Various and Sundry for July 22
A few things about what's happening in the US right now, a fascinating bit of history, honoring the Prince of Darkness, then a poem that resonated with me.
Senior Living Facility in Distress as Immigrant Caregivers Are Forced Out
"Retirement communities already grappling with labor shortages are being forced to terminate caregivers at a time when more Americans are living longer."
The Trump administration’s immigration crackdown is colliding with a demographic reality. Americans are aging rapidly and living longer, creating soaring demand for elder care when the industry is already buckling under the weight of chronic labor shortages. Almost 70 million people in the United States are 65 or older, and government projections estimate that 70 percent of older adults will need care at some point in their lives. Millions of immigrants, eligible to work in the United States, fill positions across the elder care industry such as nurses, dietitians, fitness instructors and maintenance technicians. And countless undocumented immigrants care for seniors in their homes, part of a vast informal economy. Immigration enforcement is choking both labor pools.
ICE AIR: Inside America's Secret Deportation Network
KUSA (9NEWS Denver) has done a great bit of journalism. Via Indivisible on Mastodon:
This free documentary is a MUST SEE. Shuffling people around the US, away from their attorneys and family, away from their Habeas Corpus filings, on a merry-go-round of extremely expensive tax-payer funded charter flights, is a key part of the ICE death machine and hardly anyone is talking about it.
Via Indivisible
Name of ancient Maya astronomer-mathematician deciphered for the first time
I love this article. I love that Mayan astronomers and mathmeticians were not only coming up with formulas to track and predict the world around them, but it was important enough for them to sign their work. "Sak Tahn Waax, meaning 'White-chested Fox'."
Sak Tahn Waax’s mathematical formula, itself unique and including novel astronomical observations, perhaps explains why the ancient astronomer wanted to sign his work. Some of these observations involve a 260-day ritual day-count and the solar year, as well as the calculations associated with them. Notably, his formula takes a new approach to recording the movement of the planets, including Venus and Mars.
C.S. Lewis wrote about chronological snobbery, which is basically the idea that everyone was stupid until the last 100 years or so. Ol' White-chested Fox, though, was writing formulas 1,250 years ago.
Via The History Blog
...Baby One More Time the style of Ozzy Osbourne
In honor of the one year anniversary of the death of Ozzy Osbourne, Anthony Vincent reposted his rendition of the Brittany classic in the style of the Prince of Darkness.
A quote from Mahmoud Darwish
I was unfamilar with the Palestinian poet Mahmoud Darwish until I came across the following quote. I'm not sure what it's from, though it reads like an English translation of part of or an entire poem. It struck me, and I'm been thinking about it all day. And intend to find more of his work.
It describes how I feel at times, and I think it's a struggle we can all relate to.
If it was a piece of paper, I would tear it. If it was a bottle, I would break it. If it was a wall, I would tear it down, but it is my heart.