...and who is the enemy?

              A favorite saying from the 1970's struck me as I commiserated this era of dysfunction, threat and exasperating stupidity.

        "We have met the enemy and he is us."

        Walt Kelly inked that line for his character Pogo and it was meant as a defeated recognition that "us" was the enemy behind pollution and environmental destruction. The cartoonist had parodied a battle report from American Naval Commander Oliver Perry to Major General William Henry Harrison after the US defeated the British Navy in the Battle of Lake Erie in the War of 1812. Perry had written "We have met the enemy and they are ours." 

        Pogo's phrase is again a fit vituperation for what has become of "us" in this time. We are our own enemy.

        To be sure, there are many variants in the epidemic of stupidity. I beg a moment of your attention to address one that I know a lot about.

        Media is off focus, out of proportion, increasingly ephemeral and wrong headed. In defense of the profession where I spent a half century laboring, there are places of excellence and too there are many reasons for the demise we witness.

        So much of broadcast news, print journalism and on-line is a waste of time and even silly. This is what happens when newspapers are killed by financial vultures, when reporting and editing staffs are thinned to ludicrous levels so profits are boosted, when broadcast and print are forced into the blender of social media, a world of platforms that do not operate by the old journalism codes of conduct, ethics or canons. The public's "right to know" is now an afterthought, if even that, and it has become part of the broil that is ratings, revenue, investment portfolios, news deserts and a who cares attitude. 

        Some things are fixable. 

        Stop obsessing about the latest opinion poll. That is not news, it is a contrivance.

         There are flaws in using polling as news, not the least of which is that most polls today are skewed, flukey, and even if they are scientific they are nothing more than a view shared on that day by a small number of people. There is no guarantee about scientific precision or weighting. 

        Many so called polls and surveys are fronts for political operators.

        Good pollsters tell you political polls this far out mean nothing more than the dental floss you will discard tonight. Yet news groups, including those who should know better, ballyhoo and hype the latest assessment of America's mindset. 

        Ask yourself, with the rampant stupidity at large, with the miserable understanding of history by most Americans who were educated in the last 40 years, with the gullibility of generations pounded by advertising and behavioral manipulation for the transactions of a consumer market of things and stuff, do you really care what this age of polled opinions have to say. Given the givens, what is the value of turning what they think into news?!  Here's the news about that, they don't know any more than you do and likely they know a lot less. So why celebrate ignorance and opinions? The story the media is missing is how poorly informed, how inarticulate and how dumb this nation is becoming.  

        There is an underpinning factor that leads the young precious news staffers of this age to care so much about opinion poll reporting, aside from the fact they have all been raised in an age of click bait, and that is the unholy belief that Presidential politics is the holy grail and be all of US News, followed closely by all electoral politics. There is an electoral/political industry that has emerged and it is huge business, a cash cow for pollsters, analysts, consultants, media specialists, speechwriters, fashion advisors, advertisers and more. This billion dollar industry relies on and manipulates its kindred news business. 

        Time was broadcast news was a loss leader, the cost of having a license to print money. Now it is a profit center and news is just a product. 

        Let's be clear, this election cycle is critical to the survival of representative democracy. One party has abandoned belief in the historical American system of government with winners and losers and transitions of power. When US media cast any reporting outside of that reality, when they engage in a false equivalency or the so called "equal" time philosophy they are being suckered in by strategy and tactics of those who seek to destroy American democracy. It is time for the news industry to reassess how to proceed on a war footing, in a time of information warfare.

       Before we depart this issue of overplaying, hyping, tying almost every story to an old fashioned political peg, if you think I am wrong, then consider the players. Examine the people and the values they display, from school boards to the US House and Senate. 

        Truth, facts, and liberty are are the abused and battered family members of our American democracy at this moment in our history. That is part of a political strategy and goal and media is an accomplice. There is an off ramp.

        Because of who and what this nation is and has been through, you have influence both on media and on the political industry. If you get organized or loud enough you can apply pressure. You can boycott, put pressure on advertisers, disconnect, avoid media, get in the face of elected representatives, call them out, vote them out. 

        

        Do what you can to activate your philosophy. Stick to the facts. Speak the truth. Remember both leading presidential candidates are essentially the same age, there is a 3 year difference. Would you know by media coverage?

        That's the view from the ridge, the opinion of one who thinks democracy is the best choice of any form of government.

        See you down the trail. 

      

A couple of things that must be said....

 

        A few shots of local color and a couple of quick thoughts

        The US media needs to chill. They've been on a frenzy, doing their best to make hysteria about the budget default conversation. Most years it is almost always a political show, not so much showdown, but kabuki theatre.

