Illiberalism
Fig. 1. Photograph by Joachim F. Thurn, August 1991, Bundesarchiv, B 145 Bild-F089030-0003, via Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 3.0 DE.
Ishaan Tharoor, “After election, Poland may turn the illiberal tide,” Washington Post, October 17, 2023, https://www.washingtonpost.com//world/2023/10/17/poland-illiberal-election-opposition-democracy/
Gilead
Speaker of the House of Representatives, 2023
Fig. 1. Photograph credited to Office of Congressman Kevin McCarthy, date inconsistent with title but given as November 9, 2022, via Wikimedia Commons, public domain.
You do have that popcorn ready, right?
“The approximately 20 [Republican representatives] I’ve talked to know we must be prepared,” the Republican said. “We cannot let the small group dictate to the whole group. They want a minority of the majority to dictate and as a red-blooded American I refuse to be a victim.
“I know of many hard nos,” the lawmaker added. “We can’t reward this behavior. We can’t let a small group be dictators.”
Rep. Wily Nickel, D-N.C., told the publication Semafor that Jordan’s attempt to secure the speakership will likely “go down in flames.”[1]
I think the “hard right” fears that if they lose this battle, they aren’t getting another crack at it.
Aaron Blake, “The effort to install Jim Jordan is getting ugly. But will it work?” Washington Post, October 16, 2023, https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2023/10/16/jim-jordan-speaker-hardball-tactics/
Gabriella Ferrigine, “‘Approximately’ 20 Republicans plot to block Jim Jordan amid the ‘dumbest’ pressure campaign,” Salon, October 16, 2023, https://www.salon.com/2023/10/16/approximately-20-plot-to-block-jim-jordan-amid-the-dumbest-pressure-campaign/
Housekeeping
There are updates to my contact information.
At least around Pittsburgh, my experience with 5G cellular mobile data coverage has sucked. That’s probably due to the terrain—these are, after all, the Appalachian Mountains.
Being stuck as an Uber driver, I rely on mobile data to get orders and update Uber with my progress on each ride. And while it’s not yet showing up in my income, I’m already starting to see gaps between orders as the slow season approaches. When I miss orders due to poor coverage, it’s a silent failure—I never know what I’m missing.
I absolutely cannot go through another winter like the last one. So I moved one of my Google Voice numbers to Boost Infinite, a mobile virtual network operator which uses its own network, AT&T, and T-Mobile, neatly complementing my Verizon service. Unfortunately, all the phones involved are locked, so I don’t yet have all my numbers on a single phone. When I notice poor service with Boost, I’ll have to connect to the Verizon phone. This also gets me a new iPhone every year. The iPhone 15 includes battery, global positioning system (GPS), and 5G upgrades, all of which I need badly. It arrived yesterday and today will be the first day I take it out on the road with Uber. We’ll see how it goes.
- [1]Gabriella Ferrigine, “‘Approximately’ 20 Republicans plot to block Jim Jordan amid the ‘dumbest’ pressure campaign,” Salon, October 16, 2023, https://www.salon.com/2023/10/16/approximately-20-plot-to-block-jim-jordan-amid-the-dumbest-pressure-campaign/↩