we now return to regularly scheduled programming already in progress (12. 776)

For the first time in television history in the United States on this day in 1975, the three major television networks declined a request to interrupt broadcasts and pre-empt their line-up for a speech delivered by the American president. Gerald Ford’s nationwide address was only carried by ABC and was a relatively anodyne presentation regarding fiscal discipline for an economy just emerging from a recession, laying the blame of inflation and job scarcity squarely on an “overzealous bureaucracy” and urged congress to make federal tax reductions permanent to encourage hiring with a commensurate cut to government spending, threatening to veto any legislation passed in in keeping with a balanced budget. This decision by TV executives was seen as the first challenge to the use of the bully pulpit of the president and the reach of high office to the public ear. The next day, congress and the senate overturned Ford’s veto by an overwhelming margin bi-partisan support to extend federal school lunch and nutrition programmes.

synchronoptica

one year ago: more adventures on the Mecklinburgischer Seeplate (with synchronopticæ)

thirteen years ago: the Venetian independence movement, more flea market finds plus twinned-towns

fourteen years ago: computer lab plus thirty-one days of Halloween

fifteen years ago: customary Nobel cool-off period 

lapse in appropriations (12. 769)

Whilst most attention was focused on Trump’s upstaging of the some eight hundred top generals and admirals from American military outposts from all over the world at great expense and distraction summoned to be presented a speech on warrior ethos that could have frankly been an email or at most a TEAMS virtual meeting only to then be lectured by the commander in chief regarding physical fitness of the force, woke- and fat-shaming the US military into a plaything exclusively by and for white, straight males with liberal bastions declared as training grounds, the federal government entered a shutdown after successive refusal by the Republicans to entertain negotiations over extending healthcare subsidies and defunding public broadcasting. The standoff preceded by congress blocking the swearing in of a Democratic representative from Arizona for fear of loosing the GOP‘s narrow margin and compelling the release of the Epstein files, replacing the official portrait of Joe Biden in the White House gallery with a crude picture of an auto-pen and continuing the violent vitriol against the radical left—out-of-office auto-replies are to specifically blame the opposition for the closure and lapse in nonessential services–a clear violation of the Hatch Act. The last significant shutdown lasting more than a few hours was during Trump’s first term in 2018 and 2019 when the government closed for thirty-five days

mittelwihr, ostheim, beblenheim (12. 763)

Heading back to Alsace after several years for a camping holiday—the last of the season we think—we noticed that the city limit signs were no longer bilingual, reflecting the German and Swiss cultural influences on this region in la Grand Est on the upper Rhein (Rhine, Rhin) but rather in French with a sub-caption acknowledging the Alsatian dialect (im Elsàss, from the German Elsaß—strongly informed by the neighbouring Swabian way of speaking) with Saint Hippolyte rendered as Sàmpìlt, for example.

First conquered by Caesar, a subject of the Holy Roman Empire, in the Realm of the Franks, traded to the Carolingians as part of Lotharingia, annexed by the kingdoms of France and Germany and later ceded to the Deutsche Reich before returning to France after World War II, this land protected by the Vosges mountains, making conditions ideal for wining and mining, has retained its character and charm and has been relatively nonplussed over all these changes, becoming a model of religious tolerance during the Reformation, unlike the rest of France and embracing a mosaic of Catholic and Protestant congregations within the same communities, the central governments of neither ruling powers wanting to impose a faith or language for fear of antagonising the population.

Though not the most flattering of terms, the Latin form of the name of Alsace entered legalese in English courts in the seventeenth century (stemming from dated perceptions at the time) as Alsatia, referring to a lawless place or one under no judicial oversight, and in extended use sanctuary and a customary marketplace protected by tradition and the independence of patrons.

