Dear Commons Community,

Last night’s Republican Presidential Candidate Debate was a major disappointment. A lot of softball questions, candidates speaking over one another, and major issues such as the looming federal government shutdown and Trump indictments ignored.  Scott Jennings, a Republican conservative writer and commentator, described the debate as “unwatchable.”     Here is a brief recap of several moments courtesy of the Associated Press.

“The candidates often went after Trump on their own, hoping to distinguish themselves at a critical moment with less than four months before the Iowa caucuses launch the presidential nomination process. Trump has continued to dominate the field even as he faces a range of vulnerabilities, including four criminal cases that raise the prospect of decades in prison. “He should be on this stage tonight,” said Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, who is attempting to establish himself as the leading Trump alternative despite recent struggles to break out from the rest of the pack. “He owes it to you to defend his record where they added $7.8 trillion to the debt. That set the stage for the inflation we have now.”

Several others blistered Trump for not showing up, a departure from the first debate, when the field mostly lined up behind former president. DeSantis said just a few minutes in that President Joe Biden was “completely missing in action from leadership. And you know who else is missing in action? Donald Trump is missing in action.”

Former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, who has built his campaign around criticizing Trump, said the former president “hides behind the walls of his golf clubs and won’t show up here to answer questions like all the rest of us are up here to answer.”

“Donald, I know you’re watching. You can’t help yourself,” Christie said. “You’re ducking these things. And let me tell you what’s going to happen. You keep doing that, no one here’s going to call you Donald Trump anymore. We’re going to call you Donald Duck.”

Even Vivek Ramaswamy, the entrepreneur who has declared Trump to be the “best president of the 21st century,” distanced himself and argued he was a natural successor.

“Yes, I will respect Donald Trump and his legacy because it’s the right thing to do,” he said. “But we will unite this country to take the America First agenda to the next level. And that will take a different generation to do it.”

Nikki Haley, the former South Carolina governor and United Nations ambassador, drew larger crowds and new interest after the first debate. Her team raised expectations prior to Wednesday’s debate ahead of an expected campaign swing in Iowa.

Haley didn’t single out Trump but instead picked multiple fights with Ramaswamy, as she did in August. She assailed him for creating a campaign account on TikTok, the social media app that many Republicans criticize as a possible spy tool for China.

“Honestly, every time I hear you, I feel a little bit dumber for what you say,” Haley said.

Haley also fought with Sen. Tim Scott, her fellow South Carolinian and once her pick to fill the state’s open Senate seat. As Scott accused Haley of backing a gas tax as South Carolina governor and upgrading the curtains in her office as United Nations ambassador, Haley responded, “Bring it, Tim.”

After a first debate in which he assailed rivals and derided the rest of the field as “bought and paid for,” Ramaswamy tried to show a softer side when Haley and others went after him. After Haley’s attack on his use of TikTok, Ramaswamy said, “I think we would be better served as a Republican Party if we’re not sitting here hurling personal insults.”

DeSantis sniped at Ramaswamy and so did Pence, suggesting that he’d failed to vote in many past elections. North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum steered clear of Ramaswamy, but repeatedly jumped in to answer questions he wasn’t asked to get himself more screen time in the debate’s early going. He repeatedly shouted for attention from the left end of the stage, leading a moderator to threaten to cut his microphone.

In one awkward exchange, two candidates made references to sex in talking about teachers unions. “When you have the president of the United States sleeping with a member of the teachers union, there is no chance that you can take the stranglehold away from the teachers union,” Christie said at one point, referencing first lady Jill Biden’s teaching career and longtime membership in the National Education Association.

A short time later, Pence turned to Christie: “I’ve been sleeping with a teacher for 38 years. Full disclosure.” His wife, Karen, is a teacher.

The night concluded with the moderators noting that it was unlikely a divided field could stop Trump, but then asking candidates to say who they would vote off the island, an apparent reference to the “Survivor” reality show. The proposed game didn’t get far as DeSantis suggested it was insulting.

I agree with Scott Jennings assessment – “unwatchable.”

Tony

UAW President Shawn Fein – Miranda Nazzaro (The Hill)

Dear Commons Community,

United Auto Workers (UAW) President Shawn Fain took it to former President Trump, saying he serves a “billionaire class,” a day ahead of Trump’s visit to Detroit where he will speak to union workers.

When asked on CNN about the former president’s trip to Detroit, Fain said, “I see no point in meeting with him because I don’t think the man has any bit of care about what our workers stand for, what the working class stands for.”

