Food Deflation

According to Kevin Drum at Mother Jones, the cost of food bought in supermarkets has actually decreased by 2.2% from the beginning of 2016 until now.  This should be good news for most people and certainly the Divine Mrs. M and I have enjoyed the discounts, although since vegetable sales and distribution is my job, the collapse of veg prices over the last few months is a little unnerving.   Many jobbers and distributors I speak with on a daily basis have commented on the lack of movement hurting prices.  There is no general agreement on what is happening.    Since many, if not most of the produce trade consists of older Italian or Jewish men (at least in the Northeast US), the preferred explanation for the lack of business is Democratic policy in general and Obama in particular.  However, the immediate aftermath of Trump's victory has not produced a bonanza of business, so I think we can put that theory to rest.  Another, more pernicious theory is that a combination of junk food availability and increased restaurant patronage may be taking a permanent bite out of vegetable consumption.  From personal experience, the average restaurant meal is heavy on meat and short on vegetables and pricing has been heading steadily upward.  I know that the stressed out younger generation eats out far more often than their boomer elders, who in turn spurred the growth of the plethora of fast food establishments which now line our highways.  This year, Americans spent more on food served in restaurants than food bought to be cooked at home.  I would posit the latter fact has more to do with lack of veg sales than political policies.   We need to excite people about the possibilities of cooking in 2017.

Wishes for 2017

Aside from a few familial milestones, the birth of Wyatt Daniel Rock being foremost among them, 2016 was a lousy year.  From the death of cultural icons like David Bowie and Prince to the election of an unqualified buffoon to the presidency of the United States there were few bright spots in the wider world.  Britons rejected multiculturalism and voted to retreat from European engagement.  Russian meddling in world affairs became more aggressive and blatant.  The Chinese tiger began to roar.  America continued to recover from the 2008 economic meltdown, but income inequality and stagnant middle class wages encouraged many voters to blow up the status quo, symbolized by the election of Trump.  The list goes on, but at least we will turn the page at midnight tomorrow.  I have always looked at the start of a new year as a chance to maybe get things a little closer to perfection.  I hope most of the 7 billion people who share starship earth feel the same way.  Happy New Year to all and best wishes for a safe and joyful year.

The challenge of Trumpian norms

Our president elect emerged from what will probably be known as the Florida White House, Mar-a-Lago, and delivered several word salads to the press yesterday.   He claimed credit for jobs which were announced months ago, conflated the Russian hack of our elections to how difficult computers have made the modern world and finally weighed in on Israel's snit over John Kerry's speech regarding the Jewish settlements on the West Bank, saying that things would be different after Jan. 20.   When Cheeto Jesus said this kind of stuff during the campaign, people would wring their hands and assume this nighmare would be gone after the election or cheer it as some sort of "breath of fresh air" and a rejection of long term norms of political discourse.  Well, we haven't woken from the nightmare, and the fresh air is now revealed as the know nothing bloviation that it so transparently always was.   Expect more of the same when it comes to domestic policy.  One big reason Trump has not called any press conferences is his handlers' fears his deep ignorance of policy will be on display for the world to see.  When the grownups leave 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue in January it will become apparent what depths we are about to plumb.   The challenge we will all face is how to deal with the reality of the village idiot becoming mayor.

The Princess is dead

Carrie Fisher, aka Princess Leia died after suffering a heart attack earlier in the week.  I find myself strangely affected by the news of her passing.  As with many millions of other Americans and fans around the world, I remember seeing Star Wars in 1977 and being impressed by the plucky Princess Leia and her "can do" attitude toward her duty as leader of the rebel alliance opposing the evil Empire.   As opposed to a typical Disney princess who waited passively for her Prince Charming to deliver her from whatever villain threatened, Leia was likely to pick up a blast rifle and start shooting before her befuddled would be rescuers had figured out the situation.  She became the prototype of this new kind of action heroine.  Ironically the Star Wars franchise is now owned by Disney.  Fisher herself also personified this rough and ready ethos, although her private life was a shambles and she struggled with drug and alcohol problems.  She will appear in one more movie as the Princess in the continuing saga.  We'll miss her and also the alter ego, who showed there is more than one way to express femininity in the 21st century.

Boxing Day blues

Christmas 2016 is now officially Past, to use the terminology made famous by one of the ghosts in Charles Dickens' Christmas Carol.   Now we can celebrate Boxing Day.  To the cognoscenti, this English holiday falling on the day after Christmas was originally dedicated to collecting donations of food for the poor which was "boxed" and then delivered to the less fortunate.  It has now become a hybrid of Christmas and Black Friday, at least at our Canadian neighbors'.   Unlike the US celebration of Black Friday as the kickoff to the Christmas season, the Canadian Boxing Day is the close of their season and usually offers better discounts.  Faced with year end inventories, many retailers turn them into cash by offering absurd bargains.   At least that is the theory.  Either way, it is the same as the greed and commercialism which plagues most developed countries.  As we slide toward a 2017 which will begin with the elevation of a reality TV star to the Presidency of the US, it is worth saying a silent prayer to whatever deity you favor to please keep us all sane in the face of the ludicrous situation into which a minority of voters have put the nation.  Boxing day is just another reminder of how a worthwhile institution has been changed out of recognition, much as the democratic process has been perverted. 

Trump and the twitterkrieg

No press conferences, no traveling pool of reporters and no information regarding his plans, except through twitter.  It sounds ludicrous, but in practice, this strategy of dealing with the media is working brilliantly.  With no other information available, the press is forced to report on and speculate what omens are contained in the 140 character nuggets spewed by the great orange satan.  The US should expand its nuclear war making capacity, the  Boeing company should price out a new version of the F-18 to compete with the F-35 (fighter jets), Trump hotels are great!  This is the sort of inanity presented every day.  The media either deals with it and reports on it or basically has nothing.  If I was the NYT editor, I would tell the president elect we will begin reportage of the new administration when a press conference is held.  Until then, we will report on the conflicts of interest, election hacking by the Russians and the FBI and other news which will tend to de-legitimize the coming administration.  The press is not used to the type of adversarial relationship envisioned by Trump and his spokespeople.  They better be on their game from day one of Trumpmania and treat like it is a knock off of the WWF and WrestleMania, because that is what it will be.

A cheery Christmas thought

"They who give up essential liberty for a little temporary safety deserve neither liberty or safety".  These prescient words by Benjamin Franklin pose the existential dilemma facing western democracy.   Do we give in to xenophobia and close our borders to refugees and immigrants.  Cheeto Jesus and his followers would board that train in a heartbeat.  The rest of the country should oppose this resurgence of know nothingism with every available means.   Right now the only defender of the dispossessed among western democracies is the chancellor of Germany, Angela Merkel.  Ironically, she was born in communist East Germany.  However, she seems to have internalized the tenets of the western liberal canon in a far more visceral way than most of her contemporaries.  The recent Christmas market attack in Berlin will put extreme pressure on her to give in to the reactionaries.  I hope she resists and shows us how a true democractic leader reacts to the those who would close the borders and erect walls.

Let us not forget

The redacted search warrant the FBI used to rifle the laptop of Anthony Weiner before the recent presidential election has been released and according to at least one former federal prosecutor, it basically proves James Comey caused the election of Donald Trump.  In the warrant, the FBI does not show any cause to believe the emails in question had been previously withheld and/or were not duplicates they had previously reviewed.  Therefore there was no reason for Comey to buck the DOJ's longstanding ban of publicizing any investigations within 60 days of an election for fear of influencing the result.  His letter to congress, saying he believed the emails were relevant to and justified reopening the investigation of Hillary's server was just a ploy to release an avalanche of negative press coverage 10 days before the election.  Of course, republicans will say democrats need to get over it and get on with the rolling disaster of a Trump administration.  The simple fact is republicans have stolen 2 of the last 5 presidential elections due to the actions of the Supreme Court in Bush vs. Gore and the FBI in the recently concluded election.  As far as I am concerned everything Trump does for the next 4 years is illegitimate and tainted by Comey's actions. 

Solstice musings

The Winter Solstice will occur tomorrow, marking the shortest day of the year in the Northern Hemisphere.  To a Christian nation obsessed with Christmas, most of us don't give thought to the celebrations our pre-Christian ancestors used to mark the waning of the old year.  From the Greeks celebrating the liberation of Persephone from Hades to the Druids and their sacrifices to the gods to propitiate the beginning of longer days leading to spring planting, humans have made this astronomical observance a touchstone.  Even Christianity appropriated the Roman holiday of Saturnalia and substituted the birthday of the savior with appropriate ceremony.  I guess the celebration of the virgin birth of god was insufficient to supplant the pagan rituals so many celebrated, so gift giving was added to the Christmas tradition.  Now it is so turbocharged that Romans would feel right at home in 21st century America.   It will be interesting to see if anything in our  multicultural society is able to eclipse our late December orgy of eating and gift giving.  I have a feeling that Christmas in one form or another is here to stay.  Pass the eggnog and add another string of lights to the Nativity scene...

Mourning in America

Today it becomes official.  The electoral college will confirm the victory of a psychopathic liar, serial groping misogynist and uncurious citizen to the highest office in the land.  Many people including the Divine Mrs. M are hoping for a collective gasp of recognition by the electors of the horror they are about to bestow on a supine nation.  Unfortunately, I don't share that hope.  After seeing over 60 million of my fellow Americans vote for a caricature of a human being for President, I have no  expectation of the electors reaching a  moral clarity their voters obviously did not.  As Paul Krugman despairingly opined in the NYT today, as with the Roman Republic when it slipped into the dictatorship of Roman Emperors when people put their own or their party's interests ahead of the nation's, the stage is set for despotism.  What many people told us when voting for a moron who claimed "Only I can fix it" is despair that the system can still work for them.  We're about to find out, and I don't think it will be pretty.

