Is Winter Weather a Grind?

 A Winter Diversion

        After a while snow, ice, gray skies, freezing temperatures and being confined inside is a drag. I know. 

        So, what if your job is a beach?

        And what if waring 5000 pound elephant seals were a job hazard?

    

        That's the deal for a couple of Cal Poly researchers recording behavior and communication sounds of elephant seals at our local rookery. The battling brutes kept wrestling closer to equipment.

        Try being nonchalant as the bull edges ever closer while your colleague is trying to extract a sound boom that another beach resident has rolled on down at the ocean.

        It's not always picnic at the Pacific shore. Researching the colony also includes counting the pups that don't survive.

       Still, the beach beats any office I've known.

        And who's going to complain about you catching a nap?

        When compared to those winter's past, it's hard to think of even a foggy and cool day as being a bad day at the beach. That idea is shared out here.

 

         February can be brutal out there. On the central cost, it brings green and the hint of the spring's renewal that comes to all. 

    

        Back when my patience with winter chill and hazard was at its end, I'd start playing Paul Simon's April Come She Will.

     It will and for those of you in freezing temperatures, rain and snow, hope the adage "life's a beach!" warms you a bit. 

    See you down the trail.

An American Window/Eyes of Innocence

     It's a funny business, this matter of innocence. Complex and even paradoxical. 

    I am riveted by the innocence, the state of nature, in the eyes of these elephant seal pups. I employ them here as allegory; soon they face the overwhelming challenge of what life can throw at you. Were we not all more innocent before Covid?

    Also on our mind is the window, the uniquely American window, of the President and the Press, where this matter of innocence reads itself out in revealing ways. We'll take that up later.

    Pictured here are weanlings from the Piedras Blancas rookery north of San Simeon California. These 3 or 4 month old elephant seals are "out of camp," forced to flee the rookery because of king tides, Pacific storms and overcrowding. 

    They've invaded one of our favorite sand dune beaches and, like a human chump, I've been grousing about that. Fortunately few of my specie come here and these photos were gathered using a zoom lens. 

    These innocents have bigger problems than me disturbing their naps.

    Birthing season peaks in January. Once born an elephant seal gets only a month to 5 weeks of mothering. They nurse on a milk that runs from 12% to 70% fat and grow from about 70 to 300 pounds in that month. The Friends of the Elephant Seal group has studied and protected this rookery since they migrated here from Northern California in the early '90s.

    Mom cuts the pup off after about a month and while she enters mating season the pup, now a weanling, is on his or her own.

    They live on their blubber and get nothing else to eat until they learn to hunt, which follows learning to swim, that involves learning to dive and breath and see underwater. They get no coaching and it is this time of year that life, in the form of hunger, comes calling. 

        Days of napping or hanging with buds are over and they've  got to get into the water, learn it all, and then begin forage eating as they head north. Males go to feed off the Alaskan coast, females head to northern Canada. If they survive they will return to the rookery.

    Once they are return they fast and slumber in a crowd, but while navigating the dangers of the sea, they are on their own. 

    The little guy above has no idea of what awaits. If he's lucky enough to make it back to the central coast he'll have one of the best bunks in the world-a spring fed lagoon, on the Pacific Ocean, and with a Castle view.

the president and the press

        By nature the press and the Presidency have an adversarial relationship. 

        Press freedom is enshrined in the constitution so the founders understood the value of the process. The history of the relationship is uneven, based largely on the manner of the President and/or the overwhelming events of the term. Sadly, the advent of television added the dimension of theater, performance, personality.

        The first Biden press conference was revealing and certainly a departure from the last four years. Our effort here is to examine the nature and grounding of the questions he received and suss out what it tells us about where we are.

        I watched and then viewed highlights. I studied the verbatim transcript. It is a drill of which I am experienced.  Working in radio and television I reported, edited, and analyzed Presidential news conferences starting with Lyndon Johnson.

an old news directors analysis

        In the midst of the pandemic, after the signing of a massive relief bill, historically expensive, and the announcement of doubling the goal for vaccinations, there were no questions about any of it. Surprising and telling. 

        Part of the balance in the relationship is the press assertion of "setting the agenda." I get that, but there should have been some drilling down on the number 1 crisis or issue in the world. The AP's Zeke Miller opened the foray by surfacing immigration, gun control, civil rights, climate and asking the President how far he was willing to go to keep promises.

