A Gentle Poem For the End of a Brutal Year

 

Driving Home at 6 am, December 30, 2020 

I turn a corner slowly,

Watching out for deer.

My headlight catches

The speed limit sign,

Twenty-five, and I smile-----

I am alive!

It is the end of another year

And the rollcall of the famous dead

Tumbles through my brain

And I rejoice:

I am alive!

Snowflakes tumble slowly downward

Bound to gravity,

Bound to the earth,

And I rejoice:

Walking now toward my front door

As if I were in a snowglobe

Freshly shaken.

The Book Brag Blog

 

I finally have both Infrequent Flier and Avalanche of Bones finished to the point where I can let them go out into the world without me helecoptering over them. Please enjoy! Infrequent Flier is a collection of stories from my life and the lives of some of my fondest heroes, including one fictional one, Doctor Who. Avalanche of Bones is a shorter collection in terms of pages, with three sets of poems divided by a section of fictional and one of factual stories. I have spent a lifetime collecting these stories and reflections, intending to create many, many books but never quite having enough time for long projects. Instead, it occurred to me that each “book” would make an interesting “chapter” and perhaps a better way to tell the story. As always, I invite the reader to dig deeper into anything that sparks their interest. I have two mantras by which I choose to live: stay curious and, as The Doctor prescribes, “Above all, be kind.”

Cap'n Jack and Holiday Cheer

 

I love the holidays. Christmas is my favorite time of the year. The decorations, the anticipation, all those lights against the Dark, snow on the ground (just enough to be decorative, no shovelling required). The joy of giving, the excitement of receiving . . .

It begins with a slow rumble through October, then picks up steam from Halloween through Thanksgiving while our granddaughter happily changes the stick-ems on our windows. Then Advent comes, the real countdown begins, the tree goes up, the presents get wrapped and hidden until Christmas Eve. Then comes our traditional Christmas dinner, Chinese take-out from the Asian Buffet, and hours playing for all that new stuff while waiting for 7 pm. and, since 2005, the Doctor Who Christmas Special.

Chris Chibnall, newest showrunner for The Doctor, for whatever reason moved the Special to New Year's Day. That's okay, as long as it happens. In fact, with all the hope for the future we are investing into 2021, it seems fitting to start off with a new visit from the first female Doctor in the show's long and fabled history and her wonderful trio of companions including Graham, a man around my age who always gets it done.

But wait, there's more!

Few two word phrases in the English language, after “Doctor Who,” of course, elicit as much excitement in me as “Cap'n Jack.” This comes from learning about Calico Jack Rackham, fabled pirate captain and Anne Bonny's lover. I believe Captain Jack Sparrow of Disney fame was inspired by Calico Jack, even if the caricatrure was based on the mannerisms of Keith Richards and self-assurance of Pepe le Pew. Ultimately, though, it is Captain Jack Harkness, who first appeared in the initial season of the Doctor Who reboot, then was the lead character in Torchwood while making several visits to the Whoniverse, that brings me thrills. As played by John Barrowman, he is one of the outstanding characters of the 21^st Century. Chris Chibnall cut his teeth as showrunner for Torchwood. He knows the irreverant, bi-sexual, impossible to kill Jack Harkness. And now, on New Year's Day, Jack is back!

Today is the third Sunday of Advent. Santa comes by in eleven days and Chinese food in twelve. Captain Jack shows up in 19, and I'm counting down.

Democracy Is Not Dead

As we waited to see how the transition of power from Donald Trump to Joe Biden would play out, Linday Graham, that beacon of convenience, declared that Republicans had to change the rules or no Republican would ever again be elected President. The whole waiting game was a scary, scary moment. Many of us feared that the peaceful transition of power simply would not happen. It seemed that the honor system had been blown to bits. Trump seemed to be searching for ways to justify overturning the election results, tossing them aside altogether. We speculated on all the ways that could happen and wondered if we were strong enough and clever enough to stop him. And yet, and yet. The election itself was a refreshing boost of democratic confirmation. So I wrote the following poem on November 17, 2020, two weeks after the election. It was inspired in no small part by Ingrid Jonker's brilliant poem, “The Child Is Not Dead,” and, as always, by the incredible words of Wilfred Owen, one of my soldioer-poets of World War One, “All the poet can do is warn.” 

  Democracy is not Dead 

Democracy is not dead. 

She rides upon the millions 

Of restless, marching feet, 

Demanding to be heard,

Mis-quoting Twain, “Reports 

 Of my demise are just a bit 

Premature—be vigilant!”

Democracy is not dead. 

She shouts alongside the millions: 

I have spoken, let me speak! 

Her epitaph, though written, 

Lies inside the editor's desk 

Unpublished. 

Her voice, though trembling, 

Has found renewed strength but is 

Caught in her hesitation, 

Looking for words, needing but a few. 

Democracy is not dead. 

Her body shows the bruises 

Of every time she stumbled 

But the multitude each time 

Has picked her up and set her back

Upon the terrible long path to Golgotha 

While Liberty awaits her 

To share her fate. 

Democracy is not dead 

Though there are so, so many 

Who would make her so.

