LIFE AND NEWS NOTES FROM A CHILDLESS ELDERLY LADY WORKING AWAY IN THE MINISTRY OF SNARK
23 March 2025
Well, another morning. Got up, dragged myself out of bed, dragged a comb across my head (showing my age with that lyric). Fed the cats and broke up the whopping matches that break out at mealtime. Made coffee. The electrical plugs on the counter no longer work for some reason. The coffee pot has to be moved to the butcher’s block. The grow light that keeps dozens of herb plants alive surrounding the sink, no longer works. I hope they survive long enough for Mike to get home. Why don’t women learn how things work? I know this is something simple, but I’ll be damned if I can figure it out.
The cats are out on their newly tiled screened in porch. They love it. They are never going to come inside after we get all the climbers up.
I am lying on the day bed in the library, watching Michael Steele have a tantrum about Howard Lutnick (may he rot in hell) arrogantly maintaining that his mother-in-law would be just fine if she missed a social security payment. Fuck him. I like Michael Steele, although (like the cats I have a long memory) I will never truly forgive him for being a Republican, for taking their money, for lying on television for them. But I’m glad he’s there now on MSNBC, getting mad, getting really angry at the attitudes of the people in the White House. Until people like him start getting mad, really mad, people will not recognize just how mad they need to be.
Hiram Bernard (youngest of the nine formerly feral cats we serve) keeps coming in the library and getting up in the window in front of me. He stands there, swishing his amazing gray tail, looking out on his back yard. Then, he leaves. A few minutes later, he comes back, jumps up on the table under the window, stands at the window, swishing his amazing tail. (Cats pick up your dislikes, and your likes, almost immediately). Repetition is one of the things that drives me crazy. Cats are devilish about sussing out what makes you crazy and doing it when they want something, especially when that something involves you getting up.
So, I get up and say to Hiram and Jake who has joined the demonstration: “Want to go?” They immediately understand and perk up, tails up, excitement they head for the screened in porch, stretching along the way. I open the door for them and out they go, leaping into the excitement of the day and the backyard.
We let them out for about an hour every morning. They poke around, run, dig holes and roll in the dirt, stalk the new enormous pigeons in the back yard, look for lizards in the yard plants, chase each other, bow up at each other or just sit and contemplate the universe.
Turkey
The government in Turkey is calling public protests “street terror.” What people are protesting about is the government’s taking into custody one of Erdogan’s most prominent rivals, Ekrem Imamoglu, the former mayor of Istanbul. Imamoglu was taken into custody and accused of corruption and supporting the PKK, a Kurdish groups hated by Erdogan. Erdogan has been in charge for 23 years. The Constitution has to be changed for him to run for office again so he is laying the groundwork for another sham election (BBC Newshour Podcast, 3/23/25).
Israel
Netanyahu is firing high level government officials. Some citizens are furious about the government breaking the ceasefire with Gaza before getting the hostages out.
Protests have broken out after Netanyahu announced that he is firing the head of Shin Bet, Ronen Bar. He accused the head of the Shin Bet of opening an investigation about his (Netanyahu’s) ties to Quatar for political reasons. According to the protesters, the government is removing all “buffers” to Netanyahu’s power. The government is already skirting procedures that should be followed to fire these two. If they refuse to abide by the law, they will end the rule of law.
The protesters are arguing that the Prime Minister cannot go through the remaining parts of the ceasefire because it would cause the fall of his government.
LIFE AND NEWS NOTES FROM A CHILDLESS ELDERLY CAT LADY WORKING AWAY IN A SUBBASEMENT OF THE MINISTRY OF SNARK
Quote of the Day: “He’s trying to destroy you. He’s trying to destroy the nation.” Keith Olbermann talking about Donald Trump
Quote of the Day: “Yes, it’s time to fight. It’s past time to fight.” Sarah Longwell.
Ukraine
It appears that Ukraine has moved troops back from territory formerly taken in the Kursk region of Russia. There were fears that Russian troops were going to encircle Ukrainian forces. Saving some of their best troops may have been considered more important than maintaining control of the territory.
KIEV, UKRAINE – OCTOBER 01: Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky speaks to the media on October 1, 2019 in Kiev, Ukraine. Ukraine has been at the core of a political storm in U.S. politics since the release of a whistleblower’s complaint suggesting U.S. President Donald Trump, at the expense of U.S. foreign policy, pressured Ukraine to investigate Trump’s rival, Joe Biden, and Biden’s son, Hunter. (Photo by Sean Gallup/Getty Images)
Ukraine:
The U.S. Media
It just amazes me still that this collection of fascist men have changed the world in a few years.
