Friday, February 14, 2020

Suppose it were Friday clxxiii: A valentine





      Dresden














Jens Buettner
Deutsche Presse-Agentur
February, 2020




Wednesday, February 12, 2020

Origins of Wednesday cx: Objects of government



Announcement, appearing on the gates of Postman's Park in the City of London, June 2002 --


Postman's Park is Closed until       further Notice

This is to allow a sparrowhawk chick to fledge undisturbed, having left the nest early and committed itself to ground dwelling. 

We apologize for any inconven-ience caused and anticipate that the garden will be open within the next few days.


       City Gardens
       Corporation of London
































John Julius Norwich
The Big Bang
  Christmas Crackers
  2000-2009
The Dovecote Press, 2010©





Tuesday, February 11, 2020

Leaning Klobuchar




In this year's American electoral cyc-
le, I do not expect to write actively
or with superfluous energy to recom-
mend the replacement of the Party in
control of the White House, the Sen-
ate, and the Federal Courts. It isn't
likely that anyone not sharing these
preferences would stumble into this
paragraph long enough to consider it.

Garry Kasparov contributed an invalu-
long ago, on an urgency of clear think-
ing in the conduct of coalition polit-
ics, which I do commend to anyone in-
terested in having to choose a nominee.
My own feeling is that Amy Klobuchar, 
a Senator from the Midwest, could well
forge a coalition of the requisite di-
versity, for sustaining an effective
challenge to the offending Party. I can
defend this suggestion, but so can she;
and I advance it less to win assent 
than to substantiate her eligibility.

I cannot say quite the same thing for
certain other candidates, more promin-
ently ranked today in the polls; but
coalition politics compels me to ac-
cept the selection of the Party. This
is not only morally justified, it is
morally obvious. 




To so much as lean toward a personal
preference, in the case of Klobuchar,
is to lean first in favor of the con-
duct of a magnanimous but energizing,
dare I say infectious politics. I do
admire this virtue, this year, very
considerably more than I value the
most shining chimera of a star of any
greater glory. And, to those who sa-
vor a dash of wit in a candidate, she
spares one a leap toward inexperience.
Mildly as it moves one to mention it,
I don't think one can fault her for
being of the gender that flummoxes 
the Party to be defeated, given that
she reflects half of its supporters.

Let us all become comfortable with
her in the vanguard of our coalition.













Max Yavno
untitled
San Francisco
1947