Biden Appears Set to Ignore Leonard Peltier

 

by Pa Rock

Citizen Journalist

Leonard Peltier is an eighty-year-old Native American who is in frail health and has spent most of his life under lock and key.  As a youth he suffered three years in a government boarding school, and he was arrested in 1976 in connection with the shooting of two FBI agents and has been in prison ever since.  Peltier was the only person convicted in the June 26th, 1975, shooting on the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation in South Dakota, and he was sentenced to two life terms.  He has admitted being involved in the shooting but denies killing the agents.

Many felt that Mr. Peltier's conviction was based in large part on social and cultural biases of the times and a strong government deterrmination that someone had to be held accountable.  After his two co-defendants were found not guilty in a separate trial on grounds of self-defense, that left Peltier as literally the only Indian still standing, and he was found guilty - even though there was no evidence showing that he shot the two agents.  The case also became more muddled later when it was learned that the prosecution had withheld evidence that would have benefitted Peltier's defense.

Many notable individuals have come forward over the years asking for clemency for Peltier, or a least a new trial.  A few of those include Mother Teresa, Nelson Mandela, the Dalai Lama, and Pope Francis.  Actor Robert Redford made a documentary film which raised serious questions about the government's case against Peltier.  But all of the appeals have fallen on deaf ears of US Presidents who possess the power to pardon him or commute his sentence.

Joe Biden is probably Peltier's last hope.  Today it was announced that President Biden is pardoning an additional 2,500 drug offenders making him the President who has pardoned or commuted the most sentences.  And while Biden may make a few more pardons or commutations during his final few days in office, Leonard Peltier's name does not seem to have made the list.

It's truly a case of now or never.   The eighty-year-old Peltier suffers from kidney disease, a heart condition, and Type 2 diabetes.  He also contracted and managed to survive COVID, is nearly blind in one eye, and requires a walker to move around.  Donald Trump, who pardons people like Joe Arpaio, has no interest in righting social wrongs, so if Biden doesn't act it is probably "game over" for the old man who wants nothing more out of life than to spend some time with his family and grandchildren.

Leonard Peltier's conviction was dubious at best and his continued incarceration is shameful.

In 2022 the Democratic National Committee drafted a "Resolution to Consider an Award of Executive Clemency for Leonard Peltier."  I printed it in this space more than two years ago - and am closing with it again today

Damn it, Joe, get off the dime and let that old man out of prison!

Resolution to Consider an Award of Executive Clemency for Leonard Peltier:

WHEREAS, Democrats have sought to use clemency powers to secure the release of those serving unduly long or unjust prison sentences; and

WHEREAS, the Obama administration commuted the sentences of more than 1,700 people serving unjust sentences after a thorough review of their individual cases and the Biden

administration has so far used clemency powers for more than 75 individuals serving unjust sentences as part of a broader strategy to make the criminal justice system more fair; and

WHEREAS, the Biden administration, under the direction of Secretary Deb Haaland, is leading a historic investigation into the lasting social impacts — such as, historical and intergenerational trauma — of the federal Indian boarding school system that separated Mr. Peltier from his family at a young age; and

WHEREAS, Mr. Peltier is 77 years old, and has served more than 45 years in federal prison – at least five years solitary confinement – in numerous prisons across the United States; and 

 

WHEREAS, Leonard Peltier is Native American, elderly and suffers from severe health conditions, including diabetes and a lethal abdominal aortic aneurysm; life ending if ruptured;

and

WHEREAS, The Department of Justice (DOJ) has issued a national response to the COVID-19 pandemic authorizing the Federal Bureau of Prisons (BOP) to release elderly inmates and those with underlying health conditions from federal prisons; Mr. Peltier is imprisoned at the Coleman Federal Correctional Complex in Florida and qualifies for early release under BOP guidelines; and

WHEREAS, Mr. Peltier was convicted and sentenced to two consecutive life sentences in 1977 for the murders of Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) agents Ronald Williams and Jack Coler, killed on June 26, 1975, during a confrontation with members of the American Indian Movement (AIM) on the Pine Ridge Indian reservation; Joseph Stuntz, a 23-year-old member of the Coeur d’Alene Tribe, was also killed that day, and his death was never investigated; and

WHEREAS, Mr. Peltier was extradited from Canada based on false statements of an alleged eye witness who later retracted her testimony; and

WHEREAS, many evidentiary and procedural irregularities arose during Mr. Peltier’s prosecution, such as alleged key eyewitness to the shootings later retracting testimony disclosing threats against the eyewitness and family by the FBI; and

WHEREAS, a 1980 Freedom of Information Act ruling revealed to Mr. Peltier’s lawyers the prosecution withheld evidence that might have impacted Mr. Peltier’s case; and

WHEREAS, although legal experts have criticized the trial for its failed due process, appeals for presidential consideration of clemency by distinguished Americans and justice organizations have had no success; and

WHEREAS, this further diminishes American Indians’ faith in the criminal justice system throughout the country; and

WHEREAS, hundreds of tribal nations have supported early release and clemency Mr. Peltier’s throughout the years, and the Turtle Mountain Band of Chippewa, of which Mr. Peltier is a member, has offered housing, elderly support, and reintegration services upon Mr. Peltier’s release; and

WHEREAS, petitions for Mr. Peltier’s release are widespread and urgent, including those who once were part of the 1977 criminal prosecution and former U.S. Attorney James H. Reynolds, having garnered over 275,000 signatures on a petition requesting President Biden grant Mr. Peltier clemency; and

WHEREAS, Amnesty International, a global human rights organization with over 10 million members, supporters, and activists worldwide, continues the call for Mr. Peltier's release to this day; and

WHEREAS, Mr. Peltier has overwhelming support from internationally respected champions of human rights, including the late Nelson Mandela, His Holiness the Dalai Lama, Mikhail Gorbachev, Mary Robinson, former President of Ireland and United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, the European Parliament, the Belgian Parliament, the Italian Parliament, the Kennedy Memorial Center for Human Rights, the Rev. Jesse Jackson, Rigoberta Menchu, seven Nobel Peace Prize Laureates (including Archbishop Desmond Tutu and Shirin Ebadi), Rage Against the Machine, Pete Seeger, Carlos Santana, Harry Belafonte, Gloria Steinem, and Robert Redford, representing but a fraction of those who recognize the injustice imposed upon Mr.Peltier; and

WHEREAS, the National Caucus of Native American State Legislators, tribal nation leaders, and the National Congress of American Indians, within our representative states and beyond, have demanded Mr. Peltier’s clemency and release;

THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED, that the DNC platform states that the President should use clemency powers “to secure the release of those serving unduly long sentences;” and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, that given the overwhelming support for clemency, the constitutional due process issues underlying Mr. Peltier’s prosecution, his status as an elderly

inmate, and that he is an American Indian, who suffer from greater rates of health disparities and severe underlying health conditions, Mr. Peltier is a good candidate to be granted mercy and leniency; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, that it is highly appropriate that consideration of clemency for Mr. Peltier be prioritized and expedited, so that Mr. Peltier can return to his family and live his final years among his people.

Amen! 

The Doctor's Visit

 

by Pa Rock

Senior Citizen Journalist

I am an older American which means that when I leave the house it is generally to go one of three places:  the grocery store, the pharmacy, or a doctor's office.  I could find a pharmacy located in a grocery store and save gas, but I would rather maintain some variety in my travels as long as I can afford it.  My medical providers, a team that I have carefully put together over the past decade, do provide an excuse to occasionally get beyond West Plains and expand my horizons.

I have my primary doctor and one specialist in West Plains, but two very important specialists that I see a couple of times a year are in Mountain Home, Arkansas, fifty miles away and on the other side of a nice stretch of Lake Norfolk - so it is an extremely scenic drive.   Two others, also critical to my care, are in Springfield, Missouri - a hundred miles away on a road that I could navigate in my sleep - a most boring drive.  The Springfield trips, however, provide me with an opportunity to visit Costco, one of my favorite retailers.

