A Stake in the heart of Trump's America?

    Ever have a time when innocence and wonder seem more desirable than our dramas?

     the story of the old goats

high on caffeine 

     What these times have done to us-as told by some old old goats who drink coffee!
      For a decade they've gathered on the deck of a unique coffee shop and have seen a few of their number pass on or move away but they persist in an earnest endeavor to solve world problems. What have they achieved? They amuse or annoy tourists and regulars though sometimes visitors just can't help but jump in.
      In the last couple of years I've wondered if proprietors Michelle and Mike have added a blend of zeal and volume to their brew-because the conversations have amped up. It might also be the idiot stooge in the oval office. Frequent readers know my disposition, but there are other points of view and our coffee dialectic exercises and exorcises them every Monday and Friday.
     The core of this hardcore "cafe democracy" debating society is a former navy flyer and scion of a California family of wealth and cabinet level influence who is a lovable and loquacious pot stirrer. There is a former history teacher, football coach and athletic director of midwestern origin. He roots us in the narrative of historic fact. There is an inventor, patent holder, self made man of dignity and style who fled a Soviet take over of his eastern European home. He came to the US as a young lad with the shirt on his back, no English but a brilliant mind and the willingness to work and serve his new nation. He earned success. There is an entrepreneur, music industry veteran, raconteur with a passion for life and a  sense of humor. Recently moved away but occasionally returning for the verbal jousting is an author and retired editor of the Wall Street Journal. There is the beautiful tennis queen and artist who while she mostly listens, moderates our volume. And there is your's truly. 
      There are a couple of others who saunter in or out, but they are more like observers, except our Semper Fi, Sicilian pal by way of Brooklyn who's primary objective is to tout the Mets and poke Dodger fans in the eye. There is also the concert violinist, gourmet and gourmand with the rapier wit of Jackie Mason on steroids.
       While there have been jokes that we need to put these dialectics on Youtube, I'm sure the scene is played out across the country by people of a particular generation with a capacity to yack.
      So it breaks down that despite no one needs to reveal whom they voted for, there is a clear divide over this regime. A very spirited divide! Some of us think trump is not only unfit and unqualified but have come to suspect he may also be the face of evil.
      Some who announced they voted for his orangeness, believe he is being misunderstood, treated unfairly, but is doing a good job especially of shaking up Washington. They think the Mueller investigation is ill begotten and simply politics by the old guard trying to get rid of trump. They were Hilary haters though one voted for Obama. So, there you have the genesis of what can be two hour performances that surely compete with any high octane French cafe dialogue.
     We probably resemble most of America, our minds are made up, though we try to challenge each other with facts, history and truth-the kind that is real and the kind of "truth" that is tweeted by king liar or oozed by a Kelly Ann. 
      Hopefully we are still listening and willing to learn. While we argue across a divide, like the 60-40 split in America, we always reaffirm our fondness and friendship. That is important. I'm not so sure those last two elements are reflected in the larger debate beyond the bounds of our open air dialectic. The old goats and the tennis queen are divided, but we remain civil. Wish it were such for congress and the US electorate.

a threat to the democracy

      In a  word, Sinclair Broadcasting. They were a laughable, cheapskate and slimy operator of local stations back when I reported or worked as a news executive. But they've continued to buy stations and are now the largest local ownership group with some 190 stations that they hope to fashion into a network to "out fox, Fox news"-translated that is to go even further right and be more biased. 

     Outdoing the sinister designs of the late sexual predator and bloviator Roger Ailes is one sick idea. By now you've heard how "Commissar Sinclair" is forcing local news operations to carry propaganda and pro trump bilge. They made a lot of news by forcing local anchors to "sincerely" deliver a propaganda tome that even Pravda would be proud of. 

     It is stupid, makes a journalist's blood boil, violates good conscience and is truly dangerous. You can see how ludicrous and un American it is, by watching this less than two minute piece, that is a warning to America--"a threat to the democracy..."

      It's enough to make you want to scream---or go play like a kid and a cat.

       Here's to sweeter and simpler times, with plenty of room to play, and maybe just yell! But in a friendly way!

       See you down the trail.

