Look closely, it's complicated...

         After scrutinizing 15 Presidential elections I’m impressed with the rapid mood shift the recent change in the field has stirred.

            I think we can surmise voters were ready for a change of attitude. Harris and Walz have prompted enthusiasm, to be sure, but they’ve flooded the arena with hope, a sense of optimism, even mirth.

They struck a golden truth when they labled the maga team as “weird.” By comparison and by tone Trump and Vance come off as Slug and Sluggard. 

            There seems to be a bit of fun to the election cycle now and I’m sure the psychologists can spin a lot of theories. From my view of having been on campaign trails, it doesn’t seem as desperate, teetering on the brink of a bunker mentality anymore. 

    

            This seems to be the year America has decided there is an age limit on Presidents. But we should memorialize that one hour before Joe Biden did one of the most courageous and personally hard to accept actions, “passing the baton,” he was full on engaged closing the deal in getting American hostages, home.

            There is no doubt Joe is old, and not as swift or glib as he was, but he was and is still executing the duties of the oval office with as much skill, and historic achievement as we have seen in decades. This “old man” has accomplished legislative miracles, stabilized the nation, infused economic development that will change the American workplace and our infrastructure over the next decades, and asserted American and democratic leadership for the world. He has been steady and calm. But we live in a time when almost everything is performative, and when phones and algorithms have warped our sense of reality. Unfair though it is, in the long run his selfless act is probably best for everyone. He will be remembered well.

            Now would be a good time for voters to look at the extraordinary PBS Frontline examination of “The Biden Decision.” It is searing, tough, told in a no holds barred honesty. It is an American tragedy story, a kind of Irish tale of a political warrior who wanted only to serve. 

dangling

            There is another PBS serving that you can also find at the LBJ Library web domain. Live from the LBJ Library, Woodward and Bernstein. It plays in two 30 minute segments. The conversation led by author/historian Mark Updegrove looks at the Watergate era 50 years on. The inevitable conclusion is the modern Republican party do not possess the courage and decency of the 1970 Republicans who included the godfather of conservative Presidential ambition, Barry Goldwater.  

            50 years this week, those men and women went to their President and told him he was going to be impeached and convicted because they could no longer support him. Nixon resigned. 

            History always gets the last word. Carl Bernstein and Bob Woodward remind us of a time when honesty counted. Those reflections are illuminating to us about who, what and where we are today.

           See you down the trail.

...and who is the enemy?

              A favorite saying from the 1970's struck me as I commiserated this era of dysfunction, threat and exasperating stupidity.

        "We have met the enemy and he is us."

        Walt Kelly inked that line for his character Pogo and it was meant as a defeated recognition that "us" was the enemy behind pollution and environmental destruction. The cartoonist had parodied a battle report from American Naval Commander Oliver Perry to Major General William Henry Harrison after the US defeated the British Navy in the Battle of Lake Erie in the War of 1812. Perry had written "We have met the enemy and they are ours." 

        Pogo's phrase is again a fit vituperation for what has become of "us" in this time. We are our own enemy.

        To be sure, there are many variants in the epidemic of stupidity. I beg a moment of your attention to address one that I know a lot about.

        Media is off focus, out of proportion, increasingly ephemeral and wrong headed. In defense of the profession where I spent a half century laboring, there are places of excellence and too there are many reasons for the demise we witness.

        So much of broadcast news, print journalism and on-line is a waste of time and even silly. This is what happens when newspapers are killed by financial vultures, when reporting and editing staffs are thinned to ludicrous levels so profits are boosted, when broadcast and print are forced into the blender of social media, a world of platforms that do not operate by the old journalism codes of conduct, ethics or canons. The public's "right to know" is now an afterthought, if even that, and it has become part of the broil that is ratings, revenue, investment portfolios, news deserts and a who cares attitude. 

        Some things are fixable. 

        Stop obsessing about the latest opinion poll. That is not news, it is a contrivance.

         There are flaws in using polling as news, not the least of which is that most polls today are skewed, flukey, and even if they are scientific they are nothing more than a view shared on that day by a small number of people. There is no guarantee about scientific precision or weighting. 

