Music

This is Monday. Yesterday I attended in-person church services for the first time since mid-March. I worked on a team processing attendees, you know, to keep us all within CDC COVID guidelines for safety.

Before this our Worship Committee has been meeting by Zoom weekly rather than the previous monthly schedule. We do this to plan each worship service in detail. Since March we have streamed each service live over Facebook. It is also recorded for later viewing by anyone so interested.

The services have been a blend of traditional and contemporary services previously conducted in the sanctuary. Fans of either of the two service modes are not pleased. They miss their preferred style of worship. This is a personal thing. It means a lot to those feeling the differences of worship.

Before leaving for the church I did my usual email, internet and Facebook scan. And wrote blogs for the week to come. During this time I found recordings on YouTube. I listened to two full programs. One was Mozart’s Requiem. The other was Pergolesi’s Stabat Mater. Both beautiful. Soul searching.

And that’s what I miss from our worship services today. Music. Serious music with a message. Delivered with voice, instruments, organ and more in live performances.

Long ago I told my kids that the human singing voice was a window to the soul of the performer. I meant it then and felt it today while listening to the music. I also am a singer, amateur, but a long-time singer. I joined the adult church choir when I was 15 having sung in children’s choirs before that. I was also a student of piano and violin in my teens. But the voice is the instrument of choice all these years later.

I sung in church choirs almost nonstop up until the age of 60+. Still do from time to time.

The human voice does remarkable things when it makes music. It is an expression from deep within. The resonance. Vibration. Intonation of musical note, word and syllable. The vocal chords doing their thing while being steered by the brain for musical discipline. Wondrous.

Wondrous for the singer. And so too for the audience. It is personal, both the act and the sound. Each utterance is singular in moment and performance. Never to be heard again; only for that moment.

Our traditional worship service includes a musical Kyrie, and two or three musical responses sung by the congregation. These are participatory moments. They glue the participant to the rituals of worship. They intone the meaning of the service in ways not easily explained. They become critical parts of worship.

In the time of COVID-19 we are shorn of live music. Yes, the singer’s voice projects aerosol particles from the lungs 20 to 32 feet. Thus live singing was removed from social gatherings, concerts and church services. It is a very sad reality.

Now think of the people who perform these acts. They are orphans of their voice and art form. They can sing for themselves in private spaces. They can record their performance so others can gain some pleasure from it, but recall they are also distanced from fellow accompanying musicians. They too are orphaned at this time.

People wonder why this matters. Think on it. It matters much for those directly affected. Whether audience, congregation, or musician, it matters in ways so deep it is difficult to explain. Trust they are in pain.

August 31, 2020

Powerful Words

The NBA coach stood alone and uttered: “why do we love a country that doesn’t love us back?”

Indeed. Why?

That simple question is the heart of Black Lives Matter.

There are those who claim many blacks have failed themselves and their own community. My response is: many whites have failed themselves and their community. Being human means we are flawed. We make mistakes. We think illogically. We are emotional and yes, selfish. These basics warp our lives.

Admitting that is the first step in making progress toward something better.

Same with our black brothers and sisters. They have a lot of work ahead of them. So does white America.

Why is our love for our country different from someone else’s? Why does our nation treat people differently? Why does injustice exist in a land known for justice and individual freedom?

Think on those questions. Help make the answers unnecessary.

August 30, 2020

We Are Better Than This

The world leadership model is broken. Trump didn’t accomplish the goals his rude changes introduced; in fact they produced the exact opposite. Wanted China to stop intellectual rights theft? Hasn’t happened so far. Wanted China to buy more American goods? The opposite happened from the tariff war. Wanted the world to pay for climate change programs? Not going to happen just because the US is not participating in the treaty. Wanted Iran to stop nuclear weapons program? Nope; the opposite has occurred. Same in North Korea. Wanted peace in Middle East; so far nothing accomplished but more hostility.

So, clearly trump’s international forays have been unmitigated disasters. Now what?

Whoever wins the White House in 2020 – hopefully Joe Biden and team – the global village will need a changed leadership format. We cannot go back to the old ways. Those have worn out their welcome and it is time for a change. At least trump proved that point. His problem: he didn’t have a plan for what comes after.

So, what do we want to be known for? What is ‘better’ in America? Here are some things I want included:

1.      Justice for all; a fair and just attitude in America regardless of a person’s race, gender, religion or sexual orientation

2.      Policing that truly serves the needs of the community; minimal police shootings while aiming to disarm, not kill

3.      Open markets that competitively serve their customers; inventive products and services; prices that allow accessibility

4.      Global connection in commerce, values and governance

5.      Reduction of hostilities and violence; wars

6.      Building peace among friends and enemies; meanwhile sharing the burden of military realities

7.      Access to education and personal development for all within the global village

8.      Access to healthcare excellence throughout the global village

9.      Known for celebrating humanity and their community

These shared outcomes haven't changed from before. How we obtain and serve them is what we need to work on.

Power is not about muscle and military. It is about intellect. The brain is not just a storehouse but a creative marvel. Use it for good for as many people as possible.

Sound utopian? Maybe. But wouldn’t it be great if humankind focused on the good in the universe? We aren’t aiming for perfection. It would be helpful if we at least struggled for progress.

August 29, 2020

Campus Memories

I am and was a nerd. For as long as I can remember. That made me different. I didn’t like being different. I hid from being noticed as different. Later I came to realize I was/am gay. A universe of hiding swarmed over me. I did not dare be visible as a gay person.

OK. That being said, I buried myself in study. I attended a very good college in the middle of the prairie (Knox College, Galesburg, Illinois). After a freshman year of self-exploration (and poor grades), I returned sophomore year for serious study and succeeded. Right to the end of my senior year, I got very good grades. I exited college with a mature sense of self and hopes for a good career. 

My undergrad campus life was good but not a party atmosphere. Others indulged, but not me. I enjoyed the occasional drink but that was not a focal point. Relationships with others and studies were good enough for me. And sex? Good Lord, no! I was still in hiding. It was the first half of the 1960’s after all.

More exploration in careers followed. Then I entered seminary on the campus of the University of Chicago. The campus was much larger than Knox, but still very nerdy. Serious studies by serious students. The bulk of the U of C’s student body were graduate students. Then and now, the campus was hardly a typical place of fun, parties or even drunkenness. No, U of C students, and certainly seminarians, were very serious and goal oriented. Back in those days, certainly.

I changed my mind on seminary, left after one year and returned to industry, this time in human resources for an insurance company. It was not a normal company. This one was focused on positive mental attitude and doing well by others. By a turn of fate, I was involved in a special project that brought me attention at the University Of Illinois at Chicago. I was offered a job and remained there for 18 years.

Again, UIC’s campus is not the usual. At that time it was 100% commuter student life. Daytime campus life was pretty much a rigorous schedule of classes, study, research and off to work. And lots of commuting. Then back for another day of the same. My job was to instill more social interaction for the entire campus community. Without dorms, that was a tough job. But we succeeded anyhow. Still UIC was not a party school.