David Ignatius is on Morning Joe asking whether Donald Trump considers various policies as in “America’s interests.” Donald Trump doesn’t give a rat’s ass what is and is not in America’s interests. He is part of what Sarah Kenzior calls a “transnational crime syndicate. Commentators like David Ignatius (who have been living off their position in the legacy journalism world for years are part of what continues to normalize Trump and what he is doing. To sit there on the Morning Joe set and pontificate about what Trump considers in “America’s interests,” supposes a normal president, a normal presidency. Until these people stop acting like Trump is a rational actor, presiding over a rational administration, we will continue to be swept under the tidal wave of authoritarianism.
(Note: David Ignatius, incidentally, was one of the journalists who loudly supported the Iraq war. He, like many others, later apologized for it.)
They just cannot, will not let go of the delusion that Trump is an independent actor, laying awake at night, mulling over what is in America’s interest. Trump is a Putin puppet. If you want to read a detailed account of how Trump wormed his way into money laundering for the Russians and then failure (and perfect asset) that he is, depended more and more on Russian crime and largess, read Craig Unger’s “American Kompromat.”
No one narrative has the explanatory power of “Trump as a Putin asset.” Just look at anything Trump is doing and it is obvious.
Trump presented Putin a gift yesterday. He eliminated Voice of America with the announcement coming from the Stooge Marci Rubio announcing the end of the Cuban version. What an utterly soulless man Rubio is.
New York Times: Ukraine (3/17/25)
• Putin and Trump will talk on Tuesday.
• Trump (greedy sob that he is) has been talking about power plants and “dividing up” Ukrainian assets.
• Ukraine has agreed to a 30-day cease-fire. The Russians (greedy Sobs that they are) have not.
• The remarks about the “power plants” is thought to refer to the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant which Russia has controlled since its capture. Ukraine has demanded that the Russians leave, but it is unlikely Putin will agree. The plant is in Ukraine’s southern Zaporizhzhia region which Rusia has officially annexed despite controlling only part of its territory.
New York Times: Ukraine (3/17/25)
• Putin and Trump will talk on Tuesday.
• Trump (greedy sob that he is) has been talking about power plants and “dividing up” Ukrainian assets.
• Ukraine has agreed to a 30-day cease-fire. The Russians (greedy Sobs that they are) have not.
• The remarks about the “power plants” is thought to refer to the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant which Russia has controlled since its capture. Ukraine has demanded that the Russians leave, but it is unlikely Putin will agree. The plant is in Ukraine’s southern Zaporizhzhia region which Rusia has officially annexed despite controlling only part of its territory.im
New York Times: Ukraine (3/18/25)
The agreement that resulted from the call between Trump and Putin appears to benefit Russia more than Ukraine (Surprise, surprise).
Putin agreed to a pause in strikes on Ukrainian energy infrastructure for 30 days. This is short of the unconditional cease fire Ukraine agreed to.
The attacks on civilians, cities and ports will continue.
The pause benefits Russia because “Ukraine has conducted extensive strikes on oil and gas facilities deep into the Russian heartland, jeopardizing Moscow’s most crucial stream of state revenue.”
Putin is making a set of impossible demands – “an end to all of the military support for Ukraine….pause personnel mobilization and rearmament….accept Russian sovereignty over occupied Ukrainian territory, agree to neutral status, or agree to reduce the size of its armed forces….” They also refuse to agree to any peacekeeping troops.
Ukraine: MSNBC Nicolle Wallace
There were no concessions from Russia or discussions of punishment for starting the war.
Alexander Vindman called it a “terrible deal.” “Trump moves to normalize relations with Russia for trinkets.” “No one has been played as hard as Donald Trump.”
Michael Crowley: Putin is playing along and “playing for headlines.” Putin is making “extravagant demands.” Putin is looking for huge concessions by Ukraine.
Russia has also been employing a covert campaign – targeting undersea cables, warehouses, and railways. (Note: Ship detained for dragging and attempting to sabotage an underwater cable.)
Mitch McConnell says we want to prevent a headline that says “Russia wins. America loses.) that is the extent of feeling that McConnell has for Ukraine and the Ukrainian people.
Putin wants to topple the Zelensky government.
Yemen
The U.S. is bombing Yemen. Trump sold himself as a president who would stop war. He is now bombing Yemen. The Houthi minister now says they are at war with the U.S. Iran will pay the consequences for further attacks(Reuters, 3/18/25).
U.S.
Trump sent Venezuelans to El Salvador despite a judicial order.