Ths past week I had an early morning appointment with a medical provider in Mountain Home.   That particular physician likes to travel, as do I, and we often share travel tales while he examines or treats me.  That day I had on a sweatshirt with writing on the front that said "Proud to be a Macy."  He asked if it was from a reunion, and I told him that I had bought it to wear to a family gathering in Nantucket which had been planned for March of 2020.  Then, as long as I was talking anyway, I mentioned that after the trip was cancelled due to the pandemic, the Delta Airlines had pocketed the price of my prepaid round-trip ticket from KC to Boston and back.

The experienced traveler who was treating me picked it up from there.  "Yes," he said.  "They probably gave you a voucher good for a year and when you didn't use it in a year it went away."  (Which was exactly what had happened. ) "The airlines did the same thing to me on a trip that I had planned to Florida when the pandemic hit."   As we both were building a full head of steam telling airline stories, he topped one of mine with his tale of going someplace by air and being routed through the "hub" of Atlanta where he had to change planes in order to go onto his destination.  But when he got to Atlanta the flight for the second leg of his trip had been cancelled and there were no other flights available to where he needed to be.  He was forced to rent a car and drive nine hours.  The airline offered him an $83 reimbursement for his trouble.  He told them keep the $83 dollars and also provided some colorful thoughts on the matter.

After we had worn out the topic of air travel and he still hadn't completed two minor procedures which he was performing on me, I switched the topic to my other favorite villain, insurance companies, and opined as to my unhappiness with insurance companies dictating what treatments and medicines I could have when I much preferred that people who had been to medical school make those decisions.   The nurse who was assisting him began nodding her head so vigorously that I was afraid her eyeglasses might fly off of her face.  The doctor explained that the nurse who was with him was responsible for preparing and mailing all of the prior-authorization letters to the insurance companies, and that neither of them appreciated insurance companies inserting themselves into the treatment process and second-guessing medical professionals.

As the doctor was getting heated about the abuses of the insurance industry, he suddenly shifted gears and said, "Before long the federal government is going to completely run the medical profession."

It was at that point that this Medicare patient decided it would probably be prudent to quit instigating the man who held serious sway over my health and well-being and who had an array of deadly instruments within his reach.

"Do you think it will snow?" I said.

Boys and their Toys

 

by Pa Rock

Citizen Journalist

Stories about giant rockets rattling the Earth and destroying ecosystems as they roar off to the heavens are becoming more commonplace, and today two are in the news - and both are projects funded and operated by private companies which are under the control of two of America's richest oligarchs.  

Billionaire Elon Musk, the owner of SpaceX, is hopeful that his enormous (403-foot) SpaceX Starship will take flight from his launch facility on the Texas coast at 5:00 p.m. today for what will be its seventh flight since 2023.  It won't be in space long and today's flight is simply one more trial run.   Starship, currently the biggest rocket ever built, is an integral part of Elon's master plan of reaching Mars within the next couple of years with human passengers.

It is unlikely that Elon will be one of those passengers.

Billionaire Jeff Bezos, the owner of spaceflight company Blue Origin, has been into space aboard one of his rockets, a brief sojourn into the heavens in which his brother and a couple of paying tourists joined him for a joyride.    Bezos now has a new giant rocket which he tried to launch two days ago, but the mission was delayed because of ice on some of the wiring.  There will be another attempt to launch the New Glenn tomorrow.   At  a mere 320 feet in height the New Glenn appears less potent than Musk's Starship, but a more accurate comparison will certainly be made if and when Bezos gets it up.

For anyone interested in space flight to the degree that they would like to have their own rocket, a 13.77-inch (1/375) Diecast Model of Musk's SpaceX Starship is available through Amazon.com, a Bezos company, for just $47.99.  What a deal!  Get yours today before the mail-order gang at Mar-a-Lago begins selling them with a presidential seal for a "slightly" higher amount!

Occupy Mars, one billionaire at a time - and then leave them there!

Flag Wars

 

by Pa Rock

Citizen Journalist

Even though our nation's President and the Governor of Florida have both ordered that the national flag be flown at half-staff over their respective fedderal and state buildings for a period of thirty days following the death of former President Carter, a period which will not end until January 28th, private citizen Donald Trump has chosen, apparently yesterday, to begin flying Old Glory at full-staff on his home/business in Palm Beach, Florida.   The practice of flying the flag at half-staff for thirty days following the death of a US President dates back to the passing of Abraham Lincoln in 1865 - a period of almost 160 years.

President-Elect,Trump has already beeen complaining publicly about the flags being at half-staff on his inauguration day, but as a current private citizen living in a private residence which doubles as a paid-membership country club, he can undoubtedly do as he pleases with regard to the flags on his own property, no matter how petty and small-minded such actions appear to be.

One must wonder if the national mourning period for President Carter will be brought to a sudden end when the country's next President is sworn into office next Monday - eight days shy of the date it was to have ended under the Biden order.  The incoming President has spoken negatively of Carter and his presidency at various times in the past, and he is known for his petulance.

Texas Governor Greg Abbott announced yesterday that he is ordering flags at all state buildings in Texas to be flown at full-staff on Inauguration Day.  There is, of course, a strong possibility that other GOP governors will issue similar orders as they rush to prostrate themselves for another lick of the presidential loafers.

An incoming President of the United States should have a certain amount of respect, if not reverence, for our nation's proud history and its traditions, as well as for the presidency itself.    Anything less sullies the office and the person who is its temporary occupant.

Those who sow disrespect should expect to find it taking over their fields at harvest time.

A Damned Long Four Years!

 

by Pa Rock

Citizen Journalist

Steve Bannon is a seventy-one-year-old political operative and blogger who served as the chief strategist at the White House during the first Trump administration until the boss ingloriously removed him from that role after only seven months on the job.  But they kept in touch and Bannon reportedly continues to act as an unofficial adviser to the ex-and-future-President to this very day.

Four years after he left the White House Bannon was subpoenaed by the congressional committee investigating the January 6th, 2021, riots at the Capitol.  They wanted him to testify about Trump's activities on that day, but he refused saying that to testify would violate his former boss's executive privilege.    Bannon was later charged with contempt of Congress for his refusal to come before the committee and testify, and a jury found him guilty of that charge.  Last summer he entered a minimum security (aka "country club") prison where he served four months for his crime.

But Steve Bannon is out now, having completed his incarceration in late October, and he is back to casting his pod and trying to hold sway over the MAGA movement.  He has lately managed to single out Trump's new right hand, Elon Musk, as a target of his rage.  Musk, Bannon says, is involved in the MAGA movement solely to benefit himself as he rushes to become the world's first trillionaire.  Bannon and Musk are at odds over the H-1B visas which allow highly skilled immigrants into the country to work in American industries - primarily tech companies.  Musk and America's oligarchs support the programs saying it allows the best and brightest in to help our industries grow, while some ultra-conservatives like Bannon argue that the special visas are simply a tool that corporations use to bring in cheap labor, and that the visas work against the interests of American workers.

Bannon reportedly harped last week that South Africa, the birthplace and boyhood home of Elon Musk, is the most racist country on Earth and that Musk should go back there.  He has vowed that he will have Musk removed from his perch of influence next to the incoming-President's ear prior to Inauguration Day.  There are other Republicans who also regard Elon Musk with disdain, particularly due to his stance favoring the special visas.

Bannon has his detractors in the GOP fold as well, people who do not hold fond views of Bannon's time working in the White House and would like to see him kept away from the new President.

Donald is going to have a real mess on his hands as he tries to keep the family fuss from impacting his golf game - and it couldn't be happening among a more deserving group of people!

