Uh oh. This surely isn’t good. A bio lab in Russia and neighboring hospitals have been shut down because someone broke a test tube full of Yersinia Pestis, also know as The Plague. As in the Bubonic Plague and the Black Death. Yikes. The lab tech who broke the test tube has died, and now we all get to watch as the Russians try to figure out who she came into contact with and who has been exposed. And if any of them traveled on ships or aircraft.

When will we learn? The Russian lab was probably another gain of function lab (see Wuhan and Covid), a lab where misguided scientists try to evolve germs and viruses into weapons. And in every single such lab, eventually someone makes a mistake and the newer, more deadly biology escapes. Governments who sponsor such weapons research should be ashamed. Actually, the people in those governments who authorized the research should be taken out back and executed via firing line. There’s no place for this in a sane, civilized world.

I’ve just spent the last hour or two reading summaries of the 14 “Propositions” on the November CA ballots. The CA Proposition system is maddening – complex, confusing, and almost impossible ton figure out how you should vote. Propositions were originally intended to allow voters to bring issues that matter to them to a vote, even if the government didn’t want to. They’ve mutated into a war of words among carefully camouflaged organizations with misleading names. There are 14 Propositions to slog through this time, and very few of them are worth voting for. Though sometimes, a No vote means the very thing you thought you were voting against is voted in. As I said, confusing. Unless you’re willing to spend hours reading and thinking about what each measure really says, really means and who benefits, you might as well toss a coin on each vote. Most people won’t be bothered to do that homework. Bad system.

It’s sad that almost any system of governance gets gamed. It’s always the “haves” versus the “have nots”, and I tend to vote for raising up those who “have not”. But even in CA, funds intended to support the homeless, or healthcare, or to educate children, get misdirected or perverted by those in power. It’s become clear lately that money equals power, and power corrupts.

I agree with David Rothkopf, that the #1 priority for Dems/liberals if we retake Congress, is to get big money out of politics. Not impeachment, not punishment of Convict Donny’s crime family, but financial reform of elections and campaigns. After that, term limits and SCOTUS restructuring. Citizens United has led to Trumpism, to corruption of our entire federal democracy. We have to start there. Money is NOT free speech, and corporations should not have the same rights as individuals.

Punishment of Convict Donny and MAGA leaders can wait. For a while, at least. Maybe karma kicks in and bites a few of them in the meantime.