Confusion is part of the strategy

I finished the book The Relentless Moon by Mary Robinette Kowal. This science fiction novel is the third in her Lady Astronaut series. I’ve read the other two but didn’t write about them. The first book, The Calculating Stars is about Elma York and her husband Nathaniel. This book is where this timeline diverges from our history. In 1951 a meteor hits Chesapeake Bay and wipes out a good deal of the Mid Atlantic coast, including Washington, DC. As the federal government reconstitutes itself in Kansas City scientists determine global climate catastrophe will be coming fast (much faster than in our world). An International Aerospace Coalition is soon created to figure out how to get as much humanity off earth as quickly as possible. Along the way Elma is part of the first female astronaut corps and she gets the designation and media appearances as the Lady Astronaut. Nathaniel is one of the chief rocket scientists. They launch people into space a lot earlier than in our timeline successfully start a colony on the moon before 1960. Yeah, it is interesting to see how the author works with 1950s technology. One thing I appreciate about this story is how multi racial and multi cultural the major players are. And how many are women. It is good to read a story about rockets and space from a woman’s point of view. The second book in the series is The Fated Sky. This time Elma is part of a crew on a ship to Mars. In addition to all the scientific things going on Elma deals with a mission commander who she sees as a misogynist. There are also the usual difficulties along the way. The third book is concurrent with the second. So it is narrated by Nicole Wargin rather than Elma. I with I had read it a lot closer to the time I read the other two books because what happens in the two books is a bit interrelated. Nicole is one of the original Lady Astronauts and her husband Kenneth is governor of Kansas with intentions of running for US President. Nicole describes her tricks of being the dutiful and devoted political spouse. The effort to establish colonies off earth has, of course, its opponents, the Earth First group. They object to this effort because they know a lot of people won’t make it off earth. Better to improve life on earth. They are present in all three books, though most pronounced in this one. Though she is the wife of the governor Nicole is slated for a rotation to the colony on the moon. And she goes. As she lands there she discovers there is a saboteur from Earth First trying to make the colony fail so the IAC will abandon it. The rest of the story is about trying to figure out who it is. Helping her are Helen, a Taiwanese woman who is great at chess, and Eugene and Myrtle, a black couple. Eugene ends up appointed interim colony administrator, something quite rare for 1963, and Myrtle is another astronaut. What is relentless about this story is the attempts at sabotage keep coming – over 500 pages of them. After a while I began to think they could have left a few out (and in the Acknowledgments the author said the first draft was much longer). Even so I enjoyed this story. And I read it only because I had enjoyed the first two books. It is a series I recommend to those who love science fiction. In a Ukraine update Kos of Daily Kos wrote about some of the former Soviet colonies who see an opening. In the news now is Azerbaijan. Its current government is definitely not a democracy and two days before Russia invaded Ukraine the head of Azerbaijan and Putin signed an alliance treaty. One of the provisions sounds like it would be a good idea for Azerbaijan to come to the aid of Russia in a war. But when the UN General Assembly held a vote two weeks later to condemn Russia’s invasion Azerbaijan was notably absent. And now Azerbaijan has agreed to supply the European Union with natural gas, partly filling the shortfall Russia isn’t sending. Kos explained:

Russia’s new ploy is simple: Starve Europe of natural gas and watch their unity and resolve crumble as the weather turns cold and Europeans struggle to heat their homes. Ukraine knows this, hence the long-running preparations to go on the offensive in September. There is a very real possibility that the map in December would be frozen for years … until the next war. But if Azerbaijan can help fill the natural gas gap (along with increased supplies from places like Oman and the United States), Russia’s energy leverage would be severely compromised or even outright eliminated. The West can continue supporting Ukraine without the fear of a domestic political backlash from having to wear sweaters indoors this winter. (Remember, people lost their s--- over having to wear a cloth over their faces. We’re not the most resilient society.) By directly undermining Russian strategy, Azerbaijan’s action “damage[s] the strategic partnership and allied relations of the two states,” and thus violates the treaty. Essentially, Azerbaijan is tearing it up. In normal times, Russia would be able to threaten its way to compliance, but like so many other suddenly frisky neighbors, Russia has lost its military and economic leverage.

