Overdue for Statehood

 The United States has five major, permanently inhabited territories: Puerto Rico, U.S. Virgin Islands, Guam, Northern Mariana Islands, and American Samoa. These territories are geographically distinct from the 50 states and have their own local governments, but are also subject to the laws of the U.S. federal government. (Google)

Washingtn D.C should be added to the list as it has its own local government, but is also subject to the laws of the U.S. federal government.

I doubt that Trump's grasp of history and geography includes any of the above, or the fact that his current residence was built by slave labor.  If he did know that, do you suppose he would be bothered by it?

See Rebecca Solnit's current article in The Guardian for an overview of the current circus in the District of Columbia.

Trump Is Launching a Hostile Takeover of Puerto Rico (Jacobin)

Getting The News

 When we lived in San Francisco in the 1970s there were two big news services offices there, the Associated Press (AP) and United Press International(UPI).  I sold some of my news photos to them, and those were then distributed internationally. The UPI began a steep decline in the 1980s along with newspapers in general, and sold its broadcast services to the AP.

The news services were originally called "wire services" because their news accumulation and distribution were over telegraph wires.  Telephone wires and transatlantic cables then took over the job until everything moved to the Internet.

Now, the remaining big players are AP, Reuters and Agence France-Presse (AFP). The AFP requires a subscription, but AP and Reuters are free and good general news sources.  Google News accumulates stories from all over, but the sources vary widely in quality and objectivity. A lot of people these days -- perhaps a majority -- look to social media like Facebook for their news, and that, unfortunately. is pretty much the bottom of the news barrel.

Given the ongoing decline of newspapers everywhere, journalists have struggled to keep their profession viable, in part by founding state-level cooperative news agencies. In New Mexico that includes Source New Mexico and Searchlight New Mexico.

Linda Lens as Bourke-White

News

 I've looked for a long time to Haaretz for news from Israel and reassurance that some effective resistance to Netanyahu still exists there.  Unfortunately, I see now that the newspaper online has had to go to a subscription-only format.  I'll have to give some thought to whether I want to pay to get beyond just the headlines.

Aljazeera provides free and thorough access to news about the area, but there are no Israeli voices.

Dry Again

 Just enough water left in the river for Roxie to get her feet wet.

"...This is the third time in four years the river has run dry. It was unheard of for decades before 2022. But this year seems to be the earliest we’ve seen it happen in recent memory. For anyone who drives, or walks by, it’s a grim sign of climate change for New Mexico. 

Data from the EPA shows the snowpack that feeds the Rio Grande has been steadily dropping since the 1950s... "  - KOB Ch.4

The Epstein Files

 Democrats and the media are way too enthusiastic about the possibility that the Epstein files will have some important negative effect on Trump's popularity with the bulk of his MAGA followers.

What is being overlooked is the 2016 video resulting from the Access Hollywood interview in which Trump candidly revealed the depth of his depravity.  

Recall that what followed the publishing of that interview was the election of Trump to the Presidency.

People like Bondi, Patel and Vance will be momentarily embarrassed by their previous advocacy for release of the Epstein grand jury hearing details, but Trump's teflon coating will remain intact.

1948

 When we went to watch the flamenco performance on Saturday in Old Town I felt compelled to stop momentarily to photograph this Chevrolet.  Several other people stopped to admire the car also, impressed by the faultless restoration.

I thought my little Canon digital nicely captured the character of the car. The camera is not as compact as my Panasonic Lumix, but it has the virtue of an eye-level viewfinder which makes sunny day photos feasible.

Through My Window

 The street past our house is being repaved.  The work starts at 6AM.

The early start to the workday is understandable with temperatures reaching 100 degrees.

  The work is half done at three weeks.