Here are the topics for this week's blog: happy birthday; voting rights; issue ads; immigration; The Donald, a loser?; oil bust; an unusual, political contagion; the fear factor; fall evenings

August 25th. The day to remember my mother -- and a happy birthday to all others who share the date!

Voting Rights, 50 years on. One of the cornerstones of democracy is the right to vote.  In a column this past week, E.J. Dionne notes that, though the Voting Rights Act of 1965 was meant to guarantee the vote to all eligible American citizens, still the battle continues. "The good thing about democracy is that there are no permanent defeats. The hard part is that some victories have to be won over and over." Now the great bogey man is that illusive "fraudulent" voter. Trouble is baying at the moon does not create werewolves and very, very few fraudulent voters have ever been identified, let alone prosecuted. That old Chicago adage "vote early and often" seems to be very largely a misnomer.
     Last week the answer to a Jeopardy question was "Who was Winston Churchill," who famously declared that "Democracy is the worst form of government, except for all those other forms that have been tried from time to time."

Iran and emissions. I do not know about your area, but here in Denver we are seeing, not only TV "candidate ads," but also issue ads (largely against) on both the Iranian agreement and proposed industrial emissions regulations. This quick use of paid advertising seems a new tactic by both sides.
     Re Iran and the bomb. Seventy years ago, the US let loose the atomic genie and is the only nation to have actually used that horrible genie against other humans. Ever since there has been a growing list of nations that have the bomb, some with, some without our assistance. Russia, Britain, France, Israel (undeclared), China, India, Pakistan, North Korea. One might be inclined to think some of these nations are "scarier" than others, but it not mere possession by any nation a scary proposition.

The Newcomers. Being ever the heretic, should we now examine our immigration and citizenship processes? Bob Dylan reminded us that "the times they are a-changin' ". Over the years waves of immigration have changed, too, as has our society's perceived need for these new comers. It is a familiar story: from the mid-1800s, America's immigrants dug canals, built railroads and highways, pushed the nation westward. Indeed, these newcomers powered Manifest Destiny and pushed America to its international prominence. 
     The constitution evolved, too, as slavery was formally ended and citizenship further defined in the 14thAmendment to include those "born or naturalized" in America. This definition was largely accepted and, until very recently, had not been much questioned. It should be noted, however, that these earlier immigrants mostly came from abroad, through our Atlantic and Pacific coast ports.
     Back then, massive numbers of Canadians were not streaming southward. Now, however, the world's economic and political picture has changed and there are millions of Latin Americans streaming northward. This is one of the driving forces behind today's debate. See this link in the Huffington Post for a discussion on the legal issues surrounding this one section of the 14th Amendment.

The Donald, a loser? A blogger at The Daily Beast thinks it highly unlikely that Trump will put himself on a ballot and risk losing to "lesser" candidates, many of whom he has already derided as "losers." To put the question another way, would a bloviating megalomaniac risk suddenly looking silly and second rate? Hope springs eternal.

Oil prices. From Washington Post columnist, Fareed Zakaria, "While we have been watching the Islamic State and discussing Iran, something much bigger is happening in the world. We are witnessing a historic fall in the price of oil, down more than 50 percent in less than a year. When a similar drop happened in the 1980s, the Soviet Union collapsed. What will it mean now?" Indeed. While frackers in the US were thriving, they and some OPEC members (even the Saudis) are feeling the hurt. Unstable nations in our own backyard (e.g. Mexico and Venezuela) are facing new pressures from their growing populations. Things are not at all good.
     The Saudis “know it hurts them but they hope it will hurt everyone else more,” says [Leonardo] Maugeri [of Italy's Eni corporation], now at Harvard. "One of Saudi Arabia’s main aims is to put U.S. producers of shale and tight oil out of business. So far, it has not worked."
     Consider these economic facts, how much some national economies depend on oil: Venezuela, 96%; Russia, at least 50%; Iraq, 95%; Iran, ?, but increasing if sanctions are lifted.

