Stewart’s

Impeaching the Supreme Court to a liberal majority is a fantasy πŸ§‘πŸ½β€βš–οΈ

There have been several stories lately about how the US Supreme Court is an ethics cesspool with no one disciplining the court or ensuring that the court’s own ethical standards are followed. Some of it is wishful thinking on the part of the left that sheer embarrassment for the court’s bad behavior will cause justices to resign, allowing President Biden to appoint a liberal majority, though far more likely is the left and left-wing media is prepping the public for impeachment proceedings against one or more conservative members of the court for their ethical malfeasance should the Democrats take back the house in 2024.

The thing about it is it’s one thing to impeachment of a Supreme Court justice might increase embarrassment of the justice and encourage enactment new federal ethics laws for the Supreme Court but it’s not likely to lead to removal of any justices. It takes 2/3rds majority of the US Senate to remove a Supreme Court justice and it’s unlikely to happen with the Republicans likely to hold their noses and enough of them to vote against impeachment. Moreover, based on the likely states up for a election this year and demographic trends making red states redder, if anything the Senate is likely to go Republican next cycle.

Ultimately, the US Supreme Court impeachment fantasy is likely just to delegimitize the institution further without much change to it’s make up. Yet it might encourage justices to act more ethically and create stronger ethics standards even if enforcement remains a high bar due to seperation of powers and the high bar of impeachment.

It seems like September 7th was the hottest day of summer 🧺

It wasn’t bad down by the river yesterday for the work picnic with the breeze though it was hot both over the charcoal pits and the sweet corn station I set up with all that boiling beer.

Good morning! Yeah, it’s Friday! Mostly cloudy and 67 degrees in Delmar. ☁ A lot of its just fog 🌫 that will burn off. Calm wind. The dew point is 67 degrees. The skies will clear around 10 am.

Out for the morning walk 🚢. Got an early enough start to beat the craziness around the high school 🚸 though it’s tough to get out early with the mornings being so dark. Lady I passed by the school bus garage says I’ve lost so much weight, though certainly not from the picnic yesterday – I was stuffed though most of the things I stuffed my face with fruits and vegetables though I did have a hamburger πŸ” but skipped the cheese and condements. It’s fine I’ll burn it off. Part of it is I’m wearing a pair of the old large shorts this morning as I wore them yesterday to the picnic as it was casual and I wanted to stay cool. That said, not riding the bike to work 🚳 as I need to bring my laptop back into the office. I do plan on walking down to the express bus 🚍 and if it’s not raining β˜” do an evening walk too.

I got some canned πŸ₯« pumpkin πŸŽƒ and pie spice to make pumpkin pancakes πŸ₯ž this morning using ground oatmeal, bananas 🍌 and the afformentioned items. I took home a lot of fresh left over fruit from the picnic that I refroze so I didn’t need any more frozen fruit 🫐 at least until next week. I can stop and get fruit next week when bicycle 🚲 commuting along with chia seeds as I’m finally out end they’re good in pancakes and cream of wheat.

Today will have a chance of showers and thunderstorms, mainly after 2pm. Some of the storms could produce gusty winds and heavy rain. Patchy fog before 8am. Otherwise, partly sunny 🌧, with a high of 86 degrees at 3pm. Nine degrees above normal. Maximum dew point of 73 at 4pm. South wind 3 to 6 mph. Chance of precipitation is 40%. New rainfall amounts between a half and three quarters of an inch possible. A year ago, we had cloudy skies in the morning with a few breaks of1 sun the afternoon. It was somewhat humidllk. The high last year was 80 degrees. The record high of 94 was set in 2015.

After the picnic I went for a three mile walk at Peebles Island State Park, 🦌 where I managed to avoid any thunderstorms and saw the herd of Peebles Island deer. It was a bit close, I could see the bolts of lightening β›ˆοΈ over Cohoes. Did 15,000 steps or 7.5 miles for the day but no bike riding. 🍻 It’s good I waited for a while before leaving the park as I had a bit of a buzz by the end of the picnic though I mostly just had diet soda with a lot of ice and only a splash πŸ’¦ from the keg, πŸ›’ but I kind of smelled of beer πŸ‘ƒ after cooking all that corn 🌽 over the pot of boiling beer and salt, splashing more beer on the grilled corn to keep it fresh before people got it. Messy but delicious. πŸ˜‹

Went over an visited with Linda, πŸ§“πŸ» the late John Wolcott’s wife and looked over some of his old clothes. She gave me some nice fitting things, as John got a lot of new and lightly worn clothing after the fire a few years back. Definitely besides the thrift store finds πŸ‘š, what I got from my dad and John I should be good with my thinner profile bar buying jeans πŸ‘– and some work clothes come the winter. It was nice to spend some time with her, it has to be lonely since her husband passed. I’ll have to make time this autumnπŸ‚ again.

Solar noon 🌞 is at 12:54 pm with sun having an altitude of 53.1Β° from the due south horizon (-17.7Β° vs. 6/21). A six foot person will cast a 4.5 foot shadow today compared to 2.2 feet on the first day of summer. The golden hour πŸ… starts at 6:43 pm with the sun in the west (272Β°). πŸ“Έ The sunset is in the west (279Β°) with the sun dropping below the horizon at 7:20 pm after setting for 2 minutes and 55 seconds with dusk around 7:46 pm, which is one minute and 46 seconds earlier than yesterday. πŸŒ‡ The best time to look at the stars is after 8:23 pm. At sunset, look for rain 🌧 and thunderstorms 🌩 and temperatures around 77 degrees. The dew point will be 73 degrees. There will be a calm wind. Tomorrow will have 12 hours and 50 minutes of daytime, a decrease of 2 minutes and 49 seconds over today.

