I am tired…

 I am so tired of every election being portrayed as the ultimate battle between good and evil, the last, best chance to save the world (or the country, or the state, or the universe).

I am exhausted by the constant need to hate the other side.

I have been beaten down by the defeatism.

For over five decades, I have been repelled by the media’s insistence on handicapping the next race from the very instant the current race is run. Handicapping political contests long ago replaced meaningful discussion of candidates’ positions.

Everytime my folks won, society’s problems continued.

Everytime the other guys won, the world continued to spin on its axis.

After all the thunder and lightning, winds and rain, fire and smoke, this time feels like every other time.

I miss the friends I lost along the way.

I am so tired.

Good night.

First Lady is One Tough Gig

 They said Jackie Kennedy spent way too much money refurbishing a sadly down-at-the-heels White House. They thought Lady Bird Johnson was just kidding about beautifying America (and yet she did!). Pat Nixon was too mousy. Betty Ford shared too much information - opening up about her bouts with breast cancer and substance abuse - turning the taboo into a serious conversation.

Rosalyn Carter’s insistence on being well informed about current events and her influence on her husband were characterized as unsuitable for a First Lady.

Nancy Reagan, who had an impeccable sense of style and a love for high fashion, was raked over the coals  for wearing a fortune on her back. She also was castigated for her devoted protection of her husband.

Barbara Bush was thought too remote from everyday Americans.

Hillary Clinton was cast as too involved in her own law career until she was recast as too influential in her husband’s administration. Her critics ultimately settled on portraying her as the ball-busting, drab, arch villainess of an evil feminist and/or Democratic conspiracy to take over the world.

Surprisingly, Laura Bush was treated pretty well despite her husband’s controversial time in office.

When Michelle Obama entered the White House as our first African American first lady, things quickly got nasty and racist. Her degrees from Princeton and Harvard were sneered upon as the results of affirmative action. Her sense of style, which rivaled Jackie Kennedy and Nancy Reagan, was slammed as somehow “inappropriate.” Racist, sinister memes of her and her family flooded not only the Internet, but even some mainstream media outlets. Her major initiative as First Lady was children’s nutrition, promoted with a White House vegetable garden. Opposing media characterized it as her tyrannically forcing Americans to eat a specific diet.

Melania Trump has been ridiculed for her modeling background, being an immigrant, and her design choices for the White House and its grounds, not to mention her decorations for the Christmas holidays.

Now it is Dr. Jill Biden’s turn. The Wall Street Journal Opinion Page has kicked off the First Lady bashing season with a badly written, misogynistic assault on her University of Delaware Ed.D.giving her the right to the honorific of “Dr.” Evidently the author perceived Biden’s degree as meaningless because her study field was Education and her school wasn’t Harvard. But wait. Wasn’t Michelle Obama’s Harvard Law Degree problematic too?

It would appear that to a deeply misogynistic component of America’s literati, no list of qualifications and accomplishments is sufficient to allow any First Lady a role other than wife and mother and, even then, no doubt they can be gleefully denigrated.

It is time to cut the spouses of our presidents some slack!

I want America to have:

a State Department staffed by strong, well-trained professionals equipped with the knowledge, understanding and experience to play a strong hand on the world stage;

an Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) that possesses the tools that enable it to protect our water and air;

a Justice Department dedicated to protecting the life, rights and liberty of ALL Americans;

a Judiciary dedicated to safeguarding our precious rule of law;

a Civil Service selected by qualifications and protected from the vagaries of would-be tyrants;

Intelligence Agencies unfettered by political priorities;

Hey, it’s a start.

11/1/2020

Commandments from the Mediocre Manager

 Introduction: I wrote this in 2000 after a good friend was summarily fired for obeying the law instead of her supervisor. It seems even more valid 20 years later.

The Mediocre Manager’s Commandments

1.     I am thy Supreme Commander whom thou shalt esteem above all others. (Have no independent thoughts, exercise no responsibility and do not dare to demonstrate initiative before me.)

2.     Thou shalt not labor in vain. (I shall take full credit for any of thy accomplishments.)

3.     Thou shalt remember to keep holy thy Supreme Commander’s day. (Wholly uncluttered by management problems for which I can blame you later.)

4.     Thou shalt honor my decisions. (Thou shalt frequently kiss my buttocks.)

5.     Thou shalt not commit violence against me. (Suppress all evidence of your own intelligence and competency in the presence of any visiting dignitaries or representatives from home office. 

