I'm Tom Strait. And This is 2020

Happy 2020!

Thanx and a hat's tip to Barbara Walters for a meme that starts the new year out right!

So, is this a new decade or not?  I guess the new decade technically doesn't start until 2021, but technicalities don't always rule the day.

It feels like a new decade.  If I say the twenties, thinking to last century, I instinctively put 1920 into it.  So, yeah, maybe 2020 isn't the start of this century's twenties, but...nah, it feels like it, true or not.


No personal goals here.  I just want to enjoy life and my family to the fullest.  I'll just do the things I love; stay active, be caring, inevitably stress about things I can't control, consume and participate in my great passion - storytelling.

There are things that I pray will emerge in this new decade - true universal health care, a Green New Deal, a higher minimum wage, greater unionization, and, of course, we all know what the super biggie is -  the end of the Trump Presidency.  Whether by conviction, resignation, or voted out, somehow, our national nightmare has to come to a conclusion.

Of course, there are many pitfalls to the decade as well.  Many negative trends need to be reversed, first and foremost, global warming. I know there are many reasons to be pessimistic, but as this decade begins, I would like to concentrate on hope.

Best wishes to you and your family as we embark on the journey through a new decade!

Team Mates 2020: Saturday Political Soap Box 231

Yeah.  This is misleading.  This is a potential 2020 Democratic ticket, but not one I would not necessarily recommend.  It's the only picture I can find of a proposed Democratic ticket.*

There's no doubt.  We need the best ticket we can muster to have the best shot of preventing something that cannot happen - the reelection of the corrupt, unfit, racist, and narcissistic Trump. Or any Republican for that matter.

Outside of the Electoral College and its quirks, the biggest challenge to the Democrats is to create a broad enough coalition to maximize and energize their various factions.

What does that mean?

The ticket must maximize voting potential in four groups - 

1)  The Suburban Middle Class.  These are voters in the suburbs and exurbs who in the past have voted for Republicans, and hold moderate views on social issues.  They are repulsed by the vulgarism and intolerance of the Trump administration but may be skittish about economic reforms that they fear may cost too much.  My own feeling about this group is that they are going to be the hardest to win over.  Many will talk smack about Trump, but then go into the booth and vote for him.  This is what happened in 2016.  It is likely to repeat in 2020.  Nevertheless, Democrats want to make as many inroads as they can but do so without becoming defacto Republicans.

2) Progressive voters.  That's people like me. I'm clear about my position.  I will set aside my causes if it means having to support a nominee that is less likely to sufficiently move the country in the direction that I want.  This is the most enthusiastic part of the Democratic Party.  We provide money and energy.  We support our candidates with small donations that demonstrate a grassroots juggernaut.  It is foolish for the Democratic Party not to tap into this.

3) People of Color.  Without overwhelming and motivated support from African-American and Latino voters, Democratic candidates lose.  They have to have a ticket that will energize these groups and others, including Asian and Jewish voters.  Had African American turnout in the Michigan, Wisconsin, and Pennsylvania been what it was in the Obama elections, Trump would have lost the Electoral College.

4) White Working Class.  This is a group that should solidly be in the Democratic camp, at least based on policy.  But they are the hardest to get, because of culture war issues and resentment carried towards other groups.  Corporate Democrats do not make it easy, as they want to mute the very programs that could appeal to them.  This is the group that, despite their sometimes conservative/reactionary rhetoric, find appeal in issues such as Medicare For All and increases in the minimum wage.

The most important section of the country to win back is the Midwest.  Democrats have to win back Wisconsin, Michigan, and Pennsylvania to have a shot.

How do we do that?

Here are some tickets that I feel give us our best shot -

Warren/Klobuchar

This may be a disturbing ticket to some of my progressive friends, but I'm afraid it makes too much sense.  It combines the strength of the progressive movement with the Midwestern, more pragmatic appeal of Klobuchar.  Make no mistake about it.  This is a year where we will have to have a ticket with cross-appeal. 

The most substantial weakness of this ticket is that it may not enthuse the African American and Latino communities as much as will be needed.  

