This week's notes. Optimist; notable US dates; foreign policy by tweet; truth; Secretary of Defense; an unusual export; Supreme Court news; end of an era in Germany; head "mother;"

Optimist, 23 December. Link here. A most unusual -- and needed -- present: firewood. What to do with your soon-to-expire frequent flyer miles? Donate them to people who want to, but cannot afford to travel, to see loved ones. This year's best/most notable photos.   https://www.washingtonpost.com/graphics/2018/national/amp-stories/stories-year-in-photos/?wpisrc=nl_optimist&wpmm=1

Notable dates in US history.
     19 December 1998: the Republican-controlled US House voted to impeach President Clinton. In 1972: Apollo 17 splashed down in the Pacific ending America's lunar landing program.
     20 December 1803: The Louisiana Purchase was completed, adding 827,000 square miles (530M acres), nearly doubling the nation's size.    
     21 December 1620: the Pilgrims landed at Plymouth, MA.
     22 December 1944: In the "Battle of the Bulge," U.S. Brig. Gen. Anthony C. McAuliffe rejected a German demand for surrender, writing “Nuts!” in his official reply. The word instantly gained notoriety.
     25 December: two legendary singers died on Christmas Day; 1995, Dean Martin; 2006, James Brown

Colorado (CO) & the West.

• CO 7th fastest growing state: 1.4%, 1 July 2017 to 1 July 2018
• NV and ID topped list
• CO may be growing quickly, but a self-sufficiency study from the Colorado Center on Law and Policy found that a quarter of households in the state don’t earn enough income to cover basic living costs in the area where they live.  

The Wall: actual or idea? The shutdown. For the president there has to be a physical wall because everything has to be about him. The same for his "base?" Or is the base more realistic? Certainly many of those living near the Rio Grande know that a portion of the US's southern border "moves," that the border is wherever the river wanders.

Nuclear past. This High Country News (HCN) article examines one of the US's continuing problems from the nuclear past: the Hanford facility in Washington state, the site of our largest nuclear waste dump. "The scale of nuclear waste is like that: sprawling out into the metaphysical distance, too big for the human mind to hold."
     How toxic? "If you were to pull a shot glass full of liquid out of one of the tanks buried near us, it would kill everyone with[in] 100 yards instantly. And the danger would not disappear: Plutonium has a half-life of 24,100 years."
     Clean up? "The plant is supposed to start processing the most toxic waste in 2036. But construction has stalled out and most of the waste sits in underground tanks, some of which have begun to fail."
     “There’s a lot more work to do than there is money to get it accomplished,” Price [the tri-party agreement section manager for the Washington Department of Ecology, which regulates Hanford,] said. “We’ve really come to a fork in the road.” 
     That said, you probably should not buy any land "down stream" from Hanford!

DJT & foreign policy. The Donald does not need to consult anyone -- not Secretaries Pompeo (State) or Mattis (Defense), the Joint Chiefs, not the NSC -- his gut just tells him and he tweets for all the world to know. Our very own Caesar, if you will. For the latter it was the Senate and Forum, now for DJT it is the internet and a Tweet.   Lord, have mercy!
     Victoria Nuland in the Washington Post: "With his decision to withdraw all U.S. forces from Syria, President Trump hands a huge New Year’s gift to President Bashar al-Assad, the Islamic State, the Kremlin and Tehran." Surely by now, there is not a leader in the world that does not know how to "play" the Donald. If only he knew he was being played.

     E.J. Dionne: "The week before Christmas may go down as the strangest and most revealing [until now ?] of Donald Trump’s presidency. Over just a few days, his sheer thuggishness, venality and corruption were laid bare. But it was also a time for Trumpian good deeds that allowed us a glimpse at how he might have governed if he had been shrewder — and had a genuine interest in the good that government can do."

     Declare victory and go home?  Home to what?

RIP: Weekly Standard. Possibly, the GOP, too? John A. Burtka IV is the executive director of the American Conservative magazine and he noted "...a conference [was held] at Washington’s Niskanen Center titled 'Starting Over: The Center-Right After Trump.' The underlying assumption of the conference: It’s time for moderate conservatives to regroup and reconsider their relationship to a Republican Party that has been overrun by populists, nationalists and demagogues. Could this be the new American triumvirate, in alphabetic order: Conservatives, Democrats, Trumpers? 