Kazakhstan is also feeling frisky. They’re switching from the Cyrillic alphabet to the Latin one we use and students are to learn English as well as Russian. Soso Dzamukashvili of Emerging Europe wrote that alphabet decision came in January 2021, a year before Russia invaded Ukraine, and will be done over a stretch of time because Kazakhstan has a large Russian population. Even so, they see the need to switch to establish their own cultural identity. Back to the war. Kos is one of many, including in the Ukraine military, who see Russia’s logistics problems (including so many weapon depots going boom) will come to a head around mid-August. Which is why Ukraine is building to start its big counteroffensive to start about then. The goal is to retake lost territory before the European heating seasons brings pressure for a cease fire that would preserve Russian gains. Republicans in Kansas are playing a dangerous and deceptive game they just might win. The state’s constitution has a provision mandating abortion be available. Republicans have a provision on the ballot to amend that bit of the constitution to allow the legislature to decide the issue. They’re selling it by saying citizens should have a choice, through their representatives on whether abortion should be banned or not. Their messaging says this amendment does not ban abortion. Christopher Reeves of Kos said that’s right, it doesn’t, though confusion is part of the strategy. But the Republicans have a bill already written that would ban abortion after six weeks ready to be passed as soon as this amendment is certified. Also, this vote is during a low turnout primary, not the November general election. Georgia Logothetis, in a pundit roundup for Kos, quoted several voices with the general theme of Republicans have been saying whether to permit or ban abortion should be a state’s right. Yeah, they don’t mean it. Many of them will be campaigning on enacting a national ban on abortion. A good story to end today. Lily Levine of Kos Prism reported California passed the Free School Meals for All Act. They’ll be implementing it for the 2022-2023 school year. Yes, that means all students, not just those from poor families, will get free meals at school. This will be both breakfast and lunch. The reasons for doing it include: The current need based system requires families to apply and too many kids who need the free food don’t get it. Families that earn a few dollars more than the cutoff still struggle. When some kids get free meals, those that do feel stigmatized, though that means the food has to be good enough that all kids will want to eat it. Finally, this is a help for poor families who now have to afford only one meal a day.

Fragile egos who refuse to grow out of an adolescent naiveté

I downloaded Michigan’s COVID data, updated as of Friday. The peaks in new cases per day for the last three weeks are now set at 783, 780, and 748. I think we’re in a plateau, fortunately a low one. I also see the peak at the beginning of January has been revised downward. About the time we hit the peak it was above 28,000. Recently it was above 27,000. It is now at 26,694. In the week before this past week the deaths per day was in the 7-12 range. That’s good! Starting next week Michigan will only update its COVID data once a week on Wednesday rather than three times a week. In the Ukraine news of the day, Mark Sumner of Daily Kos reported that the Russian Military presence has disappeared from around Kyiv. After several weeks of various little movement of the battlefronts analysts have needed to redraw their maps several times a day. The focus now shifts east where Russia is trying to encircle the Ukrainian trenches just west of Donbas. They’re going a ways around because of a wide section of a river. In response the Ukrainians are trying to cut the thin Russian supply lines. As part of his next post Sumner wrote that as Russia left the fronts around Kyiv and headed back to Belarus one of the things they left behind was bodies, both Russian and Ukrainian, military and civilian. A couple days ago I had mentioned the Russian city of Belgorod, not far from Kharkiv, that is home to several military units. Shortly after that a munitions warehouse, or maybe an oil depot, was hit and exploded. Russia is accusing Ukraine of invading its airspace. Ukraine is denying they caused the explosion. Sumner wrote that it isn’t just the loss of the oil. It is also the loss of oil storage. The region is now rationing gasoline. In a third report Sumner discussed what Kazakhstan had to say. This country had been part of the Soviet Union and since then has maintained the closest ties with Russia. Putin has been calling on them to support him in his invasion of Ukraine. Kazakhstan’s deputy chair of the Presidential Administration – not the top guy – told Putin his country is staying out of this fight. And won’t help Russia get around the economic sanctions. In a little extra snub the deputy foreign minister has invited Russian companies to move production to Kazakhstan so they won’t be caught behind a new iron curtain. Russia may collapse and Kazakhstan doesn’t want go with it. On to other news. Joan McCarter of Kos reported the US House has voted to lower the cost on insulin. Well, sorta. It doesn’t cap the price Big Pharma can charge. It only caps the copay patients are charged. And only if they are in Medicare’s prescription drug benefit or have private insurance (Medicaid and the VA already cover insulin). The uninsured don’t get a cost break. Neither is there a cost break for all the other stuff insulin users must have. So this plan is for a drug that those who need it must have it, it doesn’t cover everyone, and Big Pharma is protected. And still 193 Republicans voted against it. My sister Laney used insulin for most of her life. She complained frequently about the price going up, wondering how she could pay for it. Insulin is necessary for life and raising the price so high that those who need it can’t afford it feels like a crime against humanity. Greg Dworkin, in a pundit roundup for Kos quoted Robert Jones, who quoted James Baldwin in The Fire Next Time:

The American Negro has the great advantage of having never believed that collection of myths to which white Americans cling: that their ancestors were all freedom-loving heroes, that they were born in the greatest country the world has ever seen, or that Americans are invincible in battle and wise in peace, that Americans have always dealt honorably with Mexicans and Indians and all other neighbors or inferiors. ... The tendency has really been, insofar as this was possible, to dismiss white people as the slightly mad victims of their own brainwashing.

Jones added:

These white American myths—staples of former president Trump’s rallies and rhetoric—are the mark not of a great people but of fragile egos who refuse to grow out of an adolescent naiveté. This untenable version of patriotism is an encumbrance not only to achieving our democracy but to becoming authentically human.