      

MATTERS OF CONTROL

     Lana's knee replacement surgery meant I spent a few days at the hospital, a rich tableau for an old reporter and watcher of people.
     One thing I am sure of is that nurses run things. Doctors matter of course and so do the administrators, but the nurses are the heart and soul and a good portion of the brains. It's similar to the army, where Sergeants run things. Nurses and sergeants know things based on practical experience on top of their considerable training. If you want to know something, ask a nurse. If nurses offer advice, take it.
     I'm biased because my youngest daughter Katherine is a nurse and so are several of our good friends.
     Maybe this nation would be a lot better off, if nurses were running the show.

there's a cure for that

        branding and castration in Templeton California

        I take it as my patriotic duty to rail about a couple of items and offer up a solution as pictured above.

         A military parade? Just one more warning sign on the growing checklist this guy is separated from reality,  normalcy, decency and intelligence and that he's acting so like a banana republic dictator he represents a danger to our democratic republic. He's got no politics or policy that we could fight about it, it's just his ego insanity, arrogance and lack of knowledge.

         Scores of experienced men and women warned us in the campaign, he's unfit, unqualified and lacks the intelligence to do the job. He won't even read the daily presidential briefs, he spends hours doing his "hair," comes to work late, leaves early and cannot be trusted.

         Yea, I know I'm sick and tired of it too. But we cannot for moment let this tyrant go unchecked or unchallenged so some times we have beat a dead horse. 

        There is the vexing matter of those who continue to support him, and the republicans who refuse to rebuff him. I submit they will be remembered by history as fools and a cancer on the great American experiment. 

         Wouldn't you love to see this bloated over the hill playboy and scammer meet justice-Batman or Avengers style? Or from a cowboy like those pictured above.

an example of the decline

          It was an item many would have missed. The Sinclair Broadcast group, the nation's largest owner of TV stations, is fighting for deregulation so they can amass more stations. That alone is a topic for discussion, but the point today is Sinclair asked executives, including news executives and local news directors to contribute to the legal fund.

         They are nuts! They are turning their back on 50 years of journalistic cannons. All major news organizations, ABC, NBC, CBS, FoxNews, and CNN forbid journalists from contributing to candidates, parties or political organizations. Frankly, as a journalist, you wouldn't want to. It helps eliminate conflict of interest or the perception of a bias.

        "I've never seen anything like this," says Professor Lewis Friedland of the University of Wisconsin and a former TV producer, "it's blatantly unethical."

        Sinclair's senior vice president of strategy and policy said there was nothing wrong with the request since it did not go to reporters, anchors or other newsroom employees. Rebecca Hanson said the news directors "were solicited as a result of being part of our managerial level, not because of their role in editorial." Ms Hanson, you cannot have it both ways.

        I was a news director at the flagship station of a TV chain and a member of the management, but also responsible for day to day news operations and content on three stations. Journalists and news people always put priority on content. Hanson's comment and lack of understanding of the ethical violation is so typical of profit driven corporate management where the only thing that matters is the bottom line. And it is not unlike the logic of those who can support donald trump. Oh, by the way, Sinclair mandated that local stations run pro trump commentaries, right wing harangues and pro trump news stories. Mandated that! They are further right than Fox News and they plan to challenge Fox by purchasing new stations, but first they must challenge the Federal Government. 

        I would not, nor could I have, worked for Sinclair. They are a bane on real journalism, but this is the age of trump, where someones opinion carries as much weight as facts, science and truth. It's an age where money and lies persuade.

       There are days when I wonder if traditional American values or principles of fairness, honesty, experience and the value of intelligence and history can survive an age of Facebook, social media, news by flavor, right wing news bias, low information citizens, big money and swindlers like trump and Putin. Maybe not, but not without a fight and a full defense of the constitution and bill of rights. 

        The staff person who was tasked with explaining to the president what the 10 amendments that are bill of rights were says he got to the fourth, trump rolled his eyes, used his finger to blubber his lips and that was it. It is a good bet donald trump has never read the constitution, doesn't know what the separation of powers or checks and balances are -but he's pretty sure his button is the largest.  

        

        See you down the trail.