Later I enrolled at UIC for a master's degree while still working there full time. It took four years but I finished it. The experience involved me much more in student life, but I was much older than my classmates and of course I was part of the administration. That was not normal. There was more social life then, but I still had a long commute, a wife and kids at home, and a demanding job. I was still all business!

Turn to today. Today COVID-19 reigns supreme over all campus life. Wherever the campus, life is subdued. When it isn’t, COVID rushes in. Remote learning is much evident. Some campuses are still closed and remote learning rules for all their enrolled students. This raises the question: what value will campus life be to current students?

The answer is an unknown. Experience will provide the answer. Meanwhile, those living it will need to be open to their safety, the safety of others, and still discern the needs of everyone. Online communications most likely will take on new openness and caring. Facetime apps and Zoom will add to the connection among students. And families. Telecommunications make it easy to keep in touch with family back home. In my day it was weekly letter writing and a very rare phone call (pay phone, long distance, 1000+ miles). Not so in 2020. Cell phones, Facetime and Zoom are readily used.

It will seem odd participating in an old fashioned bull session electronically. But the validity of the intellectual exchange is in the depth of thinking, not the smile, drink or food at hand. Who knows, maybe COVID classes of the 20’s will have more authentic relationships than we did?

My hunch is students will build on their communication skills learned on Facebook, Instagram, email, Spotify, or whatever. They will apply their skills to advancing their understanding of each other AND their academic interests. I believe they will invent totally new ways of being in the moment and thriving. They will write new novels, plays and screenplays, they will develop new forms of expression and meaning, they will create new dance, art, science and...life! 

I have faith they will turn this scary time into something good. Very, very good.

I'm betting on them and wishing them well.

August 28, 2020

Taking Care of Business

We’ve had an 800 pound gorilla in the room. For a very long time. it is unjust and discriminatory treatment of people of color. Although its origin in America was slavery, it extends to people of any color who have come to our nation from other countries. Immigrants are now targeted. Brown from South America, the Caribbean, blacks from anywhere on the globe, and other nonwhite skins from the Middle East, Asia and Africa.

If you are not ‘from here,’ you are suspect in the eyes of many. Treatment of you is different from others.

This is fact. Rampant discrimination is evident often. Minor slights are less obvious, but felt nonetheless. Just ask our fellow citizens of various hues. If they are empowered to speak the truth, they will tell you their experience in America. It will not be pretty.

What is obvious to them is not to us, those who think of themselves as pure white, or at least more pure than others. Let that statement sink in. let it ripple through your consciousness.

You and I may not feel discriminatory or racist, but in so many ways we truly are. It is so embedded in our being we are unaware of it.

2020 will be a year remembered in our history. For many reasons 2020 is memorable. Not all good. Certainly, the pandemic is a long lasting scar. So too the massive storms and forest fires. Learning on a computer rather than in a classroom is another jolt of reality, for all of us. But more than these, we witnessed shootings and killings of black people at the hands of police.

Those entrusted to serve and protect lost control and killed people in cold blood, in full view of us all.

This kindled more support for Black Lives Matter. This created a movement to Defund Police, although the label does not mean that definitively. Although protests filled many streets of many communities all over America, the focus shifted from the killings to the riots and damage done to innocent shopkeepers and store owners. In many cases these protests were taken over by people unrelated to BLM and made mayhem for other reasons.

Still, the message of Black Lives Matter and American society needs to finally and definitively do something real about this. Lasting outcomes need to be fashioned and implemented. Talking has been done. The time for action has come. Do not forget what this is about. Discrimination and racism.

This is a time of COVID. This is a time of Climate Change. This is a time of massive economic disruption.

But it is also a continuation of 400 years of racism and injustice. In spite of what we were given to believe as fact-based history, America is the current result of much racism. It must be recognized and removed. As best we can, this outcome must be supported.

The other major issues of this year will come and go. Not racism. Not injustice.

We feel we are Christian, or Jew, or Muslim, or any of many other religions. All teach love and acceptance. Not one teaches violence as a final takeaway.

Let us live up to this value, this promise and this hope. Let us rid America of racism.

Now.

August 27, 2020

Justice and Fairness Matter

We white people have silently girded our loins for complaints on racism. Deep down we don’t feel racist until something sparks doubt. I’m white and proud of our family’s long heritage. We have been here for centuries and have welcomed countless nationalities to our embrace over all of that time. It is that history that supports our ease in saying we are not racist.

But we are. Uncomfortable truth. We have been blessed with talents and skillsets, education and yes, comfort for many generations. We have worked hard to accomplish good things. we have shared with others. We have embraced community and pitched in for the common good. We feel good and involved.

Then reminders of our privileged lives pierce our comfort. Families living in poverty for generations have a tough time. Often such families are identified as ‘problems’ and in need of government assistance. That alone is demeaning. It chips away at self-esteem. Accomplishments are somehow tainted; their achievements were subsidized by all of us through public programs.

And yet, our own family benefited from public education, streets and sanitation operations, roads and bridges, hydroelectric dams and power grid, public libraries and parks, fire and police departments. In most cases, our treatments received from public programs were nicer and kinder, too. We were not shot at, or wrestled to the ground on a traffic stop. Because our skin was not the color of discrimination.

Or a discussion with a person of color demonstrates articulation and brilliant thinking, I am impressed. Why? Why should I be impressed? Did I think it was surprising that a person of color was able to think independently, intelligently and with clarity? Doesn’t that say something about me? Yes. It does.

A chink in my defenses. I am racist to a degree. I must do something about that. my conscience demands it. My values insist on it. It is the fair and just thing to work toward.

Black Lives Matter is a movement that addresses this. They don’t do it to put down white people. They simply make the statement that their lives matter as much as everyone else in America.

Defunding Police is an unfortunate name. Even as a label it is not accurate. The sentiment is not to dismantle police departments but rather to re-imagine community policing. Why send armed police to a situation that needs counseling and social work programs? Send those professionals to address breakdowns in family and community.

Re-imagining policing provides fresh opportunity to invest in our people and communities. It is the people who make up community. Healthy people build healthy community. Healthy communities need less policing with guns and force.

Local governance is up close and personal. We also have more personal control over it. We are part of the community and can gauge what is needed, where and when. We can do this intelligently and with heart. Communities already healthy know this. So do their police departments. But urban areas have a different history and socialization. Unhealthy communities exist within cities. Policing is a challenge to keep order and protect lives. It is the duty of other professionals to keep personal development and healthy communities building. The cities need this shift in emphasis.

It is all part of being kind, just and fair. It is also a method to reduce racism and heal all of us broken souls who can’t see their own flaws. It is hard work. But I must do it for myself and for others.

Won’t you join this effort?

