SETTING THE WAY FORWARD

getting back on track

     Our democratic republic is so far off track even serious, sober and reasoned people talk about the nation coming unglued. 

      Before we get into that, we pause for some natural remedy and fresh air.

California poppies at the coast

artisan bench at Fiscalini Ranch 

avoiding the rocks

correcting a foundation

     

    I've been driving by one of the older homes on Cambria's main street and wondering if it was going to be moved.  

      It has been jacked up and looked like it was ready for a drive. 

    Instead the old foundation has been removed, a new foundation has been built and the house has been leveled. 

     One of the men working on the crew said it looked as though the old foundation, which he described as very old, had been home made. Over time it began to fail and needed to be replaced.

is there a lesson here?

       I think the work above is a personification of what needs to happen to the American experiment-we need to level our house and shore up our foundational principles.

danger signs

      Endorsed insanity:There have always been extremists and kooks but when someone makes the alt right or liberty caucus look normal that is a signal of how deep a descent we are in.  QAnon is madness, real insanity but it is part of the boutique of Trump supporters. 

        Shameful behavior: Sara Huckabee Sanders refusal to say the media is not the enemy of the people is deplorable and will likely earn her a place of ignominy. I felt bad that she was denied service at a restaurant despite the fact that she is paid to lie and willingly works for a known liar. There may have been worse or more conniving press secretaries, but none come to mind. She may face a fate similar to her predecessor who no one takes seriously. Neither of them have a shred of credibility. But refusing to say what even the President's daughter acknowledged, what all but the most bitter and partisan of Trumpistas say, was a new low for a women already at the bottom.  

        Dangerous Behavior: From the first time I saw candidate Trump vilify and use the media contingent following his campaign I was worried. I've been on the receiving end of politicians scorn. We in the media are used to criticism. But when you get an arena full of angry people and you incite more venom, you are way out of bounds and you are pandering, even baiting violence.

         The most recent episode is chilling. Some of those who were taunting, cursing, gesturing obscenely and making threats looked as though they could and would do violence to people who are simply doing their job, fulfilling one of the roles this nation depends on. The press is in the Bill of Rights and is known as the Fourth Estate, the public's watchdog for scoundrels, despots, cheaters and liars. A force to keep politicians and leaders in check. 

        If you have not seen the clips, I urge you to look it up and imagine yourself in the media compound surrounded by those people.

        Playing with fire: Donald Trump chums the crowd and urges them to behave as poorly as he does. We should not be surprised if some horrible violence occurs. Many in the Trump core-base are angry. Listening to or reading their comments gives evidence they are woefully uninformed, poorly educated and easily led. I may be wrong here, but it seems many of them find a cathartic release for what may be disappointing lives. It is almost a perverted religious connection. The "Your Fired" star flipping off all of their own boogie men and enemies. Like a mob. Like the brown shirts.  

        As noted earlier his term "enemy of the people" is a communist party weapon and is used by dictators and strong men. He uses it intentionally to under cut those who challenge his excesses, his lies and his aberrant behavior.

       Flirting with his own demise:Trump's tweet telling Jeff Sessions he should end the Mueller investigation appears to many people more trained and much smarter than me to be an obvious example of "intent" to obstruct justice. Mueller is trying to learn how and how deeply the Russian government interfered with and/or rigged the election. That is something this nation must know. That Trump team mates have been indicted or have pled guilty only underscores why the president wants the investigation to stop. He's tried to discredit it from the beginning as he tries to discredit the media.

         The media is not perfect and errors can be made, but they are our best hope as they have been for more than 200 years to challenge, contest and adversarially try to keep the foundation of the republic level.

          Donald Trump is a horrible person. That he is a Russian stooge is evident. That he has no decorum, no sense of decency has been his life long biography. He has acted like a traitor. We need to know if he in fact colluded with the government that he gave secrets to and with whom he met privately. The Trump presidency is a disease and we need only pay a moments attention to learn how much sicker he is making this democratic republic. 

          See you down the trail.

LIKE DELINQUENTS

 A California Central Coast bouquet for all who survive 

hooligans, delinquents and stupid kid tricks.

because they blew up

      It was a tough summer for my mom, suffering through a troubled pregnancy. Dad was on the road most of the time and my brother John and I were jerks. It was nothing mean, we were just boys. I was almost 6 and though 22 months younger than me, John was my size and soon would be bigger. (From birth John was a brawler and big. He went on to lead the county in tackles and was a helluva football player).

      Later mom would say we spent most of the summer in a rumble, from the front yard to the back yard, through the house and leaving a trail of aftermath everywhere. Despite the lectures about me being the big brother, and my protests "look at him, he's as big as me" I was under the gun to keep our behavior in check and I wasn't doing a very good job of it.