        The nature of the question was not substantive about those issues, but about personal political action by the President, "...how far would he go?" That is not out of bounds, but it tilts toward politics and away from policy. The answer could be interesting, but not likely to add new information.

       In the last four years Presidential-press encounters were mostly personal and politically divisive. They were about the President and his performance in the spotlight. He spoke frequently of the "ratings!" The White House press corp now has some adjusting to do.

        The tone of some questions was off, too political, too gotcha, too gaming. It is too early too early to begin covering the 2024 campaign. Out of touch with the mood of the nation.

        A Cecilia Vega question about detention centers at the border became wrong headed when it asked "reaction to images, is what's happening inside acceptable to you and when it is going to be fixed?" Trying to get a timeline is worthwhile, but asking an obvious question about his personal reaction takes us to the personality matter, again, and away from the issue and how can it be fixed and when. 

    The personal reaction of a President to something is not unimportant, but not as important as the nuts and bolts of issues. The personal is a hangover of a President and press that was addicted to Twitter.

        Kristin Welker took up a good cause, getting press access to the detention sites, but she used her national moment to press the President about when the administration would commit to transparency, 3 times. No questions about what are the hang ups or obstacles to getting better facilities, no discussion about the use of Fort Bliss and how that will work, are the kids being given counseling, is there any Covid on site, how are they being fed? She pressed him, theatrically, to get cameras in to see the kids. It was "Scene over Substance" and missed opportunities to get on record questions about the kid's well being.

    Nancy Cordes' political question about Republican voter suppression turned to if the president "didn't manage to pass voting rights legislation" his party would loose seats. Personal again-if "he didn't manage" when we all know it is more complicated than that. She also missed the larger issue-that voter suppression affects more than the President and his party, the most significant victims are American voters. The entirely too early question about if he's decided to run for reelection, came just 60 some days into his term. Wrong tone.

Too much reliance on the "horse race" which has dominated political coverage. There are more important matters before this nation than the next campaign.

    Kaitlan Collins asked good question about moving to eliminate the filibuster, but then brought up the reelection campaign again, a "running mate?" would he be running "against Trump?"  This at his first news conference? Too early, at best, silly, faux hard ass and irrelevant. How many of the Americans tuning in had any of that on their mind?

    Yamiche Alcindor asked about the immigration issue, straightforwardly asking how they are deciding who stays and what was the timeline for fixing the issue. In a follow up she asked directly about a filibuster rule. To the point, prompting a response on substance.

    Ken Walsh asked directly about the May 2nd deadline to withdraw troops from Afghanistan. He followed directly, "will there be troops there next year?"

    Justin Sink asked directly about banning imports on forced labor products and cutting US investment or Chinese access to international payment systems. He followed about a manufacturer liability bill or executive action going after ghost guns. To the point, relevant, substantive. 

    Like the President, the White House press lives in a bubble. Reporters are career minded, and sometimes out of touch. They work in a hothouse where politics is a constant and they live in a world of click bait, ratings, breaking news and manipulation. Those pressures can have too much impact on the quality of the work.

    There were too many questions that were reflective of that atmosphere,  seeking personal reaction, and  reporter posturing that seemed to miss the depth of the issues, their complexity, substance and sometimes even the issue itself    . 

    This is the sort of after action analysis I managed with reporters, producers and photographers when I was a news director. The short summary, too much style over substance. Too much snark and not enough intellect. Performance over probing.

    It would be good for this generation of TV reporter, most of those asking questions were from that medium, to watch old press conferences, lots of them, and understand they a part of an important national ritual with more significance than ratings or gossip.

    Stay safe.

    See you down the trail.       

America Energized

    The US is back on the trail. The path to a "more perfect union" has been rejoined. 

    Perhaps you've had the same experience; zoom conversations or other communications filled with expressions of a greater peace of mind or a sense of optimism. There's been a collective sigh of relief. We buoy our spirits as we confront the crises left for the Biden administration.

clean up work

    In the hard work before us is scouring the service branches and police departments. It will be tough, but right wing insurrectionists, racists and those lacking the intellect to reject the Q fantasy have no place in uniform. 

    The Defense Department* has leadership now to undertake a long overdue flushing of racists and the imposition of new standards. I had run-ins with Pentagon bureaucratic resistance and intentional blindness when I reported on racism including  the armed services. The present mood, and the dawn of a new administration could/should prompt appropriate improvement.

