Can't look away

The media, as well as partisans on both sides will be unable to stop obsessing about Michael Cohen's testimony before the House Oversight Committee yesterday.  Aside from dissecting each question and answer and looking for clues that either exonerate or condemn Cohen's long time boss, we are all caught up in the drama of sin and redemption the president's* long time fixer personifies.  I remember John Dean's testimony during the Watergate hearings and the two events compare well.  Both men were lawyers who were disbarred for their transgressions.  Both were at one point fanatically devoted to their bosses and eventually had a road to Damascus moment where their misplaced devotion was revealed for a sham.  Both did or will do prison time.  However, the difference between them is Dean's testimony was eventually backed up by the White House tapes, while Cohen, unless he has recordings of incriminating telephone conversations with tRump, will have to rely on circumstantial evidence to prove criminality.  The other significant difference between the two events is the partisan nature of today's politics.  I doubt many republicans will cross the line and join the president's* accusers.   It would be electoral suicide.  But both sides will continue to obsess because neither can look away.

Our selfish selves

It probably comes as no surprise to anyone who has raised children and/or took a hard look at their own belief systems; as a species we are hard wired to be selfish.  While many people would feign shock and point to the many selfless acts reported in the media every day, let's face it, these are a tiny minority of the population.  This revelation comes after reading about criticism of the Green New Deal and the increasing racism abroad in our country.   Of course all good liberals advocate for windmills, recycling and electric cars, but as many of us will admit, we are not willing to put our money where our mouths are.  If going green costs us money individually, we politely turn our backs and bump the thermostat up a couple of degrees.  Similarly, most of us agree that blacks in this country have been systematically discriminated against since the end of the civil war and this has largely accounted for their seeming inability to fully participate in our democracy.  However, when proposals as anodyne as increasing college admissions by accounting for race, support among whites dwindles to less than 30%.  Which brings me to the conclusion that we need to have our virtuous selves reinforced by government legislation.  We have better angels, but they need a little help in order to save the world.

A Kale festival!

Just when I was all set to grumble about the latest or a previous atrocity visited upon us by the tRump administration, I was attracted to a headline in the NYT regarding kale festivals in Germany.  Surely the originators of the bacchanalian Oktoberfest wouldn't be pushing the virtues of one of the healthiest vegetables on earth!  But of course they do.  After strolling for 2 or 3 miles through the frozen countryside of northeastern Germany near the North Sea, the hardy festival goers descend on a restaurant chosen to host the merriment.   There they feast on the locally grown brassica.  However, there is a distinctly Teutonic twist to the vegetable's preparation.   It is cooked in pork fat and served with a locally produced sausage, thereby destroying any health benefits the kale may have bestowed.  Add to this indignity the cooking time is measured in hours which also ensures very little of the native vitamins remain.  But it's all in good fun.  Besides, I can't imagine something similar taking place in the US, so happy grunkohl day!

Oscar etc..

For my part, I couldn't care less who won what at the Oscar's last night.  Having seen only a handful of the nominated movies and actors made me a spectator without an agenda.  Even watching the show was not on my to do list until the Divine Mrs. M commandeered the TV and forced me to watch the last 25 minutes.  So, do I care the racial buddy fantasy, The Green Book won the best picture statue?  Not really, although according to progressives who saw the film it was a travesty.  I will still go to see it at some point and make my own judgement, but again, who really cares what 4-500 mostly old white men decide are the best actors, movies, costumes, etc.   Irrelevancy, thy name is Oscar.

Late february blues

Trying to think of a single overarching idea to write about this morning just caused a headache.   I think it is late winter ennui.  I don't feel like another diatribe about the latest tRump atrocity will be fulfilling.  I am almost numb to the capacity for outrage.  Even the bloggers and columnists I rely on for inspiration seem to be  consumed by small concerns.  Elizabeth Warren's child care policy proposal should be something to cheer, especially as I see my daughters' struggle with day care options.  Likewise, Bernie Sanders' newfound foreign policy chops should be interesting also.  Reestablishing America as a beacon of democracy around the world is a worthwhile endeavor.  So is the Green New Deal, which after an initial media sensation has virtually disappeared from the national discourse, except as a right wing epithet.  As the nation holds its collective breath and we wait for Bob Mueller to either deliver or condemn us, maybe it is time to focus on the coming summer and the small things which make life more bearable.

