I have to share these few paragraphs written by Dan Rather. They mirror my feelings well. I would like to add that staying home during this time has exacerbated the difficulties we’re experiencing with (mostly) our younger daughter. Things were tough enough when she was actually attending school. Now that she’s home all the time, it’s increased the friction and made my life far more stressful than, perhaps, it’s every been. Now for some Dan:
Dan Rather
I sit locked in a self-imposed isolation as a deadly virus surges outside. Time frames for returning to any hope of a faint echo of normalcy stretch into the many months or years. This distant horizon strikes particularly deep for those of us at a certain age and stage of life. Our nation is adrift amidst rocky shoals with cruel incompetence as our captain and enabling cravenness as the first mate.
What a perilous time to live.
I know I am extremely fortunate. Neither the roof over my head nor the food on my table are in doubt. I have the privilege of protecting myself and my loved ones more than many. We don’t work in meat processing plants, or distribution warehouses, or even in hospitals. I strive to keep habits and schedules, but hours bleed and to-do lists go unchecked. What a moment to contemplate the future.
The basic tenets of decency, truthfulness, and compassion are torn across our political divide. We see scientists denigrated and charlatans exalted. We see the rule of law and the norms of our democracy debased for personal gain. We see our allies bullied and our adversaries coddled.
What a time to be an American.
But that’s just it. It is a time to be an American, to contemplate our future, and to live. We have had very dark days in the past. We have had deep, systemic injustices. We have faced daunting odds. And women and men of courage, of ingenuity, of resolve have stood up time and time again. They have said some version of, “we will not abide.” It is our duty to not abide either.
From the streets, to newsrooms, to online social and political activism, I see countless millions of Americans who are not abiding. We are living through damage, loss, and sadness that could have been avoided. Much trauma lies ahead. But I know most of my fellow citizens agree that this shall not be us.
I desperately wished this was not our lot. I wish so many things. I wish the hospital wards were empty. I wish kids were having a summer and could go to school safely. I wish small businesses weren’t closing. Heck, I wish I was at a baseball game trying to not have the mustard drip on my pants. That’s not where we are.
We must be true to ourselves to recognize that much of what we are seeing now was not only the product of the last few months or even the last three-plus years. We have big problems, wherever we look. But we see them now. And we must do the hard work to fix them, not only through the ballot box but through the energy of our hearts and power of our imaginations. Whatever despair I might feel is tempered with a hope that is growing within me. I will not abide, and I believe most Americans will not abide either. Courage.
The United States’ rogue Attorney General, Bill Barr, gave an interview to right wing dick bag, Mark Levin, the other day and I came across this tweet and response that highlights what I think is a deeply troubling reality about religion in today’s United States.
"WTF is a "secular religion" even supposed to mean?"
These hate-driven white supremacist Republicans look at science and are jealous of the esteem and the acclaim that science has because science works while religion does not, ergo they're jealous and want to play pretend.
Putting aside Barr’s constant projection, what Soap And Science, PhD says about how much of the religious world views science seems on point. Science is based, above all else, on provable facts and reproducible evidence. Conclusions may be reduced by some to dogma, but they will not be able to withstand the scrutiny of others who can show reality is otherwise. We’re constantly updating our scientific knowledge as we learn more.
Not so with religion. Most all religions, certainly the major religions of the world, are built on dogma. For Judaism it’s the Torah, the Old Testament. For Christians it’s the New Testament with a nod to the Old Testament. For Islam, it’s the Koran with a nod to both the New and the Old Testaments. For Hinduism, it’s the Bhagavad-gita, and for Buddhism it’s the Sutras of Buddha, as well as others. I certainly don’t hold myself out as a religious scholar, so please don’t hold me too strictly to my list. I’ve likely missed quite a few and, perhaps, mis-characterized one or more of the others. All these books might as well have been written in stone, as they are accepted (mostly) as the word of the Almighty. (NB – I don’t think the Buddha was seen as a God, per se, but I think the basic theme here is correct.)
What concerns me most about the point Soap And Science is getting at is the concept that religious nutbags like Barr are, indeed, jealous of how well science works and, in fact, that it serves to explain the world far better than any religion has or is capable of doing.
While it pains me to do so, I don’t see any other conclusion than that the right—representing, in part, fundamental Christianity—will not hesitate to use violence when they realize they’re not getting their way. They are more than capable of perpetrating every vile thing they accuse the left of currently doing. In fact, that it’s in the very nature is proved by their accusations when there’s no evidence to substantiate them. They are hateful and violent; ergo so is everyone else, especially those they fear the most.