“He serves a billionaire class and that’s what’s wrong in this country,” Fain continued.

Trump is expected to travel to Detroit today, where he will meet with current and former union workers amid their ongoing strike against the “Big Three” automakers — Ford, General Motors and Stellantis.

Fain said it is “pathetic irony” Trump will reportedly hold a rally at a non-union plant in Macomb County, Mich.  As reported  by The Hill.

“All you have to do is look at his track record,” Fain said. “His track record speaks for itself. In 2008, during the Great Recession, he blamed UAW members, he blamed our contracts for everything that was wrong with these companies — that’s a complete lie.”

Fain pointed to Trump’s discussion during his 2016 presidential campaign to move jobs in the Midwest to the South, which he said would “make people beg for their jobs back at lower wages.”

“And the ultimate show of…how much he cares about our workers was in 2019 when he was the president of the United States,” Fain said. ‘Where was he then? Our workers at GM [General Motors] were on strike for 60 days, for two months. They were out there on the picket lines, I didn’t see him hold a rally. I didn’t see him stand up at the picket line.”

Meanwhile, President Biden joined the picket line with union autoworkers on yesterday, becoming the first sitting president to do so. The move was seen by some as a likely offense against Trump, who is likely to be his 2024 presidential opponent.

The president spoke to a group at a General Motors facility in Belleville, Mich., alongside Fain, who has yet to endorse Biden’s reelection bid, citing concerns over the Biden administration’s push for electric vehicles (EVs), which put autoworkers’ jobs at risk.

When pressed on if his jabs at Trump indicate an endorsement for Biden, Fain said, “It’s not an endorsement for anyone, it’s just flat out how I view the former president.”

UAW began its historic strike against the automakers nearly two weeks ago after ongoing negotiations failed and the workers’ contracts expired.

The union is asking for wage increases, cost-of-living pay raises, a 32-hour work week with 40 hours of pay, union representation at new battery plants, restoration of traditional-defined benefit pensions for new hires who currently receive only 401(k)-style retirement plans, and pension increases for retirees.

Fain has it right!

Tony

Donald Trump Jr. and Eric Trump

Dear Commons Community,

State Supreme Court Judge Arthur Engoron found Donald Trump, his sons, Eric and Don Jr., and multiple Trump Organization entities liable on fraud claim in a $250 million lawsuit, which alleges they lied about the value of company assets by hundreds of millions of dollars for a decade and repeatedly used the fake numbers in business transactions.

Judge Engoron ruled yesterday that Donald Trump committed fraud for years while building the real estate empire that catapulted him to fame and the White House, and he ordered some of the former president’s companies removed from his control and dissolved.

Judge Engoron, ruling in a civil lawsuit brought by New York Attorney General Letitia James, found that Trump and his company deceived banks, insurers and others by massively overvaluing his assets and exaggerating his net worth on paperwork used in making deals and securing loans.

Engoron ordered that some of Trump’s business licenses be rescinded as punishment, making it difficult or impossible for them to do business in New York, and said he would continue to have an independent monitor oversee Trump Organization operations. As reported by the Associated Press.

If not successfully appealed, the order would strip Trump of his authority to make strategic and financial decisions over some of his key properties in the state.

Trump, in a series of statements, railed against the decision, calling it “un-American” and part of an ongoing plot to damage his campaign to return to the White House.

“My Civil rights have been violated, and some Appellate Court, whether federal or state, must reverse this horrible, un-American decision,” he wrote on his Truth Social site. He insisted his company had “done a magnificent job for New York State” and “done business perfectly,” calling it “A very sad Day for the New York State System of Justice!”

Trump’s lawyer, Christopher Kise, said they would appeal, calling the decision “completely disconnected from the facts and governing law.”

Engoron’s ruling, days before the start of a non-jury trial in James’ lawsuit, is the strongest repudiation yet of Trump’s carefully coiffed image as a wealthy and shrewd real estate mogul turned political powerhouse.

Beyond mere bragging about his riches, Trump, his company and key executives repeatedly lied about them on his annual financial statements, reaping rewards such as favorable loan terms and lower insurance costs, Engoron found.

Those tactics crossed a line and violated the law, the judge said, rejecting Trump’s contention that a disclaimer on the financial statements absolved him of any wrongdoing.

