Monday Open Thread

20 thoughts on “Monday Open Thread”

1. Biden-Harris Administration Announces Historic Consensus System Conservation Proposal to Protect the Colorado River Basin

   President Biden’s Investing in America agenda represents the largest investment in climate resilience in the nation’s history and is providing pivotal resources to enhance the resilience of the West to drought and climate change, including to protect the short- and long-term sustainability of the Colorado River System. Through the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, Reclamation is investing $8.3 billion over five years for water infrastructure projects, including water purification and reuse, water storage and conveyance, desalination and dam safety. The Inflation Reduction Act is investing an additional $4.6 billion to address the historic drought.

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   1. I'm sure it will not be enough.

      I'm also thinking of the interest groups which were cut out of the original negotiations, such the Indian tribes, Mexico and the river ecosystem itself.

      The Colorado Sun had an excellent article this weekend about the Ogallala aquifer and the Republican River. Tragedy of the commons: A finite resource is a finite resource, and your personal needs need to be balanced by the needs of everybody else. What gets in the way: Power, interest groups and lawyers. Also the difficulty of political power to go up against the populace. 

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      1. We’ve mined the pure water of the aquifer, millions of years in the making, in my lifetime. We’ve transported Wyoming coal-fired power through our rural electric infrastructure to grow a crop that requires a massive safety net – subsidy scheme.  
         The aquifer is a poster child for Tragedy of the Commons.
         Kudos to the Governor and legislature for the current support of the buy-out program. We’re not without options to keep the rural landscape viable, it’s just going to look different.
          

         Change comes hard in this region.  

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      2. Attended an event recently where actor Sam Jaeger was the Emcee. We had a nice chat about Handmaid’s Tale and my roots on the plains of Colorado. He said his favorite audio book of all-time was Plainsong, based on the authors time in Yuma. It was a great reminder to suggest the book to any of you that didn’t stumble upon it 20 years ago. 

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         1. I love all of Haruf's work. It's beautiful, lyrical, compassionate, with multidimensional characters in familiar, realistic situations.  The only novel in that series that I haven't read yet is Benediction.

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            1. 💯

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            2. I saw a DCPA production of "Benediction" a few years ago.  It was heavy but excellent

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2. Oh no!!! Disaster for the commercial Real Estate industry. Arpit Gupta and Stin Van Nieuwerburgh at the Washington Post.

   The numbers are alarming. The transition to remote or hybrid working has seen office lease revenue fall 19 percent since the start of covid, while vacancy rates are hitting all-time highs. Our research suggests that the value of office buildings in New York City may have already fallen by 40 to 45 percent, and other cities will be hit even harder. Nationwide, we project a decrease of $500 billion in the overall value of commercial office buildings.

   Hmm. From the point of view of a consumer or renter, lower rents and lower prices are an extremely good thing. 

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   1. Yikes! Will Harlan Crow still be able to afford Supreme Court Justices?

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      1. Maybe, if they're just not as greedy as Thomas . . . 

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   2. But commercial landlords are entitled to all their rent!  How will they ever be able to afford new yachts?!  The horror!!

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3. Fascist Republicans in the House of Reps are calling for defunding the police.

   It turns out that the FBI is the armed wing of the Democratic Party.

   I'm waiting to see if "moderate" Republicans have any interest in rejecting these extremist, anti-cop politicians.

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   1. More Fascist Republicans. What the F is wrong with these people?!

      Governor Henry McMaster of South Carolina: “I look forward to the day that democrats are so rare, we have to hunt them with dogs.” 

      These are big-name, mainstream Republicans. You don’t hear this kind of hatred from Democrats. Yeah, I know. Republicans keep saying that Democrats are demons, but propagandizing doesn’t make it true.

      Fascist is the correct term here. Specifically the psychology or fantasizing about violence.

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      1. Ah. McMaster is a Heisenberg Douchebag.

         It turns out it was just a joke:

         "If South Carolina Democratic partisans can no longer bear light-hearted jokes made at their expense, then maybe they should focus their energy on whinning and not whining" -BCharochak, McMaster Comms director.

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         1. What a jokester! I, too, like to compare people I disagree with to small animals that I like to hunt and kill and wear their skins. That joke always kills at parties! Get it? "Kills"?! Cuz people love it when we joke about killing them! (This is all sarcasm; thick, thick sarcasm.)

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4. Someone woke up with a stinky diaper. 
   

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   1. Blanche has some thoughts this morning.  Does he no longer fear the Orange Menace?

      

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   2. The list of the Orange Caligula’s potential psychiatric diagnoses grows even longer (“potential” as I am not an M.D. or P.A.):

      1) Narcissistic personality disorder

      2) Inadequate personality disorder

      3) Delusional personality disorder.

      There may be more. But I’m too busy today; taking a short interlude now; to go consult my copy of the DSM.

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      1. It's like one, big Venn Diagram of the DSM, and Trump is in the middle.

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5. Homeless Baby Boomers – It's a thing.

   Yeah, all those retired people lazing around on Social Security who don't want to work, and are scamming the insurance system.

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