WELCOME
TO THE EVENING SHADE
A SANCTUARY OF SANITY AFTER A LONG HARD DAY OF FIGHTING FASCISM
YOU WILL FIND in the DIARIES a LOT of POLITICS
(Or NOT As the CASE MAY BE)
AND EVEN MORE CRITTERS
THE PERSON who MAKES the FIRST COMMENT WILL GET TWO CRITTERS
EVERY PERSON WHO COMMENTS WILL GET A CRITTER
RULES IN THE DIARY
WHEN YOU FIND SOMETHING in the DIARY that you LIKE
YOU CAN REPOST IT AS COMMENT in the DIARY
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PostingADiary
CritterHerding
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I love the chocolate, but I’m not a big fan of Valentine’s Day. But I’m REALLY, REALLY not a fan of cynicism. Cynicism is lazy that tries to dress as wisdom. Nothing good comes from it. It takes courage to be hopeful and keep pressing forward in the face of adversity. Cynicism waves a white flag before the first battle is even fought. It’s unhappy and hopeless and wants you to be, too.
So, back to Valentine’s Day. I’m relatively jaded about it, but as I was going to sleep last night, I thought that rather than taking a piss on romance, I should pay attention to the love all around me, even though it’s not romantic. Valentine’s Day is a celebration of love.
I see it everywhere, especially in my home in the Twin Cities right now. People escorting kids to school, delivering food to folks that are (rightfully) afraid to go out, or driving strangers to work even though they don’t speak the same language. It’s as inspirational to me as it is to anyone else.
I’ve said it before: If you saw the picture of five year old Liam Ramos in his blue bunny hat and it didn’t break your heart, you might want to check with a cardiologist to make sure that you have one. Give that boy a Nobel Peace Prize!
I’m grateful for all of my neighbors and friends and pets and the people of the world who have voiced support for my community. Happy Valentine’s Day!!!
Left to right, Rep Ilhan Omar, Liam and his dad, and Rep Joaquin Castro, who is woefully under-dressed for a Texan in Minnesota in February. There’s that love thing again.
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Because (see below) both Oregon and Arizona got statehood on this day, I was going to try to focus on them. There were too many other things to read, though. Sorry, OR and AZ.
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Maryland Matters
Maryland lawmakers receive update on disastrous Potomac sewage spill
The broken sewage pipe near Cabin John has spewed an estimated 243 million gallons into the Potomac River, DC Water officials told Maryland lawmakers during a Friday briefing.
The overflow was at its worst from Jan. 19 to Jan. 24. After that, crews managed to mostly contain the spillage within a portion of the C&O Canal, preventing it from reaching the Potomac River and then the Chesapeake Bay, said Matt Brown, chief operating officer and executive vice president of DC Water, which manages the broken infrastructure.
But there have still been overflow events of untreated sewage into the environment, including on Super Bowl Sunday, when Brown said that two machines pumping sewage became clogged with so-called “flushable” wipes, and an estimated 600,000 gallons of sewage was spilled.
DC Water officials said Friday that they expect it will take four to six more weeks to bring flow back into the pipe, and nine months to fully repair the more than 60-year-old broken pipe, called the Potomac Interceptor, which takes in waste from Virginia communities near Washington Dulles International Airport, as well as from Montgomery County, and transports it to the Blue Plains Wastewater Treatment Plant. ✂️
During the hearing, Potomac Riverkeeper Dean Naujoks said that during his initial trips to the site, he quickly began to grapple with the large scale of the disaster.
“Having done this work for 25 years, I already knew that this was quickly becoming one of the larger spills, if not the largest sewage spill in U.S. history,” Naujoks said. ✂️
This is in because although it might be getting big news on the East Coast, it really didn’t filter to me and it’s a big story.
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AZ Mirror
Kristi Noem was unable to cite single election fraud case during secretive Arizona visit
Late this week, chatter began to circulate of an impending visit by U.S. Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem to discuss “election security.” On the heels of a raid late last month in Fulton County, Georgia, it sparked rumors of a similar raid in Maricopa County to search for non-existent widespread voter fraud.
Noem’s visit ended up being far more pedestrian, even as the agency went to extreme lengths to shroud nearly everything about the trip — and its purpose — in secrecy.
