Happy New Year?

I am a glass half empty kind of guy.  It is hard for me even to conceive of a happy 2018.  Trump will still be president, the environment will continue to deteriorate, the gap between rich and poor will widen, immigrants will continue to be demonized, Republicans in Congress will represent their campaign donors, religious fanaticism and ethnic hatreds will be unabated.

Too pessimistic?  I don’t think so.  If I am still here, check back with me a year from now and we will see.

A hero from Ghana

Emmanuel Mensah, 28, immigrated to the U.S. five years ago.  Last year he joined the National Guard  He was home on leave, visiting relatives in the building in the Bronx that burned two days ago, killing twelve people.  Mr. Mensah saved four people from burning and then went back into the building to help more people to safety.  He died in that attempt.

I think the word “hero” is way overused, but in this case it fits.  

First bats, then frogs, now snakes

In 2006 a winter den of timber rattlesnakes in New Hampshire suffered a population crash.  Then similar cases popped up in Massachusetts, then in Illinois.  By 2009 a snake-killing fungus, Ophidiomyces ophidiodiicola (don’t ask me to pronounce it) had been identified and named.  

Now up to 20 species of snakes are suffering from the fungus.  Other fungal infections have killed millions of bats and millions of frogs.  Some snakes do survive, but scientists are not sure if the infections will increase in intensity.  

At this point some of you are probably thinking, well, who cares about snakes, or bats, or frogs.  Or for that matter, canaries in coal mines.

I’ll leave you with a quote from naturalist John Muir, Sierra Club founder.  “When we try to pick out anything by itself, we find it hitched to everything else in the universe.”

For more info, see James Gorman, “A Spreading Fungus Can Be Deadly to Snakes,” New York Times, (26 Dec. 2017), p. D-3.

Standing with America

Last week the UN voted to declare Trump’s recognition of Jerusalem as Israel’s capital “null and void.”  The vote was 128 to 9.  The nine, of course, included the U.S.and Israel.  I thought you might be interested in the other seven.  They were Guatemala, Honduras, the Marshall Islands, Micronesia, Nauru, Palau, and Togo.  

Guatemala and Honduras are client states.  They are the equivalent of what we used to call the satellite nations of the USSR during the Cold War.  Togo is a small dictatorship in Africa that receives U.S. aid.  Marshall Islands, Micronesia, Nauru, and Palau are also client states with a combined population of less than Boise, Idaho.

Remember when we used to be called the “leader of the Free World?”

(Information for this post is from an article by Jessica Durando and Oren Dorell, “USA Today,” (Dec. 21, 2017).  I want to thank Tom M. for drawing my attention to this list.)

Sen. Orrin G. Hatch

I always thought Hatch was one of those conservative Republicans who had integrity.  As happens occasionally, I was completely wrong.

The Salt Lake City Tribune labeled Hatch the “Utahn of the year” on Monday, but it was not a compliment.  The paper stated Hatch had an “utter lack of integrity that rises from his unquenchable thirst for power.”

Before Trump signed the tax bill, Hatch told Trump, “You’re one heck of a leader.”  The Tribune said the dismantling of the Bears Ears National Monument was basically a political favor granted by Trump in return for Hatch’s support of the corporate tax giveaway.

The lack of patriotism and personal courage among some of these old Republican members of Congress–McCain, Graham, Hatch, Collins–is depressing.  Toomey, of course, is not in that group, since he never had any integrity to begin with.

The great Amazon taxpayer ripoff

If you’ve been paying any attention, you probably know that Amazon is planning to build a second corporate headquarters.  

Amazon is the company started by Jeff Bezos, who in 1994 developed the “Amazon Loophole” which allowed the corporation to avoid collecting local and state sales taxes.  In the meantime, brick and mortar stores which did collect the taxes were driven out of business and state and local governments were out millions in sales and property tax.  

Now Bezos, one of the richest men on the planet, has started a bidding war by cities trying to lure the company into building its headquarters in their location.  Please, Mr. Bezos, please.  

Here is how this works, according to Jim Hightower, publisher of the “Hightower Lowdown.”  New York gave a $258-million subsidy to Yahoo and got 125 jobs, costing taxpayers $2 million per job.  North Carolina gave Apple $321 million and got 50 jobs, which is $6.4 million per job.  There are many other examples, including the recent one by Gov. Scott Walker giving the store away to Foxcomm.

On the other hand, the mayor of San Jose wrote in an op-ed column that San Jose wouldn’t offer special incentives to any giant corporation, “Because they are a bad deal for taxpayers.”  The mayor of San Antonio also wrote to Bezos that “giving away the farm isn’t our style.”  Too bad other mayors and governors have not figured that out.

In case you are wondering, I have never bought anything from Amazon.  It is so much fun being a Luddite.

Broken slate

I apologize for not posting last night, but I was outside the whole evening guarding our house.  It seems as though last year we had a whole pile of broken slate on Christmas Eve.  Evidently eight reindeer were walking around on our house roof.  