Truth? From a Toles' cartoon in the Washington Post. Judge: "Ignorance is no excuse!" Trump: "But, I didn't know that."

Colorado River. As this HCN article notes, the growing water demands in the West point to future conflicts between upper and lower basin states over the dwindling water in the Colorado.

Secretary of Defense. Secretary Mattis' letter of resignation was a well written, scathing statement of what he saw as needed accomplishments and a rebuke of his president's feelings and actions regarding allies and our mutual He was pleased to have served the nation and the men and women in uniform. Nowhere did the Secretary say he was pleased to have served his president.
     Columnist Max Boot wrote, "Trump does not appreciate the deep commitment that troops feel to the causes for which they fight. His only enduring loyalty is to his bank account....Mattis’ resignation was his final act of devotion to a nation he has served his whole adult life...[Mattis, one] of the last remaining adults has left the building. The president is home alone with his Twitter account — and our nuclear arsenal."

Science news you may not find out about. This article speculates about what science news the president does not want you to know. Democracies only truly work with necessary information, truths.
     "Over the past few decades, one federal agency after another has thrown up barriers limiting the media’s access to researchers....Earlier this year, a Food and Drug Administration public affairs officer declined to put me in contact with an expert who could explain how the agency evaluates the safety of genetically modified plants, instead emailing me boilerplate."

Education, an export? As improbable as it may seem, Catherine Rampell makes the important point that America had, at least in the past, an important -- very lucrative -- export. "In trade terms, this means we run a massive surplus in education — about $34 billion in 2017, according to Commerce Department data. Our educational exports are about as big as our total exports of soybeans, coal and natural gas combined....[However, a] recent report from the from the Institute of International Education and the State Department found that new international student enrollments fell by 6.6 percent in the 2017-2018 school year, the second consecutive year of declines."
     Nations are reducing their "subsidies" for their students and working to improve their own educational systems. However, foreign students... " '[feel] they’re no longer wanted in the United States,' said Lawrence Schovanec, president of Texas Tech University, whose foreign student enrollment declined by 2 percent this year. Sixty percent of schools with declining international enrollment, in fact, said that the U.S. social and political environment was a contributing factor, according to the IIE survey."
     Is the "goose and the golden egg" worth recalling?

The new divide. Fareed Zakaria writes that a new dividing line in societies may be rural folk who feel neglected by their urban elites who "run" their nation's governments. He points to the spectacle of France's urban populists, the "yellow vests," joining the nation's far right populists....Just as in France, the United States and Britain, the movement appears to be a rural backlash against urban elites." The US now has a president who recognizes how he can profit by exploiting this new divide.

Supreme Court. A divided (5-4) court let stand a lower court's ruling blocking President Trump's attempts ban illegal immigrants from seeking asylum. Chief Justice Roberts voted with the majority. Associate Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg had a lobe (with cancerous nodules) of her left lung removed.

Germany's coal industry...  officially shut down as 7 miners brought a lump of coal to the surface.

Reindeer mother. In the vast reaches of Finland's heavily forested Lapland, reindeer herders are keeping tack of their herds by attaching GPS-enabled collars to each herd's female leader. Finnish scientists hope to eventually shrink the size of the battery (now the size of a card deck) to a small chip that can be embedded in an ear tag.

Thank you for reading. I hope your Christmas was joyous, filled with good fellowship.

Topics for the past week: Optimist; notable US dates; persons of the year; antisemitism; pollution controls; Russian intentions; an aging America; gentrification; "farewell" to the Senate; China, trade or tech war; bowl season; Christmas eggs; nuclear energy; Russian rap; centenarian sky diver; high school sports;

Optimist, 16 December. Link to the section.
     Basketball phenom. Fran Belibi is still learning, but she can play -- and dunk -- with the best. The young lady, a senior at Regis Jesuit High School (Aurora, CO), has settled on attending Stanford University, largely because it has a medical school on campus. Her parents are doctors and, at present, she has no plans to play basketball beyond college; she wants a medical degree.