  

synchronoptica

one year ago: hotel darkrooms for hobbyist photographers (with synchronopticæ), a very short papacy plus Dawn: A Portrait of a Teenage Alcoholic (1976) 

fourteen years ago: Das Boot 

fifteen years ago: substituting the flag of Chile for the flag of Texas

seventeen years ago: lost and found

 

fe-fi-fo-furlough (12. 758)

After cancelling a meeting with Democrat leadership from the house and senate, saying there was nothing to discuss with the opposition party over the impending shut-down of the federal government, making the lapse in appropriations seem inevitable—though the drama has become almost an annual occurrence. A memo circulated by the Office of Management and Budget, however, seems to raise the stakes and change the calculus significantly: directing federal agencies to not only prepare furlough notices for non-essential employees but also prepare reduction-in-force (layoff) plans for those discretionary programmes not deemed consistent with Trump’s priorities, thus eliminating more of the federal workforce in the event of closure, leveraging the Democrats to vote to keep the government open without entertaining any concessions to the other party. For their part, the Democrats in congress recognise this new intimidation tactic, having averted a shutdown in March arguing at the time that that would have unleashed the administration to do even greater damage to the civil service, but after rescissions and clawing back funds already obligated and voted on—realising that the GOP will do whatever it is ordered—seem to have come to the conclusion that closure is only way forward. We’ll see how this standoff plays out in the next few days.

welcome to the jungle (12. 753)

If Upton Sinclair’ original 1906 novelisation of the inhumane conditions in the meatpacking industry (see previously here and here) wasn’t already enough to turn one vegetarian and co-champion for struggling immigrants and reform of the social safety net in the US, this brief from 99% Invisible should do the trick, showing that precious little has changed in the intervening century, including the tarnished American Dream, and has taken a turn for the worse with consolidation and workers even more disposable.

8x8 (12. 751)

crybaby: the myth of the maternal instinct and what infant distress tells us 

i’ve been waiting twenty years for this meeting: Trump issues dangerous medical advice, linking acetaminophen, childhood vaccines with autism  

interflug: vintage Eastern European destination labels 

filtered for birdsong and catnip: the animal internet and archaeo-acoustics  

my dinner with skinner: the Steamed Hams version of My Dinner with Andre—see previously, see also—via Meta Filter 

novelisation: retro book jackets from modern classic cinema—see previously   

justice serviced: Trump ramps up pressure to pursue political enemies through a weaponised department  

non-linear vocal phenomenon: the distracting power of baby cries and dog barks may be overrated

synchronoptica

one year ago: a 1974 tour of Fort Knox (with synchronopticæ) plus assorted links to revisit 

thirteen years ago: a ban on GMO crops in Europe, charted flights plus a superb dragonfly

fourteen years ago: faster-than-light physics 

fifteen years ago: the unbearable whiteness of anti-intellectualism 

10x10 (12. 746)

the dominator model continues to run the world: Lydia Lunch’s timeless feminist manifesto 

jut: a new way to measure the magnitude and magnificence of mountains—via Metafilter  

and i’m floating in the most peculiar way: a cover of Major Tom by Magdalena Bay—via Nag on the Lake’s Sunday Links  

bequest: an assortment of old customs and curious donations and charities 

red noise: the French musical underground’s decade of synths and situationists—via { feuilleton }  

𒀾: writing lessons in Cuneiform  

being of sound minds and body: collection of captivating wills and last testaments—via Strange Company  

you’ve really made the grade: a scroll through the archives of David Bowie  

pathfinder: a look into the inner-workings of Google Maps  

me and bobbie mckee: the forgotten inspiration for the gender-swapping ballad of Kris Kristofferson and Janis Joplin—see previously

synchronoptica

one year ago: Weird Al parodies Bob Dylan with palindromes (with synchronopticæ) plus more gerrymandering

twelve years ago: a possible clue to hidden Nazi loot hidden on sheet music 

fourteen years ago: the Pope comes home to Germany 

fifteen years ago: GMO salmon 

9x9 (12. 742)

admissible evidence: AI translations of animal vocalisations in the court room and other assorted legal stupidity  

mulholland drive: the Mid-Century Modern estate of David Lynch (previously) in the Hollywood Hill is up for sale  

happy blogoversary: Damn Interesting turns twenty 

õhuruum: more incursions of Russian fighter jets into NATO airspace, this time over Estonia—see previously  

⠝⠕⠍⠕⠎: overcoming wartime injuries that took both his sight and hands, a Greek youth taught himself to read Braille with his tongue and became a lawyer 

ministry of public enlightenment and propaganda: from the wires, 4 February 1939  

phlegmatic: the ancient origins of personality typing  

yawaraka jazz: an individual in Japan expertly DJs their collection of vintage vinyls with no commercial interruptions—via Web Curios 

feme covert, feme sole: Brigitte Macron, wife of the French president and whole human being in her own right, has agreed to provide scientific evidence to a US court to prove that she is biologically female from birth—via the New Shelton wet/dry

pious fictions (12. 737)