"Recovering" Governors. They are a rare breed, with only 10 in the US Senate and just one in the US House. They are former state governors, who have been elected to national office. "Democratic Sen. Thomas R. Carper of Delaware put it this way on the Senate floor in December: 'We’re sort of a support group for one another — men and women who used to be somebody and be special.' ” Kermit said, "It's not easy being green" and, apparently, the same hold true for former state chief executives.
     John Kashich, former OH governor, is slowly inching up among the plethora of Republican presidential candidates, in part by touting his past executive experience. Two former governors (Crist, [D, FL] and Culver [R, IA]) are presently considering running for US House seats in their respective states. History tells us that only one ex-president was ever elected to the US House -- John Quincy Adams, (MA), who served there until his death.
     Is it possible that running for / holding elective office is contagious, much like the measles?

A pleasant, if passing, touch of fall. Last week the night-time temperatures in the Queen City of the West have dropped into the low 50s. Crickets are still singing merrily along, but the tomatoes are not ripening so quickly, though the yellow summer squash continues to be prolific. Fear not, the weather prognosticators predict warmer temperatures are on the way -- just in time for school to begin.

Thank you for reading. Have a peaceful week.

Here are this week's topics: sport thoughts; an important man; music remembrances; shade balls; Iowa State fair.

Slow sports action, fast weather. Occasionally, I have the TV tuned to a baseball game, as much for the background clamor as the game. This season the powers that be changed the rules attempting to "speed up the game," i.e. make it less boring? What I have noted, though, is not so much the new accelerated pace as the "on camera" interviews/palavering that play while the game continues in a smaller-than-full screen, testimony I guess to a usually slow paced, less than riveting contest. Is the game not as hide-bound as the ball?
     That's OK, fear not, the NFL pre-season is about to begin. I used to tell my students that a football game presented a good chance to do their math homework: a guaranteed 25 seconds between plays. Of course, my math teachers friends objected and that was before the networks began to use those 25 secovnds to re-run every play! Meanwhile back in Denver, last Monday Dove Valley, the Broncos' practice facility, was flooded and closed to the public the day after one of the front range's not unusual, violent afternoon downpours. High winds, hail, and lots of rain! Completely flooded and further south, you may have seen TV news coverage of cars being swept, once again, down the main street in Manitou Springs, a tourist town just west and upstream from Colorado Springs.

James Earl Carter. In his typical, straight forward style, President Carter announced that the "small mass" on his liver was cancerous and that it had spread; he would be undergoing treatment at Emory Healthcare in Atlanta. While there will be interminable debates about his presidency, I cannot help but feel he will be fondly remembered as one of America's great "post-presidents." His humanitarian actions around the globe have been praised at home and abroad.
     As a former naval officer, no doubt the melodious, seafarer's hymn, "Eternal Father, Strong to Save..." (the US Navy and Coast Guard hymn) will be sung when he passes. It is probably little known that Carter's brother, Billy, and his two sisters died of pancreatic cancer, as did his father. His mother died of breast cancer. Indeed, at one time Carter's family had the very dubious distinction of being the only known family with four generations of pancreatic cancer victims.

Music memories. I was sitting at dinner one evening and Elton John's song "Tiny Dancer" was playing in the background. Long ago I coached a petite young lady as St. Mary's Academy who was a runner and dancer; my wife nicknamed her "Tiny Dancer" and to this day her face and memory float up whenever I hear the song.

CA water savers. CA is using so-called shade balls to help conserve water in large reservoirs. The experiment began several years ago and was just implemented with much fanfare and TV coverage in Los Angeles. The EPA has mandated that all reservoirs be covered in some way. Several older reservoirs in the metro Denver area -- one quite near -- are underground. Today shade balls represent a much more cost effective approach.

Round 1. "The Donalds" chopper thundered in, at least for the moment drowning out the other candidates; fair-goers and photographers alike deserted Hillary. Only the indomitable
Bernie seemed to rise above the noise. E. J. Dionne's recent column is instructive.

Thank you for reading. May you have a quiet weather-week.

Here are the topics in this week's blog: Round One; hummers in the mountains; gardening at altitude; the right track; drone wars.

