Two last wildflowers from Brazos Bend

 

As the month ends, let me close with two last wildflowers from Brazos Bend State Park southwest of Houston on September 18th. The one above is Sida rhombifolia, whose vernacular names include rhombus-leaved sida (which is what the scientific name means) and Cuban jute. The wildflower below is called elephantsfoot or elephant’s foot. Several species exist in southeast Texas; this may be Elephantopus carolinianus.

 

  

 

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A common theme in my commentaries has been the attempt by activists to replace common words by others that suit their ideology. Mostly that involves race and sex, like insisting on “birthing person” for “mother.” Sometimes, though, the subterfuge involves other matters. At the time of the 2015 “deal” that the leaders of the United States and some other countries worked out with the theocratic dictators in Iran, I pointed out that calling a treaty a “deal” doesn’t make it any less a treaty. You’re welcome to read the definitions of treaty given in a slew of dictionaries to confirm that the Iran “deal” was indeed a treaty.

The reason that the administration in 2015 disingenuously called the treaty a deal is that the United States Constitution requires all treaties to get approved in the Senate by a two-thirds vote. Because the American administration in 2015 knew that the proposed treaty would come nowhere close to reaching that two-thirds threshold in the Senate, the administration declared the treaty not to be a treaty, thereby invalidating both semantics and the Constitution. Pure lawlessness.

The Iran deal is back in the news now because the current administration—essentially an extension of the one in 2015—is trying yet again to strike up a “deal” with Iran, one that’s even worse than the previous one. You can learn more in a September 29th “Common Sense” article by Reuel Marc Gerecht headlined “The Women Burning Their Hijabs Want the Iranian Regime to Fall. Does Joe Biden?” The subhead reads “The White House is still ardently seeking a nuclear deal that will enrich the men murdering women in the streets.”

 

You’re welcome to read the article.

 

© 2022 Steven Schwartzman