Truth in America-Battle Lines are Drawn

 

        The more perfect Union, Justice, domestic Tranquility, the common defense, the general Welfare and the blessings of liberty, the very raison d'etre enshrined in the Constitution, are in doubt and the people of these states are not United. 

    All is at risk, in danger and under attack because of lies. In January 2021, the US Capitol is a fortress, on defensive footing after four years of assault.

    As power transitions, the future of the Republic demands a full investigation of the insurrection. A national commission, such as those that investigated  9/11, the Kennedy Assassination, the Roberts Commission on the Japanese attack at Pearl Harbor, and other national trauma should be instituted. There is much to learn.

    The deadly insurrection appears to have had inside help from republican house members and/or staff. Capitol Hill police officers appear to have been complicit. Federal investigators have already identified police and sheriff department officers from across the US as being active in the assault. The truth of these insinuations needs to be learned.

    Aside from prosecutorial and national security threads to be followed, the commission would document the enabling social, political and cultural influences that undergird and created the foundation for the most heinous attack in US history.

    As the people who inherit the constitution and who are now responsible to maintain the democratic republic we must act forcefully against all bad actors, no matter where the trail leads.

    One of my heroes is Dietrich Bonhoeffer, the German theologian who died for his role in trying to end the rise of the fascism and authoritarianism that spawned the Holocaust. Generations of Germans have confessed and lamented how Hitler's Nazi movement could and should have been stopped by German citizens, rather than enabling a mad narcissist to turn a full nation to evil. They believed the lie. The risk of not seeking the truth is grave. 

    Those Americans who believe the false claims of a desperate and demonstratively insane Donald Trump must understand it is about more than politics. They need to know the depth and expanse of the Trump deception, distortion and anti American behavior. For the well being of the nation and themselves, they must come to accept the truth.

     Trump's supporters on Capitol Hill must acknowledge they were wrong. It would be an affirmation of the sanctity of the separation of powers and the Constitution for those in the House and Senate to be removed and charged as insurrectionists and seditionists. It appears such a movement may be mounted in both chambers.  

    There are calls for remembering the January 6th attack on the capitol and attempted coup as we remember 9/11 and Pearl Harbor. The more we learn of the violent orgy of the Trump mob, the more egregious it becomes.

    The republican party is presently infested with cowards. As William Saletan wrote, "Republicans who were in a multi year frenzy over Benghazi are now downplaying insurrection at the Capitol." You saw that evidenced in the Impeachment debate.

    There's a mitigating circumstance, and while it is not a pass for their continued support of Trump, it speaks to the vile influence and toll he has spawned. People, politicians and state officials targeted by Trump now need security. Some republican House members say they feared for their lives if they voted for impeachment. Family members of the incoming administration are under protection from Trump supporters. State capitols and state officials have been threatened by republicans. 

    Since the day of his announcement Donald Trump filled America with lies, hate and fueled division. The republican party sold its soul to the only president to be impeached twice,  a man who has done the bidding, willingly or otherwise of the wily Vladimir Putin. Trump has presided over brining America to an all time low.

    The tide has changed, but millions are brainwashed. They will be resistant. When members of congress were hidden away, sequestered in tight quarters as the blood thirsty mob rampaged the Capitol, republicans in the group refused to wear masks, turning the terrifying experience of hiding for safety into a super spreader event. Members of the republican caucus have been seen shoving and blowing through the newly installed metal detectors. That is ignorant and abusive.

    The republicans are at war. Will Trump fascism and mindless loyalty dominate, or will those of reason, principle and belief in America wrestle control of the party their way.

    Democrats will continue to walk the tension line between their progressive wing and the centrist position of Joe Biden and the predominant caucus.

    Other things are changing. Corporate donors have blacklisted republicans who supported Trump. Trump's brand is on the way to being worthless. Josh Hawley, who thought he was an heir to Trump nation lost a book contract, and is being sued by Hallmark for funds they contributed.

    Mike Pence, who I knew when he was an unsuccessful congressional candidate and small market radio host missed an opportunity to be heroic and to be forever remembered that way.