Reporters hoping to attend had to RSVP to Noem’s press conference at an undisclosed location nearly a full day in advance. Early Thursday evening, journalists who were approved were told to arrive at the main Homeland Security office in downtown Phoenix so they could be shuttled to an undisclosed location 30 minutes away. A slew of brand new 2026 all-wheel drive Dodge Durango GTs, some still with the dealer window sticker in the backseat, created a convoy that drove reporters to a Homeland Security Investigations field office in north Scottsdale.
In the days preceding, sources had sent the Arizona Mirror and other media outlets screenshots of a media advisory claiming Noem would be in Phoenix to discuss “election security” with local officials. The Mirror did not receive the initial advisory and did not receive a response to questions about it from DHS until the night prior to the event. ✂️
This is included because it’s just downright vile. I’m hoping that ICE Barbie will be able to enjoy the rest of winter in South Dakota soon.
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Wisconsin Examiner
Judge upholds Line 5 permit in Wisconsin
On Friday, an administrative law judge upheld a permit issued by the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources last year to allow the Canadian oil company Enbridge to build 41 miles of new pipeline in northern Wisconsin. The current rerouted path for Enbridge’s Line 5 would mean that although the pipeline would avoid the Bad River Band of Lake Superior Chippewa reservation, it would still go through the Bad River’s watershed.
The judge’s decision is likely to be appealed, and the Bad River Band is continuing to challenge the pipeline project in federal court. But the approval of the DNR’s permit came as a blow to environmental advocates working alongside the Band to challenge Line 5.
Evan Feinauer, an attorney with Clean Wisconsin, said that “despite this ruling, the evidence presented during the hearing remains undeniable: Enbridge’s Line 5 reroute poses significant long-term risks to wetlands, waterways, and treaty-protected resources in northern Wisconsin.” Feinauer said in a statement that “experts testified that the DNR underestimated ecological impacts, relied on an inadequate monitoring plan, and overlooked Enbridge’s troubling history of environmental violations. This decision does not erase those facts.” ✂️
Not good news, but it will be appealed.
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Palate cleanser (10 Gems)
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Oregon Capital Chronicle
Judge questions feds’ use of force with tear gas near Portland ICE facility
PORTLAND— A federal judge on Friday sharply questioned a federal attorney over inconsistent reports regarding the use of less-lethal munitions outside the Portland Immigration and Customs Enforcement facility, as well the integration of social media influencers in operations at the site.
The hearing came in response to a December lawsuit from residents and the affordable housing nonprofit that operates the apartment complex across the street from the facility. Residents and Reach Community Development are seeking a preliminary injunction from U.S. District Judge Amy M. Baggio that would bar federal agents from deploying tear gas and chemical munitions likely to infiltrate the complex unless necessary to protect against an “imminent and concrete threat” to the lives of law enforcement and the public.
Residents allege they have been persistent exposure to munitions such as tear gas, pepper balls and smoke grenades traumatized them and induced wheezing, migraines and hives. Some reported sleeping in their bathtubs, needing to undergo surgery and putting on gas masks when they go to bed.
“Our federal government is knowingly putting them through hell and for no good reason at all,” attorney Daniel Jacobson told the court. “The government, they’re not gonna stop on their own accord… only the courts can stop them.” ✂️
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Bring Me the News
'Staggering' damage to Minneapolis: City estimates toll of Operation Metro Surge
The City of Minneapolis is assessing the damage inflicted by Operation Metro Surge as it reaches its apparent end.
Minneapolis officials claim that the immigration enforcement operation involving around 3,000 federal agents caused the local economy to lose at least $203 million in January alone.
That includes $81 million in lost revenue for small businesses, particularly restaurants, and $47 million in lost wages for people who were too scared to go to work, according to estimates by the city. ✂️
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Apparently this is a big deal out west, having made two articles.
Nevada Current
Colorado River states miss deadline, compromise nowhere in sight
Nevada and six other Colorado River states have failed to resolve a major disagreement on how to share the river’s dwindling water supply, and will not reach a deal in time for a federally-imposed Valentine’s Day deadline.
At the center of the rift is whether upstream states will agree to mandatory water cuts during dry years and long-term conservation plans in order to spare downstream states from taking steeper cuts.
Negotiators for the Lower Basin states — Nevada, Arizona, and California — and Upper Basin states — Colorado, New Mexico, Utah, and Wyoming — have been at an impasse for months on a compromise plan that could replace the river’s operating guidelines set to expire at the end of 2026.
John Entsminger, Nevada’s lead negotiator and general manager of the Southern Nevada Water Authority, said negotiations between states have “yielded almost no headway” after years of being bogged down “by the same tired rhetoric and entrenched positions.”
