Category Archives: Politics

Notes from 2017 – Predictions and Prophecies

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I’ve never been big on New Year’s predictions. Even if accurate, they’re like signs on a mountain road saying, “Watch out for falling rocks.” What do you do if you see one barreling at you?

Prophecies are even worse! In all the old stories, those who attempt to escape an evil fate choose the precise actions that bring it about. They do it every time!

Oedipus is probably the best known example. Told by the Delphic Oracle – an ironclad source – that his fate was to kill his father and marry his mother, what does he do? He quarrels with the first old guy he meets on the road and kills him! That’s when we know it can’t turn out well!

The following video is Keith Olbermann’s take on what we, as a nation, have done. Recognizing that our political and economic systems were broken, we went to the polls and made a choice that most of us now know can’t possibly turn out well…

See what you think. I’ll make a few predictions of my own in future posts, but most of them follow on this one.

Notes from 2017 – Remember moral courage?

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On New Year’s day, Wall Street Journal editor, Gerard Baker sparked a social media storm after saying on Meet the Press that he has instructed his paper’s journalists not to report Donald Trump’s lies as lies, but as “questionable,” or “challengeable” statements (1) (2).

The word “lie,” he said, implies a moral judgement, and opens the Journal to claims of bias. He cited Mr. Trump’s claim that “thousands” of Muslims celebrated 9/11 on New Jersey rooftops. To call that a “lie,” Baker claimed, would imply an intent to deceive, so the Journal reported instead that there was “no evidence” to support the allegations.

There are many obvious problems with this approach. No one with a pulse believes that Trump made an inadvertent mistake – his intent with this lie was to win the support of xenophobes, in one of the classic moves of would-be tyrants. Trump learned in his earlier “birther” rants that if you repeat a lie often enough, those who want to believe you will, and will rally to support your cause.

I our midterm election in 2018, we’ll have new voters who were a year old on 9/11, with no clear memory of the event. “No evidence” is too weak a rebuttal to our would-be dictator-in-chief, who unfortunately, is an expert on manipulating the news, and in a classic strategy tyrants before him continues his efforts to discredit legitimate news outlets (3) (4) (5).

The journalists had gathered on Meet the Press to discuss Mr. Trump’s attempts to discredit news he doesn’t approve of. You can read a full transcript of the session here (6) Not being sufficiently versed in history, Mr. Baker doesn’t realize that capitulation will not save him or his paper if Trump can manage to gain the power over news outlets, like “stronger libel laws,” that he craves.

Therefore, I’m awarding Gerard Baker of the Wall Street Journal, my first Wormtongue Award of 2017. This is the first, but I’m sure not the last, such award I’ll hand out…

The First Gates "Wormtongue Award" goes to Gerard Baker, of the "Wall Street Journal"

The First Gates “Wormtongue Award” goes to Gerard Baker, of the “Wall Street Journal”

Notes from 2017 – The daily deception!

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Cyberspace is atwitter – literally – with news of Mr. Trump’s call for renewed stockpiling of nuclear weapons.

DON’T FALL FOR THE SLIGHT OF HAND!

We’ve been down this road before. How often, in the face of scandal, has this TV star and drama queen shifted our attention to something outrageous, to get us all shouting, “That’s outrageous,” while we loose focus on the real issue?

He knows media, he knows propaganda, he knows misdirection. He’s a very good stage magician and master of what is false

What matters is the Russian hacking, and what knowledge Mr. Trump and his cronies may have had of this. He never let go of Hillary’s emails. We must not let go of demanding disclosure of CIA information, and a bipartisan investigation to get to the truth.

A renewed arms race would demand congressional budget approval, something not likely to be forthcoming when generals and every representative and senator involved in military planning understands that American 21st century warfare is likely to center on cyber attacks and countering lone wolf terrorists.

Mr. Trump is like a drug dealer, tweeting our daily adrenaline fix. Enough! It’s time to let go of the drama and keep focus as the miasma clears and we see what he’d rather we didn’t.

Note: I won’t use pictures in posts on this man, nor say the name of the office he won, an office that bears an honor of which Mr. Trump is not worthy.

Notes from 2017, part 1

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Petroglyphs, Saguaro National Park, Arizona

Petroglyphs, Saguaro National Park, Arizona

This morning, at 2:44 am local time, the still point of the turning world became even more still. Like the gap between the end of an outbreath and the next inbreath, the earth paused.  From the depth of our longest night, her axis tilted back toward summer.

Darkness is metaphorical as well as physical. By many measures, our nation is in its darkest hour since the civil war. The inspiration for what will become a series of posts through the coming year was an article by Summer Brennan, called Notes From the Resistance: A Column on Language and Power. Ms Brennan begins by saying:

“In George Orwell’s 1984, the first act of rebellion undertaken by Winston, the protagonist, is to acquire a blank book and begin to write down his thoughts and memories.”

