Imagine There's No Intelligence

Imagine if Joe McCarthy was named to be Director of National Intelligence.
Yeah. That’s where we’re at now with John Ratcliffe.
God help us all.

This is an all-hands-on-deck full-scale emergency.

If Texas Congressman John Ratcliffe succeeds in becoming the Director of National Intelligence, it's game over, man.

Instead of a nonpartisan Director, determined to show the President the truth gathered by the intelligence agencies, we will have a Trump sycophant determined to use the agencies to serve the interests of our racist President, not the American people.

Congressman Ratcliffe was the most zealous combatant against Mueller, defending the President at the cost of burning and condemning everyone else.

He wants to exonerate and protect the President while pursuing imaginary crimes of Obama and Hillary.  And it won't stop there.  He will use the intelligence to pursue and prosecute anyone who dare oppose our racist-in-chief.  

The coup will be complete.

Trump will reign until it is time for Ivanka.  No more elections necessary.

What can we do?  Let them know they must oppose, even if they are Republicans.

Take to the streets if we still can.

National intelligence is supposed to serve the American people.  With Ratcliffe, it will be more like the Nazi's SS, or Putin's KGB (hey, Russia!  How'd that work out for ya?).

We are in a world of hurt, and we don't understand how much darker it can get.

God help us all.

Quickie Monday Musings

Charging ahead to change it up one more time.

Switching from no general Facebook postings to a minimum of three per day.  I will try my best to not post much else except the song of the day.  So those who view my feed will pretty much only have blog stuff to view from.  I will continue to post non-political blog stuff to my author's page, T. M. Strait, and post political stuff to the group Resistance.   This is in addition to the general postings.  I will also continue to post to Twitter.

During the experiment, traffic declined by about 10 to 15 views per post.  I'm still not sure the general postings are worth the effort, but we'll have to see over the next two weeks.

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Medical Weekend!

Well, not really the weekend, but weekend adjacent.

Alison's mother, Rose, needed some adjustments done to her recently installed port (for use with as yet unscheduled kidney dialysis).  On Thursday, they went to a hospital in Coffee County.  Rose was sent back to a prep room around 10:30.  Alison joined her in the room just after 11.  It wasn't until almost 7 PM until the corrective procedure began.  Yes.  They had to wait in the prep room for over eight hours.  Unconscionable,  but I guess that's the way it is sometimes.

I ent with Alison for her own surgical procedure on Friday.  We didn't get there until 4, but we were out by 6:30.  She took it easy briefly, but now she is back to full schedule.

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We are now in the final weeks before Benjamin starts college, less than three weeks.  We have commenced the tour of his favorite home meals and favorite restaurants.  We will see Doug and Paige soon, and he will be spending valuable time with his Meemaw and PaPa.

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We watched the movie Shazam from home.  Benjamin thought it was the best DC Superhero movie, and all of us wondered why we didn't see it when it came out in theatres.  It showed the best of the Captain Marvel universe without being too melodramatic or cartoony.

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Heading into a busy season at my work.  Not looking forward to it, but it has to be done.  Wish it wasn't coming at a time when Benjamin will be leaving soon.

Until next time,

T. M. Strait

Dichotomous Dissonance: Saturday Political Soap box 216

I got a problem.

It's the same problem that anyone who is not a Trumpeteer has.

It's a dichotomy, as defined by Webster's as "something with seemingly contradictory qualities."

It can also be cognitive dissonance, as in holding two opposing beliefs at the same time.

What is the dilemma?  What is causing so much anguish in myself and many others?

Because I hold two things to be equally true -

Trump has to be impeached

and

Trump must be defeated at the polls in 2020

How can both things happen?  I don't know.  But both have to happen.

Trump must be impeached

We don't have a choice.  He has, without question, committed many impeachable offenses, far more than any President in American History.

Obstruction of justice, profiting from the Presidency (constant violations of the emoluments clause), advocating political & police violence  & persecuting political opponents (just one example is the hate he is fomenting against the Squad), abuse of power, violating campaign finance laws (he's an unindicted co-conspirator, for God's sake),  accepting help from a foreign government to win an election, engaging in reckless conduct (where he makes impulsive decisions without informing himself of facts or briefs and often has to have his excesses and irrationality checked by staff and others), attacking and demonizing the free press (and private citizens), stating that he intends to disregard court decisions and ignore Congress's ability to control the purse strings  (stealing money from other  agencies to build the Wall that Congress won't fund).  There is an iceberg, and this is just the tip of it.

To not do anything is to let all this be acceptable, and the new standard of conduct.  This shatters democracy.  This crumbles the rule of law.  

If a criminal is given no sanction or punishment in committing crimes, they will then not stop committing crimes.  And he has said that he will.  He will continue to seek out and accept help from foreign governments.  He will continue to enrich himself at the expense of the rest of us.  He will continue to assault the press and spew hatred, racial and otherwise, at his opponents, dragging our electoral process lower than it's ever been, emboldening the most dangerous voices and actors in our country.  He will increasingly ignore the checks on Presidential power, refusing to let Congress speak to anyone in hearings, defying court orders, siphoning money as he will, cutting people off food stamps and medicare by executive decision.  He will fire those who hold him in check, and his irrationality will endanger us, particularly in foreign relations, as he strengthens the dictators in the world and weakens democracy everywhere.

Every day he stays in power, it is a gamble and danger to the nation's and the world's survival.