New York Times: Detention Facilities:
(Note: Trump’s detention plans are going to leave private prison companies awash in money. Cultural Note: If you haven’t watched “Orange is the new black” do so. The later seasons depict some of the problems of private detention facilities.)
• “The two family detention centers in Texas are being run by private prison companies….The site in Killey, which is operated by CoreCivic, can hold up to 2,400 people. The other, a 1300 bed facility in Karnes is managed by GEO group.”
New York Times: Immigration (3/18/25)
Chief Justice John Roberts issued a rare statement to rebuke Trump for calling for the impeachment of the federal judge hearing a deportation case involving Venezuelans. (Note: If you have not see the celebratory video put out by the El Salvadorean president of buses transporting the Venezuelans to a massive concentration camp in El Salvador. Just the image of the camp is terrifying.)
Cyber World
Moscow Times: Feoktistov, Dmitry/Tass (3/17/25)
• The Russian Central Bank has proposed restricting cryptocurrency transactions to the wealthiest individuals, preventing most citizens from trading digital assets unless they meet stringent financial criteria.
• The proposal suggests allowing companies already qualified to participate. These include professional financial market participants such as banks, insurance companies, brokers, brust managers, no-state pension funds and asset management companies for mutual investment funds.
• Russia is introducing measures to regulate digital assets which have become more important since financial restrictions after the invasion of Ukraine.
• In 2024, the country legalized “cryptocurrency mining, while a new tax regime for digital assets took effect in 2025.
Trump: CNN: Over the weekend, Trump has
• Defied court orders on deportations
• Attacked the legitimacy of court orders
• Targeted third law firm tied to his self-perceived enemies
• Made demands on Columbia University
• Tightened grip on Kennedy Center
• Shut down Voice of America
• Accused news media of “illegal” activity
Podcasts:
The Daily Beans (3/18/25)
Ninth Circuit rejects Trump bid to stay firing of federal workers. Last week’s ruling from Senior U.S. District Judge Wiliam Alsup requires “six agencies to offer reinstatement to thousands of terminated employees….Alsup blocked the Trump administration from firing thousands of federal employees, and ordered the immediate reinstatement of probationary workers…fired from the Department of Veterans Affairs, Pentagon and many other government agencies..” At a hearing, Alsup was “visibly frustrated” because “the government is obfuscating the truth because it has refused to make Charles Ezell, acting director of the Office of Personnel management available to testify about his role in ordering the firings… The letter firing the employees claimed that it was for performance reasons (Courthouse News Service, 3/17/25).
Tricare (medical insurance for military) rescinded approvals for over $100,000 in health care claims paid years ago to a Navy veteran and his wife (NBC News, 3/13/25) The Daily Beans hosts speculate that because of the massive firings, insurance companies are double dipping and this is not being caught by the government. Tricare has various subcontractors. (Note: This is the beginning of what we are going to experience with Medicare.)
LIFE AND NEWS NOTES FROM AN ELDERLY CHILDLESS CAT LADY WORKING AWAY IN THE SUB-BASEMENT OF THE MIINISTRY OF SNARK
Quote of the Day: “Yes, it’s time to fight. It’s past time to fight.” Sarah Longwell.
Ukraine
It appears that Ukraine has moved back from territory formerly taken in Russia. There were fears earlier that Russian troops were moving to encircle Ukrainian forces which may have provoked the withdrawal.
It just amazes me that this collection of men have changed the world. David Ignatius is on Morning Joe asking whether various policies are in “America’s interests.” Donald Trump doesn’t give a fuck what is and is not in America’s interests. They just cannot get rid of the delusion that Trump is an independent actor. He is a Putin puppet. He destroyed Voice of America yesterday with the announcement coming from the Puppet Rubio announcing the end of the Cuban version. What a soulless man.
Yemen
U.S. is bombing Yemen.
U.S.
Trump sent Venezuelans to El Salvador despite a judicial order.
New York Times: Detention Facilities:
(Note: Trump’s detention plans are going to leave private prison companies awash in money. Cultural Note: If you haven’t watched “Orange is the new black” do so. The later seasons depict some of the problems of private detention facilities.)
“The two family detention centers in Texas are being run by private prison companies….The site in Killey, which is operated by CoreCivic, can hold up to 2,400 people. The other, a 1300 bed facility in Karnes is managed by GEO group.”
New York Times: Ukraine
Putin and Trump will talk on Tuesday.
Trump (greedy sob that he is) has been talking about power plants and “dividing up” Ukrainian assets.
Ukraine has agreed to a 30-day cease-fire. The Russians (greedy Sobs that they are) have not.