Five Points Post Election

One. At the pro-Trump rally in Washington yesterday violence broke out and twenty people wound up arrested. I don't care which side you are on, if you think violence furthers your cause, stay out of mine. Two: Let the courts decide. This is a nation of laws. Accept it! The Department of Homeland Security declared that 2020 was the most secure election in US history. Accept it! Eighty percent of America has. In a nation governed by majority rule, that's a pretty good number. Three:The election shows that America remains divided. Donald Trump lost but still garnered more votes than anyone else in history except Joe Biden. At the same time, the Democrats lost seats in the House and could not get their sweep into the Senate. State legislatures by and large stayed as they were. Four: What does it mean? Most Americans hope that a change at the top will lead to better, more coordinated management of the Covid-19 Crisis, but no one seems to want to endorse sweeping change anywhere else. Five: We do not want another lock down. But to avoid it, we just need to be courteous to one another and respect each other's safety. It has been shown that masks help both the wearer and everyone else. Wear them. They're just another item of clothing. Socially distance. Wash your hands. Be polite. Be mindful of those around you. Watch out for the other guy! Or gal. It's not hard, and if it helps keep our ecnomy going, it's patriotic.

Biden Wins, What Now?

The National Nightmare is not over. America remains divided and confused. Half the population is uttering a sigh of relief, the other half a groan of bewilderment. Many Americans are angry and restless and uncertain how to proceed. But the invitation to re-unite as a nation is out. Joe Biden is President-elect of the United States. Still, Donald Trump is acting President for 74 more days. He will challenge the vote. States with close results will automatically recount the ballots cast there before being certified. Mr. Biden is President-elect of a country in crisis, and there are no magic bullets to take us out of the varied crises that confront us. It will take working together for the common good. The invitation is out. What strikes me is that more people came out to vote than ever before, despite all the challenges to the process imposed by Covid-19 and utterly false suggestions about vote integrity, America's citizens stood in ridiculously long lines not just on election day but every day wherever early voting was permitted. 100 million voted by mail or brought their ballots in to voting centers. The voter refused to be disenfranchised by either disease or disruption. President Trump received more votes than any candidate in history except Joe Biden, while President-elect Biden won the highest percentage of the popular vote of any candidate facing an incumbent president. Democracy seems to have won a major victory here. Unity and Civility stand by her side. And Hope has booked the next flight home.

I Have Voted, Have You?

Today, we decide. Today, the last ballots will be cast and the counting begins, today the robocalls and the political ads stop. It may take days, even weeks before the outcome is clear. But today the decision will be final. 100 million voters gave already turned in their ballots. All arguments aside, this robust participation bodes well for democracy in America. I have voted. I got the sticker. If you haven't yet, please do. It is one way your voice can be heard. It is the way you can say e pluribus unum, “Of the many I am one.” Millions would love to have that privilige.

Best Health Care, Really?

As the rest of the world is confronting new outbreaks of Covid-19, statistically they might begin to catch up to the United States. Or they would, if the United States stood still or even plateaued in the numbers of cases and deaths here. Other countries have higher death rates per million, but the staggering question for Americans has to be, what happened here? I do not lay the blame for Covid-19 at the feet of our president any more than I blame anyone else. It is a disease. Diseases happen. That being said, it baffles me why the country with the alleged best healthcare system in the world is doing so poorly among the so-called industrialized nations among whom America is supposed to be the leader.. There is one thing that sets us apart from almost every other nation in our “class,” especially in response to Covid-19. You can point to a lack of central leadership. It is a factor. You can point to the divisiveness among Americans over what should be no-brainer methods of containment. It contributes. Ultimately, though, there has been a fundamental lack of coordination between the myriad levels of government and the widely diverse healthcare system. In a word, health insurance is driving the bus. Or, rather, not driving when it should be. We tout our healthcare system as the best in the world. However, our overall ranking by the World Health Organization puts us at Number 37 in the world. What the nations above us have that we don't is universal healthcare, the one-payer system. When will we stubborn stupid Americans realize that the open market system does not work for everything and in every case? If it shows us nothing else, Covid-19 makes a great case for single payer, MediCare for all. It's not the perfect solution, but neither is it the death knell for capitalism. It gives protection to every consumer and worker who forms the foundation for every capitalist's dreams. And guess what? You'll save money paycheck to paychek!

Changing the Channel

When I originally began writing my blogs, my intention was to write about art and entertainment. Politics inevitably crept in, a little like Freddy Krueger slipping into my dreams. But politics has not been very artful of late. It has been entertaining, in that I have felt compelled to watch, the way I find myself sitting down to finish Field of Dreams no matter what point in the film I walk into, or an episode of Masterpiece's Van der Valk to find out just who is behind a rash of violent crimes, how our troubled hero will cope, and just why he is so troubled. I am not a fan of Reality TV, and the last four years have been a long, continuous, 24-7-365 broadcast. Last night's debate was almost refreshing. Both vice presidential candidates were relatively polite and controlled. Neither one seemed able to keep their responses within time limits, but aside from that they did okay. In an environment of extremes all around, okay was just fine. And that's all I plan to say today. Since almost everyone who is planning to vote has already made their choices, I feel it is pointless to keep badgering you. I think I'd rather watch Field of Dreams, or a good murder mystery, wouldn't you? Or Hocus Pocus, It's almost Halloween! I do marvel at the lengths Jeff Goldblum went to in order to be the highlight of the debate. He was almost permanently stuck in Vice President Pence's hair, softly sreaming his mantra, “Help me! Help me!” Help us!

