Here are the topics for this week's blog: worsening weather; the Aurora (CO) freak show; the Iranian deal; the Cuban response; DAM, upcoming impressionist flower exhibit; Hudson Gardens, a summer wedding; the Iranian deal; new climate study; Justice Alito on gay marriage

Rain, winds, flash floods, and ruin. Lately the TV news has been filled with appallingly clear pictures of widespread destruction in the nation's midsection. Torrential rains caused creeks and rivers to quickly rise, trapping some, drowning others, destroying a multitude of homes, entire communities. Is the weather actually worsening, or are we just made more aware by today's instantaneous news cycle? "Good Lord willing and the cricks don't rise!" This old phrase is probably crossing more than a few minds.

The Centennial (CO) theater-shootings trial. It took the jury just a little over 13 hours to hand down their verdict: guilty with extreme indifference on all counts; now on to the sentencing phase: life imprisonment or death. Here, too, the verdict came swiftly: death. Now comes the seemingly interminable appeals process. 

Nucs or not. This NYT article attempts a layman's explanation of the most complicated Iranian arms arrangement. We know that the US is not all that keen about opening its nuclear facilities to foreign inspection, so why should the Iranians or Pakistan, India, North Korea, or Israel feel any more inclined. Why is a Pakistani nuclear weapon to be feared any less than an Iranian bomb?

Raul Castro. One wonders how long Fidel's now 84 year-old brother will hold on to power. Even more interestingly and importantly, who will govern Cuba when the Brothers Castro have passed from the scene? How steeped in the 1959 Revolution will that person/group be?
     Whatever terms of this Monday's reconciliation, they will be determined largely by the younger Cuban-American and Cuban political communities, none of whom will have been personally involved in the Revolution.
     An article in the Daily Beast notes that an "open Cuba does not mean [a] free Cuba." Here, the author sensed "...the self-evident problem with communism: communist economies produce not what the worker needs but what a government bureaucrat has decided to make available for purchase...The Soviet-style shortages persist, listless youth continue to mope everywhere on street corners and the octopus-like tentacles of the state still reach into every corner of Cuban life...“[R]epression inside the country has not diminished — it’s simply more sophisticated...For ordinary people, things go on almost as before, especially for those living in the interior of the island and in the east.”
     How true. On cannot help but wonder how long will it take for the Cuban government to see the light?
     Watching an old movie, it crossed my mind that the Cuban government is sitting on a veritable cinematic gold mine. The streets of its major cities are resplendent with vintage brownstones and automobiles, a visual treasure trove awaiting the movie industry. 
     On my recent visit to Russia, I stood in central Moscow's now very plush GUM department store thinking back to my 1984 visit. In the heyday of the USSR, GUM amounted to nothing more than a huge, drab, glass-covered flea market, shelves stocked with what you would expect to find at any shabby weekend flea market in the US. Now your door was opened by young, polished liveried, top-hatted men, ushering you into what amounted to an indoor Rodeo Drive.
     In 1984, if you wanted fresh vegetables, you visited an open air black-market tucked away on a well-visited side street. Now there was the Moscow equivalent of London's Marks and Spencers at GUM. 1984 -- 2004. This could have been present day Havana.

DAM. That's the Denver Art Museum. A new exhibit is opening, "Painting Flowers in the Impressionist Age." (If you are in the area, it is well worth a visit.) This past Friday evening I attended a preview for DAM members. These previews have become quite popular and not just about art. They also provide an opportunity for those who want "to see and be seen." Certainly, the fashionistas see preview evenings as a chance to see what's now in vogue. It is a very nice show and I will go back for a closer look when the exhibit is less crowded.

Hudson Gardens. Our neighbor's son was married last Friday evening at Hudson Gardens. Newly weds, Garrett and Amanda, were blessed with a splendid Colorado evening, a cobalt blue sky and light, cool winds. This garden is another of our little-known metro treasures. This from Wikipedia: "The Gardens began in 1941 as the private garden of Colonel King C. and Evelyn Leigh Hudson, and became public in 1996. They contain varied grounds ranging from high, dry prairie to river wetlands, and feature plants that thrive in the dry Colorado climate." I do hope you, too, have a similar hidden treasure and can arrange a summer visit.

Iran's final word. President Obama's thoughts not withstanding, remarks by Iran's supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, at the end of Ramadan (the Muslim holy month) made clear his country's continued hostility towards the US. We are at once tolerated and vilified.
     In a corollary "would you believe" category: the Israeli ambassador to the US (Ron Demer) was born in FL and he has been quietly meeting with 30+ members of the Congressional Black Caucus. His visits are an apparent effort to counteract feelings among CBC members that the recent visit and speech to Congress by Israeli prime minister Netanyahu was disrespectful of President Obama. 

"How high's the water, mama?" The answer from a new sure to be controversial climate study seems to be "10 feet high and rising." A friend who follows these studies professionally believes this report is likely "spot on." The report does, however, outline some steps that can be taken to lessen these dire predictions. But, only if there is a concerted world-wide effort to lessen mankind's dependence on fossil fuels.

Gay marriage. In an interview with conservative columnist, Bill Kristol, Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito took the unusual step of commenting on the Court's recent Obergefell (gay marriage) decision. Looking beyond this specific issue, Justice Alito said the "decision effectively annihilated any sort of limits on constitutional protections."

Thank you for reading and may your upcoming week be pleasant.