Notable dates in US history.
     12 December 2000. The Supreme Court's decision in Bush v. Gore effectively meant that George W. Bush had been elected president.
     14 December 1799. George Washington, our first president, died at the age of 67 at his home, Mount Vernon, VA.
     15 December 1791: The Bill of Rights went into effect with VA’s ratification.
     16 December 1773: There was a "tea party" in Boston, MA.
     18 December 1865: The 13th Amendment banning slavery was declared in effect.  In 1917, Congress passed and sent to the states for ratification the 18th (prohibition) amendment.  

Persons of the Year. This year Time magazine chose "Guardians of the Truth," including  Jamal Khashoggi, other journalists, even newsroom staffs. Lately, being a journalist has proved hazardous occupation.

Russian intentions. The guilty plea of Maria Butina for illegally trying to influence US policy seems to indicate that the Russian government deliberately tried to set the stage for changes they wanted, in this case working through the GOP and the National Rifle Association.  Ms. Butina agreed to cooperate in exchange for a lesser sentence. This is just one more bit of evidence in an evolving picture in which members of the Trump family and administration play a role, however unwittingly.

Antisemitism vs. freedom of speech. In Foreign Policy, Shibley Telhami notes, "The firing of Professor Marc Lamont Hill as a CNN contributor after his speech at a United Nations event commemorating the International Day of Solidarity with the Palestinian People has generated considerable debate about free speech that goes beyond the case itself—what is legitimate criticism of Israel, and what constitutes anti-Semitism."
     On 14 May 1948, America became the first nation to recognize the de facto existence of the State of Israel. (Official, de jure diplomatic recognition followed in 31 January 1949.) Ever since, criticism of Israel and its policies has been a touchy subject for American politicians. Something to which Professor Hill can now attest. The president's son-in-law, Jared Kushner, will be well advised to pay heed and carefully walk that thin diplomatic line, because, as Telhami also notes, Americans' views are slowly changing. The situation is becoming more nuanced.

Prime Minister Netanyahu's problems. As if there were not enough problems in the Middle East, the PM finds himself, to borrow a phrase, in the midst of his own "witch hunt," a "raft of bribery investigations...a collision between political survival tactics and the rule of law in a democracy." Misery loves company, does it not?

An anti-Muslim campaign on Capitol Hill. Ola Salem reports that "Gulf Arab monarchies are using racism, bigotry, and fake news to denounce Washington's newest history-making politicians." Specifically, the two newly elected Muslim women elected to the US House of Representatives, Ilhan Omar (D, MN) and Rashida Tlaib (D, MI), are being targeted.
     "On Sunday (past), Saudi-owned Al Arabiya published a feature insinuating that Omar and Tlaib were part of an alliance between the Democratic Party and Islamist groups to control Congress."  Also, "American conservative commentator and pastor E.W. Jackson complained on a radio show that Muslims were transforming Congress into an 'Islamic republic.' ” This chart from the PEW Forum is instructive about the US Congress compared with the American population.

Pollution in your area? The Trump administration is rolling back safeguards against water pollution. Hopefully you will not be among those affected.

Poverty in your area? A new study by the CO Center on Law and Policy reports that more than one quarter of Colorado families cannot afford the basic costs to sustain themselves. Where you live in the Mile High state matters a lot: $19,175 in Huerfano county (CO's poorest) vs. $30,369 in Boulder county. Statistics may have changed dramatically in your state, too.

America's elderly. In a letter-to-the-editor in the Denver Post, Mr. Phil Nash writes, "The United States is at a demographic turning point. Next year, we will be a nation with more people older than 60 than under 18. If our economy is to keep growing, competition for employees will intensify....We’re a half century behind in our thinking about the value of people over 60 who want or need to keep working. The U.S. also lags behind other nations in recognizing the opportunities to capitalize on older adults’ increased longevity....A thriving U.S. economy needs fresh thinking about human resources to capture the nearly unlimited potential of older adults to contribute."