McSweeney’s Internet Tendency contributor Carlos Greaves shares an uncharacteristically sobering flowchart, decision-tree on telling the difference between a lone wolf and a coordinated effort by the radical left. The parallel construction triangulates with a lecture series by tech oligarch Peter Thiel embracing the language of the apocalypse—rebuffing, redirecting worries over AI godhead with talks that appeal to particularly American obsessions of naming the Antichrist and belief in angels and demons (environmental activist Greta Thunberg is a favourite target of the influential billionaire for the Great Satan—in the parlance and policing of y’all Qaeda) and the censoring of media outlets with producer son David of Oracle co-founder Larry Ellison looking to acquire CNN after taking over Paramount-Skydance with consequences already apparent, Trump’s Federal Communications Commission bullying ABC-Disney into cancelling another popular late night talk show critical of the administration, the divestiture of US TikTok to a MAGA cadre to transform it into a propaganda mill far worse than any hand wringing over China, and the Washington Post dismissing a veteran journalist for reporting the news and calling out sophistry.

i’ll tell you my sins and you can sharpen your knife (12. 725)

Released on this day in 2013, the debut single from Irish singer-songwriter Andrew John Hozier-Byrne (professionally known by the mononym Hozier) is a soulful hymn that uses religious terminology to describe a forbidden relationship as an invective against discrimination with attendant shame and trauma promulgated by the Catholic Church. With the help of the music video that is somewhat of a departure lyricly and the recently introduced platforms of Shazam (as a cataloguer and registry to discover new songs) and Spotify, it became an international chart-topper, spending a then record twenty-three consecutive weeks at the top, tying with Imagine Dragons’ 2012 Radioactive. Written and demo recording made in the attic of his parents’ home in County Wicklow, it caught the attention of an independent label and turned the artist’s career prospects around. Hozier’s body of works all share social conscious themes and both his songs and continued advocacy have a strong message of justice and champion the poor and marginalised.

the first fifty years (12. 713)

As a humiliating way for Tiffany, Erik and Don Junior to find out that their father sends out birthday cards, coinciding with a speech delivered at the Museum of the Bible in which Trump rather heinously downplayed domestic violence, saying “crime would be down a hundred percent if law enforcement did not count “things that take place in a home” (without even quoting verses that might back up his argument, only wanting to brag about his invasion of problem cities) and House speaker retracting his claim that Trump was a deep-cover FBI informant, the bipartisan congressional oversight committee released several documents from the estate of Jeffrey Epstein after issuing to the executor a legal summons, including in all lewd detail, the birthday book inscribed by Trump and others. Bank records were also obtained. Republicans accuse Democrats of putting politics above the welfare of survivors, refusing to acknowledge any were victimised by Trump, even as a photograph of Epstein presenting an oversized novelty cheque to Trump implying that the future US president sold him a young girl for $22, 500.

separation board (12. 709)

On the fiftieth anniversary of the expose by TIME magazine on decorated veteran Leonard Matlovich who outed himself in protest of the US military’s ban on gay and lesbian service members, the Trump administration has moved forward with its efforts to remove transgender soldiers with a disqualifying medical discharge of gender dysphoria, reversing a 2016 decision that lifted a previous ban. Between the first and second administrations, several policy and posture changes occurred and the paper trail, attestations and doctor’s visits, directed at the time, are now being used as an incriminating paper-trail to push more out as the rules change again.