I had to make sure that didn’t happen again.  

Normal and depressing political commentary will resume tomorrow night.

Happy Boxing Day.

Holiday news: We can modify lethal viruses

Federal officials this week ended a moratorium imposed three years ago on funding research that alters germs to make them more lethal.

This research is called “gain of function,” and it can make pathogens more deadly or more easily transmissible.

If some of the new strains escaped, a pandemic could ensue.  

We concentrate on the tweets and the bullshit, and we are missing the steady drip drip drip of disturbing and harmful regulatory changes.

Information for this post is from Donald G. McNeil, Jr., “U.S. Lifts Ban On Modifying Lethal Viruses,” New York Times,(Dec. 20, 2017), p. A12.  I want to thank my friend Tom for drawing my attention to this article.

PA Sen. Michele Brooks worries about babies?

Senator Brooks seems quite concerned about babies, but only if they haven’t been born yet.  I wrote the following letter to her:

Dear Senator Brooks:

In an article written by Marc Levy in the Lehighton Times News, you were quoted as saying that you were disappointed that Pennsylvania “will be unable to protect so many babies in the future, who will never know the joy of living.”

First of all, a child unwanted by its mother, a child born already addicted to drugs, a child born with horrible birth defects, a child born with a fatal condition that will live for a few days or hours will not experience the “joy of living.”  

Secondly, it would amazing if the Republicans in both the U.S. Congress and the Pennsylvania legislature expressed the same concern for children already born as they do for “the unborn.”  Their concern seems to be only from conception to birth.  Then the kids are no longer important.

I know, I know.  It was a waste of time.  Still it felt good when I dropped it into the mail box.

Friends with Trump voters

Every month Harper’s magazine publishes the “Harper’s Index” with interesting statistical data.  In the latest issue we learn this:

Percentage of Clinton voters who think it’s hard to be friends with Trump voters:  61

Of Trump voters who think it’s hard to be friends with Clinton voters:  34

I count myself in that 61%.  I find it very difficult to be friends with Trump voters.  I am angry at them, think they are unpatriotic, and, while I am civil to them, I find it difficult to be in the same room with them.

I have no idea why Trump voters find it easier to be friends with Clinton voters.  

Demonstration at Toomey's office

The tax giveaway to the rich had already passed when I arrived at Sen. Toomey’s Allentown office today, so it seemed kind of pointless to hold signs related to the vote on the bill.  Most of the people brought generic signs like “Make America Great Again–Impeach Trump.”

My sign said “Trump:  Is the Audit Over Yet?  Show Us Your Taxes.”  

I was referring, of course, to Trump’s statement during the campaign that he couldn’t release his tax returns because they were being audited.  He still has not done so, but we know he will make millions due to provisions in the bill.  

And here is “framing” advice.  When you talk about this bill with your friends and neighbors, never call it a “reform.”  It is not a reform.  It is a giveaway to the rich and powerful.  Call it the “tax cut for the rich.”  That is exactly what it is.

Deported–No Hugs Allowed

Every year when Juan Villacis went to see the Immigration and Customs Enforcement to renew his stay of removal, his twin daughters Liany and Maria went with him.  The renewals were routine.  Last month Mr. Villacis was detained and jailed in Bergen County, New Jersey.  He will be deported to Ecuador.  His wife of 29 years was allowed to go home under supervision, but had to return in December to prove that she had purchased a one-way ticket to her home country of Columbia.  

Immigration officials refused to let the twins or his wife give Mr. Villacis a goodbye hug.  “They told us they no longer provide that courtesy because they don’t like emotional scenes,” according to their lawyer.  

All of these people are productive, law abiding people.  They are not “bad hombres.”  They are decent and hard working.  

And if you are going to tell me, “What part of illegal don’t you understand?” I will tell you that you are a heartless bastard who does not understand this country’s values and does not belong in America.

Information for this post is from David Gonzalez, “Without So Much as a Hug, a Father Is Detained for Deportation, New York Times, (Nov. 27, 2017), p. A21.

For Allentown area residents only

Celebrate the holidays by demonstrating at Sen. Pat Toomey’s office at 1150 S. Cedar Crest Blvd, Allentown on Tuesday and Wednesday.  We are calling attention to the giveaway to corporations and the richest Americans in the Trump tax bill.  Toomey has always represented wealthy Americans and cares nothing for the working class.  The people in front of his office won’t change his mind, since we haven’t given him any campaign contributions, and we aren’t in the top 1%.

Nevertheless, the weather should be reasonable, you will be among friends, and you will be exercising your First Amendment rights.  What better way to celebrate the holiday season?

Can't say that

The policy analysts at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta were told there were seven words they could not use in any official documents that were being prepared for next year’s budget.  

The seven words were vulnerable, entitlement, diversity, transgender, fetus, evidence-based, and science based.  

Earlier this year Secretary of State Rex Tillerson called Trump a “f**king moron.”  Those words may still be used, without the stars if you like.

