Lies, distortions and videotape

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

Ugly Americans

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

Bernie and Hillary

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

Ides of September

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

The Daily Disappointment

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

14 years

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

Rainy weekend

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