The Report Card

As any grade schooler can tell you, one of the most nerve wracking days of the year is report card day.  No matter how well or badly you may think you have done in and out of class, the validation is contained on a small card which you may dread taking home.   Our president* would seem to be in that position next week when the Mueller Report Card is supposed to be ready.   Speculation is rampant on both sides of the issue.  Did he conspire with the Russians to win the presidency or were the dozens of contacts between and among the tRump campaign team and said Russians all innocent.  Inquiring minds want to know.  Does it merit an A or an F.  I have a feeling both sides will be disappointed with the report card and it will feed conspiracy theories on the left and the right.  Either way, I doubt the Donald will be happy with Mueller's grades!

scrambling for the crumbs

The local newspaper ran a front page story today regarding the Cuomo administration's plans to close additional prisons in the state to deal with a budget shortfall of over 2 billion dollars.  As someone who has had extensive dealings with the North Country since the 1980s, I know how dependent the area has been on the prison industrial complex.  When news of the first prison to be located in the Malone area became known, there was a mad scramble among local residents for the good paying union jobs that would become available.  The local farms I was dealing with saw their best employees leaving in droves.  The result was the importation of Mexicans to do the jobs locals would no longer do for the pay being offered.   Now, it is looking like at least some of the many prisons in the area will be closing as jail populations dwindle in the post-carceral era.  Instead of insisting on job programs and retraining for the hundreds of employees whose careers are on the line, our representatives are in the unenviable position of advocating for the continued incarceration of fellow human beings so their constituents will continue to be employed. So, here we are again chasing jobs in a dehumanizing industry while plutocrats continue to enjoy a standard of living most of us can envision on the flip side of a lottery ticket.

Shiny objects

The 24 hour news cycle we are currently living in threatens to literally suck all the oxygen out of the room and the planet.  As we hurtle down the chute leading to the destruction of our habitat, every time it looks like the public may focus on the danger, along comes another shiny object to distract us.  The Wall, the new book by Andrew McCabe, Bernie Sanders announcing his candidacy.  The list goes on.  As a father and grandfather, I am left agonizing about the future my descendants are facing.  Meanwhile, I have to hope for another weather disaster to maintain the public's attention to the existential threat we face in the coming decades.  Waiting for the media to help in this regard is a fool's errand.  Unless the DC area or New York is hit with a scorchingly hot summer with temps regularly in the 100s for weeks on end, the media mob will continue to chase the next new thing.  And no, Bernie will not be our next president.

The billionaire conundrum

It seems billionaires come in all philosophies; from those who would seem to be leftists decrying their own wealth to those who would steal a nickel from a toddler to add to their stash.  Americans in general are bi-polar about wealth.  After all, the popularity of the mega million lotteries show that the vast majority of us would at least like to try living like we imagine the wealthy must live.  The contrast is most evident when we compare the philanthropy of Bill and Melinda Gates with the rapacious attitude of the Koch brothers.  The Gates Foundation which is also supported by Warren Buffet spends billions promoting healthcare around the world, but especially in the poorest countries.  As Dylan Matthews points out in Vox, even if the US government confiscated Gates' and Buffet's fortunes, we instinctively know it would not be spent on third world healthcare.  As Matthews points out, there are many inequality reducing plans being put forward by Democratic presidential candidates and none of them would do away with billionaires.  The best plans would probably make it harder to amass that kind of wealth and ensure a more just society, but the wealthy have always been with us and the questions that wealth vs. the common good raise will continue to bedevil our discourse.