He has to be impeached.  The statement has to be made - the President endangers the rule of law, and if ever impeachment is to be used, it must be used now!

Yes, I know.  The Senate is not likely to convict.  His most rabid supporters will have a martyr.  It could backfire on the Democrats and cause setbacks in the 2020 election.

But the consequences of not doing anything are greater than that of doing something.

He must be impeached.

Trump must be defeated at the polls in 2020

This nightmare has to end.  And the best wat to end it is for him and his allies (without the Senate, the Democrats still lose) to be thoroughly and utterly defeated and humiliated at the polls. 

Trumpism is a terminal disease on the body politic.  It threatens to end us all, and as long as their supporters fantasize they can win, they will be a risk. Only in resounding defeat can they begin to understand what a hopeless minority they are.  And if Trump is impeached and convicted, they will not have that come to Jesus moment when they realize they are not in charge.

I have less to say about this, but I do understand its importance.

I also know, like impeachment, it's a considerable risk.

With the electoral college, he could once again get smashed in the popular vote and cobble together what he needs to be imposed as President.  Yes, the electoral college is that messed up.

He will vilify and demonize and lie about anyone who dares oppose him, and there are plenty of suckers who will lap up his crap.  Especially in our polarized social media world.  Especially with help from foreign governments.

So,

If he is impeached and then not convicted, Trump will use it as a bludgeon to show he was vindicated.

If he is impeached and convicted, he will be turned into a martyr by his army of cultists, and they may lash out in violent and disruptive ways,  They may rally around another fascist tyrant.

If he is defeated at the polls, his cultists may not accept the results (hell, Trump might not accept it).  And as in impeachment in conviction, the cultists may lash out in violent and disruptive ways.

Remember, many of them are not fighting just to get rid of Obamacare, or persecute immigrants (both documented and undocumented)*, they are fighting to preserve white European dominance of our culture.  They will not surrender this gracefully.

There are dangers to both approaches, but doing nothing is not an option.  We must act.  Somehow, we must do both.  We have to impeach Trump.  We have to defeat Trumpism.

Since there are risks no matter what we do, we have to act based on what is right, not what is politically expedient.  We cannot base our decisions on strategy, but what is decent.

We must impeach.

We must defeat.

I don't know how we're going to pull it off, but we have to.

Our children and grandchildren are counting on us.

* persecution of immigrants only applies to people of color.  White European immigrants are, of course, A-Otay.

Field of No Dreams

I had dreams today.  I had visions of writing, maybe tackling a penultimate section of The Extra Credit Club  Getting out a soul-satisfying 1,000 to 2,000 words.

But no.  My yard had other plans.

As I took out the garbage and looked at the length of our grass, I knew I was doomed.  It was already high enough to make our house look abandoned.  This was the last thing I wanted to deal with, but the rains of the last two weeks have forced my hand.

Saturday, my usual time to mow, we have other commitments. There is shopping that needs to be done in preparation for Benjamin's going off to college, including clothes and dorm room stuff.

Can't do it in the afternoons because it's too damn hot, and if not, it's because of afternoon rains.

This is one of the last times this season that I can get some help from Benjamin.   He is not up yet.  When he does get up, he will not be happy, because he did not know we were going to do this.  I did not realize until I took out the garbage, and realized we were about three day's growth away from our neighbors wanting us to move.

I do not have a riding lawnmower.  All I've got left is this old Sear's lawnmower.  The top part has come off, and it starts up after you've about pulled your arm off and you pray (or curse) very intensely.

THIS HAS BEEN A SPECIAL KIND OF BLOG POST CALLED A KVETCH.  YES, I KNOW THAT THERE ARE MANY SERIOUS PROBLEMS IN THE WORLD AND THIS IS INSIGNIFICANT.  bUT ONCE IN AWHILE, YOU JUST HAVE TO KVETCH ABOUT THE MUNDANE.  SO DEAL.

Anyhoo, it's 8 AM now, and I need to get started before the gnats, and mosquitoes get too bad.  I think I'm going to have to wake up the boy and let him know.

This should be fun.

Musings on Mueller's Eve

'Twas the night before Mueller, and all through the House
Not a member there who was not conferring, even Nancy the mouse
The questions were considered with all due care,
In hopes that Mueller would soon be there
The report they all should have reads
Had now to be crammed into their heads
And Nadler pacing, and Schiff with his thinking cap
Had just settled in to handle all the Republican crap
When out on the White House lawn there arose such a clatter
And they sprang to their Twitter to see what was the matter
Away to the toilet his little fingers the keys he did mash
And tore out the country's soul with his infantile trash
Schiff threw open a window. looked up, and saw the waning moon
Giving a glow of pale yellow, the dawn it could not come too soon
When, what to his wandering eye should appear,
But an Uber, with the Squad that the Twitterer did fear
Led by a young woman, so lively to see,
Schiff knew in a flash that it must be AOC
"Now, Rashida!  Now Ayanna!  Now Ilan and more!
On, Adam!  On, Jerry!  On all who defend truth's shore!
To the top of the Hill!  To the top of the hearing room!
Now dash away all!  We do not need to stay in gloom!"
So into the House they flew
With a sack full of questions - and AOC too:
And they crammed all the night
Brainstorming whatever could make this right
As they drew in their questions and turned around,
Down the hallway came Mueller with a bound.
A bundle of hope was flung on his back,
And he looked like he been through a lot of flack.
"Will you answer our questions, or will be like Yoda,
A mystical Buddha with nothing but code-a?"
A wink of his eye and a twist of his head,
Made them think they maybe might not have anything to dread.
He said not a word but went straight to his work,
Making each there feeling a bit like a jerk.
He sprung to his limo, and bid all adieu
Leaving them lost as to what they should do
But they heard him exclaim as he drove out of sight

"Just read the report!  For God's sake, could I lay it out any plainer???"



