Coffee Post – Sun., February 4, 2024

When I sit up in bed here in Florida and turn to the left and look out the window there, I can see a palm tree through the blinds.
I am quite sure there is no window in my New York house through which I can see a palm tree….

Be that as it may, it is time to drink coffee and read books and watch the world to see what is happening.

I have run out of coffee pods so I had some Folger’s instant coffee this morning.
That will keep me going.
But I think I will go to the store and look for coffee pods today.

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Betelgeuse

I read from a book called “Stargazing.”
It recommends an app called Stellarium for locating stars and other heavenly objects.
I have used this app and it is a very handy one.
Lately, every time I go out after dark I look for the constellation Orion and the great star Betelgeuse.
Betelgeuse is a red supergiant that makes Orion’s right shoulder.
(That is the shoulder on the left as we look at Orion from earth.)
I like to look at Betelgeuse whenever I can because it is expected to explode any day now….
Well, within 100,000 years anyway.
But a few days or 100,000 years are both blinks of an eye in astronomical terms.

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King Charles I

I read from a biography of King Charles I.
In 1640 some of the King’s top counsellors wanted to accuse certain members of Parliament of treason for conspiring with the Scots to invade England.
To protect themselves, members of Parliament accused some of the King’s top counsellors of treason and had them arrested.

When you live in a monarchy, or a dictatorship, political ethics can become very confused.
Who are you supposed to be loyal to?
Who are you supposed to oppose?

In England around 1640 Parliament wanted to limit the rights of Catholics because they were afraid Catholic powers like France and Spain wanted to conquer England.
At the same time the King wanted to limit the rights of everyone so he could rule unopposed.
Whose side should we be on?
It gets confusing….

One thing I believe, illegitimate rulers who try to rule without being chosen by the people - they are always traitors!
Always!

I hate dictators.

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Hunter S. Thompson

I read from a biography of the Gonzo journalist Hunter S. Thompson.
Hunter did some great writing, but he destroyed his talent with excessive indulgence in alcohol and drugs.

He thought the alcohol and drugs were helping him, but they weren’t. He thought he was living wild and free, but really he was just serving his addictions.

Hunter was in his prime for maybe 5-10 years and then there was a long, slow, fading away. Sometimes Hunter was headed in the right direction, but, as an extremist, he never knew when to stop, or at least turn back toward the middle of the road, so even when he started off in the right direction, he would end up in the wrong place in the end.

I want to learn from his best writing.

Unlike him, I will remember to stay on the road and not go careening off into the ditches.

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United States Attacked

I see on the news that a US logistics base in Jordan was attacked last weekend and three American soldiers were killed and more than 30 injured.
The attack used a drone launched by an Iranian-backed group, probably in Syria.

I don’t know if US troops should be in Jordan, but that is a question for the US and Jordan to answer and Iranian-backed militants in Syria should have nothing to say about it.

The US and its allies have now launched dozens of attacks against Iranian-backed groups in Syria, Iraq, and Yemen.
These attacks are intended to degrade the military capabilities of groups that might want to attack the US, and to deter them.
I think that is the right response.
I hope it works.

If it doesn’t work, and if we have to, I suppose we can move from degrading capabilities to utterly destroying them.
But let’s hope this effort to deter is successful.

OK.
It is raining here now.
I think I will wander around a bit.
Find some coffee pods.
Find some brunch.
Find a different place to read….

NOTE: This post was published on my Facebook February 4, 2024

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