Sep 30 Here are the topics for this week's blog: Ken Burns and "The Roosevelts;" myths about ISIS; the US Supreme Court; a sad passing; DDE; Memphis; school walkouts and boycotts; aspen gold; autumn rainbows; continuing runoff; new phrases; the fun to come; barbarians

TR, FDR, and Eleanor. This undertaking, like his other disparate programs, presents history writ large. Burns weaves an interesting tableau as he relates the story of this famous family. If you missed all/part of the program go to PBS.
     In her National Review article, "Progressives Enthroned," Amity Shales likens the program to an extravaganza. A central point is that "The Roosevelts [FR and FDR] both favored active progressivism and denied that any other presidential posture could do the trick. What “26” and “32” hoped, as one of the commenters in the film, George F. Will, notes, was that 'the role of the central government from now on [would be] to secure the well-being of the American people.'” If it can be argued that TR & FDR re-defined the possible role of the president, Eleanor, then dramatically continued that tradition as she proceeded to forever re-define the role of First Lady, for herself and all future presidential spouses.
     The subjects of Burns's other documentaries are truly diverse: The Civil War, Baseball, The [Second World] War, The National Parks: America's Best Idea, Prohibition, and The Central Park Five. It was, of course, The Civil War (September 1990) that first brought him national and international acclaim. 

Myths of the current crisis with ISIS. An article from Foreign Policy lists five and I leave it to you to read (or not) the entire article.

1. Airstrikes Without Boots on the Ground Can't Be Effective.
2. Terror Is a Strategic Threat to the Homeland.
3. Obama Is Responsible for IS's Rise.
4. Assad, Hezbollah, and Iran Are Our Friends.
5. We Can "Ultimately Destroy" the Islamic State.

For the history buffs, there this largely unremembered factoid is noted in Myth 2: "Sept. 11, 2001, was the second bloodiest day in U.S. history, only surpassed by Sept. 17, 1862, during the battle of Antietam." [Emphasis added] Notable, given the relative disparity between the "weapons" of war available on those two dates, 139 years apart.

SCOTUS. The Supreme Court has always be a bit of mystery for most Americans, from its composition and how the justices are chosen, to the results that flow from its decisions.  The vast majority of the Court's decisions do not touch the average citizen in any tangible way. Occasionally, though, there are the historic exceptions, e.g.  Oliver Brown, et.al. vs the Board of Education of Topeka (1954, school desegregation) or, more recently, Citizens United vs the Federal Election Commission (2010, campaign spending limits). 

     A recent Roll Call article (September 24) about associate justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, touches on whether she might/might not retire given the current manner in which supreme court nominations are handled by the US Senate. In a rare interview (Elle magazine), Justice Ginsburg is quoted as saying, "If I resign any time this year, he [President Obama] could not successfully appoint anyone I would like to see in the court,” pointing to the change in procedure that “took off the filibuster for lower federal court appointments, but it remains for this court.” This is a rare (unique ?) instance in which a Supreme Court justice has openly voiced a personal opinion about her/his probable replacement. I heartedly recommend reading the entire Elle interview.

PBR, no more. For beer drinkers, there was the sad news that the beloved pedestrian, working man's beer, PRB, may well become PRR, Pabst Red Ribbon. It seems that Pabst, Old Milwaukee, Schlitz, and Colt 45 have all been bought by Oasis Brewing, a Russian company. Ben Franklin is wistfully -- but incorrectly -- thought to have said “Beer is proof that God loves us and wants us to be happy.” Even if you don't have an occasional "brewski," lighten your day by enjoying a few minutes of laughter with "Newman" Stephen Colbert as he recounts the passing of a sacred American institution.

A future D.C. landmark, the Eisenhower Memorial. The Memorial Commission has one less member after Senator Jerry Moran (R, KS) quietly resigned by slipping his resignation notice into the Congressional Record. The monument's design, by noted architect Frank Gehry, has continued to be controversial. One cannot help but wonder, "What the quiet gentleman from Kansas make of this latest brouhaha in his name?"
Might he not wonder why it has taken more than a decade to reach yet another impasse?