9x9 (12. 704)

the free encyclopaedia: why Wikipedia works—see more 

steeple with tyneham: 1970 reportage on the ghost village taken over by the Ministry of Defence in 1943 as a firing range  

john deere: venerable American agricultural equipment manufacturer struggling with tariff chaos, decreased demand for US crops  

primary residence: investigators find several Trump cabinet officials guilty of the same mortgage fraud leveraged against his enemies—see previously   

the fyurry byerds of the night: Ze Frank (previously) on bats  

fifty basis points: the US Fed signals it will cut interest rates due to successive poor jobs reports 

homeland security: Seoul sends diplomats to a Hyundai, LG factory in Georgia after immigration raids which saw the arrest of nearly five hundred workers, ICE dismissing claims that such actions deter foreign investments   

città dei balocchi: the abandoned Las Vegas of Italy  

gptzero: Wikipedia style guide that outs AI agents

synchronoptica

one year ago: a electromechanical rotor cipher (with synchronopticæ), the ugly, car-centric focus of American urban planning plus assorted links worth revisiting

twelve years ago: mapping US/Soviet bases in divided Germany, proposals for a permanent venue for the Olympics plus an act of bioterrorism by sabotaging harvests

thirteen years ago: some castles of Berlin-Brandenburg, visions of the Apocalypse plus honest book covers

fourteen years ago: the EU economy and the single currency plus facial-recognition and dragnet surveillance 

central casting (12. 703)

Though Trump only has the power without congress to bestow a nickname on a federal department and insist that those are their pronouns—requiring a delicate manoeuvre of double-speak, shifting tenant organisations to a new playable nemesis, from Mario to Wario, with Defence Finance and Accounting Agency to WFAS or DARPA to WARPA or Defence Acquisition University to WAU or Department of Defence Education Education Activity to DOWEA—the change, something only a draft-dodger could get behind, does have up- and downstream effects, not least the expense of all this rebranding, plus getting to revert to the old name once this administration overstays their welcome. Meanwhile, to counter mounting pressure to release the files with the community of surviving victims poised to publish their own list, Trump sycophant, Mike Johnson, speaker of the house of representatives, is making the claim that the president’s relationship with Jeffrey Epstein was based on Trump’s covert work as an FBI informant. Maintaining simultaneously that the dossier of child-rapist is a hoax instigated by the Democratic party to undermine the administration, Johnson offers that ongoing contact was part of deep-cover operation to entrap and reveal Epstein’s clientele. The White House has yet to verify the speaker’s claim—Robert Mueller would have been the FBI director during the time of Trump and Epstein’s falling out, over head-hunting Trump’s own pleasure-staff—with the alibi straining credibility. Never mind that such stool-pigeons are not whistle-blowers but are generally seeking a lighter punishment for cooperating with authorities, an asset like Krasnov surely didn’t have the time to be a double-agent.

all the way alive (12. 698)

On this day in 1975, Manson Family cult member Lynette “Squeaky” Fromme (previously) attempted to assassinate US president Gerald Ford (see previously) in Sacramento on the grounds of the California state capitol to set an example for those refusing to stop environmental pollution and its effects on Air, Trees, Water and Animals (ATWA, also the acronym above—the ecological belief system expounded by Charles Manson and his followers) as the interrelated life-support network of the Earth with attendant acts of civil disobedience and eco-terrorism. The then new Democratic governor Jerry Brown had refused an invitation to address an annual gathering of wealthy business leaders of the state. Members of the politically powerful group called “Host Breakfast,” upset with the shun wanted to teach the recently elected Brown, considered to be an obstacle to industry with a host of regulations and taxes that were unpopular with the lobby, a lesson for his “dilatory response” and had instead invited Ford, a Republican and ally, to deliver the opening speech—which Ford accepted as a chance to appeal to more local voters in the upcoming election and retain office. Preceding his arrival, Ford had asked congress to relax certain provision of the Clean Air act of 1963 and pressure California to roll-back some of its automobile emissions standards, already garnering threats from environmental activists. Feeling personally responsible for the fate of California’s giant redwoods, in danger from smog and urban sprawl, Fromme resolved ambush Ford (studying the agenda of his visit) and demand that respect be paid to nature. Making her way through the crowd, Fromme raised her pistol but the weapon failed to discharge and was immediately apprehended by the Secret Service. A few months following Fromme’s trial and sentencing, director George Lucas was prompted to change the name of his protagonist mid-production from Luke Starkiller for unpleasant connotations and a perceived connection to the Manson Family. After thirty-four years in prison and two years after Ford’s death, Fromme was released on probation in 2009. The malfunctioning gun was donated to the presidential library in Grand Rapids, Michigan and is on display there.