    His refusal to activate the 25th Amendment, because his ambitions lead him to reason he can absorb the MAGA millions for his own presidential aspirations is delusional. The Pence tragedy speaks to ill placed faith of Trump nation and the broken republican party.

 

    These not no so United States must work its way back to a place where governance, and public good supersede political advantage, ideology, vanity and the souless opportunism of people like Trump, Cruz and Hawley. 

    There may soon be legislative punishment for Trump minions like McCarthy, Gosart, Gaetz, Jordan and 140 others.      To some their actions were sedition.  

    Most of us live far from the levers of power but US citizens are participants never-the-less. This history making era will be  infamous. It has been a time of division and pain. There is time for family members, friends or associates who have been on the low road, believing the big lie, to wake up, to see the truth.                      

    Society, generations hence, will study this time of infamy. Descendants will see photos or video clips of those who were part of a movement that worshipped a lie and were ignorantly part of an effort to destroy the United States. These Trump lovers and Republicans were played for suckers by a fraudster lunatic. History will have the last word. 

    There is a saying in several idioms and of various "origin," Jeremiah, Jesus, John Heywood in 1546,  and Jonathan Swift in 1713. It speaks to us in 2021.

    "There are none so blind as those who will not see."

     See you down the trail.

 

Passing it on

trails in the slipstream

     It was a quiet moment, a relaxed pause in holiday saturation, a deep sigh.
     "I think it's so neat the girls are carrying on some of our traditional things," Lana said looking at one of the home made gift tags Katherine created.
     Sentimentalist that I am, I've kept some of those tags, even dating back to when elder sister Kristin was a wee one.
     Traditions and rituals are the stuff of this season including taking measure, a self imposed exam we tabulate when we see old man time limping for the door. 
      Resolutions and reflections go hand in hand.

      We are fond of the Kennedy Center Honors, a seasonal glitter of tribute. This year's celebration came with an announcement that a year long remembrance of JFK's devotion to the arts and creativity will cast a major presence in Washington. I'm struck by the resurrection of the lights of Camelot in a capitol presided over by a reality television star. JFK and Jackie looming over the Donald and Melania. Good juju.

the embrace

      Do you think the significance of the US and Japanese ritual is fully appreciated and understood? 
      75 years after the entry of the US into WW II two hated foes crossed a chasm once thought impossible to bridge. Though we are nominally allies with Japan two visits this year seared wounded hearts with deep and cathartic healing.      
      First President Obama visited Hiroshima where America first used an atomic bomb. He embraced survivors, said the souls of those who died speak to us and he urged the world to purse a future without nuclear weapons. 
      Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's visit to Pearl Harbor, that they attacked propelling the US into the war, was another bridge. The significance of those first visits of former combatants to the historic sites of war may seem to be only protocol or ceremonial but in the arc of history they are momentous. Two blood enemies acknowledging the deepest blackness of their hearts in order to move forward in a better world. The ritual of forgiveness on a global scale.

        Does irony not strike again? The end of a year, the end of an administration, two principal adversaries of a World War talk of burying hatred and nuclear weapons as a President-to be-talks of a new arms race.

the fist salute

        Every four years as the Times Square ball drops, an adjustment begins to move over the US as the transition of power turns closer to inaugural day. It is a marvelous tradition  and sends up the message things are normal, life continues  and all is well. This year the peaceful transition will occur, but a majority of Americans know things are not normal and all is not well. 

       A fist salute next to a Christmas tree?! A Christian celebration of the birth of the Prince of Peace met with a kind of power fist salute. No things are not at all normal or well.

winter green

dedicated to resilience 

     See you down the trail.

APPLAUSE and LIFE AT THE SHORE

Applause Please

   1-Once there were 4 million of us, this last couple of years maybe 3.5 million, and we now face Saturday afternoon and early evening without Garrison Keillor.

    2-CS Lewis died the same day John Kennedy was murdered and hardly anyone knew. But in his life he touched a world wide audience and left a complicated literary and intellectual legacy.

The Prairie Pope

     By many standards neither Keillor nor Lewis was "mass appeal" but that does not mean they were not appealing.