“In defendants’ world: rent regulated apartments are worth the same as unregulated apartments; restricted land is worth the same as unrestricted land; restrictions can evaporate into thin air; a disclaimer by one party casting responsibility on another party exonerates the other party’s lies,” Engoron wrote in his 35-page ruling. “That is a fantasy world, not the real world.”

Manhattan prosecutors had looked into bringing criminal charges over the same conduct but declined to do so, leaving James to sue Trump and seek penalties that aim to disrupt his and his family’s ability to do business.

Engoron’s ruling, in a phase of the case known as summary judgment, resolves the key claim in James’ lawsuit, but several others remain. He’ll decide on those claims and James’ request for $250 million in penalties at a trial starting Oct. 2. Trump’s lawyers have asked an appeals court for a delay.

“Today, a judge ruled in our favor and found that Donald Trump and the Trump Organization engaged in years of financial fraud,” James said in a statement. “We look forward to presenting the rest of our case at trial.”

Trump’s lawyers, in their own summary judgment bid, had asked the judge to throw out the case, arguing that there wasn’t any evidence the public was harmed by Trump’s actions. They also argued that many of the allegations in the lawsuit were barred by the statute of limitations.

Engoron, noting that he had rejected those arguments earlier in the case, equated them to the plot of the film “Groundhog Day.” He fined five defense lawyers $7,500 each as punishment for “engaging in repetitive, frivolous” arguments, but denied James’ request to sanction Trump and other defendants.

James, a Democrat, sued Trump and the Trump Organization a year ago, accusing them of routinely inflating the value of assets like skyscrapers, golf courses and his Mar-a-Lago estate in Florida, padding his bottom line by billions.

Engoron found that Trump consistently overvalued Mar-a-Lago, inflating its value on one financial statement by as much as 2,300%. The judge also rebuked Trump for lying about the size of his Manhattan apartment. Trump claimed his three-story Trump Tower penthouse was nearly three times its actual size, valuing it at $327 million.

“A discrepancy of this order of magnitude, by a real estate developer sizing up his own living space of decades, can only be considered fraud,” Engoron wrote.

To paraphrase a Michael Bloomberg quote at the 2016 Republican convention:  “We are New Yorkers.  We know a con when we see one.”

Tony

Dear Commons Community,

During an appearance on MSNBC’s “The Rachel Maddow Show” last night, Cassidy Hutchinson told host Rachel Maddow that while she still considers herself a Republican, she doesn’t believe that Donald Trump is a “Strong Republican.”

“I do not believe that Mr. Trump is a strong Republican. But in this election cycle, in my opinion, it’s a make-or-break moment for the Republican Party,” Hutchinson told Maddow. “Now is the time if these politicians, these men and some women, that are currently in Congress want to make the break and want to take the stand, they have to do it now.”

Hutchinson also said that she doesn’t understand why Republican lawmakers are still willing to support Trump, even with the ongoing controversy and legal challenges that surround him.

“I think it’s extremely disappointing, and it’s not a hard issue to take. We’re talking about a man who at the very essence of his being almost destroyed democracy in one day and he wants to do it again. He wants to run for President to do it again,” Hutchinson added.

“He has been indicted four times since January 6. I would not have a clear conscience and be able to sleep at night if I were a Republican in Congress that supported Donald Trump,” she concluded. “And I think that if they’re not willing to split with that, then we’re in serious danger for the party.”

It’s been a year since Hutchinson, who was an aide to former White House chief of staff Mark Meadows, testified before the select committee investigating the Jan 6., 2021 attacks at the Capitol. She was the first member of the Trump administration to do so.

Hutchinson’s remarks come a month after Trump, along with 18 of his allies, were indicted by a Georgia grand jury on charges tied to efforts to overturn the 2020 election.

Trump, who announced his third presidential campaign last November, has been hit with three other indictments this year relating to his business dealings, handling of classified documents, and his actions in the aftermath of the 2020 election.

Hutchinson’s appearance on Maddow’s program was focused on her new book, titled “Enough,” which details her experience working under the Trump administration and the events that lead to her testifying before Congress.

Hutchinson’s new book is set to publish today.

Tony

Dear Commons Community,

Seven candidates have qualified for tomorrow night’s Republican presidential debate at Ronald Reagan’s presidential library in California.

Former President Donald Trump, the early Republican presidential front-runner, will skip this debate.

Former Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson, who was in first debate, did not make the cut for tomorrow’s debate.