America's Crisis of Conscience

Donald Trump is an arrogant, ignorant prick. Coming back from the hospital against better judgment, still battling Covid-19, he tells us it was no big deal, we need not be afraid of coronavirus. With over 210,000 Americans succumbed to this plague, and as many as a thousand new deaths daily, downplaying the severity of this health crisis simply because Trump, with access as President to the absolutely best health care available in the world, still holds onto the strange notion that hiding the truth is a sign of strength. The abomination that was his incessant shouting over both opponent and moderator at the first presidential debate still reverberates through my battered skull. Even getting sick from the highly contageous Covid has not stopped him from acting with foolish, ignorant bluster. Is this what we want representing us to the world? Have we become so caught up in our own self-righteousness that we no longer can recognize, let alone admit, when we are wrong? I hold that this is a minority view. But will that minority accept the decision of the majority to change course, to move forward by going back to a more reasoned and reasonable America once again worthy to lead the world? That is the question now. Trump obviously is counting on the answer, “No, they won't.” They'll take up arms and march to protect his power. He's doubling down on it. Republicans across the nation are searching for ways to make it harder to vote safely. Freedom itself hangs in the balance. Badgered as we have been, the worst possible thing now would be to give in and not vote at all. Trump wins automatically if we stay home. America is having a crisis of conscience. Are we going to move toward finally achieving and accepting an all inclusive society, a process our Forefathers began 244 years ago, or are we going to hold on, tooth and claw, to a white-domninant nation? The choice is that clear. Personally, to do it right, I'd say we need all the help we can get. America has been on a journey to Equality. Call it the Freedom Train. Donald Trump is trying to derail it. He wants us to forget who we are and how hard our parents and grandparents worked to lay down the tracks. So: do we want to be Proud White Boys or a truly democratic, all inclusive, all welcoming nation living up to and striving toward the ideal set down by Emma Lazarus, engraved at the foot of Liberty herself: “Keep, ancient lands, your storied pomp!” cries she With silent lips. “Give me your tired, your poor, Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free, The wretched refuse of your teeming shore. Send these, the homeless, tempest-tost to me, I lift my lamp beside the golden door!”

Good News For A Change: I Wrote A Book Not About Trump!

In difficult times, it is sometimes hard to find nice things about which to write. Therefore, I made something nice all by myself (with the help of all kinds of friends and family and figures from the arts). I wrote a book. I call it Infrequent Flier, and it is now available to the world! So, here is the description: Travel with me through space and time at the speed of sound. Sounds fast, isn't, really. Plenty of time to think about all kinds of stuff. Welcome aboard my spaceship, such as it is. Yes, it's smaller on the outside. The inside is infinite and filled with stories. Part memoir, part travelogue, part history, part cultural commentary, part art appreciation, all fun! There is more to art than what you know, or like, and more to any of us than meets the eye. The destination is fun but the adventure lies in the journey. From Mahler to Metallica, from Montana to Maastricht, from Shostakovich to Scheveningen, from van Gogh to Vonnegut, from Sir Winston to Doctor Who—join me on a trek across space, time, history and art. These are reflections and true stories (and some made up tales for spice) from what I know. Includes: “In Defense of Harry Potter,” “Ambush,” “42,” “Liberty Park,” “I Had to Be Fifty, “ “Timey Whimey,” “Best Westerns,” “The Naked Lady,” and dozens more. Explore with me, casually but honestly, a museum here, a battleground there, a song in the back of your mind, a film you cannot forget, the story of a hero or two, portraits of places that ring with poetry, and perfect days in abundance—all considered on long flights seven miles high. A perfect companion for the bathroom, the airplane, and the airplane bathroom! In the penultimate chapter of this book, I define a perfect day: “You have to be open to adventure and you have to be generous in how you define what an adventure is.” My own perfect days are filled with conversations shared with good friends. From art museums to symphony halls to breweries to mountain tops, I offer an adventure of a lifetime spent wasting hours on all the right things. This book is a conversation. One-sided, I admit. I talk, you listen—but feel free to jump in at any time. 511 pages. Available in paperback for $20, or on your Kindle for just $8.99. Please support a starving artist! Well, I am not exactly starving. In fact, I need to go on a diet. But that's another story.

The Not So Great Debate, or, Rude and Crude

Like many of you, I suffered through last night's Presidential debate. Afterwards, I felt drained, depressed and anxious. I was shaken, but like most Americans on both sides, I saw nothing that would change my mind about either Donald Trump or Joe Biden. The debate re-enforced what I already knew, that our Preisdent is both rude and crude, and that his challenger wants to take the higher road even while being tractor-pulled toward Trump's Autobahn. Once upon a time, America was the leading country in the world, in economics, in politics, in philosophy. Today all we lead the world in are Covid-19 cases and deaths. Donald Trump is arrogant, ignorant and rude. He is out only for himself. He is using the presidency to hide from litigation and to try to meet his massive, onrushing debts. The question is, do the American people really want a bully representing them to the world? Why is Trump making no effort to appeal to the “average voter”? It is because he is planning a coup. He has already told us what he is going to do. He screams and yells and makes a mockery of the word 'debate' in front of millions of viewers. He wants to disshearten their resolve to come out and vote. He plans to stack the Supreme Court in the vain hope that the Court will legitimize the illigitimate and erroneous claim he intends to make that the vote was rigged. He challenges the legitimacy of the election process well before election day.. His base agrees. They are, as Trump himself told the neo-Nazi Proud Boys last night, standing by. The President himself told us the truth last night, at least once. About the transition of power he said, “It will be messy.” We all should take note.

