It was 7:07 in the morning and I'd just brewed the first of many cups of coffee for the day. I stood at the window while the water boiled and looked out at the view. Given that the air around the Bay early this morning was filled with fog and smoke, there wasn't a lot to be seen, even up in these hills.
In a while, I would turn to the stories moving through the news system, although I already knew what they would be. There would be more about that draconian abortion law in Texas that the gutless Supreme Court justices have let stand. The one that turns ordinary, idiotic fools into bounty hunters if they suspect someone may be party to an illegal abortion.
There will be political analysts pondering what it means for next year's elections -- some Republicans are nervous this goes too far while some Democrats think it's going to play in their favor.
But you know what, I don't give a (pick your expletive) what any Democrat or Republican thinks about this stupid law. It's the act of primitive apes, the same type who would also drag a woman off in the shadows and rape her, the same type who would thunder from a pulpit that it's a sin to murder a fetus when they secretly fondle defenseless children in the shadows.
It does not matter when "life" begins. The entire debate about at what point the dividing cells that may eventually yield a viable human being occurs is irrelevant.
Abortion will never be about that. It will always and only be about a woman's right to choose what to do with her own body.
That right is sacred. And it includes the right of a teenager to have unprotected sex that sometimes results in an unwanted pregnancy. You may say that is not a very smart thing to do, and you may be right, but you cannot tell her not to do it -- not as a fellow citizen, a legislator, a preacher, a neighbor or even as her parent.
Because she is a free human being. And in the end that is her decision to make, even if it is an awfully bad one in some cases.
And if you've ever been in the vicinity of an abortion, you know it is not one that any woman takes lightly. It's an extremely difficult process for her to go through -- physically, mentally and emotionally. What we need in our laws about abortion is compassion, not judgement.
But while on the topic of sex and conception, I've always wondered whether human beings have any way to tell during the climactic moment of this most elemental of acts whether they have just succeeded in fulfilling nature's plan for carrying on the genetic mutation of the species. (I never could.)
I've had people tell me they can and others who say "no way." There are cases where mathematically in fact it did have to be that one specific time, but even then my question remains unanswered, since hindsight bolstered by data doesn't resolve the matter.
I want to know if somehow people can tell at that very moment. I doubt it.
***
Many more stories today will be about the tragedy unfolding in tragic detail in Afghanistan. I've devoted a lot of space and energy to this story over the past weeks. It's almost as if at times I thought that would make a difference.
But of course I know it isn't going to make any difference. And my own anger or sadness is not going to affect anyone either except the people closest to me. Even when I've narrowed my focus down to amplifying the voice of one young man as he copes with the harsh new reality, I am aware that there is nothing I can do for him beyond that -- magnify his voice.
If we are not careful, many of us develop fantasies that we are somehow capable of doing the impossible -- riding into the middle of a hostile environment and rescuing someone who otherwise would become the victim of an unspeakable crime, but we have no such power.
I'm sorry to break it to you, guys, but none of us are actually going to turn out to be superheroes.
***
There are even bigger, more universal stories this morning than abortion or Afghanistan, concerning climate change and the pandemic. I'm not even going to try and express how powerless it feels to confront climate change today; as for the pandemic, it's time to keep an eye on the latest variant, the so-called mu mutation.
I kind of like the ring of this one actually. It could be a rock song: "I'm gonna mu-mu-mu-mutate myself into your heart. Or maybe your lungs." That's if the B.1.621 variant could only sing.
But even as the data develops and we find out whether mu is more dangerous than delta, people will be reacting according to how this pandemic has affected them all along anyway. If they are fearful and predisposed to avoid all risks at any cost, they will shrink away in fear. If they are dismissive of such risks, they will argue this is no time to shut down our tentative steps at returning to pre-pandemic normality --as if anything about life was ever normal in any event.
When it all washes out, I doubt the mu variant will amount to much, but then again I didn't think the original "severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2" in 2019 would amount to anything either, so what do I know.
***
By 8 am, what was left of my first cup of coffee was cold so I took a break to fetch a second one. The fog still ruled the morning air and no life forms are stirring around here other than me. That isn't entirely true, a lone crow landed on a telephone wire to survey the front yard. I took an instant dislike to him, since he probably was eyeing the tender round flowers I so carefully water every day to peck at with his comically oversized curved organ.
***
There was at least one other news story to highlight before I even looked at the news and that would be the traveling road show of would-be candidates trying to replace a perfectly good governor, Gavin Newsom, in California under its outdated and utterly worthless recall system.