August 26, 2020

Meanderings

The Way It Works: The Constitution created three equal branches of government – Legislative (Congress’ two houses), Executive Branch (White House and its departments), and Judiciary (Supreme Court on down). All three must agree with an act of legislation for it to pass into law and implementation. The House and Senate must approve a negotiated bill as amended by compromise before it is sent to the President for signature or veto. If veto, the White House and Congress negotiate further to see if they can save the bill; if so, it is changed so all can agree. If not, the bill fails unless Congress can muster the votes to overpower the President’s veto. Once enacted, the bill is implemented by the Executive Branch and all of its appropriate departments (usually Cabinet Level departments). Once implemented, the law’s effect may be found harmful to some and court action may lead to court decisions that will kill the law or lead to amendments to fix the problem.

That’s how the government functions at the upper levels. Of course, operating departments in the Executive Branch have broad authority to act until limited by legislative change or court decisions. All of the latter takes time which allows the damage to continue from the legislation until stopped by court action or unilateral decision of the Executive Branch.

Although 95% of government action is in the details of enacted law, the other 5% starts in the upper levels of government – Congress, Executive Branch and Judiciary. Electing the right people in Congress and the White House is the all-important first step. All of the rest follows.

Vote November 3^rd for the leadership you deserve.

Stock Value Insanity: Stock bubbles have come and gone for hundreds of years. Boom and Bust cycles come and go. Some worse than others. Some much gentler. What is happening today is shaping up to be a major disaster of a bust. Stock values continue to climb. Stocks representing both new and old industries and companies. I understand the rising values for new industries and technology. I don’t understand how old companies continue to swell in value when they are about to fall into the dust of history. Like General Electric, the future is bleak. It has failed it’s mission to be the bellwether of future commerce and industry. It is a shell of its glorious past. It is not alone. Many firms have not kept up with the stunning pace of change. They will be lost along with their dwindling stock values.

Yet investors bid most stocks ever upward. Am I alone in thinking this is myopic and not sane behavior?

Distraction = Failure: While noise is made in the media over pandemic, crime, protest and elections, We The People are playing around with Facebook, binge watching TV, eating and complaining. Why are we not paying attention to the most important tasks before us? Voting, understanding current events in proper perspective, focusing on the emergence of our careers and adapting to change, knowing ourselves fully and loving our families.

Diddling around with distractions without focus on their effects spells certain failure – of our lives, our homes, our nation, our government. The global village awaits the combined outcome of our actions. What will be that outcome? Are we equal to the task at hand?

Maybe. Maybe not. It is up to you.

August 25, 2020

Trolls Galore

Facebook is alive with trolls peering into every post and finding hooks to trap readers into making comments. When they do, out come 50 to 100 commenters who deluge the original message with negative messages. Not nice messages, either. These attack your chastity, IQ and everything else. Not nice people.

Prairie Fire is the name associated with Illinois republicans who attack everything democrat. In Illinois, this means the trumpers are out and about. They are trying to wrest control of the state and counties back into republican hands. They didn’t do so well under Rauner who nearly ruined the state’s finances and capabilities. Returning to those days would be a giant step backward.

And right into the hands of trump’s supporters.

The theories of ‘dark state’ began with republicans and continue with them. Although they complained of a dark state, the only vestige I can find of it is actually within the war room tactics of republicans themselves.

There are plenty of people who decry labeling anyone anything in civil discourse. The problem is, most discourse these days is not civil. And the people who brought this to the front lines? Republicans. It began in the ‘80’s. Some will argue it began earlier than that, but I remember 1985 as the year religious zealots were invited into the republican party. That’s when the tide of nasty turned.

It is also the year republicans claimed the party to be that of the conservatives. And then I left the party.

I became an independent. Because the republican party had few candidates or supporters that meshed with my values, I found myself voting for democrats. A lot of the time, even if all I was doing was sending a signal to democrats that they had a future in the region if they kept at it.

The tide turned toward Democrats for a while. Whether it remains depends on voters discerning what the true nature of our status as a state and nation is.

Do you want civility and honest, open governance? Then support the candidates who demonstrate those character traits. Watch those candidates form open committees and commissions that study issues and return recommendations to solve those issues. The work that needs doing is not easy. But people and resources are available to manage the workload if effort is applied.

If the language is shrill and emotional, then likely it is not factual. It is political and without substance. Stay away from such people. Seek reason and calm. There you will find fact, historical accuracy and science. You will also find practitioners who believe in the same and will protect our resources accordingly.

And all for the public good. Not for special interests or private benefit.

Watch the records of action taken over the long haul. See the people who remain faithful to the common good. Those are the people I want to support. And do.

Meanwhile, beware the trolls among us!

August 24, 2020

Time to Act

We are in a mess as a nation. Our political machinery is off the rails. Our economy is struggling through the COVID challenge, but it has been struggling through a stock market runup of prices for little reason. This is a bubble that will disappoint millions sometime soon. Employment – or rather Unemployment – is not at a good place. However, career retooling has long been needed; too many caught in dwindling careers didn’t see the writing on the wall and did nothing about finding a new career and employment niche.

So, now is obviously a time to act, pick up the beat of whatever interests you, and make a beeline to the frontline of marches, inventions, unfolding opportunities, and committing one’s self to making a difference. Yes, now is a good time to act.

But, and this is a big BUT, we should have been doing this all along. American democracy is not an automatic machine, a robot programmed to do all of our bidding. No, it is a human ‘machine’ in need of constant attention and support, so it does respond to the needs of the people. Some of those responses take years to build. It took many years to get to the moon. It took decades to respond adequately to the Sputnik challenge. It took well over a three hundred years to fix the slavery question, and still we need to fix the discrimination and racism that exists in our land.

Finding a vaccine for COVID-19 takes a year to accomplish, if then, and that victory will have been built on decades of science supporting the final conclusion to the virus. This is the face of government. It is also the face of research and development, educational advances, political adjustment to the ever evolving emergence of the new normal.

The answers do not belong in one political party – or even any political party. It does exist, however, in you and I and all of us together.

Democracy takes all of us living, acting and thinking independently and yet somehow together to arrive at new ideas and ways of handling the people’s business. This is democracy; this is uniquely American democracy.

It is not republican, democrat, green, or libertarian, or any other label handy to exploit. No party has done the right thing consistently ever. Ever. It takes all of us working together to arrive at the right analysis of the problems we face, the potential solutions we could use on the problem, or the evolution of radically new means to handle the cause, effect and result of what ails us.

So, an election is not the best time to take action. It certainly is A time to take action, but much needs to be done continually before that election if the election is to truly mean something.

Now, however, is not the time to air all grievances against each party to somehow ‘send a message’ to party leaders that they screwed up and a vote for your candidates should not be expected. This manner of living is not at all helpful. All it will do is create more havoc and chaos to distract the body politic from doing the best job for all of us.

So, choose your words carefully. Choose your candidates carefully. But also, choose the interests and hopes you have to work tirelessly for and with for many years to come. Only then will they truly be addressed and fully within our body politic. Bombing the house now will only make it uninhabitable for all. The Golden Goose will have been slain.

Surely that is not what we need?!