Time to fight back

I hate it when Democrats quietly to political oblivion without even a little fight.  If the shoes were on the other feet after Nov. 8, there would be so many Republican lawsuits clogging the federal courts, Hillary wouldn't get a mention on the news except as the illegitimate winner of the electoral college.  Electors would be getting death threats if they wouldn't agree to vote for Trump, the real winner with 2.8 million more votes than Hillary.  They would be frothing and screaming the election was stolen.  Where is Dem outrage?  Instead we hear senators and representatives opine as how they will work with Cheeto Jesus if he has the "peoples" interests in mind.   What about the flagrant interference in the elections by the Russians and the FBI.  For decades, republicans have excoriated dems for being soft on Russia.  Now they silently accept the gift Putin put under their Christmas tree.  Had Jim Comey published damning evidence of collusion between Trump and the Russians ten days before the elections, he would be sitting before oversight committees in the house and senate for the next ten years and would be wearing a prison jumpsuit shortly thereafter.  I am not advocating revolution, but someone needs to forcefully remind America that our elections were hacked and interfered with by foreign and domestic players and the result is not legitimate and in no way confirms any mandate on the supposed winner.  This election makes Bush vs. Gore look like a picnic in the park and this time around we need to make republicans own every slimy bit of it.

Now What?

The title is the name of a newly formed political action group out of Saranac Lake.  As the name implies, this is a group in search of identity and a concrete plan of action following the recent elections.   Much as many republicans reacted to President Obama's election in 2008, the progressive community was blindsided by The Donald's election and is flailing in the wilderness.  With more and more reports of foreign interference in our elections along with James Comey's unconscionable letter regarding Hillary's e-mails 10 days before the vote it seems we will be dealing with an historically unpopular president who nonetheless seems bent on governing as if he had a huge mandate.  60 people meeting on a small community college campus in the North Country of New York is a very modest beginning, but it shows people are willing to organize if the danger to our democracy is great enough.  Meanwhile, on the left coast, the governor of California is telling Trump's minions to bring it on.  "We've got plenty of lawyers in California" said Mr. Brown in response to the new administration's picks for EPA, Interior and DOE.  With an economy equal to virtually the combined economies of all the states that voted for Trump, California, New York and other progressive states can act as a counterbalance to federal overreach.  (I thought I would never write that!)  There will be dark days ahead, but the Obama coalition must hang together and turn out in 2018 to regain some of what was lost.

Falling Dominos

The revelations of Russian interference in America's elections keep coming and they get more serious with each passing day.  Actual collusion between Russian intelligence and the Trump campaign has not yet been proven, but I'm betting it's only a matter of time.  Would such collusion be treason?  It's an open question.  What we know so far is Russian agents hacked the Democratic National Committee, The Clinton campaign servers and various democratic operatives e-mails.  This information  was shared with republican campaigns around the country.  The republicans used this material, sometimes very successfully against their opposition.  Meanwhile, the media reported the ongoing operation as if it was business as usual.  It wasn't.  A hostile foreign government intervened directly in the most sacred ritual of a modern democracy to elect its favored candidate.   By all accounts it succeeded, albeit with a little help from the FBI and a media mesmerized by Hillary's e-mail server.  I'm betting the whole episode will be swept into a memory hole by the republican majority in Congress.  The alternative would probably be the impeachment of a newly elected president and the prompt return of the GOP to the political wilderness.  Such an act would require the political courage neither party has shown in recent years. 

All American

Senator Bernie Sanders and MSNBC host Chris Hayes ventured into "Trump Country" in Kenosha, Wisconsin last night and it was a sight to behold.  Bernie was bracketed by people who still have no idea what they bought on Election Day.  Despite the protestations that "he didn't really mean it" and "he started a dialogue" (whatever that means), the average Americans who gathered at the UAW meeting hall where the event was held displayed a breathtaking amount of racism, misogyny and xenophobia which would have gladdened the heart of any Klan members in the neighborhood.  At one point, after getting the other panelists to admit Trump lied to them, he asked the obvious question, "Then why did you vote for him".  It turns out, dissatisfaction with the status quo was probably the most likely reason for their vote.  In other words, since the kitchen floor is dirty, let's burn down the house and start over.   Immigrants, legal and otherwise were viewed as a threat to their jobs, way of life, etc.  Obama was a disappointment and the "do nothing" congress came in for criticism also.  With total republican control of the legislative and executive branches it will be interesting to see what these folks think when their social security and medicare are cut so taxes on the 1% can be cut.  Welcome to the world of 70 year retirement America. The ignorance, especially among the older members was breathtaking.   The facts don't seem to matter in post industrial America.  As Trump's surrogates have put it, facts are for losers.  I'm afraid roughly 99% of us fit into that category.

I owe, I owe

As of January 20, the new Debtor in Chief will occupy the most powerful office in the world.  He also owes more than $700 million to various and sundry creditors around the world.  To take just one example, Trump presently owes Deutsche Bank more than 300 million and will soon hold the fate of the bank in his tiny hands.  The DOJ is in negotiations with the bank regarding a $14 billion dollar fine for its part in the global economic meltdown in 2008.  If the case is not settled by January 20, Trump's administration will be in charge of the ongoing case.  The question is who has more leverage;  Deutsche Bank knows plenty about The Donald's business which could be leaked to the media, but Trump has the threat of a possible business killing fine at his disposal.  It sounds like a poster child for conflict of interest.  How many more of these types of cases  will come up in the next four years.  Stay tuned.

The Hacked election

Doubling down on whatever lie he is telling in the moment is Donald Trump's signature response to criticism.  Losing the popular vote by nearly 3 million makes him question the very legitimacy of elections.   Claiming a overwhelming electoral college victory is equally egregious.  By less than a hundred thousand votes spread over 3 states is his real margin of victory out of nearly 130,000.000 votes cast.  Now comes the CIA assessment  that Russia hacked into our election to tip the scale in Trump's favor.  Added to the disastrous intervention by the FBI's James Comey, it would seem the Clinton campaign was struggling against several simultaneous assaults from different directions.  Between Comey the hack and the Russian hackers it was enough to tip the election to Trump.  According to Nate Silver, had the election been held the day before the FBI "revelations", there is no doubt Hillary would be staffing her cabinet.  Now we are being treated to the Trump circus and the implication the Russian connection is a "false flag" operation carried out by our government.  It's going to be a long four years.

Winter blues

I don't know how many times I've shared this, but, I'll say it again;  I HATE WINTER!   Fortunately, I had the winter tires put on the car on Saturday, so it wasn't a stressful trip this morning.  But a steady 60 MPH still makes for a long trip and the many fellow drivers with less than optimum tires on their cars make for an interesting contrast in styles.  Pickup trucks, the ubiquitous workhorse on the NCR are hazardous no matter what kind of tires they sport unless they have heavy weights over the rear axles.  Many who share the winter highways can't afford snow tires and continue through the Dec.- March period on "all season" radial tires.  You might as well put ice skates on your car when we have weather like this morning's.  Canada, sensibly requires winter tires on passenger vehicles from Dec. til spring.  It would be interesting to compare accident rates in northern US and Canada during the winter.  All I know is it is a long and nasty winter and I won't be sorry to experience the Vernal equinox in 2017.

outrage exhaustion

While I have begun to consume news again in the wake of the ascent of Trump, I can't take the steady drumbeat of outrage from the left leaning media sites and shows I frequent.  While I agree with most of the commentary, I just can't find the matches to light my hair on fire so often.  (Finding my hair is another problem).   Paul Krugman's columns and blog is a case in point.  I wholeheartedly believe most of what he writes, but the relentless pessimism and the continual blaming of the white working class in a few rust belt states is wearing on me.  Yes, these people are voting against their economic interests, yes, there is more than a whiff of racism to their complaints and after 8 years of a black man, a white woman was a bridge too far for many men in the working and middle classes.  I get all of this, but outrage is exhausting when it is continuous.

Perhaps overly pessimistic

According to a new study, optimistic people are more likely to live longer than their pessimistic peers.  I guess that means a spike in mortality among democrats during the next 4 years.  The study doesn't say anything about haters, but I would imagine Trump voters fit into this category which can't be healthy.  On top of this, a polling company surveyed voters in the aftermath of the Nov. 8 travesty and it would seem Trump voters live in their own information bubble which excludes the rest of us.  While most of the rest of us would love to see Trump's tax returns, 57% of The Donald's partisans think he should never show the rest of us his possible conflicts of interest.  After seeing this poll, you can be sure the PEOTUS will never make this information available.  Likewise, as long as the future administration makes it safe to hate again, you can be sure his partisans will believe any and all of the lies that will continue to flow from the incipient administration.  After all, facts are for losers!

A sad spectacle

As the Trump transition team announces more potential hires, the picture of an actual Trump administration becomes clearer.  It won't be pretty.  As an authoritarian type, the president elect seems to have a fetish for retired generals.  Michael Flynn, his pick for NSA chief buys into every nutty conspiracy theory, including the supposed child sex ring Hillary was running out of a pizza place in D.C.  That turned out well as an unstable idiot from North Carolina toting an assault rifle took a shot in the restaurant as he was "self investigating" the rumor.  Meanwhile, Flynn is supposed to bring actionable intelligence to the Oval Office!   Another general, "Mad Dog"  Mattis is being nominated for Secretary of Defense, and yet another, David Petraeus, who lost his last gig at the CIA for leaking classified documents to his lover is on the short list for Sec. of State.  Oh, and Ben Carson, whose nutty pronouncements were too much for even the rabid base of the GOP is being nominated for HUD Secretary, mainly on the basis of his being the correct color to correspond with the Urban part of the HUD!   So, this is the way our country will be governed under The Donald.  I guess it proves the theory of American exceptionalism...