You've gotta feel for the Republicans. Talk about male fantasies, they spent millions of dollars on this hopeless quest only to end up with a former Olympic transgendered woman who doesn't know what a governor does, yet another moronic radio talkshow host (I thought we'd gotten rid of those when Limbaugh kicked the bucket), and a man so clueless about images that at his launch press event he brought live bear along as his prop. (Maybe he doesn't have a wife.)
The recall will fail, thankfully by about 60-40. Newsom will remain the governor. End of story, but just in case if you happen to live in California, vote "No" and mail in your frickin' ballot TODAY!
***
I've got one bit of personal news. I finally got smart and changed my relationship status on Facebook from "single" to none of your business. I'm not sure how that information ever got up there in the first place -- I think an engineer at Stanford set up my original account years ago and interviewed me to create my profile. I was similarly horrified to see that my phone number and email address were formerly public, which I never intended them to be. (Hint: check your settings.)
Now hopefully there will be an end to the ceaseless flow of friend requests from complete strangers (not readers) who apparently think I write these daily essays and collate news headlines and add photos and playlists because I somehow got confused and ended up in an online dating service rather than what I view as a publishing outlet.
On the other hand, many have told me that Facebook "isn't really the right place for what you do," and I get their point, though I kinda like it there.
For the record, I am not looking for love in all the wrong places. In my life when I fall for somebody it's when I walk into a room and a fireworks show suddenly starts going off right over her beautiful head.
And that ain't gonna be happening here on Facebook.
***
With that, finally and blessedly, THE HEADLINES:
* David Weir communes with the ghosts of Balkh, a legendary city in Afghanistan. (Los Angeles Review of Books/Journal of the Plague Year)
* 9/11 and the Rise of the Homeland-Security Industrial Complex--After the attacks, the U.S. set a new security goal: fighting terrorism at any cost. That shift has increased surveillance, empowered contractors, fueled a D.C.-area boom and changed Americans’ relationship with government. (WSJ)
* The Texas Abortion Ban Hinges On 'Fetal Heartbeat.' Doctors Call That Misleading (NPR)
* We Are Becoming a Nation of Vigilantes -- The Texas abortion law is just an opening salvo in a broader push by conservatives to restrict the rights of their neighbors, classmates and colleagues. (NYT)
* Taliban Fighters Crush a Women’s Protest Amid Flickers of Resistance -- The women were assaulted with rifle butts, tear gas and metal clubs, while anti-Taliban rebels in the north vowed to repel an assault by the Islamist group. (NYT)
* As they did on the battlefield, Taliban outlasted the U.S. at the negotiating table (WP)
* Caldor Fire near Lake Tahoe now under better control, Cal Fire says (CNN)
* Climate Change Is Threatening Komodo Dragons, Earth's Largest Living Lizards (NPR)
* An Economic Lifeline in South America, the Paraná River, Is Shriveling -- The continent’s second-largest river is drying up amid the biggest drought in 70 years, upending ecosystems, trade and livelihoods.(NYT)
* The covid endgame: Is the pandemic over already? Or are there years to go? (WP)
* Each COVID-19 surge poses a risk for healthcare workers: PTSD (Reuters)
* Crypto’s Rapid Move Into Banking Elicits Alarm in Washington (NYT)
* Bitcoin rises back above $50,000 (Reuters)
* California Gov. Gavin Newsom enters final stage of recall election fight (WP)
* Indigenous leaders push new target to protect Amazon from deforestation (Reuters)
* Lower Manhattan Rebounded After 9/11, but the Pandemic Erased the Gains (NYT)
* Do we need humans for that job? Automation booms after COVID (AP)
* Jan. 6 committee leaders blast McCarthy’s ‘baseless’ claim about Trump’s innocence (WP)
* ‘Sexist,’ ‘Racist,’ ‘Classist’: Georgia 8th Grader Challenges School Dress Code -- After being cited for a rip in her jeans on the first day of school, Sophia Trevino has led a protest seeking changes to the district’s dress code, which she says unfairly targets girls. (NYT)
* Wildfires, smoke snuff out outdoor adventures across U.S. (AP)
* Study: People Far Away From You Not Actually Smaller (The Onion)
***
Against the Wind
But it was long ago
Janey was lovely she was the queen of my nights
There in the darkness with the radio playing low, and
And the secrets that we shared
The mountains that we moved
Caught like a wildfire out of control
'Til there was nothing left to burn and nothing left to prove
And I remember what she said to me
How she swore that it never would end
I remember how she held me oh-so-tight
Wish I didn't know now what I didn't know then
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