Gentrification -- it is everywhere. Marfa, in dusty, rural west TX, has become an arts city and destination for artists and tourists alike. Jeffery Brown's PBS Newshour "American Creators" segment highlights the gifts, drawbacks, and unintended consequences of "becoming." One takeaway: gentrification is not confined to America's urban centers. Higher prices for housing, food, taxes, etc. have hit home in Marfa, just as they have in San Francisco, Silicon Valley, etc.

Fond farewells. This CSM article relates some of what was said by various US senators as they departed Capitol Hill for the last time. Too many see troubled times in the future.

China. Michael Morell and David Kris think the US should be most concerned about China's use of technology "to steal information and the theft of technology itself." This is, they believe, a new kind of Cold War. Whether or not President Trump shares their view is unknown; for him it all seems to be a continuing trade and tariff tiff.

New Mexico Bowl. Just think, if all 49 states plus Washington, D.C. were to join forces 100 more less than lustrous football teams could hope to fill their sports coffers with bowl revenue.

An egg at Christmas? At the Dominion Diamond Mines and Rio Tinto Group, a mine in Canada’s frozen north, 'tis the season! A 552 carat yellow diamond was unearthed. In the late 1800's, in "North to Alaska," it was gold they sought.

Nuclear energy. Those two words do not elicit favorable thoughts/responses for  many. None the less, the Idaho National Laboratory has restarted its nuclear waste processing operation. Discussions will reverberate throughout the energy and environmental community.

Russian rap. Some readers may remember the past when the Soviet government took a very dim view of American jazz. The leadership was astonished when Russians reacted to news that Louis Armstrong had cancelled his 1957 Moscow concert; how did Soviet citizens "know" jazz?  The leadership was equally surprised when the Dave Brubeck quartet opened to sold out audiences. "How did they know?"
     Now rap music is all the rage and President Putin seems to remember the past. He has announced that rap's components, "sex, drugs, protest," are a danger. He has pointed especially to "drugs," but the last, "protest," is the real target. Putin says “if it is impossible to stop, then we must lead it and direct it.” Good luck with that, Vladimir!
     Singers, like Russia's beloved writers and poets, are not easily censored, nor banned. Do the names Pasternak, Solzhenitsyn, Yevtushenko, Bulgakov, Zamyatin, and Zamyatin not yet ring bells in the Kremlin? Even before the Berlin Wall fell and the beloved USSR were put in the rear view mirror, Russians and tourists alike flocked to the hill above Moscow to visit/mourn at Pasternak's grave at Peredelkino. Just as they now visit the monastery and New Donskoy Cemetery to visit/mourn Solzhenitsyn. No signs, no directions, none needed! As Dionne Warwick said, "...you know the way to..."

Sky diving with a purpose. What do you when you are 102 years-old Australian and want to help raise money to fight the motor neuron (ALS) disease killed your daughter? If you are Irene O'Shea, you use your cane to get to the aircraft that takes you up to 14,000 feet, and you jump out over Langhorne Creek; this was her second jump and may well garner her the designation as the world's oldest female skydiver.

Volunteer craftsmen, Santas all. The factory workers are older senior citizens, the painters are prison inmates, the young recipients around the world are thankful to both. The average age of the toy craftsmen is 80. Deliveries take many forms. One long-haul trucker stopped at the Tiny Tim's Toy Foundation in West Jordan, UT, and was given 5 boxes (575 toy wooden cars) which he distributed at children's hospitals along his route.

Thank you for reading. May your winter solstice be "merry and bright."

This week we note: the Optimist; notable US dates; election fraud and voter suppression; 115th new folks and business; #MeToo, unintended consequences; Leninist China; Saudi Arabia; holiday silliness; climate and the Nobel; Hungary; the good guy with a gun; homelessness; John Dean; "Who, me, chief of staff?"

Optimist, 9 December. Link here to the entire section. A worldwide search. The internet may help save a child's life as appeals are made for donors with her most rare blood type. Hope springs eternal.

