Analysis | When a top Republican says Russian propaganda has infected the GOP

The infection could be called the Helsinki Virus, but it probably started long before that.

House Foreign Affairs Committee Chairman Michael McCaul is the latest to point out the problem in his party.

 

…In an interview with Puck News’s Julia Ioffe, Rep. Michael McCaul (R-Tex.) — none other than the GOP chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee — flat-out said that Russian propaganda had “infected a good chunk of my party’s base.”

McCaul suggested conservative media was to blame.

“There are some more nighttime entertainment shows that seem to spin, like, I see the Russian propaganda in some of it — and it’s almost identical [to what they’re saying on Russian state television] — on our airwaves,” McCaul said.

Trump and Putin in Helsinki

Via: Analysis | When a top Republican says Russian propaganda has infected the GOP

Reading “Wings Of Fire” – Not The Dragon One

Can’t finish this via audiobook – the reader’s soothing voice makes me sleep too well. It finally came up as an e-book at the library. As it’s NOT a boring book, I can read it faster than listening to it, without getting so relaxed I doze off.

Wings of Fire, by Charles Todd, an Ian Rutledge mystery.

The writing, pacing, and characters are solid and the style is beautifully melancholy. The Hamish character, a sort of inner voice, isn’t as intrusive as I thought he’d be.

 

UPDATE: Fell asleep and had a lovely nap after reading 7 or 8 chapters. Still going faster than listening to audiobook, and picking up details I missed.

a.co/57bzeNB

It’s #DeclutterChallenge2024

 

My sewing room serves multiple functions – guest room, computer room, exercise room, extra TV room… and it needs decluttering and reorganizing to make those functions work.

#DeclutterChallenge2024

youtu.be/Y_XxkKGDe0o

And my multipurpose room was full of Xmess stuff, badly arranged furniture, and clutter.

Day 1 was Garbage Day. Days 2-3 were for clearing out magazines & books, but don’t have many, and they’re in my home office. So I rearranged the furniture to open up space for my training bike – goal is to get it set up this weekend. Then today, Day 4, was to get rid of “strangers” and welcome back “friends” – pull out non-sewing tools & supplies, and hunt down sewing stuff from other places.

Then I emptied out all the caddies on my fold – out sewing table, and need to think about what tools and supplies need to be close at hand. I’m behind on clearing and cleaning my sewing machine, though.

And also behind on working on a stalled project. So I wrote up a “SQUIRRELS” list in my sewing journal of things I’d like to make. Squirrels are distracting thoughts that knock you off task, because thinking and organizing are hard, but dreaming and procrastinating are easy.

Not satisfied with making a big pile on what should be a clean workspace, I made a big pile of finished and unfinished fabric masks in my office, in order to repurpose the fabric for many, many squirrels.

2 years ago I made hundreds of flat, folded fabric masks and gave a bunch away, but still have about a hundred left. They’re roughly 8” square when unstitched and ironed flat. I got 3 unpicked, while playing with the new cordless iron, as work was slow. 

Eh, it’s something to do.

Tomorrow is another day!