Republicans and climate change

I was about to post something about how stupid Republicans are when I realized how unfair that would be.  According to polling date, 31% of Republican voters believe that human activities are contributing to global warming.  In urban areas the number is higher; in New York, over half of Republican voters take that position.

What that means, however, is that even in a state like Pennsylvania, there is a good chance that 1/3 of your Republican friends understand and respect scientific findings.  I can’t tar all Republicans with the same brush.  It would be very unfair to call them all stupid.

I can say that about Trump, however.  He thinks the idea of global warming is a Chinese hoax.  I can also say that about Senator Imhofe, who made a snowball in Washington, D.C. and said that refuted the whole idea of global warming.

Here’s the weird thing.  Even though only 1/3 of Republicans believe human activities contribute to global warming, over half think we should regulate carbon dioxide as a pollutant.  (Except in the panhandle of Texas and the state of Wyoming.  No joke.)

Information for this post was taken from Nadja Popovich and Livia Albeck-Ripka, “How Republicans Think About Climate Change,” New York Times, (Dec. 15, 2017), p. A16.

When will Trump voters apologize?

OK, I can understand that you were duped.  You actually thought this guy was not beholden to special interests and would be on the side of the middle class.

Yesterday the FCC voted 3-2 (3 Republicans vs. 2 Democrats) to end net neutrality.

Yesterday the NLRB voted 3-2 (3 Republicans vs. 2 Democrats to overturn an Obama-era policy that gave workers in the fast-food and hotel chains power to challenge labor law violations.

And then there’s the tax bill, which gives huge benefits to the rich and to corporations, increases the deficit, and will be used as an excuse to cut Medicare and Social Security.

You may have voted for Trump under false hopes.  I get that.  I also think it is time to hear some contrition for that vote.  You did this to America, and you ought to be sorry.

Why didn't she speak up sooner?

One of the ways women who speak up about sexual assaults are discredited is the criticism that they are coming forth years after the fact.  Why didn’t the 14 year-old complain about Roy Moore at the time she was sexually assaulted?  Why wait four decades?

Think about that.  Would she have been believed?  Look at the women who spoke up about Trump’s behavior.  They are still being smeared and vilified.

In addition to the negative consequences, women may not even recognize the actions for what they were.  Self-blame comes into play.  The perpetrator will say “I was just kidding” or simply deny that it happened.  

We also had in the past a cultural predisposition to blame the woman..  Readers who are older might consider the Clarence Thomas hearings.  l remember buttons that said “I believe her.”  Unfortunately, the Senators on the Committee believed him.  I have a feeling that those Senators who still alive may have reconsidered their support of Thomas.  

Report from Tuscaloosa

I called Terry in Tuscaloosa to ask if he was celebrating or mourning now that Jones was elected to the U.S. Senate.  Terry is one of my Alabama relatives and a good friend.

He said neither.  He cast a write-in vote for a third candidate.  He knew what he was doing.  Had the 2% of the people who wrote in a candidate other than Moore had voted for Moore, he would have won the election.

Thank you Terry.  (and Roll Tide)

Manipulating the census

Let’s use a football analogy.  Take the Eagles and the Cowboys.  Sometimes the Cowboys win, sometimes the Eagles.  Each game seems important at the time, but as long as both teams play by NFL rules, the games can continue year after year.

Now let’s say the Cowboys come out armed with pistols.  On the first play both teams line up and the Cowboys shoot the Eagles.  Game over, forever.  

Democracy works the same way.  As long as the Democrats and the Republicans play by the same rules, the Democrats can win, followed by Republican victories, back and forth, with no end in sight.

Now let’s say the Republicans change the rules.  They gerrymander.  They suppress votes.   They get help from Russians.  They manipulate the census.

Democracy ends.  Game over.  

There is evidence that the Republican-controlled Congress may be ready to manipulate the Constitutionally-mandated ten-year census.  They are cutting funds to the Census Bureau.  Inmates in prisons may be under-counted.  Immigrants are hiding.  Practice runs are being eliminated.  All of this to ensure Republican over-counts.  We may be seeing the demise of our American democracy.

[See Michael Wines, “Accuracy at Risk as Census Shifts to Online Counts:  Politics May Encroach,” New York Times, Dec. 10, 2017, p. 1, 20.]

Who is responsible?

“The greatest evil is not now done in those sordid ‘dens of crime’ that Dickens loved to paint.  It is not done even in concentration camps and labor camps.  In those we see its final result.  But it is conceived and ordered  (moved, seconded, carried, and minuted) in clear, carpeted, warmed, and well-lighted offices, by quiet men with white collars and cut fingernails and smooth-shaven cheeks who do not need to raise their voice.”

-C.S. Lewis, The Screwtape Letters

That quotation was used by President Reagan in a speech to the National Association of Evangelicals in March 1983. 

Summit Hill Church Tour

Today four of Summit Hill’s churches along with the Summit Hill Heritage Center were open to the public.  Linda and I went on the tour.