As Rachel Maddow is fond of saying, “watch this space.”
If you’ve not read anything I’ve written before, you likely don’t know much about me, especially that I’m 73-years-old and, therefore, am most decidedly a senior. When this pandemic first came to our attention, I realized that I was not only well into the age bracket this virus creates the most havoc with, but I also have mild versions of just about all the comorbidities that were listed as problematic. Needless to say, I was (and still am) quite cautious about going out. For the most part, I only go out to grocery shop and for gas, though I occasionally have to take my youngest to school to return or pick things up. I always wear a mask in public and when I get gas, I thoroughly wipe my hands with sanitizer after handling the pump. This is a pretty good ad, among many (all of which I may end up sharing) that are being produced by The Lincoln Project, Don Winslow, and The Meidas Touch.
This is a fascinating interview with one of the players in The Lincoln Project. It is satisfying to hear the words of a conservative, a Republican, who at least respects some of the most basic norms of our government and society. I have no doubt I will have numerous differences with these folks in the future, but I welcome them as useful allies in the effort to deny Trump a second term, which would clearly be disastrous for us and the world. It’s not a quick read (not too long, either) but it’s well worth your while to read.
The longtime Republican strategist discusses his opposition to Donald Trump, his involvement in the Lincoln Project ad campaign, and why he thinks Mitt Romney would have made a great President.
WordPress just added some new functionality to their platform, which is where you’re reading this right now. Now I can insert one tweet from a thread and there’s a command to “unroll,” which imports the remainder of the thread. With this test I uploaded the first of five and all were imported easily with the “unroll” button. I’ll have to try one where I first upload a tweet from the middle (or the end; maybe and the end) and see how well it works from there.
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I joined Twitter in March of 2008. Back then I was studying social media as a method for my organization (the Space Shuttle Main Engine team at Rocketdyne) to communicate more effectively. NASA was already using it for the teams that were preparing the orbiter for its . . . /1
next flight, and it was def saving them money and time. I never tried to get followers; they just followed naturally, esp since there were so few users at the time. When I retired in May of 2010, my use of Twitter changed and for a while I didn’t use it at all. Cue . . . /2
the election of the dipshit-in-chief. Everything changed for me. I wouldn’t say all my posts were political, but surely a majority. I’d like to see for myself, but a week ago—after 12 years—my account was suspended. My ~2700 followers gone. Everything . . . gone. I . . . /3
wasn’t even told what I did or said to have received such a harsh punishment, with absolutely no recourse other than a chance to send a short note defending I don’t know what. Perfectly legal, yet anathema to our way of life in the U.S. So . . . this is my feeble return . . . /4
to #Resist here on Twitter. I could use some followers (God! It pains me to even ask) and I will follow back if you’re not a Trump supporter. TIA! /fin
Yesterday, an article in PoliticusUSA was published under the headline, “Trump Wasted An Entire White House Meeting Trying To Convince His Aides That He’s Mentally Fit.” I’m of the opinion anyone who studies Trump carefully will have no problem seeing this as a predominant feature of his personality. After all, he really is a malignant narcissist, a sociopath, a man with a complete and total lack of humility, humanity, and empathy . . . among other things. I shared the article on Facebook with the following comments:
This serves to highlight the main problem I have (and most of us have) with him as President. How can he serve the interests of the nation when he’s far more interested in how he looks, the optics, than he is on any accomplishment that benefits the American people . . . and I don’t mean corporate America? Kinda reminds me of the concept I’ve held dear since I first became politically active in the sixties: some people are more interested in “being” right, than in “doing” right. These people, who are intent on winning regardless of the cost, need to be avoided.
This also reminds me of something one of my first year law professors said to me. I’m working on a blog post about it and, recently, I hunted him down. His name is Kenneth Cloke and he’s still living and working in Santa Monica, where he’s a mediator and conflicts resolution systems designer. Lately, I’ve tried to articulate the saying and I have yet to convince myself I’m getting it right. There seems to be some nuance missing that I can’t put my finger on, but I’m going to attempt it here.
