Big Stick and America's Phallic foreign policy

For some reason, it looks like most of the republican candidates looked at the awful legacy of the Bush-Cheney administration's foreign policy and decided to double down on the worst aspects.  Torture prisoners, check, threaten sovereign nations with devastating firepower if they don't bend to our will, check; increase the size of our military to a level unmatched by the combined firepower of the rest of the world, check.   The scary part of this is the loving treatment this demented version of foreign policy gets from the national press.  It seems if we can't bomb our way to diplomatic success, the policy is a failure.  Thus our Syrian policy is an unmitigated disaster because we haven't killed enough innocent civilians with indiscriminate bombing and haven't lost any "boots on the ground" to enemy fire.   Chickenhawks like Jeb! and Trump vow to make us the arbiter of the world's fortunes by sheer force of our firepower.  Diplomacy is for sissies and Democrats!  Hopefully cooler heads will prevail, but I wouldn't count on it.  For republicans, nothing sells like absolutism, whether it is banning all abortions or bludgeoning friends and foes into submission.

NY, NY

Didn't post yesterday as the Divine Mrs. M and I were traveling after a weekend in the NY metro area.  We met friends for dinner in Manhattan on Saturday and cheered the Yankees on Sunday.  A visit to the city is always invigorating.  The shifting patterns of the human tapestry that makes up New York is a fascinating study.   Our visit followed on the heels of Pope Francis' whirlwind tour, and coincided with the opening of the UN General assembly and the Global Citizen festival in Central Park.  Any one of these events would have overwhelmed most cities, but New York took it in stride and except for a few street closures it was business as usual.  The incredible ethnic variety of the population and neighborhoods, even as far out as the suburbs in Connecticut where we stayed overnight are the strength of the area.  Back on the NCR, it is a pretty homogenous racial scene by comparison.  We're back, but the lingering effects of the visit will be with us for some time. 

VW and regulatinos

The spectacle of Volkswagen admitting to blatant cheating on emission standards in order to gain sales in the US is more than a little disturbing.  Most of us play by the rules and expect everyone else to also observe them.  Unfortunately, something about the modern corporate structure seems to encourage rule breaking on a massive scale.  From GE dumping PCBs in the Hudson to GM ignoring an ignition switch problem which killed people to VW actively breaking rules and deceiving regulators, ordinary people were involved in lawlessness they probably would not have tolerated in their private lives.  Republicans want to do away with most regulations, leading they say to increased efficiency and more production.  Recent discoveries of wrongdoing on a massive scale by corporations argue instead for increased regulation and perhaps a look at ways we can encourage whistleblowers to step forward and reveal corporate crime.  I don't know if the myriad investigations will kill VW, but a message needs to be sent to people in corporations.  Don't break the law and expect no consequences.

Yogi and a Yankee childhood

Growing up in the late 50s and early 60s there was really only one team to root for if you were a baseball fan.  The Giants and Dodgers had absconded with the hearts of many, but thanks to my grandfather I was a Yankee, through and through.  Probably more than any other player on the team, Yogi was the exemplary Yankee.  His grit and talent (and his way with words) kept me glued to the radio as a 9 and 10 year old.  I idolized Mickey Mantle, but if I had to pick a Yankee to go to bat in a clutch situation, it was Berra.  He would swing at and hit anything from his ankles to his forehead and more often than not it would lead to a hit and a victory.  With 10 world series titles, Yogi spanned an unmatched era of greatness.  Later as a manager, he brought the Yankees and the Mets to the World Series.  My grandfather liked the Yankees because of the Italians on the team, from Tony Lazzeri to Phil Rizzuto to Berra.  Small in stature, Yogi had a big heart and will be missed.

Popemania

As a fallen away Catholic who hasn't been engaged in the faith for nearly 50 years, the 24/7 coverage of Francis' visit to the US is somewhat mind boggling.  The thought of so many people gathering at great expense and discomfort to see an elderly Jesuit makes me even less tolerant of my fellow human beings foibles.  Americans love of celebrity is puzzling.   We profess an egalitarian ethic, but we worship at the altar of celebrity.  Whether it's movie stars, British royalty or the Pope, we gather for a glimpse of the extraordinary.  Personally, I think Francis is a breath of fresh air in a stodgy, behind the times church and I wish him well.  But I'll be humming John Lennon's classic, "Imagine" for the duration of his visit.