The knives are out, the corn is popping, and there is beer in the cooler!  Might as well sit back and try to relax because it's going to be a damned long four years!

Gypsy Running Barefoot in the Snow

 

by Pa Rock

Of Ages

I get slower with each passing year, and it shows.

This year I was again late in getting the bird feeders up, and my son, in fact, wound up doing all of the work.  He went to town, bought the grains and seed for my special secret mixture (two parts hen scratch to one part sunflower seeds) along with a new plastic garbage can to hold the bird food and protect it from marauding squirrels, mice, and other varmints.  Being a true hillbilly, I have the garbage can on my front porch, a covered area with easy access to the feeders.   Nick did all of that last weekend, and the poor little birds were so hungry that many discovered the feeders the first day they were up. 

Later in the week, on Thursday night, we had our first snowfall of the year.  It was six or eight inches deep when I awoke before dawn on Friday, and a light snow continued for most of the day.  It was the most snow that we have received in the ten years that I have been retired and back in the Ozarks.  Most of it is still on the ground today and will be for at least a few more days.  

The newly installed bird feeders are, of course, doing a booming business.  My winter favorites, the Cardinals, were early arrivals and several other smaller birds that are also seasonal regulars quickly joined them.  But after the snow hit, we were also invaded by large flocks of black birds, about half the size of crows, who ravage the feeders and keep my regulars at bay.  The black birds are timid, however, when it comes to humans, and when I stand at the window and simply wave a hand, they take flight en masse, a large black cloud ascending to the uppermost branches of the tallest pines.

The roads have been plowed and are in good shape, and one of my son's friends came by and cleared our drive before my friend, Good Neighbor Rex, had the opportunity to get to it.  (I doubt that hurt Rex's feelings because he gets on his tractor and clears most of the drives in this area just on his own initiative.  When there is no snow, Rex can also be found bush-hogging much of the local road right-of-ways in order to make driving safer.  Rex is a fine human being - tireless - and a year older than me! )

The snow should clear this week, but with the climate changing as fast as it has recently, I'm guessing we could get more.   Snow ice cream was popular during my youth and my father was a master at making it, but with the nuclear testing of the early 1960's there were warnings issued to stop eating the snow because of the dangers of radiation.  Is it safe now?   Does anyone have a good recipe for snow ice cream that they would like to share?  (I'm old and worn out enough that I might just try it -  and manmade dangers like radiation and other deadly pollutants can just be damned!)

It's beautiful outside, but speaking as somebody who has a history of falling, I'm ready to plant my feet on dry ground again!

Rosie, who gets swallowed up by eight inches of snow, is not a fan of the white stuff and is very irritated when I scoop her up and take her outside to do her business.  Gypsy, however, is a different story.  She romps and plays in the snow and does not want to come back in the house.  She has been outside this morning for more than an hour-and-a-half, and every time I spot her and go to the door to call her in, she runs and hides.  One would think that having short hair and being constantly barefoot would make a warm home appealing, but Gypsy likes the freedom offered by the great outdoors.

Update:  Gypsy just relented and came in-doors, a little more that two hours after she had gone out.   She's had her fill of running barefoot in the snow - at least for this morning!   

(And speaking of snow, happy birthday to one of my very favorite American authors, Jack London, who was born on this date in 1876 - 149 years ago!  Who among us can ever forget the snow in the tree branches of his classicc short story "To Build a Fire"?  That was part of our American Literature class when I was in high school - and I hope that it still is.)

Political Tensions at a Funeral

 

by Pa Rock

Citizen Journalist

Yesterday in this space I discussed the State Funeral of former President Jimmy Carter which occurred two days ago on Thursday, January 9th, at the National Cathedral in Washington, DC.  It was quite a dignified and memorable affair with the current President of the United States delivering the primary eulogy and all five living US Presidents in attendance.  The large church was packed with mourners who came to pay their respects to a truly great individual who actually had spent the entirety of his very long life in being of service to others - a man who will forever be remembered for his uncommon decency and good works.

What I didn't discuss in yesterday's posting were the political tensions which seemed to be on display during the funeral service, especially in the first couple of rows of the VIP section where the Presidents and Vice Presidents and their ladies were seated.  There was an inordinate amount of discussion on social media regarding photographs and video clips of those individuals at the funeral service and what their expressions and body language seemed to be implying.  I am choosing to detail some of that speculation in this forum as a way of preserving a more complete picture of President Carter's funeral service and of the times in which we are living.

Here are some of those observations:

The first pew contained just two couples:  President Biden and his wife, Jill, with the President sitting next to the aisle, and Vice President Harris and her husband, Doug Emhoff, with the Vice President sitting next to the First Lady.  One commentator referred to the mood between the two couples as "frosty," and that is certainly how it appeared to this observer, both in photos as well as in videos.   All four individuals looked straight ahead in stony silence without any overt evidence of cordiality,  something that would normally be expected, even at a funeral, among people who worked together on a daily basis.

Part of that apparent coldness between the two couples may have been related to President Biden's recent public musings that he feels he could have won the race against Trump this past November.  That probably didn't sit too well with Harris or Emhoff who both gave the effort their all while standing by the President and his programs when showing some separation from him would have undoubtedly been a better campaign strategy.  And Biden, for his part, may be starting to blame some of the "betrayal" that he believes he suffered from Democratic Party leaders (as they led him to the sidelines) on Harris - thinking that she may have had a hand in showing him the door.

Whatever was at play, there definitely seemed to be a chilly chasm between the First Couple and the Second Couple, something far more revealing than standard funeral faces.

But the tensions didn't end with them:

The second pew had been reserved for former US Presidents and their wives, and seating was from the aisle by seniority with Bill and Hillary Clinton sitting closest to the aisle, followed by George W. and Laura Bush, Barack Obama (Michelle had other commitments), and Donald and Melania Trump who were seated farthest from the aisle.  One of the more interesting interactions on the second pew was the friendly chatter which seemed to be occurring between Barack Obama and Donald Trump who were seated next to each other due to Michelle Obama's absence from the occasion.  If ever a former President had reason to not be social with a fellow member of that club, it would be Obama after Trump spent much of his one term in office trying to erase the advances made by the Obama administration - but that's not who Barack Obama is.  Obama was open and friendly to the man who is generally regarded as a pariah by the past leaders from both parties.

Trump could learn a lot from a man like Barack Obama, in fact we all could.  Jimmy Carter would have been pleased.

The third pew had been set aside for former Vice Presidents, and three were in attendance:  Dan Quayle, the senior member of that club, next to the aisle - and out the range of several of the photographers, Al Gore, and Mike Pence along with his wife, Karen.   (Dick Cheney, George W. Bush's Vice-President, was noticeably absent - perhaps not wanting to interact with  Donald Trump who has "suggested" the Cheney's daughter, former Congresswoman Liz Cheney, should be jailed for her participation in the January 6th congressional inquiry.)

The drama on the third pew occurred when Donald and Melania Trump were walking along the front of the second pew toward their seats at the far end of the pew.  Trump was reaching across and shaking hands with the former Vice Presidents, and when the awkward moment came that he faced Mike Pence, his own Vice President and the person he declined to support after Pence did his Constitutional duty on January 6th, 2021, both men reached across the pew and shook hands.  Karen Pence, however, was not nearly so magnanimous.  She remained seated while Trump and her hustand greeted each other, and made no move to staned or extend her own hand in greeting.   Karen, by her actions and the disgusted look on her face, has not forgiven Trump for his betrayal of her husband - nor did her countenance indicate that she is ever likely to forgive and forget.

The absence of Dick and Lynn Cheney (Republicans), and anger of Karen Pence (Republican) and the absence of Michelle Obama (Democrat) who may have just not wanted to sit next to Trump, would all seem to indicate that long-standing norms of our nation's highest office holders may be fracturing, an indicator that the age of civility may be on the wane.

