Super Fascist Fun Time: Saturday Political Soap Box 249

 

Once again, the saddest and most inevitable law of American politics -

The Empire Strikes Back

The forces of privilege will always marshal intimidation and fear in their favor.

What is wrong with the picture above?

It is a violation of our medical standards.  People are gathered in a tight space with very few masks and no social distancing.  And, except for those who might get close to the precious leader, NO TESTING.

They are trying to communicate that the COVID-19 crisis is over, that it is now safe to cavort about our regular business.  Nothing could be further from the truth.

Not only is this bad in and of itself (just ask the ghost of Herman Cain), but it will encourage others to take these risks.  As a result, our first wave will continue to thrive.  We may not know when the second wave will hit because we're still drowning in the first wave.

Still, some will see this image and draw strength from it.  The Americans who are swayed by fascistic imagery may be a minority, but as 2016 demonstrated, it does not take a majority to win.  Just pick off the right states, discourage and suppress the voters you don't like, and you could still find yourself on top.

It is a violation of the Hatch Act.

You are absolutely, unconditionally NOT supposed to use the White House or other federal agencies and resources as a prop.  Whether the Hatch Act covers the President is, unfortunately, debatable in this twisted society of ours, but is not debatable that other federal employees CANNOT be used to help the President pull this off.

I was horrified to find that some reporters were saying even if this was illegal, the visuals were good.

I mean, WTF???????

Wrong is wrong!

Nevertheless, for those who clutch to grotesque displays of power, of twisted trotting out of misplaced patriotism, of putting the libtards in their place, of responding to messages of fear (You think I made things BAD?  Biden will make them WORSE!), this was a triumph.

Yes, the speech was long and boring and filled with lies.  He's a lousy teleprompter reader.  His tiny hands had to clutch the podium for dear life.  He sweated like he was a fat man in a Swedish sauna.

And yet...

It wasn't about any of those things.

It was about the optics.

The optics that said - 

Covid-19 is over.

I am in charge, here at the White House.*

It is unpatriotic and dangerous to support anyone else.

My fellow anti-Trumpers, I know you are the vast majority of those who read this, and I know last week and the DNC Convention filled with hope.  And I am not asking you to despair.  But we have to recognize this fundamental reality -

The Empire Always Strike Back

Yes, 45 to 50% of the American people would never, ever vote for Trump under any circumstances.  And sadly, 35 to 40% will vote for Trump no matter what.  But there are 10% or so who float, and I fear what they may do.  I fear it greatly.

The Trump Convention was a disaster, a nepotistic lie-a-thon.  But that may not be what the 10% saw.  Some of that group may have seen the trappings of the White House and ooohed and ahhed.  Some may have seen the crowd and thought - hey, that COVID-19 thing is OVER!

I was going to go on with some of the disastrous polling switch going on with Black Lives Matters, but that would easily double the length of this, so I'll have to address that separately soon.

Just be aware of this equation that the Trumpists are converting the floating 10% to -

BLM + Protestors = Rioters + Property Damage

Nothing could be further from the truth, but since when has truth mattered to Trump and his lackeys?

Settle in, my friends.

We are in for a very bumpy ride.

History of the Trap Vol. 2: Chapter One - Justice Trapped Part 2

 

2

 

At first, I did not know the severity of Wilbur’s injuries.  Maybe he would not get to say anything.  Maybe he would die and leave at the mercy of Granite and Pelley.

He did not die.  At least, not at this time.  To my surprise, not only did he state that it was Mark Granite that had slashed him, but that he had overheard Mark confessing to the murder of Lisa Carlton.

Mr. Tate was not happy, but he had little choice.  His chief student ally had been exposed as a killer, and he knew he could not cover it up.  There would at least have to be a trial.

Another trial.  I didn’t think I could get through that again.  But Doctor Duncan, as I learned the hard way, the Trap always challenged what you could or couldn’t do, always pushing the threshold of what you thought you could survive.

Wilbur Jones was arrogant and conceited.  He thought very highly of himself and very little of me.  But Wilbur was also a stickler for rules and authority.  He could not abide what Mark had done.

So, this trial had something the other did not – a clear and credible witness, one not shaken by the threats of Mark and his supposed allies.

Crossing Streams: Keeping Your Distance 46

 Ghostbusters tried to warn us.  Don't let the streams cross!

Fortunately, Marco arrived before Laura, and Marco was at Tropical Storm level when it hit.  Maybe Tropical Depression.  Or Tropical Manic-Depressive.  I get confused.

Laura, on the other hand, is building towards major Hurricane status.  Currently, it is projected to hit Category 4, and land in Louisiana/Texas at Category 3.  That's pretty intense.