As Big Brother watches, Winston begins to reclaim words and celebrate truth. Big Brother is not yet as pervasive here, although security experts warn I should put a piece of tape over the camera on my laptop – just in case. In my estimation, I’m hiding in plain sight, betting that no one much cares about pics of an unshaven man in his 60’s, sitting in his bathrobe before dawn, swilling coffee and searching for words.

Although if Ken Bones could go viral…

But I digress. A minority of those Americans who voted chose a petty tyrant and reality TV star to become the most powerful man on earth. Lies are his currency. I will not repeat the lies here, but rather, use these posts to document my reality, and as much as I can sense it, the national reality, over the coming year.

Rather adding my saliva to the spitting contest between supporters and detractors, I will use this space, through the coming year, to ask the Dr. Phil question: “How’s this working for you?”

Here we will celebrate truth and truth-tellers.

Here I begin by celebrating Pope Francis, who so follows so beautifully in the footsteps of the apostle of peace for whom he is named. Yesterday, he declared that evolution and the Big Bang theory are correct. That God is not a magician who pulled the universe out of a hat 5000 years ago. That science can be a mode of truly appreciating the handiwork of the Creator.

Happy Solstice to all!

Back / Bart to the Future

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Anyone who spends much time watching The Simpsons will likely agree that for 600 shows and counting, they’ve had the best writing in the history of television. Did you know that the show’s writers are sometimes prophetic? Sixteen years ago, in an episode called “Bart to the Future,” they showed us Donald Trump as president.

This shot from the episode shows Mr. Trump with a poster reading, “America you can be my ex-wife.” Think about that for a moment…

From "Bart to the Future" episode of the Simpsons, first aired March 19. 2000

From “Bart to the Future” episode of the Simpsons, first aired March 19. 2000

Homer is beginning to see what even those who voted for him will soon learn – that we’ve been screwed by a con man and pathological liar, who cares no more for us than he cared for the students at Trump University.

Voters had every reason to be angry with the status quo. When John Stumpf, the disgraced CEO of Wells Fargo, resigned with no jail time and $133 million, every working man or woman who is slipping further behind can see how those who play by the rules get shafted, and it is mainstream politicians of both parties who put the rules in place.

Donald Trump feigned concern for these workers just long enough to get elected. Union leaders aren’t stupid; five weeks before the inauguration, Richard L. Trumka, president of the AFL-CIO, said Trump’s cabinet appointments prove his campaign promises were hollow. Many other well meaning people who voted for the hope that Mr. Tump offered will learn soon enough they were conned. There won’t be much of a honeymoon.

Meanwhile, there is no room for compromise with evil and stupidity; it’s time for the majority of Americans who voted against our sociopathic president-elect to take a page from the Republican notebook, and prepare to defy and obstruct the incoming administration in every way we can.

When Barack Obama was elected, and the Republican party in seeming disarray, Mitch McConnell, senate minority leader, announced his party’s goal – to obstruct and insure that Obama was a one term president. It’s time for Democrats to adopt his playbook. The Tea Party taught us it doesn’t take that many people to stall a government.

sauron_blog

A good place to start is with this detailed outline, prepared by former congressional staffers, on how to influence members of congress: An Anti-Trump Guide.  The premise is simple – those who work closely with representatives report that they care about just one thing – reelection. The more personal our interaction, the better. None of them much care about social media or blogs. Personal emails are good, print letters are better, and best of all are direct questions at the public events and townhalls they host.

“Where do you stand on privatizing Social Security? Oh, so you really want to deliver seniors’ lifeblood to the tender mercies of the too-big-to-fail firms that gave us the great recession?”

Those who stood firm at Standing Rock remind us of the lessons of Gandhi and Martin Luther King – the power of non-violent resistance. The tech engineers and CEO’s who refuse to work on a Muslim registry are also exemplars, as is Jerry Brown, Governor of California, who vows that we’ll launch “Our own damn satellite,” if Mr. Trump succeeds in defunding NASA climate monitoring. We can honor the administration of the EPA, which refused to submit a list of their people who attend climate conference, and Leonardo DiCaprio, who has made himself a spokesman, not only for the science of climate change, but for the economic opportunities clean energy holds.

There’s a lot of damage that Mr. Trump’s ship of fools can do in the near term, but a battle is on for the soul of the nation. Few things are more important than insuring that the incoming government is thwarted at every turn, and voted out of office, in the disgrace it deserves, as soon as possible.

Prayers for Standing Rock

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prayer-for-standing-rock

At 10:00am Central time, on Sunday, December 4, there will be a world-wide half hour of prayer and meditation “with the water, the earth, and the global community of supporters” of the Standing Rock Sioux nation, of those whose lives depend on the Missouri River, and all who understand the importance to all beings, of clean drinking water and reverence for sacred space.

You can register to participate at praywithstandingrock.com, donate to the water protectors, and sign a petition to President Obama, requesting that he end the violence against unarmed, peaceful protestors, who understand that water is more important than oil.