Biden for President

The Republican members of Congress are so in love with having power that they have forgotten why most of them sought that power in the first place. They have lost sight of Republican values. Their moral compass is broken into a million pieces. They march in goose step behind their leader, while the Donald struts like Mussolini and spews hate like Hitler. But if they intend to keep following his lead, they had better be certain of where he plans to go. It has been a bumpy ride so far. It has been unnecessarily rough, like shooting down rapids through a canyon so sheer you can't climb to safety on either side. We need calm seas. We need a navigator who knows how to chart a course. I wish Joe Biden were more of a statesman. I wish he were a charismatic leader. But maybe what we need is a calming presence to guide us forward after the chaos of four years with Donald Trump at the helm. Maybe we need an Opa in the White House. Therefore, I must support former Vice-President Biden. I have been given a clear choice. I hope he is the good guy his image projects. Time will tell. He certainly can do no worse. At this point, by comparison with #45, even Sarah Palin looks positively presidential.

The Nazi Equation

“Germany has been good for the Jews and the Jews have been good for Germany. Anyway, what are they going to do, kill us all?” ---Julius Lowenthal to Carl Glocken, Ship of Fools Donald Trump is a fascist. He wants to be our dictator. He is doing exactly what Hitler did in Germany to entrench his position among the people. He is affixing blame for America's woes on the “radical left,” the Black Lives Matter movement, Muslim 'immigrants,' and China, just as Hitler blamed communists, capitalists, and Jews. One difference is that Hitler rose up when the German people were desperate and economically opressed. Trump rose up on the coattails of systemmic racism as the fear that White America is losing its hold on the country. It did not go well for Germany, or the world, the first time around. Anyone who supports Trump today needs to ask themselves, do we really want to go down this road? It may sound cool to pick a fight with China, but China would kick our ass even if their own ass was kicked in the bargain. No one wins. Millions, even billions would die. Billions more non-human creatures would be colateral damage. But Trump, if he lived through it, would stand to make a fortune on the rebuilding. If you think Trump cares about you or your needs, think again. In his first three years as President, Trump's corporations already earned 1.9 billion dollars in profits, He never divested himself of his holdings. His companies have dealings with 25 foreign countries, including outsourcing production of Trump and Ivanka Trump items to China. But if it would give him one more day in the White House, or offer him a chance to make money, he would attack China in a heartbeat. For Donald Trump, no lives matter but his own. You can scoff. I've been saying for years that the United States under Trump smells like Germany 1933. It's advanced now. It's Germany 1936, on the verge and no one can quite believe it could happen again. Please pay attention. Pick your battles. The whole planet is in crisis and all of Humanity is at risk. Donald Trump is a symptom but he wants to be the disease.

Apocalypse Now

“We are striking because we have done our homework and they have not.” -----Greta Thunberg A writer's job is to warn. Yet most writers are Cassandras. No matter how loudly or persuasively we argue, nobody listens. No matter how well we document the truth, lies will out. No matter how clearly the future reveals itself to us, the majority cling to the past. But the past belongs to the dead, not the living. I am tired of holding back, of being polite. It has accomplished nothing. The choir knows who I am. No one else seems to want to hear, and that's too bad. Contrary opinions no longer have value in America. And yet, science speaks, and the Earth, our home, speaks even louder. We have passed the tipping point. No one wants to say it, but just look around. Fires, floods, famine, pandemics: the apocalypse is now. The plagues of Egypt are upon us, but no one gets a “pass over.” Meanwhile we argue over masks and social distancing and whether or not college football should start up. We are currently facing a time when millions of people across the planet will be turned into refugees, not by war or political upheaval, but encroaching salt water. The ice is melting. We cannot turn back the clock. We must prepare. Fix it? Sorry, Greta, but it's already too late. Last year, the fires in Australia killed an estimated one billion living things. The Amazon rain forest, the “lungs of the world,” faces a continuous onslaught of willful deforestation. The past decade was the hottest on record, and 2019 the hottest year ever since people began keeping track. The west coast of America is buring out of control with massive fires for the fourth year in a row. In fact, the seven most devastating fires in California history have taken place during this time. 2020's fires are by far the worst ever. The tropical storm naming game ran out of names in mid-September, going to Greek letters of the alphabet and already at Beta, while one storm thought dormant has re-emerged into a “zombie storm” heading toward Portugal. Even Covid-19 can't slow down climate change. Donald Trump says, “you just watch, it'll get cooler,” and he may be right. All this heat and ice melt will. Ironically, will lead to a new Ice Age. While Mankind stumbles around with its words and its penchant for standing still, Gaia has other ideas. Gaia is on the move. It won't be Waterworld. But it won't be an easy place we pass on to you, Greta, or my lovely grandchildren. We are down to Darwin or die. Evolve or expire. Adapt or drown. The truth is patient. You can outshout it. You can bury it under a mountain of lies. In the end, though, it will reveal itself even if there are no more human beings left to hear it. Adults, are you listening? “You must unite behind the science. You must take action. You must do the impossible. Because giving up can never be an option.” -----Greta Thunberg

Moron in the White House?

“As democracy is perfected, the office of president represents, more and more closely, the inner soul of the people. On some great and glorious day, the plain folk of the land will reach their hearts' desire at last and the White House will be adorned by a downright moron.”--H.L.Mencken I cannot decide if Donald Trump is actually a moron or is the greatest con man in the history of American politics. If he's a moron, then, sorry to say, anyone who supports him is also a moron. If he's a con man, then anyone who supports him has been conned. Duped. Made the fool. And yet they do not see. It just does not look good for America. “The liberty of a democracy is not safe if the people tolerated the growth of private power to a point where it becomes stronger than the democratic state itself. That in its essence is facism: ownership of a government by an individual, by a group or any controlling private power.”--Franklin Delano Roosevelt.