All night I’ve been super gassy 😲 I think due to the chickpeas I used for the crust of the eggs I made up yesterday plus frying 🍳 some chickpeas up with apples and bananas for dessert 🍰. Plus the beans I cooked up for the picnic, all that sweet corn, and veggies I reached for at the picnic. 🚽 I’m sure today after I go to a more normal diet and stay away from the chickpeas I’ll be good. I got a rolling pin yesterday and want to experiment now with simple wraps made from whole wheat 🌾 flour and water – and maybe some spinach. Nothing extra, nothing fancy, just fried in olive oil or baked up.

Tonight will have a chance of showers and thunderstorms. Some of the storms could produce gusty winds and heavy rain. Mostly cloudy 🌧, with a low of 67 degrees at 6am. 12 degrees above normal. Maximum dew point of 73 at 6pm. Light and variable wind becoming north around 5 mph. Chance of precipitation is 50%. New rainfall amounts between a half and three quarters of an inch possible. In 2022, we had mostly clear skies in the evening, which became mostly clear by the early hours of the morning. It got down to 55 degrees. The record low of 36 occurred back in 1938.

Tomorrow will have a chance of showers and thunderstorms, then showers likely and possibly a thunderstorm after 2pm. Mostly cloudy 🌦, with a high of 80 degrees at 3pm. Three degrees above normal, which is similar to a typical day around August 31st. Maximum dew point of 70 at 2pm. Northwest wind 3 to 5 mph. Chance of precipitation is 60%. New rainfall amounts between a quarter and half of an inch possible. A year ago, we had cloudy skies in the morning with a few breaks of sun the afternoon. It was somewhat humid. The high last year was 83 degrees. The record high of 94 was set in 1959.

Going to take the Nature Bus 🚍 up to Thacher Park 🏞 and ride Blackie 🚡, read πŸ“– and do the hammock thing all day. 9:40 the bus leaves Slingerlands and 6:20 is the last bus home. 🏑 I could ride down the hill, it’s probably a lot of fun but it gets dark pretty early this time of year and I’m sure after a full day out in the heat and humidity I’ll be tired 😴.

Looking ahead to Sunday, a chance of showers and thunderstorms, then showers and possibly a thunderstorm after 2pm. β›ˆ High near 77. North wind around 6 mph becoming southeast in the morning. Chance of precipitation is 80%. New rainfall amounts between a tenth and quarter of an inch, except higher amounts possible in thunderstorms. Maximum dew point of 69 at 12pm. Typical average high for the weekend is 77 degrees.

As previously noted, there are 2 weeks until Autumn πŸ‚ when the sun will be setting at 6:54 pm with dusk at 7:21 pm. On that day in 2022, we had rain and temperatures between 71 and 51 degrees. Typically, the high temperature is 72 degrees. We hit a record high of 95 back in 1895.

A Brief History of Mount Rushmore

Mount Rushmore, located in the Black Hills National Forest as a National Park, has been in the news lately, is a famous American landmark located in the Black Hills of South Dakota. It features the sculpted faces of four U.S. presidents: George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, Theodore Roosevelt, and Abraham Lincoln.

  1. Concept and Selection:
    • The idea for Mount Rushmore was conceived by South Dakota historian Doane Robinson in the early 1920s. He wanted to create a tourist attraction in the Black Hills to boost tourism in the region.
    • Sculptor Gutzon Borglum was chosen to design and oversee the project due to his experience with large-scale sculptures.
  2. Site Selection:
    • Mount Rushmore was chosen as the site because of its solid granite face, which provided an ideal canvas for carving the presidents’ faces.
    • The mountain was named after New York attorney Charles E. Rushmore, who visited the area in the late 19th century.
  3. Carving Begins:
    • Work on Mount Rushmore began in 1927 and continued for 14 years until 1941.
    • A team of skilled workers used dynamite to remove excess rock, followed by painstaking hand carving using chisels and other tools.
  4. Presidential Selection:
    • The four presidents featured on Mount Rushmore were chosen for their significant contributions to American history.
    • George Washington represents the birth of the nation, Thomas Jefferson symbolizes westward expansion, Theodore Roosevelt signifies the development of the nation, and Abraham Lincoln represents the preservation of the United States during the Civil War.
  5. Delays and Challenges:
    • The project faced numerous challenges, including funding issues and engineering difficulties.
    • Borglum also had to deal with labor disputes and occasionally clashed with his workers and assistants.
  6. Completion and Dedication:
    • Gutzon Borglum passed away in 1941 before the project’s completion, and his son, Lincoln Borglum, took over.
    • Mount Rushmore was officially dedicated on October 31, 1941, although work continued until October 1941.
    • The monument has since become a symbol of American democracy and is visited by millions of tourists from around the world.
  7. Legacy:
    • Mount Rushmore is a National Memorial and is managed by the National Park Service.
    • It is not without controversy, as it was carved on land that is considered sacred to Native American tribes, most notably the Lakota Sioux.