6.     Thou shalt not screw with thy Supreme Commander. (Take the blame for my mistakes or else.)

7.     Thou shalt not steal credit for thy subordinates’ accomplishments. (The credit belongs to me.)

8.     Thou shalt not bear false witness about thy subordinates. (Never defend them against my spite.)

9.     Thou shalt be not covet the accomplishments of others. (These are for my greater glory and so I claim them.)

10.  Thou shalt  not covet my superior judgment. (Keep your mouth shut. Your input is not relevant to my agenda.)

7/12/00

RIP John Lewis

I see ancient black and white photos of a serious young black man leading a march across the Edmund Pettus Bridge. His tread is firm; his resolve stalwart. His eyes reveal conviction “good trouble” awaits him. My heart aches in awe and sympathy for his bravery, his unwavering dedication to his holy cause. RIP John Lewis.

The Tonys - In Memoriam

As I watch the names of theatre greats who left us this year flash across the screen, I pay homage to friends, mentors and family members whose lives pay unsung homage to the arts. Their passion, drive and love might never tread the boards of Broadway; nevertheless it nourishes the essence of their communities, their intimates, their humble fans.

I remember my mother’s lifelong passion for theatre; my cousins who strove with mixed success to “make it” on Broadway or in Los Angeles; my daughters who shined in high school musicals to their parents’ delight.

The Arts. They lend color to our lives. I celebrate their partisans living and passed.

Signs of the Times

You judge by the times you live in. My mother and I once had a talk about how it was for her during World War II. Casualties touched every family and every family had members on the front. She confided she could not bear to watch movies about that time because they brought back too sharply her memories of Dad overseas and her trying to prepare a home for my older brother, herself and him for his return, while terrified he wouldn’t make it back. Too many of her friends had received notice their spouses were never coming home.

Many who did return went on reserve status for the extra money and then had to do it all over again in Korea.

I remember: the attacks on civil rights protesters in Alabama; the protests and sit-ins against Vietnam; The murder of Kent State students; The militarization of the Black Panthers; the assassinations (JFK, King, RFK, Malcom X); the bombings. It didn’t seem like this country could ever return to an even keel.

The millennials have their own set of challenges. They are an interesting generation. I hope they have the opportunity to  produce the truly great things of which they are capable.

Just a few thoughts.

61 Broad Street - IMO Nana, Muz and Joe

There are three rooms I rarely see,

Though in my mind they ever be.

There are three people in those rooms,

Who give my spirit sanctuary.

When I can, I visit them,

When I can’t, I miss them.

Three people in three rooms.

The rooms are not elaborate,

No gilt bedecks the walls.

The staircase to them creaks a bit,

“Be careful, or you’ll fall.”

The people there are loving.

They claim me as their own.

Suffer all my failings,

Give my heart a home.

If it has been months or a year,

Since I was there before,

No awkwardness disturbs the air,

When I walk in the door.

Walls of solitude surround us,

And sometimes must be broken.

Here, they seem to vanish,

As if they’d never been.

I love them very dearly,

Would like to let them know,

The strength that has been given to me,

By Nana, Muz and Joe!

Mary Ann Loewenstein

1977

Governing by Executive Order is a Bad Idea

Donald Trump's presidency has sharply highlighted the treacherous  instability resulting from attempting to legislate by Executive Order. There were good reasons for designating Congress to write the laws and the Executive to enforce them.

Social order relies on stability. Justice cannot exist without stable, thoughtfully legislated, codified law, applied equally to all members of a society. Just note how difficult ending Obamacare is compared to DACA. The first was legislated. DACA was created by Executive Order.

Under a system that changes its executive at least every eight years, Executive Orders can quickly become problematic. Close to a million young people trusted that Obama's DACA gave them a secure path to their future. Every single one of them is about to learn whether that trust was misplaced. If it was, the price will be frighteningly steep for those individuals; it will be catastrophically destructive - in economic, social, political and global terms - to the United States.

Abolishing Medicaid - First on the List

The goal is not health care for the American citizens.

The goal is the abolishment of "entitlements" - Medicaid, Medicare and (ultimately) Social Security.

They are coming to take you away, old friend(s). They are coming to take you away.

McConnell-Ryan Coup d'Etat

They are playing with a stacked deck and they are loving it. The House. The Senate. The White House. All in their camp. Revolutionizing our Democracy has become a slam dunk. Despite some troubling indications all is not well in the White House, Mitch McConnell and Paul Ryan are riding the waves of Republican control to the limit. The substantial Democratic minority has been sidelined by unprecedented partisanship. Republican discipline of its members has formed an impenetrable front. No prisoners will be taken. No action against the White House will be pursued - no matter how grievous the offenses against our Democracy. The current power structure offers too many rich rewards to be sacrificed for ephemeral concepts like patriotism or honor.