“The seven Colorado River Basin states have failed to reach an agreement to collectively protect our respective communities and economies in the face of almost certain reductions to our use of the river,” said Entsminger in a statement on Friday, ahead of the deadline. ✂️
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Utah News Dispatch
Colorado River negotiations crumble as another deadline passes by
Seven states drawing water from the Colorado River for drinking, farming and electricity walked away from the negotiating table Friday without a deal on how to share the dwindling water supply starting next year.
Negotiators spent months trying to close an expansive divide between the upstream states of Utah, Colorado, New Mexico and Wyoming, and the downstream states of Arizona, California and Nevada. On Friday, they told reporters it wasn’t going to happen before a Saturday deadline imposed by the U.S. Department of the Interior.
It’s the second time the states have blown past a due date to reach a broad agreement. It comes as dismal snowpack and drought plague the West, threatening to push reservoir levels much lower.
The river provides water to 40 million people across the U.S. and Mexico, contributing 27% of Utah’s water supply. It’s shrinking because of drought, overuse and hotter temperatures tied to climate change.
Both the upper and lower river basin states insisted they’re acting in good faith and said they’ll keep talking. Utah Gov. Spencer Cox was optimistic, saying a solution is still within reach.
“Utah is ready to make a deal,” Cox said in a prepared statement. “We will engage in good faith with partners who are committed to durable solutions, not soundbites.” ✂️
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Thanks, Nanny...
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The Left Wing Echo Chamber
The Jukebox is here. Varro is the host. The theme is Another Cynical Gen-X Love Song.
This Week in the War on Women will be here or here (the first queries by publishing group, the second by tag). If one doesn’t show you the new diary, try the other.
Bilbo’s CHC is up:
CHC Roundup: Rep. Mike Levin (CA-49) - More Than Meets the Eye
If anyone has a diary of theirs that they’d like promoted, please drop a comment (preferably with a link) in the previous night’s Shade. Hopefully the next Shade will include a promotional link for you.
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Today is…*
*Attributions to WineRev refer to his entries in this morning’s G&G in the GNR
Birthdays
Frederick Douglass (1817 or 1818-1895) - Abolitionist and author who escaped slavery and became a prominent figure.
WineRev:
1817 Talbot County, Maryland Birth of Frederick Augustus Douglass (Bailey), abolitionist. Born into slavery he was given to the Auld family of Baltimore at age 6. At age 12 Mrs. Auld gave him his own room and bed, and began teaching him the alphabet, but secretly; Mr. Auld disapproved, worried that literate slaves would desire freedom (!) Became a voracious reader and began teaching other slaves to read and write. At age 20 escaped on a North-bound train to freedom in New York City. Married and settled in Massachusetts.
Became a licensed preacher and began a career crusading against as the conscience of the nation. Instrumental in the 1850s in bringing the newly formed Republican Party into a stance of restricting (and eventually abolishing) slavery, including Abraham Lincoln. Hard to over-estimate his impact on equality and Civil Rights. "The life of the nation is secure only while the nation is honest, truthful, and virtuous."
Christopher Latham Sholes (1819-1890) - Inventor of the QWERTY keyboard.
The QWERTY keyboard was designed to slow down typing so the typist couldn’t as easily overwhelm the primitive mechanics of an early typewriter. I have been using QWERTY (named for the five letters at the top left of the key layout) for far too long to make the switch, but even though it won’t happen, it should be delegated to the trash bin of history.
It won’t be because there are too many people like me that really couldn’t easily make the change. First we need to move to the metric system, then stop calling football “soccer”, then we can address the QWERTY keyboard.
Margaret E. Knight (1838-1914) - Inventor of the machine that produced flat-bottomed paper bags.
Anna Howard Shaw (1847-1919) - Physician and leader of the Women's Suffrage Movement.
George Washington Gale Ferris Jr. (1859-1896) - Engineer and inventor of the Ferris wheel.
Jack Benny (1894-1974) - Considered one of the leading entertainers of the 20th century.
Here’s a YouTube playlist that claims to be all of the TV shows. I hope to watch it. He was truly one of the greats. REALLY funny.
Jimmy Hoffa (1913-1975) - Trade union leader whose death still remains a mystery today.
Florence Henderson (1934-2016) - Actress known for her role as Carol Brady on the sitcom The Brady Bunch.
Gregory Hines (1946-2003) - Actor and dancer remembered for his roles in White Nights and Taps. [wikipedia]
57 years old. Died of liver cancer. He was a towering talent. Happy birthday, Gregory.
