SHIFTING SANDS and WHAT AMERICA DO YOU SEE?

    Just another day at the office for the Curlews, not mindful of the seasonal shift of sand.

    Where are the steps? "Like sands through the hour glass, so are the days of our lives...." Remember that old soap opera opening line?

    It will take seasonal tides to reveal the missing steps, but of no consequence to our Curlews.

   Here we see a gull considering grand larceny. Slowly it tracks toward a fisherman's rigs and kit.

united we stand
...don't think so...

    Campaigns have always been divisive, after all a choice is rendered, deciding for one and against another. But it's a new world and rifts under gird everything.

    Trump and Clinton present two vastly different visions of America and thus paths forward. Who do you believe?

    Media has become entirely too parochial or partisan to ideology or party. What happened to non-partisan or at least bi-partisan?

     We've crossed the Rubicon. This election, like so much else in daily living has devolved to "feeling" "emotion" "personal belief" and attitude. Where is critical analysis  intellectual work, truly weighing pros and cons, or thinking about it?

     Do facts matter? To whom? For what reason?

     Why are so many Americans fed up? Why is there so much anger?

      I fear this election will settle nothing. The rifts will continue to run beneath our feet. Old democracies and republics have problems, some are lethal.

      This is the Boomers last stand. In another 4 years most of our parents, the greatest generation, will be gone. Boomers are now dropping off the actuarial tables increasingly and in 4 years the once large "census bubble" will be faded and diminished. 

      Gen X and or Y or whatever will be aging and the largest group that matters will be the millennials. They will inherit a government and electoral system that is presently bought and sold where all too many who labor in it are in it for themselves.

      Some men and women who work as prostitutes are forced into it. All too many of our "electoral industry" and "government business" workers are in it because they want to be. They do it for the money and they like it.  How does that square with the historical intent of elections and governance?

      How will the millennials change things? Watch how they vote, or do not. Some things are a given. Race, gender, sexual identity will be passe to all but a few cretins, sons and daughters of skin heads. 

     Millennials have grown up where disruption is the norm and where the old norms of family, career, attitude are as out of date as the 50's, 60's, 70's, 80's and early 90's. We will be a relevant as the Civil War, WWI, the telegraph, or horse and buggies were to us.

      Grouse and belly ache, worry and shout all you want.

Our relevance, our attitudes, our way of doing is getting wrapped with the garbage in the newspapers and headed for the trash. I wonder how much of our ways are even worth recycling.

       A democratic republic is by nature a messy business but the point is to find a center, a meeting in the middle. That seems to have disappeared as a skill or goal. Maybe a new generation's take on our noble experiment of a United States will do what we have failed.

    See you down the trail.

     

     

KINDS OF BLUE and AMERICANADA?

     The surf fisherman is braced against a Pacific that shows off its facets of color.

   Shades of blue, into the horizon.

     Blue riding the horizon.

AMERICANADA?

    Bill Seavey is a big thinker and probably a bit of a visionary. Full disclosure here-Bill is a friend, fellow tennis player and a Cambria author.

     He asks -What do Americans know about Canadians?

Answer-Very Little.

     What do Canadians know about Americans?

Answer-Plenty.

      Seavey says "Most of us view Canadians as quasi-Americans."  He unpacks the idea in a new book about how Americans and Canadians can "understand each other-and work together-better."

       In his newest book he explores the combined potential of the two nations as a real North American superpower. Seavey says  we "have cultural and historical differences that aren't easily reconciled or fully understood."

       Seavey notes a CBS poll that indicated nearly a fifth of Americans would consider moving to Canada if either Trump or Clinton were elected.

        He says an economic union is not likely soon.  He interviews a number of Canadians who help him paint a portrait of the US as seen from north of the border. 

         It is a fascinating look at American-Canadian ties and he posits interesting considerations.  

         Bill Seavey is a journalist and does a great job of posing questions, exploring avenues and engaging thought.

         Americandada? will be published in February 2017.  A Kindle edition will be available in November.

        You can learn more about Bill and the book by linking to

americanada.us   

         See you down the trail.

INSPIRED II

A DOSE OF GOOD MEDICINE

   This is a new top to a post that drew much interest. It has been revised. We gathered these images on a visit with dear friends. It was a tonic.
   Now this focus is brought to our current political rumble, which includes a fight with the media. We'll revisit that below. 