Matthew 25:40

“And the King shall say to them, 'I will tell you the truth, when you did it to the least of one of my brothers and sisters, you were doing it to Me.'” There are several ways to translate Matthew 25:40, but the jist is that Jesus told his followers whatever good deed or bad one performed for or against even the lowliest human being, was performed for or against Christ Himself. It seems pretty straightforward to me. We are charged to take care of one another. Whatever your belief system, this basic tenet echoes through all of us. To deliberately hurt, torture, maime, scar or kill is against this simple tenet. My dear Christian friends, America has lost its way. Hundreds of children separated from their families remain so. Women are being mutilated within our system. There are slaves in America right now—more slaves than the total number of Africans brought to the colonies. Too many people, most of them minorities in a still White-dominated society, are marginalized, forgotten or ignored altogether. Children go to bed hungry at night. Just one human being facing any of those situations in the greatest land on earth is our failure made manifest. This is not fake news. This is our legacy to our own children, ugly as it sounds, but it is not beyond correcting. I leave you with two more quotes: “We are not afraid to entrust the American people with unpleasant facts, foreign ideas, alien philosophies, and competitive values. For a nation that is afraid to let its people to judge the truth and falsehood in an open market is a nation that is afraid of its people.” John F. Kennedy. And from Theodore Roosevelt: “A vote is like a rifle: Its usefulness depends upon the character of the user.”

The Ides of September

Beware the Ides of September. There are just fortry-nine days left before the Election. The West Coast is on fire. President Trump tells us, they should manage their forests better, forgetting that more than half the forests in California belong to the Federal Government. Yesterday he told us, “It''s going to get cooler. You just watch.” That is his solution to climate change—winter is coming. The Gulf of Mexico is awash in the face of Hurricane Sally. It's September and the weather bureau has almost run out of names for their storms, preparing to go to Greek letters of the alphabet, with five more storms brewing. The United States remains the disproportionate leader in Covid-19 cases and deaths. In four years of brutal combat during World War Two America lost just over 400,000 soldiers. In seven and a half months of 2020, we are nearly halfway to that total in coronavirus related deaths. President Trump willingly misled the American people about the seriousness of the virus from the get go, leaving our people and our healthcare system woefully unprepared. Meanwhile, half the country bemoans our lack of leadership. The other half loves our leader. Neither side seems able to budge. Both sides are digging in. Nothing changes. It only escalates. Ignoring politics altogether, all the disasters continue to inflict themselves upon us like the plagues before Armageddon. I am tired of people telling me that it's a cheap shot to draw comparisons between America today and Germany under Hitler. Too easy, they say. Unfair! Yet I have said for four years that America feels and smells like I imagine Germany felt in 1933. Now we learn that one part of the United States government is not afraid to act like Nazis. We already knew that ICE (Immigratiuon and Customs Enforcement) had no problem separating small children from their parents and putting them in cages. According to Fox News, a whistle blower registered a complaint that at least five female ICE detainees at the Irwin County Detention Center in Ocilla, Georgia, have been sterilized, receiving unnecessary hysterectomies. The Nazis used to sterilize people routinely. As one of my close friends in Holland said to me, “I don't recognize America anymore.” Donald Trump did not cause the virus or the fires or the coming floods. His approach to all of them is off-hand at best. It seems he would not mind seeing our country “decrease the surplus population.” he seems like a moron, but it's an act, the role he plays. America 2020 is not Germany 1933, but no one in Germany then had any idea what Adolph Hitler was capable of doing. All they had to do was listen then, and listen now even in the small corners of the country where human rights are forfeit.

Revelations 20.20 - Trump on Covid, the Military, and You

The revelations keep coming. A new one pops up before you have time to digest the last. Now we learn that Trump did understand the dangers of Covid-19 from the start, as early as February 3, but chose to deliberately mislead the American public, he claims, for fear of inducing a panic. Then he kept on misleading the public, doubling down on that strategy, even as the United States became the hotspot of the world. Covid deaths in our country are rapidly approaching 200,000—more civilians than the number of soldiers killed in all the wars America has fought since the end of World War Two combined. This means Trump mismanaged the crisis not out of stubborn ignorance but with intent. Worse, to me, is his disrespect for military service. I read a letter to the editor of our local paper yesterday, written by an 80 year old veteran who says he is neither a sucker nor a loser, and Trump is not fit to be commander in chief. I echo his words. Listen: if you are truly a patriot and you still like Trump, shame on you. If you think the reports on his distain for soldiers and service are fake news, dig deeper. Even Fox News reported Trump's flagrant disrespect before Fox apologists tried to walk it back. The sources for that report have been verified, even by Fox. As to Trump's intentional downplaying of the Covid crisis, the Woodward tapes are real and readily accessible. Check for yourself. Please. Access the article in Atlantic Magazine. And if, even then, you cannot bring yourself to vote against Trump, abstain. Do not vote for him. The man has no love of country, no love for you. You are his subject, not his constituent. Trump has investments in 144 companies that either deal with or outsource directly to 25 foreign countries, among them India, Indonesia, United Arab Emarates, China and Saudi Arabia. How extensive those holdings are we do not know, because he will not release his tax returns. He is itching to establish economic ties with Russia. He wants Trump Tower Moscow. Trump's signature ties are made in China. None of his daughter Ivanka's clothing line is made in the USA. None. 354 items are made in China. Trump explained, "It's very hard to have apparel made in this country." Our country. The United States. When Trump threatened to boycott Oreo cookies because he learned some production was moving in Mexico, he forgot to mention that at least two of his companies either outsource to or import from our neighbor down south. Trump has been playing the American people for suckers and losers all along. The truth is out there, on tape.