It was kind of sad.  We only saw a few people taking advantage of the opportunity to see the interior of St. Joseph’s Panther Valley Catholic Church, St. Paul’s Lutheran Church, Hope of Christ Presbyterian Church, and Church on the Rock.  All four churches were impressive, and all four are suffering the loss of membership.  

I am an atheist, but I take no pleasure in seeing a decline in mainline churches.  These churches are community centers, the communal glue that helps to hold us together and gives meaning to people’s lives.  Their loss is our loss.  

Same old Native American policy

I read that the U.S. has never honored any treaty ever made with American Indians.  I don’t whether that is true or not, but I do know that Indians have been shunted to land that the U.S. government thought was worthless.  If that land later turned out to be valuable, it was taken anyway.

We saw that with the Dakota Access pipeline.  We are seeing it again with Bears Ears, land sacred to a number of Indian tribes.  That part of Utah may have petroleum or valuable minerals.  White people want it.  Trump has shrunk Bears Ears from 1.35 million acres to 201,876 acres.  That is less than 1/5 what President Obama set aside.  

After all, they are only Indians.

Sexual predators stick together

Trump is traveling to Pensacola to campaign for Roy Moore.  Are you surprised?  They can get together and laugh about the woman they harassed, touched, pawed, grabbed, and worse. 

I can just see them in the White House, snickering and joking.

And just in case you forgot, here is a quote, on tape, from our President.  “Women, you haves to treat ‘em like shit.”  

Make America Great Again.  Really?

WWJP

Quite a few Christians wear a wrist band with the initials WWJD, which stands for “What would Jesus do?  It is to remind the wearer that in difficult situations, he or she should act according to the teachings of Jesus.

Now Christians have another wristband to wear.  Liz Cheney, Republican Senator from Wyoming, said the right to carry a concealed weapon is “God given.”  

The new wrist band is WWJP.  That stands for “What would Jesus pack?”

Republicans respond to mass shootings

Finally, Republican congressional members are responding to the mass murders in Las Vegas and at the Texas church.  A House committee recently approved a bill to expand gun owners’ rights.  Gun owners with a state-issued concealed carry permit (say Missouri) would be allowed to carry an handgun in any state (say New York).  This is called reciprocity.

The bill does not say that a resident of a state that allows marijuana use would be granted reciprocity to use marijuana in any other state.

The concealed carry permit bill is backed by the N.R.A.

Jerusalem

Israelis and Palestinians argue about which imaginary friend is the true God.  I get that.  I also get that both sides in this dispute have done stupid things, are locked in a struggle, and can’t seem to find a way out.  

Nonetheless, the U.S. has, until this point, tried to be a somewhat honest broker, tilting toward Israel, but within limits.

Tomorrow, if what we are hearing is correct, that will change when Trump recognizes Jerusalem as the capital of Israel.  It will upset the Middle East and is one of the worst foreign policy moves this administration will have made in a year of stupid and harmful foreign policy moves.  

Some commentators say this is Trump trying to please his base.  I don’t think that the hoofties at the Palmerton Rod and Gun Club who voted for Trump last year really care about Jerusalem.  This is just a stupid move.  When you think it can’t get much worse, it gets worse.

111 out of 228

What would you call a political system that had a legislature with 228 seats up for election, but in 111 of those races, there was only one candidate on the ballot?  That is just short of half of the legislative seats in which voters had no choice.  You certainly wouldn’t call it a democracy.

You could, however, call it Pennsylvania.  Those were the statistics from the last election in 2016.  I learned that at a Fair Districts Pennsylvania presentation tonight at the Palmerton Library.  

Everybody knows how government no longer works, largely because of the results of a gerrymandered legislature.  Unfortunately, the bipartisan bill to set up an independent commission to draw fair districts can’t even get out of committee.  It’s Pennsylvania.

Sen. Toomey and Hillsdale College

I am sorry to say that Sen. Toomey (R-PA) is one of my U.S. Senators.  The man has no integrity.

In the tax giveaway to the rich that just passed the Senate, Toomey put in a special provision that would have exempted Hillsdale College in Michigan from a tax levy on large endowments.  

Toomey’s amendment would have only applied to this one college, a “college” that brainwashes students instead of teaching them.  If you are wondering how I know this, I subscribe to their newsletter. 

Evidently, Toomey spoke at the college and received a warm reception.  He would.

Unfortunately for Toomey even this amendment was too much for the Senate.  Toomey’s amendment failed, but at least we have learned just how low he will stoop to aid his ideological allies.

When the police lie

The Times News this morning published an article about two state troopers in the Lehighton barracks who flat-out lied about an arrest for drunken driving.  They claimed they had performed sobriety tests and wrote a detailed report on the results.  Fortunately for the man arrested, the dashboard camera showed no such tests had been given, and the officers debating who would get the credit for their quota.

