THE TAOS TATLER.

Biden bumper stickers are mysteriously disappearing from Taos.

The Anglos of Taos, the largest ethnic group here and the last to arrive, are mostly solidly blue in their politics (which is not necessarily the case with the outnumbered Hispanos and Mestizos, who have been here for centuries). Blue Anglos are easy to pick out by the cars they drive. If not rich, it’s usually Subarus; if they’re aging hippies, battered old VWs. If rich, especially newly, it’s Audis and BMWs, and if their bills are really crisp you’ll see them tooling around in Range Rovers (but only of course when those absurdly expensive and unreliable autos are not in the shop for repairs).

Whatever blue Taos Anglos’ economic status and their cars, long after the election you still see “Biden for President” bumper stickers on them (like masks, they’re shibboleths). That is, until recently. A friend reports those stickers have all but disappeared from Taos bumpers.

Your Tatler wonders if the Sheriff ought to be notified of this petty but heinous larceny, for surely the owners of these cars couldn’t be tearing off the stickers themselves, could they? My goodness, Hillary, Bernie and even Obama stickers were seen on bumpers throughout the Trump presidency. It is indeed a puzzlement.

There is good news however for those who miss the Biden stickers. They are reappearing rapidly in a different guise and may be seen whenever you fill ‘er up .

New Mexico Governor Michelle Lujan Grisham today became a Republican, not actually registering as one (perish the thought!), rather by signing a bunch of Republican-like measures into law, as reported by the Associated Press.

Democratic Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham signing a package of tax rebates, credits and rate reductions worth about $530 million in the initiative’s first year and urged congressional leaders to suspend taxes on gasoline in response to surging fuel prices.

The Governor claims these measures are to provide relief to those suffering from soaring inflation and gasoline prices, but one would have to be naive indeed not to suspect there might be another motive. When even the headline of the story from AP, whose degree of slant to the left is barely distinguishable from the perpendicular, reads “New Mexico governor slashes taxes as she pursues reelection,” one may be reasonably certain there is an overriding motive here, her political survival.

Ms. Grisham comes from an old New Mexico political dynasty, which in the past included Republicans, but now is solidly Democrat. Like most career politicians, especially those of similar background, she no doubt sees holding public office as less than privilege than rightful destiny. With polls indicating staggering losses for the Democrats in the upcoming November elections, we may expect to see more entrenched politicos like Ms Grisham, desperate to save their jobs, becoming ersatz republicans by throwing their firmly-held left-wing principles to the wolves. Should this ploy be successful, rest assured they will quickly revert to their old ways.

Leading from below.

From Town Hall.

Whether you agree with the [Russian oil import] ban or not, one thing is clear: Biden didn’t lead on this decision. His team has been cagey at best when questions have come up about why Russian oil hadn’t yet been banned amid multiple rounds of sanctions levied against Russian government officials and oligarchs. But the wheels really came off when the White House learned that the House Ways and Means Committee had been working on a bill over the weekend to ban Russian oil imports — from a press release issued Sunday night that was quietly removed some five minutes later.

There was much back and forth between the White House and Speaker Pelosi about the Russian oil import ban, but what looked to be developing into a stalemate was not to be, as Pelosi wanted it and no babbling, non-entity in the White House was going to stop her. The President, having all the backbone of, say, an old man in second childhood, assisted by his attendants finally gave in. The child that he is however didn’t want it to appear he wasn’t getting his way, so he announced this morning the oil ban would go into effect, as if it were his own decision.

Update: It was later revealed the President actually was persuaded to support the ban, with the promise of an ice cream cone, with two scoops after his nap.

People are justly worried over the fate of Taiwan and South Korea since the Ukraine debacle debacle began, with the United States showing no leadership whatsoever. Your Tatler is beginning to wonder though if those fears are misplaced, that we ought be worrying about places closer to home, ours. President Xi of China and President Kim Jong-un of North Korea must surely be taking note of the power vacuum in the White House. No doubt a fanciful notion, but what if Xi or Kim decide to have some fun seeing what they can get away with in one of our possessions, say in the South Pacific, maybe Guam or Palau?

Purcell: 24 Odes and Welcome Songs.