        As they would of had us think we were about to fall into the default abyss, cooler heads and those who have seen it all before, tried to remind us it is always loud, noisy and accusatory, but it gets worked out.

        True the Republican Red hats are renegades bent only on breaking democracy, so the stakes were raised this time.

        

        But, and this is the second point, Joe Biden has been around and knew exactly how to play it. Once again he played the negotiate card.

        Biden's reliance on the old game of bipartisanship has scored one more win for Democracy in America and US citizens.

        His legislative record in the first two years surpasses most US Presidents. All of those years in the Senate instructed him that things happen when people meet, talk and and are willing to compromise.

        Biden allowed Kevin McCarthy to beat him up in the press, realizing Kevin's puppet strings have many masters including some genuine anti American kooks. Kevin could get his mean talk press clips but Joe kept them talking and making progress.

        Here's the thing, unless we all look like the critter above, the "got to have it my way or no way" boneheads in the Republican caucus and in the Democrat progressive caucus" must learn you rarely, if ever, get it your way. Everyone wins when everyone leaves something on the table. That is how it works, when it works and it is working better now than in generations. Score one for experience.

    

        An imported shot reminds us of what happens when autocrats, tyrants, authoritarians and anti democracy crowds take the controls

        Putins's "victory" in Bakhmut means what? 

        This is insanity captured in a photo. Putin is repeating in Ukraine what he and Assad did to Syria. 

        Democracy may be loud and messy and rancorous--maybe no one gets everything they want, but that is life. 

        This week Democracy, guided by a Democrat won. 

        Cheers!

        See you down the trail.

TWISTED & SINKING

 

        It's called the Twisted Grove, one of the many Redwood families in the Forest of Nisene Marks State Park in the Santa Cruz Mountains near Aptos, California. 

    I see it as a metaphor of now.

        The trees live on the San Andreas fault and changing land in their hundreds of years have caused them to twist to reach to for the light.

         Consider the great palaver about the leaked Supreme Court opinion; That a radical right wing clique appears to be on the verge of banning individual liberty has the majority of Americans dutifully concerned....that the Republican party who packed the court with zealots is more concerned about the leak than a regressive decision, unwanted by a majority of citizens. 

        The Supreme Court we were taught to vaunt and hallow is exposed as being more horse shit offal of our broken political system. Almost holy respect for the Supremes? The mystique is gone.  

       Please recall three of the supremes were nominated by Donald Trump, after one nomination was stolen from President Obama. Two were nominated by George W. Bush. What do Bush and Trump have in common? Both lost the popular vote. 

      The majority of Americans voted against their judgements and character, but they put 5 on the court. At least 3 of those five lied on camera about Roe V. Wade when questioned during their testimony. And on this high court is a man married to a person of questionable character who supported the January 6 insurrection. 

   

        Sinking is another matter.

        The SS Palo Alto began as a concrete ship, a tanker built for WW I in 1918. The end of war left the Palo Alto without a mission. In time it became an oil storage barge. Later it was purchased to be an amusement center and opened in 1930 at Sea Clift Beach in Santa Cruz County.

        It thrived, only briefly. After two years of dances, dinners and the social life, the depression changed the course of the Palo Alto.

      Over the years it languished, interrupted by periods of attempted revival and then more trouble. Storms cracked the hull, there was renewed effort, a hamburger stand, bait shops, more storms and broken masts, more storms and the original crack in the hull worsened, more rehabilitation and repairs, and it was used as a fishing platform. So it was until 2000 when the ship deck was closed permanently.

        The concrete tanker is now a home for sea birds and a flourishing sea life. It has become a kind of reef, as it continues  sinking, slowly into the sea.

        I think this too is a metaphor; 

    the once important Republican party, broken and infested now with extremists, non traditionalists, anti American authoritarians and fans of autocracy. Republicans I covered are repulsed. Generations passed would abhor the party.

    the American ship of state, divided and the constituency not particularly intelligent anymore.

    Tragic comedy-an irony;

    Right wingers have always worried about subversion and infiltration, by the Soviets and then the Russians. There's a great case to be made how that infiltration target was and is the republican party and their nation breaking, hate your neighbor culture wars, and grievances gaggle. Now they attempt to "game" the system, trying to rule as a minority party.

    

    Twisted and sinking.  We have been before. 

    Begrudgingly or with belief, we've course corrected, cleaned up the act, busted monopolies, jailed bosses, chased off demagogues, created government compassion, reformed courts, improved, established liberties and continue to evaluate and struggle.

    Struggle. That is our history. Forces of enlightenment and liberty pitched against ignorance, greed, self interest and control.  

