Look up at the night sky more often!
December 16, 2024
As a public service announcement, I am including a photo of the constellation Orion in today’s “Daily Dose of Perspective. “Orion the Hunter” is one of the most prominent constellations currently visible in the night sky.
I am including a photo of Orion because of the recent spate of sightings of drones above New Jersey. Not to be outdone by New Jersey, former Governor of Maryland Larry Hogan posted the following note on Twitter over the weekend:
Last night, beginning at around 9:45 pm, I personally witnessed (and videoed) what appeared to be dozens of large drones in the sky above my residence in Davidsonville, Maryland (25 miles from our nation’s capital). I observed the activity for approximately 45 minutes.
Governor Horgan posted a shaky video that purported to show “drones” flying in formation in the night sky for several minutes.
But other Twitter users posted a “community note” explaining that the lights in the video were stars in the constellation Orion.
The Twitter “community note” reads,
The stars at the 39-second mark are recognizably the constellation Orion. . . . No anomalous objects are apparent in this video.
A local news organization wrote,
New York Post journalist Steven Greenstreet suggested, however, the lights in the video match the constellation Orion. Flight data around the time Hogan claimed to have filmed the video, he added, shows three planes flying near his location.
It ispossible that thousands of people are observing drones in the sky above New Jersey and Maryland. There are 791,597 drones registered in the US—and possibly hundreds of thousands of unregistered drones. See FAA, Drones by the Numbers.
So, call it a million total drones in the US including registered and unregistered units. What are the chances of seeing a drone in the night sky? I don’t know the precise odds, but they aren’t astronomical.
It is also possible that people look up at the night sky so infrequently they have lost the ability to distinguish between stars and drones. So, if you see anything in the night sky that looks remotely like the photo below, you are probably experiencing the good fortune of observing Orion the Hunter—continuing a tradition of awe and wonder that has fascinated humans for millions of years.
Coda: The right-wing conspiracy theory machine is in high dudgeon over the unexplained drone sightings. Many (including Trump) are calling for the indiscriminate shooting down of unidentified objects in the night sky. What could go wrong?
The Department of Homeland Security asserts that it is on top of the situation but has offered few specifics. See The Guardian, Mayorkas says no known foreign involvement in mass drone sightings | US military | The Guardian.
The FBI has reported receiving 5,000 tips about mystery drones—but only 100 of those reports warranted investigation, according to Business Insider.
The media and Conspiracy Industrial Complex are freaked out over the danger presented by a million small drones in the hands of civilians. Most of the drones are consumer-level technology not designed to inflict death and destruction but only to provide photos and video.
On the other hand, there are 300 million guns in the US that are designed to kill people. If the right-wing media could focus on the threat posed by guns with one-tenth of the panic over drones (or possibly stars misidentified as drones), America would be a much safer place.
One reader of this newsletter is a renowned drone-photography expert. I am hoping he will post a Comment with his expert views about this matter.
ABC settles Trump defamation suit
ABC paid $15 million to a “future Trump presidential foundation” to settle a defamation lawsuit over a statement by George Stephanopoulos regarding a jury finding in E. Jean Carrol’s defamation case against Trump. As described the NYTimes,
Mr. Trump sued in March after Mr. Stephanopoulos inaccurately said the former president had been found “liable for rape” in a civil trial in New York, though the judge in the case later noted that the state has a narrow legal definition of rape. In fact, Mr. Trump had been found liable for sexual abuse.
The jury verdict form in the E. Jean Carroll case is here. In response to the question of whether “Mr. Trump sexually abused Ms. Carroll?”, the jury ticked the box “Yes: X.”
ABC and Stephanopoulos have been strongly criticized for settling a case in which Trump had an uphill battle to overcome the standard for proving actual malice against a public figure.
Marc Elias of Democracy Docket wrote:
Kiss the ring.
Bend the knee.
Obey in advance.
Not that complicated.
The Independent ran the story under the headline, ABC’s $15m settlement in Trump ‘rape’ defamation case was met with surprise and outrage. Here’s why.
Per The Independent:
Former Washington Post media reporter Paul Farhi called the settlement an “awful precedent” and a “huge sellout.”
“I’m old enough to remember — and to have worked on — cases where newspapers vigorously defended themselves against defamation cases instead of folding before the defendant was even deposed,” wrote former federal prosecutor and MSNBC legal analyst Joyce Vance. [¶¶]
To win the lawsuit, Trump would have had to prove that ABC was reckless when it came to the truth or falsity of the statements Stephanopoulos made, Vance explained.
“That would be a tough bar for Trump to reach in this case because of the kinds of statements that were made and the outcome of the E. Jean Carroll defamation case against Trump,” she said.
Judge Kaplan’s lengthy filing could have been “powerful evidence” to combat Trump’s defamation claims, according to Vance.
Settling lawsuits is a complicated business, and it is difficult to know what evidence might have led ABC to settle the case. But a reasonable interpretation is the view proposed by Marc Elias—that ABC is joining the headlong rush to get on Trump's “good side”—which is the side where he is not hell-bent on destroying you.
I will say it again: Whatever anyone expected after Trump's victory, the complete and utter collapse of the nation’s billionaire class and corporate America was not on anyone’s bingo card. The media has lost its courage and its moral compass, and the most reasonable interpretation of ABC’s settlement is that it, too, has collapsed before Trump.