And I suspect we all know who's to blame.   

The Gathering for a Life Well-Lived

 

by Pa Rock

Citizen Journalist

A great human being was honored, eulogized, and laid to rest yesterday during a national day of mourning.   Jimmy Carter, a man who dedicated his entire life to the service of others, has set aside his hammer and nails and gone on to reside in the peace and comfort that are rightfully his after a century of good works aimed at making all of our lives better.

The State Funeral was held in the morning Washington's National Cathedral.

President Carter's eulogy was given by current President Joe Biden, a man with whom he had been friends since the 1970's, and eulogies from two other close friends who predeceased him were also read at the service:  one by Carter's Vice President, Walter Mondale, which was read by Mondale's son, and the other by Carter's predecessor in the White House, Gerald Ford, which was read by Ford's son, Steven.   Carter had defeated Ford, the incumbent, for the presidency in 1976, but after each had left office they went on to become close friends.  Ford, in the eulogy that he left behind, compared the friendship that he had with Carter, his one-time rival, to the one between John Adams and Thomas Jefferson which developed during their post-presidencies.  Adams and Jefferson had been fierce rivals earlier on.  

In addition to President and Mrs. Biden, Vice President Kamala Harris and her husband, Second Gentleman Doug Emhoff, were in attendance and sitting on the front pew next to the Bidens.   All four living former Presidents, one of whom is now President-Elect, and three of their First Ladies were in attendance, on the second pew, and sitting in the pew behind the former Presidents were three of their Vice Presidents and one Second Lady.

The only top echelon surviving members of the Executive Branch who were not in attendance were former First Lady Michelle Obama who had other commitments, and former Vice President Dick Cheney and his wife, Lynn.

The Cathedral was packed, and the people who gathered there represented a significant portion of our nation's and our world's power and history.  It was a very fitting tribute for a man who did so much for so many - for so long.

Rest well, President Carter.  As Steven Ford told your children yesterday, "When God made your dad, He did good work."

Bless you for a life well-lived.

Diplomacy for Dummies (3): Elon Does Europe

by Pa Rock

Citizen Journalist

In addition to littering the heavens with his Starlink satellite system, inciting panic on the streets with driverless Teslas, and claiming to be one of the top twenty computer-gamers in the world when it comes to "Diablo 4," rich guy Elon Musk also fancies himself to be a diplomat and seems always ready - and often eager - to interfere in the policies and political matters of nations.  Musk bought his way into the halls of power in the United States by donating more that a quarter-of-a-billion dollars to a presidential candidate who is known for soliciting and accepting cash from people who have business dealings with the US government.

Musk's businesses, particularly SpaceX and its Starlink satellite system, have important ties to the US communications and defense industries, but his businesses also serve other nations as well, and X (formerly Twitter) is the most used social media platform on the planet.  So Elon is definitely an international player, and if he wants to have a say in how other countries behave on the world stage, he certainly has the tools at his disposal with which to meddle on a grand scale.

Elon Musk has been almost physically attached to the next US President since his election to that office last November.  Their working relationship appears to be so close that some observers have begun to mockingly refer to the duo as "co-Presidents."  The incoming President, the real one, has appointed Musk as one of two people to run a new "department," one charged with finding ways to cut government spending and waste, a perch that could wield considerable power over the entirety of the federal government as well as much of society, and now, while actually maintaining living accommodations at Mar-a-Lago, Musk is also reportedly exerting his considerable influence over the President-Elect in matters ranging from selection of personnel to run the new administration to advising him on his potential land grab of places like Greenland.

Being a "first buddy" to a world leader is undoubtedly a very heady experience, even for a man whose net worth is rapidly approaching a trillion dollars.  It is such a rush, in fact, that, like a drug addict, Elon is feeling a visceral need to expand the euphoria - so he is looking beyond the US borders for other national governments in which to interfere.  Musk has been using X (Twitter) to promote far-right political candidates in Europe as well as to malign at least one foreign leader.  He seems to be trying to replicate in other countries the success that he had at buying his way in the halls of power in the United States.

Musk has been using his social media platform (X) to promote a far-right political party in Germany, as well as to lambast the Prime Minister of Great Britain.  Other European countries and leaders are taking note of Musk's aggressive use of his money and social media power to influence domestic politics, and some are attempting to launch preemptive strikes against the meddling billionaire.

This past Monday the leaders of four European countries - Germany, the United Kingdom, France, and Norway - each individually issued statements denouncing the overt and outsized political influence of Elon Musk.  Musk's willingness - eagerness - to use his money and influence create an authoritarian world that would benefit people like him while making the lives of the working poor even more miserable than they already are poses threats to basic human rights, democracy, and even the sustainability of life on the planet.

Those things are far too important to be left to the whimsy and conceits of a narcissistic computer gamer.

Diplomacy for Dummies (2): Don Senior Plots an Empire

 

by Pa Rock

Citizen Journalist

American imperialism has been re-inflated since the recent presidential election and now seems to be boldly on the march.  The in-coming President has been belching fascistic remarks about seizing Greenland and the Panama Canal for "national security" reasons, and he seems to be openly campaigning to sell Canadians on the idea of "merging" with the United States, but only as one additional state.  (More states would mean more senators, and Canada might send Democrats to Washington.)   (But, on the plus side, more populated territory would mean more members of Congress, and those, too, might weigh-in on the Democratic side of the scale.  How would you really feel about that, Jason Smith?)

And if Canada joined the United States, would its citizens lose their government-paid health care, or would it be extended to those of us south of the border?  Is Don Senior proposing to provide "Medicare for All?"  (Jason, how would that grab you?)

Greenland, the centerpiece of the next President's quest for American expansion, is the world's least populated country (56,000 people spread out over an area larger than the Louisiana Purchase) and would have no impact on the Senate if it was attached to Alaska - as seems to be one prominent Republican plan - and it would have damned little impact on the House - less than one member.  But it is huge, and the in-coming President is definitely a size queen.

Most of the population of Greenland is a multi-ethnic mixture of European (primarily Danish) and native Inuit descent and can be broadly regarded as somewhat European, something that is generally acceptable to the MAGAts.   What would not be acceptable to the followers of the next President are the brown-and-black-skinned peoples south of the US border - which is why there is no clamor coming from Don Senior or his minions for us to take over Mexico, or Guatemala, or Haiti.  The citizens in those nations would not blend well in the nation that Don Senior seems to be envisioning.  The Panama Canal Zone is an exception to that color rule because it has appeal for geo-political reasons.

Yesterday the foreign policy shit show coming from Mar-a-Lago managed to take another turn toward stupid when Don Junior and a couple of political toadies flew to Greenland in "Trump Force One" for a few photo-ops of the passengers and the plane on the ground in that vast and snowy wilderness.   Things got even more bizarre when Don Senior coughed up another political hairball by suggesting that he would like to rename the "Gulf of Mexico" as the "Gulf of America."

I'm not even sure that I oppose the renaming the Gulf because it is surrounded on three sides by North America, Central America, and South America.  But it is also home to many islands, some of which are independent nations.  What would give the United States the right to rename this massive body of water.  Wouldn't someone from Rand McNally or National Geographic have to weigh-in on the matter.  Marjorie Taylor Greene, the intellectual leader of the Republican caucus in Congress, says that she will introduce a bill today to officially change the name to the "Gulf of America."

It could, of course, be legitimately called the Caribbean Sea, which is one of its official names, but Caribbean is derived from "Carib," the name of a group of indigenous peoples who were already at home on the islands and in parts of South America when the Europeans arrived and began renaming everything.  Calling the Gulf the Caribbean Sea would have historical precedence.

But Don Senior, who is preparing to change the name of Mt. Denali in Alaska, the highest peak in North America, back to it's original European moniker of Mt. McKinley,  named for a Republican US President, doesn't seen to be a fan of native history or names.     

