I missed the birthday (September 18, 1838) of Anton Mauve – Dutch Realist painter. He painted a whole lot of paintings of animals and peasants in the fields and I kind of like much of his work. Apparently, his paintings of sheep were very popular in America, so much so that a price differential developed between ‘sheep coming’ and ‘sheep going’. Here’s one called ‘The Return of the Flock’.
Mauve was married to Vincent van Gogh’s cousin, Arriette, and Mauve was a major influence on Van Gogh. He helped teach Van Gogh the use of watercolors and oils and later lent him money to rent and furnish a studio. Mauve later turned cold to Van Gogh over the latter’s relationship with a prostitute, ‘Sien’. Van Gogh continued to revere Mauve, though and, upon Mauve’s sudden death in 1888, dedicated one of his most iconic paintings to him – this painting of peach trees in bloom which he titled ‘Souvenir de Mauve’. You can see it in the Kröller-Müller Museum the next time you are in the Netherlands. I like it a lot.
When the CARES Act passed in April, it was an historic step by our government to mitigate the effect of the COVID pandemic on our people and economy. The $2.2 billion provided by the act supported enhanced unemployment benefits, stimulus payments to individuals and families, the Payroll Protection Plan to allow businesses to keep employees on the payroll, funds for state and local governments to cover COVID-related costs and support for students and renters to suspend student loan repayments and many kinds of evictions.
While the CARES Act was successful in many ways, most of the benefits have either expired or are about to expire even though unemployment continues at very high levels, business bankruptcies are growing, economic activity remains depressed, state and local governments are suffering from increased costs and decreased revenue and the threat of further bankruptcies and more economic and health damage continues.
FILE – In this May 21, 2020 file photo, a man looks at signs of a closed store due to COVID-19 in Niles, Ill. U.S. businesses shed 2.76 million jobs in May, as the economic damage from the historically unrivaled coronavirus outbreak stretched into a third month. The payroll company ADP reported Wednesday that businesses have let go of a combined 22.6 million jobs since March.AP Photo/Nam Y. Huh, File)
In light of this, the House of Representatives passed legislation two months ago to provide additional stimulus and relief totaling almost $4 billion for individuals, families, businesses, healthcare providers, state and local governments and others. the Republican-led Senate, however, has been unable to pass any corresponding legislation and the Senate leadership and the White House oppose most of the initiatives included in the House bill. This is creating a severe hardship for many Americans which can only get worse with further layoffs and business closings in the future and evictions and homelessness in the future for many of those whose unemployment benefits have been cut or the newly unemployed.
So I was heartened to see that a bipartisan group of representatives called ‘The Problem Solvers Caucus’ had proposed a framework for a COVID 19 relief package that might help move things along. I’m cautious because this group hasn’t really had much of an impact until now but perhaps this will go somewhere.
The package being proposed represents, of course, a compromise between the administration position and the legislation passed by the House. In my view it’s far from perfect but better than nothing. Here are the basic elements:
$100 billion for testing and healthcare, primarily for providers
$316 billion in support for families and individuals including increases in WIC/SNAP, direct stimulus payments as in the CARES Act, Rental assistance for the most needy and Student Loan forbearance through December.
$120 billion for unemployment assistance including $450 weekly supplement for 8 weeks followed by up to $600 but not to exceed previous salary for 13 weeks.
$290 billion for small businesses and nonprofits including a second PPP program with a focus on small and community banks and $50 billion for employee retention tax credits
$145 billion for schools and childcare including $15 billion for childcare providers, $100 billion for K-12 schools and $30 billion for higher education
$500.3 billion for state and local governments, most of it to make up for general revenue shortfalls.
I think in some of these categories there is not enough money but, as I said before – it’s better than nothing and nothing is what we will get if the current gridlock continues. I will keep my fingers crossed.
Today, September 16, is the birthday (in 1925) of the legendary blues guitarist and singer, B. B. King. King was born near Indianola Mississippi, the son of sharecroppers. He is considered by many to be the ‘King of the Blues’. He was an outstanding performer and those who had the privilege of seeing and hearing him in person will never forget it.
Since it’s shortlisted for the 2020 Booker Prize, I thought I’d repost the review of The Shadow King that I posted earlier on Facebook.
I just finished reading ‘The Shadow King’ by Maaza Mengiste. It’s a story of the 1935 Italian invasion of Ethiopia told in a beautiful, lyrical manner that seems much different than most war novels in its lyricism.The story centers around Hirut, a young woman who is a servant to a wealthy Ethiopian man, Kidane, and his wife, Aster. Hirut is an orphan and she has been taken in by this couple who knew her parents.Kidane is fond of Hirut, but Aster resents her.When war comes, Kidane recruits an army They are forced to leave their home when the Italians come, Kidane leading his troops and Hirut and Aster following behind. Hirut and Aster long to join the fight but are forbidden by Kidane and, when Hirut steals a gun to fight, she is brutally raped by Kidane. She realizes that there’s no way out but to fight.Eventually Hirut and Aster lead a troop of female fighters and, as Hirut trains she envisions fighting not the Italians but Kidane. There is reference to ancient battles, to the Iliad and Icarus and Daedalus. There are chapters about Emperor Haile Selassie and some historical narrative but the whole thing is strange and wonderful in a way I did not anticipate. There is pity and fear. One of the reviewers thought it gave her goose bumps from time to time and I agree. Hirut is a remarkable hero and this is a book you should read. I highly recommend it. For those of you who live in Maryland, it’s available on Maryland’s Digital eLibrary Consortium.
The judges have announced the shortlist for the annual Booker Prize, one of the world’s most prestigious literary awards. I was a bit surprised not to see Hilary Mantel’s name on the list for her third novel in her trilogy about Thomas Cromwell. Her first two books in the trilogy each won the Booker Prize.
I’ve only read one of the books on the list, The Shadow King by Maaza Mengiste, but I hope to read the others. I very much like The Shadow King and I will copy on this site the review I posted on Facebook.
The six novels are:
Shuggie Bain by Douglas Stuart – a violent tale of a child growing up in 1980’s Glasgow
Real Life by Brandon Taylor – a black, gay graduate student navigating life
The New Wilderness by Diane Cook set in a dystopian future in which almost all of the natural world has been destroyed
Burnt Sugar by Avni Doshi about an artist’s struggles to cope with her aging mother
The Shadow King by Maaza Mengiste about Ethiopian women in the second Italo-Ethiopian War, and
This Mournable Body by Tsitsi Dangarembgwa about a woman struggling to find employment in Zimbabwe.
I’ve very much enjoyed reading Booker Prize winners over the years and I’m looking forward to see which will be the winner this year. In any event I’m going to try to read all six of these. Let me know which you’ve read and which you’ve enjoyed.
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