Memphis, the play. The performance at the Arvada (Colorado) fine arts center was most enjoyable. The AC has great acoustics and there really is not a bad seat in the house. The performance was well stage and the actors/singers were great! I heartily recommend the play.

School boycots and walkouts. Students in Jefferson County, a western metro Denver suburb, have begun staging walkouts and boycotts over proposals by the Jeffco School Board to alter the county's US Advance Placement history curriculum to eliminate material about civil disobedience and peaceful protest. The board, apparently, does not care that the national AP tests may well have questions concerning the material they want to eliminate. The national AP organization has weighed in saying that any AP course that does not cover the prescribed curriculum will not be considered AP and students will not be granted college placement credit.
     Imagine a future student's reaction to a question about Martin Luther King, Jr. "Hey, the only Martin Luther I've head about was some European religious guy long ago." But, wait, that probably would not occur to the students because the Jeffco world history curriculum would also have been stripped of all references to religious turmoil. As a colleague loved to say, that group "is a real piece of work."

Gold in them 'thar hills. The aspens are turning the hillsides golden -- even some light reds here and there. Aspens, which grow from an underground root system and different groves are actually classed as separate "living organisms," often having their own shading characteristics. One aspen grove in UT is thought to be among the largest living organisms ever found.

Even more color. Late Saturday afternoon a light autumn rain and oblique sunlight from the west produced a complete rainbow over the valley at Breckenridge. If you were a believer, the twin locations of the leprechaun's pots of gold were distinctly visible. As an added bonus, there was even a faint, partial double rainbow on the northern end of the valley. The average camera/phone camera could not do justice to nature.

Water runoff. Along I-70, on the eastern side of the Eisenhower and Johnson tunnels, various rivulets run down to the highway, providing drainage from unseen upper snow fields. Last year there was no visible runoff after mid-July. This year, however, the runoff has continued all summer, even now into September. Local weather prognosticators say the coming winter will have above average snowfall. Good news for the skiers, reservoirs, and "salt-sellers," but not so good for CODOT's road crews.

Words/phrases. "Ramped up," as in "he's ramped up his out-of-state travel schedule," is one of the current catch phrases of the day. Wouldn't "Increased...." suffice? "Amp up" is an oft used variant.  "Absolutely" still clogs the paper and airwaves rather than a simple emphatic "Yes!"

Good times, Republican style. This Roll Call article previews the probable talking points of Sens. Paul and Cruz, should either throw his hat in the ring. But then, as the old saw goes, "You ain't seen nothing yet!" Far different fare than voters can expect from Hillary or Biden or ???

Barbarians. Over the weekend, House Speaker John Boehner (R, OH) dismissed ISIS saying, "These are barbarians." An interesting word choice. Does the Speaker remember that even though the Chinese deigned to host Marco Polo, they considered him, indeed, all westerners as barbarians? Of course, as Marco Polo talked with the Chinese, only Native Americans peopled the forests of what would much later be Ohio and Boehner's kinfolk undoubtedly considered these First Americans as little more than savages, violent barbarians.

Vacation hiatus. I will be in and out so I'll post again on October 14th. Enjoy these first weeks of fall. Thanks for staying tuned in.

Here are the topics for this week's blog: Two votes, Scotland and Sweden; ebola; ISIS; wonderful concert; climate change; fall rain; election ads

Scotland, a historic vote. As I typed this entry the vote was still two days away, but political junkies the world over were busily speculating on the results, no matter which way the vote went. It was a stark, straightforward choice. YES = Scotland would separate itself from the United Kingdom, becoming western Europe's first new 21st century nation. NO = Scotland would remain in the UK with its current governmental arrangement.
     Until this vote became newsworthy on our "side of the pond," I venture that few Americans were unaware that the current Scottish parliament exercised freedom on virtually all domestic issues; only in matters of defense and foreign affairs did #10 Downing Street hold sway.
     In the end, the "NO" vote carried the day and so the United Kingdom remains in tact, having  "muddled through" this latest crisis.

