep 28, 2023:
It’s not a government shutdown, it’s a House Republican shutdown
Congress is not failing, Kevin McCarthy is failing
A deal doesn’t have to be reached, Kevin agreed to a deal months ago
Congress isn’t dysfunctional, Kevin’s Clown Caucus is dysfunctional https://t.co/eQF8WiP95O
(https://twitter.com/QondiNtini/status/1707619731459514595?s=02)
rikyrah
chris evans (@notcapnamerica) tweeted at 8:14 PM on Thu, Sep 28, 2023:
Trump supporters have doxxed Fani Willis’ children, harassed her ex husband and her 80 year old father.
Fani Willis: “threatening me is a waste of your time.” https://t.co/OzAsDJUTDR
(https://twitter.com/notcapnamerica/status/1707564483768357309?s=02)
rikyrah
Ragnarok Lobster (@eclecticbrotha) tweeted at 5:04 PM on Thu, Sep 28, 2023:
NBC News Radio just reported Jonathan Turley testified at the GOP’s sham impeachment inquiry – and selectively omitted Turley’s admission nothing the GOP has nothing that rises to the level of an impeachable offense.
The media is making a deliberate choice.
(https://twitter.com/eclecticbrotha/status/1707516657256534395?s=02)
rikyrah
Democracy Docket (@DemocracyDocket) tweeted at 5:47 PM on Thu, Sep 28, 2023:
NEW: Using the rejected independent state legislature theory, Michigan Republicans file a lawsuit seeking to invalidate voter-approved election amendments in the state constitution and to prohibit future ballot initiatives related to federal elections. https://t.co/Ku7T1nNaXK
(https://twitter.com/DemocracyDocket/status/1707527442091463021?s=02)
Geminid
@UncleEbeneezer: There were Democratic Senators besides Feinstein who would not have gone along with filibuster reform in these instances, not to mention Independent Angus King of Maine.
Mo MacArbie
@Eyeroller: I think the equinox factor is important here; night and day are the same(ish) length, so sunset and moonrise are at the same time. I’m guessing that the moon does not speed up in the summer to sync with the shorter night then.
bcw
The Harvest moon comment is a bit weird. ALL full moons come up about 6pm, shifted only by modest clock errors due to daylight savings, being close to time zone boundaries and time shifts due to earth and moon orbit shape. It has so be so – a full moon means we are looking at the part of the moon that is directly facing the sun, since at midnight we are looking directly away from the sun, the moon is looking right through us and is at it’s highest. Since it is highest at midnight, it’s rising at sunset and setting at dawn. This means you can tell from where the moon is whether it is waxing or waning. If it’s already up early in the evening, the moon is getting bigger since, shifting an hour later each day, it hasn’t yet reached rising at sunset.
Previous to clocks, when moonlight was crucial to harvesting and such, the average person probably knew this. Now we just check our phones.
sab
@Bill Arnold: Lots of urban people don’t know this. They don’t see the moon until hours after it’s above the horizon.
My husband is 72 and has never seen the Milky Way.
wjca
And the next one is the Hunters’ Moon. Because, the crops having been harvested, it’s easier to see game across the fields in the evening.
wjca
If you can get this vaccine into the mosquitoes, why not just kill off the virus there?
O. Felix Culpa
@TS: Same here. I’m so happy NOT to be in the room where it happens anymore.
ETA: On a small scale and small stage. I was never near the Senate or other major halls of power.