The hotter Gulf waters are contributing to the strength of hurricanes, but I'll let others debate by how much.  

I pray for the safety and well-being of those in its path.

One more joke:

I just feel like if you’re going to have two hurricanes/tropical storms in a row to the same basic area, and the first one is named Marco, the second one should be named Polo.

That's a meme I put on Facebook.  Yeah, got a lot more likes than when I post a blog post from THe Strait Line.  Yep.  I can't even compete with myself.

----------------------------------

Ok.  One more joke -

Ok.  That one's not as funny anymore.  Id love to continue to satirize him, but good Lord, he is such a dangerous and hostile man.

I've seen very little of the Trump coronation, but in my defense, I watched very little of the DNC convention  - at least directly.  Some of the speeches I saw on YouTuber later.  Ok.  I watched maybe 25% of the DNC convention.  My favorite part was the roll call vote, where the voting for each state and territory was done from their state/territory.  

I saw a little of Kimberly Guilfoyle screaming.  She's like Donny Jr's mistress or some such thing? I don't know.  I lose track.  I do have one special thing to point out to her - you're not a first-generation immigrant if your family is from Puerto Rico.  All Puerto Ricans are already Americans.  Puerto Rico is a part of America.  People like our racist President treat Puerto Rico like crap, but that doesn't mean they're not American.

Territorial status should not be a 21st-century thing.  Make them a state or set them free.  

-------------------------------

My fiction writing thing is not going well.  I've written a bit more, but I'm still having trouble with schedule regularity.  That may be just an excuse.  I may just not have it in me anymore.

I have a completed novel, The Extra Credit Club.   I sent it out to somebody two months ago, and I haven't heard anything, not even an acknowledgment they received it.  I hate querying and promoting myself and all that crap.  I guess I'm going to have to buck up and decide what to do with it.

In re-reading the books I have so far, Here Comes Tommy is okay but filled with typos.  Adventures in Time and Space has some, but mostly it's just thematically fractured.  History of the Trap Vol. 1 is my best seller (a truly relative term) - it has typos but I think it tells a pretty good, fast-moving story. 

My best, however, is Crowley Stories: Swamp's Edge.  It still gives me the shivers when I read it (not due to being scary, but being scary good).  And yet ... it's been a lead balloon.  Very few purchases, even fewer reviews.  I wish I could engage more readers for it.

---------------------------

Family?  Doing pretty good - COVID-19 creeps closer, as schools start up and so many around here are anti-mask extremists.

My health?  Not bad.  Exercise good, including mowing the lawn with a push mower with defective power steering and no Benjamin to help.  I like food, however.  I like it all too well.

TV?  Watching Season 3 of GLOW, enjoying movies like The Peanut Butter Falcon. I've seen the first season of The Magicians and soon should start Season 2, which is the first season that my son, Greg, worked on.

And my introversion continues to accelerate.  It's going to be very difficult to re-engage when it is once again safe to do.

Wanderingly yours,

T. M. Strait

One Issue to Rule Them All: Saturday Political Soap Box 248

 

What the hey?  Starting a political post with a LOTR* nerd meme?

I guess it tangentially relates to what I have to say, but...caught your attention, eh?

When I go back into The Strait Line Wayback Machine, I see that in prior major elections, I made at least some attempt to post about the issues before us, and less about the candidates and their personality.

This was certainly true in 2008** and 2012. There was some shock over McCain's terrible Vice President pick, and again with Romney's. But for the most part, I tried to post about the major issues ahead of us.  I made a deliberate decision in 2012 to post a series that dealt with major issues one at a time, and not much about condemning Romney as a person.  I thought that McCain and Romney were wrong on many issues, but I didn't fear them as individuals.  I may disagree with them, but I did feel like they cared about the country and its people.

In 2016, I was stunned and horrified at the Republican's selection of Donald J Trump, a dangerous man unfit for any public office, much less the Presidency of the United States.  This led to more posts warning my conservative friends that this was not a choice they should make, for the sake of the country and the entire planet.  Nevertheless, if you search, you can still see I had posts discussing major issues.

Not so this time.

Yes, I still feel strongly about many things.  Faithful readers will know the litany:  Medicare For All (universal health care, if you prefer), $15 minimum wage, Green New Deal, common-sense gun legislation, LGBTQ rights, police reform, the end of voter suppression, a return to international diplomacy, protecting and improving public schools and more accessible higher education, removing the cap on Social Security contributions, a better tax system.  All of these are important.  And if we don't move on some of them, especially climate change, it will endanger the entire planet.