Those officers should be terminated immediately and charged with falsifying evidence.  The problem with that kind of behavior is obviously greater than the one incident.  All the other arrests those officers made are now called into question.  Other honest police officers are tainted as well, and any citizen pulled over will wonder if he or she will be falsely charged. 

Schadenfreude

It’s a German word; it means that you take joy at another’s misfortune.  Remember in the summer of 2016 when General Flynn led people at Trump rallies in the chant “Lock Her Up.”

Remember all those posters with Clinton behind bars.  Remember “Hillary for Prison.”

And now guess who’s going to jail?  I am feeling schadenfreude, and it feels really good.

Party of the rich

It is comforting to know that in an era of constant change, some things remain the same.  

When I was growing up, my mom told me “The Republicans are the party of the rich.  The Democrats are the party of the common people.”

Here we are, decades later, and a tax bill that rewards the rich is advancing, cheered on by Republicans in the House and Senate, benefiting the very people who are pushing it in Congress and the White House.  

Some things don’t change.

PA legislators get a raise

During Jerry Brown’s first term as governor of California, he advocated a raise for state employees in which every employee would get the same dollar amount, no matter what the level.  As you can imagine, people at the upper levels were furious.

The problem with percentage raises is that the rich get richer.  For example, say a Pennsylvania Supreme Court Chief Justice makes $200,000 a year and janitor who cleans the judicial chambers makes $40,000.  If you give them each a 1% raise, the Justice receives $2000 and the janitor $400.  And if you think the Justice works harder, you’ve never been a janitor.

So what is policy in Pennsylvania?  The state gives a percentage raise based on increases in the Consumer Price Index.  Our legislators, the second highest paid in the nation, will get an increase of about $700.  That will give them an annual income of almost $87,200, and that is base pay.  

The leadership, like Mike Turzai(R-Allegheny), receives about $136,000.  This is a leader who is clueless about what the citizens of Pennsylvania need, and he’s getting a raise.  In fact, the Republican majority in both houses has a dismal record this session, but they will all get raises.

Did I mention the per diem?

Figures are taken from Marc Levy, “State officials to get pay raise in 2018,” Morning Call (Nov. 29, 2017), p. 7.

One more reason not to shop at Walmart

In the last year Walmart has spent nearly $4 billion buying up e-commerce companies with thousands of workers.  

In October many of these employees learned their costs for medical expenses would increase in 2018, in some cases by thousands of dollars.

Perhaps the worst part of Walmart’s reduction in benefits is that it will put pressure on other companies in the e-commerce sector to do the same.

I really hate this company.  I have never shopped there and never will.

Information for this article came from Noam Scheiber and Michael McCorkery, “As Walmart Scoops Up Firms in E-Commerce,Benefits Start to Shrink,” New York Times, (Nov. 28, 2017), p. B7.

Deer Season

I’m not much of a hunter.  When I was in high school deer hunters often met in our house.  The sun was barely up, it was cold, sometimes snowing, and I was always happy to go to school rather than into the woods.  I hunted a few times, but I never saw a deer, probably because I made too much noise and scared them away.

Nonetheless, I absorbed some lessons from my dad, an excellent deer hunter.  First, always be sure of your target.  If you are not absolutely sure, don’t shoot.  Yesterday a woman was killed in Western New York by a guy who shot a pistol at what he thought was a deer, after sunset. It is illegal to hunt after sunset, and obviously the shooter could not see what he was shooting at.  He knew something was wrong when he heard a scream.

Another lesson was never put a loaded gun away.  Always make sure it is empty of bullets.  When I put away my 22, I always pumped it once, pointed it to the ceiling, and pulled the trigger just to make sure it was empty.  One time it wasn’t, and I shot into the ceiling, but better into the ceiling than into a person.  Yesterday a three-year-old kid in Philadelphia shot herself with a gun that was put away loaded.  

My dad was a wise man.

A lesson on eggs

In Europe eggs are seldom refrigerated.  Washing eggs is not required, and, in fact, is against the law in France.  Eggs have a natural protective film that prevents Salmonella from entering the eggs.  Because European eggs retain that film, there is no need to refrigerate them.

In the U.S. the Department of Agriculture requires commercial egg producers to clean and sanitize the eggs, which involves washing.  The washing process removes the dirt and possible fecal matter, but it also removes the protective film.  That means the eggs must be kept in a location where the temperature does not exceed 45 degrees Fahrenheit.  That prevents any condensation from building up on the egg surface, which in turn allows Salmonella to penetrate the shell.  

With a flock of 13 chickens, I don’t wash the eggs, although I do sometimes wipe them if they are dirty.  I also refrigerate them, since that is what most people expect.  There are times I wish I lived in France.

Actually, since January 20 of this year, I really wish I lived in France.

The Louisiana Science Education Act of 2008

I read somewhere that when Americans hear someone with a British accent, they automatically add 10 points to that person’s IQ.  By the same token, if they hear a Southern accent, they deduct 10 points. 

