Here are this week's topics: an olde tome; immigration; a "white" Europe; identitarianism; words on war to ponder; Ferguson, MO; Senator Cruz (R, TX).

Old anatomy. If you are not vegetarian, then after you have dissected the holiday bird consider this nearly 500 year-old manuscript. You may have thought only Michael Angelo and friends were in the forefront of the interest in human anatomy, but there was also Andreas Vesalius.

Immigration policy. [This entry was begun on Wednesday evening after the time for President's national address was announced.] The 'fat's in the fire" — even before the speech's delivery. First, on the more trivial side, why the timing (8 pm eastern) instead of the more usual 7 pm eastern? To avoid conflict with the season finale of the now immensely popular TV series, Scandal, or the Latin Music Awards? Second, and more seriously, the inevitable before speech punditry about the possible long term impact of what some have already declared to be presidential over-reach. The "slippery slope" argument; though, as Washington Post columnist Ruth Marcus noted correctly, “Presidential power, once expanded, is hard to contain." Indeed, some foresee that Republican howls of protest may be somewhat tempered by the "what if" scenario, i.e. they control both the executive and legislative branches after November 2016.

Identitarianism. Unfamiliar with this word? Apparently this is the new designation for those (mostly young white males) deeply concerned about the future of the white race, read as those adamantly opposed to "the perceived threats of multiculturalism, liberalism, and globalization." The Foreign Policy article, titled "The Bumbling Bigots of Budapest," related what happened when the Future Europe Congress began its two-day meeting in the Hungarian capital. Things did not go well; apparently Hungary's new strongman, Prime Minister Viktor Orbán, was not quite ready to side openly with such an openly racist group.

War and disillusionment. This Foreign Policy article ponders the too often un-/ill-considered consequences of war. Today's all volunteer army is one reason the conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan are not simply re-runs of Vietnam. Many Vietnam vets did not volunteer for war but, none the less, suffered war's unintended consequences. Many of today's volunteers suffer these same uncertain outcomes.

A town, state, nation waiting and on edge. It seemed inevitable that the release of the grand jury findings in the death of Michael Brown would produce, at best, limited chaos. Michael's parents, the President, etc. have called for calm, no violence to degrade their son's death. My first hope was that the jury's findings would be issued early in the morning; it seems self-evident that the light of day will lessen the impact of any resulting chaos. All of the usual groups, pro- and con-, have plans in place; as do some new groups, e.g. the New Black Panthers and the Revolutionary Communists, to name just two.
     For whatever reason, the grand jury's verdict was announced after dark at 8pm in Ferguson. There will be no charges filed against the Ferguson police officer who shot Michael Brown. Violence quickly ensued in Ferguson and many other widely scattered cities.We remain a nation troubled by our racist past.

Another deadline passed. The foreign news items included the passing of yet another missed deadline for the Iranian nuclear talks. A Foreign Policy article lists four considerations:

1. Rouhani and Zarif have the power to cut a bargain. But neither is a free agent. Both have to ultimately deal with the aging leader of an authoritarian theocracy.
2. Iran needs a deal, but how badly?
3. Interests are more important than pride. Yes, but perhaps not for Iran's aging supreme leader.
4. The Rolling Stones are [not] always right...Sometimes you really will hold out for what you want, not just what you need.

A lesson unheeded. The title of the Washington Post's right-leaning columnist, Jennifer Rubin read, "Ted Cruz learned nothing from the [previous] shutdown." Harsh words aimed at a possible 2016 presidential candidate. Ruben's wrote, "The stunt he inspired was, for all but the Kool-Aid drinkers, a low point in recent Republican history." And the beat goes on.

Thank you for reading and I wish you a pleasant Thanksgiving.

Here are the topics for this week's delayed blog: polar news; a humorous/helpful voice lost; post election news; a faltering legacy; Earth's really big problems; morning autumn smells; new faces in the 114th Congress; The Berlin Wall, an unlamented passing; 21st century change; $ in politics; inequality; Catalina Island;a deserved statue in the US Capitol.

Arctic ice. Fast on the heels of last week's UN report on global climate change comes news of one of the lesser known impacts of global warming: likely changes in the Arctic Ocean. Melting ice is opening the way for greater access to not only the sea lanes, but also to the area's as yet unrealized mineral and oil potential. Governance of the Arctic and Antarctica are vastly different. This article from Wikipedia  gives an indication of the situation for the latter, the world's fifth largest and most southern continent. Wikipedia also delineates the north polar region.