Rob Thomas (1972-Still Living) - Lead singer for the rock band Matchbox Twenty.
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Events
WineRev:
269 AND 495 (a pair of 3-digit dates, in one entry!) Ancient Rome In the 260s the Emperor had declared that soldiers in the Roman Army could not be married (different rules for officers) on the theory that love, a spouse and children might make men less willing to campaign and die. A Christian priest or bishop (records vary) Valentine picked up a reputation that he was willing to marry soldiers and their beloved in secret, and apparently did so for several years. He was found out and arrested and the Emperor in 268/269 ordered him executed. In 495 the Church honored his memory by declaring him Saint Valentine and put his feast day on February 14th, right on (13th to the 15th) the pagan days of Lupercalia (which looks to be older than the Rome itself from 750BC.; the lupus root means wolf (and the Roman origin story of Romulus and Remus being suckled by a she-wolf); also seems to be part of the root of the Irish leprechaun)
It featured feasting and purification rituals (and instruments of purification called februa which gives this month its name) that would drive off evil spirits and diseases (represented by the wolf) and bring health and fertility. The god Cupid was involved in this last, so the Church, as was often the case, overlaid the pagan roots with a more “Christian” interpretation to take advantage of the festival’s popularity.
1803 - The apple parer was patented by Moses Coats.
1849 - President Polk becomes the first serving President to have his photograph taken.
WineRev:
1849 New York City President James Polk, with just a couple weeks left in office (March 4 for the changeover in those days) is visiting New York for several days and visits a portrait studio in town. These is an aroma, but not that of oils and turpentine; Mr. Matthew Brady makes portraits using that new machine, a camera, that produces photographs. President Polk is the first U.S. President to be photographed in office. While Polk is mostly forgotten, Mr. Brady photographed other dignitaries and then later, battlefields of the Civil War, making him a legend: for the first time a war had been photographed.
1859 - Oregon become the 33rd U.S. state to join the Union.
A hat tip to all of our Oregon friends.
1876 - Alexander Graham Bell and Elisha Gray apply for a patent for the telephone the same day.
1903 - President Roosevelt signs a bill to create the Department of Commerce and Labor.
1912 - Arizona is becomes the 48th state to join the Union.
A hat tip to all of our Arizona friends.
1919 - The United Parcel Service is formed.
(2:07)
1920 - The League of Women Voters is founded in IL.
1978 - Texas Instruments patents the first "micro on a chip."
2005 - A group of college students launch YouTube.
I’m not familiar with it. Someone will have to refresh my memory,
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Valentine’s Day Duh. You can find your own description. I liked WineRev’s above.
National Organ Donor Day
Many people’s lives are saved through the process of organ donation, and National Organ Donor Day is just the time to raise awareness about this process.
Most of the time, those who become a registered organ donor can do so fairly easily, simply by indicating it on their state id card or driver’s license.
When a person is an organ donor, this means that if something happens to lead to their death, their organs can be used to save the lives of many other people. It’s a final type of kindness at the end of life.
Have a heart...
League of Women Voters Day
League of Women Voters Day is celebrated on February 14 — the anniversary of the creation of one of the most powerful voices in the women’s suffrage movement and voters’ rights advocacy in the United States. On this day, we celebrate the impact and achievements of the League of Women Voters, which has existed for more than 100 years. Although it was initially created to campaign for women’s suffrage, educate women about the election process, and lobby for legislation affecting women, the League of Women Voters has had a tremendous impact in increasing overall voter access and education for women in the United States. No discussion of the political history of the United States can be complete without mentioning League of Women Voters Day.
Frederick Douglass Day
Frederick Douglass Day is observed on February 14 to celebrate this author, publisher, writer, orator, and most prominent African American abolitionist of his time. Through his public presence, oration, and writing, Frederick Douglass inspired an entire generation of Black Americans to fight for their liberation. Born into slavery in Maryland, Douglass went on to become a lightning rod for abolition in America. His master’s wife made the mistake of teaching him how to read and write, which Frederick Douglass repaid in full by transforming himself into the antithesis of a slave. On his chosen day of birth, we celebrate one of the greatest leaders of America and take inspiration from his example.
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Tomorrow Is…
NATIONAL WISCONSIN DAY
One of my four favorite neighboring states. Try the cheese!
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(4:00)
Welcome to the Caturday Evening Post. The Shade is open. As always, the value is in the comments.