On the other hand, an all-female ticket would enthuse women across the spectrum and would drive the misogynistic Trump crazy.

Other potential running mates for Warren include Kamala Harris, Julian Castro, Cory Booker, and Sherrod Brown.

Biden/Harris

This also would be a great team to get under the skin of Trump.  It would help maximize the interest of people of color, but would also enthuse women voters. Biden's appeal to suburban voters and the Midwest should be a strength to the ticket.

The weakness would be in appeal to progressive voters, and the lack of appeal to the white working class.  Biden would stop short of advocating the type of programs that would actually help them and may be perceived as politics as usual.

Other potential running mates for Biden include Pete Buttigieg, Cory Booker, and Elizabeth Warren.  His experience and name recognition may enable him to pull in a lesser-known name, such as Oregon Governor Kate Brown, or Stacey Abrams of Georgia.

Sanders/Brown

Sanders is going to be very tempted to double down with a very progressive candidate.  He needs to resist that urge as much as possible.  He's going to need to win as much support from the corporate Democrats as possible.  That is why I recommend Democratic Senator Sherrod Brown of Ohio for a running mate.  Sherrod may be pragmatic, but he is also very progressive, and winning elections in otherwise conservative Ohio.  He is the poster child for how Democrats win in places that Democrats don't usually win.  They would have the best chance of winning the white working class.

It may make it tough to get the support they need from people of color and women.  Even though Sanders/Brown makes electoral sense, I would vastly prefer that the Democrats have a female nominee in one or both of the ticket slots.

Other potential running mates for Bernie Sanders include Cory Booker, Julian Castro, and Kamala Harris.  There are many lesser-known progressives he could choose, but he has to resist that urge and put in somebody with an appeal to the corporate Democrats.

Yes, I know.  Other candidates may win the nomination, but the same rules apply.  This is an election for coalition broadening, not base shrinking.  Two corporate Democrats running together would be a complete disaster (e.g., Biden/Klobuchar).  The same is true of two progressive Democrats (e.g.. Sanders/Warren - as much as I would LOVE that team).

I would reiterate my greatest fear for the 2020 election - that Trump dumps the bland but dangerous Mike Pence, and replaces him with former South Carolina Governor and UN Ambassador Nikki Haley.  And then the first elected female Vice President will be a...Republican.

We cannot let that happen.

So, yes, my preferred ticket is Warren/Klobuchar.  Barring that, a woman absolutely has to be on the Democratic ticket.

Everything is at stake.

My Best TV 2019

7) The Good Place (NBC)

A family favorite, now that Benjamin has caught up to it as well.  It has that simple thing that makes great comedies work - a cast you care about in funny situations.  Its philosophical overtones have been very intriguing to Benjamin, who took a philosophy course this Fall.  Alison is a huge Kristen Bell fan and has grown to love all the characters.  I appreciate it's fast pacing, with the storyline not getting stuck in one place.  The AI character, Janet, deserves an Emmy for best supporting actress (comedy).

6) Marvel's Agents of SHIELD (ABC)

Once again, the best show on broadcast TV.  For fans of Joss Whedon's work, it is the best thing available that shows his influence.  It's another show with swift plotting and great characters.  It's occasionally had a hard time keeping up with the changes in the Marvel movie universe, but it's still done an excellent job of staying exciting and vital.  Ratings would probably be better if they had an occasional guest appearance by an Avenger or two, but they are either too expensive or highfalutin to do that.

5) Stranger Things (Netflix)

Great show, even as the kids age.  Adding a more significant role for Steve Harrington and Robin, centered on the ice creamery, Scoops Ahoy.  I love slips into alternate worlds, and the writers have done a clever job in slowly introducing us into their nightmare vision.

4) The Handmaid's Tale (Hulu)

Great extension of Margaret Atwood's novel, as it moves uncomfortably close to our own reality.

