How long can you hold your wife's purse before it counts as part of a drag show?

Yesterday I wrote that Alabama is claiming that it has the right to prosecute people who go to another state for an abortion. I think Texas wasn’t going to let Alabama outdo it. Hunter of Daily Kos wrote:

The Washington Post’s Caroline Kitchener has a very, very good deep-dive into the new push by conservative Texas towns to impose penalties on those who merely drive through their communities while traveling to get out-of-state abortion care. Yep, it's another conservative attempt to restrict residents' interstate travel, something that Alabama is eyeing to do as well, because simply criminalizing abortion in their own states would never be good enough. The next step is to close down the borders to residents looking to get that same care anywhere else in America, and if that's as brazenly unconstitutional as it sounds, well, let's just wait to see what Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas and his gang have to say after they get back from their next billionaire-funded yacht vacations.

Ryan Burge of Graphs about Religion reported that Liberals Have Won the Culture War. Highly conservative Pat Buchanan ran for president in 1992 and made a strong showing in the New Hampshire primay. At that summer’s Republican National Convention he gave what is called the Culture War speech. But in the thirty years since then, polling has shown five major social issues have moved left. The two that have moved the most are approval of same-sex marriage and approval of legal marijuana. There is also a rise in approval of abortion for any reason. On the other side there is disapproval of making porn illegal and of saying extramarital sex is always wrong. Meteor Blades of Kos began an Earth Matters climate report with:

Two new studies about the fossil fuel industry were published this past week. The International Institute for Sustainable Development (IISD) found that the G20 nations pumped $1.4 trillion into explicit subsidies for the industry in 2022. In its study the International Monetary Fund (IMF) put the explicit subsidy level at $1.3 trillion. But the IMF also calculated implicit fossil fuel subsidies. Those include failing to account for environmental and other social costs of fossil fuel burning. Though they are not easy to measure, social costs of extracting, refining, transporting, and burning fossil fuels are real, and when they are added in, total subsidies last year soared to $7 trillion, up by $2 trillion over 2020. All this as the oil giants rake in gobsmacking profits. This comes as the bulk of the 197 countries that signed onto the 17 United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals at the COP26 climate conference in Glasgow in 2021 are failing to meet one the key goals—speeding up the phaseout of these “inefficient subsidies.” Just how environmentally impactful these subsidies are can be seen in the IMF’s calculation that dropping just the explicit ones and imposing taxes on environmental costs would, by 2030, cut global carbon dioxide emissions by 34% below 2019 levels.

There is a great deal of governmental commitment to phase out fossil fuel subsidies but very little implementation. The fossil fuel companies spend 93% of investments towards exploring and producing more oil and gas. Only 7% for “low-carbon solutions.” A few months ago I realized these corporate behemoths call themselves petroleum companies and do not call themselves energy companies that produce products that are best for profits, climate, the environment, and humanity. Blades goes on to say these companies will not change on their own. They need to be pushed by governments. He’s very aware that the House, under Republican control, won’t do a thing. And Biden can do a great deal through executive action and isn’t. At the very least he should no longer allow more leasing to petroleum companies. Blades also reported that intense heat is incompatible with learning and most of the schools in the US (already underfunded) don’t have adequate air conditioning and many don’t have any. In a separate post Blades discussed climate deniers contrasted with many of us directly experiencing the effects of climate change. This summer here near Detroit I’ve noticed few days of gentle rains and many days of violent storms – a storm last week set a record of spawning seven tornadoes in Michigan (and one more in Ohio). Likely more water hitting the ground, but in a less useful manner. So, wrote Blades, it’s understandable that people become climate “doomers.” There are doomers who think we’re already screwed so all we can do is lament our fate. There are also doomers who say the circumstances are grim, so we had better take drastic action to make things less grim. Blades wrote that climatologist Katherine Hayhoe is one of those spurred to action by the current climate devastation. I’ve linked to a couple of her articles and charts. Blades quoted from her last newsletter. Here’s a bit of it.