I know not what tomorrow brings.
But I fear nothing will sink into the Trumpeteers.  Nothing.
"Twas the night before the Mueller hearing,
And into my heart, fear is searing.

God help us all.

Experimental Monday Musings

The Grand Experiment continues.  My withdrawal from general Facebook posting is starting its second week.  So far, the effect seems to be a reduction in page views of about 10 to 15 per post.  It's a decline, but not quite as severe as I thought.

I'll probably do this for another week and then reverse experiment, where I only use Facebook for The Strait Line and Song of the Day.  No posting of memes or other commentaries.  That might be tough because, with the wicked stuff Trump and his Trumpeteers do, it seems like a dereliction of civic duty not to react.

The result may be to abandon my ten-year experiment with the Google platform and move to Wordpress or something else, something that will hopefully let me advertise or otherwise earn some tiny bit of cash.


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Benjamin is back after a week interning at Honey Creek (Episcopalian Youth Camps).  It gave us a little taste of what life at home may be like with Benjamin away.  In 24 days,  he leaves for college in Milledgeville.   We are encouraging him to stay there at least for a few weeks, so he can get used to campus life.  We don't anticipate him coming home as frequently as some students do, particularly those who live closer to home than Benjamin does.

Milledgeville is about three hours away.  It's not impossibly far, but it makes coming home more of an event than a regularity.

Anyhoo, he did enjoy his intern experience and is in a good place to come back next summer as a paid counselor if he so chooses.

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My own work will intensify soon, as I close in on audit that takes about five weeks to complete.  It'll mean more hours towards my social security limit, but it will also mean less writing time for that time period.

I do have a little while for that starts, and I hope I can complete the first draft of The Extra Credit Club.  I am in the middle of the second-to-last chapter.

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What are we watching?  Alison and I are watching True Detective Season 3, and find it very captivating.  It's a great whodunit and wherearethey, as good or better than most of the true-life crime stories that seem to dominate television now.  We are watching a new Handmaid's Tale each week, as it becomes disturbingly closer to what we experience in reality.

What am I reading?  The House of Daniel by Harry Turtledove, an alternate history that focuses on a semi-pro baseball team during a version of the Great Depression where magic is real.  I am also reading The River by Ryen Lesli, a novel about superpowers and witchcraft, written by one of my twitter writing community friends.

Will I ever be in another play?  I am considering trying out for WACT's Murder on the Orient Express if I can lose a bit more weight.  I am tired of performing while I'm carrying a basketball in front of me.  Also, even with my successful theater background, at my age and weight, parts are limited, and I'm still terrified of rejection. 

Until next time,

T. M. Strait

Yankee Go Home: Saturday Political Soap Box 215

Go back to where you came from.

Send her back.

Love it or leave it.

I cannot fathom how devastating these phrases must be to people of color in the United States.  Since our racist President and his howling band of Trumpeteers have taken up this cry, the stories of  African-Americans, Hispanics, immigrants, and naturalized citizens, who have to endure this awful slur is legion. 

Not all who are given these ugly threats are new citizens.  African-Americans and Hispanics whose ancestry trace back hundreds of years, many of them having family that traces back much longer than those hurling the insults at them.

I cannot say that what I've experienced, as a white person whose American roots trace back 13 generations, is on the same level of the vileness that many people of color have had to endure.  At the same time, I cannot say that I am not unfamiliar with the words expressed above.

Why would anyone say these things to me?

Because I am a Yankee living in the South.  I have not been told I should go to another country, but I have been told to go back to the northern United States.

The phrases above, or their close approximates, have been expressed to me over the years.

I have lived in the State of Georgia since 1978.  That may be longer than some of the Georgia residents who read this.  Some of you have experienced this.  Some of you probably haven't.

I am more fortunate than a person of color in that I can blend in with the white culture if I want to.  It is not apparent by my skin tone that I am a Yankee.  I can speak with a South Georgia accent if I want to.  No one would know.

There are many Yankees here who have blended very well, thank you very much.  Within one or two generations, they become accepted, and sometimes their families even join the clique of families that dominate the rural Georgia town they might live in.

This only works if you accept Southern culture without any question.

But -

I don't always conform my accent to those around me.

I don't hunt or fish.

I don't go to a large Christian right church.

And most importantly, I have not adopted the dominant politics of the area.

I don't think the Confederate flag is a proper thing to display.  To me, it represents slavery and oppression, and a traitorous rebellion against the United States of America.  I don't think it represents the best of the South.  There are good instincts in the South, progressive and caring Southerners can be found, even looking at the South historically, and the Confederacy represents a rejection of the good things the South is capable of.

I have been told that since I wasn't born in the South, I have no right to an opinion on this issue.  Living here over 40 years now, and raising three sons here, is not enough.

I don't vote for the same people my peers vote for.  Even among the handful of Democrats here, my choices stand out.  In the last Democratic primary in 2016, in which only about 15% of Pierce Countians voted on the Democratic side, only about 30% of those voted for my choice, Bernie Sanders, and 70% voted for Hillary Clinton.  I was a minority of a minority.