Scotland, again. This time, though, the story is about an article in the August 2014 issue of National Geographic, "The First Stonehenge: Scotland's Master Builders." Beautiful pictures, as always, accompanied the explanation of this pre-Stonehenge site (ca 3,200 B.C.) in Scotland's northern Orkney Islands. Worthy of the bucket list, if you are headed that way!

Sweden. Though it was little noted in the American media, last Saturday there were national elections in this largest Scandinavian country. Swedes voted for a loose, shaky, unlikely center-left coalition. A young lady whom I know — the epitome of the classic multitalented, daring, small business entrepreneur — viewed the results with despair. Her verdict: four years of "chaos politics." Welcome to the parliamentary equivalent of our own presidential separation of powers / deadlocked Congress dilemma.

Ebola. President Obama made the inevitable announcement: only the US had the capability to help the world's health care organizations cope with this steadily expanding epidemic. Health professionals fear this epidemic could be the 21st century replay of the plague of the Middle Ages, only this time centered on Africa, not Europe.
     Health agencies have begun to outline the massive task facing the world. The ease with which we travel today, something hardly ever considered a problem, further complicates the issue. Congress reacted quickly and favorably to the President's call to action. A silent chorus went up, no doubt, from the 535 members, "Thank God! A nonpartisan issue we can vote for without fear of backlash — even if we are being terribly frugal and late in reacting."

ISIS. Boots on the ground, i.e. American troops? The president says, "No," but the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff says, "Maybe." Most Americans do not hear the whole story if/when it is mentioned, usually as a footnote, that there are now American troops on the ground: trainers and, more importantly, special forces,
     In a recent column, Thomas Friedman talks about the central, convoluted role played by the Saudi Arabians throughout the region and the US reluctance to call out the Saudis over their financing of ISIS and like-minded strict jihadists. And, for that matter, the US seems reluctant to acknowledge publicly that nations like....

...Turkey, Iran and Saudi Arabia have far more at stake in this than the United States. So long as they believe that the United States will attempt to control the situation, it is perfectly rational for them to back off and watch, or act in the margins, or even hinder the Americans. The United States must turn this from a balance of power between Syria and Iraq to a balance of power among this trio of regional powers.

Just now, as I am about to "go to press," President Obama addressed the nation (at 10:14AM on a work day?) about the airstrikes he had just ordered in Syria. More fat in the fire?

Gordon Lightfoot. For many reasons, my wife and I are infrequent concertgoers: exorbitant ticket prices, traffic/parking congestion, special effects that too often overshadow the performer, sound that also is also overpowering. That said, what about reasonably priced tickets to see Gordon Lightfoot in concert at Denver's venerable Paramount Theater? My first thought was that Lightfoot is old enough to remember when a concert was all about the songs and the performer's vocal ability.
     We were not disappointed! It was a most enjoyable concert. No overpowering light show or music! Just Lightfoot and four accompanists: keyboard, bass guitarist, lead guitarist, and drummer. No unnecessary vocal accompanists to muddy his still vibrant voice. One line from his song, "Carefree Highway," asks "Wonder how the old folks are tonight?" More than a few in audience cried out to the effect, "We're here and doing well."

Climate. One of the stories of the week announced what we all have felt: summer 2014 would go down as the hottest on record. This news gave added import to ongoing discussions about the earth's changing climate. Questions about change will continue to consume reams of paper and hours of discussion: how quickly, why, and what steps can be taken to ameliorate what has increasingly come to be accepted as fact? (Florida's Governor Scott, not withstanding.) Recent articles have predicted a dire climate future for we earthlings.

A fall rain. As I typed blog entries Sunday evening, the sounds through the open window beside my computer, announced our first fall rain storm. Short-lived, with relatively quiet thunder and far off lightning were reassuring. I called a friend to pass along my thanks for him having turned on his sprinkler system to water his too-dry back yard. It never fails.