A new American empire may be on the horizon, and regardless of its name - "Trumplandia, "Elonia," or even just "X," - it will be so massive that we will all feel compelled (or perhaps be literally forced) to buy new globes to appreciate its size.  There is undoubtedly a sales plan for new maps and globes being drawn up today, probably in Mar-a-Lago.

It does not sound as if there will be much diplomacy or foreign policy left lying around unattended for Secretary of State Marco Rubio to be bothered with.  His helpers are already busy reconfiguring the world in their own image.

Just because a businessman could not turn a profit in a casino that he owned, does not mean that he can't manage a planet.  Am I right?

Diplomacy for Dummies (1): Don Junior Does Greenland

 

by Pa Rock

Citizen Journalist

As I sit typing at the computer in my toasty home in the frigid Missouri Ozarks, I take some comfort in knowing that Don Junior. the the clown prince of Mar-a Lago, is freezing his cajones off in Greenland.  The President-Elect's son arrived in Nuuk, the capital of Greenland, in his daddy's private plane within the past couple of hours on what he initially described as a "day trip" to film some footage for a podcast - and what his (very) old man has since described as being more of a fact-finding mission.

Don Senior has been blowing smoke about buying Greenland, which is NOT FOR SALE, since 2019 when he brought up the subject late in his first term as President, and a few days ago he again floated the idea - along with two other non-starters:  making Canada our 51st state and seizing the Panama Canal Zone.  At the same time Don Senior has his Co-President-Elect, Elon, making noises on his social media platform about pulling Greenland into the US fold, and also statements that seem to be aimed at destabilizing key US allies in Europe.

Don Senior has named a political ally from Florida, Senator Marco Rubio, as the in-coming Secretary of State, but with foreign policy being announced and conducted not only by himself, but also by Junior and Elon, it seems unclear as to what exactly the responsibilities of a Secretary of State would be.  Perhaps running the snack bars at Foggy Bottom?

In any event, Junior is doing Greenland today, but only as an uninvited tourist.   There are no official meetings set with any Greenlander or Danish officials - and Greenland is STILL NOT FOR SALE!

But stock up on a few snow globes while you are there, Junior.  Souvenir sales are good for the local economy!

American Imperialism on the March

by Pa Rock

Citizen Journalist

Speaker of the House Mike Johnson was re-elected to his current post last Friday by the skin of his teeth, but Johnson's razor-thin victory wasn't the only drama to unfold during the organizing session.  Stacey Plaskett, a Democratic “delegate” to Congress from the American Virgin Islands, managed to get to a microphone and have her voice heard as well, even though she was at times drowned out by boos and cat calls from the House Adolescents (the GOP caucus), and at one time had her mic shut off.

 
Delegate Plaskett was telling members of Congress things that some of them (again, the Republicans) did not want to hear.
 
Delegate Plaskett asked pointedly why the representatives from the US Virgin Islands, American Samoa, Guam, the Northern Mariana Islands, Puerto Rico, and Washington, DC, were not allowed to vote for the Speaker.  She inquired of the House Parliamentarian as to why that was so, and was told that, according to House Rules, only members representing states could vote.   Ms. Plaskett observed:
 

“This body and this nation have a territories and colonies problem.  What was supposed to be temporary has now, effectively, become permanent.”

 
Some have observed that the “problem” with US territories and colonies would be exasperated if the President-Elect were to somehow fulfill his fantasy of adding Canada, Greenland, and the Panama Canal Zone to the United States.  He is talking in terms of making Canada the 51^st state and possibly incorporating Greenland into the state of Alaska, but is staunchly opposed to statehood for Washington, DC, and Puerto Rico, two areas that have already served their time in political purgatory.
 
Are we to be the new imperialist giant of the world and proudly proclaim that the sun never sets on the American empire? Do we need more territories and colonies when we obviously can’t fairly manage the ones we already have?
 
Plaskett noted that current territories and colonies (including Washington, DC) collectively contain over 4 million people, and they are home to the largest per capita group of veterans in the country.
 
There is strong opposition by Republicans in Congress to the notion of making the two most populous of those areas, Washington, DC, and Puerto Rico, states out of a fear that they would elect two Democratic US Senators each.
 
Delegate Plaskett's microphone was cut off during her appeal and amid the booing from some of the GOP House members, and when it came back on, Plaskett was saying, “But I have a voice!”
 
Yes, she does, and on Friday it rang out uncomfortably clear.

 

The Man with the Thin Orange Skin

 

by Pa Rock

Citizen Journalist 

Yes, I do recognize that there is a presidential inauguration scheduled for two weeks from tomorrow, and while, like many other patriotic Americans, I am consciously choosing to ignore the bad joke that my country has played on itself - twice, now - there are times when the behavior of the in-coming President is so bizarre, vain, petty, or dangerous that it begs to be highlighted, even in forums as obscure as personal blogs.  

Yes, I have been trying to avoid political stories since the election in November, and yes, even when I do wade into the political quagmire, I attempt to do so without using the next President's name because any mention of him anywhere represents ink and effort that could be put to far better use in bringing attention to actual good works accomplished by others - people who aren't obsessed with seeing their names on the covers of magazines or above the entrances to very tall buildings.

I am making a conscious effort to dwell on the big, orange megalomanic wearing the long, red tie as little as possible, but some days I just can't help myself - and today is one of those days.  Be aware, bitchiness follows.

The once and future President of the United States is a narcissist;  he lacks empathy for others and views all situations through a lens of how they will impact him personally.    He also categorizes people into two basic groups:  those who drool on his shoes as they stoop to kiss his ring, or his feet, or his ass, and those who don't.  He refers to the ones who don't grovel as haters, enemies, left-wing radicals, and even communists.

Senator John McCain, a Republican from Arizona, was a man who didn't stoop to anyone.  The former Navy pilot had survived more than five years as a prisoner of war in the "Hanoi Hilton" in North Vietnam, and had come home after the war and built a political career from scratch, one that included serving as the GOP nominee for President in 2008.  McCain was a well respected fighter both in the military and on Capitol Hill.

But John McCain and the once-and-future President never hit if off, and when an interviewer remarked to that President during his first term that McCain was a war hero, the narcissist commander-in chief took exception to tha remark.   He said that the senator was a hero only because he had been captured, and then followed that with "I like people who weren't captured."

When John McCain passed away from brain cancer in the summer of 2018, he was not in the Presidents good graces.  The President had made a conscious effort to undo some of the accomplishments of his predecessor, Barack Obama, and McCain had been the decisive vote in preserving Obamacare (the Affordable Care Act), one of the crown Jewels of that administration.  

McCain died on Saturday, August 25th, 2018, and the flags at the White House and other federal buildings were lowered to half-staff.  The normal practice for a person of McCain's stature was to leave the flag lowered until his burial.  But on the following Monday, several days before the senator's  burial, the flags at the White House were raised back to full-staff.  After dignitaries from both parties (including Schumer and McConnell)  complained publicly about the obvious slight to the deceased senator, the President finally relented and again had the White House flags lowerred to half-staff. 

(But the President did renew his pettiness the following weekend by not attending McCain's funeral - not that Meghan would have let him in anyway!)

Now it seems that the flag games may be about to resume.  When former President Jimmy Carter died last week, President Biden ordered that flags on federal buildings be flown act half-staff for thirty days, a common practice following the death of a former President. But thirty days will extend through the inauguration date, meaning that the flags at the White House will still be flying at half-staff, and the incoming President seems to be very unhappy about that - even to the point. of implying that could change once he takes the oath of office.  (It always has to be about him - and just him!)  In a posting to Truth Social, a media platform in which the next President is the majority owner, he said:

"The Democrats are all 'giddy' about our magnificent American Flag potentially being at 'half mast' during my inauguration.  They think it's so great, and are so happy about it because, in actuality they don't love our Country, they only think about themselves.   Look at what they've done to our GREAT America over the past four years - It's a total mess!!  In any event, because of the death of President Jimmy Carter, the Flag may, for the first time ever during an Inauguration of a future President, be at half mast.  Nobody wants to see this, and no American can be happy about it.  Let's see how it plays out."