August 23, 2020

Reaching Out and In

Friends know that I volunteer with SCORE to mentor entrepreneurs in starting their own businesses. I also help with existing small businesses deal with challenges that may be their death knell. This is exciting and rewarding work.

My specialty over the decades has been in the nonprofit sector – schools, co-ops, mutual firms, universities, churches and credit unions. I’ve even helped small medical offices run more efficiently and profitably.

In this time of COVID it doesn’t take any imagination to know what small businesses are going through. A lot of small businesses are retail shops. Some are information and service operations. The latter is salvageable with applications of technology, especially telecommunications. Retail shops, however, have a different problem. Still, they can convert their stores to virtual ‘stores’ and conduct business on-line. Liberal return policies are a must to overcome customer reluctance to buy something sight unseen. Don’t forget, buying untouched. The latter is often the clincher for a sale. I have to see something and feel it before buying it.

OK, small businesses are hurting right now. When COVID distancing went into effect early on, business came to a halt for most. Customer behaviors changed radically. Many businesses saw their sales drop to zero. So, why would anyone want to start a new business in this operating environment?

You’d be surprised. Many people have yearned to own their own business. COVID shutdown provided the free time to rethink these options. Research was done. Focused work streamlined operating plans and product and service offerings. Entrepreneurs were re-inventing themselves and coming up with solutions.

That’s when SCORE’s phones and computer applications came alive. Clients came out of the woodwork seeking help on starting a new business or re-starting an old business with a fresh approach.

An example: we offered a roundtable discussion on Zoom. Topic: how to find funding for both for-profit and nonprofit organizations. We expected 8 to 12 registrations. We received 150. We pivoted and offered the same program as a webinar. 78 students actually enrolled for the session. We ran for 90 minutes and took many questions via the Zoom chat feature. Afterwards we fielded many emails from attendees. And then the client requests began a fresh surge.

The point of this is: people are inventing their futures. They are not sitting idly exploring couch potato status. Books have been read. Naps have been taken. Weight has been gained. But now? Now is the time to get busy and pick up a fresh mission.

Get out of the way! The sleeping giant awakes.

August 22, 2020

Moment in Universe

I awoke in the middle of the night. The thought of life’s dimensions kept nagging me. I went through them one by one – first dimension, a spot, or dot; second dimension, width and length; third dimension – depth, cubical; fourth dimension, time; fifth dimension, motion; sixth dimension, actively changing shape; seventh dimension, space and gravity, in or out of our atmosphere; eighth dimension? 

And that’s where I ended up. Wondering what the eighth dimension is. Or if there even is one.

Well, the more I thought about this the more I kept thinking about a ‘moment in universe.’ The soaring dot aloft in outer space. That pushed me to consider not just particle physics, but also astrophysics, metaphysics, and just plain physics. Was smell or sound a separate dimension? What about tactile feeling, touch?

From there I kept thinking about matter and how it intersects with itself and others continually, always in motion. Like Fermilab’s experiments shooting atomic particles through the earth’s crust and rock layers from Batavia, Illinois to northern Minnesota’s Iron Range. The particles pass through all solids proving them not solid at all. Like an atom penetrating and piercing a steel I-beam. Or the fact that a pane of glass actually sags in its frame over time. The glass remains a solid, but it is also a liquid and gas at different temperatures.

Does that make temperature the eighth dimension?

OK. Let’s stop there. Perhaps there is a reader out there who can help me think this through. This is important to me but I don’t know why. The logic lures me in.

I fell back to sleep eventually. I sensed a Eureka! moment. That calmed me and allowed sleep to return.

Still, I awoke with clarity of the mental activity and I wrote this posting. It all makes me wonder.

August 21, 2020

Division From Within

Facebook is now abuzz with all sorts of criticism of everything anti-Democrat and anti-Biden and Kamala. This criticism comes from anti-trump people. Curious?

Don’t be. These are people who have a gripe against everyone, including trump. But they feel aggrieved by Bernie Sanders not being selected as the Democratic Presidential candidate. Some are upset that Kamala got the nod for VP rather than Elizabeth Warren. Some think nothing is right about anything. And they blame everyone for that.

I guess they are so unhappy that they simply can’t be happy about anything. Even themselves?

Look, we have one job to do and that is dump trump on November 3^rd. Period.

And then, we must see him removed on January 20^th. I know he has built a concrete wall to protect himself within the White House, but he will leave that place on January 20^th, 2021. Be very certain of that.

Any other talk before the election not focused on this task is noise and distraction. It is counterproductive. Is that clear? Crystal clear?

I’ve admitted in this space many times that I do not understand libertarians. I still admit that but then, I don’t want to understand it if all they can do is bemoan Bernie’s losing what he wanted. He says it is now OK. Even Bernie wants his supporters to get behind Biden at this crucial time.

Please listen to him.

Then, let's put our heads together and work for common goals. Yes, yours, too. We are all in this together. It is time we pulled together to make it all work. For all of us.

August 20, 2020

                                                                               

Good People

Watched the documentary on Michelle Obama’s book tour of “Becoming.” Took the viewer back to better days when we had leaders we admired and listened to. Leaders who listened to us and worked to fulfill our hopes and dreams, not just for ourselves, but for our nation.

I remember speeches from both Obamas. Afterward I recall feeling good knowing that people of good heart were at the helm of our political world and government. Intelligent people who did not provide window dressing for problems, but actual solutions. 

Michelle Obama affirmed her faith in not just our country, but in the people. She was fond of saying she ‘believed the American people are fundamentally good.’

I echo that belief. I don’t always feel that way, but then I am on Facebook and exposed to a lot of negativity there. Negativity and nonsense political noise. Unsubstantiated claims, outright lies and all the rest.

But that’s not all. Skimming internet news feeds we learn:

-Postal service removing collection boxes at high rate

-Postal service high-speed sorting machines being removed from processing

-Postal service budgets cut to thwart capability of processing mail-in ballots in the November election

-Postmaster General is a large contributor to Trump campaign; owner of stocks in companies directly competing with the US Postal Service

-Morale at Postal Service at all time low; all signs of slowing down mail-in election ballot processing

These items pertain only to the Postal Service. There are other news items that demonstrate an intent to undercut commonsense operations of Executive Branch agencies. These would include the Education Department under Secretary DeVos slashing budgets for public education across the nation, funneling public dollars to private schools, and much more. Commerce Department has worked hard to block aid to small businesses, struggling state agencies designed to support small business success during the COVID emergency. Undercutting the Environmental Protection Agency in a time of global warming and increasing weather emergencies that point to rising sea levels along all coastal regions of the country.

These are just a few items to jog your memory. News feeds catalog a daily assault on government operations. These agencies are assigned tasks that serve the public interest. They are not ideological fiefdoms to make life better for a precious few. Rather, these agencies are there to do the hard work that states and private companies cannot do without national coordination, research and supportive funding. Undercutting their operations directly undercuts services to the American People. You and I.

We know we are good and trustworthy in the main. Why then are dark forces so energized to flip our world upside down? What is their motivation? Why do they believe in all of this?