Here is an interview with Wendy Egyoku Nakao, abbot of the Los Angeles Zen Center, on why she, her and her organization, and more than 500 clergy of all denominations support the Sioux nation:

“I think we are heading for more confrontation in the days ahead. The First Nation peoples are taking a ceremonial and prayerful stand for healing from historical trauma and declaring their right to live on this earth. The DAPL folks have continued their actions, with the support of the Morton County law enforcement, regardless of injunctions, and are poised to go under the Missouri River. The mainstream media all but ignores what is happening. The current POTUS has been weak on the issue; the future POTUS is invested in Energy Transfer Partners. I encourage everyone to Stand with Standing Rock and protect the Water. Water is Life.”

How did it come to this?

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While scanning yet another article along the lines of, “What to Watch for During the Debates,” or “What Each Candidate Must Do to Win,” a lightbulb went on, and I realized that all of the hype is nothing more than a media push for “eyeballs,” like the Super Bowl, except without the good spirits, camaraderie, pride in being American, or fun commercials.  

The League of Women Voters, being an organization of integrity and intelligence, pulled out as sponsor of this quadrienniel farce back in 1988, saying they had “no intention of becoming an accessory in the hoodwinking of the American public.”

We are told the election is neck and neck.  Of course we are!  As any writer knows, tension draws readers/viewers, and that drives advertising revenue, and that drives the bottom line of the six corporations that own almost all of our media outlets.  I’m sure they don’t give a rat’s ass which major party candidate wins; they’ll thrive either way. 

Does this election scare you?  If you are one of the 90% of Americans who know who you’ll vote for, of course it does.  Pundits on the right and left tell us daily of the potential horrors that await if our candidate loses.  I am reminded of the Star Trek episode in which an alien race that feeds off human anger and fear keeps the Enterprise crew at each other’s throats.  

Yes, I think there are grave dangers in our world, though I doubt very much that either of our contenders and our disfunctional congress can do more good than harm.

Am I worried?  

I keep thinking about that wonderful exchange, repeated three or four times, in “Bridge of Spies,” when fate forces Tom Hanks’ character to work with a Russian spy.

Hanks asks, “Aren’t you worried.”  The spy replies, “Would that help?”

So when (not if) I watch our sad national farce tonight and find myself feeling negative, I’ll remember to ask myself if the fear and hopelessness our media moguls, the DNC, and the RNC are peddling can help me or anyone else…

If not, I’ll do as we all do after a Super Bowl, regardless of which team wins, and get back to living my life, attempting to do as much good and as little harm as I can.

Of cutting trees and the truths we cannot handle

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George Washington and the cherry tree

George Washington and the cherry tree

The story goes that George Washington received a hatchet for his sixth birthday. With it, he damaged a cherry tree. When his father confronted him, young George said, “I cannot tell a lie. I cut it with my hatchet.” His father embraced him and said, “Your honesty is worth a thousand trees.” 

Ironically, this paean to honesty was the fabrication of Mason Weems, an itinerant preacher and one of Washington’s first biographers (the cherry tree myth). Politically expedient falsehood has been with us from the dawn of our Republic.

Readers of theFirstGates and movie buffs will recognize the other part of this post’s title as a partial paraphrase of the Jack Nicholson line, “You can’t handle the truth,”  in A Few Good Men, 1992, which I referenced through a link on August 8.

It came to mind last night as I watched Nixon, the third PBS documentary on American presidents I’ve seen this week. It’s a fascinating series for those interested in history, and especially during this disheartening election year. The truth I find hardest to handle is that even the pretense of truth has become optional during elections.

After his discharge from the navy after WWII, Richard Nixon ran for congress against five-term Democratic representative, Jerry Voorhis. Nixon won 60% of the vote, after, among other things, spreading the word, via anonymous telephone calls, that Voorhis was a communist.

“Of course I knew Jerry Voorhis wasn’t a communist,” Nixon later confided to a Voorhis aide.  “But I had to win. The important thing is to win.”  I was actually happy to learn that the lies that permeate this campaign are not a new aberration, but more a case of deja vu all over again. The only difference is that in earlier times, people caught in blatant lies were certain to lose – the appearance of honesty was a matter of style and decorum.

Political lies cross party lines, of course. Feeling compelled to be as “tough on communism” as Barry Goldwater in the 1964 election, Lyndon Johnson engineered the Gulf of Tonkin “incident” – a supposed torpedo attack on a US destroyer by North Vietnamese ships.  We now know the event never happened, but the lie won Johnson almost unlimited power to escalate the war in Vietnam, with tragic consequences for millions of people. It also set the precedent for fighting undeclared wars that remains a national disaster 50 years later.

*****

I remember a hatchet incident when I was a kid in upstate New York. A boy who lived nearby chopped down a neighbor’s dogwood sapling with a hatchet. This was an especially serious act of vandalism, since dogwood trees were protected by law.

Not the brightest kid on the block, he did so while the lady of the house was home; she heard the chopping, looked out the window, and recognized him.  When confronted, however, the boy’s mother said, “It couldn’t have been my son. He told me he didn’t do it, and he doesn’t lie.” 

I’ve often wondered if that kid is in politics now.  He’d be a natural…