        Many so called polls and surveys are fronts for political operators.

        Good pollsters tell you political polls this far out mean nothing more than the dental floss you will discard tonight. Yet news groups, including those who should know better, ballyhoo and hype the latest assessment of America's mindset. 

        Ask yourself, with the rampant stupidity at large, with the miserable understanding of history by most Americans who were educated in the last 40 years, with the gullibility of generations pounded by advertising and behavioral manipulation for the transactions of a consumer market of things and stuff, do you really care what this age of polled opinions have to say. Given the givens, what is the value of turning what they think into news?!  Here's the news about that, they don't know any more than you do and likely they know a lot less. So why celebrate ignorance and opinions? The story the media is missing is how poorly informed, how inarticulate and how dumb this nation is becoming.  

        There is an underpinning factor that leads the young precious news staffers of this age to care so much about opinion poll reporting, aside from the fact they have all been raised in an age of click bait, and that is the unholy belief that Presidential politics is the holy grail and be all of US News, followed closely by all electoral politics. There is an electoral/political industry that has emerged and it is huge business, a cash cow for pollsters, analysts, consultants, media specialists, speechwriters, fashion advisors, advertisers and more. This billion dollar industry relies on and manipulates its kindred news business. 

        Time was broadcast news was a loss leader, the cost of having a license to print money. Now it is a profit center and news is just a product. 

        Let's be clear, this election cycle is critical to the survival of representative democracy. One party has abandoned belief in the historical American system of government with winners and losers and transitions of power. When US media cast any reporting outside of that reality, when they engage in a false equivalency or the so called "equal" time philosophy they are being suckered in by strategy and tactics of those who seek to destroy American democracy. It is time for the news industry to reassess how to proceed on a war footing, in a time of information warfare.

       Before we depart this issue of overplaying, hyping, tying almost every story to an old fashioned political peg, if you think I am wrong, then consider the players. Examine the people and the values they display, from school boards to the US House and Senate. 

        Truth, facts, and liberty are are the abused and battered family members of our American democracy at this moment in our history. That is part of a political strategy and goal and media is an accomplice. There is an off ramp.

        Because of who and what this nation is and has been through, you have influence both on media and on the political industry. If you get organized or loud enough you can apply pressure. You can boycott, put pressure on advertisers, disconnect, avoid media, get in the face of elected representatives, call them out, vote them out. 

        

        Do what you can to activate your philosophy. Stick to the facts. Speak the truth. Remember both leading presidential candidates are essentially the same age, there is a 3 year difference. Would you know by media coverage?

        That's the view from the ridge, the opinion of one who thinks democracy is the best choice of any form of government.

        See you down the trail. 

      

SO LONG PAL & SUPREME FIGHTS

Phil

    The man behind me poked me in the back and said

"So you're from Indianapolis huh?"

     "Yes"

     "You know Indianapolis is very famous in this town."

     "Is that right?" I said, expecting a comment about the Indianapolis 500.

      "Yea. We've got an oncologist out here who sends his worst patients to Indianapolis, because it'll be the longest year in their life."

       And that is how I met Phil Allen 14 years ago. We were prospecting a post retirement move to Cambria and that chance meeting led a great friendship. In fact Phil and Nan became our California "mentors" helpful in countless ways as we awaited retirement, decided on making the move, purchased a home and then beginning the life changing odyssey. 

       Early on Phil invited Lana and me to join him and Ed Simonsen on Saturday mornings for coffee and crepes at Lilly's. Ed, 90 at the time, ran the Drop In Tennis play. He and Phil convinced this longtime basketball player to take up a new sport. Phil loaned me a racquet and kept after me to take up the game. He invited this rank novice into play in his regularly scheduled foursomes and thus my love affair with the game began.  

        As Phil rounded 80 his game began to slow and a chronic back problem began to take its toll. Before he finally hung it up he'd limp onto the court and if the shot was anywhere within reach he'd slap a backhand or snap a forehand at you, or at your feet, or toward the alley. He loved tennis and years later when hobbled by other health issues he'd remind those of us playing how lucky we were.

        "Even a bad game of tennis is a great day."