3) For All Mankind (Apple +)

For those who like their alternate history super-realistic and done with precision.  One minor historical variation, the Russians landing first on the moon, and the ripple effects are amazing to behold.  One of them is shown above - women added in force to the astronaut core early on, spurred by the Russians landing the first woman on the moon.

My son, Gregory Strait, is the editorial colorist on this show.  The work he has done is amazing and adds significantly to the effects and feel of this show.

This streaming service, Apple +, came online at the same time as Disney Plus, and it has heavily overshadowed it.  Check out its array of programs.  It's $4.99 a month, but worth checking out.  The annual cost is $59.88, which may seem like a lot, but it is less than the cost for two or three people to have a meal at Olive Garden.

2) Game of Thrones (HBO)

The ending that I longed for (or close to it), although I do concede that the season was rushed, and needed more episodes to prepare the viewer for where the show was going.  I've read the books, some twice, and the ending was on cue as to where I think the author intended to go.  I don't mean specifically who becomes King, but to the geopolitical growth that occurred.  I look forward to George RR Martin completing the book series.

1) Watchmen (HBO)

Oh, my Lordy, did this show blow me away!  So much more than even an extension of the classic Watchmen graphic novel, it was a tour-de-force exploration of our country's racism and prejudices.  Regina King deserves every performance award ever made.  If you have HBO or access to it, you must not miss this show!



Honorable mentions: Servant (Apple +), Supergirl (CW), Orville (Fox - soon on Hulu), Superstore (NBC), The Cook Kids (Fox), all on HBO - Silicon Valley, The Righteous Gemstones, Succession, Barry, On Becoming A God in Central Florida (Showtime), Why Women Kill (CBS All Access), Castle Rock and The Act (Hulu), The Boys (Amazon Prime), Killing Eve (BBC America, Hulu), Doom Patrol (DC Universe), You and Russian Dolls (Netflix).

Yeah, I like streaming services.  Free country.  Deal.

Merry Christmas One and All!

Merry Christmas, one and all!

From the Straits

Tom 

Alison & Benjamin

Doug & Paige

The Happy Father, Doug the Groom & Greg the Best Man

Skitty

Cocoa Bear

Ellie

Pixie

Boss-A-Man

Merry Christmas!

Merry Merry Christmas!

From our little family!

Star Wars! Nothing but Star Wars! Nothing But Star Wars Do I See!

I crawled out of the womb, a science fiction and fantasy fan.

I loved the Adventures of Superman on television.  Anytime the Wonderful World of Disney showed anything imaginative. I was right smack in front of the TV, a big smile on my face.  I started a lifelong love affair with comic books at 5, beginning with any Classics Iluustrated, Jr's that focused on the rescuing of princesses and then graduating on to superhero comics, like the Legion of Super-Heroes set in the 31st century.  By the time I was 8, I was buying science fiction magazines like Worlds of If and Fantastic Stories, and joining the Science Fiction Book Club, reading stuff like The Foundation Trilogy by Isaac Asimov.  TV was a flood of great shows,  like The Twilight Zone, The Outer Limits,  Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea, Star Trek, Lost In Space, The Time Tunnel, and so much more.

But the movies?  They lagged terribly.  They always fell short of what I could dream they could be.  Many were cheesy and cliche, with miserable special effects.  I didn't understand 2001:A Space Oddysey (even when I saw it again in later years).  They always seem to cut short in really bringing in to a different world.

And then, one summer as I was home from college, there come rumblings of a movie that was something special.  It started in larger cities and did not come to smaller places until weeks later.  But some people from our area had made their way to Detroit to see it, and the word was - there had never been anything like it before.

When it finally came to Saginaw, I was in line for it's first showing.  And...it blew me away.  It was everything I had dreamed a science fiction movie could be.  It didn't back away.  It took you there.  And what a there it was!  By the time of the cantina scene, I was almost in tears, tears of happiness and joy that the movies had caught and exceeded all my expectations.

There were rumors that Geroge Lucas, the director behind Star Wars, planned on this being a nine movie epic.  Then he quit after three, and I thought that was it.  Amazingly, some twenty years later, the story continued, showing the prequel, the beginning of the story.

