Crossover Voting: A Way to Have an Impact

by Pa Rock

Citizen Journalist

I am a Democrat in southern Missouri, an outcast of sorts and definitely an oddity.   It is not unusual on a general election day in November for about half of the races on local ballots in this part of the state  to have only one candidate - a Republican.  We are basically a strong Republican backwater in a fairly strong Republican state.

The real races occur on the primary election day in August,  It is then that each party winnows down their lists of candidates for each office and comes up with their one official candidate for that office.  The Republicans in Missouri, and especially in southern Missouri, have many choices, and the Democrats seldom have any races between candidates vying for the same office, an office that Republicans will win handily in November anyway.

Elections aren't much fun for Democrats down in the sticks of southern Missouri.

But Missouri has an election system that makes it possible for any citizen to have more of an impact than their party affiliation might normally allow.  Missouri does not register its voters by political party, and the state has an "open primary" system which means that any registered voter and walk into the polls on primary election day in August and choose whichever ballot he or she prefers.    And in order to have any impact at all on who is finally elected to office, this Missouri Democrat will often choose to vote a Republican primary ballot.

It's called "crossover" voting, and there are a couple of good reasons for engaging in the practice.  First, it is sometimes used to help the other party elect the best person.  That happened in Georgia last week in the Republican race for secretary of state.  The incumbent, Brad Raffensperger,  earned the rage and wrath of Donald Trump when he refused to change the Georgia vote totals in the 2020 election, totals that gave a Georgia victory to Joe Biden.  And, to pour salt in the wound, Raffensperger taped a telephone call from Trump in which the then President tried to coerce Raffensperger into "finding" more Republican votes - and then the secretary of state went so far as to make that tape public!

So an angry and bitter Donald Trump was quick to endorse a primary opponent to Raffensperger.  There were four running against the incumbent, and Trump publicly chose Jody Hice, a former congressman and a supporter of Trump's big lie about the election being fraudulent.  In Georgia if no candidate takes over 50% of the vote in the primary, a run-off election is held between the top two vote-getters, so Trump either needed Hice to win outright or to place first or a strong second and take Raffensperger down in a run-off election.

But Raffensperger won the primary with 52% of the votes, which meant that Hice was out and Raffensperger would be the Republican candidate in the fall.  Trump's candidate for Georgia governor, David Perdue, also lost on Election Day - bigly - but it was the Raffensperger win that really galled and mystified Trump.

It now looks as though Brad Raffensperger won that primary election outright with crossover votes.  A review of voting in Georgia shows that more than 37,000 people who had cast ballots as Democrats in the last primary election chose to vote a Republican ballot this time - and Brad Raffenserger cleared the 50% marker in this primary election by just 27,000 votes!

And Trump is pissed.   Cry me a river.

The other reason to "crossover" vote us to help the other party elect their most "beatable" candidate.  Missouri has an one US Senate seat coming up for election in November.  It is a seat that should remain safely in the Republican Party, but the GOP is involved in a dogfight over the seat with four prominent candidates for the position with a couple a minor candidates thrown in for good measure.  Of the four major Republican contenders, all are conservative troglodytes with their tongues firmly glued to Donald Trump's full diaper, and none would make a decent senator - and none would be a markedly worse senator than any of the other three.

Meanwhile, Missouri Democrats have two fairly substantial candidates, either one of whom could win the contest if Republicans choose the right (wrong) candidate.  And the Missouri Republican Party has one major candidate who gives party leaders plenty of sleepless nights - and that man, a former governor who was involved in some well-publicized kinky sex and blackmail and has been accused of domestic abuse, is currently leading in the polls.  He would be the GOP's weakest candidate in the general election and could lose - a perfect candidate for crossover voters - like myself - to consider.

It's one way to have an impact.

Bright Lights and Roaring Engines, a Hero Remembered

 

(Editor's Note:  Today in honor of Memorial Day my good friend, Ranger Bob, has submitted a posting about a war hero from his hometown of Wheeling in northern Missouri.  Wheeling had a population of just over three hundred when Bob was growing up there in the 1950's and '60's, but he thinks it would have been a little larger when the US Navy dirigible, the "USS Los Angeles," under the command of Wheeling native, Herbert Wiley, hovered over the town one night in 1928.  What follows is an accounting of that incident along with information on the life and military career of a distinguished military leader.)