Passing of the torch

Tiger Woods played competitive golf over the weekend at one of golf's "silly season" events, The Hero World Challenge.  This is nothing more than an opportunity for 18 of the sports current celebrities to gather in the Bahamas and get a big payday with little or no pressure.  The addition of Wood's, the tournament's putative host was designed to add luster to an otherwise pedestrian event.  Woods has not played a competitive round in nearly two years and the game has probably passed him by.  At nearly 40 years of age with a thrice surgically repaired back and the knees of a 60 year old, he can't drive the ball with the big boys anymore and his putting stroke looks more than a little rusty.  Yet the commentators want him to be the Tiger of 2001-2009 when he dominated the PGA tour like a colossus.  It would be good for the game if he was able to regain the mantle of invincibility and swat away challenges from the likes of Dustin Johnson, Rory and even Phil, but judging by what he showed on the weekend, it looks like the new model Tiger is just another PGA middle of the pack golfer who will cash a big check most weeks, but play mostly forgettable golf.  It will be a sad end to a glorious career if Woods allows it to happen.

Rearguard actions and consequences

With the recount of votes in Wisconsin underway and news that Trump's victory margin in Pennsylvania is shrinking as absentee ballots are counted, many Clinton voters are taking heart and hoping the electoral college will agree with the popular vote and install Mrs. Clinton as the 45th president this month.  A word of caution is in order.  Actually several words.  Although the Founders envisioned the electoral college as a corrective to prevent people like Donald Trump from becoming the highest elected official by using their collective wisdom to vote for the best candidate, over time, the purpose has been eclipsed by an unthinking fealty to the candidate who claimed the most votes in their particular state.  This gives states with small populations (think Wyoming) outsize power in presidential elections.  No matter.  this is the system we have validated by over 200 years of practice.  Should Hillary somehow miraculously prevail in enough recounted states to validly claim election I believe we would face a civil war in these United States.  This would make the donnybrook of Bush vs. Gore look like a church picnic.  While I would not shy from support of the winner of the popular vote if the electors validated her win, I think the country would literally be torn apart by the strife which would result.  We live in a divided nation where it is a proven fact nearly half the population is too apathetic to vote, a quarter lives in a fact based pluralistic society and almost as many lives the experience of a patriarchal, sexist, xenophobic order and is willing to go down fighting for it, regardless of legal niceties.   It could get very ugly and I doubt the nation, as we know it, would survive.

Seed catalogs and new seasons

My favorite seed catalog was carefully placed on the dining room table by the Divine Mrs. M yesterday.  She knows full well my obsession.   The illustrations of fresh chard and juicy tomatoes jumped out as I picked it up.  I can't wait to sit by the fireside with a glass of wine and delve into the latest and greatest gardening advances on offer.  It's a lot better than obsessing over the coming kleptocracy in D.C.

The check is in the balance

After the true nightmare scenario of a Trump win of the presidency became reality, the punditocracy leaped to the conclusion the only way to contain the worst excesses of the looming kleptocracy was to depend on the republicans who control both houses of congress.  It would seem a vain hope at best.  The chairman of the senate judiciary committee is thrilled to hold hearings to confirm an avowed racist as the attorney general.  The secretary of HHS is ready to help millions of citizens lose their health insurance and the thought of increasing the deficit which was anathema under Obama is now seen as a boost to an anemic economy; as long as it includes tax cuts for the top 1%.  There will be no investigations of conflicts of interest, corruption or malfeasance of this administration by congress.  It will be up to the opposition  to at least point out the worst of what is happening under Cheeto Jesus and his henchmen.  It's a thankless job, which is why no republican will undertake it.  The majorities of both houses and the court system will disavow their constitutional duties with relish as they gleefully take a wrecking ball to what is left of our democratic experiment.  Possibly even more scary is in a recent survey, only 19% of millenials  in this country believe it is important to live and participate in a democracy. 

Canaries and other critters

Despite the coal industry's long slide into irrelevance, certain sayings or phrases will remain in the lexicon.  Likening some incident to a "canary in a coal" mine is becoming increasingly cryptic to younger generations, but most of us still remember that before safety regulations required the measurement of lethal gases in mines, the miners would bring small birds in cages with them to the bottom of the shaft.  The reasoning was the birds, being more sensitive to the gases would faint or die, thus warning the miners of the possibility of a lethal dose of methane or other noxious gas.  In the economy today, transportation and food pricing serve the same purpose as the canary.  These sectors usually succumb to factors which threaten the nation's economic well being.  Having talked to many people in the vegetable business, it would seem that our canary is swooning as we approach a new year.  Many have said they have not seen such poor business in decades.  Maybe the model of the fresh produce industry is changing, but it would certainly seem people are not eating their veggies in the volume they normally do.  FOB prices as shipping points have been stagnant and the Thanksgiving holiday has not improved them.  Christmas and New Year pulls of holiday staples will start in the next 10 days.  If there is no improvement and transportation costs remain low, I think it will be time to start worrying about the state of the economy.  Based on the shenanigans of the president elects transition team, a little panic might be in order.

A curious season

As November winds down, the temperatures remain within the range most hardy fall crops can tolerate.   Temperatures remain above freezing for most of the 24 hour cycle, dipping into the upper 20s briefly before dawn.  As long as the top six inches of soil remains unfrozen plants can take up moisture and nutrients and continue to grow, albeit slowly.  Spinach, kale, collards and the various root crops remain in good condition.  Even broccoli is in reasonably good shape.  The florets are in good condition, but the stalks are becoming a little woody due to the freeze-thaw cycle.  The 10 day forecast is still calling for warm temps and occasional rain, so the garden continues to at least supply some portion of our daily food consumption.

Good and Hard

Is the tail end of a quote from H.L. Mencken.  The full is  "Democracy is the theory that the common people know what they want and deserve to get it good and hard".   With less than two months to go to the inauguration of Cheeto Jesus, the enormity of what the working class actually voted for becomes more tangible every day.  The emerging train wreck will rivet attention on the White House for the next four years and it won't be good.  Trump managed to question the validity of the election in a tweet which falsely claims he won the popular vote if you deduct the millions of "fraudulent votes" cast for Clinton.  Obviously to any rational being, this calls for a complete recount of all votes to restore faith in the electoral system.  But our new leader probably didn't think through the consequences of his fantasy tweet.  This is going to be a staple of his thinking going forward.  The damage he will do to the reputation of the office of the President will be unprecedented in modern times.  The only good thing is his ludicrous behavior will hopefully make him a one term president.

The deplorably uneducated

It seems like a no-brainer.  Trump was elected by a confluence of two factors.  A crucial Democratic demographic, white working class men and women with a high school education or less, tipped the scales for the Donald in a few rust belt states.   This in turn made the electoral college map a disaster for Hillary.  Now the post-mortems are coming out and most of them seem to say we should focus on the precious snowflakes of the aforementioned white working class and eschew the "identity politics" of the various democratic constituencies.   One of the disgruntled, Mark Lilla calls out the bathroom politics of the LGBT community in particular.   He doesn't dwell on the systematic undermining of democratic norms by republicans.  He feels that the dem message is not inclusive of the entire country, while the repubs message of intolerance, division and hate seems to have mobilized enough people to elect an historically unpopular candidate.  Hatred seems to have won this round, but in the long run, an educated, mobilized rainbow coalition will surely win the day... won't it?

Thanksgiving Day musings

Thanksgiving 2016 will be a bittersweet celebration at Casa Monzeglio.   We welcome Wyatt to his first Thanksgiving, while we mourn the accession of a giant talking cheeto to the presidency of our America.  I was born immediately after the election of Dwight Eisenhower and the end of the FDR/Truman presidencies.  However, in that case, we elected a bona fide war hero and a man who had given his entire life to service for the country.  He respected the legislative and moral imperatives of the previous administration and guided the country through the perilous international crises of the 1950s.  As we ducked under our desks and covered our ears, I doubt most of us children knew or cared who was President.  If I prayed, it would be that Wyatt and his older sister and cousins know the same blessed ignorance of our government and its interactions with the world.  That is my wish as we gather to celebrate the abundance we mostly take for granted (My apologies to the Divine Mrs. M, who constantly reminds me of how lucky we are) and hope we will be able to continue the tradition in another perilous time for our country and democracy.

The power of racism and misogny

NPR ran another in a series of stories covering various regions of the nation in an effort to find out how we could elect a game show host/insult comedian as our president in 2016.   This time it was a nearly all white county in Indiana whose 15 minutes of fame is the result of going twice for Obama, but then voting for Trump.  The plucky reporter managed to interview only white men who somewhat stupidly allowed as how they wanted change and since Obama didn't deliver the kind of change they wanted, Trump's message of disruptive change echoed positively.  Most of them also stated they felt Trump was the lesser of two evils and they couldn't stand Hillary.   What I came away with was the feeling most of these erstwhile citizens would have voted for Jack the Ripper if he was the alternative to Hillary.  It would seem many of my fellow citizens value change more than the continuation of policies which have lifted many women and people of color out of poverty and obscurity.   Many pundits have attributed Trump's victory to the economic anxiety of the working class voter who is feeling left behind by other groups.  That may have driven some voters to pull the lever for an unqualified, self dealing pathological liar, but a more sturdy explanation is the fundamental prejudice many people see as their right to practice.  Never underestimate the power of hatred of women and "the other" in American politics.