I don't go to the conservative megachurches.  I am a devout Christian, but I am a progressive, left-leaning Christian.  There may be only one or two predominantly white churches in the area that are even open to the Christian Left.

I love the South.  I love the people (minus the politics), and see a lot of promise in the future direction of the South.  I love the food (too much), and I've always felt the people are more warm and open than where I grew up in Michigan.  And, if you read the history carefully, there have been progressive impulses in the South, even if they haven't always been the prevalent ones.

Everything is fine.  Unless you express an opinion that the white majority doesn't like.  Then it's "Well if you don't like it here, why don't you go back where you came from?"

Do I agree with every word and opinion uttered by the four Congresswoman that the President has so monstrously and shamelessly vilified?  No, I don't.  I'm not 100% aligned with any politician (although Elizabeth Warren comes close). 

What I do believe is that these women all love this country deeply.  They love it enough to put themselves on the line, serve our country as duly elected Congressional representatives, and fight to help this country live up to its ideals and become better.

The idea that you have to fall in line with our racist President to be considered American is ludicrous, and as about as anti-American of a notion as you can get.

We all have a right to be here.  America wouldn't be America without us.  America's strength is in diversity, not hate.  We are a colorful patchwork, united by our constitution, our sense of civic worth, our participation in the Great Democratic experiment.  It is not in the dominance in one culture, and a my way or the highway attitude if you don't conform.

Ironically, my opinions and ideas were not necessarily mainstream when I lived in rural Michigan.  There were many in my hometown whose beliefs on many issues were close to what I've experienced in the South.  But they didn't tell me to go back where I came from.  You'd have to go back to 1600 or so and to Wales.

Like the Congresswomen, referred to as The Squad, I love this country, all of it, South included, and I will fight to make it a better place. 

Aerica is not perfection.  We wouldn't have for President whom we have if it were.  But it is a blueprint, a progression to follow, a dream to pursue, a hope to achieve.

And that Squad? The Squad struggling to achieve those American dreams?

Count me in.

The Not So Grand Experiment

Welcome to Blog Post #1,971.

Blogging now for a decade, starting in May 2009.

The hope was, over time, to build a fan base that would routinely check out the blog on their own.  It's relatively easy to bookmark the blog and visit.  I put up three to five new things a week, so the waits between posts are not long.

I post a huge variety of things, but I figure that's okay - something for everyone.  And it's easy to check the tags and the lists of posts to find what you want. 

I had hoped to see traffic steadily build.  I knew I would never be huge, but I had hoped to see my traffic build each month incrementally.

That has not happened.  On a good month, I exceed over 3,000 views,  In a bad month, it is under 2,000.

And, with a few brief exceptions, this has been true for most of the last ten years.

The only recent change is less and less of my traffic is coming from Facebook.  That social media juggernaut has changed its algorithms, and fewer and fewer people even see my blog postings.  They want me to pay them money to "advertise."  Not gonna happen.

I've urged supporters to share my blog posts on Facebook so more people can see them.  A few diehards do that if I plead hard enough, but for the most part, it doesn't happen. 

I have not fallen below my average page views because I am growing a more extensive follow base on Twitter.  Twitter now draws in more views than Facebook.  HOWEVER, whatever is happening on Twitter, it does not involve likes or comments.  Not that Facebook was ever a vast treasure trove either, but it does so more than Twitter.  And, yes, no one on Twitter shares my posts either.

I had hoped to earn a little bit of money from advertising from my blog.  That part ended several years ago.  I made the mistake of telling a nonprofit group I would share my advertising income with them.  They bombarded me with ad clicks, the Google cops came in and banished me from advertising for life.  FOR LIFE.  Violent, hardcore criminals get shorter sentences.

So, even with my dreams crushed, I continued on with the blog.  It was a good writing exercise for me, and I do have a few who like to read regularly.  My political posts had, until recently, generated more page views than most of my stuff.

Being a creature of habit, I slog onward.  But I have to admit - the blog is not doing what I hoped it would do.  Naive or not, I just want to make a little income writing so that I can further reduce my dependance on an accounting career.

That's not happening.

I have to rethink.  Stop writing?  No.  Redeploy how I do this to increase the tiny likelihood that I can generate some income?  Yes.

So, as a further adjustment on the great experiment, I am going to abandon Facebook as a posting site for blog entries.  I just want to see how that affects traffic flow.  Facebook is becoming more and more irritating, and I want to see how much not posting on it will change things.

I will continue to post things to my Facebook page, T. M. Strait.  I will, for now, no longer post to my general newsfeed.

So, please, if you want to continue to check out my blog, bookmark it.  See something you like?  Share it on your own social media.

This will not last forever.  But I have to shake thing up.

Sincerely,

T. M. Strait

Huddled Masses: Saturday Political Soap Box 214

It's hard.

The political thoughts that most often swirl in my head center on -

Trumpeteers!

What the hell are you thinking?

But I can't always write about that, as much as it occupies my mind, as much sleep I lose over the fact that I have friends who just don't seem to WAKE UP!

Sigh.

So let me attempt to take a look at an issue that might be solved, or at least improved, by a different approach.  So let's take a closer look at whatever problems we imagine to have centered around immigration.

There must be some solution that is a middle ground between wild west open borders versus the concentration camp horrors we are witnessing.

There is not one solution.  This should allow for a comprehensive bill/compromise that would contain elements that both parties can agree on (or agree to live with).  But it probably won't happen with a President who thrives on stoking the fears and racism of his base.