        He also loved jokes, cigars and friends. On that first chance meeting he invited us back to his house for coffee. I noticed a cigar in the ashtray on his deck overlooking the Pacific. That led to an invitation to join the "prayer group" a group of his buddies who'd gather on Wednesday and Sunday afternoons for a cup of coffee, tell jokes and enjoy a cigar. Not everyone smoked a cigar, but Phil did so with relish. The "prayer group" was religious about enjoying life, inquiring about the well being of friends and even pausing for a prayerful moment when someone was having trouble. Nan called it "Smoke and Joke," in fact a more appropriate name. There'd be days I couldn't make it and Phil would remind me I needed to get "my priorities straight." For more than 20 years that circle of friends added to the zest for life he enjoyed. And from time to time a few "younger guys" like me, were invited in. We called ourselves the youth movement, but Phil, Reg, John and Paul were young at heart.

         Phil used to say "It doesn't get any better than this" and he'd flash his thumbs up signature. It could be on a deck with the old boys, or having coffee with the tennis crowd or relishing a meal out.

          We used to joke about Phil's endless supply of jokes. He always took pride in saying he "could tell his jokes in any crowd," and for the most part that was true. One night a few years ago he went to an open mic night at the Lodge and between musical acts trotted out some of his best stuff in a short stand up routine.

        Phil was a lot more than a jester. He was a brilliant mind with a great curiosity forever recommending history books or documentaries. He had worked for an engineering company and had a grasp of technology and numbers that was off the chart. Some of his greatest understanding of math was the stock market. He'd begun investing when he was 12 or 13 and a newspaper boy. Phil retired before most people, giving him some 30 years in our village. When Phil spoke, people listened. I guess there was a time when he applied his knowledge to horse racing. In the last years he of spoke about wanting to get back for a day at the track.

        He was a great pie maker and analytical about the taste of the fruit and the need for a lack of need for sugar. He had a penchant for rhubarb saying the Midwest variety was superior to California's. There was a particular kind of apple or a specific type of lemon he needed before making his pies.

        The last few years have been tough but in many ways illuminating. Phil's back required extensive surgery and rehabilitation. A stroke robbed the strength of his right leg. He still harbored a hope he could get back to tennis, but that was not to be. He still got to coffee, the prayer group, though he had to forgo his beloved cigar. He enjoyed dinner with friends. He hated the idea of using a walker and undertook a regime of practice so he could walk with just a cane.  

       Many of us marveled at his determination and he was rightfully proud. It scared the heck out of us, but he'd park the walker or the cane and walk around to show us his improvement and seemed to be moving that right leg and foot by the force of will power. Then a few months ago when we were enjoying one of our early rains, Phil, with walker snuck out on to his sloped driveway to wash his car. A mid 80's man, with a walker on a steep angle, washing his car in a cold rain.

       "I saved 10 dollars" he said a couple of weeks later after recovering. Guys used to kid him about changing his own oil, something he gave up only a few years ago.   

        Phil was a philanthropist and many groups have benefited. He was a straight spoken guy. You knew in a moment where you stood with him and he pulled no punches.  He went to the leader of a group he thought was ruining the organization. He told him he was "racing a bus down hill with no breaks and he needed to go." He even offered to help the guy leave.

        He had a zest for life and an enthusiasm that was exemplary. Despite the recent medical adversities he enjoyed the gusto of being alive.

        Phil departed this world on Valentine's Day. Lana and I were fortunate to spend time with him the evening before and he reacted with delight when Lana mentioned she was baking him a loaf of bread.

        We were more fortunate to have been befriended by Phil all those years ago. The "Prayer Group," Lilly's and Cambria will seem emptier. We will miss him.

        As those of us of the boomer generation continue coming into our senior years, a rascal like Phil is a great example of living fully to the last breath and always appreciating the blessings of family, friends and a good laugh.

         Phil, we saw this coming. Guess we should have gotten you a ticket to Indianapolis.

     

     

THE SUPRME FIGHT

    True to the unpredictability of political outcomes, the battle over the Supreme Court nomination is likely to have surprising impact.

     The President should put forth a nomination and the Senate should consider it.  