These are all important, and I have no doubt that a Biden/Harris administration will get us at least discussing them.  Unfortunately, there is one issue that, uh, TRUMPS them all.

That issue is

A RETURN TO DECENCY

We must first and foremost remove the narcissistic bully who is destroying everything great about America.

Everything else pales next to that.

I can't list everything he has done.  That would take volumes.  Every day he breaks apart the norms and institutions that have bound us together.

Biden may not be the progressive dynamo I want him to be.  But there is one thing that he undeniably is, and that is DECENT.  He is empathetic.  He is caring.  He wants to work to solve American problems, and his ego is not so big that he refuses to listen to others, including the best advice from medical and scientific experts.

His first instincts will not be to ban others based on religion or race. 

He will not build walls as a substitute for comprehensive immigration reform.

He will not abandon allies and let them die, like Trump did with the Kurds.

He will not separate children from their parents, or put them in cages.

He will not call Nazis very fine people, or praise QAnon.

He will not cooperate and collude with foreign governments, as Trump has done with Russia.

He will not try to bully other countries into granting him personal favors.

He will reach across the aisle and work with Republicans (I remain skeptical as to how well that will work, but I know Biden will try, as Obama did).  Although he may rightfully talk ill of Trump, he is not going to turn Republicans into the enemies of the people, as Trump does with Democrats.

He will stop messing around ignoring the devastating COVID-19 virus, spreading rumors, refuting science, trying to pretend that having 4% of the population and 25% of the cases is a success, and instead deploy the full force of the federal government to get us over it and SAVE AMERICAN LIVES.

He's not going to obstruct justice or be swamped by a web of criminal and semi-criminal enterprises.

He's never going to say, "I take no responsibility at all!"

The most crucial thing Biden has said came in his universally praised acceptance speech - 

"But while I will be a Democratic candidate, I will be an American President."

Yes, it's true.  Politicians say a lot of things.  There is often puffery, exaggeration, and outright lies.  But on this statement, I believe Joe Biden.

Unconditionally and absolutely.

Let's return to decency.

Let's give Biden/Harris the landslide they deserve.

*LOTR refers to Lord of the Rings.  Yes, in addition to politics, I am a big old nerd.  Deal.

** Truth is my blog wasn't operational until 2009, but nevertheless, my early posts were more issue-oriented, and in 2008, the way I wrote in other places or talked to others was more issue-oriented.

History of the Trap Vol. 2: Chapter One- Justice Trapped Part 1

 

Part One

Restoration

Chapter One

 

Justice Trapped

 

1

 

I don’t like to run.  It’s not something I enjoy, nor am I particularly good at it. I have zero stamina, and even the shortest sprint can leave me panting desperately for air.  Artie loved to do cross country, but not me.  I tried out for the football team during my Freshman year, and when I found out the first practices were all running, I quickly switched to acting, trying out for a play that the Drama Department was casting.

Nevertheless, Doctor Duncan, I ran.  I had no choice.  My life was at stake, as hopeless as it seemed.  Because chasing me down was the state track champion, Mark Granite.

I raced to the door leading out of the equipment room, the one that would lead me to the hall separating the gym and the locker rooms.  I flung it open and felt myself being pulled back.  Mark had grabbed the back of my shirt, pulling me towards him.

My heart pounding, my blood surging, I didn’t think.  I reacted with pure instinct.  As I was pulled toward him, I came in faster than he was expecting.  He had his bloodied knife held high, ready to plunge into me, and I reared my elbow up, smashing into his nose with all the force I could muster.

He screamed in pain.  “You Martian freak! I’m gonna make you suffer!”  He said this while grabbing his nose, blood spurting, reddening his left hand.  He started to shriek more, but I didn’t stay.  I took off into the gym hall, screaming, “Help! Help!”

Before I could make it to the student lobby, where even if no one was up, I might make enough noise to attract attention in the nearby sleeping rooms, or some of the night staff of our makeshift medical center, before all that, the fastest man on campus caught up with me.  He flung me between a row of lockers.

He loomed over me, his eyes aflame, his mouth in a sneer as blood dripped into it, his teeth a bloody red, the corpuscles dripping from his chin.  Worst of all, the knife was still in his hand, still coated in Mrs. Forsyth’s blood.

I did my best to crab crawl away, but my brain’s impulses were not connecting to my legs, and I could only move inches.

“Know this before I kill you,” said Mark Granite. “I’m going to kill your father, just like I gutted your girlfriend.  Then I’m going to take your sister back to our party room, and we’re all going to…”

“Mark!  What the heck’s going on?”  From out of nowhere, it was Wilbur Jones, my student council nemesis, our popular academic and athletic leader, standing at the beginning of the locker row.