synchronoptica

one year ago: America begins its bicentennial celebrations (with synchronopticæ), coordination problems plus Trump announces the Department of Government Efficiency 

twelve years ago: German license plate naming conventions 

thirteen years ago: some castles of Hessen plus open all hours

fourteen years ago: a visit to Rohr 

seventeen years ago: TGIF 

invisible hand (12. 691)

As an appeals court affirms the decision of a lower court addressing the legality of Trump’s reciprocal tariffs—staying the enforcement until mid-October in order to give the administration the opportunity to appeal—jeopardising some hundred billion dollars in duties collected from exporters, which in reality is a tax on the consumer, that may need to be refunded, the presidency has meanwhile been taking another tactic on revenue-generation which some economists are acknowledging a generational shift away from free-market capitalism and some critics regard as a dangerous pivot toward socialism by MAGA and the conservatives. Of course the US economic landscape is ripe with subsidies and tax-incentives for choice businesses, engaging what outsiders may classify as protectionism for vital industries—and what America would definitely call barriers to trade and given domestic businesses an unfair advantage—and the US has become stakeholders in businesses beforehand—primarily with its bailouts and interventions for banks and automakers during the 2008 Financial Crisis and for small businesses during the COVID pandemic, but government ownership through a controlling share of a public company is a bit unprecedented in non-emergencies. First the US Defence Department bought stock in a rare-earth metals operation, then Trump conceded to a large microchip maker’s argument that sales of less advanced components to China would increase competition and innovation and most recently ten percent of chip maker Intel—the latter tech firms settling up with mildly extortive deals. Whilst not uncommon practice elsewhere with government invested in private industry, the US has generally eschewed such involvement, heralding the above free-markets (albeit the source of dissatisfaction for billions, exploitative and destroying the world) as the driver of progress and the hallmark of capitalism, and if the trend continues—and perhaps it should—one must come to terms with redefining what open competition means. Governments would be partial to businesses and bidders that they own in one way or another, and while previous administrations saw a significant return on investment with bailouts, grants and other aid but the public, aggressively attacked on other fronts—in believing it’s getting back from these companies and contractors, an indirect tax on corporations which Republicans would never own up to—may end up more impoverished and indebted if investment decisions are carried out poorly or in the spirit of cronyism.

synchronotpica

one year ago: union label (with synchronopticæ) plus assorted links worth the revisit

twelve years ago: a visit to Offenbach plus prunk and posh

thirteen years ago: the castles of Thüringia plus a botched restoration job

fourteen years ago: large demoninations 

fifteen years ago: immigration debates in Germany 

10x10 (12. 683)

advisory committee on immunisation practises: following an attack on the Centres for Disease Control campus by a crazed gunman, RFK Jr forces out the CDC director and renders the government agency untrustworthy  

nephilim: right wing antipathy for the Smithsonian began with a conspiracy theory that the national museum was hiding the bones of biblical giants in the basement  

pick-a-brick: thanks to Trump tariffs, LEGO no longer shipping some items to North America  

kodama: sacred trees in Japan and beyond—via Strange Company  

the real macguffin: AI is only good for prioritising “me first” problems—not for solutions—see also  

from west philly to west swig̴̙̕g̷̤̔͜y: audience scenes from Will Smith’s concerts are authentic by a YouTube experiment (previously) makes them look fake  

best in show: a selection of entrants for London’s Natural History Museum’s annual Wildlife photographer awards—via Damn Interesting 

executive overreach: appeals court rules that most of Trump’s reciprocal levies, enacting under emergency powers, are not legal—see previously and may need to refund over a hundred billion collected in duties 

¡presente!: Smithsonian museum closes its Latino gallery, ostensibly in preparation for next year’s bicentennial celebrations—see previously 

social security administration: chief data officer of the SSA abruptly resigns with a mass email that was memory-holed within half-an-hour, citing security concerns and a culture of panic and dread

synchronoptica

one year ago: the K-Pop Fab Four (with synchronopticæ) plus weird academic book jackets

fourteen years ago: moving beyond the incandescent bulb 

by all means, tread on these people (12. 681)

Revisiting the poem by Martin Niemöller as the framework for understanding the descent of America (and elsewhere) into fascism, Cory Doctorow introduces to an unsympathetic and insightful corollary in Wilhoit’s Law (misattributed to Drake university political science professor but actually formulated by an Ohio composer called Frank Wilhoit in a blog post):

Conservatism consists of exactly one proposition, to wit: There must be in-groups whom the law protects but does not bind, alongside out-groups whom the law bind but does not protect. 