A November to Remember

Weatherwise, things could not have made a more extreme about face here on the NCR.  From a balmy 65 degrees on Saturday to 28 degrees and blowing snow this morning, Mother Nature is reminding us the calendar says we should be transitioning to winter.  The predictions for the rest of the week is more of the same.  I was able to harvest most of what was vulnerable in the garden, including broccoli, cabbage and carrots.   The kale, collards, spinach and Brussels sprouts will have to tough it out this week.  Hopefully the weather will moderate.   Meanwhile, the ramifications of a Trump presidency are beginning to be discerned.  The sycophants are lining up to get on the power train.  Mitt Romney is the latest to throw his own ego under the bus as he and others line up to abase themselves.  Hate crimes are up, police are being shot and the inauguration is still 2 months away.
 I'm ordering my "Do you miss me yet" Obama bumper sticker to go with the "I didn't vote for Trump" slogan.  That and a serious dose of black humor will get me through the next few months.  I hope...

Medicare and the camel's nose

Behind the chaos of the Trump transition which is sucking all the air from the room, republican strategists are licking their chops as they plan to dismantle the social insurance plans which their base voters depend on.   The 60 year old coal miners in Pennsylvania who enthusiastically voted for cheeto jesus because he promised to bring back coal jobs will be looking for medicare coverage and social security in years to come, and Trump's new team is already including dedicated privatizers of these signature government programs.  The ignorance of these voters, symbolized by the popular sign held by tea party members during the 2010 mid-term elections "Keep the government's hand off my medicare", shows just how far the dumbing down of America has come.   It would be easy to say these people should get what they deserve after the breathtakingly stupid decision they made to support a billionaire because he supposedly empathized with them, but when they go down, they will also take me and mine with them and I find that outcome intolerable.   I have a feeling that when republicans offer them a shit sandwich of voucherized medicare and privatized social security accounts, they will say "Thank you very much sir, can I have some more".

Even/especially at home

It looks like the fallout from the recent election has reached into the NCR.  The local public radio station did a story about a Bhutanese refugee who, with his family settled in this area and opened a popular Himalayan restaurant in downtown Plattsburgh.   The Divine Mrs. M and I have patronized the place more often than we have any other eatery and find the food and ambiance very welcoming.  A couple of days after the farce on Nov. 8, Mr. Dorjee was shopping in the local Walmart when he was confronted by two locals dressed in camo.  They were not very encouraging of his presence. "Hey Chink, go back where you came from" was their greeting.  He smiled and went about his business, but the damage to his feeling for the area was done.  His car, parked in front of his house was subsequently vandalized.  He admitted that despite his embrace of non violence and his Buddhist faith, he considered buying a shotgun for protection and a concealed carry pistol permit.  On further reflection, he decided to meet hate with love.  He said he will refuse to be intimidated.  I think he has cemented his restaurant's claim on my allegiance.  It's going to be a long and ugly 4 years....

Falling into winter

The weather forecast through Saturday reads like a late Sept. scenario.  Highs in the upper 50s and lows in the mid 30s with plenty of sunshine after today.  However, this is mid-late November and Sunday's prediction is for rain changing to snow with some accumulation by the end of the night.  The lead up to Thanksgiving calls for weather more in line with seasonal norms on the NCR, with off and on snow during the day and temps in the low 20s at night.   That will pretty much end the gardening season and usher in winter.  Ugh!   Time to get the last harvest gathered.  Beets, carrots, broccoli, cabbage and Brussels sprouts are still abundant, but sensitive enough that they should be harvested before a hard freeze.  The kale and collards should survive the initial onslaught if warmer weather returns as December approaches.  If not, the stalks will stand as silent sentinels in the garden until next spring.  At least the gardening catalogs will be coming out soon!

Birthday musings

I haven't paid much attention to my own birthday since I was in my teens.  The big milestones, like getting a driver's license, voting for the first time, draft registration and legal drinking age were the touchstones.  For the rest, 30, 40, 50 and 60 came and went without much fanfare.  65 was once the gateway to old age.  Time to get the watch and sign up for Social Security benefits and play with the grandkids for a few years.  Now, it's just another day for one of the boomer generation who expects to live forever.  Besides, the Divine Mrs. M is taking a long trip down a certain river that runs through Egypt when it come to her next birthday, so the celebration at Casa Monzeglio will be a muted affair this evening.  The recent election has thrown even more cold water on the idea of a golden autumn of life.  It is time to keep all the options open and reassess as each new year passes.   I remember my paternal grandfather at 65 and hope I can live the rest of my life as fully as he was able.   

Jerry would not be proud

As someone who I respected throughout my association with him, I think Jerry Shulman would be outraged by the results of the recent election.  The "Arc of Justice" has not been bent, but severely deformed and probably not amenable to repair in what remains of my lifetime.   But I think I will try to do what Jerry would probably have done.  I'll continue to go to work each day and make a difference where I can.  I intend to become more involved in causes which are working for the general good.  I will oppose the forces of hatred and bigotry.  These are all things I believe Jerry would have done in a similar situation.  We are entering uncharted territory and the examples of those who went before us are valuable guides as we try to make sense of what is a dark time in our history.  Meanwhile, the Divine Mrs. M and I had the chance to spend time with our mothers over the past weekend.  Both seem in good health and spirits.  Fortunately they will be spared the worst of what is to come in their remaining years.   For others in our families the results of the recent elections will not be so benign in their personal lives.  We will hope for the best and prepare for the worst.  That's what Jerry would have done.

Thank the Flying Spaghetti Monster it's Friday

Maybe the weekend will help put the worst aspects of this election in the rear view mirror.  To continue the autopsy of what  went wrong will help some and make others crazy.  The revelation that Trump's campaign was in contact with Russian intelligence and was fully briefed on the wikileaks dumps of the hacks to the DNC is outrageous enough.  One can only wonder what the right would have said if Obama's campaign had been accused of that.   Personally, I think Putin is just messing with us in an effort to further delegitimize our electoral system.  It's going to get very ugly in America over the next few years as people realize what a fool's bargain they made with Cheeto Jesus.   One man who bears an outsize blame for this is Jim Comey and his self righteous letter to Congress 10 days before the election.  More than any other incident, this probably pushed Trump over the top in the handful of rust belt states which ultimately decided the election.  My oldest daughter's 7 year old asked her if we are going to have a war now!  How did it come to this?  The idiots on NPR ran a story this morning about how religion will bring us together.  I would say religion brought us to this pass and the best thing we can do is ignore anything the evangelicals have to say about politics.  They revealed themselves as Pharisees who nakedly grasp for power.  I think I better stop here...

Processing the fallout

I have never been what most people would consider an activist.  I have voted for liberal candidates and causes, donated money on occasion and even manned phone banks for local congressional candidates.  I even write this occasionally political blog on a daily basis.  But I never considered becoming an active member of a political action group.  That will change.  The fact a large minority of my fellow citizens were able to vote for a manifestly unqualified candidate for president with the ridiculous slogan of "make America great again" makes me want to get involved in the political life of my country.  This sounds a little self righteous, but I think every citizen needs to spend time to inform themselves of the issues involved in elections and make an educated choice.  Basing your vote on idiotic slogans and your own self interest is a good way to lose the democracy we have.  Especially when the person you voted for says he is "the only one" who can fix whatever problems we have.  Beware of anyone peddling that solution.  I hope to work for an organization which will clearly explain the issues and possible solutions to the electorate as well as the people who actually have the passion and expertise to implement the programs.  The next four years will not be kind to most people in this country.  Let's roll up our sleeves and lay the foundation for a smarter America.

Post election

As the Divine Mrs. M said many months ago, don't think what happened last night was ever impossible.   Having lived through the Nixon, Reagan and Shrub presidencies you would think there  would  be enough  scar tissue on my psyche to deal with a Trump presidency.  I don't think so.  I have not processed the extent to which the constant presence of this racist, misogynist, homophobic asshole in my life will damage me and mine.  The  consequences for the environment, international relations, and the future of the planet will be incalculable.  We must take the time to figure out how this could have happened and make sure it is only a four year horror.  That's all I can say for now.

E-Day

The long national nightmare is finally over.  Today, each American gets to make the decision which defines a democracy.  To participate in the governance of our country or cede that right to others who make the time and effort necessary to be citizens.   The Divine Mrs. M and me are political junkies.  We have contributed to campaigns and I have worked for a few, so we can't really understand someone who opts out of the democratic process by not voting.  The lame excuse that "My vote doesn't count" is the self serving whine of someone who really doesn't believe in his or her fellow citizens.  If we don't take the time to be fully engaged in the democratic process, we can't complain when it is hijacked by those who hate it.  But enough of pontification.  Get out and vote. 

Summer and Boomer's last hurrah

It was 26 degrees this morning on the NCR.  To the hardy souls who inhabit the area, it's a reminder that summer is over and winter is around the corner.   Unlike more southerly areas, we don't usually have a long mild fall.  The change from temperate to frigid can be shocking.  The garden will continue to hang on for another couple of weeks, but this morning's temp readings is the proverbial handwriting on the wall (or the frozen windshield); get ready for winter.   It's probably much too trite, metaphorically speaking to compare the change in the weather to the twilight of the boomer generation's participation in this election.  We are being asked to choose from two archetypes of our cohort;  the blustery, hard charging egotist against the avatar of our better, albeit flawed human nature.   The weather is changing and our generation is beginning the late fall and winter of our eclipse by the millenials.   Hopefully we will choose a representative which will make us proud, rather than shamed as we go not gently into this good night.