During a conversation we were having about leftist politics, Ken said “If I had to choose between someone who had the right politics, but was lacking in humanity, and someone who had the wrong politics, but was a humane person, I would choose the latter.” I suppose this is why, despite my being a Marxist, I am always looking for ways to work with people who don’t share my political philosophy. It’s how I’m able to vote as a Democrat. Everything about the Democratic Party, in my estimation, is far more humane than anything about the Republican Party. Also, I think it’s much easier to find compromise with someone who respects your humanity and hard-ass ideologues generally aren’t inhabiting that space.
I still believe we are misusing the words “racism” and “racist.”
Racism is institutional, systemic, and structural. It’s insidious and buried deep in every aspect of our society and economy. Bigotry is right out in the open.
And this isn’t whitesplaining on my part. This is what I was taught by members of the Black Panther Party and the Brown Berets in 1973. I was, along with 49 of my closest friends, required to go through about 20 hours of cultural and racial sensitivity training before being allowed to travel to Cuba with the sixth contingent of the Venceremos Brigade.
I keep bringing this up because the public now conflates racism with bigotry and, by doing so, gives people an excuse for not looking closer at how they’ve unknowingly embraced or benefited from racism, by merely pointing out their lack of anger or visible anger/hatred toward people of color. “I don’t see color,” or “I have black friends/relatives.” All that means, at the most, is you’re not a bigot. It doesn’t change the centuries of economic and social injustice deeply baked into every aspect of our society.
We need to understand the differences if we’re going to erase racism and its insidious effects.
One other thing I learned from that education, and that has been reinforced in the intervening years, is that white people need to shut the fuck up and listen to people of color when it comes to understanding their lived reality. Because of racism, you don’t know squat about their experiences. Try it. You might be surprised.
It’s only been a week since the protest and march, which this young woman spearheaded, took place here in Simi Valley. Anyone who’s interested should watch the six minute video in this article, where she explains how the march came about, as well as how City Councilperson and Mayor Pro Tem, Mike Judge, tried to dissuade Mikiiya from doing anything and publicly exposed her to danger. Simi is mos def changing.
Mikiiya Foster During Simi’s BLM Protest/March
Given the reputation Simi Valley has (which is only partly deserved) I’m of the opinion this march marked a watershed moment in the history of our little burgh. Simi Valley is one of the more politically conservative areas in California. It is the home of the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library and Geegaw Emporium, as well as the venue where the police who beat Rodney King were acquitted, sparking some of Los Angeles’s worst riots.
I know many of us have been working to bring about change here in Simi, and it’s been a bit of a slog. There are some really reactionary folk here, and they’re not shy about demonstrating their anger and hatred.
PS – A GoFundMe campaign has been initiated to help Mikiiya get through college. Here’s the link, if you’d care to donate. Any amount would be appreciated, I’m sure. I just donated.
As many of my friends know, I live in Simi Valley, California. Simi is known, perhaps internationally, for two main things: The Ronald Reagan Presidential Library and the Rodney King trial. Although only one of the jurors in that trial was actually from Simi, the city has the reputation of being filled with racists, and it’s not without some basis in fact.
I expected no more than 40 – 50 people.
Nevertheless, it’s a beautiful part of the world, just northwest of the San Fernando Valley and I’ve lived here for about 25 years. When I heard that a protest was being planned to support BLM and protest racism and, specifically, the murder of George Floyd, I knew I had to be there (at least for the beginning) to lend my support. I expected 40 – 50 people. Imagine my surprise when I arrived a few minutes early to find hundreds, growing to between one and two thousand by the time the actual march started. Here’s a piece from ABC Eyewitness News’s coverage of the protest.
The young woman highlighted in the article, and her friends who helped with and supported this amazing event, did an exceptional job organizing and conducting what could have been a debacle. Going back to that element of racism here in Simi, there was a contingent of residents convinced this march would end in violence and looting; so convinced they were patrolling the streets around their neighborhoods and posting in local FB community groups that they were “locked and loaded.” It was borderline comical, made tragically unfunny by the ignorant sincerity of these mental midgets. They even tried to disrupt the march with bullhorn wielding propagandists fresh from the (here’s an oxymoron) “Republican Values Center.”
The kids are continuing to organize and, happily, I’m going along for the ride. Were it up to me, I would ask they not go back to school until the election is over in November. We’re going to need a GOTV effort like we’ve never seen before. I don’t have the energy or stamina I once had but, for the first time in my sour, long life I feel assured the torch has not only been passed, but it’s been picked up . . . by millions, it would appear.
