Awake, for morning in the bowl of night has flung the stone that puts
the stars to flight.

And, lo, the hunter of the east has caught the sultan’s turret in a noose of light

Spanish life is not always likeable but it is compellingly loveable – Christopher Howse: ‘A Pilgrim in Spain.

Cosas de España

At least one of my (non-Spanish) podcasts is currently being interrupted by a Spanish government ‘ad’, which stresses that taxes are returned to us in one way or another. The problem, I suspect, is that we’re all aware that politicians here are somewhat corrupt. Indeed, one recent head of the Hacienda is being prosecuted for a massive fraud perpetrated by him and several colleagues. To say the least, this doesn’t inspire confidence in the proper management of public funds.

Cousas de Galiza

It was the first day back at school for primary school kids yesterday. The rolls are several thousand down on last year. Possibly influenced by the fact that Pv province has one of the lowest totals of ‘foreigners’ living here. They breed more.

Galician potatoes are famous in Spain but this years crop was hit by the persistent spring rains, so will be inferior this year.

Autumn is certainly here, with a temperature of only 11 last night and the Atlantic Blanket plus rain tonight.

Portugal

The 10 best things to do/see in Oporto(Porto), maybe.

THE USA and THE MAGA REALITY TV SHOW

Trumpisms.

• Chicago is about to find out why it’s called The Department of War: From ‘the Candidate of Peace’.
• I never said that. You never listen. That’s why you’re a second-rate reporter. [Err . . . OK, you never said it; you wrote it.]

Trump’s astonishing – ‘unbelievable’ – range of pardons and commutations of criminals.

Wake up America! See below the latest – possibly last – list of Nazi parallels. Too long to include here.

Quotes of the Day

• The National Guard are the most expensive gardeners in history.
• Stephen Miller on Fox: The Democrats celebrate predators. It’s their religion.
• The main reason Miller is memorable is because he is petulant. Miller started off as Trump’s infamously terrible speechwriter, but he mostly made a name for himself by being such a creep that he stood out even by MAGA standards. He loves going on cable news shows and throwing comically over-the-top tanrums. Whether he is spilling racist lies or insisting his boss has unlimited power, Miller always adopts the same posture of maximum outrage. He clearly thinks he’s a terrifying villain in the Darth Vader tradition, but he actually reads more like Veruca Salt screaming ‘I want a golden goose’ at Willy Wonka. [Incredibly, he’s said to be planning to run for president . . .]

Spanish

• Elucubración: Speculation, musing, wild imagining, etc.
• Chapa: Veneer, sheet.
• Coñac: Brandy from Cognac
• Brandy: Brandy from Spain
• Tupinambo: Jerusalem artichoke

Did You Know?

The maker of a good quality child car seat tells me it shouldn’t be used after 5 years as it might not do what it’s supposed to do after that. My AI engine advises: It’s generally true that even a good quality child car seat should not be used after a certain number of years, with the typical recommended lifespan being 5 to 10 years, depending on the manufacturer and the specific model. The main reasons are that materials such as plastics and foams degrade over time due to exposure to temperature changes, UV light, and regular wear and tear, which can compromise the safety and effectiveness of the seat. Additionally, car seat technology and safety regulations evolve over time, so older seats may not meet the latest safety standards. I was hoping to sell the one now superfluous to requirements. . .

You Have to Laugh

A very British cartoon . . .

Finally . . .

The iPhone 17 comes out this week and will be the 17th I decide not to buy. Unlike my 2 daughters.

Good to have 4 new subscribers in the last week but 3 of them haven’t opened any emails. So, I have cancelled them. But Florence seems genuine, so my regards to her.

TRUMP AND THE NAZI PARALLELS

All of these come from The Coming of the Third Reich: How the Nazis Destroyed Democracy and Seized Power in Germany by Richard J, Evans.

[Rallies]. . . The Tempelhof field was packed with a vast assembly of over a million people arranged, military-style, in 12 huge squares, surrounded by a sea of Nazi flags, with 3 huge Nazi banners illuminated by searchlights. After dark, firework displays culminated in the emergence from the gloom of vast glowing swastikas lighting up the sky.

The regime began the endgame of closing the down the Social Democratic Party. In May 1933 the government seized the party’s assets and property by court order, justified by the General State Prosecutor with reference to the supposed embezzlement of trade union funds, an accusation that had no basis in fact. In June, the Interior Minister ordered the state governments throughout Germany to ban the party. Membership in the party was declared incompatible with holding any public office or any position in the civil service. Over 3,000 Social Democratic functionaries were arrested, severely manhandled, tortured, and thrown into prisons or concentration camps. . . With repression such as this, the party was effectively hounded out of existence.

In the summer of 1932 few could have realized that Papen’s government would give way little more than 6 months later to a regime whose extreme ruthlessness and total disregard for the law were difficult for decent, law-abiding democrats to grasp. The labour movement had been brought to heel, the trade unions smashed, the Social Democratic and Communist Parties, whose combined vote considerably exceeded that of the Nazis in the last fully free elections to the Reichstag in November 1932, had been destroyed in an orgy of violence.

There remained, however, another major political force whose members and voters had stayed largely loyal to their principles: the Centre Party. It derived its strength not simply from political tradition and cultural inheritance, but but above all from its identification with the Catholic Church and its adherents. It could not be subjected to the kind of indiscriminate and unbridled brutality that had swept the Communists and the Social Democrats off the political stage. More subtle tactics were required. Hitler and most of his leading associates were aware of the breadth and depth of Christian allegiance in the majority of the population, and did not want to antagonize it in the course of suppressing parties such as the Centre. They were thus careful in the early months of 1933 to insist repeatedly on the adherence of the new government to the Christian faith. The Vicar-General declared that Hitler had been given to the German people by God in order to lead them. From May onwards, leading Catholic politicians, lawyers, activists in lay organizations, journalists and writers, were arrested as well, particularly if they had published critical articles about the Nazis or the government. The party formally dissolved itself on 5 July,

The destruction of the Communists, the Social Democrats and the Centre Party was the most difficult part of the Nazis’ drive to create a one-party state. Together, these 3 parties represented far more voters than the Nazi Party itself had ever won in a free election. In comparison to the problems they posed, getting rid of the other minor parties was easy. By the summer of 1933 the creation of a one-party state was virtually complete. Only President Hindenburg remained as a potential obstacle to the achievement of total power, a senile cypher seemingly without any remaining will of his own, whose office had been neutralized by the provisions of the Enabling Act. [Which gave Hitler the right to do whatever he wanted. As the Supreme Court has done for Trump.]

Note: After Hindenburg’s death in 1934, Hitler merged the presidential powers with the chancellorship and declared himself Führer, eliminating the position of President as a separate office. {Was anyone surprised?]

My thanks to those readers who take the trouble to Like my posts.

The Usual Links . . .

You can get my posts by email as soon as they’re published. With the added bonus that they’ll contain the typos I’ll discover later. I believe there’s a box for this at the bottom of each post. If you do this but don’t read the posts, I will delete your subscription. So perhaps don’t bother if you have other reasons for subscribing . . .

I can also be read on Facebook.

For new readers: If you’ve landed here looking for info on Galicia or Pontevedra, try here. If you’re passing through Pontevedra on the Camino, you’ll find a guide to the city.

If you´re thinking of moving to Spain, this link should be useful to you.