At this point, had Mark Granite not lost his cool, if he had any hold on rationality, he might have been able to squirm out of his situation.  He could have somehow pinned the murder on me, could have lied his butt off.  It might not have worked, but given how he had gotten away with Lisa’s murder, given his connections and protection to Mr. Tate (our new principal, replacing my father), maybe he could defy the odds again.

Instead, he screamed out at Wilbur and slashed the knife at him, leaving a massive slash across Wilbur’s torso.

I looked at this awful sight in horror, still unable to move.

“Oh, my god, Wilbur!  You’re bleeding!”  Three of Wilbur’s friends came up.  All of them had been using the gym late at night, trying to get in some weight lifting and resistance training (I didn't understand this at the time, but it’s what I found out later).

Wilbur fell back, but his friends caught him.  He pointed down the row of lockers. “He…he…cut me.”

One of his buddies, Paul Buckman, said, “Marty Martian?  Marty did this?”

Mark tried to tame his blood lust enough to think his way out of this terrible box.  “Y-yes!  It was Marty!  He did this!  You know how much he and Wilbur don’t like each other.”

They looked at him skeptically, observing that it was Mark that was holding the knife.  A light went off, and Mark realized his error.  He held up the knife.  “I just took it from him! See!”  He held it higher for them to notice.  “Now, he can't hurt anybody else.”

One of Wilbur’s buddies had the sense to leave.  “I’m getting help from the nurses!”  The other two stayed with Wilbur.

“N-no,” Wilbur croaked out.  “T-that’s not what…”

“Now, are you sure, Wilbur?”  He looked coldly at him.  “Think carefully before you speak.  You don’t want to say anything you’re not sure of.”

The implication was clear.  Mark had the connections and ability to carry out threats that could make Wilbur’s life a living hell.

So, we reached another make or break moment.  Wilbur held no love for me, nor I for him.  It would be so easy to throw me under the bus, become triumphant in our long-running rivalry.  Wilbur’s friends would echo whatever he said.  Mark and Robert would testify against me.

What would he say?

A Wednesday Wandering Mishmash

 

Well, it's been a while since I've done one of these.   One of the most important things to me in writing is consistency in schedule, and I have not been able to attain that.  How I get around in the morning varies from day to day.

When I first started writing the blog, nigh on ten years ago, I wasn't walking in the mornings.  It was the first thing I did before anything else.  That's not true anymore.  I get up and walk with Cocoa Bear.  After that, things differ wildly.  Sometimes I'm gearing up to go to work.  Sometimes it's to go to the church for my church treasury position.  Sometimes I have other errands to run.  And sometimes I'm just looking aghast at the news, wondering if whatever fresh Trumpian horror I'm witnessing will be the thing that finally causes the Trumpeteers to turn on him.

I'll try to get better.  I'm trying to restructure, especially to get back to more fiction writing.  My bestseller*, History of the Trap, deserves a sequel, and I have been working on that, but not as much as I should.  I'm slowly turning into George RR Martin.  But I won't give up.  I'll do my best to refocus.

Personal Health

I'm doing ok.  My diet is not where it should be, but I've kept up with exercise, and my vitals are pretty good.  Both my blood pressure and blood glucose are pretty stable, at least by my personal standards.

I would rate my exposure risk to COVID-19 as reasonably low.  My work uses some caution, mask-wearing is common, and interaction is minimal. Alison is careful, but she does work for a school system that is back in session, and troublingly, they do not require students or staff to wear masks.  Alison works at the Board office, where there is not as much exposure, and she is good about wearing a mask and social distancing.  Benjamin is at college, and they seem to be taking it more seriously than some of our other learning institutions.

Democratic Convention

I haven't watched it all, but what I have seen has been pretty sweet.  This virtual convention has parts that play on TV better than an in-person convention.  The roll call, where each delegation announces their vote total in their home state or territory, was really kind of nice.  I love the roll call votes, although it has been a very long time since there has been any suspense.  

Whatchu reading and watching, Tom?

Recently finished Leadership: In Turbulent Times by Doris Kearns Godwin.  It was a great analysis of the leadership of four of our Presidents in time of crisis and is the center of my most recent Saturday Political Soap Box.  

Currently, I am reading The Black Ice, the second of Michael Connelly's Bosch novels, about a homicide detective in the Los Angeles area.  I have read a number of these (some out of chronological order), and I am drawn to the character and writing style.  