      It was 1951 and one of our modest treats was a bottle of Coca-cola. The real thing, before cans and flavored coke. We'd buy a carton of those little 6 1/2 ounce glass bottles. John and I would split one, always eyeing, carefully, that each fruit juice glass was poured evenly, exactly even, accounting for the foam too.

      A side trip for a moment. Like most kids we collected pop bottles for the redemption pennies from the grocery store. In that line of work a kid will discover a lot of things, especially sorting through trash and burn piles in the alleys of our side of town. We saw breasts for the first time in a partially burned copy of Confidential. I think it was Kim Novak, but honestly, who didn't matter. We also learned that some of the neighbors apparently didn't know the good deal on pop bottles because we found some that were broken and that led to a discovery that eventually led to big problem.

      The alleys were cinder, as in burned coal. Behind some places there was a little gravel and a few folks had poured a cement burn ring, on which sat their incinerator or burn barrels. (Remember this is 1951 and the EPA were only letters in the alphabet that crowned the backboards in our class rooms.) John discovered the best thing to do with broken pop bottles was to break them a little more. It was a youthful sense of justice. You cheat me out of a few pennies by breaking the pop bottle, I'm going to finish the job for you on a cement burn ring.  Wow, could those bottles really explode.

      Fast forward to a rainy summer day when mom, who is basically bed ridden tells us to play in the basement. Oh boy did we! The specifics are lost in the haze of history, but somehow we learned that those empty Coca-cola bottles exploded wonderfully when dropped from the top of the basement steps. They made a great exploding sound and the glass cascaded like something from the movies. Well,... If an empty bottle was so spectacular, just imagine what a full bottle would do. We had no imagination, but did have a few full bottles. Man! Seeing a full bottle of Coke explode in foam and spray and flying glass is a sight of a lifetime.

       More fast forward, through details---why would we willingly waste good Coke, the painful process of cleaning up shards of sticky glass that littered our basement, the waste of money for a family on a tight budget, mom's further distress--cut to--my understanding why corporal punishment in that summer of 1951 was the right thing.

       

     further exploits of man child

    That California bouquet above? That is also for all American citizens. The delinquents in this administration continue to set new lows. 
     The "games" of the press briefing is simply childish and has no positive upside-none. It is punitive and juvenile. Ditto and double jinks on the president's tweet storm about the Obama administration going easy on the Russians over the attack on the presidential election. At least trump has finally acknowledged it. As a friend said it is the normal trump hypocrisy of criticizing Obama for a problem that he-trump-never admitted existed.

      I thought the Obama response was too reserved, but I also understood there's a lot more to such complicated diplomacy than meets the eye. We find out now Mitch McConnell was creeping around the wood pile threatening to accuse Obama of using the CIA to help Clinton. McConnell is one twisted and evil, racist. He is a political "intellectual-pedophile" and arrogant little donnie trump's small brain and outsize ego is McConnell's boy toy.

helping out

      Our Cambria Church and Dinner Fellowship completed a project that will help, but it also stimulated thought.

      We assembled emergency personal care kits that will be used by disaster victims or refugees in the US and around the planet.

      Hand towels, wash clothes, bandaids, soap, tooth brushes, combs, nail files, etc. The next time you reach for the soap, or go to brush your teeth, think about  how convenient it is- how accessible is water, shelter, something as simple as towel. We take a lot for granted. As wars create more refugees, as nature ravages, as the climate continues to change more fellow citizens of this planet are facing breaks in that kind of gentle and comfortable routine. 

     because they blew up

an epilogue

      By the way, brother John and I continued to gather pop bottles from the alley ways and continued to learn about life.

      There was one house that had the good sense to stash their magazines for a couple of days before filling their incinerator and lighting it up. That is how Tom and John learned about Stag Magazine, True Detective art work and Jayne Mansfield!

     See you down the trail.

BEHIND CLOSED DOORS

the edge of a crisis?

    People heard what they wanted to hear in the Comey testimony. Vindication or condemnation! This is a locked culture, locked into hardened views with little or no room to reason or evolve. Minds are made up and people hear only what confirms.

     It is far more complex, demanding hard thinking and honest evaluation. What mattered most in the Comey hearing was what he said in closed session. Repeatedly he said he could not answer a specific inquiry in open session. I bristle at the idea the American public is not entitled to hear and know everything about its government. But a lifetime of reporting, including investigative work and covering issues of national security and intelligence, leads me to understand why some things are better out of public view, though I regret that. As a Chair of the intelligence oversight committee told me, "Some things don't look so good in the light of day..." So it is with investigation and legislative inquiry that seek to determine if there has been wrongdoing. 

     The substantive work will occur out of public view. There are critical matters to be resolved, no matter how inflamed may be the public, the partisans or the media. 