Then Lucas lost interest again, and once again, I thought it was over.  But Disney swooped in, bought the rights from Lucas, and the story continued again, this time moving into the future, showing events after the original three movies.

Do you know what I won't miss about Star Wars now being over?  I won't miss all the griping and complaining from people over which movie or series of movies were good or bad.  So much caterwauling, it drives me crazy!

I saw every Star Wars movie in the theatre, virtually always on the first weekend, it came out. There was not one that I did not tingle in anticipation to see.  There was not one I was disappointed in.

Yes, one could always quibble at the edges.  Jar Jar Binks was a huge misfire, and there were plenty of other overly commercial aspects (Ewoks?  Anyone? Anyone?).  And yes, I had my favorites and favorite moments.  If pressed to the wall, I would have to say The Empire Strikes Back is a favorite, but that is not to diminish any of the others. But I was there for the entire journey.  From beginning to end.

I loved the original cast of characters, their joy and spirit, and interaction.  I appreciated the acting skills displayed in the second set of movies, with Ewan McGregor and Natalie Portman, among others, and Yoda taking center stage.  And the diversity of the cast of the third set of movies was very impressive to me  - I am a huge fan of Rey and the whole gang.

So, please.  Save your discussion about why some of the Star Wars movies sucked.

For me.....

I LOVED THEM ALL!!!

And I look forward to whatever is next to come!

May the Force be with you!

And, as Bill Murray sang on Saturday Night Live.

Reclaiming Evangelism: Saturday Political Soap Box 230

Thank you, Christianity Today!

The respected magazine, founded by Billy Graham, has published an editorial endorsing President Trump's impeachment and removal.

From the editorial

Trump’s evangelical supporters have pointed to his Supreme Court nominees, his defense of religious liberty, and his stewardship of the economy, among other things, as achievements that justify their support of the president. We believe the impeachment hearings have made it absolutely clear, in a way the Mueller investigation did not, that President Trump has abused his authority for personal gain and betrayed his constitutional oath. The impeachment hearings have illuminated the president’s moral deficiencies for all to see. This damages the institution of the presidency, damages the reputation of our country, and damages both the spirit and the future of our people. None of the president’s positives can balance the moral and political danger we face under a leader of such grossly immoral character.

Also:

 To use an old cliché, it’s time to call a spade a spade, to say that no matter how many hands we win in this political poker game, we are playing with a stacked deck of gross immorality and ethical incompetence. And just when we think it’s time to push all our chips to the center of the table, that’s when the whole game will come crashing down. It will crash down on the reputation of evangelical religion and on the world’s understanding of the gospel. And it will come crashing down on a nation of men and women whose welfare is also our concern.

Christianity Today is not a liberal magazine.  It is well within the framework of conservative Christianity.  

Some blog readers have commented in the past that I have used the word evangelical too negatively.  I do not view the concept of evangelism as wrong in and of itself.  Spreading the word of the Gospels is vital.  But I'm afraid evangelical has been captured and perverted by the Christian Right.

For a true concept of how evangelism can be a positive, please see Jim Wallis and Sojourners Magazine.

Franklin Graham, Billy Graham's lost soul son, has condemned the editorial and accused Christianity Today of becoming a liberal magazine.  Trump, of course, is incoherently apoplectic, and transactional - I gave you stuff!  You should be loyal to me!  I DID YOU A FAVOR, THOUGH.

Think Christianity Today is some bastion of progressive Christianity?  Read these parts of the editorial - 

Trump’s evangelical supporters have pointed to his Supreme Court nominees, his defense of religious liberty, and his stewardship of the economy, among other things, as achievements that justify their support of the president.

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

Can we say with a straight face that abortion is a great evil that cannot be tolerated and, with the same straight face, say that the bent and broken character of our nation’s leader doesn’t really matter in the end?

It's not worth it, my Christain Right friends.  It's no longer worth your soul.  Please join Christianity Today in repudiating a man morally unfit to hold the office, Impeached President Donald J Trump.