I find solace in knowing the vast majority of people working in these agencies are like you and I – good people doing good, honest work. Not for their own benefit, but for our benefit as a society.

The November elections will set a better course. In the final analysis, good people vote and will make a difference. Good will chase out the bad. I believe this. It makes me feel better day after day. It is the hope that fuels better tomorrows.

May you feel hope today and tomorrow, too.

August 19, 2020

Getting Together

In the age of COVID distancing rules. Masks abound. Hand washing leads to chapped skin. And the Freshman 15 is surpassed by the COVID 20.

Yes, we sit at home. We don’t get around much. We are still hungry so we eat. And eat.

In a month or two a few pounds gather at the waist. Soon the pants don’t fit so good, especially in the thighs. That’s a worry! Shoes don’t slip on so easily, either.

The scale becomes the enemy. Fifteen pounds added? No, 20. Then 22.

The diet begins by eating a little less, skipping the snacks one afternoon. Then a full-on breakfast with a skipped lunch and a light dinner. Soon the dinners are portion-controlled. Eating out is once a week now, not two or three times. Restaurant food is still over proportioned and sodium and fat enhanced.

Three weeks later the diet is having a minor effect – we have stopped gaining weight.

Continued discipline shows a loosening of the waist band. We are hopeful this will continue. Only time will tell.

In that context we feel something else – missing friends and family. Those people we have grown accustomed to seeing and interacting with, who make our days normal, are now absent. Oh, we ‘see’ them on Zoom in meetings, church and Facetime moments. But the sitting around a table at church and gabbing away idly was once a passion. Such fun. Amazing the depth and breadth of those gabfests. Part philosophy, part theology (?), gossip, too, and ‘what’s going on at the corner of…?’  Gabbing is informative, don’t you know? Fun, too.

We received an email from a great friend in the community and church. She said, to hell with this distancing. I’m safe. You’re safe. Let’s get together Saturday for dinner. I’ll bring the meal. You provide the place.

We did. The dinner was local fried chicken from a trusted deli, and three delicious salads from the same deli. The four of us sat around our dining room table and gabbed and ate. Such fun! The food was terrific, of course, but the dessert was just being together. Sharing time with one another.

You know, we are still us, the people we knew and know. Once COVID is over, we will go back to communing with one another with a new gusto, appreciation of what friends and family are all about. Might this be a gift of COVID?

Meanwhile I’m enjoying the memory of that shared supper and glowing. Still glowing days later.

Thanks for the visit, Emily!

August 18, 2020

Remembering Big Jim

He came in with a swagger. Not because he had attitude, but because he had size. Tall. Full figure but not fat. A personality to match. Big. Everything was big about James Thompson, the late four-term governor of Illinois.

A successful attorney, Jim Thompson was a public servant from the old school. He knew from experience that if something needed to be done, it was best done by the person on the spot. Increasingly, that was him. A Republican, he was one of the last ‘aisle crossers’ in recent memory. He knew bi-partisan support was needed to get anything worthwhile done.

He made decisions. He pulled in the data first, understood the problem and its causes, then went to work to ease the problem first, then find a workable solution to put the matter away for good. And yes, he invented solutions.

Over and over again the people of Illinois returned Jim Thompson to the governor’s mansion, a record of four full terms.

During that time, he encountered enormous state problems, notably crumbling and inadequate infrastructure. If the population moved out to the suburbs, he knew society would have to build roads, bridges, stormwater management systems, and public transportation. The price tag was huge. So huge no one wanted to tackle it. But Big Jim did. He came up with Build Illinois and in its time it became a $2.3 bond issue financing deal that truly modernized the state. It is upon that platform that subsequent expansions of the state’s economy and living standards grew.

Jim Thompson also drew in talents from industry, public institutions, universities and a host of leaders. They worked with him as a team. Wondrous things were accomplished. It didn’t matter if you were Republican or Democrat. It was the goal that mattered, goals that served the needs of the state’s people.

Compared with the current malaise, Illinois should be embarrassed. Many governors have ignored statewide problems for political reasons and cowardice. Truth be told, those problems belong to all of us and if we are going to fix them, the solutions must belong to all of us. Ugly or pretty, that truth needs to be lived up to.

We have leadership in the state now that can be mustered into efficient, productive teams. Let’s get both parties to step up and do the right thing. The future of our state and region depends on it. Rather than fighting each other, let’s once again focus on the needs of the people of the state. Let’s get to work for them!

Think Big. Think Big Jim.

Then get down to work.

August 17, 2020

Networking

COVID is fearful and dreaded. Select groups are more fearful than others. Pockets of susceptible bodies to disease and disability take more care. So we masked, washed and distanced. For months now. And we moan about the isolation, loss of income, and restricted movement.

On the other hand, we now see and appreciate networking among valued partners in our interests, family life, communities and career activities. We are busy. We are engaged in many things and accomplishing things unimagined. We have come to rely on our networks for many things.

And that’s good. Networking relies, too, on connectivity. Technology is masterful for that. Emails, Zoom meetings (or Skype, Google Meets, etc.), are at hand to bring us together. We are learning how to act in these meetings. We are also learning how to learn, share and create together in team.

An observation: listening to a workshop presentation, church service, or deep technical meeting, I discovered being ‘off camera’ but still connected and listening while I’m perusing a shared file image, has focused my listening abilities. Suddenly I am paying more attention to what is being said and less on surface images.

That acuity allows fresh ideas to emerge. A burst of new ideas occurs.

I wonder if others have experienced this?

When I was a kid TV had not been invented yet. We listened to network radio shows including dramas. Our imaginations were keenly focused on what we heard. Closing my eyes I was immersed in the action and the reality of the show formed in my imagination.

I think the same may be true in Zoom, Skype, Google Meets sessions.

Sometimes I create a Word.doc during a meeting and write ideas and impressions for later review and development. I’ve even written nearly complete minutes of entire meetings and been able to release those minutes within an hour of the meeting’s adjourning. Now that’s productivity. It comes from paying attention to the ear and connecting it to the mind.

COVID may prove to be a blessing. Network’s are valuable, but using them dynamically has a fresh future.

August 16, 2020

Connectivity

A few observations in this time of COVID social distancing.

I’m a volunteer for SCORE. That is an organization of 12,000 volunteers who mentor entrepreneurs desiring to start their own businesses. We offer our services for free. The objective: help small businesses get started. They are the engine of job creation; always have been. We also work with small existing businesses who are having some problems. We help them survive so they can grow larger and create more jobs.

SCORE started as a nonprofit entity under the Small Business Administration. Today Congress funnels SCORE’s modest budget through the SBA to maintain federal budget and auditing standards. SCORE uses those funds to support a small paid staff in the DC area to maintain technology platforms used by the volunteers nationwide to serve clients. All of this is free to clients.

We volunteers are called mentors and are trained to fill a mentor’s role. We listen to client’s hopes and dreams and do all we can to help them fulfill those dreams. Along the way mentors hear a lot of ingenious ideas, see amazing new products and services. We see America’s creative side from a different perspective. It gives us hope for a bright future.