Anoather 5 billion bricks for the Wall

Forgive the Pink Floyd reference, but with the tRump administration it always seems we are on the dark side of the moon!   So, Cheeto Jesus has declared a national emergency so he can "finish the wall".   Of course, he knows this is an exercise in futility.   Between Congress (meaning Nancy Pelosi) and thousands of landowners willing to fight the use of eminent domain in order to secure the land necessary for the wall, this action will wind up in the courts for years.  I'm guessing tRump knows this full well and is fine with it.  He will point to the litigation and tell his base he is fighting for their right to be bigoted racists.  The great part about this is he will be able to drag this political zombie out of the closet at every campaign rally and get the applause lines he craves, all the while assuring the mega donors for the party that they will continue to get their cheap illegal immigrant labor.  It's a win-win.

gunsmoke

As more and more smoking guns become apparent, even Marshal Matt Dillon would be hard-pressed to keep the peace in the Mueller investigation.   The latest turn in the saga of the tRump campaign's collusion with Russia happened in court where Judge Amy Berman agreed with prosecutors that Paul Manafort lied to nearly every alphabetized agency charged with investigating his ties to Ukrainian oligarchs and Russian intelligence agencies.  This looks especially bad in light of the meeting among Manafort, deputy campaign chairman Rick Gates and the ubiquitous Constantin Kilimnick who is tied to the GRU at a Cigar Bar in one of Jared Kushner's companies' buildings.  The smoke was and is certainly swirling.

Stormy weather

Well, Mother Nature followed up on her latest winter storm and dumped a total of nearly 11 inches on the North Country last night.  Thankfully temps were in the mid and upper 20s today with virtually no wind which made the cleanup easier than usual.  Most often storms like this are followed by arctic chill and windy conditions.  Needless to say that makes snowblowing and shoveling a nightmare.

Weathering the storm

It looks like the North Country is in for another winter storm.  Our little outpost could get up to 15 inches of snow with an interval of sleet during the night to make things more interesting.  I get tired of saying this, but I truly hate winter.   One of the freak anomalies associated with climate change is this corner of the world will actually have severe winter weather probably for at least the balance of my life here on earth as a result of the breakdown of the polar vortex which will allow arctic weather to drop into our latitude on a regular basis.  Ironically, this cold weather occurring over the northern US encourages politicians to downplay the disastrous impacts of climate change around the world.  After all, if you can have a snowball fight in D.C. in February, surely there is no urgency to deal with the "crisis" of global warming.  Tell that to an island dweller in the Marianas, whose house is invaded by the sea at every high tide.  Or closer to home where Miami Beach and New Orleans are one storm away from being uninhabitable.

It's that time again

It is time again to remind everyone that if the Democrats win in 2020, the first thing they need to do is cut the deficit!  Forget the bold social programs that most western democracies take for granted, like universal health care and child care as well as generous retirement.  Dems and their allies need to suck it up and reverse all the Republican tax cuts for the rich.  That's the easy part.  Then they need to do "entitlement" reform by raising the retirement age and medicare eligibility.  All this so the next republican administration can cut taxes again.  This tiresome scenario has played out when each party has succeeded the other over the past 30 years.  Part of the problem is the anti-tax fervor instilled in nearly every American by the right wing polemicists who equate taxation with theft.  I'm sure Elizabeth Warren's wealth tax will be criticized that way.  What one of the Democratic candidates for President needs to say is we are all in this together and if we want and need nice things like universal child care and free college tuition, we can't merely confiscate the wealth of the 1%.   That won't pay for everything we want to do for our society.  The vast middle class needs to pay more if they want to get more.  Someone  must articulate that message if we are to have a more just society.

unbelieveable

People across the North Country have awakened on successive days to reminders of ice storms past.  Although power remains on and trees are not toppling with tons of ice burdening them, roads remain slick and the chance of being injured in a fall remain high.  My eldest daughter called for assistance this morning as her car was unable to negotiate the fairly level exit from her driveway to the road.  All I could do was provide an alternative vehicle for the day and hope temps in the mid 40s will allow for enough ice melt to provide traction later in the day.  At least the sun is shining.  What inspired the post, however, is the realization that we may be in for much more of this horror before winter's end.  Normally we would be below freezing here for weeks at a time.  This year has seen wild swings between below zero temps and the mid 50s.   It is taking a toll on all who live in the area and climate change is only exacerbating the situation.