Notable US dates. 
     5 December. In 1848, a speech by President Polk triggered the CA gold rush. In 1933, prohibition was ended when UT became the 36th state to ratify the 21st Amendment. In 1945, USN Flight 19 and a recovery plane disappeared in the infamous Bermuda Triangle, yet another disappearance story for this area.
     6 December. In 1790, Congress moved from Philadelphia to New York. In 1865, slavery was abolished by the 13th Amendment when GA became the 27th state to ratify.
     7 December. In 1941, Pearl Harbor was attacked. In 1789, Delaware became the first state to ratify the Constitution.
     9 December 1965: The animated "A Charlie Brown Christmas" was first shown on CBS.
     10 December. In 1869, WY Territory granted women the vote, becoming a footnote in the suffrage movement. In 1964, MLK, Jr., received his Nobel Peace Prize in Oslo, Norway.
     11 December. In 1972, astronauts Eugene Cernan and Harrison Schmitt landed on the moon, becoming the last two humans (to date) to walk its surface.

Election fraud and voter suppression. Amid the stories about still undiscovered election fraud, the only substantive one seems to involve one from NC, about an operative who worked for a GOP congressional candidate. Leslie McCrae Dowless, who has been at the epicenter of the alleged voter fraud controversy, now finds himself under close scrutiny in a congressional race which has yet to be declared.
     Professor Donald Moynihan talks about what's happening in his state (WI) and elsewhere to disenfranchise voters. Dana Milbank notes the flurry of bills being introduced in WI and MI to limit what can/cannot be done, "...to weaken the power of the incoming Democrats and to deter future Democratic voters. A similar effort is underway in Michigan." In WI, the in-coming governor says he will ask now-Governor Scott Walker to veto these bills.
     Why all these machinations? Leonard Pitts' again notes conservative's worst fears. "It casts them [conservatives] as the real victims here, contending with a widespread conspiracy of voter fraud in which armies of  'illegals' vote early and often, to the detriment of good, God-fearing conservatives." Climate change is happening, just as is America's voting population is changing. Denial flies in the face of reality! Voter suppression cannot bode well for democracy.
     In MS, multiple former public officials, including a former police and fire chief, were arrested on election fraud charges. In UT, a newly elected county commissioner will tackle the election mess in what the state's governor called the "epicenter of dysfunction in election affairs."

115th Congress' first business. Forty-six newly elected freshmen Democratic members have sent their leaders a letter stating that the first business of the new Congress should be legislation -- not investigations. Question: Will Representatives Pelosi, et. al. pay them heed. Interestingly, most pundits and congressional watchers have voiced the same view. Being re-elected in two short years may hinge on what they have actually accomplished (enacted), not what they fulminated about.
     They have also requested "holding monthly meetings between top leaders and freshmen, seats on the most powerful House committees, more committee hearings held outside of Washington and a 'set calendar' that will allow members to balance their political life at the Capitol with time back home in their districts."

#MeToo. Fewer women in positions of power/importance? Inevitable unintended consequence? "The story called these collateral adjustments the 'Pence Effect,' referring to Vice President Pence’s personal rule of not dining alone with a woman who isn’t his wife."

Leninist China. This article from Foreign Policy examines how under President Xi Jinping, "[T]he CCP Central Committee—the center of political power in China—is returning to its own organizational strengths as a Leninist political party to push its interests in the global arena....The 19^th Party Congress declared that 'north, south, east, west, and center—the party leads everything.'" The goal is the “great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation." Deviation is unacceptable.

Saudi Arabia and Mohammed bin Salman (MBS). Selected US senators were briefed by CIA Director Gina Haspel and reportedly most tend to believe the CIA's assessment  that Saudi prince MBS was involved in, probably ordered, the murder and dismemberment of Saudi dissident Jamal Khashoggi. President Trump has said in effect that whether the prince was or was not will not affect our economic relationship with the Saudis. Similarly, few believe that murder of Russian dissidents could have occurred without the knowledge/direction of President Putin. 
     "Bob Corker, the Republican who chairs the Foreign Relations Committee, declared that 'if the crown prince went in front of a jury, he would be convicted in 30 minutes' of murder." Bipartisan furor is increasing in Congress.