INSPIRED

   Frequent readers remember I'm a First Amendment fanatic. I'm the kind of goof who reads the Declaration of Independence each Fourth of July, and who is adamant about protecting our liberties and who holds dear the extraordinary set of bones upon which this republic hangs-the Constitution.

  All of us are entitled the full extension of  rights, privileges and responsibilities laid out for us by the founders, protected by sacrifices through generations and increased by our perpetually growing enlightenment. 

   So Washington DC is the touchstone, in so many ways.

   Ingrained in the raison d'être of these monuments and memorials are intellects, sacrifices, leadership, vision and a devotion to an ideal-a nation where all live in equality. 
   Personalities who have risen to lead are honored, beyond their days, as a challenge to us in our time.  These stone reminders are a tonic. We are humbled and inspired by what we see and remember.

Memorial to journalists killed in the line of duty.

Newseum, Washington DC

     Service personnel and journalists have given much, including their all so that we may know and live free. They inspire me.
   Politicians who rise above petty politics to move the arc of history as statesmen inspire me.

    Temples that celebrate the best of our creative dreams,  reaching and artistic output, inspire and offer a healing balm.

    And so our divided and dysfunctional Congress, beleaguered Presidency and questionable Supreme Court do not detract from the wide and long sweep of the true greatness that can and has emerged in and from this Capitol of human longings and achievement. It is not perfect.  None of the heroes who are memorialized were perfect. Like all of us, they had feet of clay and were made of the same star matter. 
   We have eras of which to be proud and periods of shame and embarrassment but it is always on a human scale, moving toward an ideal, an inch, a day, a moment at a time.

    So I take from all of it an inspiration and renewed zeal to stay stalwart in my belief that all of us, regardless of birthright, are children under the same heaven, brothers and sisters of planet earth. I may not like you, I may not agree with you, but neither that, nor how and who you were born should stand between you and full equality, even in a church.

    Your color, your gender, your ethnic heritage, your sexual orientation, your physical or mental challenges simply make you a human being, entitled to the full privileges of life.

    I thank the good Lord for a vision that it is so, and for a nation where we get better at making it so and for a place where we build monuments and temples to remind us to make sure it is always so and to recall those who have said so.
   
    Afterthoughts in this political season. Reporters and other journalists have been barred by the Trump campaign. That is stupid and it is wrong. It is also critical to note.
   If there is anything our generation should take from the history of 1933 forward is the rise of Hitler, his coopting of workers and his use of power. We witness warning signs and similar behavior. Trying to manipulate the press is troubling.
    Recourse? Some have suggested a fight back-refuse to cover his candidacy. If one outlet is barred, no coverage from everyone else. That may "vent," but it's not right nor effective.
My friend Frank, who hosted our Washington visit observes it keenly.
      "The media is always stuck between principles (protesting this kind of treatment) and responsibility (continuing to report on craziness.)
     This election offers American voters an opportunity to do a reality check and to think in view of US history and all that implies.
     

    See you down the trail.

GAVEL TO GAVEL-THE FENCE-DONALD dumb to dumber

gavel to gavel

     The nation owes immense gratitude to Brian Lamb, the founder of C-SPAN. A crowning glory of his vision has been full screen the last couple of weeks, true reality television in C-SPAN's coverage of the Republican and Democratic National Conventions. It is television for adults and the best kind of history teaching for students.

     In 1979 Lamb's C-SPAN opened the proceedings of the US Congress to constituent oversight by winning the right to broadcast from the House and Senate. Since then C-SPAN has created a larger footprint in the nation's public affairs. Book TV, studio interview and phone in segments, coverage of committee hearings, panels, seminars, symposiums, political-cultural events, historical programs and more have graced American television screens with a seat for viewers. C-SPAN treats us with respect.

        an American ritual

      It was a family ritual in our home to watch the conventions, as was possible in those days, gavel to gavel courtesy of extended network coverage. Even before remote controls (!) we would switch from NBC's Huntley Brinkley team to CBS's coverage as Walter Cronkite began to emerge. (btw I was the remote control, switching the dial with such speed that my mother warned "don't break it.")

      By the late 1960's I was covering politics as a young reporter. I covered the nominating conventions in the '70s, 80's and 90's. By the time I was ceo of a documentary and production company or a news executive, the networks had pared coverage. 

      With all of the media available, there is the obligatory yacking head panels combined with a penchant for the broadcast anchors to blather.  Not so with C-SPAN.

