A friend requested whether I might reemphasize an item about Amy Goodman and a new feature documentary.

 It was posted here.

A video essay of "Prediction Market" malarkey in a way proving an online comedian can be a better scold than somebody's preacher man.

LINK. You can tell time went into scripting a production. Even comedians want good viewership ratings. It's how you stay on the airwaves.

Video and transcript of King Charles III addressing the U.S. Congress - schooling them via reminding them of duties, among other things.

 AP link. Not a Trump-like speaker. Educated.

 

 

Impertinence!

With that headline the post could go anywhere. But all politics is local. To the town I live in. For now.

Municipalities in Minnesota generally are governed by mayor - council structures, and in the best instances, are supposedly non-partisan with no Tweedle Dee party doing mischief at the expense of the Tweedle Dum party - a two party understood institution that too often, and in a current instance, gets honored in the breach. (At least the town ballot for town council seats does not specify candidate party ties.)

It is firm Minnesota law, within the State that the State IS preeminent, with all powers of its political subunits being by virtue of a grant or delegation of some specific limited powers, by the State.

REPUBLICANS RISING 

Ramsey where I live has a governing charter and a city code, that code headlining city jurisdiction, e.g.,  how the city should be governing itself sanely and wisely over matters indicative by headings of the parts of the city's governing code:

Chapter 6 - ALCOHOLIC BEVERAGES
Chapter 10 - ANIMALS
Chapter 14 - EMERGENCY SERVICES
Chapter 18 - ENVIRONMENT
Chapter 22 - FIRE PREVENTION AND PROTECTION
Chapter 26 - LICENSES, PERMITS AND MISCELLANEOUS BUSINESS REGULATIONS
Chapter 30 - NUISANCES
Chapter 34 - OFFENSES AND MISCELLANEOUS PROVISIONS
Chapter 38 - PARKS AND RECREATION
Chapter 46 - SPECIAL ASSESSMENTS
Chapter 50 - STREETS, SIDEWALKS AND OTHER PUBLIC PLACES
Chapter 54 - TRAFFIC AND VEHICLES
Chapter 58 - UTILITIES
Subpart B - LAND DEVELOPMENT REGULATIONS
Chapter 105 - BUILDINGS AND BUILDING REGULATIONS
Chapter 106 - ZONING CODE
Chapter 108 - SIGNS
Chapter 109 - MOBILE HOMES AND ...

That's a sampling. You get the idea. Delegated powers to police roads, zoning, liquor licences, parks, fight fires, and police miscreants - that kind of stuff. So, within that context, check the headline, impertinence can arise out of swell-headedness, of a kind that insults town residents by indicating a choice to go beyond limited power to piss on parts of one party's majority-based former juridiction over State law and matters - outside of what the town paychecks are for - to policy and criticism when that party in State control did business. The impertinent insurgency -Things we Republicans have cooked up in an election year as make-believe "issues" while the national Republicans have mired the entire nation in a sick economy, gas pump grief, an unpopular leader, and a war the people are shown by polling to intensely dislike. 

The insult to the town's people - elected folks foregoing duties in a way showing they value more a possible future in the legislature than a present duty to wisely run the town in ultra-hard times.

So, what partisanship in concrete detail? Three resolutions online here, here and here, so you can read and judge their actual gravitas to things a town should be doing to run efficiently. In sequence, gin up hate of a new flag; say the Democrat governor back then did his job poorly; and question, can we use that governor as our spiteful toilet?

Who are these clowns? Where and how did they cook up these ideas? Was the Minnesota Open Meeting Law (against secret nonpublic informal majority get-togethers and scheming to pull the wool over opposition eyes) violated by a council majority? Did they sit down with a Mr. Niska, a Republican legislative poohbah, to do the cooking?  Then think as if we do a work session (open but no minutes taken) followed by a formal session, we sanitize the stuff? We citizens don't know.

Bigger question: WHY? 

What is this whole three resolution bullshit for, other than partisan politics in an election year?

You tell me. It insults. It galls. It cheapens the offices these clowns hold. 

 

Orban is out. He conceeded. Reminding me - The first sentence of a CFR report on the eve of the Hungarian election - and now it is hire a Hungarian, several with years of experience may very soon be on the labor market.

 The report title, "The Opposition Is Leading in Hungary, But Winning Is the Easy Part," has an ending sentence of the subhead, "But even if Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán’s party is defeated, the path to reform is filled with challenges." Item lead image, lest we forget, shows a stronger support than shown by the majority turnout of Hungarian voters:

 

"Reform" being a theme then, in anticipation of an Orban loss. CFR has a view of reform, like it or love it.

That first CFR sentence, " Under Orbán’s leadership, Hungary has repeatedly acted as a roadblock to EU integration and vetoed Ukraine support—most recently blocking a €90 billion EU loan to Kyiv."

Obstructionist, yes, and what does that get you?  More -

The electoral system has been designed in the ruling party’s favor, and Fidesz also dominates the media landscape. Campaigning has been aggressive and controversial, with reports of Russian interference. A narrow victory for the ruling party could, in the worst case, lead to a greater repressive and illiberal turn in the country. 