But what if we could do what was needed?

The following is not a researched or scholarly position.  Sorry -  my blog is designed for discussion and ideas, not for conclusive research.  Ain't no one gonna pay me to put in that kind of time.  I do think, however, that they are worth discussing and considering.

In no particular order, any comprehensive immigration position should contain the following elements -

1) $15 Minimum Wage

You can't even begin to discuss things while so many Americans are living on the edge of poverty.  If you work a full-time job, you should be able to support yourself.  Period.

There should not be lower wages set for some jobs (waitressing, crop picking, etc.).  There should be no guest worker programs.  You work, you get paid a living wage. Period.

So, if Americans still refuse certain jobs, even with an adequate, competitive wage, then those jobs need to go to someone who will take them.  If that means immigrants, documented or otherwise, then so be it.

2) Prosecution of Businesses

Stop going after the employee.  Start going after the employer.  And go after them for wage theft, not employee status.  If they are paying less than minimum wage, or paying under the table, or some other clever subterfuge - PROSECUTE THEIR POSTERIOR!

Instead of breaking up families and going after the law-abiding (other than documentation status), maybe ICE should be focused on enforcing labor standards.

3) Border Security

The focus on border security should be on illegal contraband and criminal activity.  It should not be on harassing and demonizing asylum seekers.

Focusing on a useless wall is stupid, and a mammoth waste of money and resources.  We need focus via ports, through the coast guard and border patrol increased inspection and law enforcement.  Drugs and human trafficking should be targeted.

4) Speed up the Asylum Process

Build the facilities you need.  Take care out of private hands.  Be open to constant oversight and inspection.  Don't tell me we can't afford toothpaste, toilet paper, and basic supplies - don't go there.

Most importantly, hire the lawyers and judges you need to accelerate the process so that the whole thing runs more quickly and smoothly.

And don't break up families.  I can't believe I even have to say this.

5) Start a Marshall Plan for Central America

The primary reason we did not have World War III was the incredible decision by the United States to refortify the economic stability of its World War II enemies, Germany and Japan.  It was named for Secretary of State George Marshall and was essential in building the world we know now, where, up until Trump, those two nations became two of our closest allies.

We need that level of support to restabilize Central America and take control from the tyrant and gangsters that now run roughshod over that region.  Unfortunately, the Trump administration has withdrawn rather than engage.  

This will have to be done to secure democracy and openness, and not just selling parts of the countries off to multinational corporations.  I know.  A lot to ask from America, but it has to happen if we ever want to stem the tide of Central American asylum seekers.

6) Stop pretending climate change doesn't exist and start doing something about it.

We've passed the time to do something about this problem.  We are now, tragically, in a mitigation stage, and not a complete reversal stage. Sad, but true.

What has this got to do with immigration?  Everything.

As the climate continues to destabilize, vast swaths of this planet will become unlivable.  If they want to survive, they will have to move.  And climate refugees will dwarf whatever problem we think we are faced with now.

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I realize, that for Trumpeteers, the major problem is not jobs (hard to argue that in the face of historically low unemployment rates).  It's culture.  It's the fear that their culture, whatever they think it is ('MURICA!!!), will be lost.

Sorry, dudes.  Can't stop that.  Culture changes and shifts all the time.  Many of them are nostalgic for a time that never really existed.

I can't help with that.  I don't know how to address that level of bigotry and hate.

So, are there solutions to the "immigration crisis"?

Yes.  Yes, there are.

Will we adopt them in the Age of Trump & Satan's Handmaiden Fox News?

No.  No, we won't.

Sorry.  It's a dark time.  Hard to stay optimistic.

Inspire Me Writing Prompts: Flash Fiction Friday

One of the writing prompts that we do as exercises at our Okefenokee Writer's Guild meeting, is to write a sentence or two stories using three words selected at random from the app called Inspire Me.


Story 1:  graph, Maria, ear

Dr. Maria Espanoza, one of the preeminent Sociologists in the country, had her ear out for any significant societal changes, ones that might confirm or refute the devastating apocalypse she feared was coming.  That was why the graph just presented to her by her research assistants set off so many alarm bells in her head.  If this graph was accurate, then there was even less time left than she thought.  Professionalism did not stop her from slowly weeping.

Story 2:  person, broke, verb

Ronald was broke, and there was not a person on Earth who could put him back together.  There,  was only so much one man could take, no verb that could describe the action he wanted to take.  He was in a box, petrified, frozen, catatonic.  What could he do?  He could not run.  He could not hide.  He could not go forward.  He could not retreat.  He could not stay where he was.  Ronald was broke.  The only thing left was for them to take him away and slip him to the box of broken toys.

Story 3: wet, Mark, Carlos

Mark had known Carlos since ninth grade.  Different neighborhoods, different churches, diverse ethnic cultures, but the same school.  With only one high school servicing the entire county, that meant that those from the various ethnic groups within the county would have to go to the same school and get along.  This helped the new generations of county residents much more tolerant and understanding than their parents and grandparents.  Change was coming to Dixon County, and the bonding of Mark and Carlos was a prime example.  They were the school's most powerful swimming duo, leading to many championships.  They also led to many sighing of young ladies when their wet bodies emerged from the pool after a vigorous race.  The alumni loved the trophies, the girls loved the wet look, and Mark and Carlos loved the camaraderie and competition, the sheer thrill of streaking across the water as fast as they could.