"Bright Lights and Roaring Engines, a Hero Remembered"

by Bob Randall

On the night of October 10, 1928, an airship of the United States Navy, the USS Los Angeles dirigible hovered over Wheeling, Missouri, a backwater town that was the center of a small farming community in northern Missouri. It was a memorable event for Wheeling and everyone from miles around was in town. Those with vehicles turned on their head lights so the town could be identified from the air in the darkness. Once the airship was in place, they all turned off their lights so the lights from the ship could be more easily seen. The commander of the ship was Herbert Wiley, the son of a Wheeling citizen. He had received permission to stop over Wheeling and he communicated by blinking lights with his father. I suppose he used Morse Code to say something like, “Hey Dad, what do you think of my ride?”  

 

I’ll bet you’ve never heard of Herbert Wiley.  I first heard this story from my mother, Opal Anna (Williams) Randall who was an eyewitness as a young girl.  She described it as a thrilling event with bright lights and roaring engines.  Another eyewitness, Clarence (Jiggs) Arthaud, described the event to me with equal enthusiasm.  Both of these eyewitnesses are now deceased.   

 

Years later, the town was building a new community center and wanted to include a display honoring its military heroes. We all knew of Captain John Seuell, an aviator, who was captured in Viet Nam when his plane was shot down. Johnny is still MIA and the family believes he died in a POW camp. We also knew about PFC David Utley, a marine who was killed on his second tour of duty in Viet Nam. David had volunteered for that tour. Johnny’s and David’s names are on adjacent panels on the Viet Nam Wall in Washington, D.C. There were plenty of others with photos and stories, but there was no mention of Herbert Wiley. He had been forgotten. 

 

When I found out that my hometown was about to finish their plans for the memorial with no mention of Wiley, I spoke up. Everyone of my generation, we were now the adults of the community, was surprised to hear about Rear Admiral Wiley who had received the Navy Cross, the Legion of Merit, and the Bronze Star during WWII. His story is worth telling. Here it is: 

 

This native of Wheeling was born in 1891 and graduated from the US Naval Academy in 1915. After WWI, Wiley was assigned to the US Naval Airship Program and over the years was assigned to the USS Shenandoah, the USS Los Angeles, the USS Akron, and the navy's last airship, the USS Macon. Three of these airships crashed, two with Wiley on board. Only the USS Los Angeles was decommissioned without a crash.  Wiley was reassigned to the surface navy and commanded a destroyer squadron until he was appointed captain of the USS West Virginia. 

 

Let me quote from the usswestvirginia.org webpage. "Under his command the ship participated in the liberation of the Philippines where the invasion of Leyte in October 1944 saw the first landing of the United States troops. On October 25, the West Virginia participated in the Battle of Surigao Strait. The first battleship to fire, she hit a Japanese battleship 13 miles away on the first salvo and fired more rounds than any other battleship. Later, under Wiley's command, the Wee Vee saw action at the landing on Mindoro and shelled the coast at Lingayen Gulf during landings there."

"For "extraordinary heroism" as commanding officer during the action of Surigao Strait, Adm. Wiley was awarded the Navy Cross. The citation reads in part, "A brilliant and fearless leader, Capt. Wiley conducted a vigorous and unrelenting attack against the Japanese in the face of intense opposition, thereby rendering invaluable assistance in sinking 10 hostile combatant vessels, including two of the enemy's powerful battleships. His expert seamanship, indomitable spirit and unwavering devotion of duty during combat contributed to the success of a significant naval battle."

"During naval operations at Iwo Jima during February and March 1945, Capt. Wiley brought the West Virginia in so close to the beach that medium caliber guns were able to be used against the entrenched enemy's bunkers and caves. For this and the Philippine action, Capt. Wiley was awarded the Legion of Merit, "for exceptionally meritorious conduct in the performance of outstanding services during operations against enemy Japanese forces." At Iwo, Capt. Wiley "fought off repeated heavy enemy air attacks throughout this extended combat and, maintaining superb control of his gallant ship, delivered devastating barrages of heavy caliber fire against hostile installations and troop concentrations." 

 

"Still under Wiley's command, the West Virginia moved on to Okinawa and was hit by a kamikaze on April 1, 1945, but was not taken out of action. During 30 days and nights, Capt. Wiley remained on the bridge. For his achievements in this campaign he was awarded the Bronze Star for "heroic achievement against enemy Japanese forces at Okinawa, from March 25 to April 20, 1945." During the pre-assault bombardment of Okinawa and in supporting operations following the amphibious landings, "Capt. Wiley skillfully maneuvered through dangerous navigational waters within unusually close range of the island and, with his vessel exposed to intense fire and enemy shore guns, delivered prolonged and effective point-blank, counter-battery fire against Japanese installations." Capt. Wiley led the ship in "fighting off repeated aerial attacks and, maintaining his vulnerable positions despite the constant threat of enemy planes, suicide boats and midget submarines, [and] provided devastating barrages to cover special off-shore operations and to support the ground units combating a ruthless and fanatic enemy." 