Collectively, our mentors have helped create 50,000 to 60,000 new jobs annually. There are no figures traceable on the number of jobs saved annually.

Although you might expect demand for our services have been low, the exact opposite is true. We are seeing record numbers of new clients and of course our support for past clients continues apace.

America’s creative giant lives and breathes. In small businesses. And entrepreneurs!

SCORE’s past operational ‘normal’ was face to face meetings with clients, fellow mentors, and business training sessions. During COVID all of this has continued via digital technology. In fact, our roundtable discussion sessions and workshops have more than doubled attendance using technology. More people are using our training and information sharing services than ever before. More new clients are finding their way to our services, too.

Productivity has soared because we all work from home via computer networks. We do not spend time in endless meetings, traveling to and from clients, or navigating complicated schedules made ponderous by weather delays and travel logistics. Our time is pure connection and productivity.

Creativity has more time to percolate as well. More time to write, research and create powerful ideas to share. We are connected to make a difference.

I cannot imagine giving up any of this once we are ‘back to normal.’  I think this is the new normal.

August 15, 2020

Meanderings

Vaccine Competition: Competition is a good thing. It brings good products and services to the marketplace. It also brings top notch quality and choice. All of that leads to better pricing and higher standards of living. We Americans are good at that. Russia, is not, or at least hasn't been. A champion of competition, or knowledgeable about it. Their having the first vaccine is not a credible accomplishment. If it is true, terrific for them! However, having the first does not translate to ‘the best.’ Or the safest for that matter. I’ll wait for American pharmaceuticals to find the best vaccine, fully test it, and understand it’s pluses and minuses. Then I’ll have the vaccine administered by my doctor. All done in trustworthy fashion with fairly good odds the meds won’t kill or disable me. Not sure Russia can say the same. Let’s hope they are OK, anyway. Yes, let's hope they do well for their own.

VP Nominee and What’s Next? Oh Good! Kamala Harris is the VP candidate. That’s settled. And she is a very good choice. She will be a campaign jewel and asset. Now, let’s see Joe assemble a leadership team in full view. I suggest Susan Rice for NSA! Let’s see, how about Secretary of State…, oh, and Secretary of Commerce, Education and ……. This will be fun to see who is tapped to help our nation recover from four years of mismanagement.

Postal Problems: Executive Branch powers are both subtle and not. The prez claims mail order elections are dangerous, so he tries to make that so. Defunding the Postal Service is one manner; appointing your own puppet as head of the agency is another. Let’s strangle or smother the Postal Service so it can’t do its job. Seems to me the Congress has control over the agency, not the Executive Branch. Courts can rule on this quickly, too. Meanwhile mail-in ballots are The Thing and will most likely be the most popular means of voting during the pandemic. Yes, the outcome of the election may be delayed a bit, but rather that and a healthy turnout than long lines and other frustrations.

Enough mind wanderings for one post. Stay healthy. And happy! We have this COVID thing under control as long as we wear face masks, wash our hands frequently and well, and keep a good social distance. For all of that, Thanks!

August 14, 2020

A Country Ride

Sunday we drove 35 miles each way to Sycamore, Illinois. Neighbor Pam suggested I get out of the house. She would bring the dog and Rocky clambered aboard, too. So, we set out in the SUV for a Sunday adventure.

Traffic was moderate as we headed through the far western Chicago suburbs toward where the country used to be. We did find it, pretty much where I thought it would be, but more people and cars than I remembered from before.

Once on Ill. Rte 64, we continued to amble into farmland. Corn as high as you could see, and as far as well. The sleeping giant of Illinois soils had grown crops and stood tall and proud. Very healthy looking. If pollination occurs on schedule and rain comes to soak the crops, it looks like a bumper harvest this fall. [This was before the Monday storms that blew down trees and buildings to the east; wonder what happened to the corn!]

Two-lane roads are the only choice here. Once narrower 50 years ago, they were added onto and patched to accommodate larger vehicles, farm equipment and harvest transports. The old concrete underlayment still exists and provides the rhythmic clippety clop. The humpy ride paralleled the rhythm. That context sent me to memory land of nearly 60 years ago when my folks drove me from New York to Illinois for college, Knox College in Galesburg, Ill. The roads were narrower then, still of concrete and uneven to the core.

As we passed rolling green farmland, the expanse and green impressed us. Small towns still too small and unprosperous remained from yesteryear. Financial prosperity extends farther out only as suburbia continues its growth.

After a time we entered Sycamore, a quiet yet motivated community. On the eastern outskirts is a golf course, golf driving range, a restaurant and a drive through hot dog and ice cream shop. We stopped for a lunch.

First impression was unmasked locals. Visitors like us were the only masked customers at the business. Oh, the staff wore masks and couldn’t have been nicer or more welcoming. Once the orders were filled, we ate in the car with the AC on and out of the sun. Tables were available, both in sun and shade, but the other diners with children running around remained maskless. So we played it safe and remained isolated from them.

Rocky seemed too quiet and somber, so we headed home after eating. The ride was, of course, the same as the ride out, but this time the sun was at our back. Traffic was more pronounced as the day had progressed.

We arrived home knowing that we had crossed a threshold that had held us back for over 4 months. Rides were now possible again. We could venture out and feel safe, at least to see the countryside if not to mingle with other people.

Now to plan the next excursion. Modest, to be sure. But a trip none the same! Maybe more than 70 miles roundtrip?

August 13, 2020

Sirens

First the cell phone buzzed and vibrated. A warning message was broadcast. Storm approaching. Take cover. Possible tornado. Then the sirens screamed.

We jumped into shoes, grabbed the keys. I took the walker and a book. Rocky followed moments later.

We took the stairs from our fourth floor perch to the third floor. There both ceiling and floor are concrete laid over a steel-girder frame. Our floor, the top floor, has steel framed roof with plasterboard ceiling finish. No concrete. A severe windstorm could take the roof and our ceiling with it! So, we camped out in the 3^rd floor elevator lobby.

We held our place for 40 minutes. Others were camped out in the concrete stairwells. Most were gathered in the concrete garage where 39 parking spaces with cars were located along with the heavy utilities for the entire building. Lots of concrete. Stability. Safety.

Our phones showed weather maps with the storm passing beyond us toward Lake Michigan and Chicago. The time was 3:50 pm.

We scaled the stairwell back to our own floor. Emergency lighting was on. Our apartment was safe and sound. No leaks or broken windows.

Electricity was partially on. They call it split phase power. Some circuits were fully powered, others were dead, and still others were at half power. We soon learned that the AC was working well, the refrigerator was dead, the microwave fully capable and it cooked our supper handily. Lighting in the kitchen was full on. Rocky’s bathroom was dark. Mine was half lit.

The TV didn’t work. Later in the evening Rocky crawled around unplugging and replugging electronics connected to the TV. It sprang to life. For the evening we had entertainment!