      C-SPAN makes no editorial judgment or interruption. What it does is provide uninterrupted coverage of everything at the podium and an opportunity to view all of the produced video segments and musical interludes. Gavel to Gavel, for real. 

no talking, please

     By the time of a certain intellectual age, most of us can navigate the dramas without the arbitrary intrusion of anchors, reporters, producers, gee whiz graphics and the droning "experts." At the end of the day or during the rest of the news cycle we can seek out those folks, but as the "show" plays forth on the convention floor, we should be permitted to watch, do our own analysis, and render our own judgments. 

      Indeed there is a lot of good journalism and reporting, on the air, in print and on-line, but there is a freedom and quality in being permitted to watch proceedings without intrusion. We would not want interruptions at a theater or movie. I've taken to frequently doing as my long time friend and fellow media veteran Frank does during ball games, turn down the sound and watch the action. Instant replays are a nice touch, but unless I'm a particular fan of the sportscaster, I watch without sound. I'm old enough to know who's scoring and who's not and how well someone is playing. As Yogi may have said, "you can see a lot just by watching."

cheers!

       The depth and essence of a political party can be measured by how they put themselves forward, even in the non prime time segments. Gavel to Gavel has purpose and is enlightening. C-SPAN is the real star of the political season. Indiana born and educated, Purdue graduate, Brian Lamb has given the American body politic a gift of true intelligence and the best seats in the house.

      

why there is a fence

Donald

dumb and dumber

     Not that one is necessary but if you need another reason to worry about Donald Trump's suitability to be president this last stunt encouraging the Russian government to hack American computers and to get involved in our domestic politics is off the charts. It could also be treasonous. 

       I can't help but think if Hillary Clinton had said what Trump said, the Fox News? crowd would be leading a pitchfork and club brigade into Philadelphia to "lock her up" until they can "string her up" or shoot her as one Republican said last week. 

      Trump is a demagogue of the worst kind, he's a con artist and entirely out of his league when it comes to the complexities of international diplomacy. I've watched as friends who are conservative or traditional Republicans have struggled with has happened to their party. As difficult as it is to concede, several have done so. They will not vote for Trump. I've watched in disbelief as people of conscience and intelligence have migrated from their abhorrence of Trump to being reluctant supporters. Donald Trump is dangerous.

      Wouldn't it be something if a federal attorney somewhere brought espionage or sedition charges against him? It won't happen, but maybe it should.

       See you down the trail

A CONVENTION TRUTH AND GUESS WHO IS BACK IN A BOX?

no box is too small

    Our boy Hemingway proving that some sentient beings can find more to amuse them than political conventions. Seeing the orange character in a box has poetic symmetry this week.

a conventional truth

    If you are of a certain age and curious or interested you may remember when national political conventions held drama, something more intricate than the infomercials and coronations they've fallen too. This year there is bit of a carnie flavor, especially when the party of Lincoln becomes the party of Trump in Cleveland this week.

    Cleveland hosted Republicans in 1924 when Calvin Coolidge was nominated and again in 1936 when Alf Landon won the nomination. The Trump carnival will be a far cry from those GOP confabs.

    I began covering nominating conventions when there were still battles over credentials and platform issues. It all changed. At my last convention assignment I was parked in one of those sky boxes with only limited access to the delegates. Our edit and work space was a couple of blocks away in a building that had been turned into a "media center" and we came and went behind security lines. It all seemed prefabricated, sanitized, managed and scripted. There was very little real "news."

convention confession

    Since the statute of limitations has run and while I'm not likely to need credentials anytime soon I can share an "off the record" experience. It was the mid 70's and an issue in the Democratic party had Bella Abzug and Ron Dellums trying to work out a compromise. The Black Caucus and the National Womens Political Caucus had enough sway to force the party on a particular issue, if they could agree. 

     There was much interest in a private meeting between the two camps but the media was barred from the hotel parlor where they were to meet. As I milled around waiting for the principals to arrive I found a delegate badge and credential on the floor. There was no id picture, so I quietly put it over my press ID hanging around my neck and I walked into the room like I belonged. It was a crowded space so I floated back to a wall but close to where Abzug and Dellums were going to confer. They arrived, each said a couple of things. A couple of their assistants asked follow up questions. On the spot they drafted a brief statement.

     While the business was underway I took off the delegate credential. In about 20 minutes the huddle was done and a statement agreed to. I walked to where Dellums and Abzug were now standing and handed the delegate credential to Abzug. She looked at it, looked at the media credential around my neck and just smiled.