The Southern accent deduction might have some rationale.  In 2008 the Louisiana legislature passed the Science Education Act, permitting public school teachers to use materials that undermine scientific findings.  Four specific areas are singled out: “evolution, the origins of life, global warming and human cloning.”  The law still stands, nine years later.

This legislation is bringing “creationism” into the classroom in the guise of “teaching the controversy.”  The message to students is more subtle.  Don’t trust science.  Now we have the Trump administration to echo that sentiment, with its “birther” beliefs, “fake news,” and the theory of “alternative facts.”  We are getting dumber and dumber.

Thanksgiving

I planned to post this last night, but, as usual, I couldn’t figure out how to connect my “air book” to the motel’s Wi-Fi.  This was down in Easton, Maryland, where L. and I spent Thanksgiving on the Eastern Shore eating crab cakes instead of turkey.

Anyway, here are three takes on Thsnksgiving:

I celebrated Thanksgiving in the traditional way:  I invited everyone in my neighborhood to my house.  We had an enormous feast.  And then I killed them and took their land.

-Jon Stewart

Thanksgiving is an emotional time.  People travel thousands of miles to be with people they only see once a year.  And then discover once a year is way too often.

-Johnny Carson

Once again, we come to the holiday season, a deeply religious time that each of us observes, in his own way, by going to the mall of his choice.

-Dave Barry

Happy belated Thanksgiving, everyone.

Sexual misconduct

One of the problems of living in a hyper-partisan society is that many of us seem unable to make reasonable judgements.  A perfect example is the attempt to equate the child molester Roy Moore with the boorish pig Al Franken.  

In the interests of rational debate, I’ll try to set up a continuum.  At the one end, I’ll put the case that was recently reported in the Morning Call about a guy who raped a baby.  A baby!  As a member of a jury, I’d go for life in prison on that one, no problem.  

Then we have Harvey Weinstein, who not only exposed himself, but evidently raped women.  (By the way, Donald Trump, President of the United States, has also been accused of this crime.)

Roy Moore’s crime ranks fairly high on the continuum.  It’s obvious that he was involved in what is defined as child abuse.  If you are 15 it’s ok to ask out a 14-year-old, but not when you are in your 30s.  

I will admit that times are changing.  Fifty years ago the idea that a husband could rape his wife would have been seen as nonsense.  According to an article in Time, the first successful prosecution of marital rape occurred in 1979.  I believe at one time grabbing a woman’s butt was regarded as “playful” by many men and a very few women, although I don’t ever recall it was acceptable to “grab them by the pussy,” which Donald Trump, President of the United States, bragged about.

Where you stand on how much punishment should be meted out to men at various points on the continuum is both a legal and a personal judgement.  I personally think someone guilty of pedophilia should not serve in the U.S. Senate.  Someone guilty of forcing his tongue in an adult woman’s mouth certainly behaved in a disgusting manner and today, I believe, could be prosecuted for assault, although probably when Franken did it, it probably would not have been prosecuted.  

The point of this is that not all sexual misconduct is equivalent.  Use some judgement and common sense and put partisan politics aside.  If Toomey had done what Franken did, what would you be saying?  If a Democratic candidate had done what Moore had done, would you call on him (it’s always a him) to resign?  

In the child molestation case, yes.  In the forcible kiss case, I’m still thinking about it, although the fact that 14 of Franken’s female staff members have stated he has always treated them with respect makes me think he is not the same person he once was.  Let’s hope not.

59,000 Haitians

After the 2010 earthquake, thousands of Haitians were granted “Temporary Protected Status,” a provision in the law passed during the George Bush administration in 1990 to allow refugees into the U.S.

Haiti is the poorest country in the Western Hemisphere, and many Haitians on the island depend on remittances from their relatives working in the U.S.

The Trump administration announced that all 59,000 Haitians must leave the U.S. by July 1919 or face deportation.  

Trump did pardon a turkey.  

Bump stocks and walls

Here's how it works.  50-plus people are killed with a rifle converted to automatic with something called a "bump stock," but it is too early to discuss outlawing that item.

Two border patrol agents are shot, and that is used as an excuse to whip up racial hatred and demand a multi-billion dollar wall between the U.S. and Mexico.

This is how things are in America, 2017.

Accepting torture

Approximately a year ago, the International Committee of the Red Cross surveyed residents of 15 countries to ask if torture was “part of war.”  Sixteen percent of Afghans said it was.  Fifteen percent of Chinese said they would tolerate the torture of enemy combatants.  In the U.S. the figure was 33%, with 46% of Americans saying that enemy combatants could be tortured “to obtain important military information.”

That was a year ago.  We now have had a year of President Trump, who endorsed waterboarding and “a hell of a lot worse than waterboarding.”

We have become a force for evil.  We are the people who now set a bad example for the rest of the world, not just on torture, but on climate change, free and fair elections, educational levels, income distribution, mass killings, life expectancy, and infant mortality.  