At bedtime we learned the office and computers were dead. Our bedroom had very little power. That meant I slept without oxygen and CPAP. Not a good night. But we survived.

Up early the next morning, the situation was the same. Power still mostly out. I did the toilet routine and then made coffee. As it brewed, I moved the computer to the kitchen and rebooted it. It came to life and remained so for the rest of the day.

At 3 pm Rocky announced the power had been reset. We tested all the switches and appliances and yes sir, we were good to go. 24 hours without power. No damage done. Just inconvenience. But then the COVID quarantine has taught us a lot about surviving inconveniences.

I tested the shower for hot water. Yes! It was at least warm. So a quick shower, shampoo and freshening. That felt very good.

Dinner planned. Looking forward to an evening of relaxation and early to bed with CPAP and oxygen concentrator operating at full tilt!

Life is good. We wondered about that a bit, but here we are back to normal. Well, not that normal!  COVID you know.

August 12, 2020

Vice Presidential Pick

The most important factor that should be guiding Joe Biden’s pick for a running mate is that person’s ability to take over the role of President should that be needed. Biden is now a certified elder American. His life expectancy and executive ability expectancy are automatically in doubt. Prudent people will prepare for succession always, regardless of age or capacity. Elders, however, have two strikes against them, life/death, and ability/disability.

So, VP candidates must not only have credible political credentials, they also must have presidential credentials.

The press and social media blitz currently surrounding the VP selection is inappropriate and distracting. Biden has the choice to make. It is fully on him. He should be granted the freedom to do this. However, he needs to get on with it and stop the game playing.

Choose the Vice President running mate now. Get it over with.

Then, let’s get moving on the campaign and dump trump.

August 11, 2020

 

Social Safety Net

Many decades ago it became clear to most Americans that a safety net would be a wise addition to our form of life. At the time social security was born. It was not meant to be a program that provided full retirement income needs, but a supplement. Over the ensuing decades, congress sweetened the pot for political purposes. Many other social programs were overlaid social security – disability, death of primary provider with underage children, and much more. Expense grew exponentially. As long as the benefit pool was young and growing, the actuarial numbers never outgrew the demand for benefit checks. Cash was available and the cash cow kept giving.

Then actuaries did sound their warning. The program would either have to be pared down, or premiums would have to be raised. The latter was the answer over and over again. Eventually other decisions were made to tweak the math of the program to extend financial liquidity into far future years.

As the economy grew, so did social security. And then the benefits began to make more sense and provide more financial support to those who truly needed it. Social security is an insurance program and run on actuarial mathematics. It pays for itself by FICA taxes, or premiums, paid equally by the employer and the employee. Benefits are based roughly on how much has been paid into the system by and for the employee. And that is based solely on the earner's earnings.

In recent years defined benefit pension programs have been increasingly eliminated with employee paid plans producing far less retirement benefit. Social security has thus been of increasing importance to retirees. Slowly but surely workers have learned to reduce their living expenses in retirement to live within the social security benefits.

For some reason social security has become a political football of deep ideological importance. It is seen by some as a ‘public dole.’ It isn’t, of course; it is paid for through the efforts of the employee, with premiums shared by employers. It is the cost of doing business. And it is a discipline enforced on workers to prepare for their retirement as well.

Conservatives have taken up the banner that social security must go. With their champion trump at the lead, suspending FICA tax deductions from paychecks will starve social security of its income. Thus it will be bankrupt in no time at all. Cash reserves of the program are low because the congress has borrowed from the cash cow continuously to fund national debt. A growing crisis is pending for social security and the financial security of every American.

Add to this Medicare. It too is an employment benefit for healthcare paid for by both the employer and the employee. With rising medical expenses, the program has always been in crisis mode financially. FICA payments are its lifeline.

So, without FICA payments, both Medicare and Social Security may be doomed.

Conservatives applaud this development and hope to keep it so. Without congressional action, both of these programs will be ended and the full misery of financial doom for the American people will be realized.

It is wondrous to consider why fellow Americans hate each other so to produce this result.

August 10, 2020

Picking Fights on Facebook

This is easy as pie. It appears to be the sole purpose of so many FB followers, or should I say skulkers? These are the folks who are waiting to pounce on statements they oppose politically and then take you down a sewer pipe that never ends.

Well, it ends with me. If I make a comment (hopefully not a retort!) and they come after me, I just fail to respond. On comments I delete and don’t read them. It takes only one response from these vultures to get the fight moving. Best to just ignore them.

These skulkers are out there now because of the approaching election. I’ve made up my mind who I’m voting for. I state that frequently. If that bothers someone, that’s their problem, not mine. We are constantly subjected to a torrent of opposite views every day, all day long via FB, emails, webpages and news coverage. I can’t imagine anyone being undecided at this point in the campaign.

Of course, news items extol the anti-trump camp with Biden-related stories, all made up about issues and problems he was engaged in over the years. At least he has those years – lifelong – of public service. The other candidate has not even a full term of service and that is hardly service. Let’s just say that anything bad about Joe Biden has already been aired and included in his record. He has much to support his candidacy. No last minute ditch effort will change my mind at this point.

On the other hand, my mind has also been made up pretty much to oppose trump after his first 30 days in office. The awful record he has accumulated is stunning in its baseness. It is totally against what America stands for and means to the vast majority of Americans.

Enough said. I’m voting for Biden as soon as the mail-in ballot reaches my home. I may even hand deliver the ballot to the post office, assuming it is still there!

Meanwhile, I will turn a deaf ear and eye to FB posts to the contrary.

For me that spells peace. I wish you the same.

August 9, 2020

Finding the Positive

In a sea of negative, how do we find the positive? How do we grab onto that which will empower us through the negative? If I’m low in spirit and depressed, do I know what is causing that? How do I counteract that?

Here’s some thoughts I’ve had lately.

1.      Yes; I’m depressed. This is caused by gross ineptitude of my national government. It is further powered by gross politicization of every little thing. With 40% or more championing the hideous and negative, how can I keep my mind, values and principles on a high plane?

2.      The COVID pandemic has caused an enormous shift of attention and living habits alien to what I’m used to. How do I live with those without letting them get me down?

3.      Healthy family relationships. With kids not returning to their school buildings, someone has to remain home to supervise them, and assist them with virtual learning. How does the modern family with two earners manage this challenge without also torpedoing their financial standard of living?

4.      Virtual education of kids is not yet a perfected method. The education establishment is struggling to learn how to do this for maximum outcomes. How can we speed this up?

5.      What creative outlets can we tap to survive the pandemic isolation?

Here are my reflections on those six items:

1.      I shift my attention to my local governmental units. The municipality is doing well. They are working to maintain basic services – water, sewer, streets, parks, physical facilities for later use, police and fire protection services and emergency response support. They are doing very well in spite of all the challenges standing in their way. Local cooperation has been wonderful and continues to define the community itself. That positive enthuses and empowers me. The same with county government; they are doing well with all basic services in spite of challenges to the contrary. Library, school, parks and fire districts continue to adapt to their new operating situations. Schools will be the most difficult. It will require enormous cooperation within the community to make the most of a bad situation. Community spirit will need to step up to this challenge. I have faith that it will.