More room in the clown car

It must be a diesel powered Jetta, by the way...  Scott Walker exited in a somewhat confused fashion, claiming he was leading by example and exhorting fellow candidates to drop out so somehow everyone could focus on an alternative to The Donald.  Given the egos involved, I have a feeling this advice will be ignored by most of the remaining inmates in this cage match.  I think Walker's exit had more to do with the Koch brothers cutting their losses after seeing their pet politician flounder through the first couple of debates.  His performance in campaign events couldn't have inspired much confidence either.  What the rigors of the competition for the republican nomination revealed is a calculating politician with little imagination and no interest in policy that is not driven by the needs of his funders.   That this cipher should have even entered the race shows the power of a Koch fueled party.   In a normal year, Walker might have gone much further in the race, but Trump and to a lesser extent Ben Carson and Carly Fiorina stole much of his material and continue the fact free campaign most republican primary voters are seeming to demand.

Falling into the void

At 40 degrees this morning, the NCR got a reminder it's not summer any more.  Some of the lettuce growers in Quebec are reporting light frost in their fields this morning.  While it is not out of the ordinary, the recent blast of above normal temps had me briefly fantasizing about a frost free October.   It will warm as the week progresses, but the message has been sent.

Lies, distortions and videotape

The luxury of modern technology means we don't have to listen to 3 hours of bloviation from the passengers in the republican clown car.  We can listen to fact checkers and commenters from across the political spectrum to get the "inside baseball" analysis of who said what and if it was even remotely true.  It turns out, not surprisingly, that lies, distortions and attacks on Donald Trump were the order of the night.  Fiorina, aside from a one liner aimed at Trump's reference to her personal appearance, indulged in a fantasy of her personal history.  Coming from a comfortable upper class background, she, with a lot of assistance from family connections, cracked glass ceilings all the way to HP where she presided over an unmitigated disaster.  As Paul Krugman pointed out this morning, the foreign policy prescriptions of most candidates are "demented".  Mostly they expect the threat of American military power to enable them to dictate terms to friend and foe alike.  We saw how that worked in Iraq!  The thought that any of these ciphers could actually lead the free world is profoundly disturbing.  I would love to see a debate among the contenders from both parties.  With Bernie and Hillary on the same stage, at least it wouldn't be a fact free performance.

Ugly Americans

The spectacle of Dallas police handcuffing a 14 year old for the crime of constructing a clock and bringing it to school was pathetic enough.   The more worrisome aspect of the whole debacle was the fact the boy's teachers reported him to the police.  What does this say about our education system and the people who run it?  The fact the student was brown skinned and Muslim probably had far more to do with the police involvement than virtually anyone was willing to admit.  Despite the shout out from the White House and generally favorable press treatment, it was and is an ugly situation which speaks volumes about the character of America today.   Meanwhile, the republican candidates for president tried to outdo each other in catering to this anti-immigrant sentiment, at least from what I was able to read this morning.  I would prefer a colonoscopy without anesthesia to watching those debates.  According to the inmates at Morning Joe, Carly Fiorina acquitted herself well, while most of the rest of the candidates tried to whittle down The Donald.  Of course even that reporting is suspect considering the source.  Where is John Stewart when we need him.

Bernie and Hillary

A socialist or a woman president.  The history making possibilities are endless for democrats.  However, instead of celebrating this confluence of historical candidacies, the powers that be are running in hysterical circles wondering how they can entice Joe Biden, a thorough going white party hack, to get into the race.  I guess these mostly white, mostly middle aged men can't seem to grasp their hold on the party was irrevocably broken by Barack Obama and a flood of new ideas and unorthodox candidates will become the norm for the party.  It is possible there will be a further exodus of white men from the democratic party in future years, but I think most of the rank and file defectors are already voting republican due to racial considerations.  The small number  of party bigwigs still hope to preserve the "white men in charge" illusion.  That ship has sailed.  Let's celebrate diversity.  People of color, women and old white guys with crazy ideas like economic equality!