Paying with interest

The post title refers to two things happening simultaneously.  First, many people have filed their taxes, expecting to get a refund.  Instead, thanks to Paul Ryan and the tRump administration they are getting a bill instead.  While not quite as nefarious as would be supposed (the change in withholding actually gave most people a small weekly increase in their paychecks at the expense of a year end refund) the lack of a refund which many people budget for is pissing off many taxpayers, even tRump supporters!  The other payment refers to democrats and their position in Virginia where, if they follow through with their zero tolerance policy for racism and sexual assault it will likely cause them to lose the governorship of Virginia.  Since republicans have no scruples (see president Cheeto Jesus), they will gladly accept the chance to discomfit their rivals, even if it is demonstrated that the GOPer who becomes governor is a racist, homophobic, misogynist abortionist.

Bloviating by the numbers

I did not watch most of the "State of the Union" last night because every time I tuned in I wanted to hurl large blunt objects at the screen, but the commentators who did watch assured me it was about what one would expect from the toddler in chief.   Reading mostly from the teleprompter, tRump assured us we are simultaneously living in a hellscape of crumbling institutions and enjoying the "greatest economy in history".  Also we cannot have peace and legislation if we insist on investigating this administration and its lawlessness, because then we will have war, whatever that means.  All in all, it was probably no worse than many presidents have done, although there was little or no policies advanced and few facts to check.  Fortunately we will only have to suffer one more of these ego enhancing diversions before a new president shoulders the duty.

A modern day haunting

Governor Ralph Northam has so far resisted the calls for his resignation in the firestorm which followed the revelation his medical yearbook photos in 1984 showed a man in blackface and another in a KKK robe.   After first saying he was in the photo albeit not saying which character, Northam in a press conference now says he was not and disavows it entirely.   Many prominent democrats have called on him to resign.   I don't know anything about the governor, but the Divine Mrs. M and I lived in southern Md. and the eastern shore of Virginia in the late 1970s and I can well imagine young men at the time engaging in behavior they misinterpreted as playful.  Certainly 99% of them would have disavowed violence against blacks, but the prevailing attitude was one of "benign" racism.  As long as the local black population showed the proper deference, playful racism was as far as the oppression went.  I never saw any hate crimes during my time in the area, but did register the attitudes which would have facilitated it.  Should Northam now pay for that history?  I don't know for sure, but his viability as governor is forever compromised.

The kiss of death

Not since Brutus sidled over to Julius Ceasar and planted his lips on the tyrant's cheek has the endorsement of a candidate been so calculated.  David Brooks in today's NYT does the honors for Kamala Harris.  If I was her, I would be looking over my shoulder for the next several months.  Brooks professes admiration for Harris' upbringing and her choice to be a prosecutor in California and says the experience will make her more than tRump's equal when it comes to political brawling.  What Brooks doesn't say and is doubtless saving for future columns is the candidate's stands on policy issues.  On everything from reproductive rights and  healthcare to civil rights, Harris' views are anathema to Brooks and his admirers.  So, it would seem he will push her candidacy until it becomes viable, then in typical Bo Bo fashion he will regretfully announce she is far to radical for Murca in 2020.  

Time to kill the filibuster

Having thought about this issue over time, it seems to me it is time to kill the legislative filibuster that requires 60 votes to bring any substantial matter before the Senate.  The performance of Mitch McConnell and his merry band during the Obama administration is reason enough.   Although the blue dog democrats who killed the single payer option proposed for Obamacare is another.   Assuming Elizabeth Warren or Kamala Harris is elected in 2020, any progressive legislation they may propose is DOA in the Senate, even assuming the democrats are in the majority.  Even if by some wild chance in the wake of criminal charges brought against tRump the party manages to get 60 democrats elected, do you think every one of them will be on board with a charge toward even a moderate social democracy.  You may get 51 dems to agree we need to tax the rich to deal with rampant inequality, but not 60.   It's time to retire the filibuster and make the Senate a more representative body.