So, in addition to re-grouping and tending to our wounds, we must replace a legacy media environment that not only surrendered and collapsed but became complicit in promoting his propaganda. We must do so by amplifying voices that speak the truth and challenging those that spread falsehoods. You don’t have to become a combatant on the social media battlefield but amplifying the voices who are is one way to overcome the current bias that is infecting the information ecosystem.
Those supporting Pete Hegseth appear to be preparing a media assault on the woman who reported that Hegseth assaulted her
Trump's supporters learned a cynical and disgusting lesson from the Brett Kavanaugh hearing—by attacking and smearing accusers, they can dissuade others from coming forward with relevant information about a nominee’s fitness. As Hegseth heads to a confirmation hearing, his supporters appear to be firing warning shots across the bow of potential witnesses.
Senator Lindsey Graham told Meet the Press that Hegseth was going to release a woman from a non-disclosure agreement she signed after a police report stated that the woman “went to the hospital because she believed she was sexually assaulted by [Hegseth].” See NYTimes, Graham Says Hegseth Plans to Release Accuser From Confidential Agreement.
Per the Times, Graham said,
He told me he would release her from that agreement. I would want to know if anybody nominated for a high-level job in Washington legitimately assaulted somebody.
If people have an allegation to make, come forward and make it. We’ll decide whether or not it’s credible. Right now he’s being tried by anonymous sources. That will not stand.
To be clear, Hegseth is not being “tried by anonymous sources.” The police report of the assault is a public record that Hegseth appears not to have disclosed to the Trump transition team. See MSN (11/21/24) Trump Team Blindsided by Latest Details of Sexual-Assault Allegations Against Hegseth
While Senator Graham is demanding that the woman “come forward and make [the allegations,]” Hegseth’s attorney has threatened to sue the woman for defamation if she “repeats false statements.”
Although testifying before a Senate committee regarding a cabinet nomination would qualify for various privileges in defense against a defamation suit, Hegseth can make it expensive and onerous for the woman to defend even a frivolous lawsuit.
In short, because Republican Senators appear willing to support a nominee with multiple red flags, witnesses are being put in the impossible situation of being compelled to testify truthfully while running the risk of ruinous civil litigation.
It is a classic bullying tactic that has become the hallmark of Trump's yet-to-commence second term. And Lindsey Graham is (once again) Trump's water boy.
Opportunities for Reader Engagement
With the pre-Christmas and Hannukah holiday week upon us, reader requests to promote opportunities for reader engagement are in a lull. That is probably a healthy sign as readers enjoy themselves with friends and family.
But immediately after the holiday break, significant events will be upon us. The 119th Congress will commence on January 3, 2025, and the electoral ballots will counted in a joint session on January 6, 2025. Inauguration Day is January 20.
If readers are planning events and activities to coincide with any of those events, I encourage you to post links in the Comment section or write to me at rhubbell@outlook.com. I have published suggestions for formatting announcements (here: Suggested Formatting for Promoting Events) to help sponsors prepare “publication ready” text for events.
Concluding Thoughts
We must be bold over the next four years. Trump is counting on the American people to follow in the footsteps of billionaires and corporations who are protecting their money and access above all else.
The Founders risked the lives and their fortunes to break away from a monarch. Generations of Americans fought for civil rights, women’s rights, and human rights so that we could arrive safely at this moment.
They succeeded because they acted courageously even when they were frightened and took bold action even when they were unsure.
We should do nothing less. Too much is at stake for us not to seize the initiative. Make the world react to us—not the other way around.
Talk to you tomorrow!
Daily Dose of Perspective
The photo below shows the constellation Orion the Hunter in the January night sky. (Not my photo; see credit below.)
Prominently displayed in the photo are Orion’s “belt,” his “sword,” and his shoulders, which I have highlighted in the second version of the photo below:
Photo credit: By Mouser, CC BY-SA 3.0, File: Orion 3008 huge.jpg - Wikimedia Commons
Photo credit: By Mouser, CC BY-SA 3.0, File: Orion 3008 huge.jpg - Wikimedia Commons
Sheldon Whitehouse commented recently on MSNBC, that Republican Senators were expressing their unhappiness with the Hegseth nomination privately, but were not commenting to the press now because there was no up side to putting themselves publicly in the line of fire from the Trump circus.
Perhaps they will manage to block Hegseth's passage through the Senate process when it actually counts. I'd like to think their sense of self-preservation is most pronounced when they think about what could happen to America if a "non-serious," totally inexperienced man with dangerous self-control problems in several directions, who is too stupid to understand the catastrophic results of his "leadership" of our fighting forces, is nonetheless given the power to control them. The Republican Senators may be too selfish and cowardly to buck Trump in most things, but if they force him to drop Hegseth, they would be saving their own skins from a situation worse than Trump's potential narcissistic revenge.
Meanwhile, I will keep calling my political representatives in Washington to voice my extreme concern over Hegseth's incompetence for such a critical position.
I wish there was be more focus on the two small nonprofits that Hegseth ran into the ground, and his behavior there that I think was reported in the New Yorker and included a whistle blower report written by more than one person.