American ingenuity

It turns out that many, if not most of the "beautiful" statues and monuments Cheeto Jesus is worried about were mass produced, mostly by northern manufacturers just in time for the Jim Crow south to disenfranchise and continue the oppression of the black population.  A manufacturer in Bridgeport, Connecticut advertised a "silent sentinel" soldier statue in a zinc alloy for $450.00 .  they had a Union and Confederate version and could get one erected at the village green or courthouse in a matter of weeks from ordering.  Larger monuments like the General Lee at the center of the Charlottesville controversy took a few months longer, but were far cheaper than a marble or stone statue would have been.  As a matter of fact, the creator of the Lee statue was a native of the North Country and a contemporary of Frederic Remington.  tRump loves him some Remington, so I guess there is a tenuous connection of these statues to art.  Nevertheless, as always, Americans are ready to profit from any cause, lost or not.

The morality play

As I expected, most republicans in congress issued mealy mouthed condemnations of the neo-Nazi and alt right protests in Charlottesville, but as of now, only one, Lindsay Graham called out the president for drawing a moral equivalence between the right and left protestors.  Predictably, Cheeto Jesus attacked Graham on Twitter, calling him a liar.  Paul Ryan and Mitch McConnell continued the party line of placating the Orange Disgrace.  The GOP has now become a hostage to the White House, and unless a majority of republicans grow a backbone and repudiate a fair percentage of their base, things will only get worse.  The haters were emboldened by this administration and we can expect more and worse from them in coming weeks.  May the Flying Spaghetti Monster help us.

Can we all agree

I thought it was a summer thunderstorm last night which interrupted the harvest and other garden activities last night.  However, when I turned on the TV last night it was the sound of talking heads exploding that made more noise.  It seems that Cheeto Jesus finally went a bridge too far for most liberal and even some conservatives at his chaotic press conference yesterday at tRump tower.  He didn't imply, but instead drew a moral equivalence between the neo-Nazi white supremacists who gathered in Charlottesville last weekend and the counter demonstrators who stood up to the hate mongers and their confederate flag waving, swastika toting goons.  Any doubt about where the president's sympathies lie was put to rest as he challenged the "fake media" to contradict him.  Today there will be calls for people of good will working for this disgrace to the office of president to resign in protest.  I would like to believe it will happen, but most of these people drank the kool-aid long ago and will cling to their positions in the face of their boss's manifest unfitness for the job.  At some point, these people will have to explain to their children and grandchildren how they could continue to work for an administration which gives aid and comfort to David Duke and all he stands for.  Now is the time for all people of conscience to reject Donald Trump. 

USA???????????????

I was crossing the border in the normal course of events this morning and glancing to my right as I motored into Canada I saw what looked like a military camp within a stone's through of the USA.  Looking more closely at the semi chaotic mess, it occurred to me no army worth its salt would put up with this apparently unplanned state of affairs.  Besides, unless the objective was to march on Plattsburgh (the British did in 1814 and it didn't turn  out well), there is no reason for soldiers on a peaceful border.  Then it hit me.   This was a refugee camp.  Our local NPR station has been covering the exodus of dark skinned immigrants who are fleeing the US as the tRump administration continues to crack down on undocumented persons.  Many of these people are refugees from Haiti who were granted temporary immigration status after the great earthquake.  They still have no home to go back to, but in today's America, that sort of economic argument doesn't work anymore.  It's all about looking tough and showing ordinary white folks that The Donald has your back.  Meanwhile, hundreds, if not thousands of people are cheerfully crossing the border and being arrested by the Royal Canadian Mounted Police.  They are then transported to the camp on the border for processing before being released to wait for their day in immigration court.  Canada's policies are not much different from ours, but the bully boy tactics of ICE have frightened many into believing they will get a better deal with our neighbor to the north.  Somewhere, Emma Lazarus is weeping....

Spotty showers and democracy

Weather similes and metaphors are probably weak, but I think in this case they fit the news and weather over the weekend, at least here on the NCR.   Friday night and Saturday were supposed to be showery and miserable, but at Casa Monzeglio we had no rain and the harvest for the Farmers' Market on Saturday was conducted under dry conditions.  After delivering the veggies to my friends at Black Sheep Farms, I proceeded to kill weeds until mid-afternoon, when it was time to play golf with friends.  Driving 30 miles to the course, I passed through the aftermath of several thunderstorms and on arrival discovered the course was closed due to excessive rainfall during an early afternoon storm.  Heading home, there was no evidence of rain, and the cultivation and weed control continued.  Comparing the intermittent weather here to demonstrations for and against the removal of a monument to the traitor Robert E. Lee in Charlottesville seems like a stretch, but the reactions to the clash of neo-Nazi, KKK and white supremacists with "antifa" groups were as varied as the weather over the weekend.  From full throated condemnation by most responsible commentators to the tepid rejection of "many sides" by our president it ran the gamut.  It would seem Cheeto Jesus will continue to refuse to reject white supremacism.  I think he realizes his base is mostly supporting him because of his stand in this regard.  Anyone who doesn't believe 30% of our fellow countrymen are either racists or they at the very least tolerate racism is living in a fool's paradise. 

Shades of the Red Queen

For those who relish allegories, I would direct you to Alice in Wonderland as the prescient exposition of the tRump administration written over 100 years ago.  I particularly wish to point out the Red Queen.  I don't know who Carroll had in mind when he created the ruler of the deck of cards, but she perfectly prefigures The Donald.  It is almost as if he read the book (I know, given his shortcomings in this regard it is unlikely) and decided to model his adult life on the Queen.  The scary part is we are living in this world and the call of "Off with his head" is likely to echo through the White House often in the next few months.

Snatching defeat...

A new controversy has broken out between the Clinton and Sanders' wings of the democratic party which may endanger the party's ability to win national elections in the short term.  Nina Turner, the outspoken Sander's spokesperson is railing against the DNC because of a perceived slight when she arrived at the office with a petition.  Personally, I find Ms. Turner an abrasive and hard to figure personality.  She is a black woman who I believe fixated on Bernie Sanders as a vehicle to espouse her radical brand of politics which seemingly relies on confrontation rather than consensus building.  She is about as far from the typical "dudebro" Sanders supporter as can be imagined, but her unswerving loyalty to Bernie has elevated her stature in his movement.  Said movement is really an alternative to most democratic power structures which are controlled by more traditional dems.  The clash between these two alternative democratic visions will hamper the party's message going forward as it faces a zombie republican party whose brains were eaten by Trump, but nevertheless continues as a unified force to elect those faithful to its ideology of fealty to the .01%.  The challenge for both Sanders and Clinton is to unite their disparate followers and create a truly national party which can advocate for both of their visions without the disharmonious litmus tests of fealty to single payer health care, etc. which causes the problems democrats continue to manufacture for themselves.  Come on people, let's get together.