 

"Retiring from the USN in 1947, Rear Adm. Wiley became a professor in the College of Engineering at the University of California, Berkeley. He passed away in California in May 1954." 

 

Admiral Wiley’s photo and story are now at the center of the Wheeling Community Building’s memorial to its military sons and daughters. 

 

References: 

http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr...

http://www.usswestvirginia.org/veterans/personalpage.php... 

www.livingstoncountylibrary.org/History/County/1981/1981History.doc 

History of Wheeling by Lucien Walkup

Uvalde Massacre Prompts Oregon Man to Turn-in his Guns

 

by Pa Rock

Citizen Journalist

The savage murder of nineteen fourth-graders and two teachers at an elementary school in Uvalde, Texas, this week weighed heavily on the mind of Ben Beers of Hillsboro, Oregon.  The 37-year-old stay-at-home father of two young children, in fact, said that he was so distraught by the killings that he "tossed and turned and cried and shook" instead of sleeping the first night after the massacre.

And by the next morning Ben Beers had decided to do his small part to bring some sanity back to America.  He telephoned his local police department and arranged to turn-in his guns - an AR-15 assault rifle and a 9mm handgun - and have them destroyed.  The combined value of the two guns was around two thousand dollars, but Beers was not interested in trying to get his investment back.  He said in a TikTok post "I just wanted to turn them in, have them destroyed."  As of yesterday that posting had more than 200,000 views.

The Hillsboro, Oregon, Police Department, where Mr. Beers subsequently surrendered his guns, does not offer an incentive (cash or vouchers) for relinquishing guns.  A spokesman for the department said that they experience a voluntary gun turn-in about once a month, usually when someone dies and the surviving spouse does not want the guns.  The department contracts with a private firm to destroy all of the guns that it receives from the public.

By voluntarily removing the guns from his home and having them destroyed, Ben Beers has:  1. lessened the incentive for a thief to break into his home;  2.  removed deadly weapons from beyond the reach of his children;  3. rid the world of two potential threats to safety and good order;  and, 4. set a good (and very bold) example for others to follow.

Thank you, Mr. Beers, for helping to advance civilization.  

It's the Guns, Stupid!

 

by Pa Rock

Citizen Journalist

I have written about the massacre at Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, Texas, for the past two days, but it is an expanding and evolving saga, and there is more that needs to be said.  Maybe after I purge today I will be able to move on to other things - but really none of us should move on until our government begins taking action on the tragic reality of school shootings.

If you have not heard Jimmy Fallon's monologue on school shootings (it is all over the internet), give it a listen and then pass it on to a dozen others.  It is a powerful indictment of our times and a plea for basic humanity.

I read a piece in one of the Texas newspapers which said that employees of the gun store where the school shooter did his gun shopping were "shocked" at what he had done with the weaponry that they sold him.  The teenager purchased two semi-automatic weapons, 375 rounds of ammo, and probably several high capacity magazines and a tactical vest as well - all within a three-day period - and the store employees who sold him that arsenal were "shocked" that he went on a killing rampage?   Bullshit.

I read a piece on social media by a reporter from a state other than Texas who had gone to Uvalde to report on the horrific crime.   One of the aspects of the story that the reporter wanted to explore was the store which had sold the killer his weapons.  Even though there are several gun stores in the Uvalde area, the man quickly was able to find to which one had made the sales, and he drove to that location.  He parked in the store's parking lot and as he was exiting his car he was met by a security person who told him he could not enter.  The reporter, who had not identified himself, noticed others entering the business and asked why he could not go in.  The security man replied that was because he was carrying a notebook and had an accent.

But a wigged-out eighteen-year-old with a pocketful of cash, well . . . come on down and shop 'til you drop!  More bullshit.

This needs to archived here as well:  As Texas Republican politicians flopped around trying to come up with a posture and a spiel that would let them appear to have compassion for the victims of Uvalde and their families, while remaining firm in their support of the NRA and gun "rights," Beto O'Rourke, a man of action, rolled up his sleeve and donated blood for the victims of the preventable tragedy.

Yesterday Donald Trump gave the keynote speech at the NRA convention in Houston - while Beto marched outside of the convention hall along with thousands of other good Americans who came to Houston to protest the NRA and its callous disregard for human life.  Trump, who has long been a tool of Russian President Vladimir Putin, gave one of his long-winded diatribes that included his answer to school shootings. Trump wants to "harden" US schools with tall security fences and fortified doors and windows - and he proposes paying for these prison-like facilities with money that the US is currently spending to support Ukraine.  Vladimir Putin would no doubt also be in favor of pulling US monetary support from Ukraine and spending it on turning American schools into gulags.  More bullshit.