Information for this post is from Kevin Sieff, “Survey: Torture gains U.S. acceptance,”  Morning Call, (Dec. 8, 1016), p. 16.  The editorial comment is mine.

75th birthday

Yeah, it was today.  Please, no presents.  I am taking advice from an article entitled “The Art of Aging” by Sparrow that appeared in The Sun last April.  Here are excerpts from just three of the suggestions.

Take naps:  

Napping is an art, like ceramics.  A great nap can reinvent a day.  You awake to clearer, fresher air–happier air.  And old people are allowed to nap.  In fact it’s considered a virtue.

Stop worrying about becoming famous:  

Until you’re twenty-four, there’s a chance you’ll be a celebrity, even if you’re completely talentless, but as the years go on, that possibility diminishes.  By the time you’re seventy-one, it’s infinitesimal.  Also, you’ve lost touch with the inner circle of pop culture.  You open People magazine, and you’ve never even heard of any of the stars.  (OK, maybe two our of eighty.)

Besides, you’re already famous in your neighborhood, or in your occupation–and that’s good enough.  Instead root for one of your grandchildren to become world-famous.

Stand up for your beliefs:

There’s nothing like a ninety-three year-old at an antiracism rally to bring tears to everyone’s eyes.  Be that person.

I’m have no idea who Sparrow is, but I really like the suggestions.

Pipelines leak. Not if, when.

FERC and the energy industry tell us over and over that pipelines are the safest and most efficient way to move oil and gas.  Yesterday the Keystone pipeline running from Canada across the Great Plains leaked, spilling about 210,000 gallons of oil in South Dakota.

In barrels it is only 5000.  You know how big a barrel is.  Now imagine 100 barrels filled with oil in the Palmerton town park.  Now imagine a thousand, which would pretty much fill the park.  Now add another four thousand, which would not only fill the park, but would stretch out in the streets on all sides.  Now dump them.

On the other hand, if the gas pipeline PennEast/UGI hopes to lay across our field ruptures, we don’t have to worry about a spill.  All we have to worry about is the blast, since we are in the annihilation zone.

Letter to Senator Toomey

Dear Senator Toomey:

I sometimes wonder if the Republicans in Congress really understand what they are doing. 

• a permanent tax cut for corporations; a temporary one for individuals.
• another attempt to end health insurance for millions of Americans.
• a tax on tuition benefits for college students.
• a ballooning deficit, and the forlorn hope that the economy will boom and offset the cuts, which has never happened yet.
• an end to the estate tax (or as you so cutely label it the death tax) which affects fewer than one percent of American citizens.

I could go on, but why bother?  You are an intelligent man; you know what you and your colleagues are doing.  And for what?  To claim a victory for Trump.  It may be a victory, but it is leading to a hereditary aristocracy, it is punishing the middle class, and it is rewarding the people at the top.  Some victory.

In anger,

Roy Christman

Breaking news-Big oil spill on the Keystone Pipeline today.  More tomorrow.

Susan Stamper Brown comes through

I kept waiting for some idiot to ignore the 26 people killed in the church in Texas and praise the man who fired at the gunman, thus illustrating the need to carry weaponry.

Sure enough, along comes Susan Stamper Brown, a sometimes opinion columnist for the Lehighton Times News, who today stressed that this Texas gun owner stopped the murderer “from continuing his carnage.”  She does not mention that the gunman had already left the church.

She fails to address the gun safety issue of how the killer got his weaponry, nor why such weapons were even available.  She also fails to note that the good guy with the gun was 26 deaths too late.

The Times News has a gmail address where one can contact Ms. Brown.  I don’t see any reason to waste my time doing that.  I won’t be able to penetrate that wall of ideology.

3rd World Nation

In past regime changes in the developing world, it is sometimes the case that the winning candidate, or coup leader, or dictator, arrests and jails his former opponent.  (It’s always a “he.”)

Now I see that Breitbart, a hate-filled organization, and Fox News, likewise, are calling for an investigation on a made-up charge against Clinton for a uranium sale to Russia.  

Why investigate?  Why not do what they do in the Philippines, or Egypt, or Zimbabwe.  We don’t need no stinkin’ investigation.  Fox News and Breitbart and Trump know she is guilty.  Lock her up!

On another note:  Any Alabama politician who wears a cowboy hat (I’m talking about you, Roy S. Moore) should be immediately disqualified from running for office.  You can get away with that in Wyoming, maybe even in Texas, but not in Alabama, you pervert.

The Cuban missile crisis in slow motion

Since the late 40s the United States and the Soviet Union, now Russia, have possessed enough nuclear weapons to annihilate each other.  In all that time, neither country has used those weapons.

What prevented nuclear war was mutual deterrence, often called “mutually assured destruction,” or M.A.D.  I’ll admit those initials are somewhat ironic, but the doctrine worked.  Each side knew that if it launched nuclear weapons, it would be destroyed in turn.