To qualify for the second debate, candidates needed at least 3% support in two national polls or 3% in one national poll as well as two polls from four of the early-voting states — Iowa, New Hampshire, Nevada and South Carolina.

The White House hopefuls also needed at least 50,000 unique donors, with at least 200 of those coming from 20 states or territories. They also had to sign an RNC pledge promising to support the party’s eventual nominee.   Here are the debate qualifiers courtesy of the Associated Press.

WHO’S IN

RON DESANTIS

The Florida governor had long been seen as the top rival for Trump, finishing a distant second to the current GOP front-runner in both early-voting state and national polls, and raising an impressive amount of money.

But those sands have begun to shift as DeSantis’ effort has struggled to live up to high expectations for his campaign. Republican support for him nationally has slipped substantially from its high point earlier this year.

TIM SCOTT

The senator from South Carolina did not have a breakout moment in the first debate in Milwaukee and is hoping to change that during Wednesday’s event.

Wanting to be a bigger part of the conversation, Scott asked the party to change how it orders the candidates onstage in an effort to get more prominent podium placement. There is no indication the RNC plans to do that.

NIKKI HALEY

The only Republican woman on stage — and in the field — Haley experienced a fundraising bounce after her performance in the first debate. Her campaign said she raised at least $1 million in 72 hours, a record period for her.

Two recent polls of her home state of South Carolina found that Haley — a former United Nations ambassador and South Carolina governor — was in second place, well behind Trump but slightly ahead of other GOP rivals.

During one squabble in the first GOP debate, Haley cut in with a reference to a famous line from Margaret Thatcher, Britain’s first female prime minister: “If you want something said, ask a man. If you want something done, ask a woman.”

VIVEK RAMASWAMY

The political newcomer scored several memorable moments at the first debate, criticizing some rivals as “super PAC puppets” who were using “ready-made, preprepared slogans” to attack him. He was a frequent target of incoming attacks on his lack of experience.

Those jabs helped boost both Ramaswamy’s campaign coffers and his name ID in the broad Republican field.

CHRIS CHRISTIE

The former New Jersey governor opened his campaign by portraying himself as the only candidate ready to take on Trump, calling on the former president to “show up at the debates and defend his record.”

Without Trump at the first debate, Christie was left without his primary intended target. At times, he was drowned out by the audience’s boos as he pushed back aggressively on questioning as to whether the candidates would support Trump even if he is convicted of felony charges.

DOUG BURGUM

Burgum, a former software entrepreneur now in his second term as North Dakota’s governor, nearly missed the first debate due to a tendon injury sustained while playing basketball with his campaign staff. But Burgum still participated, telling reporters afterward that he stood on one leg behind the podium.

Burgum has been using his fortune to boost his campaign, giving away $20 gift cards — “Biden Relief Cards,” hitting Biden’s handling of the economy — in exchange for $1 donations. Critics have questioned whether the offer violates campaign finance law.

MIKE PENCE

Campaigning on his reputation as a statesman and experienced elected official, Trump’s vice president showed off his debate chops last month and is angling to see more action in California.

Pence had combative moments with several other candidates in Milwaukee over some of the biggest dividing lines in the Republican nominating contest.

Drawing a contrast with Haley over abortion, among his signature issues, Pence called Haley’s push for consensus over the issue “the opposite of leadership.” Perhaps some of Pence’s fieriest moments came as he sparred with Ramaswamy, saying, “Now is not the time for on-the-job training.”

Pence himself was also the subject of a pivotal debate question, with the candidates largely agreeing that he had been correct to protect the results of the 2020 election against Trump’s pressure campaign.

On to the debate tomorrow night!

Tony

Gavin Newsom and Ron DeSantis

Dear Commons Community,

While much of the country is getting ready to view the debate tomorrow night among Republican candidates for president, Florida Governor Ron DeSantis (R) and California Governor Gavin Newsom (D) have agreed to participate in a televised debate on November 30th that will be moderated by Fox News host Sean Hannity.

The debate will run 90 minutes and take place at location that has still yet to be determined but will be in Georgia.

In a statement issued through the network, Hannity said he is “looking forward to providing viewers with an informative debate about the everyday issues and governing philosophies that impact the lives of every American.”

The planned debate comes as DeSantis looks to break through the Republican primary field and establish himself as a legitimate challenger to former President Trump, who has a sizable lead in most GOP primary polls.