Dire guessing, but the electorate came through with a fix. More - 

The Hungarian elections will also be a valuable sign of the direction of travel of right-wing populist parties in Europe. Recent elections have shown that the trend toward far-right populism is not irreversible. In 2023, Poland ousted the far-right Law and Justice Party (PiS), a notable trend reversal for the country. In France, despite far-right gains in the 2024 legislative elections, an alliance among the left kept the far-right National Rally out of power. In Italy, Giorgia Meloni’s government suffered a significant defeat in March 2026 after voters rejected her constitutional referendum on judicial reform, which critics had argued would weaken judicial independence. And in Slovenia, the liberal Freedom Movement narrowly edged out Janez Janša’s right-wing Slovenian Democratic Party (SDS), though the right made gains and coalition talks continue.

Orbán’s main opponent, Péter Magyar, was a member of Orbán’s Fidesz but publicly broke with the party in February 2024 after a presidential pardon scandal. 

We know about that in the US of A. That paragraph continues - 

He then formed the center-right Respect and Freedom Party (known as Tisza), which is betting that economic stagnation and corruption will prove Fidesz’s undoing. Orbán’s party is trying to reframe the election around political threats the country faces from Ukraine, its refugees, and the EU. Politico’s polling average shows Tisza ahead by roughly ten points in the election, though pro-government pollsters show a significantly tighter race.

We know about economic stagnation and corruption in the US of A.  And vain attempt at "trying to reframe" a mess, we know that too. And we know about what comes next in the CFR report -

That sizeable lead, however, could ultimately be less relevant due to changes in the electoral system. Since his 2010 election, Orbán has consistently changed the rules to benefit his own party. Through a mixture of gerrymandering and altering the rules for entering parliament, Orbán has ensured that his strongholds are overrepresented and opposition parties face a greater battle for power. Orbán won only 54 percent of the popular vote in the 2022 elections but secured nearly 70 percent of the seats by increasing the proportion of single-member districts and implementing other structural advantages since 2010. To secure the supermajority needed to undo many of Orbán’s most damaging reforms, Magyar would need an unrealistically large margin.

Fidesz’s dominance of the media gives it an inherent leg up over Tisza. Orbán is once again deploying state resources to boost social benefits in a last-minute bid to win over undecided voters. Roughly a third of electoral districts are in serious contention, and among those voters a significant number remain undecided, making the ultimate outcome hinge on a relatively small group of people. An Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) monitoring mission will make direct election interference difficult on election day, as will EU rules and constraints. However, if Orbán remains in power, polls suggest it will be with a much slimmer majority, which could leave him feeling threatened and drive him further to the extreme.

A difficult road ahead

Orbán’s sixteen years of supermajority rule has enabled him to substantially alter the constitution, as the rules permit such changes with any two-thirds vote in parliament. This creates several difficulties for a potential Magyar government. The president, who is closely tied to Orbán, can stall legislation by referring it to the Constitutional Court, which is filled with Fidesz loyalists, or the Budget Council, which Orbán restructured and granted veto authority over any budget. If Tisza cannot pass a budget that survives the Council, the president can dissolve parliament and force new elections. The picture that emerges, therefore, is bleaker than some might expect. For Magyar, victory is far from assured; even if he wins, he will face serious governance challenges and may not be the transformative candidate many in the EU hope for.

[...] Hungary continues to import Russian energy and to voice Russian-friendly views of the war. Reporting from the Washington Post and other outlets indicates the Kremlin is aware of this and has pursued efforts to aid Orbán’s campaign, though the Hungarian government denies all such allegations. 

That image, an ultra right ring European or Russian standing in solidarity with Orban, no, but it's only one image after all with CFR deciding it deserved lead presentation. 

Much more coverage of that election is online, where readers can explore other viewpoints.

 

 

 

Our current Adminstration's best friends and war allies, a new Gaza policy, plague 'em if they won't leave.

 Well, watch the video and see how you come out of the viewing, how you mind works.

 Democracy Now! posting, 

Gaza Faces Public Health Collapse Amid Rat Infestation & Disease as Israel Blocks Reconstruction

The saying, "Oh rats" taking a double meaning.

UPDATE: Were the Black Plague to break out in Gaza, Covid death rates and suffering being dwarfed by the impact of plague, what do you figure AIPAC will have to say? Don't Worry, Be Happy? 

FURTHER UPDATE: Here, here and, this one's neato, here. Also, here. We need an effective Smedley Butler for our times.

FURTHER: In your web browseer of choice, try SEARCH =  Trump's preelection message to fossil fuel interests. When I did it, my first four search returns in order were here, here, here and here. See what you get, with your browser and possible personalization it provides you different from mine. That's another thing . . . 

HCR's youtube conversation podcast for May 7, yesterday.

 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=20UKI3Tw39s

She speaks for herself. Watch. 

UPDATE: https://www.sevendaysinjune.org/