Is Trump A Traitor?

Is Donald Trump a traitor to America? Is he a Russian spy? Or is he in Putin's pocket? We know Trump has had dealings witrh Muscovite oligarchs. We know he thinks Putin can do no wrong even when that modern tzar rigs elections, poisons rivals, and offers bounties to Afghan fighters for dead American soldiers. Trump likes Putin. Trunp likes strong men in control We know his third wife is from Slovenia, part of what once was Yugoslavia—but is she, really? Should we check her birth certifricate? Wherever she was born, could she be Trump's handler? Trump has sought Russia's help in the past to get him into power, seeks it now to help him stay there. He owes the modern tsar. Just how much, and what type of payment Putin demands, we do not know because no one in America is investigating Trump as a possible counter-intellegence threat. Trump thrives on chaos and division. He has gone out of his way to make racism acceptable, even mainstream. He has presented a them-or-us attitude toward anyone in America who does not agree with him. He even encouraged, and still does, a debate about wearing face masks as if liberty itself were at stake. He shows no respect for our military, past or present, a commander in chief who thinks the soldiers under his command are stupid losers. On September 3, Trump suggested that voters who mail in their ballots go to the poles to vote again “to test the system”-- effectively calling for people to commit a crime. Lets be clear, under federal law even the attempt to vote twice can lead to a fine of not more than $10,000 and imprisonment of not more than five years. It would be an absurd suggestion to make, but we are talking about Donald Trump, who seems to push the envelope daily to see if he can shake loose any of his base, and so far he has not. He once said, “I could stand in the middle of Fifth Avenue and shoot somebody, and I woulodn't lose any voters, OK?” Trump knows that liberty itself is at stake because he is out to destroy it. This is our President. He has 2/5 of Americans fooled into surrendering their individuality and their Americanism to a neo-fascist ideal for a country that never existed: Trump's Amerika Uber Alles. Is he a traitor? The jury is still out. Hell, the jury has not been convened yet. But count on it, that day will come. There may not be any Americans left to sit judgment, but den Haag awaits. Evidence is being gathered. Somebody is paying attention. Placing travel restrictions and sanctions on individuals at the International Criminal Court for doing their job won't change that, and pulling America out of the United Nations, as Trump suggests, will not keep the United Nations from dealing with us. Perhaps Trump will find a hiding place on the top floor of Trump Tower Moscow when all this is done.

Mail-in in Montana

Montana is white. The percentage of people in the state who are cataloged as white-non-Histpanic is over 85%. It is no surprise that the state went for Trump in a big way in 2016. It is a surprise that Trump is now suing Montana to stop mail-in balloting, turning heavily pro-Trump Montana into a testing ground for his assertion, with no proof, that mail-in voting is a guarantee of voter fraud. But then, Trump likes to set up excuses in case he loses. Sorry, that should read, in the unlikely event that he might lose, which in his mind would necessarily have to be a cheat by the other side. But Montana? Really? Montana voted 2 to 1 for him last time. You would think he would be safe here, of all places. Then again, Montanans have elected democrats to both the governorship and the senate, and Steve Bullock, serving out his final term as governor, has a good chance of putting another democrat in the Senate in November. Bullock is one of the people named in the lawsuit. The other is Secretary of State Corey Stapleton, who is a Republican. All these state officials did was allow each county in Montana to choose whether to go all mail-in or maintain business as usual. Flathead County, where I live, opted against all mail-in, although absentee and early voting would be encouraged. What are the President and the Republican National Committee afraid of? Maybe Trump thinks that he can challenge Montana and not lose a vote. He forgets, or maybe he fears, that Montanans are notoriously independent and wickedly smart. The day after the lawsuit was announced, Flathead County changed its stance and signed on for all mail-in voting, further assuring the voters that there will be plenty of safe locations to drop off their ballots should they choose to do so. Voting at the polling place is still an option, no longer the preferred way. I told you Montanans were smart. Vote!

Lines in the Sand

America has become a nation of lines drawn in the sand. Cooperation and compromise have become ugly words rarely spoken. What happened to the middle of the road? What happened to the road? Americans have become tribal. The dichotomies are too deeply drawn. Voices have become too loud, too insistant. It's us against them, not We the People. How do we work ourselves back to “one nation under God, with liberty and justice for all?” It starts at the ballot box. It continues with open discussions over dinner tables and in coffee rooms and at backyard barbeques. We don't have to agree all the time but we need to listen as loudly as we speak. What happens when you draw a line in the sand? You either have to move it or bleed on it. I think working together in the sandbox, building castles, is the better way. I think we will find that there is more that unifies us than divides us, if we pay attention. We can start by sharing our love of country and our love of freedom, and build from there.

In Trump's America, Who Is in Charge?