    We've endured, almost as long as the youngest of these big trees, that live on a fault line.

        We were at dinner party and in the rambling conversation conviviality I heard myself say I'm ascribing more dignity and favor to trees than I am to a whole lot of humanity. Trees last. By comparison we are on a short timeline.  

        There are good people. Lots of them. Though we may be old and tired or weary, it's time to go another round for human dignity. There is work to do, truth to be told, challenges to make, courts and government to reform, laws to pass and elections to be won. We can model for and work along side like minded youth. For those of us active in the 60's and 70's, there are lessons to teach and to remember. 

        Trees reach for the light. It's what they do to live for hundreds and thousands of years.  Democratic republics could take note. 

        Find the light.  See you down the trail. 

    

              

Around here...and as always....

Cambria court wash

        April rain is rare on the California central coast, not being an"April showers brings May flowers" kind of place. 

    Blooms begin in February, during the fall and winter rain season. The .7 from this storm put our rain for the year at a little over 16 inches. That's a decent total during a drought year. 

    During our time on Pineridge we've swung from 42 inches to as little as 8. The coastal weather is vulnerable to ocean influence, mountains, and a high atmosphere intrigue called a Pacific Decadal Oscillation. 

          A spring moon on Pineridge may have helped turn on a cactus. Its bloom was dazzling. 

        An Oyster mushroom is back for a third harvest. A kit, given as a Christmas gift produced a batch of mushrooms and a surprising second batch. Even more suprisingly number three volunteered itself.

        Lana's magic in the saute' pan was a fitting, even if a less beautiful disposition of the artful fungus. Delicious! 

         

        As we've begun to return to the more robust style of pre pandemic life, a lot of folks have begun to say they feel aged, or unsettled by the last 2 years. A piece of life was held hostage, and now we attempt to come again to what was before, but we and life itself have been changed by it. 

        The simple rhythm of life has the assurance of normal, while absurdities of the human fall menace from our screens.

     World leaders must task themselves to find a better way to prevent barbarism and aggression and to punish those who perpetrate it.

        American voters certainly are wise to the soulless and ripping attack to the constitutional heart of the American system by the gang of cowards, liars, low-life, hustlers and haters who have stolen or who remain as condonation in the republican party.

        Savoring the quiet life has distracted from the brutality of  war crimes and the attack on our democratic republic.

    

        In volunteer work this week I was fortunate to see lights of human decency. Our capacity to care, to serve and to be about common good is hopeful.

        I'm coming to understand a constant. 

        As we probe more deeply into our majority years, we come upon truths of life in personal and cosmic ways. It is ever so. 

        We see now our good old days were myopic. As old girls and boys we tread in times of war, regressive ideas, uncertainty and threat. They were never far away in our middle years, nor have they ever been in the rise of humanity.

        We are where those before us have been, wondering what is to become of humanity. 

       Life is always on a razor's edge. 

                   

             Always spring comes and hope is alive.

            And there is always dinner....

        Peace

        See you down the trail.

        

         

 

A Twilight of Sanity?

 

        It would be easy to make the case we are in decline, slipping into another brutal epoch but that would foreclose on what history tells us about human resilience. I'm betting on recovery, but not ignoring the darkness that shrouds us and deepens its setting.

    As spring reveals itself in California we've turned a few miles and tried to buffer the insanity with open space, and hints of the life we knew before Covid, political pathos and the war madness of Putin. There is evidence of light in the gloom and darkness that our media screens feed us.

        In the heartbreak and devastation wrought by Russian war criminals is extraordinary human excellence and strength. Neighboring nations making space for refuge, the international condemnation and network of sanctions, volunteers in arms and the outpouring of humane support. 

        The people of Ukraine tower as lights. The Ukrainian defiance and defense of democracy encourages, inspires western nations and NATO and, by its dedication, shames the US, or at least a portion of the populace.

        There is legend and lore in the Coachella Valley about the witch of Tahquitz, seen in the shadow above. 

        We saw evidence of a curse of another sort in the US Senate Judiciary Committee's treatment of Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson. The behavior of a party was an embarrassing new low. The acting was lame and the ham handed play of their culture war cards bespeaks intellectual and moral bankruptcy. Oh how history will score those cretins. 

        Despite conditions, sometimes severe, California's poppies signal vibrant life and color every spring. They were napping near the Poppy reserve on this day, but they were evidence of rebirth.

        A new and important question in Washington this spring is "What did Justice Thomas know, and when did he know it?" His wife and "best friend" is revealed now in her own words as an enemy of truth, democracy and the republic.