DeSantis will also participate in the second GOP primary debate tomorrow night, an event airing on the Fox Business Network,

Newsom has engaged in a media tour of sorts in recent days, sitting for extensive interviews with a number of cable news channels and participating in a wide-ranging conversation with CBS News’s “60 Minutes” Sunday.

The Democrat has ruled out the prospect challenging President Biden for the party’s nomination for president in 2024.  However, should for whatever reason, Biden decides to not run, Newsom would be far and away the most viable Democratic Party nominee.

Tony

Dear Commons Community,

The Writers Guild of America, which represents more than 11,000 screenwriters, reached a tentative deal on a new contract with entertainment companies last night, all but ending a 146-day strike that has contributed to a shutdown of television and film production.

In the coming days, guild members will vote on whether to accept the deal, which has much of what they had demanded, including increases in compensation for streaming content, concessions from studios on minimum staffing for television shows, and guarantees that artificial intelligence technology will not encroach on writers’ credits and compensation.  As reported by The New York Times.

“We can say, with great pride, that this deal is exceptional — with meaningful gains and protections for writers in every sector of the membership,” the Writers Guild’s negotiating committee said in an email to members.

Conspicuously not doing a victory lap was the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers, which bargains on behalf of studios. “The W.G.A. and A.M.P.T.P. have reached a tentative agreement” was its only comment.

For an industry upended by the streaming revolution, which the pandemic sped up, the tentative accord represents a meaningful step toward stabilization.

But much of Hollywood will remain at a standstill: Tens of thousands of actors remain on strike, and no talks between the actors’ union, SAG-AFTRA, and the studios were scheduled.

The only productions that could restart in short order would be ones without actors, like the late-night shows hosted by Jimmy Fallon and Stephen Colbert and daytime talk shows hosted by Drew Barrymore and Jennifer Hudson.

The upshot: In addition to actors, more than 100,000 behind-the-scenes workers (directors, camera operators, publicists, makeup artists, prop makers, set dressers, lighting technicians, hairstylists, cinematographers) in Los Angeles and New York will continue to stand idle, many with mounting financial hardship. California’s economy alone has lost more than $5 billion from the Hollywood shutdown, according to Gov. Gavin Newsom.

SAG-AFTRA has been on strike since July 14. Its demands exceed those of the Writers Guild and the studio alliance decided to prioritize talks with the Writers Guild, in part because of the hard line taken by Fran Drescher, the SAG-AFTRA’s leader. Among other things, the actors want 2 percent of the total revenue generated by streaming shows, something that studios have said is a nonstarter.

Even so, the deal with the Writers Guild could speed up negotiations with the actors’ union. Some of SAG-AFTRA’s concerns are similar to ones raised by the Writers Guild. Actors, for instance, worry that A.I. could be used to create digital replicas of their likenesses (or that performances could be digitally altered) without payment or approval.

The last sticking point between the Writers Guild and studios involved artificial intelligence. On Saturday, lawyers for the entertainment companies came up with language — a couple paragraphs inside a contract that runs hundreds of pages — that addressed a guild concern about A.I. and old scripts that studios own. The sides spent several hours on Sunday making additional tweaks.

It sounds like a deal is done.  Now attention will turn to SAG-AFTRA.

Tony

Artist’s conception of NASA’s Osiris-Rex spacecraft collecting a sample from the asteroid Bennu.  Credit: University of Arizona/NASA Goddard Space Flight Center

Dear Commons Community,

NASA’s first asteroid samples fetched from deep space parachuted into the Utah desert yesterday to cap a seven-year journey.

In a flyby of Earth, the Osiris-Rex spacecraft released the sample capsule from 63,000 miles out. The small capsule landed four hours later on a remote expanse of military land, as the mothership set off after another asteroid.  As reported by the Associated Press.

“We have touchdown!” Mission Recovery Operations announced, immediately repeating the news since the landing occurred three minutes early. Officials later said the orange striped parachute opened four times higher than anticipated — around 20,000 feet (6,100 meters) — basing it on the deceleration rate.

To everyone’s relief, the capsule was intact and not breached, keeping its 4.5 billion-year-old samples free of contamination. Within two hours of touchdown, the capsule was inside a temporary clean room at the Defense Department’s Utah Test and Training Range, hoisted there by helicopter.

The sealed sample canister will be flown to NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Houston, where it will be opened in a new, specially designed lab. The building already houses the hundreds of pounds of moon rocks gathered by the Apollo astronauts.

