hyppytyynytyydytys

We were delighted to grow our vocabulary, courtesy of Fancy Notions, with the above, highly onomatopoeic Finnish term that literally means “bouncing cushion satisfaction.” Despite having no true vowels and looking quite intimidating, it’s really quite easy and fun to pronounce, if you channel your inner Swedish Chef or alternatively go here for some help from a native speaker.

rutherfraud b. hayes

As the US federal government is in the midst of the longest partial shutdown in recent memory, the always engrossing Planet Money brings us the story of the very first begrudging lapse in appropriations that struck politicians as so acrimonious and against the spirit of the Republic that it was not revisited until a century later—with caution and trepidation before becoming an everyday bargaining chip.
When the Civil War broke out, Confederate Democrats serving in the House and Senate took leave of their offices to fight for the South (roles were quite reversed) but with reunification, the party had all but forfeited those seats to the Republicans. Seeking to re-establish themselves in halls of government, Democrats worked to disenfranchise African American voters who would ensure that challenger candidates win in their former constituencies by all means necessary, including unabashed voter intimidation. In 1879/1880, the Republican administration of President Hayes, in order to ensure free and fair elections, ordered military troops to monitor polling places in the Reconstruction Era southern US. In response, Democrat congressmen and senators hurled insults, like the one in the title, at Hayes and threatened to withhold releasing funds and effectively suspending government business, unless the soldiers were recalled. It is unclear that the scope of the shutdown was or if they even acted on this threat in the first place—politicians on both sides of the aisle immediately cognisant how badly that sort of budgetary hostage taken could turn out for democracy, to say nothing of denying a population the right to participate therein. Check out the entire episode below and subscribe to Planet Money for more stories like this.

white castle down or mayor mccheese

Though doubtless no amount of statecraft could ever manage to extricate Trump from the unconscionable lows he has already visited on the office, there are reportedly calls for Trump to delay his vaunted event, the State of the Union address, as another casualty of the partial federal government closure.
While ongoing culture wars and tribalism might spin the fact that due to the shutdown the White House scullery was woefully understaffed to stage a proper banquet and therefore emphasised Trump’s resourcefulness and image of playing a host who understands the palette of his guests, it really diffuses that narrative to point out that the same lamed apparatus also is a guarantor of safety, not just for the person of the president but the public at large.

errata

To illustrate how bad decisions—even ones wedded too—can be later reversed, we contemplate, courtesy of our faithful chronicler, how on this day a century ago, the proposed language to establish the prohibition of “intoxicating liquors” in the United States as the law of the land.
Championed by Congress two winters prior, the proscription was ratified by the then requisite thirty-sixth state (four of the new western territories voted as a bloc all on the same day) and the Eighteenth Amendment to the US Constitution was sent before the House of Representatives, passing the enabling legislation, known as the Volstead Act. The country as a whole went dry, according to the terms of the amendment the following year. The Twenty First Amendement repealed Prohibition in 1933 after large-scale bootlegging and organised crime erupted to mollify shifting public sentiment that stopped taking kindly to legislated morals and signalled a course-correction was necessary.

good fences make good neighbours

Though unclear if it will get the building permits, Chicago-based architecture studio New World Design wants to cordon off Mar-a-Lago with a gilded picket fence in order to isolate and contain some of the Trump syndicate’s most nefarious forces and minimise their ability to dismantle and do further damage.
The satirical statement is in response to the perilous shutdown showdown over funding for Trump’s border wall—now steel slats—which has precipitated a four week partial closure of the federal government with little signs of resolution forthcoming. Irrespective of the fact that the project would be ineffectual and a tremendous waste of time and resources, it does not represent most of the American people and most don’t want to erect a symbol of xenophobia and hostility for all the world to see.

extravehicular activity

On this day in 1969, the Soviet space programme accomplished the first docking of two vessels in orbit.
The three cosmonauts of the Soyuz 5 joined the crew of two in Soyuz 4 and transferred two members between the capsules through an airlock. The objective of the previous three Soyuz missions had been to demonstrate the technical feasibility of linking two modules but had been aborted for various reasons. This achievement paved the way for later cooperative and international missions. During a celebratory parade in Moscow a week later, the cosmonauts sustained light injuries during an assassination attempt whose target was Secretary Brezhnev who was riding in their motorcade. The failed attempt was subject to a Soviet media blackout for years afterwards.

herbaceous

For those of you living in jurisdictions that have not legalised the production and use of marijuana, Modern Farmer (really a publication that we ought to learn to check with more regularity) comes to the rescue with seven suggested smokable, easy to cultivate plants that you can grow that are perfectly legal, perfectly safe and perfectly boring.  Though plants like mullein (verbascum, Königskerzen, found both in Eurasia and North America) or sage (salvia, Salbei) might not sound appealing they are not without their pharmacological merits (see also) and uses in traditional medicines and many comprise the base and thus the bulk of other herbal mixes, so there is a demand for coltsfoot (Blandlattich) and mugwort (Beifuß). Check out the article at the link up top for further properties of the plants, tips on how to grow them in your own garden and how to harvest, dry and make your own special blend.

unthinkable

Our appreciation to Miss Cellania for directing us to the litany of horrors—the top fifty to date—that the Trump administration has perpetrated against his own people and the rest of us, since after it’s long over and the syndicate is behind bars we’ll still be dealing with the regressive environmental policies he’s promoted and the squandered opportunities to improve an increasing fraught and dire situation.
Though American is demystified and disenchanted with largess and respect having been much reduced its footprint for destruction has only increased and gone into overdrive. The list consists of headlines as bullet points to the full stories as reported by The Atlantic’s correspondents but the headings alone are more than enough to make one shudder and remember the sheer incredulity.