My heart hurts.

What Good is a Professional Civil Service?

Why arbitrary firing of civil servants is ill-advised:

I suspect many of the businessmen who think government should be run like a business lack a basic understanding of what government is; why we even have a civil service; how proud the tradition of professional civil servants is.

Professional civil servants - teachers, policemen, firemen, bureaucrats, scientists, regulators of communications, nuclear energy, air and water quality, on the job safety, roads and bridges, the environment... .

We love to disparage the lazy, obstructive government workers. But do any of us really want to see the FBI, CIA, military, our local fire departments, police departments, sanitation workers disappear? I don't think so.

I doubt anyone would like to return to the spoils system of political cronyism that existed before a professional civil service was established to PROTECT the public good against capricious dismissal of trained professionals and their replacement with political stooges.

No system designed by human beings is perfect. A system based on entrance examination scores and merit generally is much preferred to one based upon the venality of self-interested political hacks.

IMO Philip E. Redmond (1840-1863)

Was he a good man or a bad man? A hero or a coward? I do not know. I only know he existed because he cropped up in several places while I was researching my great, great-grandmother, Bridget Hill Redmond. Bridget had five children listed in the Massachusetts State Census for 1855. Philip was the oldest. He was listed as 16 with the occupation of mariner.

By the 1860 census, his mother was listed as a widow with the occupation of washerwoman and 20-year old Philip was now a Currier in the leather industry, a position his father Edward had held before his death. The next mention of Philip to come up in my research was of his death in September, 1863. He died of Typhoid Fever in Washington, DC. The death notice stated he was married, but did not give the name of his spouse. I do not know if he had any children.

Further digging revealed that Philip entered the Union Army into the 9th Regiment, Massachusetts Infantry as a 2nd Lieutenant and left as a 1st Lieutenant. I do not have dates.

The above was the first concrete evidence I ever saw that a member of my family fought in the Civil War. I believe the manner of death indicates he also died a casualty of that war. In the event that other family descendants are as unaware of Philip as I was, I have chosen to memorialize him this Memorial Day.

Rest in Peace Philip Redmond. Your great, great niece.

Notes:
1. His siblings were Mary E. and Catharine (twins born 1842); John (1847); Joanna (my great-grandmother, 1850-1892).
2. His mother Bridget evidently remarried. Her last name on his death notice is given as Culliton.
3. Both his parents were born in Ireland. All their children were born in the United States.

Hot Time on Old Mother Earth Tonight

Our planet is warming to uncomfortable levels. It is probably caused, at least in substantial part, by human activity. It threatens the planet's lifeforms, including our own.

Is the trend reversible? Unknown. Can it be slowed? Possibly. Is there any way to insure the survival of our species? Unknown.

Ignoring or denying the problem will not make the problem go away. Another century or two before facing this crisis would have been useful. We do not have them.

The choice is stark. The options are straightforward. Pour every ounce of creativity, knowledge, technology, intelligence into trying to solve this challenge in the desperate hope we can reverse this trend or at least slow it until we have the means to survive it. Or let it run its merciless, unstoppable course.

The laws of physics do not ask for permission. The laws of science are. Whether or not we believe in them is not relevant.

Perhaps the evolutionary assignment of humankind always was to prepare and transport our beautiful planet to the next geological age.

Right Hand / Left Hand

I'd rather be a libtard or a snowflake than a teeny weinie afraid of my own shadow.

A cabinet jammed with a con man's bagmen is a dismal prospect.

White Lives Black Lives

Recent events have thrown American society into turmoil. Two more murders of black men by white policemen. Five more murdered cops and seven wounded police by one angry, heavily armed black man. Nationwide protests against the violence against blacks evolve into protests against the attacks on the police.

The backdrop behind all of it a riotously angry populace armed to the teeth and looking for scapegoats.

Fact: until Black Lives Matter it is impossible for All Lives to Matter.

Fact: even the most empathetic, well-intentioned "Caucasians" cannot possibly live the reality of Black life in America.

Fact: human beings of good will have been striving to "fix" racism in America since this nation's founding.

Fact: the battle is long, hard and bloody but if we are to survive as the nation we love, we must never cease the striving.

I refuse to wallow in guilt for my white skin. It makes me better than no one but neither does it, of itself, make me less. This is the role to which I was born and the one with which I must face the world and live my life.

I will save my guilt for my lapses in humanity, kindness and understanding of others - be they the same as I or different.

I will save my guilt for my lack of commitment to a free, equal society.

And I will strive to reject hatred and embrace love if I can, but at the minimum embrace understanding.