4 more days

The relentless barrage of media coverage of the farce known as the 2016 Presidential election will mercifully be over next Tuesday.  Unfortunately, like a tsunami or other natural disaster, the harm done by partisans on the republican side will take years to clean up.  Some of the damage done to our institutions and their reputations may be irreparable for a generation.  The candidacy of Donald Trump has laid bare the intellectual bankruptcy of the republican party.   Whether consciously or not, most leaders of the party have decided the democratic candidate, no matter who the party nominates is illegitimate.  Hillary Clinton suffers from a 30 year war on her reputation, but it would not have mattered if Bernie had been nominated.  The lies would have been different, but the implications would be the same.  As one pundit put it, we now live in a post-truth world, where nearly half the population believes in a universe where black  can be white, up can be down and freedom is slavery.  They inhabit a bubble which still believes climate change is a hoax.  In this world, a serial molester, failed businessman and pathological liar is seen as their best candidate for the most powerful office in the world.  Somewhere, democracy is lying in a dark room in a fetal position waiting for this to be over!

One curse down, one to go

I couldn't make it to the end of last night's game 7 of the World Series, but it certainly didn't look good for the Cubs and their manager.  Every time the Cubs put a few runs on the scoreboard, Joe Maddon would make a pitching change and the Indians would strike back.  Putting in Chapman, who was clearly gassed allowed the Indians to finally tie the score in the 8th and they clearly had momentum on their side.  I went to bed figuring the Cubs, winless in World Series play since 1908 would tack another year of futility onto the string, but they managed 2 runs in the tenth and held off the Tribe.  Generations of Cubs fans have lived and died without seeing the Cubs win the Fall Classic, so I am sharing the feeling vicariously.  As a lifelong Yankees fan it is hard to feel the angst the Cubbies have endured, but as a lifer in the Democratic party, particularly in the 70s and 80s, I can commiserate.  One silver lining of Chicago's triumph is this interesting statistic.  Since I was born, whenever the American league team wins in a Presidential election year, Republicans also win the White House.  Guess what happens when a National League team hoists the World Series Trophy!  The fact Hillary is a Cubs fan will add an extra something to the celebration that will come next Tuesday.

Empathy for Me, but not for Thee

The liberal bi-coastal media is on the hunt for the true snark; a Trump voter who they can empathize with.  Forget the yahoos who populate the rallies wearing their "Trump that Bitch" t-shirts and screaming Jew-S-A at the thoroughly intimidated press corps in their pen.  The media has fanned out across Murica in search of someone who simultaneously is for Trump and is not one of the following, racist, sexist, homophobic, islamophobic and/or generally intolerant.  The best they seem to be able to do is tag most of them as "angry".  This seems to be a perpetual state of these citizens' existences.  They are pulsing inchoate hatred at anyone they perceive as different or more privileged than they are.  As you might imagine this is a significant number of their fellow nationals.  Somehow, a belligerent supposed billionaire has come to embody all the protest these people feel.   Voting for someone totally unqualified for high office is their middle finger to the elitists who look down on them.  So what if his policies will actually make their lives harder both short and long term.  It's worth it if it pisses off liberals!  How anyone can empathize with this world view is far beyond my understanding.

New Normals

It was a bracing 50 degrees F when I stepped out of the door this morning.  Normally we wouldn't expect to see that temperature until next April even here on the NCR.  We still have not had a hard freeze in the garden and non are expected for at least 10 days.  It is so mild, I'm contemplating spraying BT on the broccoli to kill cabbage loopers!  While the gardener in me is thrilled with the late harvest of vegetables, the grandfather is appalled by the implications of this warm November for future generations. 

Whistling past the graveyard

The Divine Mrs. M is getting more nervous each day as Election Day approaches and Cheeto Jesus appears to be getting closer in the polls to Hillary.  As most Democrats have pointed out, the country is polarized and partisans will wind up coming home to their roots.  The fundamental problem for the GOP is they have alienated a majority of the citizens; people of color, latinos, women, gays and most college educated professionals.  As long as these people are motivated to vote, Clinton can't lose.  The republican traditionally turn out in higher percentages than dems, but as they lose the white, educated demographic, even the turnout figures will go against them.  Many of the yahoos who populate Trump rallies and scream insults at all and sundry are either not registered to vote or will not be motivated to participate in a "rigged" system.  They will probably spend election day cleaning their guns in preparation for the revolution they have been promised when the Donald loses.  And lose he will. 

Career changes

I read with some amusement a column in today's NYT describing five 20 something men who threw over their office jobs to landscape, hang drapes, build stone walls and bake.  They all sounded like converts to a macho cult of exhaustion.  As someone who made the transition from physical to mental labor 30 years ago, I would tell these poseurs to report back after 10 years of 100 hour weeks spent outdoors or in the sauna of a bakery and let me know how that's working out for them.   These guys are the poster children for those who would raise the retirement age.  Maybe if they start at 30, they will be able to withstand the rigors of decades of physical labor better than previous generations.  All I will tell them is working on farms and nurseries for 20 years part and full time took a toll on my knees and joints which remind me of human frailty every time I stand up after sitting for several hours.  My hobby garden is further proof that working with your hands may be satisfying, but it's hard bought with aches and pains.  I don't think I'll be giving up my day job to indulge in macho fantasies anytime soon.

Gardening Future

What will gardening on the NCR look like in 50 years?  I won't be around to report on that particular issue, but I can predict the conditions based on my experiences of the last 50.  As a freshman at Clarkson U. in Potsdam, NY in the early 1970s, it was a given the area would endure temperatures in the -50 F. range every winter.  The joke was you could throw a glass of water out a second story window and it would freeze before it hit the ground!  In any case, the gardening season usually ended by midSeptember with several freezes recorded before October.  Fast forward to the present... It is Oct. 31 and the gardening season continues apace.  If  not for recent rainy weather, I would still be fertilizing late spinach and kale.  Where they are protected by overhanging foliage, tender weeds like galinsoga continue to grow.  What's more, there is little in the way of freezing weather predicted for the next 10 days.  At this rate, I may be killing weeds on Christmas day in 2025.   If President Trump has his way, my grandchildren may be planting palm trees on the family property by 2050, if we still have a country by then.   Let's hope wiser heads prevail and we are able to halt and even begin the process of reversing climate change.  Longer gardening seasons on the NCR would be too dearly bought for my comfort.

Undeniably Deplorable

By the day after the 2016 elections, somewhere around 50 million people will have cast a vote for someone who is inarguably the least qualified person who has ever run for President.  Donald J. Trump has been shown to be ignorant of policy, morally bankrupt and tempermentally unsuited for the diplomatic requirements of the presidency.  He has shown disrespect to women and disdain for the hard work required of anyone seeking the office.  Yet many women and even a few educated men fully intend to vote for this caricature of a candidate.  Misogyny is surely one of the reasons for this otherwise inexplicable abandonment of reason.  Many men and women are uncomfortable with the idea of a woman president.  The demonization of Hillary Clinton has been relentless, but it would be so for any other female candidate.  Hillary may have more baggage than most, but does anyone really think it would be different for any strong woman?  Beyond fear and hatred for the change a woman president represents, party affiliation counts also.  The republicans who are voting for Trump out of loyalty to the party are another slice of support.  They will have to live with this choice for the rest of their lives.  Finally, the members of the alt right, racists, white supremacists and other haters make up the "deplorables" who have finally gotten the candidate they have clamored for and deserve.  Fortunately for the future of democracy, all of these groups make up a minority of the electorate.  As long as the rest of us show up and vote, the last year and a half will be nothing more than an unhappy memory.

Posting on the nativity

Wyatt Daniel Rock, all 19 inches and 7 1/2 pounds of him made his first appearance in the world last night at 8:03 p.m.   Mother and son are doing fine.  For statistic freaks, Wyatt is among the 20% of babies who was actually born on his due date.  Despite the grinding of the Divine Mrs. M's molars, he looks like a fine little man!  He and his peers from 2008 through at least the next four years will have been born during the presidencies of the first black man and the first woman elected to that office.  While the effect of these landmarks will be lost on this first generation of post millennial babies, their older siblings will have experienced the politics and policies associated with Mr. Obama and Mrs. Clinton.  Much as boomers were influenced by Jack Kennedy and Lyndon Johnson, this generation will embody the aspirations and contradictions of this new political paradigm.  I'm sure Wyatt's parents will ponder these issues, but as of last night, his mother was only hoping he would be a better sleeper than his big sister, Hannah Grace.

New Beginnings

Normally, I hate being wakened in the middle of the night with a text message.  This morning was the exception to that particular rule.  My middle daughter Merry was off to the hospital to prepare for the birth of her second child.  As I shared the news with the Divine Mrs. M and  slid back into a restless sleep, it occurred to me we have well and truly moved into the role of caretakers of the family's collective wisdom.   The younger generation will deal with sleepless nights and the rigors of raising children.  Nana and I will be the backstop and example for them.  We did it, and so can they.  We came from a generation which pioneered the concept of both parents working and juggling careers with parental duties.  Our parents were exemplars of the patriarchal society which reached its apex in the 1950s.  The father was the breadwinner and the mother the nurturer.  We gradually weaned ourselves away from that model, although Mrs. M still did more than half of the duty involved.  The next gen will be a more equal partnership and I wish them well.  Meanwhile, we await the arrival of the new addition and hope the parents can agree on a name at some point.....