The succinct post from 2018 speaks to our long present of wage-theft and corporate welfare, freedom of speech maximalism—and the entire gamut of “me but not for thee” double standards that MAGA has enveloped with conservatism.

synchronoptica

one year ago:  assorted links worth revisiting (with synchronopticæ) plus correspondence from the complaints department

thirteen years ago: taking a job in Wiesbaden 

fourteen years ago: senior citizens taking up street art plus meteorological terrorism

fifteen years ago: a souvenir from a medical scare 

humphrey’s executor v united states (12. 676)

Trump’s illegal and unfounded attempt to terminate a sitting member of the Federal Reserve Board of Governors places the US and world economy in a rather unprecedented spot, and as with the shocks of Trump’s tariffs and trade wars it is unclear what market turmoil might accrue from politicising the independent agency tasked with monetary policy, like with wholesalers having extra stock on hand as a buffer to uncertainty, norms and postures in place for a generation and more take some time to undo. The recent case of Türkiye comes to mind, however, when following the purge of government officials following reportedly thwarted coup attempt against the administration of Recep Tayyip Erdoğan economic advisors were replaced with loyalists and the country, after a period of incubation (not easily monitored as reliable data was not being presented), inflation shot above eighty percent and the economy flirted with collapse. Not able to oust the chairman—to remove his own appointee for cause, Trump has turned to a tactic he has tried before, with a mole at the obscure Federal Housing Finance Agency, the regulatory body overseeing home loan administration, finding potential irregularities (hardly rising to a fireable offence) in mortgage applications from the Fed member—as he has uncovered for other enemies of the president. Supreme court precedent affirmed limits on the ability of the president to dismiss the heads of independent agencies within the executive branch with the titular case in 1935, when FDR fired the federal trade commission chief for opposing New Deal policies. Under pressure from Trump and his insistence for a magisterial presidency and characterising neutral departments whose appointments span several administrations unaccountable, the court revisited their previous decision, vacating it and granting Trump broad powers of dismissal without the consultation of congress or the judiciary—with the significant and specific carve out that the overturning does not extend to the Federal Reserve System. The only other time the US even approached this level of pressure and interference on the national bank was in 1951 during the Truman administration when the president and the Fed chair Thomas B McCabe had a disagreement on interest rates and credit, with McCabe eventually coerced into resigning his commission and returning to the private sector, but not before securing agreement between the executive and the department of treasury that safeguarded the independence of the Fed and shielded it from the influence of both.

synchronoptica

one year ago: a skilled sniper (with synchronopticæ) plus a circle-and-spoke map of the London Underground

fourteen years ago: divination, inspiration from antique books 

fifteen years ago: a superlative wine service 

sixteen years ago: the passing of Ted Kennedy 

most sacred and cherished symbol (12. 673)

Though just another feckless executive order and virtue signalling (plus a distraction) to his base—as President Bartlett said there’s no epidemic of flag-burning in protest after entertainer Penn Jillette stirred controversy with sleight of hand trick and asks deputy chief of staff, “What if we burned a flag, not in protest, but in celebration of the very freedoms that allow us to burn a flag—the freedoms that everyone who has ever worked in this magnificent building has pledged to preserve and protect?”—and against the 1989 landmark supreme court decision that affirmed such actions as protected speech under the first amendment, the Trump administration has directed officials in the justice department to prosecute flag burning in a way that does not violate the constitution, directing the attorney general to prioritise laws against desecration in connection with other crimes to allow for revocation of visas and deportation of foreign nationals, promising jail time for the offence and suggesting loss of citizenship. Describing the act as “uniquely offensive and provocative,” Trump has always had a particular preoccupation with such acts (see above case protecting “fighting words”)—whilst rubbish the principles behind it—and when a regime tells one what flags cannot be burned, it will next tell one which flags cannot be waved. Creeping—nay galloping—despotism aside, those who insist a symbol is sacrosanct and inviolable also keep it off their crappy merchandise. “Did you go to law school?” “No, clown school.”