A lamented passing. If you have ever wondered "what's wrong with my car" or just been fiddling with the radio dial on Saturday morning, you may have bumped into Tom and Ray Magliozzi, "The Car Guys," NPR's Boston-based, on-air mechanics on "Car Talk."  Those humorous discussions with their call-ins provided NPR listeners with more than a few chuckles, as did their ever changing sign-off litany of imaginary sponsors, e.g. their legal consultants, "do-we-cheat-them-and-how." Sadly, Tom passed away last week from complications of Alzheimer's disease. His zany antics will be missed!

Red is the new color. That's the color sweeping across Capitol Hill this post-election November. We will see if there are any truly fundamental changes.
     On the Senate side of the Capitol, the very non-dynamic Harry Reid (D, NV) was replaced by the equally lackluster Mitch McConnell (R, KY). Not much dynamism at the top for either party.
     The House will be even more solidly Republican-red. Perhaps you are old enough to remember the McCarthy anti-communist era when red was not a color of choice. In those days, what would we have called a  Republican-dominated congress?
     In his weekly Friday column, Charles Krauthammer remembered the President's comment in October that every one of his policies were on the ballot. Krauthammer continued, "They were, and America spoke. But it was a negative judgment, not an endorsement of the GOP. The prize for winning is nothing but the opportunity for Republicans to show that they can govern — the opportunity to seize the national agenda." Stay tuned.

President Obama's legacy. Sadly, what began with great hope has soured with time. It is possible that the President's greatest legacy may simply be: America's first African American president.

The really BIG problems. Following the elections there will be much said in Washington about problem solving, but what really matters down the road will probably not be part of the mix. The recent UN report on climate change pointedly alluded to a "tipping point," when the consequences of present day climate-related choices will become irreversible.
     From Foreign Policy comes this past Wednesday's segment "A Small Step Backward for Mankind." There have been two recent steps backward for the American space program. The resupply shuttle for the International Space Station blew up just after lift off at Wallops Island, VA, and Richard Branson's Virgin Galactic Two space plane disintegrated while gliding back to earth from its mother ship. The article notes,

Both [accidents] are examples of what sociologist Charles Perrow famously dubbed "normal accidents": catastrophes that should properly be blamed not on the proximate cause -- a loose lever or jammed valve, say -- but on the inherent complexity of technologically intricate systems. As he wrote, "Risk will never be eliminated from high-risk systems." In fact, Perrow argued that singling out the particular thing that has gone wrong can be counterproductive: "Since [redundancy] is often added after problems are recognized, too frequently it creates unanticipated interactions with distant parts of the system that designers would find it hard to anticipate...But make no mistake: Nothing is simple in spaceflight. Unless you see a rocket launch in person, you miss just how improbable it is that the contraption works.     

     While reading about the resupply shuttle explosion, a friend (a commercial aviator), his cockpit colleague, and myself were all remembering the famous short film we had seen years ago: a compendium of America's early space failures: rockets lifting off, only to crumple and disintegrate, falling sideways off their launch pads amid immense fireballs, the deadly Apollo capsule fire, etc.
      What now? If the planet is indeed in danger from our own economic activities and a growing population, our human-generated  dynamics have to change. The Earth's future may well lie with something as yet only dimly imagined. Experimentation -- with its normal accidents -- must be continued. To whit, the successful landing of the European Space Agency's Philae on Comet 67P after a more than 10-year, 3-billion mile odyssey.

Apples in the morning. Ever so much better than napalm ("Apocalypse Now"). Just a short way along  my "down the hill" walk, there is a prolific neighborhood apple tree. I am not certain how many of the apples are used throughout the growing season or how many harvested in the fall. No matter, those that hit the ground in the fall provide food for local varmints whose chewing releases the smell that reminds one very much of autumn. Now if we were just permitted to burn leaves.

The 114th Congress. Here is a National Journal link to a searchable data base of the new members. Interesting possibilities; check your state.

The Berlin Wall revisited. Communism's "Anti-Fascist Protection Rampart" went up in short order  (beginning 8-13-1961) but was dismantled even faster (10-23-1989). After its very unexpected construction, President Kennedy declared himself "a Berliner" (6-26-1963) and President Reagan famously implored Mr. Gorbachev to "tear it down" (6-13-1987). International events and the people of East and West Berlin brought it down. Here is a remembrance of the Wall's demise, 10-23-1989, by a young, not-quite-yet reporter, Christian Karyl remembers, who remembers the event very clearly. "The Wall looked strong on the outside. But that concealed a basic flaw in its design: It only worked as long as people still believed in its power. Once they stopped, it fell."
     Chillingly, George Packer, who mirrors Karyl, writes in his essay, The Birth of a New Century, "It's possible to imagine Putin [an old fashioned autocrat] testing the integrity of NATO, hoping to find that it exists on paper only."
    In 1965, while in the USAF, I stood at the heavily guarded and barbwire protected "Check Point Charlie;" as a tourist in 2012, I slowly strolled past an historical sign at what was now just another corner intersection.The Wall is gone and now paving stones trace its route through the cosmopolitan capital of the reunited Federal Republic of Germany.

