Seasonal changes

With cooler temperatures, I spent a good part of the weekend gleaning final harvests from the garden and preparing for next season.  The nappa cabbage was still in good shape after thawing on Thursday and Friday, so I packed 20 heads and will store them in the garage where the temperature stays at least 10 degrees warmer than outside.  Ditto for a bushel of leeks which will wind up in winter soups and stews.  I mulched and covered the last carrot bed with straw and plastic so we can harvest fresh carrots until the inevitable deep freezes of late December and January.  There are still plenty of beets out there as well as kale and collards.  The long range forecast is predicting fairly mild temps for the next couple of weeks, so harvest will continue.  I also prepared a couple of beds for early spinach planting next spring.   Keeping one foot in each season is part of the gardening cycle which connects us to the next year.   It's a lifestyle choice, as opposed to a one or two month commitment. 

The Day after

Now that we have given thanks for our many blessings, it is time to begin the "War on Christmas", at least according to some.   Black Friday, Local Saturday, Cyber Monday, etc.  are priming people for the orgy of spending that has come to define our celebration of the Winter Solstice.  I would guess most of us pay at least lip service to the birthday of western civilization's most influential philosopher, but "keeping Christ in Christmas" is an afterthought as the press of holiday events pushes us to the breaking point.   As those who think of themselves as Christians become a smaller part of the population, the whole reason behind the holiday becomes increasingly tenuous.  Kwanza, Festivus and other, pagan traditions are efforts to reconcile the American experience with Christian expressions of the holiday.  It's not your mother's Christmas anymore Virginia, but yes, there is a Santa Claus!

Thanksgiving

Despite all the horrific news we are inundated with on a daily basis, for most people this century is the best for human beings since the dawn of history.   For advanced nations, most communicable diseases have been controlled, citizens have enough to eat and education is readily available.  Labor saving devices and the internet have revolutionized our relationship to the everyday business of staying alive with minimal effort.  We are working more hours for the privilege, but as robots and other labor replacing devices multiply, the challenge will be to keep human beings engaged in the economy.  There are many who would say this is the worst of times.  The environment is being degraded at a horrific rate, we still have nuclear weapons capable of ending civilization in a heartbeat and many people still live a precarious existence, subject to the whims of weather and their corrupt leaders.  However, the best and brightest are working on solutions to many of our most pressing problems and if we manage to advance to the next level, our descendants may well say this era was the greatest test of humanity and we passed it.  That is my hope for this Thanksgiving, as my children and grandchildren gather at Casa Monzeglio to celebrate our good fortune in the year 2015.

Cold reality

Light snow is falling as I scribble these words.  The chill reminder that winter is upon us rebukes my exuberant rant on the extended beautiful fall weather we have been experiencing.  Temperatures are supposed to warm as we make our way to the Thanksgiving holiday, but the warning shot has been fired.  Meanwhile in the political world, it looks like The Donald may have finally gone to far when he continued to insist his revisionist history of thousands cheering in Jersey City as the Twin Towers collapsed on 9/11.   Despite no video evidence to back his rant and increasing demands from the media for a "put up or shut up" moment, Trump is doubling down.  In the face of mounting evidence he is totally wrong, will his support finally begin to crumble?   His entire campaign has been an exercise in bombast and fact free expostulations, but I think even he has finally gone to far.  Seduced by the siren  call of his voice and its effect on mass audiences he has actually begun to believe the crap he spews.   When the con man believes his own spiel, the show has come to an end.

It might as well be spring

At least for the moment, things are still coming up roses on the NCR.   While the garden is not growing at a gangbuster pace, some items, like broccoli and collards are still producing.  The carrots have stopped, but with a little mulch, I'll be digging some for Christmas dinner.  I actually had to mow the lawn for the last time (I hope) on Nov. 20!    It seemed incongruous to be putting up Christmas lights at the same time.  Of course, all good things must come to an end, but we'll keep eating out of the garden for as long as possible, and did I mention playing golf also.