“We can’t wait to crack into it. For me, the real science is just beginning,” said the mission’s lead scientist, Dante Lauretta of the University of Arizona. He’ll accompany the samples all the way to Texas.

Lori Glaze, NASA’s planetary science division director, added: “Those are going to be a treasure for scientific analysis for years and years and years to come.”

Scientists estimate the capsule holds at least a cup of rubble from the carbon-rich asteroid known as Bennu, but won’t know for sure until the container is opened in a day or two. Some spilled and floated away when the spacecraft scooped up too much material, which jammed the container’s lid during collection three years ago.

This image of the asteroid Bennu taken by the Osiris-Rex spacecraft shows its rubble-strewn surface. NASA/Goddard/University of Arizona

The pebbles and dust delivered yesterday represent the biggest haul from beyond the moon. Preserved building blocks from the dawn of our solar system, the samples will help scientists better understand how Earth and life formed, providing “an extraordinary glimpse” of 4.5 billion years ago, said NASA Administrator Bill Nelson.

Osiris-Rex, the mothership, rocketed away on the $1 billion mission in 2016. It reached Bennu two years later and, using a long stick vacuum, grabbed rubble from the small roundish space rock in 2020. By the time it returned, the spacecraft had logged 4 billion miles (6.2 billion kilometers).

At a news conference several hours later, Lauretta said he broke into tears of joy upon hearing that the capsule’s main parachute had opened.

“I knew we had made it home,” he said, so overwhelmed with emotion when he arrived at the scene that he wanted to hug the capsule, sooty but undamaged and not even bent.

Flight controllers for spacecraft builder Lockheed Martin stood and applauded the touchdown from their base in Colorado. NASA camera views showed the charred capsule upside down on the sand with its parachute disconnected and strewn nearby, as the recovery team moved in via helicopters.

British astronomer Daniel Brown, who was not involved in the mission, said he expects “great things” from NASA’s largest sample return since the Apollo moon landings more than a half-century ago. With these asteroid samples, “we are edging closer to understanding its early chemical composition, the formation of water and the molecules life is based on,” he added from Nottingham Trent University.

Engineers estimate the canister holds 250 grams (8.82 ounces) of material from Bennu, plus or minus 100 grams (3.53 ounces). Even at the low end, it will easily surpass the minimum requirement of the mission, Lauretta said.

It will take a few weeks to get a precise measurement, said NASA’s lead curator Nicole Lunning.

NASA plans a public show-and-tell in October.

Currently orbiting the sun 50 million miles (81 million kilometers) from Earth, Bennu is about one-third of a mile across, roughly the size of the Empire State Building but shaped like a spinning top. It’s believed to be the broken fragment of a much larger asteroid.

During a two-year survey, Osiris-Rex found Bennu to be a chunky rubble pile full of boulders and craters. The surface was so loose that the spacecraft’s vacuum arm sank a foot or two (0.5 meters) into the asteroid, sucking up more material than anticipated.

Osiris-Rex is now chasing after the asteroid Apophis, and will reach it in 2029.

This was NASA’s third sample return from a deep-space robotic mission. The Genesis spacecraft dropped off bits of solar wind in 2004, but the samples were compromised when the parachute failed and the capsule slammed into the ground. The Stardust spacecraft successfully delivered comet dust in 2006.

Congratulations to NASA and all involved with Osiris-Rex.

Tony

The sun sets beyond the downtown skyline of Kansas City, Mo., as the autumnal equinox marks the first day of fall. (Charlie Riedel | AP Photo/Charlie Riedel, File)

Dear Commons Community,

Fall officially arrived yesterday. The autumn equinox marked the start of the season for the Northern Hemisphere.

But what does the fall equinox actually mean? Here’s what to know about how we split up the year using the Earth’s orbit courtesy of the various media.

For most of the year, the Earth’s axis is tilted either toward or away from the sun. That means the sun’s warmth and light fall unequally on the northern and southern halves of the planet.

During the equinox, the Earth’s axis and its orbit line up so that both hemispheres get an equal amount of sunlight.

The word equinox comes from two Latin words meaning equal and night. That’s because on the equinox, day and night last almost the same amount of time — though one may get a few extra minutes, depending on where you are on the planet.

The Northern Hemisphere’s spring — or vernal — equinox can land between March 19 and 21, depending on the year. Its fall – or autumnal — equinox can land between Sept. 21 and 24.

The solstices mark the times during the year when the Earth is seeing its strongest tilt toward or away from the sun. This means the hemispheres are getting very different amounts of sunlight — and days and nights are at their most unequal.