     I dashed to a phone in the press room, called in the story to our news desk. Lou Palmer, the afternoon editor was only mildly interested and asked why he hadn't seen it on the AP wire yet. I told him the details. He got interested, asked a couple of questions. Later he told me after he broadcast the news he got a call from the state's AP Bureau Chief who said they were waiting for their convention staff to file, where did we get the information?  Palmer told him we had it from reliable sources.

    Let's see what stories emerge from this week in Cleveland.

   See you down the trail.

Bastille -Throwback Revolution and...

Madame Defarge is not here

   Olea Farms a major olive grower and producer celebrates the owner's French heritage and Bastille Day, July 14, with a gentle gathering amidst the olive trees and an oleander grove.
     A specialty is pomme frites done in their olive oil. They are the center piece of buffet that features locally produced nibbles and snacks, local being the Templeton and Paso Robles area.

    A lovely day and without the zeal and excess that followed original Bastille Day in 1789.

     Liberty, Equality, Fraternity, as was the chant of the French revolution remain noble objectives, but if you recall history things got a bit out of hand.

     Soon after the storming of the Bastille a revengeful blood lust led to the over use of "the national razor which shaves close," the guillotine. 

the incite ap

     Let me incite for a moment. If you recall Charles Dicken's A Tale of Two Cities think of Madame Defarge as a surrogate for Donald Trump. She was full of resentment and enmity toward the royals and the aristocracy and fueled an anger that grew uncontrollable. The symbolism of "the spilling of the wine" for the blood that was to flow. She led and became the symbol of an unlimited hatred and evil. It was the psychology of the "mob rule" personified. 

     Trump may or may not be a racist, bigot and xenophobe. One can make a case either way, but it is clear that his language and "thoughts" fuel racism, bigotry and xenophobia. There is much about him that earns the label of mob leader.

      As noted previously, Trump has rallied a federation of angry people. Not all, but some of that number are racists, losers, many with no appreciation or knowledge of history, nor a respect for diversity. And there are the mouthbreathers, perfect kindling for a mob fire. 

    It would be illuminating to read a Dicken's description of Trump and his followers. Short of that there is Defarge and the mobs of Saint Antoine, and those echoes and footsteps of lurking evil and the night of the shadows.

     We can hope the Dickens classic is not a foreshadowing.  No, we choose to go with the self applied filter and simply enjoy a gentle afternoon in the groves. We forget, selectively, even the struggles of a divided nation at the birth of our own revolution. But we will cast a wary eye on Cleveland, and we will listen to and watch the foot steps from there to November.

     But for now, Cheers !

     See you down the trail.

COUPLING--LANDS END--REMEMBERING ALI and GILKEY

Final Acts

    Muhammad Ali was just a bit older than Boomers but he always seemed like one of us. His life arc paralleled ours. Of all that has and will be said of him and his big life I prefer to think of his legacy as courage. He was brave, in many ways.

      After boxing he lived for a while in southern Michigan and was involved in several events and causes in the Midwest including Indianapolis. It was in this context I met Ali. Even during those few years of his mid-west residency we saw the continuing toll of the disease that robbed him of so much, yet I remember his smile, his winks and his air boxing jabs that delighted kids. He never ducked a question and he always spoke with conviction.

      If you are ever near Louisville make a point to visit the Ali Museum. The scope of his life and the breadth of his influence in the world is extraordinary.

      He was tenacious in life as he was in the ring. He entertained and he challenged us and to quote his old faux nemesis Howard Cosell, Ali "told it like it was."

      "He who is not courageous enough to takes risks will accomplish nothing in life"

                            Muhammad Ali

In the line of duty

     Condolences to the family and friends of award winning photographer David Gilkey, killed with interpreter Zabihulla Tamanna in Afghanistan.  Gilkey worked for NPR and was embedded with Afghanistan and American forces when the vehicle he was in was hit by an RPG.  

      We are regular NPR listeners and web viewers and have seen Gilkey's work as well has heard his voice when interviewed by NPR correspondents and reporters. He's won many awards for his brilliant photography. The NPR news team has been emotionally shaken by the killing of one of their own. Our hearts are heavy when  fellow journalists and news gatherers are lost in the line of duty. 

     

Matchmaking

     Who are the running mates? Speculation season is full tilt.

TRUMP AND ?

      Chris Christie

    Niki Haley

    John Kasich

      Newt Gingrich

     Ben Carson

Captain America

The Incredible Hulk

Sara Palin

HILLARY AND ?