I will not pray to a god in whom I do not believe (though the temptation is strong). I will work in the best way in which I am capable for unity, not division; for friendship not hate; for understanding, not fear.

July 9, 2016

All Hail Donald Trump

The term fascist has been indiscriminately tossed around the American political theatre for decades. Democrats scream the term as Republicans. Republicans scream it right back at Democrats. Overuse of the term has done nothing to elevate public discourse and much to corrupt it. I confess to throwing the term around a time or two myself during the early years of this century.

Like the shepherd boy who cried wolf once too often, I fear we have finally summoned up the monster. Each passing media cycle, Donald Trump provides more evidence he is the real deal. The more the crowds cheer him, the further into the swamp he leads them.

I doubt the Donald sees himself as anything more than a gifted leader and promoter. No matter. The stage is set and he leaps into its center.

If They are not Extremists, WTF are They?

Conservative pundits are taking umbrage at labeling as extremists persons who attack and murder at Planned Parenthood facilities. You know - the folks who for decades now have been bombing clinics, shooting doctors who perform the legal procedure of abortion and harassing  persons attempting to enter the facilities for medical services.

These are the same Radical Conservatives that scream Muslims are bringing Sharia Law to America. The sames American stalwarts who would close our borders to the Middle Eastern and North African refugees fleeing war, famine and drought. The very same patriots that are once again pounding the drums for war to which they will happily send your sons and daughters. You know. The warm hearted souls who love our veterans as long as they are serving and dying overseas, but who refuse to budget services for them when they return crippled in body and soul. Yeah, those sweethearts.

I usually don't call them extremists. I prefer the terms homegrown American terrorists, Radical Christians, Radical Conservatives. I find it difficult to discern differences between them and the Radical Jihadists and Radical Islam they abhor.

Not Exactly Home for the Holidays - Letter to a Friend

My Mom is showing marked improvement since we asked Charlotte to come twice a week. Charlotte has a deep, caring rapport with Mom - very nurturing in a way I have never been. We still have our weekly outings to a restaurant - usually Carrabbas, which has great atmosphere and service.

We are all going over to the Assisted Living Facility at Summerfield to join Mom for Thanksgiving because wheelchair transport on the holiday seemed problematic. I hope it works out OK, but am considering trying to rent a wheelchair capable van for Christmas. Once you give up these things, life changes forever. My heart turns to all the Thanksgivings when Mom and I put the extra leaves in the table; put on the special, embroidered tablecloth; and then covered it with plastic; set the table with the best China, silver and glassware. We always did this the night before and loved the pristine setting that promised culinary delights on the morrow.

We always went to Kozel's the night before (going back to all the years my Dad was with us too and, of course, the girls) and then the big day arrived and Lilo and Werner arrived from New York. Everything was bustle and preparation and interruptions and Werner ALWAYS needed a snack as soon as he arrived and Lilo and my parents brought pies and cookies and paper mache Pilgrims and bagels and Lilo's special green cream cheese and chaos and unexpected guests and it all worked out somehow and Bill wore the biggest shit-eating grin because there was nothing except fishing he liked half as much as hosting Thanksgiving Dinner.

Over the years the rituals have changed as life insisted upon happening. Turns out this year marks another change none of us are really prepared for. We will just have to see how it works out. And hope that the ghosts of those who have gone before us rest easy. Mom is the only parent still with us.

Keep Your Goddamn Huddled Masses Off My Shores

When Hitler was marching across Europe, fleeing Jews were denied refuge by many countries, including the United States, forcing numbers of them to return to Germany where they were sent to the death camps.

When Japan attacked Pearl Harbor, the United States ordered American citizens of Japanese descent to be rounded up, their property confiscated and entire families relocated to isolated internment camps quickly thrown together for that purpose.

When members of a criminal group of radical Islamists took down the World Trade Center, the United States waged war on and dismantled any semblance of order in Afghanistan and Iraq.

Shock, fear and anger are natural human responses to aggression and terror. If they are not tempered by reason, bad situations tend to be made worse. We do not want to open our doors to Middle Eastern and North African refugees. Neither does Western Europe, although those countries appear less able to hold back the tide (especially since we took out Gaddafi who was holding a buffer zone against the African component).

If we do not want to be inundated by a tide of migration such as the world has periodically seen since human beings first went on the move, perhaps we should be more careful to avoid or prevent the political and economic destabilization of huge swathes of our planet. The strongest drive of any living thing is survival. We have it - it is why we want to close our doors to strangers. It is also why those strangers will sooner or later be pressing at our gates.

Bravado and bigotry exacerbate the problem.

Can we have some serious brainstorming here, please.