Topics for this week's blog: somber remembrances this past week, D-Day and Tiananmen Square; the changing US Senate; peak water; the Bergdahl exchange; rustling leaves; climate justice; finally, "school's out"

June 6, 1944, D-Day.  Memorials were held around the nation and world, with special note taken in the US of the "Bedford Boys." Proportionately, young men from this small VA town suffered the greatest number of casualties in this colossal military operation. As Charlie Rose noted last Friday on CBS Morning News, if you were at Normandy and 18 in 1944, you would be 88 years-old this D-Day. Sadly, many D-Day vets will not live to see a 75th celebration. The military cemeteries near Normandy are starkly beautiful -- and somber.
     Also noted during this period of remembrance: Chester Daniels passed away at the age of 93. Mr. Daniels was the last surviving member of the fabled "code talkers", Native Americans who used their Navajo language to convey orders, while befuddling the Japanese "listeners" in the Pacific.
     General (President) Dwight David Eisenhower was buried in a simple wooden casket in a uniform bearing only the military decorations awarded him as the Supreme Allied commander for D-Day.
     Literary trivia: J.D. Salenger reportedly landed on Utah beach carrying 4 chapters of The Catcher in the Rye.
     The French, hosting this year's 70th remembrance day, faced a bit of "a sticky wicket" with seating arrangements for the planned luncheon. The assembled dignitaries included the not overly-friendly presidents, Obama and Putin. "Rise above it" seemed in order for all concerned.

Tiananmen Square.  On June 4, 1989, twenty-five years ago, the world when one iconic image emerged as a courageous, still unidentified Chinese citizen faced down a line of four tanks. After several days, the Chinese government quickly and brutally ended the freedom demonstrations with death tolls variously reported from only a few to a thousand or more.

     Today's technology made it easy for the Chinese government to push the electronic "censor" button. Im mainland China, internationally broadcast news programs (BBC, CNN, etc.) had their screens instantly blackened whenever Tiananmen was mentioned, though there were some timid remembrances broadcast from Hong Kong.

Collegiality or confrontation?  An article in this Monday's Roll Call concerned the MS  senatorial primary contest which pits Senator Thad Cochran (R) against his Tea Party-backed opponent.

Cochran [is]...already an anomaly because he [has] never wavered from the view that being urbane and soft-spoken in public, and collegial and collaborative behind the scenes, [is] the surest route to institutional success and job satisfaction. But that approach, of course, has almost entirely fallen out of fashion on both sides of the aisle and on both sides of the Capitol — supplanted by a pathway in which partisan bombast and reflexive combativeness are rewarded while cordiality and thoughtfulness are ridiculed.

And we wonder what causes congressional inaction? Take a second and look at this winning humorous Roll Call cartoon caption submitted by a reader.

Peak water is defined as when more water is promised to various users than the mountains, rivers, wells, and mother nature can provide. More and more observers, renowned water watcher Peter Glick among them, are becoming convinced that we have reached that point. Contrary to commonly held wishes and political lore, more & deeper wells and larger reservoirs are not the answer, either. Rather, it is simply the old economic adage of supply and demand applied to water. Once upon a time there was even talk of towing large ice bergs to dry coastal areas. Once upon a time......

The Bergdahl prisoner exchange. It appears that the president is increasingly between a rock and a hard place viz-a-viz the sergeant's release. For yet unexplained reasons other than Bergdahl's supposedly deteriorating health, the administration intricately planned and carried out his exchange for five high-value, hard-core Taliban militants.
     Congress was upset about not being given what they thought was a lawfully required 30-day advance notice. Now the President also has to deal with vigorous dissent from various military and veterans groups, even active duty soldiers who have begun using social media to call for Bergdahl's punishment under military law for desertion and/or being AWOL.
     One has to wonder who in the White House was so absolutely clueless about the questionable circumstances surrounding Bergdahl's disappearance and could not anticipate the impending fire storm. It is a certain bet that the story will continue to play in today's vicious 24/7 news cycle.

Rustling leaves. It is very pleasant sitting on the front deck, listening to the aspen leaves,  and being gently lulled into an afternoon nap. One of the joys of living in CO is our generally "dry heat" where the temperature may be 85, but in a shaded chair in a light breeze you are really quite comfortable. That and the noticeable absence of bugs. It seems that this year's predicted upsurge of miller moths is less than expected and, since we have had several hotter-than-usual days, the moths have hastened uphill to the cooler foothills and mountains. Besides, these moths do not bite, they are just a fluttery nuisance, something to shoo off the screen or out of the house.

Climate justice. Have you not heard about this topic? Read the story "Ground Zero in the Fight for Climate Justice," by Wen Stephenson on p. 16+ in the June 23/30th issue of the Nation. Around the globe, it is the poorest who are living next door to, in close proximity to the world's most toxic energy producing facilities and suffering the inevitable health problems.

School is out. Finally, a little humor especially for those readers who may be retired teachers. The last bus pulls away on the final day of the school year and the teacher of America's beloved problem child, Dennis the Menace, proclaims "Lunch is on me!" Amen!

Enjoy a peaceful week and thanks for reading.