Story 4: rest, usual, cattle

As usual, the cattle spent the day in the meadow, enjoying the sun and grass.  Some were at rest.  Some were at play.  None were conscious of their ultimate destination on America's dinner plates.  But what they hey. It was fun while it lasted.


Story 5:  tomorrow, read, six

Will the sun come up tomorrow?  Statistically, the odds seemed pretty high.  According to his trusty weather app, he read that sunrise would occur at about Six AM.  He sat in his rocking chair, rocking back and forth.  The porch faces east, and he would be able to catch the sunrise right when it began.  He gripped his rifle.  He was ready for them when they would emerge from the horizon.  This morning he would not be caught off guard like his parents were a week ago.  All night he would sit vigil, as today blended into tomorrow.

Smoking Stranger Things

Sometimes, when you reach a broader audience, you get more interesting complaints.  Stranger Things is garnering a massive audience for Netflix, perhaps the biggest they've ever had.  With the launch of Season 3 of Stranger Things, it has proven to be bigger than ever.

With all those eyes on the show, some of whom don't watch many other basic cable or streaming shows, it was noticed by some the incredible amount of smoking on the show.  This is in sharp contrast to many network shows where smoking has all but disappeared.

Why is there so much smoking in this show?

The excuse has been given that it was set in the 1980s, and that was long ago when people didn't know better.

I call bull hockey.

The 80s is an excuse, not the reason.

The Surgeon General report about the dangers of smoking came out in 1962.  People had plenty of notice that this was bad.

Were there more smokers than there are now?  Yes, but the percentage of smokers was already declining.  Was it still socially acceptable in public places?  Probably in Hawkins, Indiana.  I would think some would have begun to question it, but maybe not.  I'll give them that one.

It has been amusing on social media to hear younger people describe the 80s as ancient times.  You know, before radio and TV.

I lived through the 80s (old, I am).  Smoking existed, but it was declining.  NOT EVERYBODY SMOKED. 

I don't think it has to do with the 80s, or even other programs set earlier.  I see a higher level of smoking in all basic cable and streaming shows, even those set in current times.

I think it's just lazy writing and complicit actors.

Smoking is used as a way to communicate character and hell, just to give a fidgety actor some stage business.  The character in the picture that tops this post is "bad and edgy."  What better way (actually the lazy, cheap way) to communicate that than by making him a smoker? 

I'm not entirely sure why, but I feel like a larger percentage of actors are smokers, which is weird given their education and backgrounds.  I guess they have a lot of downtime between takes and it's something to do.  Maybe it's a general culture they fall into. Perhaps they think it's cool.  I'm not really sure.  But when they get told their character smokes, it's like a natural thing.

My second community theatre play, and my first lead,  way back when I was 25 or so, was in Send Me No Flowers, a play about a hypochondriac who fears he's sick with different things (it was made into a movie with Rock Hudson and Doris Day).  Inexplicably, the character had smoking scenes in the play, probably because it was written just before the Surgeon General's warning.

As an actor, this made no sense to me, presented before a modern audience, that this character, who was terrified of the effects of butter and margarine, and fussed about all kinds of things, would be a smoker.  The director, however, was a smoker and was SUPER DELIGHTED that she could make me, a non-smoker, smoke onstage.

I thought it was the wrong thing to do.  But you know me.  What the Director wants, I try to give.  Eventually, smoking scenes were cut back to one.  I won most of the battle, but not all.

The year?  1980.

Do I wish smoking could be eliminated from movies and TV?  Yeah, I probably do.  Can it be eliminated?  Probably not.  There are time periods and situations where it makes sense.

But for the most part?  I see lazy writing and complicit actors.

Sorry about that, but I do.

ALSO:

Some noted the lack of seat belt use.  Technically, the show was set in 1985, and Indiana did not have a mandatory seat belt law until 1987. 

Again, having lived through the 80s, I do see this as a mere technicality.  Many people were using seat belts before that.  Georgia adopted a law a year later, 1988, but my family and I used seat belts regularly throughout the entire decade.  In fact, my chief car in the 80s was a Volkswagen Diesel Rabbit, that WOULD NOT START unless the seat belts were fastened.

Again, it's done more as a reflection of the writers and actors than it is of time period accuracy.  It's easier to show movement and character if the actors are not "strapped in." 

Ever notice in driving scenes how often the driver looks over at the passenger to talk about something, and they are NOT LOOKING AT THE ROAD?  That's because the creative people involved want to see the characters react to each other, and hope you don't think about how effing distracted the driver is.

I gotta prepare for work.  Non-political soapbox over and out.

Maybe She Should Be Green

I think she's supposed to be green.

At least according to the original Hans Christian Anderson tale The Little Mermaid is based on.

From a post by Branson Lester, found on the always accurate Facebook:

Friendly reminder that The Little Mermaid is based on a book by Hans Christian Anderson published in 1837 where "Ariel" has her tongue ripped out in exchange for feet (feet that bleed the entire time she's on land, btw). She comes on land to try to win the prince's love to steal part of his soul (mermaids apparently don't have souls, but live for 300 years, so I guess you win some, ya lose some). She fails, and the prince marries someone else. She contemplates murdering him in his bed, but can't bring herself to do it, so she dies/melts into seafoam.

By the way, her skin is green.

Fairy tales often start out as culturally specific but then are adapted to other cultures as well.  There are hundreds of versions of Santa, with different versions and traditions for different countries and ethnic groups.