Silliness, PETA and songwriter Frank Loessar. The public is weighing in with more than 90% favoring "Baby it's cold outside," with its lyrics being questioned by the #MeToo radicals. Now PETA questions the use of "kill two birds with one stone" and "beating a dead horse." As if there were not far more Mother Earth-shattering news to consider.

Nobel Prize for economics. This year's recipient will be "...economist William Nordhaus [of Yale University for] his profession’s .... research on global warming...that’s been hugely influential—and entirely misguided..." Obviously, not everyone finds the award so noteworthy. At this point, though, any recognition of Planet Earth's dire straits should be welcome news.

Rising autocracy. This article "The New Autocrats," examines worldwide trends that do not bode well for democracy.


Hungary. Foreign affairs columnist, Anne Appplebaum, discusses the Hungarian government's recent decisions that fly in the face of NATO policies by following President Trump's cues, championing the latter's versions of "sovereignty" and "nationalism."

Trump's heartland: still misunderstood. Gary Abernathy, a contributing columnist for the [Denver] Post, is a freelance writer and former newspaper editor based in Hillsboro, Ohio. Abernathy writes from "Trump country" and contends that much of the mainstream (partisan ?) media, having misread events in election 2016, still does not understand "Trump country." He say, "Americans — left, right and middle — remain in desperate need of a more comprehensive and balanced informational narrative across the media spectrum." Fox News is not enough.

The questionable "good guy." In this CSM article, Patrik Jonsson wonders, "Is it safe for a black man to be the [NRA's vaunted] 'good guy with a gun?' " Questions arise after several recent incidents in which black men, who were indeed the legally armed "good guys," were shot and killed by police. Further, it would seem that due deference is not paid to black heroes compared to white heroes.

Homelessness. It is probably impossible to find a city of any reasonable size where the number of homeless is decreasing. Oakland, CA, like other cities is experiencing gentrification and rising housing prices, both of which drive up the number of homeless. The city is turning to bold experiments with programs designed to "stop it before it starts." Economic statistics point to the fact that well run programs that help prevent foreclosures, often a precursor to homelessness, are less expensive in the long run.

John Dean. Dean, who has some experience with presidential impeachment proceedings says the future does not look pleasant for "Individual 1" (President Trump ?) or the Democratically-controlled House of Representatives in the incoming 115th Congress.

White House Chief of Staff. Apparently, at least four possibles -- loyal Republicans all -- have declined President Trump's offer. When his first choice said "no," there was no Plan B. While in any previous administration might have been considered a real "plum," it seems to now be a thankless (hopeless ?) pursuit. In any number of countries, such machinations would bring knowing nods, smiles, and thoughts to be associated with a less sophisticated country.

Thanks for reading.

For this week: Optimist;  notable dates; churches no longer; new Democratic blood; Mexico's new president; hemp; federal and state monies; juvenile sex trafficking; gerrymandering; Paris unrest; climate change; a (female) war correspondent's remembrances.

Optimist. Link for Sunday's 2 December. George H.W. Bush, our longest lived president passed away. In our harried, troubled world, all may not be lost; there are still kind, caring people out there. Stephen Hillenburg, an ALS victim, used his "Sponge Bob" cartoon, to provoke laughter help to save the world's oceans.

Notable Dates.  29 November 1864. Sand Creek, CO. The Colorado militia killed 150 peaceful Cheyenne men, women, and children.
     2 December 1823. President Monroe announced his doctrine, seeking to eliminate European forays into the western hemisphere.
     3 December 1833. Oberlin, America's truly first coed college, began holding classes.
     4 December 1978: San Francisco, that west coast bastion of liberalism, installed its first female mayor, Diane Feinstein, to replace the assassinated George Moscone. 


Missing: your church? This Atlantic article notes the re-purposing of many American local church buildings. Interestingly, the long standing (often debated) tax exempt status of church property and structures has not saved many from bankruptcies. Declining membership, smaller offerings, and the so-called mega churches taken their toll.