Somebody has mighty thin orange skin!

Can Dirty Money Cleanse Social Injustice?

 

by Pa Rock

Citizen Journalist

Last week in the remote Mexican town of Coalcoman someone posted signs thanking the leader of the area drug cartel for the Christmas gifts that the cartel gave to local children.  The town's mayor, who is a first-cousin to the wife of a cartel leader, also publicly thanked the cartel for the gifts.

There was a howl of indignation from the international press as well as from the President of Mexico over this praise of a criminal organization by the town and its mayor.   President Claudia Sheinbaum condemned the mayor's behavior and said that she (the mayor) and other local authorities were being investigated by the Mexican government over possible involvement with the cartel.  President Sheinbaum has to not only be concerned with the crime occurring in Mexico, but also with the threat of US forces crossing the border to take on the drug cartels themselves

As I read those stories and pondered the ethical dilemma that it presented, I was reminded of a classroom activity which I participated in as a graduate student while working toward a Masters Degree in Social Work about a quarter-of-a-century ago.  We were discussing community dynamics when the professor brought out an old board game.  Each member of the class was somehow chosen to be a certain character in the community (preacher, bartender, PTA President, street sweeper, etc) and then we role-played through various random scenarios while functioning through the perspectives of our characters.

My role was that of crime boss, and through a spate of criminal activities that brought harm to many members of the community, I quickly amassed a pile of money and was able to move into a grand house and give my children many advantages.  At some point a big social need arose in the community, perhaps a new clinic or a library, and when it came my turn to act, I looked at my pile of cash and announced that I would fund it.

A couple of my classmates who had gotten very wrapped up in the game blew their circuitry over my generous donation.  "You can't do that!" They wailed.  "That's dirty money.  That would never happen in real life."  But I stood my ground and the donation was accepted.

After the game was complete, the class processed what had occurred in the various scenarios and what we had learned from the exercise.  There was still some complaining regarding the donation by the crime boss with a few saying that I had not behaved realistically.  It was at that point that the professor came to my defense and said that my actions had fit the situation and that criminal enterprises and criminals often try to build support in their communities through gifts - much like corporations do.  They are buying respectability and a certain amount of protection.

The fact that criminal enterprises have opportunities to spend on social welfare would seem to be related to government's failure to do so.

Yes, it's unfortunate and wicked that we live in a world where criminals (like some corporations) can amass fortunes while adding to the misery and suffering of others, and no, these sadistic merchants of death should never be glorified.  But if those who take from society want to spend their ill-gotten cash for things that are in the public good, should we reject it?  Money spent in service to the people is that much less that the criminals and corporate greedheads will have to reinvest in their crimes against humanity.

When society fails to take care of its own, someone else may fill that void.  Can beggars be choosers?

I'm glad the children in rural Mexico received the Christmas gifts, and, at the same time, I hope the Federales annihilate the scum who purchased those gifts.

Bangor to Keep on Rockin'

by Pa Rock

Radio Fan

Being a good person does not necessarily translate into being successful in business, and best-selling author Stephen King understands that better than most.  For the past several years King has been keeping a legendary Maine radio station, one of three which he owns, financially afloat with infusions of his own money.

But by last February the writer who has been populating the world's nightmares for decades with characters like Carrie, Christine, and even Cujo decided that it was time for him and his wife, Tabitha, to quit funding the three radio stations that they owned in the vicinity of Bangor, Maine.  They put them up for sale, and if buyers could not be found, they would close the stations at the end of the year - an ignominious end to a significant part of Bangor's history and culture.

King, who has been a musician in a rock band known for playing gigs for charity, is a lifetime fan of radio and rock music.   He acquired the first of the three stations in 1983.  The primary station of his group was WKIT out of Bangor, a rock station with a long history, and a station that the community did not want to lose.  Last week it was announced that two local businessmen had managed to purchase WKIT for $500,000 with plans "to preserve the staff and the sound."  

The purchase price was reportedly "well below" the asking price, but one must suspect that Stephen King, being an area resident himself, was rewarded in part with the satisfaction of knowing that music he loves will continue to fill the airwaves, and that a staff which had worked faithfully for him would continue to be employed.  

There was more involved in this sale than just cash at closing.

Congratulations, Bangor!  Keep on rockin'!

Liz Cheney Might Reject a Pardon Offer

 

by Pa Rock

Citizen Journalist

There were two stories regarding former GOP Congresswoman Liz Cheney of Wyoming in the news this morning.   One on an internet news site  which reported that Ms. Cheney was among twenty individuals who will be honored today at a White House ceremony where President Biden will present them with the Presidential Citizens Medal, the second highest civilian medal and something that is certain to stick in the craw of the incoming President.

A story on National Public Radio (NPR) this morning said that President Biden is considering offering a preemptive pardon to Ms. Cheney as well as several others whom  the incoming administration seems to have targeted for legal action once it is established in office.  The next (and former) President said on "Meet the Press" when speaking of Cheney's co-chairmanship of the bipartisan Congressional committee which investigated the January 6th, 2021, attack on the US Capitol:  

"Cheney did something that's inexcusable, along with (Congressman Bennie) Thompson and the people on the un-select committee of thugs and you know, creeps . . . Honestly, they should go to jail."

That remark seems to be a clear indicator of where the President-Elect's mind is at regarding Liz Cheney, and it is even more threatening when taken in the context of the marginal characters whom he has chosen to run the federal arm of domestic law enforcement - the Justice Department and the FBI.  Ms. Cheney's freedom could be at actual risk for fulfilling her duties to Congress and to the American people.

But President Biden could conceivably protect Liz Cheney and her January 6th committee co-chair Bennie Thompson, a Democrat from Mississippi - and others whom the in-coming President has targeted through past remarks - by issuing some sort of "preemptive" blanket pardons which could cover specific activities and time periods.

The process is legal going back at least to President Ford's complete pardon of his predecessor in office, Richard Nixon, and it was used most recently by President Biden when he pardoned his son for specific crimes as well as for any crimes committed during a specific time period.   Preemptive pardons are protective measures to prevent political and vindictive prosecutions - and few politicians are more vindictive and petty that the next President.

But would Liz Cheney accept such a protective measure when she literally did nothing but her duty to Congress and to the American people?    Liz is one tough bird - and the daughter of a couple of other very tough birds - and one must suspect that she might just stand tall and tell America's greatest mistake to "bring it on!"

In fact, I think that is exactly what she will do.

Accepting a preemptive pardon would not be an admission of guilt, though some would read it that way.  But the image of a mother of five wearing an orange jumpsuit and being locked away inside of a federal prison for doing nothing but standing tall for the Constitution might be more than decent Americans would be willing to tolerate - and it might just signal the rise of a political martyr who could cast a long shadow over the next several presidential elections.

Focusing on his enemies brought down Richard Nixon, and it could easily do the same to Trump.

U.S. New Year Begins with Blood in the Streets

 

by Pa Rock

Citizen Journalist

The millions of us who have had the pleasure of spending a few days and nights in New Orleans and walking the streets of the French Quarter know that it is the quintessential party town, one of relaxed camaraderie where just about anything goes.   The legendary Bourbon Street, in particular, draws crowds like few other promenades in America, and with it blocked off to traffic in the evenings, tourists and revelers are literally swept along, tall drinks in hand, up and down the middle of the street, completely content to laugh, and drink, and go with the flow.

What a rich and obvious target for someone "hellbent" on inflicting maximum injury and death in the midst of a celebration.