But, wait. There's more? If only this entry were about one of those loud, eminently forgettable TV ads by the late Billy Mays. Alas, it's not and there will be more of these GOP candidate debates, many more. Things have morphed. Are we in the twilight zone?
     On September 26, 1960, an estimated 74 million viewers watched a live broadcast as presidential candidates, Senator John Kennedy and Vice President Richard Nixon, squared off in the nation's first-ever presidential debate. One debate, two candidates. This past Tuesday's two dust ups were the first of many.  
      Ttrivia fact: On that fateful night in 1960, 88% of American households had a TV set. One wonders what the figure is in 2015. There are many more debates to come and, though warnings will not be forthcoming, Miss Piggy and moi would advise viewer discretion. Lord,have mmercy.

What's that "buzz?" This past week I spent three days in Summit county at a friend's "cabin" on Green Mountain Reservoir. (Heeney, CO, is the post office). For everyone's pleasure -- especially his grandchildren -- John has several humming bird feeders on his deck. These delightful, artful fliers migrate from Central America, pass though Denver, then continue on into the cooler high country. Whether you are young and old, you cannot help but watch with awe as they flit between John's willow bushes and their feeders.Thei

Fresh produce. My wife's squash and tomatoes have begun to produce; we are still awaiting the final verdict on the struggling honeydew melon. Our neighbors hope the squash lives up to their name, plentiful.

The right track? There is much ado from both Democrats and Republicans about the so-called "right track." Polls purport to tell us what percentage of Americans think we are on the right or wrong track. The devil is in the details, of course! No doubt, every candidate, every voter has their own take on what's right. Now, if only the candidates would just tell us just what is their track! There is a lot of bluster and generality spouted on the campaign trail, but a paucity of specificity, far too little enlightenment to suit moi.

Chinese drones. Photos have surfaced of an armed Chinese drone that crashed in Nigeria. Reportedly the Chinese are selling drones to the Nigerian government to assist in fighting the Boco Haram terrorist group. The US has been assisting the fight by flying unarmed drones from a base in Chad, but will not sell armed drones, lest our "secrets" become known.

Thanks for reading. Have a quiet and pleasant week.

Here are the topics for this week's blog: the LRB, an eclectic weekly offering; toxicity close to home in the halls of Congress; Bernie's new money twist; rain, now fire; sounds of summer; finally crickets; Beijing in the winter; training camp; your people?; a troubling anniversary.

The London Review of Books. This week's blog post in LRB covered a wide variety of topics, nearly something for everyone: a recently discovered Charles Dickens relic, Queen Elizabeth II's childhood amidst the English upper-crust, who were often fascist-leaning, Barack Obama and the Mau-Mau related history of the Jomo Kenyatta International Airport where he landed, dwarf planet Pluto and the 94th element, art in The Tube [London's subway]. 
     Re art in The Tube. London's underground is not alone in having art. Moscow's subway stations, many built far underground as bomb shelters and factories before/during WW II (aka The Great Patriotic War) were sumptuously decorated when the war ended. A major station in central Moscow, reputed to be the world's deepest, features crystal chandeliers; other treasures abound. If you go there, it is well worth the price to ride from station to station, get off at each and have a look around. Having ridden Washington, D.C.'s Metro and ridden "down into" the world's second-deepest station (Rosslyn), in 1984 I could not resist riding down into Moscow's deepest station. The USSR was alive and well in 1984, so as an American tourist, I may well have had a "watcher" in tow, but I was not looking.
     Music, too, abounds in many stations. NYC's subway is particularly tuneful and one station often features a concert violinist who plays for spare change to supplement his philharmonic salary. It is not at all uncommon to spot a musician hefting an over-sized instrument strapped to their back.