The challenges we face are significant; but they are not insurmountable. We still have the ability to change the future, starting now. And the more we do, the better off we will all be. This is literally what the science says: every bit of warming matters, and every action and every choice matters, too. ... I’m asked all the time how I cope with feelings of impending doom in my work as a climate scientist. I don’t do it by burying my head in the sand. I start with a clear look at just how bad it is. But I don’t stop there. Next, I envision what the future could look like, if we take action – one with clear skies, pristine air, abundant nature, and food and water for all. I search out who is actively working towards that future. I educate myself about effective solutions; and finally, I ask what are the most effective things I can do to help get these solutions going faster.

We can do this by working together. In the comments of a pundit roundup on Kos are a couple good cartoons. One by Matt Davies shows a guy sitting on his roof with flood waters all around saying to a woman on her roof, “On a positive note, no shootings here today...” And one by Raging Pencils in which an elephant says to a man, “Don’t worry. We’re on top of the data. And the data says climate change is a hoax.” The “data” he’s sitting on is bags of cash in a wheelbarrow labeled “Big oil bribes campaign donations.” Hunter discussed the No Labels group and noted that if the nasty guy isn’t the nominee (hopefully because he’s in prison) funding for No Labels will dry up. Mentioned in this quote is rich guy Allen Keen, who was disgusted with the Capitol attack and quite the Republican Party.

Rich people do not like President Joe Biden, because Biden says things that suggest he does not want rich people to be in charge. Rich people do like Republicans because Republicans have a proven history of wanting rich people to be in charge. However, some members of the donor class, like Keen, are increasingly upset that Republicans keep focusing on trying to overthrow the government when Republicans could instead be using that energy to put rich people in charge of more things. And these same rich people were willing to abide the most conceited, faux-billionaire asshole on the planet when they thought he was on their money-grubbing side. But now that the asshole has proved he's on nobody's side but his own, the smarter money is moving to their next-best options.

And when that smart money moves it won’t be moving to No Labels. Hunter reported that Canada has issued an advisory for travel to the US. This advisory is for LGBTQ people and warns, “Some states have enacted laws and policies that may affect 2SLGBTQI+ persons. Check relevant state and local laws.” I am, of course, quite familiar with and have used the acronym for Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, and Queer, though I usually don’t add Intersex and the plus sign to include communities who use additional terminologies (asexual, gender fluid, etc.). I learned Canada uses 2S to refer to “two spirit,” which is a Native way of referring to intersex, transgender, or gender fluid people. Canada doesn’t name the states, perhaps because the list changes so frequently. It does warn what will most likely get travelers in trouble – attending a drag show that is raided by an aggressive sheriff.

If you're doing the Orlando theme-park circuit and you hold your wife's purse while she's in the bathroom, how good do you have to look while holding it before it counts as putting on a "show”? Hell if any of us know.

Feisty octagenarians Margaret and Helen are back. They have been quite outspoken against stupid things in American politics since they started their blog back in 2007. Alas, they were silent for 2½ years. And now Helen again has a few things to say.

McCarthy and company are the largest group of asshats on the planet. And that is saying something considering they share the planet with Elon Musk and his Musketeers. Please, for the love of God, you need to pull your heads out of your asses and finally start acting like the political leaders you were elected to be. The man lied to you. But it’s always about money and power. Always. How are we supposed to unite as a country if you bozos can’t even unite against that lunatic? Honey, I get it. I really do. Trump has the right to say whatever he wants. He has the right to lie and scream and cry that he didn’t lose the election. That’s his First Amendment Right. In fact, he’s lying all the way to the bank using his unsuspecting supporter’s donations to pay for lawyers. Trump lies all day, every day. It’s what he does. And he does it because you let him. You shouldn’t hate a dog for having fleas. It’s what they do. But you should at the very least expect better from your party’s leader. And yet, you are sticking with him. Defending him even. A liar. And not just any liar, but one willing to break the law in an attempt to justify his lies. That is your candidate for President? Are you kidding me? He might build skyscrapers, but his elevator doesn’t go all the way to the top floor. Being rich doesn’t make you smart. And being Trump doesn’t make you anything other than annoying as hell.

In the comments of a pundit roundup for Kos exlrrp included what looks like an ad for a TV series (and if cameras are allowed, it will become one) titled The Accomplice.

18 Co-defendants. One ring leader. Who will flip? Who will fall? Who will hear “You’re guilty!”