In position to spring a trap

In my travelogue, posted yesterday, I missed a piece of the story. Through the whole trip when out in public and not eating I wore a mask. It wasn’t a top rated mask, though one I could wear for long periods. About Tuesday evening during my week at the handbell events (with hundreds of people around) I had a mild sore throat. That disappeared quickly, though my nose was soon dripping. And, yeah, I had a pretty good idea what this was, having had similar symptoms in January. On Wednesday I put on an N95 mask. I tolerated it for about a half day. It hurt the bridge of my nose. It’s straps insisted on primary positions around my ears so my glasses didn’t seat well and fell off when I bent over. Thursday evening the entire Symposium went to Nashville’s Wild Horse Saloon for supper and a party. The band was loud, so little talking. The staff gave line dancing lessons and the dance floor was full, so I didn’t join in. At least the food was good. While there I had to lower my mask to wipe my nose. After a couple hours (and a friend was surprised I lasted that long) I left the party to walk around a bit of downtown Nashville, then headed to the bus to go back to the resort. Once back I immediately went to bed. When I was awake during Wednesday night I had arguments with myself. A runny nose in the time of COVID should mean I get tested. If positive I should go home. Doing otherwise is irresponsible. But I really want to stay for the big final concert! When awake Thursday night I came around to the right thing. I could still change my reservation at the hotel in Cincinnati, pulling it ahead a couple days and avoiding 10 hours of driving in one day. In the morning I should call them, then go to the massed ringing floor and gather up my stuff and say quick goodbyes. My nose stopped dripping when I went to bed Thursday night. It sometimes does that when I sleep. But Friday morning it didn’t resume. So I stayed. And continued to keep my mask on as much as possible. When I got home yesterday there was an email from a friend with whom I had spent a lot of time. She had tested positive and suggested I get tested. She didn’t say anything about strong or mild symptoms. Though I kept my mask on whenever possible I don’t think I ever saw her wearing one. From what little news I read during the trip I emailed eight links to myself. I also accumulated another six from today’s reading. So some of these might get only a quick mention. And I won’t get to all of them tonight. I’ll start with a couple Ukraine updates: On August 5 Kos of Daily Kos noted that Ukraine has announced very little about their progress in Donbas, yet everyone from Zelenskyy on down has been talking about an imminent counteroffensive against Kherson. Why warn Russia well ahead of what they intend to do? It looks like all that talk of Kherson is to draw Russia into reinforce their position there – drawing soldiers and equipment from other fronts. That part looks to be working. Once in the Kherson area it looks like Ukraine will be in position to spring a trap, where Russia can’t supply their troops and they must surrender. At the same time Ukraine has a clearer path towards its real target – to take out key supply line depots, shutting down Russia’s ways to keep its army going (not that it is all that good at it now). On August 7 Hunter of Kos wrote about a couple of news reports that criticize Ukraine. They’re really Russian propaganda. The first, by CBS, complains that only 30% of all the military equipment sent by NATO to Ukraine has actually reached the front lines. The way this report is written makes it sound like a scandal. Hunter replied: First that the 30% number was plucked out of thin air. Second, even if it is accurate that’s a good thing. Hunter explains why an army doesn’t want all of its military resources on the front line at any one time. One does not want all available rockets sitting beside the launchers. What is a front line now hopefully won’t be a front line next week. Some weapons need to be held back to be able to respond when the enemy attacks at a new location. And not all military aid promised by NATO is intended for the front lines – some of it is for training well back from the front. The other report is from Amnesty International and it complains that Ukraine, because it is fighting in urban areas, is endangering civilians. Hunter, and everyone else paying attention, replied that Ukraine is fighting in urban areas because Russia is attacking in urban areas. And Russia is conducting a war of conquest and genocide. This sort of statement allows Russia to avoid responsibility of bombing Ukrainian residential buildings. Even Zelenskyy issued a condemnation. It looks like the head of Amnesty Ukraine tried to prevent the article from being published, and when that failed, resigned. Eventually Amnesty issued a non-apology. A lot of watchers have said Amnesty International has lost all trust in its main humanitarian campaign. Hunter reported that all Senate Democrats – including Manchin and Sinema and with VP Harris breaking the tie – passed a bill with critical climate protection, inflation, and healthcare components. It’s a lite (very lite) version of Biden’s campaign promise Build Back Better plan. It even includes a minimum corporate tax! The bill went through as reconciliation, meaning Republicans couldn’t filibuster it. The Senate parliamentarian said a provision to cap insulin prices did not meet reconciliation rules, so needed 60 votes. It got 57. Joan McCarter of Kos reported on some of the details of this bill. A big chunk of money for clean energy and electric vehicles. It allows Medicare to negotiate drug prices. It makes health care coverage more affordable. It funds the IRS so it can go after corporate tax cheats. McCarter also reported on what it took to get Manchin’s vote. And it’s a dirty deal. There is a Mountain Valley Pipeline going through Virginia and West Virginia that isn’t finished because residents oppose it. So permits have been held up. The White House promised to approve the permits and Manchin got a promise of a vote on separate legislation to stop further legal challenges to the permits. Even with that dirty deal, there is still lots for Democrats to celebrate. Greg Dworkin, in a pundit roundup for Kos, had a few interesting quotes. Adrianna McIntyre tweeted:

If you want a preview of midterm ads this fall, look at the latest tweets using the word “insulin”

Republicans know voting against an insulin price cap would be a big opening for Democrats. They did it anyway. Dworkin quoted a tweet from Amanda Carpenter that quoted a New York Times article saying Rep. Liz Cheney has a red line on which Republicans she would support for president in 2024. Does the candidate state clearly that the nasty guy lost a legitimate election in 2020? So far supporting Gov. Ron DeSantis of Florida would be very difficult for her. Dworkin quoted Rex Huppke of USA Today, known for his snark.

You may have noticed high gas prices have swiftly and rudely become less high, a trend that, if it continues, threatens to rob Republicans of a glorious midterm election cudgel. Democrats are undoubtedly to blame, but lowering gas prices isn’t the only way they’re sticking it to well-meaning Republicans. They’re also trying to help veterans and passing legislation aimed at lowering inflation. All this governing is an outrage and a clear political shot at the long-standing Republican philosophy that says the government shall help only rich people.