Premier week. Beginning this week all of your favorite (or not-so) shows will be taking up where last season's cliff hangers left you. On Sunday, we passed up "The Good Wife" and "Madam Secretary" in favor of  the final segment of Ken Burns's wonderful series, "The Roosevelts" (PBS). It will be interesting to see how "Madam Secretary" (CBS) is received. The subject and Hillary's probable run for the presidency seem oddly timed — will there be questions about network neutrality?

Mid-term election spending. As noted by PBS, money is flooding into mid-term election campaign coffers at record pace. The January 21, 2010, Citizens United decision loosened the purse strings of the ultra-wealthy: thus far, $228 million and climbing.

• North Carolinians, for example, are being subjected to all the TV ads that $22 million can buy, roughly $23.15/person (not just per voter).
• Floridians are dealing with a gubernatorial race that what may well be the most expensive race of the year;
•  We Coloradans are enduring ads totaling $14 million, or $2.65/person. (US Census Bureau statistics) 

     All of the local TV stations in metro Denver (in your RV market?) provide what amounts to a sort of "truth in advertising" assessment of many candidate/issue ads. Without fail, each ad is found to contain a varying mixture of the true, the misleading, and the incomplete (i.e. needs context). Only rarely, though, can the truth squad point to a totally false statement. Candidates and issue ad-makers are quite adept with their shading.

Thank you for reading. Enjoy the upcoming first official week of Fall 2014.

Here are the topics for this week's blog post: tea for two?; autumn in the garden; nonfiction reading, baseball; Pippin, the musical; Indian summer

More political fireworks? If you thought the political situation was all too confusing, guess again. In the Daily Beast, Sally Kohn investigates the case for a left-wing Tea Party. That is, a group to steer Democrats further left, just as the original Tea Party had drawn Republicans further to the right. Imagine, a "dark side" group for both the liberals and conservatives. Oh, joy!

Fall veggies. As the days shorten and temperatures fall at night, the green in the garden slowly ebbs. A few tomatoes and squash remain to be harvested, but fall is definitely in the offing. Yesterday, the afternoon rain storm brought a short-lived dusting of snow to some of the highest peaks. The local weather prognosticators are busily assembling their models to tell us when the first frost and snow will occur here in the city.

Nonfiction reading. I Don’t Care If We Never Get Back: 30 Games in 30 Days on the Best Worst Baseball Road Trip Ever. I found the title on a friend's blog. He thought it an enjoyable read, even though he is not a baseball aficionado. Several friends and I very much enjoy reading about baseball, then the author  throws in a "road trip?" Should be good.

Pippin. This musical is only very loosely based on history. It was well staged, an enjoyable evening, but as is so often (too often?) the case, the staging overpowered the story. It was not unlike many current concerts where the theatrics overshadow the performer. On Saturday (20th) we have tickets to see Gordon Lightfoot at Denver's Paramount theater. Hopefully.........

Indian Summer seems to be in the offing for the next week or so. We have only had a very light frost here in the city.

Thank you for reading and enjoy the upcoming week.

Here are the topics for this week's blog: a wonderful, unusual rain; non-fiction reading; education funding; immigration; ebola outbreak

Rain. This past Thursday was an unusual evening and night here in Denver. It began raining in the evening about 8 and continued on/off all night. We are not often lulled to sleep by gentle rains; if at all, it is more likely to be the sounds of intense rain, thunder, and lightening of a late evening thunderstorm. Barring unpredicted heat and hot winds, the greenery and lilly pond will need no attention for several days.

Reading, non-fiction. I continue onward through Exile from the Land of the Snows, the story of the 1950s subjugation of Tibet and the exile of the Dali Lama. The "roof of the world" ceased to be free as the People's Republic of China (PRC) sought to close off the avenues of attack from the west from either Russia (USSR) or India. As had been the case in Eastern Europe, the western world turned a blind eye to China's conquest. Consequently, by 1950 Russia had its Warsaw Pact buffer and by the mid-1950s China had secured Tibet.
     It is worth remembering that this was when the US officially viewed China and the USSR as friendly communist nations hell-bent on world-wide domination. Serious students of international relations with contrary views were summarily dismissed, even persecuted, as "commie pinko, fellow travelers." Senator Joseph McCarty (R, WI) was alive and well.
     Only later did Washington awaken to the fact that China and the USSR were deeply distrustful of each other. Not until President Nixon's 1972 trip to China did the US
venture to establish formal relations with the PRC.
     The Dali Lama, revered world-wide as a man of peace much to the displeasure of the Chinese government, has visited the US, the UN, met with the president, and other world leaders; he has even visited Denver for a youth peace conference.