      Over 42 years Keillor created a radio program that was a must in many homes. Prairie Home Companion was unique and the autistic Keillor became an American media original with a career length that outdistances Carson, Letterman, Stewart and others. There was nothing like it, nothing even close to comparison. Keillor was not for everyone in the same way vodka martinis, beef carpaccio, Miles Davis, or having a faith is not for everyone. Eclectic wit and pleasure. His fans were a mixed bag with a tilt toward NPR, PBS, reading books and lots of magazines and appreciation for music.

      Keillor signed off after Saturday's live performance from the Hollywood Bowl, bringing down the curtain on what he called an accidental career in radio. Now he will return to writing including assignments for the New Yorker. 

      Thoughtful and pensive Keillor was my nominee to be the Pope, though Francis is doing well. Not without significance here because his Plymouth Brethren and Lutheran background made him tick with a unique rhythm and strange but searing wit. Sadly there is no one like him so an era in American culture is closed.

The Oxford Vicar

     Lewis too was an original. A Brit from Belfast with a brilliant creativity, who shared a love of ale with JRR Tolkien,  confounded his fellow intellectuals, but like Churchill inspired the English with BBC broadcasts during WWII.

      Most may know Lewis because of his Chronicles of Narnia, or Anthony Hopkins portrayal of him in a kind of bio pic, Shadowlands. Lewis was first a scholar who wrote classical critical reviews. He wrote theology, though he was not a cleric, adult literature and of course the fairy tales.

      The complex Lewis comes to life in an extraordinary script An Evening With CS Lewis written by David Payne. We were fortunate to see American actor Philip Crowley's performance at the Theater at the Cambria Center for the Arts. Artistic director Nancy Green saw a workshop performance of Crowley about a year ago.  She produced the limited engagement here as Crowley is "warming up" for a limited run in L.A.

       Well known as a voice actor and narrator Crowley assumed Lewis's visage, voice and manner brilliantly. Lana and I pride ourselves on having see lots of theatre and the best talent. Crowley's work as Lewis and Payne's script are superb and we would see it again.

      If the performance comes to a stage near you, it will be a rewarding couple of hours. 

An Ovation for Wit

       A friend and occasional correspondent to Light Breezes is in the midst of a chemotherapy regimen. Over the years we've spent many evenings sipping wine and dining, comparing notes and opinions. She recently sent an e-mail to friends and channeled her inner gourmet.

Whoever is in charge of side effects went down the list and made sure I wasn’t deprived of any of them.  And treatment for some of the side effects come with, you guessed it, their own set of side effects.  It’s a balancing act but one I’m happy to report, I’m getting a handle on and plan on staying one step ahead of. 

One really annoying side effect is the awful taste Chemo leaves in your mouth.  This particular blend of drugs... I’ll call them the “Reserve” blend... is brimming with the complex flavor of chemicals like lead and iodine while delivering secondary notes of sulfur and the pungent taste of rotten cheese.   The ‘nose’ is reminiscent of highly acidic cow pie with just a hint of freshly poured and still steaming asphalt with the smoky aroma of hot tar making an appearance as it lingers on the tongue.  None of this finishes with the slightest silky smooth flavor of chocolate so it’s no wonder I’m losing weight.

        Cheers to her and to all who are reclaiming health in a similar manner. Here's to your better tasting days!

Shore life

    A common murre is in a bit of trouble as an oil like substance covers parts of its body. Bird experts, who were along side, said the penguin like auk needed to clean itself or it would perish.
     A sea lion seems annoyed that I interrupted his nap.

   Gulls and cormorants are oblivious to human eyes.

     See you down the trail.

JFK EVERYDAY-THE WEEKENDER

THIS KENNEDY LEGACY

     Yes, it's mind boggling to think it was 50 years ago. If you lived through it, the memories of that weekend are more vivid than almost any other.

      As the nation reflects, here's a unique take on the Kennedy Legacy.  Thanks to Carl Cannon of Real Politics for pointing us to this fresh and brief take on JFK and his impact on us today.

          Those of us who were young 50 years ago, may see a bit of ourselves in this.



See you down the trail.

GOT FREEDOM? THE WEEKENDER

LIKE A BUSMAN'S HOLIDAY

    A favorite stop in Washington-The Newseum.  An incredible display of history told through the lens of journalism, it is also a temple to the First Amendment. The message reads clearly in the neighborhood.