Defensive measures were destabilizing, since if the U.S. could knock down all of the incoming missiles, it might be tempted to launch a first strike.  On the other hand, a defensive system would have to work perfectly within minutes the first time it was ever used with no full test of the system beforehand.  If Russia launched 1000 nuclear warheads and only 1% got through, the damage would still be unacceptable.  End result: nuclear standoff.

We did come dangerously close to a nuclear exchange (I love that phrase–sounds so Christmasy) during the Cuban missile crisis.  American generals wanted to bomb Cuba, and the U.S.S.R. would have responded.  Luckily, of the three leaders–Kennedy, Khrushchev, and Castro–only Castro wanted to fight.  The U.S. and the Soviet Union compromised (U.S.S.R. missiles out of Cuba, American missiles out of Turkey).

Now we have a problem with North Korea, and it seems neither Kim nor Trump are being very adult about this.  We do have cooler heads in Washington, but whether or not they can restrain Trump is problematic.  As for Kim, who knows?  

Nonetheless, M.A.D. certainly remains a viable option.  There is no reason to think that Kim or Trump are suicidal.  The problem is that Kim’s missiles may not be capable of reaching the U.S. mainland, which in turn may encourage Trump to act in a preemptive strike.  Even a preemptive strike will results in millions of deaths in South Korea and probably Japan.  And keep in mind the decision to use a nuclear first strike rests in the hands of a man who has not shown mature judgement.

The phrase “the Cuban missile crisis in slow motion” was coined by the international relations scholar Robert Litwak.  I wish I had thought of it.

In Putin We Trust

Trump says we don’t have to worry about Russian meddling in the 2016 Presidential election because Putin assured him that the Russians did not do that sort of thing.  

Did you see the photo of Putin with Trump?  Putin seems to be thinking, “What a chump.”

I”m not the best at reading Russian facial expressions, however.  Putin may be thinking, “What an idiot.”

Trump gets to Vietnam

Bone spur Trump finally made it to Vietnam, 50 years late.  At least he got there on Veterans’ Day.  We can all be so proud.

China and Weatherly, Pennsylvania

Weatherly, Pennsylvania, has adopted a new policy regarding kneeling for the national anthem.  According to an article in the Times News, there is “zero tolerance for any student, staff or coach for kneeling during the national anthem.  Anyone caught will be dismissed for the season.”

In China you can get three years in prison for disrespecting the national anthem.  I don’t understand why Weatherly can’t be more like Communist China and throw kids in jail for three years.  Why is the school board so lenient? 

Do I have to spell out that I’m being sarcastic here?  It occurs to me that since I am talking about people who live in Weatherly, I probably do.

Loving America

I needed this last election.  If you were like me, you’ve been depressed for a full year.  Then a ray of sunshine parted the clouds.

In Hoboken a Sikh was elected mayor after a campaign in which anonymous flyers called him a terrorist.  

In Manassas, Virginiia,  Danica Roem, a transgender woman, beat a 26-year incumbent, even though the state Republican party called her morally degenerate.  Her heavy metal band, Cab Ride Home, will be on hiatus while she serves in the legislature.

In Seattle, Jenny Durkan, a former U.S. attorney and former member of the Teamsters Union (so she’s a union sister of mine), was elected the first openly lesbian mayor of that city.

In Topeka, Kansas, Michelle De La Isla, homeless at 17, pregnant at 19, was elected mayor.  Ms. De La Isla, who went to college at Wichita State University, ran Topeka’s Habitat for Humanity program.  Topeka, as you might expect, has very few Latino voters.

Wilmot Collins, who settled in Helena, Montana, as a refugee from Liberia in 1994, is now the mayor of Helena.  He has also been in the Naval Reserve for the past two decades.

There are times when I just love America.  This past year shook my faith in my country, but this past election has been a restorative experience.  I am proud again.

Judicial races in Pennsylvania

Seven statewide judicial races were on yesterday’s ballot.   Democrats won six of them.  In a statewide race the Republicans couldn’t gerrymander the districts.  There were no districts.  That’s what happens when an election is fair.

It is also the reason Barletta is going down in his race against Casey.  The whole state votes.  Barletta is toast.

Trump's party

The Republican Party has lost its soul.  In Virginia the Republican candidate for governor said the Democratic candidate, Ralph Northam, supported a sanctuary cities policy that meant illegal immigrants would be let loose on the streets, including the gang known as MS-13.

In New Jersey the Republican candidate for governor implied that the Democratic candidate supported policies that would protect murderers like a Peruvian immigrant named Jose Carranza.  An ad said that the Democratic candidate “will have the backs of deranged murderers like Carranza.”

As I write this, it appears that both of these Republicans have lost, and their desperate tactics have failed.  I want to point out that no Republican leaders have disavowed these tactics.  Sen. Toomey, Mitch McConnell, and other Republican leaders have said nothing.  

This is the new Republican Party.  If tactics like this worked for Trump, maybe they will work for other Republicans, and whatever wins the election is ok.  I’m happy that these two Republicans lost.