In another pundit roundup Dworkin quoted Scott Maxwell discussing the “Don’t Say Gay” bill signed by Floridan Governor DeathSantis. Disney, who prompted a lot of protest by employees for not taking a strong enough stance before the bill was passed, has now vowed to lead the effort to repeal it. And has stopped donating to politicians. DeathSantis is accusing Disney of meddling where it didn’t belong. Maxwell quoted Jason Garcia:

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis claimed today that Disney has only ever gotten 1 thing from his administration. "The one time they got something when I’ve been governor was that Big Tech carveout," DeSantis said. That's not true. Here are 3 more things DeSantis has given Disney:

One can see the details by clicking on Garcia’s tweet. Maxwell added:

DeSantis has been a reliable errand boy for Disney - like most Florida politicians. They cut him checks. He did them favors. But now that Mickey's cutting him off, he's pitching fits ... and accidentally shining a light on all the special deals he made. There are receipts galore.

I’ve done a lot of genealogy research. I caught the bug from my parents. Mom had done quite a bit of research. When she couldn’t anymore Dad took it over. When they died I inherited the database. There are times I wish I could have shown them what I and my brother found, such as tracing Mom’s ancestors back to the little German villages they came from and, before the pandemic, visiting those villages. So I was intrigued when NPR host Ari Shapiro talked to Maud Newton about her memoir Ancestor Trouble: A Reckoning and a Reconciliation. Her father was quite racist, though her mother was not. When she became an adult she didn’t try to avoid her father’s beliefs, she tried to reckon with them. And that her father’s ancestors enslaved people 170 years ago. She started investigating the stories in her mother’s family. Such as an ancestor who was accused of being a witch in Salem. That was a surprise for someone born in the South. The next surprise was the “witch,” who was acquitted, then pinned the witch charges on a black woman and pushed for a trial in which the black woman was sentenced to lashes. That has shown her that her family history overlaps with the systemic problems we still see in America. This is still our problem. What our ancestors did led to privileges for us. None of my ancestors I know about owned slaves. However, there were a few, many generations back, who were part of the English aristocracy who likely made things difficult for those who lived on their land. And there is this one ancestor who was born in Maryland about 1815 and I haven’t been able to identify her parents and what they did.

Nope, no discrimination here

The latest stories about Russia.

The Deputy Prime Minister has declared the anti-propaganda law is not discriminatory because straights who propagandize in favor of gay relationships will also be prosecuted. Somehow, the head of the IOC is pleased with that clarification. Don't waste brain cells on the logic.



At the start of the Pride festivities in Copenhagen perhaps 10,000 people marched against Russia's anti-propaganda law.



Over 100 Canadian organizations including, LGBT, women's rights, labor, and religious groups have issued a joint call for action against Russia's law. They have specific demands of the Canadian gov't, of the IOC, of the Canadian Olympic Committee, of corporate sponsors of the games, and of the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation.



Members of Kazakhstan's Parliament have looked at Russia's anti-gay law and have been saying, hey we should have one of those too!

Armenia said, Great law! Oh, wait, if it brings that much international condemnation, well, maybe not. Which means our boycotts and protests are working. Though the bill has been removed from the government's agenda the head of PINK Armenia isn't convinced it is dead.



Gay rights groups are asking the Metropolitan Opera to dedicate it's opening gala performance to the support of gay people. Why this performance? The opera is Eugene Onegin by Tchaikovsky, who was Russian and gay. The conductor that evening will be Valery Gergiev, a top Russian conductor. The female lead will be Anna Netrebko, popular Russian diva. Both Gergiev and Netrebko were big Putin supporters in 2012.



Julia Ioffe has an article in the New Republic about examples of gay life in Russia.

Anton Krasovsky, TV host, announced on the air that he is gay. The transmission was instantly cut and he was fired. His presence was scrubbed from the show's website. He has gotten thousands of letters of support.

Mike, American, and Fedya, Russian have consciously not hiding their sexuality in public. Fedya's family is learning to accept him.

Maria Kozlovskaya is a lawyer who does gay advocacy. Violence against gays has spiked and they don't wear rainbow pins anymore. She and her clients were attacked. Police did not respond.

There are lots of YouTube videos of gay men who are lured into sexual encounters only to be attacked as the beatings are recorded.

A group of buddies drinking beer begin to realize one of them is gay. He is attacked and killed.

Andrey is gay and has AIDS. He is amazed at how supportive his friends are in getting him to appointments and paying for treatment. Russia is close to the top of the fastest growing HIV rates.

Magazine Afisha did an edition featuring gay professionals in Moscow. Alexander Smirnov worked in the Mayor's office. He agreed to be in that edition because Putin claimed there was no anti-gay discrimination. After that edition appeared Smirnov was asked to resign.

Sasha wanted a child and asked Boris, a well known gay man, to be the father. Elena was born the week before Putin signed the anti-propaganda law. Their circle of friends think Elena, Sasha, and Boris are wonderful.