Of the 24 Odes and Welcome Songs composed by Henry Purcell, the only ones with which your Tatler has been well familiar, until now, are those better known: Welcome to all Pleasures, Come Ye Sons of Art, Hail! Bright Cecelia etc. The collection seen in the release above contains a good number of the lesser-known odes and they are a wonderful find, every bit as melodic and superbly crafted as the better known ones.

One ode in particular made this some-time musician sit up abruptly and take notice, Number 24, The Glory of Earth and Darling of Heaven. Particularly striking is the composer’s use of descending chromatic harmonies. For those who don’t know what in hell your Tatler means by that, a paraphrase of a famous quote by Justice Potter Stewart (which concerns a different sort of entertainment) will serve: You will know it when you hear it, and you may hear it here. https://open.qobuz.com/track/148518283

These performances of the odes by Damian Guillion and Le Banquet Céleste are excellently done, using small forces, which research indicates were used at the time, giving them a sense of intimacy. Recommended.

The bigger the better.

H/t Instapundit.

News item: “At Wednesday night’s (Feb. 23) regular school board meeting, [Municipal Schools Superintendent Lillian] Torrez said the district’s mask policy will remain unchanged at least until the board’s next meeting, and most likely until after spring break.”

Taos News, 3 March 2022.

“In the first place, God created idiots. That was for practice. Then he created school boards.”

–Mark Twain: Following the Equator; Pudd’nhead Wilson’s New Calendar, 1894.

How much longer must this wreckage stand?

Taos is blessed with marvelous assets, its stunning scenery, extraordinary history, artiness, quirkiness, even grittiness, the latter distinguishing it most favorably from oh-so-precious, oh-so-exclusive resort towns like Jackson, WY, Lake Tahoe, CA, Martha’s Vineyard and Nantucket, MA, Ogunquit, ME, to name just a few.

Grittiness however ends at ugliness. For four years now the abandoned wreck seen above, just steps from Taos Plaza, the town nucleus, has been a visual pollutant, and as it also stands at the main entry into town, presents a dispiriting welcome to our many visitors, so vital to the local economy.

Your Tatler has no idea the explanation this monstrosity is still allowed to litter our landscape, but chances are good words like “bankruptcy,” “lawsuit(s),” “continuance(s),” “stay(s), “environmental hazards” and the like are to be found in it; also a possibility, a sclerotic bureaucracy not willing to take responsibility and tackle this problem head on.

Whatever: after so many years, explanations simply become excuses. Since it does not appear any human action removing this horror will occur in your Tatler’s remaining years, even though statistically there are a fair number of them, would it be remiss to pray for divine intervention, perhaps a bolt or two of lightening striking this eyesore, and would it be fanciful to believe there would be few wet eyes in Taos were this blessed event to occur? Oremus ad omnipotentis Dei.

Time to find another profession.

From the Post:

“We are a nation of lions and we are being led by a sheep.”

—Rep. Brian Babin (R-Texas).

Praise the Lord and pass the ammunition.

It’s hardly over, but measured by her heart and spirit, Ukraine has already defeated the Russian host. No matter how much damage and killing inflicted upon that beleaguered but proud people, they have shown both resistance and resilience and world opinion, finally, is overwhelmingly on their side (soon President Putin’s only friend will be President Xi of China and you can bet the latter autocrat is seriously taking stock of that friendship).

Ukraine’s history is far older than Russia’s, being settled by Slavs as far back as the 5th century. It was Christianized with the baptism of Prince Vladimir the Great of Kiev in 988, in fact, metropolitans of the Russian Orthodox Church were all successors of his until 1488. Despite Ukraine’s tortured history over the centuries, Ukrainians have held firmly to their religion and culture despite numerous attempts by the Russians-Soviets to snuff them out. Even today, 72% of Ukrainians are observant Christians, the great majority of them Eastern Orthodox, with a smattering of others, including Catholicism.

There is an inspiring story in Fox News today about a young Ukrainian couple engaged to be wed. They set a date but agreed if the Russians invaded before that they would marry immediately. That they did, soon after the invasion began. As soon as the wedding was over however, instead of going on a wedding trip, both bride and groom immediately signed on with the Ukrainian Territorial Defense Forces and are spending their honeymoon fighting the Russians.

If this pious and brave young couple is representative of most Ukrainians, and by all appearances they are, Putin and his army are in for a long struggle with that country, not likely to see victory and never to see surrender.