Leadership and the sheeple

Francois Hollande and Hillary Clinton gave a seminar on leadership to the inhabitants of the republican clown car yesterday.   Hollande made it clear France will not be cowed by ISIS.  Defying the cult of hate to do their worst, he also affirmed the French will not back down and will continue to welcome refugees from Syria.  Clinton, making a major foreign policy speech outlined a plan to destroy ISIS by military and economic means and also called for American hospitality to those fleeing the terror in Syria and Iraq.  A majority of democrats have responded to this reasonable, nuanced display of leadership.  Contrast this with the pearl clutching terror of Chris Christie, Ted Cruz, et. al.  We also have the spectacle of the Donald calling for a national Muslim database requiring all adherents of Islam to register with the federal government.   When asked what difference this scheme had with the registration of Jews in Nazi Germany, his reply was chilling;  "What do you think?".   Naturally, the overwhelming majority of republicans responded to this cowardice by telling polls they want to pull the welcome mat from under the feet of those most in need.  Leadership is in short supply in a political party which has lost its collective mind.

Ashamed of America

Since 9/11, 785,000 people have been admitted to the US under the refugee program.  Of those, 3 have been convicted on terrorism related charges.  The mostly republican politicians who would bar new refugees from Syria from settling in their states and in some cases expel those who have already settled there should be ashamed of their craven pandering to the worst instincts of their constituents.  Much like the failure of my country to accept 10,000 children fleeing the Nazis in 1939, we are again in danger of betraying our better natures.   When Chris Christie says he would reject a 3 year old orphan because of a potential danger at some time in the future it makes me sick.  Christie and others of his ilk dishonor everything we like to believe this country stands for.  Enough said.

An old embarrassing tradition

For those who are acutely embarrassed by the mean spirited lack of compassion shown by many politicians for Syrian refugees, know that they are acting in a time honored way and voicing the real feelings of many of their constituents.  When asked if the US should take in 10,000 Jewish children in 1939, 61% of Americans said no.  Why should we hold our representatives to a higher standard than we are willing to meet?   From the Know Nothing party of the 1840s to the "No Irish need apply" signs which appeared in the latter part of the century to today's birthers, truthers and climate deniers, ignorance has been a large part of our discourse.   Unfortunately, the descendants of many persecuted minorities are now the persecutors who would deny refugees the safety of America's shores.   The spectacle of Chris Christie proudly telling an interviewer he would deny succor to 3 year old Syrian orphans tells us all we need to know about America in 2015.  If the Statue of Liberty could weep, she surely would.  

Disheartening but predictable

The same folks who refused to try the Guantanamo detainees in US courts because they were terrorists are back to deny sanctuary to refugees fleeing the war in Syria.  As one republican put it, "out of 10,000, you may have 9,999 innocents and one fully trained terrorist and you have a problem.  The politics of fear are never ending strategy for republicans.  In the wake of 9/11, their only prescription for the American people besides shopping was to be very afraid and leave the governing to them.  You remember where that led.  Where is the trumpeting of our exceptionalism now?  We have the spectacle of republican governors threatening to deny Syrians haven in their states.  The politics of fear are ugly and they promote division among citizens.   Why do republicans on the one hand hold us up as manly men and on the other encourage us to hide under our beds and beg our politicians to protect us?  This emperor has no clothes and it's about time someone points this out.

Paris and fear for the sake of fear

Everyone with an ounce of empathy should be uniting in solidarity with the citizens of Paris as they try to make sense of the tragedy of last Friday.  Using the terror attack as a political issue is another story.   Especially when politicians in the US, mainly republicans cast the coordinated attacks as a war on western civilization that must be responded to with military force.  This is the rabbit hole leading to a wonderland where privacy means unlimited government surveillance, peace means perpetual war and religion means Christianity.  Who would want to live in such a world.  Ted Cruz, I guess is one who would.   Why worry about killing innocent civilians by the thousand if we can take out one terrorist?  Obviously, the GOP presidential candidates can't argue with the fact no terrorist attacks have taken place on American soil on Obama's watch (as opposed to the Shrub), so they have to blame the government for being "weak on terror".  Give me a break...  Weakness is encouraging your constituents to fear for their safety as a political strategy.

Back in the USA

Can't say it is great to be back home.   The Divine Mrs. M and I had a great time in Italy.   While we enjoyed the tourist venues we visited in  Venice, Florence and Rome, we particularly treasured the 2 days we spent in the ancestral Monzeglio home in Vignale Monferrato in the Piedmont region of northern Italy.   There is very little tourism in that part of the country, but the people we encountered were warm and helpful despite the fact they spoke little or no English and we reciprocated with our butchered Italian.  One of our namesakes took an entire day to show us around town and help us understand how a small town in the country survives over time.  I told him we will try to get back sometime in the near future to visit again.  Taken altogether it was the trip of a lifetime and worth every penny.  My souvenir was an additional 5 pounds I'll have to work off in the next couple of weeks.