Outmoded government. From Senator Mike Lee (R, UT), "Most systems we use to provide government services were designed decades ago, before the tech and telecom revolutions that have changed the way Americans do almost everything else. In 20 years, will we need, say, a Government Printing Office or Internal Revenue Service in anything like their current forms?" One can only wonder how many other federal departments, agencies, and programs are in desperate need of structural reform and modernization?

Money in politics, US vs UK. The 7th most expensive US senate race (Arkansas, $56.3m, $26.47/voter) cost more than the entire 2010 general election in Britain. The Economist notes that citizens in both the US and UK voice the same complaint: "Angry, distrustful British voters are convinced that democracy is being undermined by vast sums of corrupting money, to the point that elected representatives are essentially bought and paid for by wealthy special interests....[In sum]...this columnist agrees with those rooting for campaign finance reform. I just would not expect it to have magical effects on the public’s angry, distrustful mood."

Inequality. From the Economist (quoted in Foreign Policy): The most grotesque element of this existential threat to the American dream, to America's sense of itself and to its fundamental social cohesion, is growing inequality. In fact, it is inequality at historic levels. As reported in the most recent issue of the Economist, the top one-tenth of 1 percent of America's population is about to achieve a level of wealth equivalent to that of the bottom 90 percent.

Island of Romance. Have golf cart, will travel. A just completed cruise included a day on Catalina Island. You may remember the Four Preps and the lyrics, "26 miles across the sea, Santa Catalina....the island of romance...." We knew our prearranged, self-tour and adventure quest of the island was via golf cart, but we were totally surprised that so many of the locals travel by cart. There is a long, multi-year wait for a permit to bring an auto onto the island; in fact, two vehicles have to be removed (disposed of?) for one new permit to be issued! A slow, wonderful day was had by all.

US Capitol, Monday, Nov 17th. A bust of Václav Havel was unveiled to mark the 25th anniversary of the "Velvet Revolution" that freed Czechoslovakia from Soviet domination.  His is only the 4th bust of an international leader enshrined in the US Capitol. (Britain’s Winston Churchill, Hungary’s Lajos Kossuth and Sweden’s Raoul Wallenberg)
     In 1989, three months after this peaceful revolution succeeded, Havel addressed a joint session of the US Congress and emphasized the importance of morality in politics and economics, saying we should base our actions on “responsibility to something higher than my family, country, my firm, my success.”   Sadly, his words seem somehow foreign in the current political climate.

Thanks for reading. I hope you have a good week.

Election Day, 2014. Here are the other topics for this week: TV ads; presidential trivia; parasitic capitalism and Ebola; Blackwater; Sir Nicholas Winton; Halloween;Ukraine; death with dignity.

George Will. Regarding the crush of TV ads, here is a  prescient statement, if there ever was one, "Ads become audible wallpaper, there but not really noticed." Will's column is well worth reading, especially if you live in Illinois, which he characterizes as our "worst governed" state — hard to argue with given that four of the previous nine governors have been convicted and jailed on various corruption-related charges.

This was not a "presidential year," but here is a short bit from the trivia portion of last Tuesday's NPR Daily Presidential Trivia.
     "Congratulations to David Schooler ..... for guessing [last] Monday’s trivia: Teddy Roosevelt is still the youngest person to assume of the office of the presidency; who is the runner up? The answer was: JFK." Though it should be noted that JFK was the youngest person ever elected to the presidency. [emphasis added]

Ebola.com  This domain name was owned  by Blue String Venture, and represents parasitic capitalism at its best. As noted in the linked story, the URL ebola.com was "flipped", i.e. sold for $200,000 for cash/stock for "a mix of cash and stocks, specifically $150,000 in Cannabil Sativa, Inc. The CEO of that company is none other than former New Mexico Gov. Gary Johnson, now Libertarian Party provocateur, who in a recent Fox news interview suggested that marijuana might -- just might! -- hold a [unproven] cure for Ebola." Cannabis Sativa is yet another shadowy company with ties to the Weed Growth Fund, which may have ties to Russia. As Alice might have said, "This corner of the internet world gets curiouser and curiouse r."