  A current exhibition is a moving look at a pivotal moment in the life of boomers.

    Riveting clips of television coverage of the historic moments highlight the powerful exhibition.

   Another emotional stop is the memorial to journalists, killed in the line of duty.

    A stroll provides a glimpse of the Washington Monument

under scaffolding.

 There is still middle ground in Washington.

     See you down the trail.

CURRENTS OF THOUGHT

OPEN QUESTIONS

     ARE THE DEBATES WRONG?

     These may not be original musings, but they are relevant.  Anything that gets the candidates thinking and talking in front of a live format is revealing and a lot better than packaged and paid advertising.  But--  I wonder if we didn't cross a Rubicon when JFK and Dick Nixon opened the era of television campaigning and debates.  Charisma became a factor in Presidential Campaigns. Looks, style, manner and "appeal" became "values" by which Americans rate and choose their chief executive. Though it is more sinister than that.

     I know 2 or 3 men, who have played on the national and international stage and who were involved in the presidential sweepstakes who could have made good presidents, but they lacked something- media gloss and sizzle. Probably brighter and deeper thinkers than most of their peers, their intellect and experience got trumped by media appeal.

    Jim Lehrer tried to open a format to allow Obama and Romney to present and counter with some depth, but still the rigidity of debate forces the contestants, and we viewers, into an artificial frame of scoring points by attack,  defense, or presenting a zinger. The goal is to beat the opponent, as if that determines how a man or woman would serve.

     Perhaps the evaluation and revelatory outcome helps us to better understand and to decide, but it all seems like it is spawned from the same mind set of a Super Bowl, or World Series-winner take all.

     The Presidency demands more than presentation or debate skills.  Perhaps helpful in some way, it is still an example of the disconnect between the business, and now industry, of elections and the real job of governance.

    We can count on the media yak hacks to be pumped up

on scoring the next rounds, as though it means something.

     THE SEASON HAS OPENED

   Today delivers the first measurable rain of Central California's "rain season." 

    After an extraordinary year in 2010-2011, last year was under average, so we celebrate each drop.  Though, this is a dicey time of year.  Grape growers and vintners are someplace along in harvest and too much rain at the wrong time is bad news.  Stay tuned for an update from Wine Country where

EVERY DAY IS NOT ROMANTIC

     We may romanticize the life of a winemaker, but do so

at the cost of overlooking how hard is the work.  Case in 

point-during harvest there is an endless list of things to do.

One item is just keeping the equipment clean.  Here we see

premier wine maker John Munch and a colleague doing just that. 

A PARTING THOUGHT

    I had a relative who used the old bromide "There's a place in hell for people like that!"  I don't want to open a theological debate or a discussion about judgement, BUT as I read about the Taliban attack on a teen female who had been an advocate for full educational rights for girls, that old saw came back to mind.  Along with words like, idiots, cowards, ignorant, stone age ass holes and evil.

    Truth is, full equality for women in Islamic nations could do more to remove those evil mullahs and imams and their influence of ignorant fundamentalism than anything else.  Oh, a lake of burning sulfur comes to mind as well!

     Really hard to bring yourself to forgive someone like that isn't it? A struggle!

    See you down the trail.

THE WEEKENDER :) A WIT

DO YOU REMEMBER MORT SAHL?

Sahl was on the cover of Time Magazine in
1960, hailed as the best of the new school of
comics.  I first connected with his brand of
social commentary seeing him on TV.  In an
age when most comedians did a line of jokes,
Sahl seemed to be plucking observations from 
the paper under his arm, or from daily life.
He wrote jokes for JFK and later his obsession with the Kennedy assassination turned some against him.
He was the first comic to record a live album and recently
a new generation has come to appreciate his observational 
wit and humor. 
Here is a brief BBC profile, featuring some other
great comics.

Here for your weekend enjoyment
are three clips of Sahl over the years.
Enjoy. 
A TELEPHONE CALL TO GOD

SAHL ON LIFE IN VEGAS

AN AGING SAHL ON LA AND MALIBU

Thanks Mort.  You've made us laugh and think. Yep,
you are a dangerous man!
See you down the trail.