Last night, well, early this morning, it happened.  An angry and very disturbed driver slammed his pickup truck through the Bourbon Street barricades at Canal Street and proceeded to plow through the New Year's reveler's at a high rate of speed, obviously intent on creating as much carnage as possible.   When his vehicle finally stopped, the driver began firing a weapon.  Police rushed to the stopped vehicle, returning fire as they did so, and now the driver is reportedly dead and two policement were wounded. 

New Orleans Police Superintendent Anne Kirkpatrick said the driver of the murder vehicle exhibited "very intentional" behavior and that he had been "hellbent on creating the carnage and the damage that he did."

An agent from the local FBI office, Althea Duncan, said that the FBI was taking charge of the investigation.  She also reported that possible improvised explosives were found near the scene, but it is currently unknown whether the materials were connected to the vehicular homicides or not.

At least ten people died in the horrific killing spree, and reports are that thirty-five others were admitted to area hospitals.  The full extent of the deaths and injuries are unlikely to be known for several more hours. New Orleans Mayor LaToya Cantrell described the bloody event as a "terrorist" attack, but the FBI at the scene are calling it only a "potential" act of terrorism.

(Note:  One shooter and one victim in New York City IS an act of terrorism.   What exactly is terrorism?)

Bourbon Street and much of the Quarter have been closed to vehicular and pedestrian traffic today as authorities investigate the crime scene and surrounding area.  Businesses that would normally doing a brisk trade are shuttered.  

The Sugar Bowl is being played this afternoon in New Orleans, and that game, between the #2 Georgia Bulldogs and the #3 Fighting Irish of Notre Dame, has brought thousands of additional tourists into the area.

Days change, months change, and even years change - but other crap never does.  This is the United States of America on the very first day on 2025.  Buckle up, Buttercup, because it looks like we are in for another year of blood-soaked rage and violence.

At least that's my unhappy prediction.

Today Greenland, Tomorrow Mt. Rushmore!

 

by Pa Rock

Citizen Journalist

Several days ago in a blog posting entitled "An Imperial Presidency?" I discussed the President-Elect's noises about the US acquiring Canada, Greenland, and the Panama Canal.    The United States either buying or seizing control of Canada is little more than an hallucinatory pipe dream.  Canadians are an independent people who would never submit to US ownership, and especially an ownership engineered by that particular US politician.   The Panama Canal, too, seems like it would take a lot more diplomacy and effort than a notoriously undiplomatic person such as the incoming President would ever be able to muster, and Panama and much of the rest of the world would also have a very strong interest in maintaining the situation exactly as it already is.

But Greenland seems to be the real target of the land grab hysteria that the next administration is trying to foment.

In a television appearance on Sunday, Robert O'Brien, a former National Security Adviser in the in-coming President's first administration and a shameless "yes man" for his former boss, made his case for the US controlling Greenland.  O'Brien said that as climate change progresses and the planet warms, Greenland would become a major transportation route south from the Arctic to the North America, making it strategically more important.  O'Brien argued that with Denmark, the country that oversees Greenland, facing down Russia in Europe, it would likely be incapable of defending Greenland.   O'Brien posited that the US would have to step in and protect Greenland - and the US should not defend Greenland for free.  Hence, it should be sold to the US so that we could adequately protect it as a part of our country.

O'Brien also posited that since the native population of Greenland is closely related to that of Alaska, it should be merged into one state with Alaska.

To some extent, the United States is already protecting Greenland.  The US has had a military presence on Greenland since World War II, and Thule Air Force Base - which, as of April of 2023, is now called Pituffik Space Base - is still operational and now run by the US Space Force.

It is doubtful that the new President is overly concerned with the threat of Russian aggression against Greenland when he clearly isn't bothered by Russian aggression against Ukraine.   The more likely motivation for his strong interest in acquiring Greenland is simply its immense size, and size is very important to the man making all of the noise.  Greenland is almost 9,000 square miles larger than the entire area of the Louisiana Purchase, and it's addition to the United States would be the largest US land acquisition in history - and, no doubt in the new President's eyes, would elevate him in historical stature at least up to the level of Thomas Jefferson.

Today Greenland, tomorrow Mt. Rushmore!

It's all about him and his legacy.  Since he will never achieve greatness by donning a military uniform and rushing off to lead his nation in a war - like Volodymyr Zelensky - his next best option is to bully a small European nation into betraying a trust and selling off a huge chunk of its kingdom to a raving egomaniac.

He understands the art of bullying and making deals, and that would make the large man with the tiny hands and bad combover a truly great American, you betcha it would!

A Man of Peace has Passed

 

by Pa Rock

There have been few people in the history of the world who did more to promote peace, understanding, and basic human rights than former President Jimmy Carter and his equally active and involved wife, Rosalynn.  Rosalynn passed away in November of 2023 at the age of 96, and Jimmy Carter died yesterday at the couple's home in Plains, Georgia, at the age of one hundred.  

The Carters were married for 77 years.  In addition to having the longest marriage of any First Couple in US history, Jimmy Carter is also the only former President of the United States to reach the century mark, something he achieved this past October 1st.  President Carter had been in hospice care since February of 2023, and he had remained alert and communicative throughout that time.  One of the goals that he stated to his family this year was to stay alive long enough to vote for Kamala Harris for President, something which he was able to do.

Jimmy Carter, a former governor of Georgia (and peanut farmer, and Naval submarine officer, and nuclear engineer) was elected President in 1976 by defeating incumbent President Gerald Ford at a time when the nation was still reeling from the Watergate scandals.  After serving only one four-year term and being encumbered by some heavy political obstacles like soaring inflation and gas prices -  and Iran taking 53 Americans hostage for more than a year, Carter lost his bid for re-election to Ronald Reagan.

One of the high points of the single-term Carter administration was that he was able to broker a peace deal at Camp David between Israel and Egypt.  The secret negotiations at the American presidential retreat took twelve days, and the Camp David Accords, as the agreements were known, were signed by Israeli Prime Minister Menachem Begin and Egyptian President Anwar Sadat.  President Carter signed as a witness to the Accords, and they went on to form a long-term basis for peace between the two nations.  Begin and Sadat received the Nobel Peace Prize for their commitment to the process and the deal.

But it was after the Carters left the White House that the couple achieved their greatest humanitarian successes.  Jimmy Carter has been noted by many as the example of the level and kind of public service that a former President could provide.  He and Rosalynn set a very high bar for former First Couples with their efforts to eradicate deadly diseases, end hunger, ensure democracy, and provide affordable housing to those in need.  President and Mrs. Carter were both still working at building 'Habitat for Humanity' houses into their nineties.

Carter said of his faith and how it impacted his dedication to others:

"My faith demands - this is not optional - my faith demands that I do whatever I can, wherever I am, whenever I can, for as long as I can, with whatever I have to try and make a difference."  

Both Carters lived that creed.  He received the Nobel Peace Prize in 2002 while serving as an extremely active "former" United States President.

Jimmy Carter, even with just one term as President, was one of the central political figures of my lifetime.  He had been elected President just before my middle child, Molly, was born, though he had not yet been inaugurated.  He was President when I began teaching - and a couple of years later when my youngest, Tim, was born.  I also had the privilege of seeing Jimmy Carter in person at a bookstore in Phoenix during President's Day weekend of 2009 where his was signing his latest book:  "We Can Have Peace in the Holy Land."  Carter wrote more than thirty books in his "spare" time after leaving the White House.

Jimmy Carter was a moral and honest individual who never shied away from giving bis time and talents to help others.  The world is a far better place thanks to him and Rosalynn and the countless individuals that they inspired.

May they both be at rest in well-earned peace for lives well lived.