Toxic couches. Congress is now considering an overhaul of the nation's toxicity statutes and, would you believe, tests of the foam in six couch cushions from buildings on the Hill have tested positive for a known carcinogen. Members of Congress' so-called "couch caucus", take note! The couch of one of the bill's sponsors, Tom Udall (D, NM), tested positive.
     The high cost of living in Washington, D.C. has resulted in some elected officials sleeping in their Capitol Hill offices, hence the  unofficial "coach caucus." If memory serves, there was a time when it was against the rules for representatives or senators to "live" in their offices. Now those toxic couches, some in live-in offices, may have a felicitous effect on legislation.

Internet Money for Bernie. In yet another twist in the game of money-raising and campaign building, Senator Bernie Sanders (I, VT) hosted a nationwide, internet fundraiser from Capital Hill. A whole new meaning to "meet and greet."

Good News, Bard News. Colorado had its wettest-ever May and June. Now that the weather is drying out the abundant grasses will provide ample fuel for summer fires.

A welcome sound of summer. I opened the window beside my computer table on Friday evening and for the first time this summer heard the back yard crickets chirping merrily away. After Denver's very wet May, June, and early July, it has finally dried out enough for the blissful evening sound. Now I can fall asleep to the sound of the back yard lily pond fountains and Jiminy!

Beijing, Winter Olympics 2022. After a number of locations declined to host the 2022 games, Beijing was finally chosen in a close vote. Declining sites (Oslo, Munich, Stockholm) had past experience with Olympic games. It seems that taxpayers are increasingly unwilling to see their tax moneys spent on venues for Olympic competitions -- winter or summer. This growing reluctance highlights a need to step back from "the old way," perhaps establish one world venue for winter and summer games. "A common talking point about the Olympics is that it can be economically beneficial for host countries and cities, which receive a boost from added tourism and investment. However, there is little evidence to support this claim." In short, is it time to start thinking about the Olympic athletes and the facilities, not the money that can be raised for the host city/nation? 

The Broncos and Dove Valley. Washington Post columnist Colbert I. King laments that for the first time he is not anxiously anticipating news from NFL training camps. He opined, "The sport is being reduced to vaudeville...Unfortunately, Sunday after Sunday, some players use NFL fields across the fruited plain as platforms to display an intellectual development appropriate to juveniles...Frankly, I’m also embarrassed for them because they are too emotionally stunted to know better." Meanwhile, the first Bronco fan lined up at 1am Friday morning in Dove Valley for admission to the first camp session.

Feeling unloved?  A Saturday morning CBS news segment focused on a company that, for a price, will assemble your very own crowd.

Trinity in NM, Hiroshima, and Nagasaki. On December 8, 1941, in his speech to a joint session of Congress, when FDR called for a declaration of war against Japan, he uttered the historic phrase, "... a day [December 7th] that will live in infamy....." FDR did not live to see three other dreadful days in world/American history: the days on which the US ushered the world into the age of atomic warfare with the Trinity test in New Mexico, Hiroshima, and Nagasaki. Here is a link to a story that discusses  Five myths about the atomic bomb. Myths about which there has been much debate: (1) it ended the war; (2) it saved half-million American lives; (3) the only alternative was to have invaded of Japanese homeland; (4) Japan was warned beforehand; (5) its use was meant to gain diplomatic advantage over the USSR.
     In the more recent past, there is great outcry from our nation's leaders about the use of WMDs against civilians (chemical weapons by Hussein and al Assad). Most Americans have conveniently forgotten or, as the above story notes, excused our use of the ultimate WMD against civilians. Last week there was a PBS News Hour segment on America's first true "down-winders," the residents of Tularosa, NM, located only some 40 air miles from the Trinity blast. Like the Japanese, these New Mexicans were given absolutely no advance warning of (nor guidance regarding) hell that was about to be unleashed.
     Upon witnessing the Trinity explosion, the "father" of the atomic bomb, Robert Oppenheimer, said,  "We knew the world would not be the same. A few people laughed, a few people cried. Most people were silent. I remembered the line from the Hindu scripture, the Bhagavad Gita; Vishnu is trying to persuade the Prince that he should do his duty and, to impress him, takes on his multi-armed form and says, 'Now I am become Death, the destroyer of worlds.' I suppose we all thought that, one way or another."

Thanks for reading. Have a peaceful week.