     Truth always comes out. The Justice's bunk mate is a conspirator, and a kook. There is a growing call for the Chief Justice to censure Thomas. This linkage to the plot of insurrection is a new low, a crazy new low. But sober minds  are calling for action.

        The crazy high we all should be working on is inflation. Inflation has a way of wrecking the order of things and becoming THE dominant political concern. No party or politician is responsible this time. Blame the higher prices on pandemic supply spasms, price gouging, the elevating cost of energy because of Russia's invasion of Ukraine and the tumble down chain reaction. 

        The political poltroons and sluggards will try to fix blame and score points since "deplorables" are real and on the loose.                                              

        Real patriots understand complexity; we will pay a bit more for gas and some items as the world tries to stop the war on democracy. Economic warfare does not come without sacrifice. 

        Senate and house democrats will need republican support to get inflation control legislation passed. Guess what party would prefer to watch inflation rise so they can gripe about it? 

        A spirit lifting adventure was a visit to an art and plant exhibition. People together again, celebrating life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. This was our first "cultural event" since March of 2020, and it felt good to see people celebrating life and creativity.

        I was on a Zoom meeting today where a couple of the participants were talking about a wind chill temp of zero. It's been a while since you've been able to enjoy something as simple as this. So, until spring reaches you, enjoy vicariously. 

      It is in such moments we appreciate what is "noble, lovely, admirable, excellent, praiseworthy" and a fulfillment of our life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. 

        I'm reminding myself not to take for granted, the life and the aspirational government structure we enjoy, imperfect as it may be. There are inequities, inequalities, inefficiencies, and corrosive players indeed, but there has been since the birth of the republic. 

        It should be ours to fix, make better, and live into the promise. Like many of you we mourn what happens in Ukraine, and in Russia too. Both nations victimized by a despot and human villainy in ignorance of international and moral law.

 

        There is nothing guaranteed about our freedoms.

As citizens it would be good to invoke to ourselves passages of the oath taken by our military, and our elected representatives.

        "I do solemnly swear or affirm that I will support and defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies, foreign and domestic; that I will bear true faith and allegiance to the same..."

        It is the sane thing to believe, say and do.

        Stay well. Live strong.

        See you down the trail.

 

    

IN THE SPIRIT OF THE SEASON

BREATHING DEMOCRACY

LIVING A REPUBLIC

One of the great joys, and thus a reason for

gratitude in this season of thanks, is the 

vitality of conversation and political engagement

at Lilly's, one of the world's most unique coffee shops.

On any day you will see animated cliques of 

conversation as various knots of people gather on the deck.

Actually it is a kind of porch, partially under roof, set

amidst a trellis and arbor like construct that works

only in our mediterranean style climate.

The charm of the place is not the story.

It is the people and the earnestness of

the conversations.  There are conservatives, liberals, libertarians and critics. Musicians,

artists, writers, free thinkers, business people

and educators also abound and everyone

comes with a life of experience. So,

as you might imagine, the conversations

are vivid, eclectic, sometimes loud,

and always completely switched on.

I love it.  By nature, and training,

I want to hear all sides, so just listening is a joy.

It reminds me of an assignment in Brazil years ago.

It was just after the military dictatorship ceded control

to the first elected government in 20 some years.

The place was intoxicated with ideas of democracy

and republic.  Newspapers and radio stations that had

been shut down and boarded by the dictatorship

were opening again.  The cafes and bars were alive

with conversation.  Brazilians were quoting

Jefferson, Madison and American principals.  It

was a heady time.

We are lucky to have a little of that every day at Lilly's.

Thanks.

UPDATE FROM BOB

Here's the latest from my friend and former colleague

Bob Foster.

It's all good. My prayer has been that God would show the doctors what He wanted them to do. He has. Loudly. Clearly. 

One of the Mayo doctors consulting on my case recently attended an international symposium on CLL (chronic lymphocytic leukemia). Research conducted at the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Center in Seattle, WA, proved that CLL patients, meeting certain criteria, do not need to have their bone marrow below 50% involvement to successfully transplant. 

I meet that criteria. Further heavy chemotherapy only increases the risk of an infection closing this window of opportunity. We will maintain my relatively good health with weekly, low toxicity chemo treatments until transplanting in late January 2012. We are again moving forward.

Transplant is a 50/50 proposition. There is a highly promising, post-transplant clinical trial underway at MD Anderson. That is our back-up plan. Failure is not something I dwell on, but at least we know there is a "plan B." Anyone who worked radio field production with me knows that I lived for plan B. In this case, plan A would be just fine.  

Foster

DAY BOOK

AT THE MARKET

CHEERS!

SEE YOU DOWN THE TRAIL.