    Racist cops and sheriff deputies have been the bane of almost every American city and county perhaps forever. No, not all police and sheriff deputies are trouble, most are public servants, doing hard work, risking their lives while being horribly underpaid. It is unfortunate however most departments have the knuckleheads who, for whatever reason, dwell in misguided notions and suffer the lack of training and education that purges the simplemindedness of white supremacy and/or  overt macho recklessness and fanaticism.  

an old story

    I cut my reporting teeth in the mid 60's in a midwestern factory town where cops routinely beat Black arrestees, because they could. When I moved to the state capitol and  covered a metropolitan police beat it became rapidly obvious that despite efforts to integrate the department, racist cops were protected by the thin blue line of departmental loyalty. It is part of the American story, and there is much progress to make.

    The continuing investigations of the Capitol insurrection are likely to lead to a deserved focus on cops and troops who hate. We may finally get the enhanced employment evaluation and behavioral training so long overdue. Refine the police. 

rooting out the rebels?

    We'll know soon enough if the House and Senate are likely to press their resident seditionists. I'd censure or toss out any who voted against certifying the vote. There are certifiable screwballs serving in the House and they pose a danger to integrity and decorum. The nation needs a Congress that can legislate and see a nation larger than parochial or political intellectual limitations. The common good should be the objective.

    Competent people with American values, personal honesty and decency are in charge now and that change alone gives us hope. With the shameful retreat of the leading candidate for  worse US President, we can return to more down to earth and more satisfying matters.

     We were surprised to find one of our favorite isolated stretches of beach invaded by elephant seals, who fled their rookery due to recent Pacific wave events. This is the height of birthing season. The gull activity in the frame above attends a birth that occurred as we watched.

    The frame above features at least three newbies. They are  protected in the rookery where the public views from a curated vantage with docents on hand.

    We took high ground and observed, respectfully. The few other people who discovered the invasion as we were there, were also careful and kept a distance. A couple of days ago a docent and resident expert told me some visitors did not. 

    Reigning bulls are in the early days of mating season. Humans need not be on their mind. They are massive and powerful. A zoom lens is the way to approach.

    Who'd want to disturb a peaceful nap of an expectant mother?

          We've had our first jab and collected an image we chuckle about and wonder what in the world presently unborn descendants will make of it.

         Hope a shot finds you soon. Stay well and stay safe.

        See you down the trail.

         *Adam Ciralsky has an eye opening piece in the current Vanity Fair. He embedded with the outgoing Secretary of Defense in the last frantic days of Trump. It gave me a new perspective of Christopher Miller and what he did.    

A Little Wildlife Adventure

     Soon, we continue our Irish travels to Dingle, in the southwest, a place not to be missed!

    Today we do a little wildlife spotting with grandson Henry.

     The elephant seals at Piedras Blancas on the

California Pacific Coast Highway caught his attention.

   "Nana" and he marveled at Zebras near the Hearst Castle at San Simeon.

   Even the wildlife seem mellow, as gentle we go into a new year and a new decade. I wonder if these '20's will roar?

    Wishing you well being and cheers as we continue on the trail. 

Making Love and Making War & Goodbye Donald?

    The dramas of humankind, in high season these days, are always put into perspective when juxtaposed to the enduring beauty and power of the nature around us.

   Friend and former colleague John Stanley captured the scene of the coast and evidence of the Sierra snow cover on his recent visit.

   Seeing these help us shove aside the carnival in Washington and remind us life is a longer stride than temporary folly. We turn to that folly in a moment but first-

making love

the season has come

   Most the young elephant seals have arrived...mothers are ending the six weeks of feeding and that means mating season is underway

   above, one of the reigning bulls, snoozes while surrounded by some of his harem that he serially mounts and mates until nature's course is set

   here a young pup is about to become a weaner--mother is about to shut off the food supply so she is "eligible" for becoming pregnant again...the little one hopefully gained enough milk-like a mayonnaise in consistency-in six weeks of feeding to survive its next challenges.  first they must learn to swim and after a while follow nature's gps, in their DNA, to a hunting ground up north. males go up to Alaska, females go up to northern Canada. Once mother cuts off the food she has nothing to do with the weaner. they are on their own, guided only by forces of nature to learn and live.

is the trumpster bound for the dumpster?