End Games

The media is furiously plumping the horse race at this point, mostly in the face of nearly overwhelming evidence that Trump is cratering.  Early voting has begun in many states and the Clinton campaign's GOTV operation is working in all 50 states.  Trump's version is to hold as many rallies as possible and call the attendees to vote.  That didn't work so well for Bernie and it won't replace the thousands of phone banks and door to door canvassers who are working for Clinton and down ballot Dems.  Without the RNC's operation, Trump would have virtually no one trying to turn out voters.  As Clinton and the DNC turn toward Senate candidates who can flip the Senate liberal media are worrying about over confidence on Hillary's side.   It doesn't seem that way to me.  It more resembles planting seeds just before a welcome rain in the summer.  If you do all the little things right, the crop will come.  Trump, on the other hand more like a farmer spraying roundup a couple of days late and wondering  why the sprouting crop is turning yellow.  In politics, as in gardening, timing counts heavily in the results of your labor. 

Seasonal bounty

As always, the month of October presents unusual opportunities and dilemmas when it comes to fresh from the garden vegetables.  The late plantings of broccoli, cabbage, kale and other greens are there for the picking, but you can only eat so much fiber every day.  But the countdown to really freezing weather is under way, and even the hardiest veg can only take so much temperature abuse.  I'll wind up harvesting way more than we can eat and storing it for as long as possible.  Meanwhile, I tried an Italian variety of cauliflower which is making lush growth but is refusing  to make heads.  A couple of mornings in the mid to upper 20s are predicted this week, which should put an end to that particular experiment.  I have found a few winners in the "Seeds from Italy" catalog, but also a fair number of disappointments.  Open pollinated varieties may sound good on paper, but the hybrids offered by most US seed companies usually outperform them and are more reliable for the average gardener.  I should have planted "Snow Crown" if I wanted a good late cauliflower.  We received nearly three inches of rain over the weekend which while not really helping late crops will play havoc with plans to get the seed garlic planted before the ground freezes.  Ah, gardening on the NCR... gotta love it.

Possibilities

I was about to write an obituary for the GOP presidential pretender, but decided not to invite karmic retribution.  Instead, I would like to focus on the possibility of a Democratic "wave" election similar to 2008, where the Dems won control of both houses of Congress.  By virtue of slim majorities and despite relentless republican obstruction, the triumvirate of Obama, Pelosi and Reid managed to pass the most progressive legislation since the 1960s.  Their achievements included the ACA or Obamacare, saving the auto industry, the Fair Pay Act and many other progressive goals.  Unfortunately they also had to deal with an economic meltdown and the Shrub's failed wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.  If Clinton is given majorities to work with in the House and Senate even if only for two years, progressives will be salivating at the prospect of the legislation that could advance our goals.  It is still a long shot, but Trump's historic unpopularity allows for the possibility that despite republican gerrymandering, the will of the people might actually be respected.

It's all over, except when it's not

With a virtual promise to not accept the results of the 2016 Presidential election, Donald Trump took his campaign to a new low.   When specifically asked by debate moderator Chris Wallace if he will concede the election if Hillary Clinton is declared the winner, he said he would "keep you in suspense", then whining that he had seen some "unbelievable things".  This exchange brought an audible gasp from the debate spectators which was echoed throughout the nation as people from both parties condemned this flouting of the norms of politics in the US.   Of course there are probably millions of Trump supporters who heard a different message.  These are the "deplorables" who would be revolutionaries if it doesn't interfere with the NFL schedule!  Beyond this campaign ending gaffe on Trump's part, the debate was fairly predictable.  After a fairly strong start appealing to his base on the questions of abortion and guns, Trump, facing a strong, well prepared opponent began to interrupt, insult and betray his tenuous grasp on the issues.  Even when Hillary was somewhat vulnerable to the recent spate of wikileaks releases of e-mails from her campaign chairman's server, she was able to frame the retort to tie Trump to Vladimir Putin.  This seemed to throw Trump off balance.  The post debate poll showed the audience felt Clinton won by a comfortable margin and the pundits were fixated on Trump's refusal to concede if defeated.  Hillary looked presidential while Donald looked angry and confused.  Game over.

Obscuring the issues

While there is a certain satisfaction in seeing the Donald be hoisted by his sexism petard with the recent revelations regarding his sexual assault m.o., the resultant glut of coverage has largely blotted out the issues which will affect Americans long after this election is a bad memory.  Social Security reform is one of the mega issues bearing down on the baby boomer generation, but it has generated surprisingly little coverage.  This is especially egregious because of the age of the candidates.  Both Trump and Clinton are or will be eligible to collect the maximum benefit available.  This munificent sum is probably in the neighborhood of $3800.00/month.  While it wouldn't keep either candidate in the style to which they have become accustomed, it represents the biggest single payment many people in my generation are likely to see each month.  Without the system is tweaked in the next few years, that benefit, as well as the lower payments most Americans are likely to see will be reduced by up to 35%.  Hillary has a plan to raise the limit on which taxes are collected.  Trump promises continued new benefits but no new taxes.  We need to hear both candidates expound on this issue as well as many others this evening.  Unfortunately, we will be treated to an hour and a half of e-mails and sexual harassment allegations.  It may be titillating, but it certainly won't be enlightening.

Wet and wild

The weather seems to be mirroring our election season in its unpredictability.   After a light frost on Saturday morning, temperatures have climbed into the 60s and 70s for highs.  Today should approach 80.  We have had barely a trace of rain for the last month, but over an inch of rain is predicted for the end of the week.   Following the deluge we are promised more seasonal temperatures and precipitation.   That is code for snow and cold in this area.   The garden still has quite a bit of produce to harvest over the next few weeks if temperatures remain within reason.   There is still plenty of kale, collards, broccoli and cabbage.  The spinach is peaking and the beets and carrots are still growing.  It is a shame that so many items are at their peak of flavor and nutritive value and yet a week of bad weather in late October can ruin them.  Of course, 25 years ago, late September was the end of the gardening season here on the NPR.  So I guess there are some good things about climate change. 

The coming tide of BS

The real, naked Donald Trump was on full display yesterday.  Shorn of any remaining hope of winning the presidency, he is determined to try and take the whole system down with him.  Cartels of international bankers with "unlimited" resources are meeting with Hillary Clinton to plot the destruction of our sovereignty.  This stuff is right out of Hitler's playbook as he prepared the German people for the Third Reich.   He doesn't mention the Protocols of the Elders of Zion by name, but any Jew with a smattering of history at her command knows exactly which buttons Trump is pushing.  As some commentators have said, he is literally in the bunker with a covey of white supremacist lunatics and he has wholeheartedly embraced their playbook.  One of the many differences between the US in 2016 and Germany in 1932 is the economic situation.  We are not in a depressed economy with raging inflation.  All he really has to peddle is hate of everyone who is not a  white man.  Fortunately, that won't work in our pluralistic society where working class non college white men make up a small percentage of the overall electorate.  The scary scenario is that somewhere, someone is taking notes right now and preparing for the elections in 2020.  That person will not be an aging, sexist buffoon.  I will weep for our country if Hillary is unable to reconcile the grievances, real and fancied that so many people seem to feel.

A Storm of Shoes

With apologies to George R.R. Martin, the blog post refers to the now incessant drumbeat of women coming forward with stories of The Donald forcing himself on them.  Kissing, touching and otherwise demeaning them as objectified objects of his perverted desire.  All that's missing is an actual rape.  That this misogynist has gotten so far in this election cycle is either a tribute to his campaign's ability to keep a lid on his past, or his opponents' inept oppo researchers.  A more sinister take is that up until the recent revelations, no one has thought Trump's bragging about his sexual escapades was anything more than "locker room banter".  As one of the women who contacted the NYT said, she felt like punching the television as he denied he acted on the supposed fantasies confided to Billy Bush.    This may or may not be the death knell of Trump's campaign.  He still has not tested the limits of his supporters' patience by actually shooting someone on Fifth Ave.  However, he has certainly destroyed any lingering doubt among self respecting women that he is a chauvinist pig who feels that 51% of Americans are fair game for his infantile fantasies.

It's the climate, stupid

Hillary trotted out Al Gore yesterday in Florida  to bolster her standing among millenials worried about the effects of climate change on their lives and those of their children.  Neither party has spent much time or effort to educate or discuss plans for combatting the effects of mankind's promiscuous release of carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases into the atmosphere.  Now that Clinton's election is virtually assured, maybe it is time to listen to the Al Gores of the world.  The science is indisputable to anyone who accepts the scientific method.  At a certain tipping point, the amount of heat trapping gasses in the air will bring about catastrophic changes which may be inimitable to life on earth as we know it.  Every time I see my 2 year old grandchildren and think of how their lives will be impacted by climate change I shudder.  Too many other people have chosen to either ignore or actively deny this change is happening.  Droughts, floods, warmest months of all time followed by even warmer months;  this is all in line with predictions by climate scientists.  I hope Hillary and her closest advisors realize the gravity of the situation.  It's a sure bet Trump and his crew, who are now engaged in a scorched earth political suicide have not spared a moment's thought for the future of our plante.

Women for Trump?

How any woman can support a man who objectifies virtually every portion of the female anatomy, who is fine with a radio shock jock referring to his daughter as a "piece of ass" and who speaks like a sexual predator is way beyond me.  However, the spectacle of a few women at a Trump rally behind a banner saying Virginia Women for Trump, juxtaposed with a male carrying a sign proclaiming "It's better to grab a p***y than to be one" put's the dilemma into an easy to understand slogan.  If you are a woman who supports the republican candidate for president,  expect to be denigrated and marginalized by the misogynistic, racist a-holes who support this worthless excuse for a human being.