I am watching the second season of Krypton on DC Universe.  I am a huge fan of Superman, but not always of stories set on Krypton.  DC Universe is probably the streaming app I use most.  I'm also watching the old Wonder Woman series featuring Lynda Carter.  DC Universe also has a lot of digital comics, and I love reading those - have read Batgirl, Batman Adventures, and Harley Quinn.  I'm not reading as much Superman online, because I've bought most of those as they came out, and have purchased less Batman over the years.

Alison and I are watching Truth Be Told on Apple + TV, starring a pretty stellar cast led by Octavia Spencer.  She is a podcaster investigating a compelling case, and both Alison and I are a little irritated at the conclusions she jumps to, airing damaging information that hurts people's lives.  She should wait until she has the whole story, but for some reason, she doesn't listen to Alison and me.

Well, I could wander on and on, but I should save some writing time for The History of the Trap Volume 2: Restoration, Rebellion, and Revolution.

I'm only in the restoration part.

Wanderlingly yours,

T. M. Strait

Georgia By the Numbers #5: Keeping Your Distance 45

I'm going back to basic black for this, but with a bold type.  Three weeks from now I may have to go black bold in italic.

People are wondering.

Are we anywhere back to normal?

Honestly, I think only the most delusional are asking that now.  Although, many are acting like this is over, or buying into the conspiracy theories that the death of 171,000 is just overblown.

Update:  Where have we gone in the three weeks since I Posted the fourth Georgia by the numbers?

People are starting to press.  No one in my area is pressing anymore.  THEY'RE JUST GOING OUT - FEW MASKS, LITTLE TO NO SOCIAL DISATANCING.  Some businesses (e.g., Kroger, Wally World) have gone to masks required status, and in those places, I see many more masks BUT NOT COMPLETE COMPLIANCE.  That simple compliance, that minor bit of human decency, is further fading away as people realize that, in most stores, the requirement is toothless - they won't be sanctioned or sent out of the store for not wearing one.

When can we go to a restaurant?  Based on the crowds I see, people are going NOW.  This remains true.  

When can we be in a play, or attend one?  WACT put on a play in for late June.  I don't know any right now, although one WACT has scheduled in the Fall is one I'd very much like to be in, but won't in the current environment.  WACT had tryouts this week for a new play, one I wanted to be in.  I was asked to participate, but I had to turn it down.  They were able to cast it.

 When can we go to church? Some, but not all, have opened up. My church is still closed, but it is now the exception rather than the rule.  We have established extensive guidelines for what we do when we come back. As of now, our standards are in place, and we have prepared for re-opening, but have not gone beyond online services yet.  Our church added a virtual coffee hour (a zoomy thing), that was very nice, a good way for people to talk to each other.  It wasn't my cup of...coffee...but I did respect its value.

When can we hold in-person meetings of our favorite clubs and organizations? I'm not sure about this one - I think most people are still doing ZOOM.  Given the scheduled Trump rally Saturday, I'm glad I don't live in Tulsa.  Not to mention his indoor performance in an Arizona mega-church and his race-baiting speech at Mt. Rushmore in South Dakota. HOWEVER, we're close to Jacksonville and the scheduled Republican convention.  Oy.  There is now some queasiness bout holding that convention as Florida's numbers have skyrocketed.  At a minimum, masks may be required, and that does not sit well with Captain Bone Spurs.  Stunningly, the narcissist-in-chief has backed down and canceled the Jacksonville portion of the Republican convention.  Do you know how bad things must be for him to do that?  Well, apparently still not bad enough to stop him from pushing schools to re-open.  Opening night of the Democratic Convention was actually quite good - highly polished and there were some excellent speeches - it may be the future of conventions, even after the COVID-19 era.

Some of these and related questions have been answered by Governor Kemp - sure!  Go ahead and do it!  After all, things are getting better here in Georgia!  Kemp has a few common-sense rules, but they are widely ignored.  Lately, Secretary of State who Referee-ed his way to becoming Governor Kemp, has made pro-mask noses. Still, there is no mandate to require them, as the culture war cry continues to howl - I HAVE THE PERSONAL LIBERTY TO RISK MAKING YOU SICK!  MY PERSONAL LIBERTY TRUMPS (!) PUBLIC HEALTH!!!  Nothing's changed here except Kemp suing the Mayor of Atlanta for daring to have a mask-required policy.  This week, Kemp dropped his lawsuit against Atlanta. 

Kemp has his hands full just managing the opening of schools.  Yes, many schools in the state have reopened, or are re-opening soon. That is not going well.  Some schools have had to close back down already.  Others are trying to bull through, and it is not pretty.

Well...

Have we had 14 days of declining numbers, as the CDC suggests?