Ides of September

Once again we approach that bittersweet time of year.  The days are still warm, but they are getting shorter and the nights are starting to have the chill of fall.  The fall crops are thriving with less and less care, but the summer favorites like tomatoes, peppers and cucumbers are struggling with less heat input.  The floods of early summer and the following drought are a fading memory as the last month or two of carefree gardening gives me hope for the following year.  It's a fool's paradise, but I'm going to enjoy it as long as possible.

The Daily Disappointment

American media for the most part has abdicated its role in social and political discourse.  From the Iranian Nuclear deal to the refugee crisis in Europe, coverage has been conspicuous by its vacuous dependence on talking heads with an agenda.  Instead of educating the public on these issues, whole forests have been destroyed to tell us about Donald Trump.  In the case of the NYT, it is Hillary's e-mail adventures.  When the media has deigned to tackle the tough issues it has in the main been dismissive of them.  It is no wonder the American people seem so insular and unresponsive to international events.  When an adulterous county clerk in Kentucky  can command nationwide coverage of her hypocritic bigotry for a week, it is a sorry commentary on news coverage in general and the media's lack of respect for the average citizen.  I hope for better, but am prepared for worse.

14 years

While it has been 14 years since the fall of the twin towers, the memories of that day are as fresh in my mind as the day JFK was assassinated.  I guess truly historical events burn themselves into our conscious mind.   The sheer enormity of the crime certainly rivaled the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor.  But the responses and their effects are so different, it is hard to reconcile them.  In 1941, we had a clear enemy state to battle and citizens were mobilized on a gigantic scale and were expected to sacrifice for the common good.   The atrocities carried out on 9/11 were the work of essentially a criminal gang with an ideology.  Instead of treating it like the crime that it was, the Bush administration used it as a catalyst for a war of hegemony in the Middle East, ostensibly to topple Saddam Hussein and bring democracy to the region.  Of course the billions of barrels of oil under the sands in Iraq may have had something to do with it.  Meanwhile, the Shrub told us to shop on while a tiny minority of the population bore the brunt of the battle.  The soldiers and their families suffered and the rest of us continued our lives without consequence.  Had Osama and his henchman been hunted by the FBI and brought to justice in the conventional way this country would now be seen as a shining example of justice and the law.  Instead, we are commonly viewed as a superpower out of control and disdained by the international community.  It will take a lot longer than 14 years to erase that stain on our reputation.

Rainy weekend

It's probably been 2 months since we've had a weekend rainout and here on the NCR, many people are hoping to continue that stretch as it is the Battle  of Plattsburgh celebration weekend.   Although little known to any but history buffs, the battle which took place in 1814 was a key turning point in the  War of 1812.   Had the British invasion of New England via Plattsburgh and Lake Champlain succeeded, we might be paying for our lattes with loonies instead of greenbacks.  But thanks to the heroism of the vastly outnumbered army and navy, the crack veterans of the Napoleonic Wars were turned back and the unsuspecting Northeast US was saved from a future of universal health care, political correctness and poutine.  USA, USA.....

Refugees and hypocricy

The plight of poor Kim Davis, the county clerk who refuses to issue marriages to gay couples has probably generated more news coverage in the US than the flight of hundreds of thousands of refugees from the fighting in Syria and Iraq.  The thought that we would waste precious time worrying about a hypocritical adulterer when that many people have life and death problems turns my stomach.   As the Divine Mrs. M pointed out, the 10 commandments prohibit adultery, but say nothing about gay marriage.  Ms. Davis, a serial adulterer by biblical standards, will probably not begged to be stoned to death, the approved biblical punishment for that particular transgression.  Why do we even pay attention to this BS.  A more pointed question is how we will react to the refugee crisis.   I have not heard anyone from either party offering to take in a fraction of the number Germany has already welcomed.  Christian nation indeed...

Endless Summer

Even as I say I'll never complain about summer heat again, the thermometer is making me grit my teeth when I say it.   93 degrees on the NCR in September is pretty daunting.  The boaters are still out in force and it looks like the heat will hold on at least until the upcoming weekend.  Maybe it is just an anomalous event, but combined with all the other crazy weather being served up around the world it makes you think about climate change.  Of course, unless we get a bout of 90 degree weather in December, the deniers will just shrug off the increasingly warm weather.  All I know is it is too warm to plant spinach seed and that is a story in itself.