• The Russians Attacked the Presidential Election
• Did they affect or alter votes-no evidence of that yet but the probe deepens. Newly leaked data provides a new trail.
• Did members of the Trump organization collude with the Russians? Investigations continue.
• Why did so many of the Trump team have contact with Russian principals and intelligence officers?
• Did the Trump organization's contact with the Russians violate laws?
• Why did Trump people, including Kushner go around existing protocol to have contact?
• Did Trump know about the contacts?
• Has he lied about it?
• Why did Trump want the Russian investigation stopped?
• Was there obstruction of Justice?

      Perhaps you were struck by the same thought. In all of the Comey testimony and in the memos he wrote the president never asks about how serious was the Russian attack, or what we could do to make the nation safe from further invasions. Instead, he was interested only in himself and Comey's loyalty and his efforts to stop the probe. Let that sink in for a moment-the president, after an invasion of our electoral process sitting in private meetings with the director of the FBI expresses no concern about the attack? 

      Of course this is the same man who gave secret intelligence to Russians in the oval office the day after he fired Comey and slurred him and the FBI. 

 what do we tell the kids?

       Trump admitted on national television he fired Comey because of the Russian investigation. Whether that and what he said to Comey in private and perhaps other actions constitute an obstruction of justice is a work of legal determination. 
      It could be there was nothing any of the Trump people did with the Russians that is illegal, but to stop an investigation or interfere with it is illegal. With the Mueller inquiry and two Congressional investigations, determinations will be made, according to law. But despite how Trump's words maybe parsed or how legal minds decide, what Trump did and said is offensive, immoral and wrong. It is further evidence he is unfit and unqualified. What he said to Comey is evidence of a corrupt mind. (To reach this judgment I am putting more weight in the credibility of Comey than Trump. Only a fool would not. Their own records make that case.) 

turn it down

    Much of the media lead-in to the Comey hearing was  hyperbolic  and childish. But the biggest loser of the day was the Trump lawyer brought in from New York. Marc Kasowitz fell flat on his face when he tried to discredit Comey. Kasowitz was completely wrong on the timeline, blowing his big "gotcha."  Plus he misspelled the word president in his released statement. 
     Several law firms blew Trump off when he asked for help. He brought in one of his New York gang who has threatened to sue media sources who reported on earlier trump sexual assault allegations. The sleaze is never far from the nincompoop. 
      The Trump gang is on the ropes. And to mix metaphors- they may be hanging themselves.

my how time flies

     Some of you are readers of Oddball Observations written by the Catalyst aka Bruce Taylor. You may know he and Judy have recently completed a move to a new home. Well, here is that same couple with Lana and our eldest Kristin some 30-35 years ago. As Bruce laments how hard the move was on his ancient body-I want to remind him of the inner young dude who still exists in there. 

     Take it easy.  See you down 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. 
       

You Need to Pay Attention

the redhot poker or torch lily in our back garden

    

     Winter's face on the California central coast is a far cry from the snow, ice, sheets of lead gray skies and cold rain of my native Indiana. 

      Here nature adorns itself with festive color and blooms and cattle birth new calves. A few blogger friends have posted scenes of snow recently and while I enjoy the pictures, I'm pleased to no longer shovel, scrap or drive in it. I've become a weather wimp.

     As much as I've tried to ignore it, the color of this poker stirs a thought about the president-elect.

      Mr Trump you've got to pay attention and start attending or reading the daily intelligence briefings that are available to you. You are dealing with higher stakes than a real estate project. This is not reality television, it is the real world. It is a far cry more complicated, complex, historical and dangerous than anything you've ever wrapped your mind around. If you can Tweet all night about Alec Baldwin, you can listen to your director of national intelligence. You might learn something. Actually you need to learn, a lot. Grow up!

did the russians elect our president?

       While it sounds like the yarn of a le Carre', Ludlum, Clancy, Silva, Knebel or some other espionage writer there is now serious question about how the Russians may have engineered Trump's election. The CIA has briefed Congress. The administration now ponders how to respond to this historic violation of our democratic republic.  Maybe that's a reason the trumpster has taken only 3 intel briefings in over a month. You've got to pay attention. We all do. So should the electors on the electoral college.This is unexplored territory.

a real hero

NASA Photo 1962

   We lost a true American leader and hero with the passing of 95 year old John Glenn. The photo was taken aboard the recovery ship after Glenn became the first American to orbit the earth.

    On February 20, 1962 Owen Fisher, biology teacher and football and track coach turned on a radio in our science lab classroom and said, "today we are going to listen to history." Glenn's flight in Friendship 7 was not a sure thing. The success made us proud.

    He was already a decorated hero, a marine pilot who flew missions in World War II and Korea. A democrat he was elected to the US Senate in 1974 and served until 1999. In 98 he became the oldest American to fly in space when he returned aboard the shuttle Discovery. 

    The President elect called him a "great American hero."

It is hard to imagine two men more different in skill, courage, temperament, service and character.

    See you down the trail.