The remarks about the “power plants” is thought to refer to the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant which Russia has controlled since its capture. Ukraine has demanded that the Russians leave, but it is unlikely Putin will agree. The plant is in Ukraine’s southern Zaporizhzhia region which Rusia has officially annexed despite controlling only part of its territory.
Moscow Times: Feoktistov, Dmitry/Tass
The Russian Central Bank has proposed restricting cryptocurrency transactions to the wealthiest individuals, preventing most citizens from trading digital assets unless they meet stringent financial criteria.
The proposal suggests allowing companies already qualified to participate. These include professional financial market participants such as banks, insurance companies, brokers, brust managers, no-state pension funds and asset management companies for mutual investment funds.
Russia is introducing measures to regulate digital assets which have become more important since financial restrictions after the invasion of Ukraine.
In 2024, the country legalized “cryptocurrency mining, while a new tax regime for digital assets took effect in 2025.
CNN: Over the weekend, Trump has
Defied court orders on deportations
Attacked the legitimacy of court orders
Targeted third law firm tied to his self-perceived enemies
NOTES ON LIFE AND THE NEWS BY AN ELDERLY CHILDLESS CAT LADY WORKING AWAY IN THE SUB-BASEMENT OF THE MINISTRY OF SNARK
X is out all over the country. I couldn’t be happier.
MSNBC: 12:00 Noon
Trump’s policies toward Ukraine are sending a very clear message to Putin.
Too bad, X came back online.
In an interview on CNN, the former head of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau former head detailed how data giants like Musk could amass so much personal data they could tag prices for products to the individual consumer and even what they were displaying about their mood online at the time they were buying. For example, if there had been traffic about a particular person being a participant of Fantasy Baseball and there was a conference in Law Vegas, the person might be charged a higher price for a plane ticket to Las Vegas because the algorithm would know the person was likely to attend. Prices set to desperation and desire. What a world.
Later: 4:00 PM
MSNBC
The stock market fell to almost -1000 today. If Trump is not denying a recession, we are probably headed for a depression.
There is a vet with stage 4 cancer on Nicolle Wallace. He has been denied his experimental treatment because of Trump’s cuts.
Amy McGrath: A lot of these people wanted to privatize the VA. Privatization is the word underneath all of this.
Veterans get universal life time health care. Republicans hate that.
They are willing to kill some 10,000 veterans who are in experimental treatment for cancer to make money.
BBC News America
Zelensky is in Saudia Arabia. (Why? Why Saudia Arabia?)
Rubio is calling it a “temporary pause” in military assistance to Ukraine. (Note: Right.)
Without any security guarantee? There is still no security guarantee.
Zelensky is not formally meeting the Americans. What?
Ukrainians want a limited truce in the sea and the air.
(Note: Why is this minerals deal so important to Trump?)
“Economic guarantees” are not sufficient. There have been American business interests in Ukraine before and it did not deter Russia.
Ukraine is not ready for a permanent cessation of the territories to Russia.
Guardian: Asset Seizure
According to a US district judge, a former chief of the Russian state oil and gas company Rosneft does not have a plausible claim to own a $330m superyacht seized by US authorities in 2022. The Justice Department (note: at the moment) is supporting prosecutors’ bid for the forfeiture of the yacht which could be sold at auction. Last year, Congress passed a law authorizing the transfer of seized Russian assets to Ukraine. Eduard Khudainatov, who led Rosneft from 2010 to 2013, sought to block the forfeiture by claiming he owned the yacht. Prosecutors claim that Khudiainatov is a “straw owner” for Russian billionaire Suleiman Kerimov, who is under US sanctions.
Trump’s AG, Pam Bondi, disbanded Task Force KleptocCapture, whose many actions targeting Russian oligarchs included the yacht’s seizure.
Kerimov was sanctioned for actions in Ukraine and Syria.
The US Government is paying about $600,000 a month to maintain the yacht.
(Note: One of the big problems with the asset seizure of property such as this yacht is that the government must pay to maintain the property in case they lose the seizure case in court.)
Guardian: Ukraine
Russian forces are trying to eliminate the last Ukrainian position in the Russian Kursk region. “the Russian efforts indicate that Moscow does not want to halt its counteroffensive at the national border…”
“…one expert noted” Russia’s rate of success had “dramatically improved in the past few days.” (Note: This corresponds with the US cutting off military aid and intelligence.)
Russia has warned the Australian government that deploying troops to Ukraine as part of an international peace keeping operation would lead to “grave consequences.” The Russians stipulated that the communication was not a “threat,” but a “warning.”
Foreign minister of Australia responded: “…end your illegal invasion of Ukraine. We won’t be intimidated from working towards a just peace…”
Law, Power, and Justice 