Corey Booker

Julian Castro

Wesley Clark

Tim Kaine

Bernie Sanders

Elizabeth Warren

and others

       The challenge for Trump is to find someone who gives him credibility and acceptance. It will need to be someone with his kind of bravado, but with real experience.

        The wisest choice for Hillary may be Sanders. Why?

Because of his own appeal and his millions of followers. Anyone else is a guess when it comes to getting national votes. Sanders has proven he can ignite even more fervent support than Clinton. Some of those Sanders voters may not follow Hillary, but they likely would if Sanders were VP. The Senator has pushed Clinton. A reconciliation would be a strong plus and would give a range of Democrats cause to get out the vote. It could keep millions of Democrat voters in line.

         Still, my buddy Ray has a novel ticket suggestion-

Joe Biden and Colin Powell.  Hmmmmmm!

          Stay tuned. 

On the Edge

        Environmental campers near Lampton Cliff in Cambria are up close and personal with the Pacific, ocean breezes and soaring birds. 

      See you down the trail.

        

GOLDEN MOMENTS

    Surrounded by Gold

Series of photos around Cambria

Golden Memory

     She could not have known the affect she had baked. The first bite was as though being belted into a time machine and delivered to an address in the early 1950's.

      Since Christmas a couple of years ago a jar of genuine English mincemeat sat in the back of the pantry. Lana put it to life in pie-cobbler. No top crust, just the savory sweet and unique taste, so authentic it time shifted me. My English grandmother and her sisters made mincemeat pie when they shared a large home, very much like a boarding house, on West Jackson Street in Muncie. Most of them were widows by then and frankly their English culinary skills were not to my liking as a lad with a couple of exceptions, ox tail soup and mincemeat pie.

      It had been decades since I tasted real mincemeat pie and each taste fired synapses deep in the memory file, vividly. I could smell the various perfumes of my great aunts, hear the sounds of that big house, feel the buzz as extended family gathered for Thanksgiving or Christmas. What a sweet and naive time it was. And what a wonderful taste!

Generation Shift

      My great aunt Martha who eventually survived all the others used to marvel at the progress she had seen and told my brothers and me we would see things she could not even dream of. My mother and father also welcomed the promise of the future and new thinking. Not everyone is wired that way.

     While most of the focus has been on the candidates in this cycle there is a glimpse of the future in the supporters and that is probably most true in Bernie Sanders and Donald Trump.

     Trump is a sentry of the old and changing structure; Whites, mostly older white men and women, some angry, some frustrated and most frightened by the disruptive nature of the future. More about that in a moment.

      Look at the faces and age of the massive crowds that Bernie Sanders has attracted coast to coast. Young, all sex and gender identity, culturally diverse and very much at home with disruption.

      Disruptive innovation, big data and the shared economy are forces that are shredding old ways and creating new businesses, opportunities, economic models, ways of living and in essence our future. Trump's supporters have more difficulty getting their heads around such concepts. Sander's supporters are already living lives that make Uber, Airbnb, 

metadata analysis, cooperative living, Instagram news and more, a reality. 

       20 years in the future? Most of Trumps supporters will be dead. Sander's demographic strength will be the most viable political voting block in the US.

      Based on the fervent support they have given Sanders, and the ease with which millennials adapt to disruptive influence and data processed lives, the formulating will of the American electorate will be much more inclined to a Sander's vision of government than any of the other candidates in this year. By 2036 a form of social Democracy may well be the model for being elected. I think we are seeing the first signs of that in Sander's appeal to those who will be the bulk of the future.

      Boomers are a fault line. Some take comfort in the knowledge of what they know, the richness of their lives and memories. They like things as they are. New operating systems on phones or computers, new designs in cars, new music, fashion and etc are annoyances. Others are still early adopters, fascinated by new art, cinema, technology, eager to use it, unintimidated by diverse mores, excited about the appointments of shared economy, comfortable with change including the relinquishing of power. 

      At the risk of annoying friends elsewhere-the most exciting region in the US now is the bay area-San Francisco-San Jose-Santa Rosa. Technology, information, data, money, ideas, innovation, space science, energy, automobiles, medical research and application are proportionately more robust and fully engaged in the Bay Area than anywhere else. Disruptive influence, big data, new business models and new politics thrive. That too is a glimpse of the future.

     Watch the politics there, a generation shift foretold. I hope as I continue my march to old boy irrelevance I will be excited by new technology, scientific advance and can still find mincemeat pie.

Surrounded by Gold

   See you down the trail