The core of our great stories that live on from generation to generation never stays static in their telling.  They're always adapted to appeal to a new group or generation.

We recently saw a couple of plays in Stratford, Ontario, which is the largest Shakespearean theatre in North America.  We saw one play, set in the 1550s, concerning the reign of Queen Mary I of England, where the language was modern, including references to Jell-O.  We also saw the Shakespeare play, Othello, where the language was the same, but the dress was modern.  There was also a play being performed, Shakespeare's The Merry Wives of Windsor, that was set at a beauty shop in Queens.

Great stories are always revised and updated to connect to new audiences.  Disney's cartoon of  The Little Mermaid was not as brutal as the original story.  Ariel was silenced, but not by ripping out her tongue.

Disney has been big for decades, but it has only been recently that it has discovered the true power of the international market.  Appealing only to little girls of European descent is no longer a sufficient marketing model for the type of audience their expensive productions need.  It is in their interest to diversify and appeal to people around the world.  That means a much richer set of role models and cast.  And I think that is a good thing.

Disney is mega-corporation with a lot of flaws (as is true of virtually all megacorporations).  But I don't think casting from a more diverse pool is one of them.  I don't know the acting abilities of the person they have chosen, but from what I have seen, she more than fits the part.

I probably should add that I have not seen any of the Disney "live action" animation remakes, and none are high on my list to see.  I wish Disney would spend more energy making new animations, bringing in fresh, new stories.

Nevertheless, whether my cup of tea or not, remakes and reimaginings are what keep the great stories alive.

Of course, if they really want to be accurate as to what a mermaid (or merman) might look like, they may want to consider the fellow I have a picture of below.  Slap a coconut bra on it, and fuse the legs, and waalaa, instant mermaid!

For Which It Stands: Saturday Political Soap Box 213

"I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America, and to the republic for which it stands; one nation indivisible with liberty and justice for all."

There are several versions of the pledge, but this is my favorite, used from 1924 to 1954.  Most of the revisions to the original are relatively minor, revolving around changing my flag to the flag, and clarifying that it was the flag of the United States of America.

A more significant change occurred in 1954 when "under God" was inserted after"one nation".  There was a religious revival going on at the time, and a great desire to distinguish themselves from the state atheism of communist countries, like Russia and China.

I reject the notion that a civic pledge should be mixed with a religious statement. I don't think it has any place in the pledge.  Civic allegiance and religious allegiance are different things.  You don't have to believe in God to support the civic principles of this country.

Given all our other problems, I recognize its inclusion as relatively de minimis, and I simply don't vocalize those two words when I say the pledge.

To me, the context of the whole phrase is essential.  My allegiance to the flag is not based on a piece of cloth, but to the ideals that it stands for.  My loyalty to it is not unconditional.  We must live up to the ideals and dreams of an aspiring nation and people.

Without continually striving for liberty and justice for all, the flag is relatively meaningless.  When I see it, I don't swell with pride for a patch of dirt, for a manifest-destinied land from sea to sea.

I see a people that have strived to make these words meaningful - that all men are created equal, that all should have equal opportunities to succeed and thrive and pursue happiness.

What swells me with pride is the brilliant system of checks and balances that our forefathers put into the constitution.  Those checks and balances are now under siege by the type of tyrannical demagogue our founding fathers feared, but the flag and the positive direction of this country give me hope that we will right ourselves and survive.

What swells me with pride is the abolition of slavery, women's suffrage, the civil rights movements of the 60s, the rights that have been gained by the LGBTQ community.  What we have achieved is far from over, and we do have resistance and setbacks.  But I trust in the American character as symbolized by the flag.  We will overcome.

What swells me with pride is the achievements of unionists and progressives in making life better for the average working person.  A nation is only as strong as it's middle class.  Recently, unions are under siege, and the income gap has been accelerated.  The middle class is disappearing again.  But the flag gives me hope that this increasing division will not last forever.

Most of the time, when I see the flag burned, it is not because of deep-seated hatred of this country.  It is often because those who desecrate it feel like the ideals of this country, the very foundation of what the flag is supposed to stand for, have already been desecrated.  They feel like what the flag stands for has been hijacked in favor of hatred and exploitation and racism and militarism and jingoism and blind nationalism.

I would never burn the flag, or desecrate it.  Furthermore, I wouldn't make clothing out of it, or any other kitschy creation. I try to see through to what the flag ideally stands for.  It is not the flag that falls short.  It is the country, or at least those who would take the country in a less democratic direction, one where justice and opportunity are not shared equally.

But I would not criminalize those who do.  In fact, it is not criminal to do so, although many believe otherwise.

To do so would be to turn traitor to the very principles of which the flag stands for.

And that is what I will turn my back on.  No matter how dark it gets.

I pledge allegiance to what the flag stands for.

Our dream- no matter how imperfectly achieved - one nation indivisible with liberty and JUSTICE for ALL.

Arts & Nature in Central Ontario

Sometimes, staying at a motel in the country can have its virtues.  We certainly wouldn't have a sunset like this at a downtown Toronto hotel.

We stayed at a country inn at a remote location in Prince Edward County.  We had a beautiful view of the sunset from our room.

The "lodge" was adjacent to a winery and a contemporary art museum.

The contemporary art museum had an outdoor component.  That's not a real giant pine cone,  It's art.  Trust me.

Lawn zipper.  I don't know what else to say.