Donald J. Trump is the President of the United States. He is also the main subject of every American newscast or news analysis, 24-7-365, as if the Trump Presidency were a reality TV show that, like most such programming, bears little resemblance to the real world most of us see around us every day. His show is both a fantasy and a horror show, depending upon where you stand politically, morally, and ethically. Here I am, back in the blog business after a hiatis of a year and a half, and so far every one of my blogs has been about him—I am as guilty as everybody else of being obsessed with understanding Donald Trump's America. Part of that comes from learning that my family in Holland tell me they no longer recognize America. They used to think of American idealism and American generosity and American leadership as things to be admired. They used to dream of wonderful visits to our country. All that is gone now and they do not know if it will ever come back. They do know it will go farther away as long as Trump remains President, and they fear that outcome on November 3. Because Donald John Trump is an anarchist in the worst sense of the word. He wants to break the post office. He wants to break the health care system, break Social Security, break MediCare. He has already broken the Iran nuclear proliferation treaty and pulled us out of the Paris Climate Accords, effectively crippling both. He gave a temporary tax break to everyone but a permanent tax break to the rich. He outsources his own companies to foreign lands using foreign workers. He encouraged separating young children from their parents at the United States border and tried his best to keep Muslim visitors and potential new citizens from coming to America. In less than four years in office, he has built five new miles of his fabled Wall, part of which is in danger of crumbling due to shoddy workmanship by one of his cronies. He sends federal law enforcement to cities that do not want his “help” to patrol the streets uninvited. He was impeached (granted, all three presidential impeachment trials ended in partisan acquittal). At the very least, he encouraged foreign intervention in our elections—twice. He inherited a robust economy from his democratic predecessor, but now faces an economic crisis due to Covid-19 that has cost six million jobs, yet he campaigns on how good things were in February. Speaking of Covid, on his watch 187,000 plus Amerricans have perished from the disease, a disproportionate total among the world's nations—in fact, with 4% of the world's population we have 24% of the known cases and 22% of the deaths. Meanwhile, he wants to cut down on testing for the disease because increased testing means higher numbers still, which looks bad for him. He touts miracles and promises a vaccine before the end of the year, echoing past presidents and their empty promises. Re-elect me, and I will do this. Worse, Trump tells us that what is happening on our streets and in our homes right now is what is going to happen under a Biden administration, as if he were not president at all but the man running for the job fresh and without a track record we can readily see. Mr. President, it's bad now. You thrive on devisiveness, and we have it in bucket loads. It feels as though you want our streets to become battlegrounds, to further your agenda and give you legal cause to entrench your power. Your presidency is a disaster. You are like the new frat boy who will do anything to get in with the wealthy and popular kids. They let you play in their league because they think they can control you, but that is a terrible mistake. Reader, if you think I am overstating my case, lets see what America looks like on November 4.

Donald Trump: The Sly Buffoon

Now that the suspense is over and the Republicans at last have chosen their candidate for President, well, I have a few comments. First: We cannot blame Donald Trump for the coronavirus pandemic, just like we could not blame George W. Bush for Hurricane Katrina. We can hold him accountable for the lack of response, as we did Bush at the time. But Bush at least worked to undo the damage. Trump keeps amplifying it, and in the bargain has made Covid-19, testing, and wearing masks political issues. Second: Trump sounds like an idiot every time he opens his mouth or posts a tweet. He cannot help himself. He throws out crazy conspiracies, calls upon experts he never names, denies his own words, attacks dead people, and can't seem to find the words his speech writers give him. He mispronounces simple words. He reads the teleprompter with utter flatness. His malaprops make Yogi Berra look like a genius—which, of course, Berra was. That got me to thinking, and worrying, that Trump is merely playing the role of buffoon and playing it perfectly while cleverly entrenching his power and doing things to ingratiate himself with his true base, the one tenth of one percent who really run things. I mean, no one could be that out of touch and that stupid yet lead a country, right? Third: Trump's advocates point to Joe Biden's acceptance speech by saying, “Anyone can read off a teleprompter.” Have they watched their man? If competence were a genuine issue in this race, I would question Trump's. He can't seem to read without evoking the worst monotone in snooze control or getting through without mispronouncing half a dozen words. As to his sense of reality, reality is whatever Donald Trump says it is. He's pushing imaginary armies against invading forces—wait, that was a certain Austrian whom his generals were terrified to tell the truth. Fourth: I have been told that it is too easy, a cheap shot, to make Hitler comparisons. And yet, I listened to our President rant on about how the far left had kidnapped Joe Biden and plans to ruin America. From where I sit, America is already in ruins and that is on Trump's watch. Then again, Trump is very good at accusing others of doing exactly what he himself is doing in the hopes that no one will notice him doing it. Right now, he is trying to rig the 2020 election, trying to incite violence in cities across America, and actually making America the exact opposite of “Great Again.” In his thinly veiled attempt to undermine and possibly destroy the United States Postal Service, he now says that he did not say what he did say, but many people, many fine people, excellent people, heard him. Some even recorded him. Finally, a quote: Not my words; a comment from acerbic wit H. L. Mencken almost a century ago: “On some great and glorious day the plain folks of the land will reach their heart's desire at last, and the White House will be adorned by a downright moron.” That great and glorious day is here. Help me prove Donald Trump is an anomaly. VOTE!