New Democrats. Once upon a time there was FDR's New Deal. What the Democratic party desperately needs now are New Democrats. With all three of the party's House leaders pushing 80, the younger party members remain reluctant to do more than talk a good fight about replacements. More than a few have been dissuaded by the political plums offered by Speaker-apparent, Nancy Pelosi.
     A recent Toles political cartoon in the Denver Post featured an early, morning-after encounter with a hungry soul confronting brightly lighted 'frig packed, not with left-over turkey, but a crumpled Nancy Pelosi! This Mother Jones article discusses Beto O'Rourke and his very unconventional, nearly successful campaign to unseat Senator Ted Cruiz (R, TX). The presidential election of 2020 is providing yet another reason for the "Pelosi Crew" to hang on" and not even announce their retirement.

Mexico. There's a new president in Mexico City, a leftist, the first in more than 70 years. He is Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador and his relationship with President Trump may be very interesting. His inauguration was marred by the killing of one newspaper reporter and an attack on police station.

Industrial Hemp. This non-drug relative of marijuana may be legal once again. This story is datelined, Albuquerque, NM, but Senator Mitch McConnell (R, KS) is "leading the charge" to include legalization in the pending farm bill. Hemp has not always been out of favor. During WW II it was heavily cultivated for all manner of defense-related purposes. In 1942, a black and white movie, "Hemp for Victory," touted its use.

Federal and state finances. With a government shut down a possibility, some states are wondering if they will once again be forced to spend state revenue to maintain needed services. AZ, CO, NY, and UT have had to use state funds to keep their national monuments and parks open.

Juvenile sex trafficking. Columnist Leonard Pitts notes the series by the Miami Hearld's Julie Brown on young girls trafficked for sex and how some high level officals are involved with this sordid story. The Washington Post story talks of billionaire and Trump friend Jeffrey Epstein's 2008 guilty plea.

Gerrymandering. Add Missouri to the list of states that moved this past November to try and end the partisan gerrymander. Theirs will be a mathematical "fairness" approach.

Paris mayhem. Columnist Anne Applebaum thinks the "democratic world" would do well to note what happened last weekend in Paris -- and why. "With their origins firmly in cyberspace, the gilets jaunes [for their reflective yellow safety vests] aren’t connected to any existing political parties, although several [far left and far right] are already trying to claim them." Mundane, bread-and-butter issues like "green taxes" that have raised gasoline prices and highway speed limits are among the complaints. In a country whose elders remember the Paris riots of 1968, the advent of easily spread social media-based anger is not welcomed. The young, of course, have no recollections of their city violent not too distant past.

Climate change. It is hard to imagine a more improbable site for the UN's annual climate summit than Katowice, Poland. This city, in Poland's Silesia district, is synonymous with the coal industry. For obvious reasons, Silesia was a target in WW II of both Hitler's Germany and Stalin's Soviet Union. Its abundant coal continued to supply the USSR throughout the Cold War. 
     This statement by Poland's president, Andrzej Duda, was an upfront truth. “We are trying to save the world from annihilation, but we must do this in a way that those who live with us today in the world have the best possible living conditions...Otherwise they will say, ‘We don’t want such policy.’” Of course, that's if there is a changing climate in President Trump's world!

Uyghar, heartland. The "disappeared" may be usually thought of in connection with Argentina's rightist juntas' efforts to rid themselves of their nation's leftists (i.e. communists). But, as this CSM article notes, the ethnically Han Chinese Communist Party very much wants to divest China's Uyghars of their ethnic identity. Thousands, perhaps hundreds of thousands, are in "training prisons" (i.e. "re-education centers") scattered throughout Xinjiang province (far western China). Probably not a topic broached between Presidents Trump and Xi.

War from the female point of view. The Face of War, Martha Gellhorn. Of course, Ernie Pyle and his colleagues had access, but for the distaff side it was a different story. Ms. Gellhorn leapt into the fray in the Spanish Civil War, which, if it is remembered at all by the general public, is by way of Hemingway's For Whom the Bell Tolls. As she proceeds through the world's succeeding conflicts there are subtle hints of what feminism was only occasionally an asset. She remembers that after the horrors of seeing Dachau and the A-bombs she nearly gave up, "left war altogether."

Thank you for reading. I hope your December has begun well.