Yes, I know.  This is from Stratford, and I should have a lot of pictures from the multiple theatres that were there.  What can I say?  My picture taking skills are sporadic at best, and this was the one day that my foot hurt really bad.  I think I twisted something the night before, taking two steps instead of one coming down a theatre's step.

We did see two plays. One was Mother's Daughter, a play about the Queen Mary (the one often referred to as Bloody Mary).  The language was contemporary, and Benjamin particularly some of the "ghost" effects it deployed.

The other was Othello, set in contemporary dress, but using the original Shakespearean language.  It was hard for me to catch everything they said.  We were in the last row, and my hearing is not perfect, so it was hard for me to pick up on the meaning of all the flowery language.  My own personal feeling was that yes, Iago is a very bad man, but Othello was an impulsive idiot for falling for Iago's load of crap.

I close on a view of Stratford's magnificent pond.

Canada ain't perfect, but it does have great people and universal healthcare.

I was able to catch some of the Democratic debates, via Alison's iPad.  This was a good thing because.....

Trump made me want to stay in Canada.

Seeing the remarkable talents and skills and promise of Elizabeth Warren and Kamala Harris made me want to come back to the USA.

O Toron'o!

We were told, by someone who recently visited Toronto, that Canadians pronounced it without the last t.  Did they?  I couldn't tell.  The only time I noticed was when one of the guides of a walking tour said you could tell he wasn't originally from the city because he pronounced Toronto with a t.  That's it.  Everyone else I meant called it ToronTo.

The very heart of our vacation was spent in this magnificent, diverse city.  We were here from Saturday night until Tuesday morning.

We took three walking tours of the city.  They all met up by the old city hall, where we waited for the guides to show up.

Walking tours are great ways to see cities.  They were free, except for a voluntary tip at the end.

We did a ghost tour Saturday night, a tour of Old Toronto Sunday, and a tour of Graffiti Alley on Monday.

Part of the Ghost tour took us through the Pride event going on in Toronto that weekend.  It was several city blocks and had tons of people - many families and friendly, open people.  There were booths by many commercial ventures, including banks.  Churches had booths there, and many of the local churches had banners of rainbow flags and words of support.  It was a real and joyous celebration.

This was a "haunted house" on the ghost tour, now being used as a restaurant, and was lit up in rainbow colors to show its support of the Pride Festival.

The ghost stories we were told were interesting but not compelling if you were trying to bolster your belief in ghosts.

Myself?  I don't believe in ghosts, but I have seen them.

Ponder that for a few minutes.

Benjamin was fascinated by the fact that Canadians buy milk in bags. I guess it's more environmentally sound, or maybe they just like it that way.  I don't know, but it is true.  We done seen it.

A highlight was a walk from our motel to a big city park.  Lake Ontario is like RIGHT THERE.

The park had dozens and dozens of volleyball courts.

This is the one day that was slightly overcast with a drizzle of rain.  It was the only day we wore our jackets.

A favorite part of the trip was just sitting by the lake, watching the water, the wildlife, nature.  Man, am I getting old. 

That's Benjamin sitting on the bench.  Trust me.  I soon join him, putting away my phone and just enjoying the bug-free beauty of the day.  No, Canada is not always bug-free during summer days - mosquitoes are more persistent and aggressive than in Georgia.  But this was a breezy, overcast, rainy day, and the bugs stayed away.

Our last tour was of the city's graffiti.  This is from the last mural we saw, an artsy rendition of the city's name.

Another arty Toronto sign!  It's sad, but that's a picture of me sucking my gut in as much as I can.  Sigh.  I got a lot of work to do.

Not pictured was our Monday night visit to Second City Improv.  A real highlight of the trip, this is the troupe where such talents as Martin Short, John Candy, Catherine O'Hara, Gilda Radner and so many more of our finest comedians, trained and became first-rate.  Well, they still got it.  I have never enjoyed improv so much!


Next stop - Prince Edward County!

Not Prince Edward Island - Prince Edward County.  They're different places.  Trust me.

We Falls Into Vacation

Niagara Falls! 

We're a little different than many of our southern Georgia friends and family.  When it comes to summer vacation, we like to head NORTH!  No South Florida, no Carribean, no Cancun, none of that for the Strait Clan!  We head north and try to go someplace cooler than the sweltering misery that is South Georgia summer (which generally lasts from March through November).  Just a week of sweet relief - that's all we're asking for.

This summer was O Canada! - specifically the province of Ontario.

We were able to take a new flight that was a direct connection between Savannah and Niagra Falls, NY.  Flight time was less than two hours.  If you wanted snacks or drinks, you had to pay for them, but somehow we managed to hold out for two hours.

We only stayed in New York long enough to rent a car (a Nissan Vicea Versa, something like that - I'm not good at car makes), and headed for the border. 

This is the view from our motel room in Niagara Falls, Ontario.  You could get to the Falls, but first, you had to go through a labyrinth of tourist traps, perhaps the most I'd ever seen.   Go-karts, a Ferris wheel, mini-golf, Ripley's, a wax museum, the House of Frankenstein, multiple arcades, restaurants, souvenir shops, and on and on.

One of the more bizarre sights, as you approach the Falls, is this magnificent view of King Kong with a stick up his butt.

Finally!  You begin to set the commercialism aside and start to view the Falls!

Alison prepares for her trip on the Hornblower by donning their attractive pink plastic raincoat.  Aww, do I really have to wear this thing?

Yes. Yes, you do.

SWEET JESUS!  Benjamin loves ice cream!

Next stop - Toronto!