At The Post Office

The other day, my granddaughter and I went down to pick up our mail. We live in a rural area and have to go to a post office box, about a mile from our home. Obeying the wishes of our governor and respecting the new rules for common courtesy and social distancing, we both donned our facial coverings before we went inside. A mask-less lady passing us said, “Oh, a new traitor to the Constitution!” I am not usually very quick or bold with a response, but I retorted, “Where in the Constitution does it say anything about wearing masks?” The conversation died there. At home, I looked it up. Indeed, the Constitution says nothing about masks or facial coverings of any kind. Or seat belts. Or wearing clothes in public. It does stipulate the government's duty to look out for the public welfare, and it also says that states have huge discretionary powers in matters that affect public safety. In fact, states have the right to impose quarantine and isolation and call upon the National Guard to address noncompliance. In face of a massive threat to the public health, an individual's rights may be temporarily suspended if those rights impose or imply a danger to the community. Masks seem to me to be an odd place to take a stand for civil liberties, a strange battle to pick. Even silly. I think of that lady and wish I had said, “Madam, you have every right to be stupid, but you infringe on my rights when your stupidity threatens my well being.” I had a similar experience two weeks before in WalMart, when a young man within earshot of his parents yelled at me, “Masks are dangerous!” I told him, “I'm wearing this to protect you, Sir. What are you doing to protect me?” If you really want a battle to fight and stand up for equal rights, speak out for the Postal Service. The Trump administration is trying to kill it. Millions of us depend on its efficient, timely and relatively inexpensive services. Many of us get our retirement and social security checks that way. I get my heart medications by mail. I also vote by mail and have done for decades. I suggest you pull the mask off Postmaster General DeJoy's motives and his family's interests in USPS competitors like UPS and J. B. Hunt Transport Services. Look what national attention has done so far: DeJoy has postponed all those suggested “cost-cutting measures” until after the November election. Next, the Service promised that there will be no delays for mail-in ballots after all. Can we be sure? Wear your own masks to the polling place when you cast your vote, or at least make sure your vote gets there.

Congress Must Act NOW

Here is a suggestion to all members of Congress upon a timely return to hammer out the second stimulus bill. Actually, it is two-fold. First, since the United States Postal Service is managed through Congressional oversight, perhaps Congress should separate the proposed financial aid to the Postal Service into its own piece of legislation—and then let every Congressman and Senator state flatly where they stand, while allowing the Stimulus package to go forward. The Postal Service has been losing money since 2006, when Congress passed the Postal Accountability and Enhancement Act. The act effectively hog-tied the service from keeping up with costs and revenues decreased by the internet. Before that date and legislation, the Postal Service actually turned a profit, modest but still “in the black.” It will take Congress to help turn this around. But for now, ideally, of course, if Congress were to fund the service through the election and beyond, it would help assure a safe, legal and free election in 2020. It would also guarantee continued postal service to the millions of Americans who depend upon their men and women in blue for many day to day needs. Second, Congress should join with the Postal Inspector General in investigating new Postmaster General Louis DeJoy on charges of a conflict of interest. Not only is DeJoy completely inexperienced to head the postal service, he was a major contributor to Trump's campaign, a crony. Modeling after his favorite President Andrew Jackson, Trump is using the spoils system to reward DeJoy. But wait, there's more. DeJoy and his wife are reported to have invested between $30 and 75 million dollars in competitors to the post office, including the United Parcel Service. Such claims imply a serious conflict of interest and Congress must find out the truth—and act accordingly. One last thought: the Postmaster General is no longer a member of the President's cabinet and therefore can be appointed without the approval of Congress. Maybe that should change. Whatever Congress decides to do or not to do, the rest of us must find a way to make our vote count. It took centuries to enfranchise everyone eighteen or older. We cannot, should not lie down and give up that hard earned right.

Can Democracy Survive Donald Trump?

I am back. I stopped blogging quite a while ago to work on other projects. I have watched and hoped and waited, but silence is no longer an option. America is in chaos. And though no one can be blamed for a disease, how badly our country has handled the pandemic can be laid at the feet of one man. More, Democracy itself is in its death throes. The President of the United States, Donald J. Trump, is rigging the 2020 election--right in front of us as we watch. It is not subtle, it is not gentle. We don't have to speculate, to guess. He told us the truth. He is willing to handicap the United States Postal Service, an institution created by the Founding Fathers as stipulated by the Constitution (Article 1, Section 8, Clause 7) in order to prevent mail-in balloting in November. He is also holding hostage the second Stimulus Bill that Congress recessed before finalizing, over the funding earmarked for the Postal Service, which makes up only one percent of the proposed stimulus package. Desperate to hold onto power, Trump is blatantly working to ruin the legitimacy of the vote, and/or disenfranchise massive numbers of voters. In the bargain he is willing to sacrifice the post office, which brings news, medicines, monies and goods to everyone it can reach. That disenfranchises and endangers the poor, the elderly, and rural residents. Trump wants to become a dictator and the Republican Party seems to be in lock-step behind him. Unidentified men acting on Presidential authority have been trying to incite violence in the name of preventing it in cities around the country as an excuse to declare Martial Law. Every citizen in America is being disenfranchised as we watch, and Democracy is dying in front of our eyes. Anyone who thinks Trump cares about his country is wrong. Their “man” is a traitor to Democracy and no one can deny it any longer. All he cares about is holding onto power, like a Putin or a Lukashenko. It has been said that every people get the government they deserve. We deserve better. You and I are inside, watching history being made rapid fire. In the next few months, the “Grand Experiment” will either fail and be tossed into Donald Trump's rubbish bin, or reassert its value and remove him from office before he can remove Democracy from America's future. That is up to us. Vote. Do whatever it takes to get your ballot where it belongs. Help others get to the polling place or get their mail-in ballot in on time. The only way to save Democracy now is to exercise our democratic right to vote.