6/30/24

Sunday, June 30, 2024

1974 Soviet dancer Mikhail Baryshnikov defects to the West

I fell asleep while Geri watched COBRA on PBS, perhaps at 9:30, PS at 12:30, and let Lilly out at 2:30.  She came in nervous about something outside, pacing, not looking for her treat.  Geri let her out again at 4; I let her in.  I feel asleep sometime after 5 (?) and woke up at 8:10 or so, emerging from a very bad dream about private practice, pay-for-service, hourly billing, conflicts, billable hours, record keeping, eat-what-you-kill, etc.  Leaving no stone unturned when you bill by the stone,

Prednisone, day 49, 15 mg. day 13.  I took my pills around 4, followed by Irish oatmeal at 4:20 or so.

Unexplained weight loss?  I weighed myself in the early afternoon before showering, w/o clothing.  197.4 after having consumed a bowl of oatmeal with abundant berries in the morning, and a can of sardines in olive oil with saltines, and a bowl of cottage cheese with abundant berries for lunch.  A couple of days ago I was at 199.  A few days before that I was at 200 or 201.  Before the onset of PMR, I was about 235.  I've abstained from all alcohol and carbonated beverages and coffee and tea since November 24th last year, 7 months plus, and I have tried to cut back on carbs since getting my continuous glucose monitor.  On the other hand, I have been on prednisone for 48 days and on many of those days with increased appetite, eating seemingly nonstop, and increased water retention.  What's going on?

Karen Tumulty in this morning's Sunday WaPo:  

"Biden might have gone down as the most successful one-term president in modern history, maybe ever. His legacy might have been secure as the man who saved the country from Trump. Instead, he chose to put the nation through this in an election year when not only the White House but control of the House and Senate are on a razor’s edge. [My bolding added.]

The party also made its choice. It closed its eyes to Biden’s increasingly obvious mental and physical deficiencies. But America knows what it saw on Thursday night. Now the only real option that is left for Democrats is wishing for a miracle."

I am reminded of the anonymous quote attributed to Barack Obama. perhaps apochriphally, when he chose Hilary Clinto to attempt to succeed him rather that his VP Joe Biden:

 Don't forget Joe's abililty to fuck things up.

This Isn’t All Joe Biden’s Fault, Ezra Klein, NYTimes, June 30.

Biden likes to say: “Don’t compare me to the Almighty. Compare me to the alternative.” And yes, Biden is preferable to Trump, one of the most dangerous men to ever occupy the White House. But the alternatives to Biden, right now, are Harris and Whitmer and Newsom and Warnock and Shapiro and Jared Polis and Cory Booker and Amy Klobuchar and Pete Buttigieg and Gina Raimondo and Chris Murphy and on and on. How does Biden compare with them, really?

. . . . 

I realize there is no magic mechanism, no unitary actor called the party that can persuade him to step aside. But there are many people in the party with influence over him. There is the support he senses he has from the rest of the party. The Democratic Party may not end up with another choice — it may truly be too late — but it should be trying to make one possible. Because there is not a plausible way for Democrats to convince voters that the man they saw on Thursday’s stage should be president three or four years from now.  [My bolding added.]

 . . . . . . . .  

 I normally avoid the Sunday morning news/talk shows.  They are jampacked with politicians and pundits and are rarely either informative or entertaining, usually quite the opposite.  I watched a number of them this morning not to hear what the guests had to say, which turned out to be, as usual, pretty predictable, but rather to hear how the anchors dealt with the Thursday debate, especially Biden's performance.  It was deservedly brutal.  Some pointed out that Biden is meeting with his family and close advisors at Camp David today.  Will they be watching the morning talk shows or shielding him from them?  Will they, or any of them, advise him to withdraw from the race?  Probably not.  Will he withdrew?  Definately not.  Should I hope I am wrong?  Does it make any difference?  Are the Dems doomed?  Are we?  And, if so, can't we justly blame Joe Biden for this?

Anniversary thoughts.  Rudolf Nureyev defected to the West in 1961 and Mihkail Baryshnikov in 1974.  The 70s were my time on the board of directors of the Milwaukee Ballet Foundation supporting the Milwaukee Ballet Company founded by Roberta Bourse in 1970.  My friend Ara Chechian was a member of the board and nominated me for membership.   I'm not sure what it was about me that suggested I would be a valuable board member but I was elected and served for perhaps 3 years (I can't remember the dates)   I recall serving one year as a non-officer member, then a year as treasurer, and then a period as president before I resigned after losing a contest with the artistic director, Jean Paul Comelin, over whether to cancel an expensive tour that Jean Paul wanted and I wanted to cancel.  I think I started on the board in 1975 and one of my activities, with Ara and others, was raising money for a new production of The Nutcracker, an annual moneymaker for the company.  Another was unsuccessfully exploring a merger between our company and the Wisconsin Ballet in Madison.  A third was producing a gala fundraiser starring Valery and Galina Panov, former stars of the Kirov Ballet in St. Petersburg, Russia, now known as the Maryinsky Ballet.  I have many good memories of my time with the ballet board when the company was so young and struggling, and perhaps a few not so good.