2.      As isolated as the pandemic has made us feel, at least we have modern technology to keep us connected with one another, our institutions, our churches and our families. Can you imagine what it would have been like with no computers, phones, cable TV, etc.? I feel the isolation more at times I would otherwise be driving out to see the countryside and feel its cultural reality. Can’t do that right now. I must focus on the things I can do. Finding purpose and doing it is the answer to this specific cause of depression.

3.      Healthy Family Relationships is tough on several levels. First is the immediate household in which we must deal with the people central to our lives. If you are alone, that’s one problem. If you are a couple without kids, that’s another level. With children, married or single, is yet another level of problems to manage. The more people in the household, the more complications. But then the company helps! Another level is keeping generations connected – adult siblings and their spouses, grandparents, in-laws, and all the other relations. How is this done without breaking quarantine and endangering one another? Facebook is one aid as long as you do not cast your eyes on the negative environs provided by others. Zoom family sessions is another means of keeping people connected. Frequent phone calls among the different households of family members is yet another method to use.

4.      Virtual education of kids is a challenge I know many thousands of professionals are researching and creating workable alternatives. It will take time and patience to allow this to have desired effects. Have faith; our society is very inventive and creative. We can do this!

5.      Creative outlets include the arts. We are all binge watching documentaries, films and TV shows. Finding musical performances from the past is another art form to pursue. Listening to audio and video recordings is yet another. Note the difference of cultural context between then and now? Wonder how to bridge that divide for the future? Consider actors who cannot perform ensemble projects right now. And musicians who cannot endanger themselves by singing or performing in close ensembles. How can these talented and creative people continue their art form and life’s passions in a time such as ours? Are there alternatives they can use to do this? Meanwhile, what art forms are buried deep within each of us? How can we develop these for expressive use to help ourselves and others?

I’ve raised more questions than actions here, but at least the process engages the mind and spirit as a diversion to our negative reality. Press on and find your alternative reality that cancels the negative. I know you can do it. I’m working on my own right now. Getting somewhere; inch by inch; but getting somewhere.

August 8, 2020

Weekend View

Lots happening. COVID, medical research for a COVID vaccine, political skirmishes over mask wearing, stay distanced and all the rest. Also, the soaring stock market while unemployment remains legion and GDP plummets. Continues to plummet. International affairs in a stew and bubbling away unproductively in all corners of the globe.

In the midst of all this, social wellness and family wellbeing. Culture tapped and enjoyed – literature, music, film, films of plays, documentaries, travelogues of faraway places. Dance, too, is part of our culture. The movement of the human body in rhythm to sound. What does that movement express? Mean?

Relying on technology to hear, see and feel the time of this history.

Odd and oddity. Compressed by synapses in the brain. Making sense of it all. Or maybe not.

A flood of electronic messages flow into the home. Facebook, internet, email, webpages frequently scanned, and more. People sending attachments or forwarding news items to us for comment or a laugh. In a trice we wonder what matters and what doesn’t. The flood of information does that.

I sort through things. Too much of one kind and I bypass the items quickly. React to a few, comment on some. Mostly I read the news and ponder the convergence of so many threads of meaning, topics, issues. Of these what needs the most focus? If we lose one of these issues, what will it affect elsewhere? What do we need to fight for to retain the core of who we are, not just me, but you and I, the we in our nation?

Yes. That’s what I worry about the most. So, an election is lost. What consequence does it have? In most elections the consequences are few and not earthshattering. But not in 2016; no, the presidential election was momentous. A lost election by Hillary Clinton has meant a great deal. What her fans felt would happen if she lost was a far cry from what we have witnessed in trump’s ascent to the white house.

Interesting, isn’t it? The rule of law no longer exists? Convicted yet pardoned? Convicted and sentenced, yet the punishment is commuted? People labeled as bad by most, are friends to those in power and so are pardoned from punishment. Not guilt, mind you, just punishment. Taxpayers owing to the IRS are badgered and sued and imprisoned for payment due; but the powerful just change the rules – or ignore them – and skip the fuss while not paying their debt to society.

What’s up is down and what’s in is out. The poles have changed on a whim. Falsehoods and lies are bald and frequent. Soon we lose sight of all veracity.

I go out of doors and feel the warmth of the sun, or the cool of the rain. I know these sensations. They are lifelong, and personally learned from experience. But another calls it another name meaning the opposite of what I have learned.

Which is true? Which is written into our history?

Just asking a simple question. Who decides these answers? What is definitive? What becomes so?

Why?

August 7, 2020

New Attacks on Democracy

We all are aware of the propaganda war being waged by the donald and his republican minions. Here are the latest three:

Democrats are Socialists: This was on NPR Monday, August 3^rd. republicans are spreading the ‘news’ that Democrats are socialist and have moved decidedly to the left. Nothing could be further from the truth in my experience. The more likely truth is that republicans have been moving farther to the right year after year. If Democrats simply remain at the same point they always have, then the widening gap is due to republicans becoming far more conservative.

This is true in my own case. There are family members who think I’ve moved very left in recent years. I simply do not believe that. I have been a practical centrist for many years. I remain so. The family members, however, have become much more conservative and reactionary. So beware, friends, the socialism feared by republicans is in reality their own turn toward fascism. From that perspective, a dog catcher would seem a dangerous reactionary if he simply did his/her job.

Stock Market will Crash with Biden Victory: This is one of donald’s favorite claims – that his administration has been the primary cause for the rise in the three primary stock markets. Economists would disagree with him because the economy nearly crashed with the real estate and mortgage debacle of 2008/09. It was Obama’s administration that carefully rebuilt the mechanisms of the economy, rebuilt faith in our systems, and set the stage for a marvelous comeback. That happened. It continued during the beginning of donald’s term, but he has done many things to endanger that recovery. Trade wars with many nations, primarily China, undercutting agri-business. Higher tariffs on many goods upended foreign trade in many sectors of our economy. The enormous reserves of cash triggered stock purchases and that has created a bubbled stock market environment. As printed here many times, current stock values are wildly overvalued. Any drop in their price will be a bubble crashing, not a lost election of a pretend business mogul.

Trump To Refuse Loss of Election: As late as August 3^rd the donald claimed he may remain in office under his emergency powers should the election be lost. Nonsense. Any emergency currently existing or arising then will be primarily caused by the donald. Mismanagement of the COVID-19 pandemic, picking a war with China, breaking international agreements and mutual defense treaties, are all contributors to a crisis of faith in America. Removing him from office will be the single most important action the American people can do to save the nation and its economy.

The republican party started down this road in the 1980’s. They continued to ramp up their perfidy until this day. They will have to rebuild or rename the party to gain a fresh start. Such a pity that the proud party of Lincoln has fallen to this low level.

August 6, 2020