Blackwater. Contractors, like the now-renamed, infamous US-based firm, are still a part of the developing face of America's approach to many defense-related endeavors. Can we now add the fight against ebola to this scenario? Who knows at what straws the government might grasp.

The White Lion. "An Old Man in Prague: the Discretion of Nicholas Winton" is the title of Roger Cohen's column in last Thursday's New York Times. For those who missed the 60 Minutes piece, Sir Winton is 105 years-young and his mind is crystal clear that “I didn’t really keep it secret. I just didn’t talk about it.” What he did not talk about was saving 669 (then) Czechoslovakian children, mostly Jews; he still mourns the last unsaved contingent of 250, lost to the horror of the Holocaust. He has been knighted by Queen Elizabeth II and last week was given the Czech Republic's highest honor, The Order of the White Lion. Statues in London and Prague attest to his legendary status.
     Today, in a time rife with self-promotion, Sir Winton's self-effacement should be much celebrated. “In a way perhaps I shouldn’t have lived so long to give everybody the opportunity to exaggerate everything in the way they are doing today.” Not so, Good Lion!

Halloween, 2014. A steady stream of ghosts, goblins, and assorted other characters, from adorable to spooky, came to the door. More often than not, this year we were greeted with a cheery "Happy Halloween!" Perhaps, this was due to the fact that for the first time in several years no one felt rushed, no parkas over the costumes to ward off the cold. It was good to hear that in my native PA one of the nation's "most wanted" had been captured, putting the area's trick and treating back on schedule.
     From New Delhi, India, came this story of a haunted courthouse. "In opening their investigation, the bar association joined a long list of other authorities who have taken complaints of paranormal activity seriously in India, a country that lives, it is said, in several centuries at once." A police officer was quoted, “We entertain all complaints, be it against zombies or werewolves," he told the Times [of India] earlier this year, speaking about another paranormal matter. “This is how everyone in India is brought up — listening to ghost stories,” said Sushil Sharma, a lawyer who has worked in the courthouse since 1989.
     There was no full moon, but it was still a good night to re-read Washington Irving's classic short story, The Legend of Sleepy Hollow.

Ukraine.  This from the "Morning Brief," Foreign Policy (11-03). Pro-Russian separatists in Ukraine elected Alexander Zakharchenko, a 38-year-old former mining electrician, as head of the 'Donetsk People's Republic.' The vote was denounced as illegal by Kiev and the European Union. Meanwhile Russia allegedly encouraged the exercise, though Moscow has yet to formally recognize the validity of the election. You cannot help but speculate: did the Kremlin orchestrate the election of Mr. Zakharchenko, a mining electrician? He calls to mind another electrician-turned politician, Poland's Lech Walesa.

Assisted suicide. However unpleasant, all that follows is food for thought that is driven by the unintended consequences of modern medical technology.
     The states of WA, OR, MT, NM, and VT have laws which permit a physician to write a prescription for what may be a life-ending dose of barbiturate.  A young woman, Brittany Maynard, diagnosed with terminal brain cancer, made public her decision to end her life at an appropriate time. Her decision ignited the just-below-the-surface debate on what is often called assisted suicide. Indeed, on Sunday, November 2nd, Ms. Maynard decided to end her life, a decision that will most certainly further drive discussions of what she characterized as her "right to die with dignity on her own terms."
     As painful as it is to contemplate, Ms. Maynard seems to have forthrightly stated both sides of the issue. In an interview with CNN, she said, I've had the medication for weeks. I am not suicidal. If I were, I would have consumed that medication long ago. I do not want to die. But I am dying. And I want to die on my own terms.  I would not tell anyone else that he or she should choose death with dignity. My question is: Who has the right to tell me that I don't deserve this choice? [emphasis added] That I deserve to suffer for weeks or months in tremendous amounts of physical and emotional pain? Why should anyone have the right to make that choice for me?
     The following linked op-ed piece was written by Marcia Angell, a physician and senior lecturer in social medicine at Harvard Medical School and a former editor in chief of the New England Journal of Medicine. The article concerns the death of her late husband, Arnold S. Relman, also a distinguished physician who had been chairman of the department of medicine at the University of Pennsylvania and editor in chief of the New England Journal of Medicine; he knew very well what lay ahead of him. As a physician, Ms. Angel relates her dissatisfaction with the end of life situation forced upon her late husband. 

Thank you for reading. I hope you are not too depressed by today's election results — besides, the results from GA and LA senate races could be weeks away!