Another debate post-mortem

Despite the "brave" insistence of many if not most cable commenters, the public seems to have felt Hillary won last night's debate by a pretty wide margin.  Despite the carefully vetted presence of so-called undecided voters, both the moderators and Trump decided to virtually ignore their questions and focus on the prurient interest of the Donald's sex innuendo tape.  He, in turn took a swipe at Bill Clinton's indiscretions, going so far as holding a press conference attended by most of the women who have called out Clinton for sexually abusing them.  This was the prelude to Trump's scorched earth policy of trying to drag Hillary down to his level.  Unfortunately for him there were some actual questions from the audience he had to answer.  After a few "believe me's", he usually launched into a spate of gibberish instead of any concrete policy statements.  On health care, he is going to replace Obamacare with "unbelievably good" policies, blah, blah, blah.  On the middle east, I doubt he could have identified Syria on an unlabeled map, let alone Aleppo.  Clinton adopted the Pence strategy, namely not engaging on complicated issues like her e-mails and ignoring Trump's attempt to tie Bill's sexual indiscretions to her.  It was ugly, but most of the time she appeared to know she was supposed to respond to the audience questions, unlike the insult comedian.  The CNN poll showed most of the public appreciated that.

It's all fun and games until the planet gets hurt

Making fun of the sort of people who absolutely know Obama is a Kenyan muslim socialist, Vince Foster was murdered, global warming is a hoax, etc. is an amusing pastime.  Then, you wake up one morning and realize some 30-40% of Americans believe these tropes and are willing to bet the nation's future on them.  Donald Trump is the pentultimate creation of the conspiracy peddling fifth estate of alternative social websites and right wing media outlets like Faux News.  These "truthy" sources have blurred the line between fact and fantasy to the extent many people have turned against mainstream papers and other sources which traffic in inconvenient facts which contradict the conspiracy theories which seem to comfort so many of our neighbors.  I guess it is easier to believe in UN black helicopters and "false flag" operations that explain why things are not the same as they were in some golden yesterday when white Americans held all the world in their hands and everyone else knew their place.  Yes, Trump will almost certainly lose this election, but the damage he has done to our polity is incalculable.  His politics will almost surely lead to a person who will plausibly explain how we will  make America great again.  May the Flying Spaghetti Monster have mercy on us all.

"Smart" people and the peril of democracy

One of the things that always impressed me about my mentor, Jerry Shulman, was his dedication to democracy.   He took his civic duty seriously, including paying taxes.  While he didn't enjoy the annual ritual, he always said it was a good year if he  had to pay his share to keep government and all the services it provides running smoothly.  He had many good years.  I would contrast that with the antics of the insult comedian running for president.  Evidently , The Donald has not paid federal taxes since sometime in the 1980s.  As chronicled by various reporters, his business past is littered with failures, most of them bailed out by his father.  If he had not been tapped to host "The Apprentice" series of reality tee vee shows, which showcased all the horrible aspects of his personality, he would probably be a greenskeeper at one of his golf courses.  As he no doubt knows, releasing his tax returns would be the final nail in his political coffin.  It would also show that despite his protestations of patriotism, he is unwilling or unable to support the nation he aspires to lead.  Jerry Shulman would be shaking his head in disbelief that such a charlatan could be one election away from disgracing America.

Not the Beer thing again

So, it sounds like more Americans would like to have a beer with Mike Pence than Tim Kaine.  As noted bully and interrupter Chris Matthews opined,  Kaine seemed more aggressive and combative than Pence.  Well, the clash of ideas in a public forum can be a messy business and Kaine's agenda was to tie Pence and the republican party to Trump.  Pence refused to defend his putative boss and made many in his party yearn for a Pence candidacy in 2020.  If the debate was judged on points scored by an impartial panel, I have little doubt Kaine was the winner.  However, these encounters are more often judged on style than substance and many pundits judged  Pence was cooler.   He also  lied far more and better than his opponent.  He simply refused to answer or lied about any Trumpism called out by Kaine.  The refusal of the moderator to force him to stay within the parameters of the debate allowed him to throw The Donald under the bus without having to actually defend anything.  As one pundit put it, Kaine is running for vice president in 2016.  Pence is running for president in 2020.  Pence is a nasty piece of work who is not noted for his grasp of foreign or domestic policy, a sort of George W. Bush lite.  But on the limited stage of a VP debate with a mandate to stop the bleeding of his ticket, he accomplished the job, albeit by dropping Trump like the proverbial hot potato.

October surprises

October is definitely my favorite month.   Cool weather, beautiful scenery, bountiful harvests of fall vegetables and perfect golfing weather.  This year, there is the stress of a presidential election, but the latest news on that front is comforting.   The release of a few pages of Trump's taxes are not going to convince the racist misogynist base of his bad faith.  On the contrary, it will only reinforce their belief in his "genius".   I won't even speculate how these people can square this circle, but certainly anyone who was genuinely on the fence should now be falling onto the Clinton column.  I look forward to more revelations regarding The Donald's prowess at gaming the system to his advantage and his feeble explanations as to how this qualifies him to be president.  The laughs keep coming...

To a long, mild fall

Just two more weeks at the farmer's market, but there remains quite a bit of late crops out in the gardens.  Late broccoli and cauliflower continue to grow, although they would grow faster with a little moisture.  The last plantings of carrots and broccoli are coming on as well.  There is and will be a bumper crop of spinach.  I'm harvesting the last row of potatoes for storage.  The winter squash is in the garage curing before storage.  The last rows of sweet corn will be harvested for market this weekend, since the Divine Mrs. M and I will be on Long Island for niece Emma's wedding.  Still waiting for the Brussels sprouts which were severely damaged by a flea beetle infestation to come around.  The long range forecast is for a wet and mild fall followed by a cold winter.  We'll see, but in the short term, I'm rooting for several more mild weekends for golf and gardening.

Globalization and the backlash

Despite literally hundreds of statements and incidents which would have disqualified any other candidate for president, Donald Trump continues to stay close to Hillary in the polls.  Many pundits lay this at the feet of Ms. Clinton, saying she is an historically unpopular candidate.  Of course, when she left her post as Secretary of State, she was the most admired woman in America, with a 61% approval rating.  What changed?   I would posit the theory Trump has allowed America's collective Id to express itself.  Why did this bigoted son of privilege become a touchstone for mostly middle aged and elderly white people who are certainly not rich.  Globalization, with its destruction of many middle American communities is certainly to blame for some of it.  The revolution of rising expectations for blacks, latinos, women and the LGBT community is another reason.  Loss of traditional white privilege is another.   Finally, the strategy of a major political party to base its appeal on intolerance has unleashed the forces which led to a demagogic racist as its standard bearer.  It is a complicated stew of economic, social and political misery and we will be dealing with it for decades.  I don't know if Hillary fully understands the Pandora's box republicans have opened, but it will be impossible to shut in the short run.  Her first order of business will be to deal with the wreckage of broken lives that capital mobility has left in its wake.  The very existence of our democracy depends on it.

It's Roger Ailes world and we have to live in it

A weird alternate reality took hold on nearly half of America in the wake of the first Presidential debate.  While a pretty large majority of those who actually watched the debate came away impressed by Hillary's performance and depressed that one of the two major parties could possibly have nominated The Donald as its candidate.  Then, overnight, the "Fox effect" came into play.  Trump appeared on several shows and claimed the Drudge report certified him as the winner.  Limbaugh chimed in and a tidal wave of right wing websites suddenly found their voices and proceeded to tell their credulous supporters they could believe the latest black is white, up is down theory of public debate.  This scenario has been decades in the making, beginning with Roger Ailes vision of Fox News as a vehicle for hijacking the news and substituting an ideologically slanted version of it.  Hiring many committed conservatives and encouraging them to present their sometimes bizarre views as truth to an equally committed audience of mostly older white folks who looked on changing social mores with horror.  These people get virtually all their information from Fox and other fringe outlets and live in a bubble where anything Democrats propose is work of the devil.  The rest of the reality based media are equally horrified by this dichotomy, but until the bubble the mostly white, mostly older consumers of Faux News live in is punctured, we will continue to live in a world where truth is a malleable commodity and interpretation is everything.

Spinning for fun

Well, the first debate is history, and the post mortems were not kind to the Donald.  After 20 minutes of bluster which could have been plucked from his stump speech, Trump ran into the well prepared responses of Clinton and proceeded to toss a word salad of gibberish at both he and an incredulous Lester Holt.  Pretty much everyone figured he would "wing it" in the debate, much as he did in the republican primary debates.  However, he didn't care or didn't realize what might happen in a one on one encounter with a well prepared opponent.  He managed to put Hillary on the defensive on trade issues, because a simple message that we are being taken advantage of by everyone in the world and somehow he will solve all our problems with a protectionist policy works far better than the nuanced world of international trade.  However, on national defense, his prescription that we provide protection to our allies based on extorting fees from them seemed over the top and incoherent.  By the time nuclear weapons were mentioned, only a diehard supporter could have been comfortable with his tiny fingers on the trigger.  By comparison, Hillary looked and more importantly sounded competent and ready to govern from day one.  My guess is The Donald will blow off the next debates when he sees the morning after reviews of his performance.  No more popcorn before election day.

Popcorn time

By the time the debates actually start tonight, virtually every scenario involving advantage to one campaign or the other will have been thoroughly covered from multiple viewpoints.  The actual words coming out of the candidates' mouths will be irrelevant to the pundits, most of whom will have decided ahead of time who won.  Unless Lester Holt has been on Mars for the last couple of weeks he will know he will be pilloried by Dems if he doesn't fact checks the blizzard of lies unleashed by Trump and called a partisan (despite his republican registration) if he does.  Either way, he is going to take a lot of flak.  My own suggestion would be an independent fact checker either candidate can appeal to in real time to verify statements made by his/her opponent. 