Costco Gets It Right

 

by Pa Rock

Citizen Journalist

Being nosey by nature, I am never bashful when it comes to asking questions about things that interest me, and, as a retired public educator and social worker, one thing that always has my attention is the general mood and job satisfaction of the people in the service industry who deal with me as I shop.  So I ask questions.  One of the things I often ask is "How do you like working here?"  That question stirs nods or shrugs, and usually simple responses like "The job is fine," or "It pays the bills," but sometimes it is a lot more revealing.  There is much that can be learned about the culture of a business by an employee's casual response to a simple inquiry.

And I don't like to spend my time or money in businesses where the employees are not appreciated and valued by management.

Two businesses where I continually hear good things from the employees regarding management are Trader Joe's and Costco.  Both offer good pay and benefits, and both have a vibe of being staffed by a contented workforce.  On a recent trip to a Costco in the Kansas City area I asked a man who was working at the checkout how he liked his job.  He looked up, smiled, and said matter-of-factly, "My insurance is better than yours," and then added, "This is a great place to work."   His answer came across as frank and honest.

There has been an ugly social movement in this country over the last few years to do away with efforts to insure and increase levels of diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) within American educational institutions and businesses.  The move from the political far right is an overt effort to roll back social and economic advances by minorities over the past several years, often due to intentional policies that promote DEI.  Opponents of DEI claim that the policies that allow for those advances discriminate against the people who have traditionally benefitted from past patterns of discrimination - people such as straight white males.

This year a right-wing "think tank" called the National Center for Pubic Policy Research came out with a generic proposal for activist shareholders to put before the boards of various corporations in an effort to get them to roll back DEI policies - and many corporations quickly caved to that political pressure.  Walmart and John Deere, as just two examples, began abandoning their past efforts to create a more diverse  workforce.

But when the activists targeted Costco, they encountered a corporation with both a heart and a backbone.  Costco's board of directors encouraged their shareholders to vote against the shareholder-generated proposal to do away with their DEI safeguards.  The Costco board reasoned that a diverse workforce made for a better working and shopping environment, and my own nosey and highly informal research would tend to back that up.

If it isn't broke, don't try and fix it.

Costco is doing the right thing by continuing to focus on having a diverse and inclusive workforce.   It makes for a better work experience and a better shopping experience.   Speaking as a straight white male, we have been at the front of the privilege line long enough.  It's time to share the wealth and open the doors of opportunity for all.

Immigration Flare-Up Fractures MAGA World

 

by Pa Rock

Citizen Journalist

Earlier this week the President-Elect, a boisterous supporter of the mass deportation of undocumented immigrants, announced that an Indian-American by the name of Sriram Krishnan would be the Artificial Intelligence (AI) adviser for the White House in his administration.  No sooner had that pronouncement left the elderly politician's lips than Laura Loomer, a right-wing journalist and close associate of the in-coming President, criticized the move, citing concerns over "foreign influence" in government.  Others of the nativist American stripe quickly joined Loomer's dissent.

The attitude from the extreme MAGA wing of the Republican Party did not sit well with Elon Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy, the two men that the President-Elect has named to head his new Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) - and who will certainly have a great deal of "influence" in the new administration themselves.   Musk, a native of South Africa, is now a naturalized US citizen and Ramaswamy was born in the United States to Indian nationals who were not US citizens at the time of his birth and thus has "birthright" citizenship as guaranteed by the 14th Amendment to the US Constitution.  

Both men, Elon Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy, took to social media to defend the temporary use of H-1B visas for skilled workers, particularly in the tech industry, for critical, hard-to-fill positions.  But right-wing critics weren't going to let that go unchallenged.  Journalist Ann Coulter countered that what the tech companies were really seeking was cheap foreign labor and that the recipients of the H-1B visas were little more than "indentured servants."   There were also posted arguments that the tech companies should be hiring American labor and train them to do the tech jobs.

Elon Musk, a man who does not take well to being challenged, referred to the MAGA extremists who were opposing the immigration of tech labor, particularly from India, as  "contemptible fools."   However, he almost seemed to be strengthening Ann Coulter's argument as he elaborated in a tweet yesterday:

"Investing in Americans is actually hard.  Really hard.  It costs money and time and effort to make a person productive.  It's a short term loss.  It's much easier to bring in skilled workers who might not do quite as good a job, but will work for a fraction of the cost and be happy just to be here."

The immigration controversy between the extreme MAGAts and the DOGE bros is still raging today.  Will the Republican Party modify its intolerance and welcome, or at least tolerate, immigrants who help to boost some segments of the economy, or will they be firm in their resolve to drive and bar diversity from our shores?

At some point Big Daddy is going to have to waddle in and take charge.

The Pay-to-Play-and-Pray Presidency

 

by Pa Rock

Citizen Journalist

Elon Musk went to Mar-a-Lago, supped with the King, bent the knee, kissed the ring, dipped his nose deep into the royal diaper, and coughed up over a quarter of a billion dollars to help the portly and elderly politician retake control of the greatest country on Earth, the one that Elon had chosen for his own home base several years earlier.  The $277 million (or more) that Elon had donated to the GOP presidential campaign was not an outright gift - it was more of an investment.  He was buying influence and access to the person who he thought could best serve his interests in the White House.   Elon was taking care of Elon.

Money is the "lifeblood" of politics and it also is a very concrete way of showing respect, admiration, veneration, and adulation - and the incoming President enjoys the hell out of being respected, admired, venerated, and adulated.  It just does not get any better than having the world's richest man fuss and fawn over you while stuffing your pockets with cash!

Elon wasn't able to just write a check and hand it to the candidate.  Congress has established limits on campaign donations by individuals, so his money went in the campaign in a circuitous manner through political action committees - but behind all the legal garble and subterfuge, it was coming from Elon, and the King of Mar-a-Lago knew it.   Now Elon has a perch of prominence in the royal court - bought and paid for - as it prepares to move back into the White House.

Lesser billionaires watched Elon buy his way into a position of power in the new administration, and many of them are choosing to buy their own bit of prominence, or protection, as well.  The election is over, but they are feeling the urge (which is emanating from Mar-a-Lago) to join in the giving fest, and they are choosing to do that by writing checks to help with the inauguration festivities.  There is no cap on the size of donations that individuals or corporations can make to the inauguration. and the King, who set the record for. inauguration money collected with his first inauguration in 2017 ($107 million), is strongly encouraging his richest subjects to donate bigly to the 2025 inauguration - and this time $150 million (a new record) has already been collected.  

Oh it will be a fine inauguration, one fit for an Emperor!  (But alas, his title will just be President - for now.)

The soon-to-be President is openly soliciting donations to his inauguration, big ones.  Anyone who donates a million dollars will receive six tickets to events associated with the grand celebration.  The tickets will get the wealthy donors into a black-tie affair at which many important people will be present including the King new President, into a candlelight dinner with the President and his Lady, and into a reception with new Cabinet members.  Access, influence, access, influence, access, influence!  It doesn't get any better than that, and all just for a measly million!

Jeff Bezos, Sam Altman, Mark Zuckerberg, Ken Griffin, and other oligarchs have lined-up and dutifully paid their million-dollar tributes, as have corporations like GM, Ford, Toyota, and Uber.  Ford has even donated a fleet of vehicles to help with the big celebration.  The money rains down like manna from heaven, and President-elect gloats, raises his arms, and declares euphorically that "Everybody wants to be my friend!"

It's either that, or everybody's afraid not to be his friend!

For those who would like the opportunity to pray with the incoming President, (and honestly, who wouldn't?), one of the inaugural activities will reportedly be an interfaith prayer service on the day before the inauguration, and for just $100,000 good Christians, like the man himself, can pray with, or perhaps to, the next Chief Executive of the United States and his Lady.  There is no word yet on whether the service will include a breakfast buffet or not.

If Jesus would like in on that action, he will need to show up with his own collection plate!

There can be little doubt about which segment of America will have the ear of the next presidential administration.   It won't be us, it will be them.   Money talks, buddy - loudly!