  

Profiles of Courage; Glimpses of Cowardice

President Trump is impeached.

Whatever else happens, that stain will stick with him forever.  It will always be in the first line of any historical bio written about him.  And deservedly so.

Every significant moment in history brings us instances of great courage, and, unfortunately, glimpses of incredible cowardice.

Profiles of Courage:

Congresswoman Elissa Slotkin of Michigan

Elissa is one of those freshman Democrats who were elected in congressional districts that in the past had gone for Republicans, and had voted by significant margins for Donald Trump in 2016.  Voting for impeachment would be a tremendous risk, possibly costing them a second term.

Elissa has a background in the Defense Department and was also a CIA analyst.  She researched carefully and was quite aware of the magnitude of the malfeasance of Donald Trump.  Her decision was not reached lightly, and she realized that it could end her political career.

Nevertheless, she realized she had no choice but to vote for the articles of impeachment.  She made her announcement at a town hall of her constituents.  There was some applause, but there were many boos.

Many of her Freshman Democratic colleagues were in the same boat.  But all but two made the decision to vote for articles of impeachment.

Congressman Justin Amash of Michigan

Congressman Justin Amash was a Republican.  Justin is a very, very conservative libertarian, and he is quite a bit distant from my political ideology.  But he does believe in our constitution, and to call out abuse and wrongdoing when it happens. He spoke out against Trump and was for an impeachment inquiry. He was on board for this long before even many of the Freshman Democrats mentioned above.

Of course, Republicans could not abide this.  He was made to be a pariah and an outsider.  Rather than cower, he declared himself an independent.  Many who backed his campaign earlier, including members of the wealthy DeVos (Amway) family, have disavowed him.

He will have a tough row winning his district again as an Independent if he chooses to try to stay in Congress.  But his integrity was too high to make any other choice.

Glimpses of Cowardice

Congressman Jeff Van Drew of New Jersey

This coward caved rather than standing for what is right.  He caved so hard that he appears to be preparing to announce his switch to the Republican Party.

He knows better.  He is valuing his re-election more than his principles.  Or maybe he just doesn't have any principles.

Most of his staff have already quit rather than participate in his switch.

Congresswoman Tulsi Gabbard of Hawaii

I used to like Tulsi a lot.  Not enough to make her my choice for President, but enough to want her voice to be heard.

I am done with that now.

She decided to vote PRESENT on the articles of impeachment.

WTH???????

She had some convoluted reason for doing so.  She thought Trump was guilty, but because not a single Republican voted for them, that she thought Trump should be censured rather than impeached.

WTH????

It's not an act of principle.  It's an act of cowardice.  The most important decision of her political career and she decides to punt.

Oh, well.  She had a good career in politics.  I guess soon it will back to surfboarding on Oahu.


Every single Republican Congressperson

Wow.  What incredible diversity in that party.

The Democratic Party looked like America.  The Republican Party looked like a Klan Rally where they decided it wasn't necessary to wear robes anymore.

And that lack of diversity extended to their lockstep defense of Trump.

Well, it wasn't so much of a defense as a long and ugly whine, filled with yelling and fury signifying nothing.

Oh, you just hate Trump!

Well, I mean, the Ukrainians eventually got their money, didn't they?

The Democrats were mean in the process they used.

Why couldn't we expose the whistleblower and make his/her life a living hell?

You know, Trump has it worse than the Salem Witch Trials.  It's like Pearl Harbor.  It's like McCarthyism.  Trump has it worse than Jesus Christ!

They could not defend Trump's character.

They could not refute the basis of the charges.  He did it.  TRUMP SAID HE DID IT.

Not one of them stood up for their country and constitution.

They all cowered to Trump.

Every single one of them.

They may think they saved their jobs.  They all think they avoided the terrorism of Trump's mean tweets.

Maybe they have.  Maybe they maintained their good graces with the most extreme of their constituents, and the foul beast tweeting madly from his 15-time flushed toilet.

Maybe they did escape all that.  But what they will not escape?

The judgment of History.  And it will not be kind.