The King is Dead

After playing a round of golf with friends yesterday, I got home and found out Arnold Palmer had died.  There are very few Americans of any age, but certainly almost no baby boomers who have not heard of "The King", even if they never hit a golf ball or followed the game.  Growing up, I was in the latter category.  I viewed golf as a waste of 4-5 hours of a weekend.  Nonetheless, I knew of "Arnie's Army" as his legions of followers were called.  My grandfather, who never picked up a club as far as I know watched TV golf in retirement and cited Palmer.  He popularized what had been an elitist sport (and still is in the main) and encouraged many middle class men and women to begin to play the sport as a lifestyle.  I hope to be able to get my grandchildren to share my obsession.  It all began with a working man from Latrobe, Pa. with the common touch who affected millions with his humble attitude and charismatic play.  Long live the King!

Losing it

Most liberals who are tuned into this election are losing their you know what as the first presidential debate nears.  The commentariat on the left is either trying to lower expectations for Clinton or pre-emptively working the refs to insure Hillary gets some credit for focusing on issues instead of "scandals", which we know is all Trump has to offer.  If Roger Ailes has anything to do with The Donald's debate prep, it will be a fact free performance.  Paul Krugman in the NYT is begging reporters to do their job and report each lie from both sides.  He quotes a study from Politifact which examined over 250 statements from each candidate.  Trump lied at least 4 times as often as Clinton and yet due almost entirely to media coverage she is perceived as dishonest.  What kind of rabbit hole have we fallen into?  I'm afraid the darkest predictions are liable to be borne out on Monday.  Unless Trump jumps over the podium and starts to strangle Hillary he will be judged "Presidential" by a mostly credulous press.  Unless Hillary reworks the sermon on the mount, there will be "lingering questions" regarding her honesty.  America....I love this place!

Tone Deaf Trump

Almost immediately after two black men were killed by police in Oklahoma and North Carolina, The Donald continued his ludicrous "outreach" to African-Americans by advocating the nationwide institution of "stop and frisk" policing.  Perhaps his buddy Rudy Giuliani has been whispering in his ear, extolling the benefits of an unconstitutional and almost certainly racial profiling practice.  How Trump can get in front of a gathering of black pastors and tell them his idea of keeping communities safe is to double down on military style policing is beyond belief.  A Trump presidency would turn the nation's inner cities and poor neighborhoods  into pressure cookers of racism and resentment.  The fact we even have to contemplate that possibility is a sad commentary on the "deplorables" on the "Alt-right" who provide much of the impetus to the modern GOP.  Despite many republicans who have condemned Trump, many more have come home to their nominee.  I wonder what it would take for a majority of the party to repudiate the thrice married, racist demagogue whose only religion is money and self glorification. 

Panic attacks and Clinton

The latest round of polls shows an uptick in Hillary's numbers.  That is still not enough to quiet the growing panic among casual democrats.  Now they are worried that somehow the insult comedian will pull off an upset in Monday's "debate" because about all he has to do to win is remain upright and spew his usual word salad.  He is absolutely graded on a curve, but I think in the case of an actual head to head encounter, Clinton's cool demeanor will eventually rattle him to the point he will make a gaffe even he can't be excused.  I think if he fails to rattle her, desperation will goad him to a lie even his most avid supporters will have to call out.  I think the issue of his taxes, the Trump Foundation and his overseas business dealings are more than enough ammunition for Clinton to destroy The Donald.  So calm down and get the popcorn ready.

Voting

Everyone in the media is wringing their hands about voter turnout.  It seems we have to somehow convince young people to vote.  What is the problem here.  If you are registered to vote, it takes about 15 minutes of your day to cast a ballot.  If you are not registered it may take a few minutes longer to take care of that aspect of your civic duty.  Of course, I'm a late middle aged white man whose presence at a polling place is a given on election day.  No one will dispute or even turn a hairy eyeball in my direction when I show up to vote.  I have voted in every election since I turned 18 and fully expect to continue this tradition.  So what is the big deal with this younger generation.  There doesn't seem to be any studies explaining why so few of the children of the baby boomers show up to vote.  As I said, time spent on actually voting is negligible.  The excuse that "my vote doesn't count" is feeble and self centered.  The disincentives many jurisdictions use to discourage voting is something to consider.  However, I think the main reason less than 60% of eligible voters cast a ballot is apathy.  This may be the hardest behavior to overcome, as anyone who has raised teenagers can attest.  It is still no excuse.  The stakes are extremely high and the policies that will be enacted if the insult comedian wins are so horrific as to be mind boggling.  Voting, even in the face of myriad distractions is not only the right and duty of everyone, but a commitment to a future we can all embrace.

Got to make the sauce

Like that tired baker in the old Dunkin Donuts commercial who had to make the donuts, with the abundance of tomatoes in the garden, I had to make the sauce.  This year I grew a few San Marzano tomato plants and the results are nothing short of amazing!  The plants are literally carpeted with tomatoes and they are practically dehydrating on the vine.   Squeezing these fruits is like making tomato paste.  It is that thick.  Yesterday's batch may be the best I have ever made.  Despite or possibly because of the lack of rain, the tomatoes are concentrating their flavor.  It is a vintage year.  Unfortunately the same cannot be said of much of the rest of the garden.  The lettuce continues to grow sans moisture, but the late broccoli and cauliflower could use a drink.  I watered the spinach plantings from late August and early September in hopes they will produce before the frost.  The late corn produced ears, but they are markedly smaller than earlier plantings.  The eggplant and peppers are still blossoming, but it will be too late to produce more fruit.  As with every garden, there are winners and losers.  On balance, this year will be remembered for the sauce.

Birther in Chief

During an interview with a reporter from the Washington Post, the insult comedian running for the Presidency of the US refused to categorically state that the current president was born in Hawaii.  Trump made his political reputation, such as it is, as the spokesman for the "Birther" movement.  This fringe of the American electorate, which includes many of his supporters today, wants to believe that somehow Obama is illegitimate because he was born in a foreign country.  Trump fanned the flames from 2011 until recently.  He demanded the President produce his birth certificate and aided by the right wing media, the uproar grew so loud, the certificate was duly produced.  This quieted most people, but Trump continued to allege the documentation was somehow bogus.  A fairly large slice of his supporters base their allegiance to him on this issue.  For him to admit Obama's legitimacy could be interpreted by these fools as a betrayal.  Therefore Trump must feel he will pay a price for his acceptance of reality.  I can't wait for the first presidential debate, when he is asked in front of tens of millions of people to affirm the President's birthplace.  That is one reason why I think we will not see a debate in this election.

Liberal angst

As one election prognosticator put it, "liberals can be such ninnies".   He projects a 90% probability that Hillary will win the election, despite the fallout of "phlegm-gazi" and Trump's latest surge in the polls.   As Sam Wang says, the number of persuadable voters left in the country is tiny.  The real work is the get out the vote teams.  Here is where the Clinton campaign has the big advantage.  They have out organized Trump from the beginning and as long as they mobilize democrats to vote, Clinton will win.  There are more registered Democrats than Republicans, so the math is simple.  If we vote, we win.  Meanwhile, The Divine Mrs. M will have 55 more days to worry about how things can still go wrong.

What is to be done?

The liberal part of the social media has been working the mainstream version of itself tirelessly for the past few weeks as it protests the steady drumbeat of negative coverage of Hillary Clinton's campaign while barely protesting the torrent of lies and BS emanating from Trump's.  In sport's jargon, it's called "working the refs".  So far, the foremost names in the media such as the NYT have declined to be influenced.  It was up to President Obama to call out some of the more outrageous lies at a rally in Philadelphia yesterday.  With a 58% approval rating, Obama is more popular than the media, so his criticisms not only had to be covered, but possibly may shame the press and TV journalists to be more even-handed for the rest of the campaign.  We can only hope.

The latest Hillary tempest

As Lawrence O'Donell pointed out last night, what Hillary voter would switch their vote to Donald Trump even if it was revealed she had a life threatening disease and wouldn't be able to finish a 4 year term?  Conversely, what committed Trump voter would switch to Hillary if their roles were reversed?  None and none are the correct answers.  Both candidates have engaged in punishing work schedules for more than a year now.  If anything, the actual work required by the Presidency will be a vacation by comparison.  It can be argued Clinton has put in more actual work than Trump.  Standing in front of cheering crowds and spewing a mind numbing catalog of egregious falsehood is his stock in trade.  Crafting serious policy agendas and explaining them in literally hundreds of events and interviews is physically and intellectually draining.  Fact free assertions vs. careful policy pronouncements.....hmmm.   Meanwhile, the press will obsess about "transparency" regarding Clinton's health while giving the latest Trump smears and insults pass without comment.  It is fortunate that Trump seems not to be able to expand his "basket of deplorables" beyond 40-42% of the voting public.  Hopefully that is the upper limit of racist, misogynist, xenophobes available to be seduced by The Donald's schtick.

Late summer gardening

Gardening after Labor Day is both satisfying and a little frustrating.  I experienced both feelings during a busy weekend.  The normally harvested items continue to produce.  The warm, dry weather has produced a bumper crop of tasty tomatoes.  The dryness has prevented cracking and concentrated the tomato flavor.  I made a vintage batch of sauce on Sunday for an impromptu family dinner.  Most of the other crops are still doing well, despite the dryness. The heavier soils in my gardens retain moisture fairly well.  The late broccoli and cauliflower are slowing due to lack of rain and the late corn needs one more decent shower.  The lettuce has been outstanding and the peppers may make a late set of small fruit before frost.  The winter squashes are maturing nicely and the late spinach has gotten just enough rain to continue to grow.  I have reluctantly put away the planter and will concentrate on cleaning up the weedier beds in preparation for fall planting of garlic.  Here's hoping for a mild October and long harvest.