All I can go by is the Georgia Dept of Health numbers, updated three times a day.  Honestly, they may not be the most trustworthy numbers.  There have been press reports that suggest that Georgia and Florida have been manipulating and/or suppressing data to make their states look like they're recovering.

That may be true, but let's just take the Georgia Department of Health numbers and see what the state itself is reporting.

I've looked at seven-day accumulations, starting with May 5th, in two categories, confirmed cases and the number of deaths.  Results are summarized below -


                                                   Confirmed Cases                    Confirmed Deaths

May 5 - 11                                       4,565                                          198

May 12 - 18                                     4,281                                          205

May 19 - 25                                     5,117                                          199

May 26th - June 1st               4,499                                       241

June 2nd - June 8th             4,598                                        119

June 9th - June 15th             5,917                                        286  
             
June 16th - June 22nd         7,514                                        154

June 23rd - June 29th       13,489                                       136

June 30th - July 6th           17,647                                         94

July 7th - July 13th                 23,505                                        148

July 14th - July 20th               25,006                                        150

July 21st - July 27th               25,268                                         333 

July 28th - August 3rd           24,952                                         333

August 4th - August 10th       23,590                                        387

August 11th - August 18th     19,836                                        498 


 The increase in numbers in the most recent week looks very ominous.  The rise everyone feared is here, but everyone around me still acts like it's over.  The numbers keep rising, and some around are beginning to wonder, but many still spout conspiracy theories.

Cases have skyrocketed.  The most recent week is about three times greater than three weeks ago.  Deaths have not.  Why?  We have to be careful not to presume too much.  It could be that hospitals and doctors have learned more and are getting better at mitigating the worst.  It could be that younger people are getting COVID-19 in more significant numbers, and have a better survival rate.  It could just be a lagging indicator- it takes two to three weeks to see the full effect from current cases.  We don't know.  Only time will tell.

I am very sorry to report that time has told.  Deaths are rising.  I wish it was otherwise.  

As you can see by the most recent three weeks, weekly numbers of COVID-19 cases are declining.  Part of that is a good thing.  The numbers of tests being administered are declining, although the positivity rate is still high.  The number of deaths continues to rise, sadly, demonstrating that it is a lagging indicator.  Hopefully, the decline of cases is real, but....

And then came the opening of school.  We're still early on in knowing the full effects of that.  It's not that schools can't be opened.  It's that they can't be opened in the way we're doing it.  I would not send my kid to school if masks were not required.  That's the bottom line minimum.  And we're not doing that.

I'll let you know in two to three weeks.  

The verdict is in.  Cases are rising in most states, especially in the South and Sunbelt.  And continue to, with Florida leading the deadly parade.

The President has suggested that the way to beat this is to simply stop testing.

So, the major question is...

Why do I still have friends who support Bunker Boy?  For me, this still remains the central question of our times.  I am not comforted by the polls showing Biden with a double-digit lead.  I honestly feel, with all my heart and soul, that there should be no one left supporting Trump.  NO ONE.  ABSOLUTELY FRIGGIN' NO ONE.

Georgia by the numbers #1 comments in regular black.  Numbers #2 comments in red.  Georgia by the Numbers #3 comments in blue.  Georgia by the Numbers #4 in...whatever this color is...brown, purple, I can't tell.  Georgia by the Numbers #5 in bold black.

   

The Leadership We Need: Saturday Political Soap Box 247

 

Not too much has changed for me during the COVID-19 era.  I work only a limited number of hours, but I've been semi-retired for three years now, so that's not an abrupt change.  I stay home a lot, but I wasn't much of a gad-about before.  We had Benjamin home from college from March through early August, but we have a natural, easygoing home life, so that wasn't too much of a challenge.  I don't miss going to meetings. I do miss community theatre, but not as much as I thought I might.

One of the minor effects is that I have had a bit more time to fire up my love of history.  I have read several history books and listened to podcasts, much of it focused on the post Civil War era.  Enough to know what a POS Andrew Johnson was, and what a historical mistake it may have been not to convict him in the impeachment trial.

But I have read about other stuff as well.  Including the excellent Leadership: In Turbulent Times by Doris Kearns Goodwin.  It examines four Presidents who served at pivotal times in US History, and how their leadership steered us through critical periods and helped us emerge a better country.  The four were Abraham Lincoln, who navigated this nation through the Civil War and kept us preserved while helping bring an end to slavery; Theodore Roosevelt, who helped check the robber barons and wealthy interests from further increasing the income gap by anti-trust measures and mediating the early rise of unions; Franklin Delano Roosevelt, whose courage and leadership helped see us through the Great Depression and World War II - you know, the war that was ended by the 1917 Pandemic*; and Lyndon Baynes Johnson, who brought about the civil rights legislation that the country had been needing for decades.