Labor Day and the New American work ethic

When a car company chooses "When did it become an act of courage to leave work on time". as its advertising slogan, you know we've reached a cultural crisis point.   As a child touring model homes with my parents in the early 1960s, we were told the electricity used to run them would soon be so cheap no one would bother to meter our use of it.  Productivity was up in all industries and some work weeks were being shortened to 35 hours.  Now, politicians say we need to work harder and longer hours from the end of formal education until our 70s, often toiling at two or more jobs in order to pay for electricity among other "too cheap to charge for" products and services.  Meanwhile the specter of robots taking over many middle class jobs raises the possibility of an impoverished class of workers unable to find the jobs they were trained for and sinking into a desperate poverty.    Even those who think about these contradictions on a regular basis don't have any prescriptions for dealing with these looming crises.  So we labor on, celebrating our ability to do so with a long weekend.  Then it's back to the 24/7 reality of American labor in the 21st century.

GOP trumped again

The Donald signed the pledge of allegiance to the Republican party yesterday and of course every media outlet had to dissect the motives and end games of the party and it's putative standard bearer.  For some, this was a triumph for the party.   By getting Trump to forswear a third party run, it preserves unity and avoids the specter of a third party candidacy which would doom its election prospects.  For the contrarians it was a takeover of the party by the lunatic fringe in the person of Trump.  By embracing him and legitimizing his brand of know nothing, anti-immigrant and policy free campaigning it has firmly tied the party's fate to the lowest common denominator.  This rapidly aging white male base is fated to get smaller and smaller, making the GOP weaker at best and probably irrelevant by the middle of the century.  Personally, I think Trump will treat this pledge as so much toilet paper and do whatever his evolving strategy dictates.  Either way, republicans are in for a wild ride as the election cycle really kicks in to gear.  Popcorn anyone...

Hot and Dry

Summer was a late comer to the NCR, but has arrived with a vengeance.  We have been relatively warm and dry for several weeks now and the long range shows the trend will continue.  The heavier soils in my garden are still moist, but even the wettest areas are tillable now.  Of course it is too late to plant much of anything but spinach and of course garlic later in the season.  Weeds are still germinating and will be a problem for a couple of more weeks.  All the late season crops of lettuce, broccoli, cauliflower, cabbage etc. look good.   If we get a timely shower sometime next week everything will stay on track.  I'm looking forward to a long, mild fall with my fingers crossed. 

Mixed signals

President Obama flew into Alaska to deliver a sermon about the urgent challenges posed by climate change.  All well and good, except the administration had just approved Shell Oil's bid to drill in the Arctic Ocean.  Mixed signals at best.  The juxtaposition of the two events caused whiplash in the environmental community of activists who naturally question the President's commitment to the fight against climate change.  Although not explicitly, the major oil companies were applauding sotto voce.  As with most of Mr. Obama's policies, I hope he is once again playing eleven dimensional chess while his opponents struggle with checkers.  Perhaps he is banking on Shell's ineptitude at drilling.  After failing miserably last year and being delayed again this year by mechanical problems and protests, the oil company is ripe for an accident.  Even a minor glitch could conceivably kill Ocean drilling before a major accident fouls the northern waters for decades.  The Exxon Valdez accident of the 80s comes to mind.  Meanwhile, the Obama administration pledges to fight hard for the environment and against climate change as it fades in to the 2016 sunset.  Let's hope for the sake of future generations he succeeds.

Tea Pot Tempests

Listening to Joe Scarborough on Morning Joe is probably preferable to incarceration at Guantanamo, but having not experienced the hospitality of the US government, I can't say with certainty which torture I would choose.  The bloviation of the "personalities" who pass through the green room is harmless at best and toxic to normal conversation on a regular basis.  Listening to the host lie outright about the Clinton e-mail "scandal" is a trip on the wayback machine to the late 90s when he chased Bill Clinton's penis around the capital.  To answer the classic question, no, he has no shame!  The scary thing is Morning Joe is the mildest of the right wing talk shows.  Considering the rest of the MSNBC lineup, it is still a wonder the show hogs 3 hours of broadcast time.