Solar Eclipse Monday Reads: Will Donald look at the Sun Again?

It’s Eclipse Day! Be safe out there! John Buss @repeat1968

Good Day, Sky Dancers!

It’s quite the day today! The country’s gone nuts over the Solar Eclipse, and it’s separated by nuts who think the Rapture is coming and nuts who are just plain enjoying their nerdy selves. Count me in the later number. Count Governor Hillbilly HuckaBuck in Arkansas as nutty with a lot of stupid on the side. “Gov. Sanders declares state of emergency ahead of eclipse.” This is from the NBC affiliate in Little Rock.

This reminds me of the approach to school here.  Jefferson Parish is sending their students home early.  New Orleans Parish says their students will use the opportunity to learn something.  Scalise is the Jefferson Parish Congress Critter, just to let you know where they stand.

Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders declared a state of emergency on Friday ahead of the solar eclipse, according to a news release.

Sanders said in the release that she released funds from the Response and Recovery Fund to help commercial carriers transport essentials to customers in the state during the eclipse.

The essential items listed in the order include groceries, pharmacy items, medical equipment, goods, commodities, fuel, poultry, livestock and feed.

The release said the decision was made out of caution due to the expected increase of visitors to Arkansas “potentially causing hardships.”

“We want to make sure Arkansans and all visitors have an enjoyable experience and come back again and again,” Sanders said in a statement.

The order will allocate $100,000 from the fund to address program and administrative costs and will be managed by the director of the Arkansas Division of Emergency Management.

The only idiot I know that’s stared at the sun during an eclipse is the Orange Dotard.

So, someone found this down here in Lafayette, Lousyana.  Don’t even ask! Maybe that’s why we’ve got a few sprinkles of rain! He’s coming! He’s coming!

As for me, once a Girl Scout and Daisy and Brownie Leader, always one! Today, I’m going to try to see the eclipse. I got eclipse glasses for me and the neighbors. I’ve also been introducing all the AirBNB invaders to Ricky, Lucy, Rob, and Laura, the Gold Crested Night Herons, who are back in their nests in Oak Trees on the Neutral Ground. I also ranted about the highly inappropriate gentrifiers and the historical houses they wrecked during yesterday’s Bywater house tour.

We live in a historic district from the 1830s. Appreciate it! Your kitchens do not belong in the back parlor, which has been ripped open to the front parlor, with the historical features ripped off and sent to auction! Mine, the pocket door, and the original fireplace mantels are still there! There are plenty of burbs for your turquoise vinyl loveseats in little boxes built for that! I got that from my mother, who led the charge to restore a Victorian Mansion built by a Civil War General and Union Pacific Railroad man. Being a docent in that House was my very first job. It also taught me a lot about architectural styles and furniture. My Little House is perfect example of the period, precisely what I dreamed of owning. I don’t want to sit in an opened-up room staring at a kitchen and sitting in a room with furniture that looks like it came from my orthodontist’s office in the ’60s.

Lucy! I’m home!!!

Let’s get back to the Orange Dotard and his new ad. It concerns the Solar Eclipse, which is a doozy. This is from The Guardian. “Trump posts bizarre solar eclipse ad – with his head blocking out the sun, plunging US into darkness. During the August 2017 total solar eclipse, the then-president went viral when he ignored all eclipse safety recommendations by gazing directly at the sun with his naked eyes.” I really don’t ever want to see the word naked and Trump together in one headline.

Is it a bird? Is it a plane? Is it the moon crossing the sun? No, it’s Donald Trump’s head.

Seven years on from the notorious moment where he stared directly at the sun during the last solar eclipse over the US, the former president is jumping on the sungazing bandwagon yet again.

On Sunday night, Mr Trump posted a bizarre campaign ad on Truth Social where his own head takes on the role of the moon – blocking out the sun and plunging America into total darkness.

The video begins with the words “the most important moment in human history is taking place in 2024” emblazoned over an image of the flaming sun, while dramatic music plays in the backdrop.

Images show large crowds gathered to watch the solar event, staring up at the sky wearing protective glasses.

The footage moves between the awestruck crowds and the sun where a huge silhouette begins to slowly move across it.

But, it’s not the moon causing the rare phenomenon. It’s the outline of Mr Trump’s head – complete with quiff, bushy eyebrows and long neck.

As his head covers the entirety of the sun – creating its own solar eclipse – a phrase flashes across the screen: “We will save America. And make it great again.”

And that was the meme world comeback!

Coincidentally, one of my fellow brownies sent this to me today. It’s a picture of a driving tour pamphlet my mother wrote about old Houses in Council Bluffs, Iowa. I illustrated it in high school. I love restored old houses.

There are a lot of headlines you might want to check out, and I will list a few. I need to focus on the natural world and my neighbors right now! I’m getting ramped up for rain that will ruin my eclipse view. Hey! A Girl Scout has to do what a Girl Scout does!

• Washington Post: Trump says abortion should be left to states, declines to endorse national limit.
• Jose Pagliery, writing for The Daily Beast: Trump’s $175 Million Bond Is Even Shadier Than It Looks
•  Marianna Sotomayor, writing for the Washington Post: Speaker Johnson’s job is on the line as the House returns
• USA Today: Biden promises student loan relief as early as this fall through new plan
• David Gilbert, writing for Wired: Inside the Election Denial Groups Planning to Disrupt November
• New York Times: Trump, at Fund-Raiser, Says He Wants Immigrants From ‘Nice’ Countries

Update:  New Orleans Rains and clouds did not cooperate with viewing the eclipse.  I enjoyed chatting and meeting with the  Underground Women’s Astronomy and  Shit-stirring Committee. Thanks to Anne Renee, and Nancy!  Also, the gay couple across the street was out on the porch with the eclipse glasses I gave everyone I could, only to find out the local libraries were doing that, too.   You can always depend on New Orleans Librarians!  They are fierce!

Let us know how you made it out. I hope you can get through whatever WordPress is doing to make it impossible for nearly everyone–including me–to reply to threads!!