These men were great leaders for a number of reasons, as outlined by Ms. Goodwin.  They read or listened to others, intellectually absorbing the range of options they had, and choosing those needed in the best interests of the nation, particularly in moving the nation forward in achieving the best of its ideals.  They were capable of working with others and making the adjustments needed to make things work.  They had goals, but they were not ideologues.  They were not so full of themselves that they could not listen to criticism.  They had both academic and social intelligence.

This is not to say they were perfect.  They all had flaws.  Abraham Lincoln was sometimes slow to act on his anti-slavery instincts.  Theodore Roosevelt was far too fascinated with machoism and the military. FDR tried to pack the courts.  LBJ let the Vietnam War consume all the good he otherwise achieved.

But in the end, they all helped make America a better place.  They all helped lead us through turbulent times.

Overall, America has been extremely fortunate in having the right leader at the right time. That's not always true, but it is more often than not.  I would add the miracle of Barack Obama to the list. He inherited a huge mess in early 2009 and led us to the longest economic recovery in American history.  He was gracious and kind, pragmatic, and intelligent.  

Sometimes we come up a cropper.  Some are decent men but not suited to the times, like James Buchanan and Herbert Hoover.  Others are true scoundrels like Andrew Jackson and Andrew Johnson.  One stands above them all as the most unsuited and dangerous President we've ever had the misfortune of slipping past the electoral college net - Donald John Trump.  

But do not despair.  Although far from perfect, I believe very strongly that we have running the best leader for our turbulent times.  And that is Joe Biden.  He may not be your first choice or the best leader for all times, but I am convinced he is the best leader for THIS time.

We are crying out for an empathetic leader, who actually gives a s--- about us, and Biden may be the most empathetic politician I've ever seen.  As important as my Progressive ideology is to me, the most important thing to have right now is not pure Progressive doctrinaire - it is the pragmatism of Joe Biden.  

He will listen to others, especially the medical expertise we need to lead us out of the COVID-19 era.  Like Lincoln, I think he will have a cabinet of rivals and will do more to pull in Republican support (as ungrateful as they may be)that will be needed to successfully negotiate us to better times.  Like Teddy, I think he will stick up for the little guy.  Like FDR, he will pragmatically try whatever works and not be overly invested in his own ego - making whatever adjustments are needed to make it better.  Like LBJ, he has the experience to work with the legislature to move forward the goals most important to us.

No, Joe Biden will not solve all our problems, or stick to the Progressive agenda I believe we so desperately need.  But he will stop fascism in its tracks. He will patch things together to help us weather these turbulent times, and bridge us to greater achievements in the future.

I have to believe this.  The American experiment is too important to surrender.  The long arc of history must be bent to justice once again.

And I believe that the team of Joe Biden and Kamala Harris can do that.

The Covid-19 School Time Waltz: Crowley Story: Keeping Your Distance 44

 

It was a prize possession.  He found it at Country Antiques almost two decades ago.  A 1940's Philco record player.  It was a little busted up, and it took him several months to get it restored.  When it was fixed up though, my could it play sweet music.

Around the same time, he added an electrical outlet to the screened-in porch.  He would set up the player on a Harvest Work Table, in the most protected spot of the porch, one where the worst storms would not get it wet.  Still, he took no chances with the record player, only setting it out when he was actually using it.

He loved that he could play music while he read and drank coffee.  He had been collecting over the years; an esoteric, electric collection, albums featuring music from many eras. This morning he put on his most cherished album, one by Australian country/folk singer, Slim Dusty.

Ronnie Smith settled into a rocking chair, one of two that he was on the porch.  He set his coffee by his chair, on a large, rectangular vintage trunk, one with a faded map of the world (circa the 1890s), careful to use the Dewey for President coaster.  He had earlier placed a second cup of coffee near the second rocker.

He picked up his current read, the latest in the Bill O'Reilly killing series, Killing Crazy Horse, fresh off the presses. Ronnie was not one of those teachers who liked to let their own scholarship slide.  He liked to keep up with the latest academic works in his field.  Ronnie teaches Civics and US History at Dizon High School.

Ronnie prided himself in making sure his students got the truth about their government and American History.  Somebody had to stand up to the liberal propaganda that even the best students found themselves exposed to in the lying "woke" media.  He made sure they knew that America was founded as a Christian nation, that the Civil War was about state's rights, that the New Deal and the Great Society created the Welfare State and the 47% living off the government's teat. In civics, just before he had to leave, he had started in his Civics class a crash course in why mail-in voting was fraudulent evil, and the only way the Democrats could beat Trump.