During the Northern Hemisphere’s summer solstice, the upper half of the earth is tilted in toward the sun, creating the longest day and shortest night of the year. This solstice falls between June 20 and 22.

Meanwhile, at the winter solstice, the Northern Hemisphere is leaning away from the sun — leading to the shortest day and longest night of the year. The winter solstice falls between December 20 and 23.

These are just two different ways to carve up the year.

Meteorological seasons are defined by the weather. They break down the year into three-month seasons based on annual temperature cycles. By that calendar, spring starts on March 1, summer on June 1, fall on Sept. 1 and winter on Dec. 1.

Astronomical seasons depend on how the Earth moves around the sun.

Equinoxes, when the sun lands equally on both hemispheres, mark the start of spring and autumn. Solstices, when the Earth sees its strongest tilt toward or away from the sun, kick off summer and winter.

For me, autumn is the most beautiful time of year what with the color provided by our trees and the changing of the leaves.

Tony

Sunrise illuminates fall colors in the Adirondacks in New York state.  Associated Press.

Dear Commons Community,

The Washington National Cathedral unveiled new stained-glass windows yesterday with a theme of racial justice, filling the space that had once held four windows honoring Confederate Gens. Robert E. Lee and Stonewall Jackson.

The new windows (above) depict a march for justice by African Americans, descendants of the very people who would have remained in slavery after the Civil War if the side for which the officers fought had prevailed.

The cathedral had removed the old windows after Confederate symbols featured prominently in recent racist violence. As reported by the Associated Press.

The dedication service was attended by many clergy from the Washington area’s historically Black churches, as well as leaders of social justice organizations. The prayers, Bible readings and brief speeches were interspersed with gospel music and spirituals, as well as the contemporary song, “Heal Our Land.”

Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson, the first Black woman to serve on the Supreme Court, read excerpts from the Rev. Martin Luther King’ Jr.’s “Letter from Birmingham Jail” from 1963.

“Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere,” she read from King’s famed message while jailed in Alabama. “The goal of America is freedom. … We will win our freedom.” A week earlier, she had spoken at the 60th anniversary of Birmingham church bombing that killed four young Black girls.

The new windows, titled “Now and Forever,” are based on a design by artist Kerry James Marshall. Stained glass artisan Andrew Goldkuhle crafted the windows based on that design.

In the new work, African Americans are shown marching — on foot or in a wheelchair — from left to right across the four windows. Some march in profile; some directly face the viewer with signs proclaiming “FAIRNESS” and “NO FOUL PLAY.” Light floods in through the sky-bright panes of white and blue above the figures.

Marshall, who was born in Birmingham in 1955, invited anyone viewing the new windows, or other artworks inspired by social justice, “to imagine oneself as a subject and an author of a never-ending story is that is still yet to be told.”

The setting is particularly significant in the massive neo-Gothic cathedral, which regularly hosts ceremonies tied to major national events. It is filled with iconography depicting the American story in glass, stone and other media. Images range from presidents to famous cultural figures and state symbols.

But the Lee and Jackson windows (see below)  “were telling a story that was not a true story,” according to the Very Rev. Randolph Marshall Hollerith, dean of the cathedral. They were installed in 1953 and donated by the United Daughters of the Confederacy,

The windows extolled generals fighting for a cause that sought to “enshrine slavery in our country for all time,” Hollerith said.

He added: “You can’t call yourself the National Cathedral, a house of prayer for all people, when there are windows in there that are deeply offensive to a large portion of Americans.”

The cathedral has accompanied the window replacement with a number of public forums discussing the legacy of racism and how monuments were used to burnish the image of the Confederacy as a noble “Lost Cause.”

The new windows will also be accompanied by a poem by scholar Elizabeth Alexander, president of the Mellon Foundation. The poem “American Song” will be engraved beneath the windows.

“A single voice raised, then another,” it says. “We must tell the truth about our history. … May this portal be where the light comes in.”

Alexander said in an interview Friday that the poem referred both to the literal light from the windows, which she said beautifully illumines the surrounding stonework, and the figurative light that “enables us to see each other wholly and in community.”

The setting is important in a sanctuary that is also “a communal space, a space that tourists visit, a space where the nation mourns,” Alexander said. “The story (the windows) tell is one of collective movement, of progress, of people struggling and asserting the values of fairness for all.”

Good move!

Tony