      How all of that plays out will begin to wash into the Presidential campaign. If the GOP in the Senate under the obstructionist McConnell hold fast on their opposition it could begin to erode their majority and wouldn't that be interesting.

       Who the President puts forward will put all candidates into a position of reacting.  Not even Aaron Sorkin can write scripts like this.

     See you down the trail.

NOT SURE

   The protracted Presidential election process is like a window into American character. What are we seeing?

    From this view I see the case that big money is so powerful it has created an industry, electioneering and it is at odds with good government. Getting elected in America has almost no connection with governing in America. They are different orbits, different universes. What it takes to get elected has almost no connection with what it takes to govern. In fact so much effort is spent on raising funds it should raise flags the system is at least out of kilter if not broken.  

      A member of the US House of Representatives will spend as much if not more time raising money for re-election than she or he spends on doing the people's work.  Members of the Senate are also trapped, but with 6 year terms, they can attend to governing and legislating. Maybe it's time to change house terms to 4 years, if we can't reform campaign spending. 

    This election window also exposes the damnable situation in which the Republican party finds itself. The evangelical, right wing and loony fringes control the nominating process and have driven the party to being out of touch with the majority of working Americans. Real Republicans are forced to play to the right and still they find themselves trailing vanity candidate Donald Trump and Dr. Ben Carson who is so unqualified to be a President he belongs in the Sarah Palin zoo.

    It also exposes the travesty of making New Hampshire and Iowa important. Those two states have long eclipsed their real  value and role. It is not the fault of New Hampshire and Iowa. The fault is with the media and the parties.

    Campaign reporting has digressed to numbers and carnival. It is more about the process, the horse race and personality than substance. Journalism has been dumped for entertainment, hype and gotcha. True, there is a refining process in being exposed to 24 hour coverage and examination but it has gotten so silly as to be almost pointless. Why should performance in Iowa and New Hampshire dictate a candidates true viability everywhere else?  It is because the system is so top heavy with money and contribution momentum and because the media has top loaded those two states and their own process in the hype circus that life is imitating bad art.

     The best chance at a cure is old advice.  Limit campaign spending.  Shorten the campaign cycle. Make it impossible for candidates to transport their war chest to any personal use. Get rid of PACs. For their part the media needs  a serious season of self evaluation and analysis. News managers need to realize the point of the campaign is not to build ratings, sell advertising, aggrandize careers, but to examine true and relevant issues and the women and men who are asking to be hired by the public.

KNIGHTHOOD FOR A LION-EVEN ON THIS DAY OF THE MARATHON BOMBING

A GOOD MAN IN A TOUGH WORLD

   It was great to read here that Senator Richard Lugar is to be knighted by the Queen, the high honor that Britain can bestow on an American.
     As a member of the Senate, Lugar distinguished himself as one of best in the chamber's history.  A post, written last year, on Lugar's departure from the Senate, remains one of this blogger's most read and forwarded entries. 
      It appears fate may have captured Lugar in a sad irony.  The day we read of the honor is the day that will be remembered for the bombing of the Boston Marathon. Lugar's announcement as a Presidential Candidate on April 19, 1995 was the day of the Federal Building in Oklahoma City was bombed.  The launch of his campaign for the 1996 nomination was in essence stunted by the overshadowing event.  
      Lugar could have been a great President. A brilliant and scholarly man and a former Naval Intelligence officer, Lugar represents the kind of tough intellect that could have exercised the power of the Oval Office in an historic way. Wise in the ways of the Senate, respected in the world as a strategic and even visionary thinker, he had the verve of a pragmatic mind that could have paid huge dividends to the Republic as its Chief Executive.
     Though only British subjects are referred to as "Sir," the knighthood of Richard Lugar will, I hope, permit an occasional, if even lighthearted reference, to Sir Richard. 
Last year I called him a Lion of the Senate. Now we know him as a Knight.  
      Still there is that irony, which were it not for the obvious tragedy of the coincidence would make it a perfect kind of Kurt Vonnegut fiction device-Vonnegut being a graduate of the same high school and Indianapolis neighborhood. Both men reached summits of achievement.  

THE CALM OF THE SHORE

Even more precious on a day like this

    See you down the trail.