   Are we seeing the beginning of the end of the improbable Trump Presidency?
    Crazy for asking you might think? Well, serious people with long runs in Washington have begun to look at the Russian connection business with a framing perspective of Watergate. They began to ask that famous question of Watergate "what did the President know and when did he know it?" 
    Members of the government began to use the words "treason." Congress has opened investigations, even the Senate's majority leader McConnell shows evidence his testicles have finally dropped. 
     There have been leaks from the White House, from the intelligence community, from the Republican party. There is division among White House staffers. Cabinet members are saying one thing and the trumpster is saying something else.
     Old hands around Washington say this administration has been a train wreck and it hasn't even been a month.
     What has happened? Precisely what intelligent people warned - A man with no sense of history, no government experience, who lies habitually, with the character of a mongrel thief and sexual predator, a malignant narcissist, who does not read, who watches television incessantly, who is obsessed about his own ratings is now discovered to be totally over his head, out of element, ineffective, without a clue. What did we expect?
     As this historic unraveling occurs and as the vulgarian himself senses the tides are against him he responds with the news conference today that further confirms-this guy is trouble, is in deep trouble and means more trouble.
     Caught in more lies today, ranting about the media, obsessing with his own image, fixated on the election-which someone should tell him is over-he was trying again to divert attention from a list of liabilities, fault lines and a crumbling administration. World media has almost universally regarded the strange show as that, a very strange showing by a very strange President, in trouble. Divert as he may have tried, this Russian connection will not go away.
      His rants at CNN or his reliance on accusing the media of fake news, while he continues to lie, mixed with his incompetence, his acting as though being President is really just another reality tv show is rising to the level of an absurdest Shakespearean tragic comedy without peer. The sad thing however is he is still the President.
      How quickly will true Republicans begin to flee the stench? How will our professional corp of diplomats and statesmen keep some semblance of stability? When will those who cast their votes for this "change" realize they squandered their franchise on a certified loony?
      Those of us out here in the country can see the signs of a manic collapse. But pity those who work in government. Professionals in Washington are beginning to think and act in ways that are without precedent-at least since a lying Republican President  Nixon was undone. 
     This Russian concern-his bromance with Putin, his refusal to condone sanctions-that are justified and legal-the Flynn overtures, his own business entanglements-the MI 6 dossier-the Russian hack and manipulation of the election and who knows what else may not be the straw that breaks the camel's back, but several levels of serious investigation are under way.  A ranting, raving, lying campaign rally style news conference is not enough to divert attention. No amount of Kellyanne Conway or Sean Spicer's lies and diversions will turn it back. There is more to come. Professionals are working on it. There may be no smoking gun. Still, when you are less than a month into a rigged election the mind shudders at what else may come to pass. 
      Analyst Frank Rich, New York Magazine and former New York Times author said
        "But Trump is no Nixon: He doesn’t possess the brains, the discipline, the decades of experience of political and governmental combat, or the laser-focused Machiavellian cunning to sustain a Watergate-style cover-up."
        And always, always there is the need to watch his business intertwining. Did you notice that since he became President, the membership fees at his Florida spa have doubled to $200 thousand a year? Don't you imagine though he will donate those increased funds to the coal miners whose homes were foreclosed on by his appointees Mnuchin and Ross-the predatory default kings, part of his "swamp drain." 
       In the meantime wouldn't it be nice to impose a kind of buyers remorse clause in our electoral process. After a certain trial period we could throw the idiot out. Like an annulment. He makes you pine for the days of stockades, locks and dunking. Maybe we could raise funds for those coal miners and auto workers by allowing citizens to serially water board the liar. As he might say, "it's effective, really, really effective. I know. I know better than anyone. It's a fine thing, really fine."

         Now look out a window or take a walk, breath deeply and know this too shall pass. And we can hope soon so we can invoke another Watergate phrase "The American nightmare is over."

         See you down the trail. 
       

Roughhouse Coast

boys being boys

  Young male elephant seals are back and have taken over the colony beach.

    It's the season when the sub adults and young males come in from feeding and practice sparring. Soon the females will be back and many of them will be pregnant. Birthing season follows in early winter. The peak of mating season is valentines day

    Now the young males practice the battles they'll do with the bulls, the 5000 pound Kings of the beach. When they arrive the big old boys divide the beach among their harems.

    Never too young or small to start learning the skills that are required to carve out a harem.

   "I'm tougher than you" they seem to taunt each other.

  In the surf as well as on the beach they size up the competition.

   Most could save their energy. It is rare for a young male, like those currently in residence, to successfully challenge the old boys.

   Their glottal deep well barks echo along the beach South of the Piedra Blancas Light Station on the Pacific Coast highway. Compared to the basso profoundo rumble of the adult males, these fellows sound like tenors.