Not that Ronnie was working today, or any day for at least not the next two weeks, if not longer.  He tested positive. The case seemed mild, but he still would be home at least another two weeks.  It might be longer because in-person school had been suspended.  

Ronald tries to get into the new book.  He can't.  His mind was whirring too fast.  It should have worked.  School should have been okay.  But it didn't work out that way.  Not at all.

From the first day, a student tested positive.  They were promptly sent home.  The Superintendent urged students to not send their kids home if they weren't well.  Grace Scope, the biology teacher, said that wouldn't do any good; the kids were coming to school asymptomatic and no one would know they were spreading it until it was too late.  Grace wore a mask and thought everyone else should too.  She wanted all the students in her classroom to wear masks, but the administration told her she could not require that.  Ronnie didn't wear a mask, nor did his wife Matilda, a third-grade teacher at Crowley Elementary.

He tried to pick up his coffee cup, lifted it towards his face, but his hand shook and he had to put it back down.

Grace Scope.  She's a lesbian.  Everyone knew that.  Why the administration didn't do anything about it, Ronnie couldn't fathom.  Why would anyone listen to her?

Why didn't he listen to her?  Doubt filled his soul.

They said it wouldn't affect children.  They didn't say how effective they were in spreading it to others.  They didn't factor in Melissa Hartwood, a middle school girl with juvenile diabetes.  That one made state news.

How could he have been so wrong?

The number of cases in Dixon had doubled since school started.  The Covid-19 deaths had risen from 9 to 15. Not dramatic numbers, maybe, but dramatic enough if it was somebody you knew, especially if it was someone you loved.

Slim Dusty started a new song.  Ronnie couldn't take it.  He put his hands on his face, tears flowing freely.  

He glanced over at the empty rocker, barely able to see it.  The coffee cup set there, a faint trail of steam rising from it.  

Why had he set it out?  Was he losing his mind?

Slim Dusty played the song.  He thought he could handle it, but he couldn't.

Waltzing Matilda.

She had caught Covid-19 and had waltzed out of his life.

Nothing would ever be the same.

Goliath and the Golf Ball

Sitting by the Levy of Imagination

What was your favorite toy growing up?

I sure loved my James Bond Attache case, loaded with weapons, secret compartments, and coded messages.

I'll never forget my Cecil the Seasick Sea Serpent, a hand puppet with a pull string for random sayings like, "I'm coming, Beanie!"  Of course, mine was extra special because it malfunctioned with "Tastes like chicken" and said...something else.

Leading my toy brigade, however, has to be our toy showboat.  Was it mine?  Was it my sister's?  Was it a shared toy.  I don't remember, but I do know that I was mesmerized by it.  It had all the stuff to put on great shows.  The curtain would go up, and Tom Strait would light up.

Some shows were straightforward, as best as I could remember them.  But the best were the ones fired from the recesses of my fractured brain.  Heidi vs. The Cowardly Lion!  Pinocchio takes Cinderella to the Ball!

There were made up songs!  We're Off to See the Wizard Climb Every Mountain!  I Got No Strings Don't Look at my Hand!  Somewhere Over the Alps!  Well... these are just theoretical examples.  I never have been very good at remembering song lyrics, so I'm sure they were some mashed up messes.

For my sister and me, the showboat concept was not just theoretical.  A small town near us was famous for its summertime Showboat. Yes, the ol' Chesaning Showboat!

Come one!  Come all!  To the greatest show on water!

I don't know how often we went, but it was enough to inspire me, and make that toy showboat extra special!

Is it what inspires me to later take up theatre as my number one hobby?  I'm sure it was part of it.  I was an inveterate storyteller pretty much since birth, but this was an important outlet and inspiration for me. It gave me the tools to act AND make up my own stories.

Sadly, in searching for pictures of the Chesaning Showboat, I found out its time had come to an end.  Shows stopped in 2013, and in 2015, the boat was sold for $50 and dismantled.

The toy showboat has long since disappeared.  My sister and I lost interest, and my mother must have disposed of it somewhere along the line.

The showboat may be gone, but the memories are still there.  It would be nice whenever I have grandchildren, to find one of those old showboats, and share it with them.  Yeah, they'd find it very strange, but nevertheless, it will feel good to connect with the past and to fire up their imagination.

Who knows?  Maybe it will inspire a future Strait in their storytelling, and they'll get as much or more joy out of writing/acting/performing as I have!

Sit down at our make-believe levy, and marvel as the curtain to imagination rises.

It's Showboat Time!