Education Funding. As children head back to school, it is uncomfortable for me to remember how much spending on education in CO has decreased. According to the Pew Research Center’s analysis of 2010 census tract and household income data, residential segregation by income has increased during the past three decades across the United States and in 27 of the nation’s 30 largest major metropolitan areas. Robert Reich notes, "This matters, because a large portion of the money to support public schools comes from local property taxes. The federal government provides only about 14 percent of all funding, and the states provide 44 percent, on average. The rest, roughly 42 percent, is raised locally."

Immigration. This hot button political issue touches every state in the nation. President Obama's earlier pronouncements, made with so much fanfare, are now being summarily retracted. This story from Roll Call (9-8) contains an excellent example of a finely nuanced retraction on a politically loaded question. You know, "Well, we'd love to, but, you see, we can't because..." In August, the nation's business was held in abeyance during Congress's vacation; now the roadblock is the coming November election.
     Go back to the 1840s and ask, "Would the Irish and other Europeans have flocked to America if there had been no potato famine and/or they has wanted to escape the revolutionary violence that swept the continent?" Very probably not so much. Today, it is political violence (Mexico, Central America, and elsewhere) and America's relative prosperity that spurs immigration to our shores.

Ebola epidemic. This article from Foreign Policy draws comparisons between the world's response to the Asian tsunami and the current ebola outbreak in Africa.

Thanks for reading. I hope your week goes well.

These are the topics for this week's delayed blog: the Putin Doctrine; economic inversion;  another journalist's death; a welcomed visit.

1823 vs 2013, Monroe v. Putin, so to speak. Tension continued to mount in eastern Ukraine. This from Foreign Policy, Aug 26th.

The Putin doctrine -- the belief that Russia has the right to act to protect Russian-speakers, no matter where they are -- puts NATO nations such as Estonia, Latvia, and Poland at risk. Each of these countries has citizens who speak Russian; the Kremlin has suggested it would penetrate those borders if Moscow thought those populations were threatened.

In 1823, the US warned off European powers, declaring the western hemisphere out of bounds to further European colonization. Today, a "wounded," distraught Putin, shorn of his Russia's empire, seems to be adapting the US example.

"Where's the beef?" Sometimes today's news triggers old memories. Remember Clara Peller, Walter Mondale, and Gary Hart (1984)? Ms. Peller did Wendy's humorous TV "Where's the beef" commercial with which Johnny Carson (et. al.) had a field day. Then Walter's political ads questioned Gary's "insubstantial" political platform. This past week's news put Burger King in the crosshairs as this iconic US corporation announced plans to buy Tim Horton, the Canadian fast food chain, and "invert" in Canada to cut its
tax bill. Just as with the original ad, controversy erupted.

Steven Sotloff.  Apparently second American journalist has been murdered by ISIS. The following quote is noteworthy. "The Death of Steven Sotloff," Dexter Filkins, New Yorker, 9/2/2014.

Carl von Clausewitz, the Prussian historian, told us that war is the continuation of politics by other means. What he meant was, wars are fought to advance political objectives. When the objective is attained, or when an army exhausts itself trying, the war ends. The Clausewitzian rule is true whether a war is noble—going to war to defeat Hitler—or ignoble—sending tanks into eastern Ukraine to set up a vassal state. The point is that, for Clausewitz, violence is an instrument used to secure a political objective.


A most enjoyable visit. An ex-USAF colleague and his wife arrived from Boston and spent several days with us in Breckenridge, CO. The weather gods provided two glorious days with sunshine and cobalt blue skies.

Thank you for reading and I hope your Labor Day weekend went as well.