Yesterday there was an explosion of stories regarding the "timeline" of events during the shooting.  It now looks as though one-hour-and-twenty-minutes elapsed between the time the teen gunman entered the school building and when he was killed.  A group of local police - some reports say nineteen - were inside of the school building much of that time but were apparently waiting on a special tactical unit to arrive.  They were also reportedly stymied because the classroom door was locked.

While the police were dawdling in the hallway, students inside of the besieged classroom were calling 911 and texting urgent pleas to "send the police in now!"  And still the cops waited, failing the children and failing humanity.  Bullshit, maximus bullshit!

Here's where it gets personal for me.  I have six grandchildren ranging in age from six to twenty-three.  Four of this six are boys, and the two little girls, who were born within a few weeks of each other, are both 10-year-old fourth-graders.  One completed her fourth grade year about a week ago and the other lives in a different part of the country and will be in school until the middle of June.  Both are good students and enjoy school.

My granddaughters, thank God, have neither one had to endure the bloody horror of a school shooting, but they have been "schooled" through "active-shooter" drills on how to react and respond if that rolling nightmare ever comes to their schools.  And now they have seen the news stories about a classroom full of 10-year-old fourth graders - kids just like them - being murdered by a crazy older kid with a gun.  It's becoming more real, it's getting scarier.  

Don't tell me - and don't fool yourself into believing - that all children aren't already being harmed by this savagery, because they damned sure are!  And to respond by turning schools into maximum security prisons will only increase the psychological damage that society is already heaping on these vulnerable kids!

It's not the kids fault, they are the victims.  And it's not the one-parent homes, or the immigrants, or "transgenders," or video games, or immigrants, or the books in the school library . . .

It's the guns, stupid!

Addendum:   Here are a few modest proposals, none of which would infringe upon the "right" of a true sportsman to go out and shoot a few squirrels:

• Persons with certain mental health diagnoses should be barred from owning or possessing guns, people who have been convicted of domestic violence, road rage, or crimes committed with guns, should not have the ability to own or possess guns.   
• Children should be allowed to carry and use guns only with the direct supervision of a responsible adult.
• Law enforcement should be able to temporarily remove guns from people whom they or medical personnel regard as unstable, with a judge ultimately deciding if or when the weapons will be returned.
• There should be comprehensive background checks performed on all gun purchasers, even when the sales are through gun shows and among private individuals.
• All gun owners and gun users should be required to undergo gun safety training, and every gun owner should be required to have liability insurance on every weapon they possess, just as all drivers are required to have liability insurance on each of their vehicles.  
• The sale of assault weapons, the guns of choice for mass murderers, should be banned nationwide.

NRA Disrespects Uvalde

 

by Pa Rock

Citizen Journalist

In a shocking display of insensitivity and disrespect toward the victims and their families of the school shooting in Uvalde, Texas, the National Rifle Association nevertheless has chosen to go ahead with its annual convention in Houston.  The festivities began less that seventy-two hours after a teen gunman murdered nineteen little kids and two teachers at Robb Elementary School in Uvalde.

Texas Governor Greg Abbott, a major proponent of gun "rights" and an ardent supporter of the NRA had been scheduled to speak at the event, but cancelled at the last minute and will instead address the group through a taped presentation.  Abbott said that he would not make it to the annual gathering that was being held in his state so that he could attend a press conference in Uvalde.   Abbot had been at another press conference in Uvalde two days ago when his Democratic opponent, Beto O'Rourke, stole the governor's thunder by confronting him in front of the press and those gathered at the event. O'Rourke accused the pro-gun governor of doing nothing to prevent tragedies like the one that occurred at the school in Uvalde.  Abbott ordered O'Rourke to be removed from the press conference, and the visibly angry former congressman politely left the event - and then met with the press outside of the auditorium where he continued t criticize Abbott's inaction on school shootings.

Undoubtedly O'Rourke's fierce determination to highlight Greg Abbott's laissez-faire attitude with regard to gun crimes and mass shootings played a part in the governor's decision to skip this weekend's NRA festival of guns in Houston.  Abbott and O'Rourke will face off in the general election for governor of Texas this November.

In addition to seeing Greg Abbott on videotape, attendees at the annual conflab will also be treated to seeing and hearing from several other political figures who will appear in person.   Donald Trump, who has no shame, will of course make an appearance and give the keynote address where he will no doubt do some whining about being "cheated" out of re-election.     The NRA has taken the precaution of not allowing guns at the event while Trump is speaking.

Texas Senator Ted Cruz, who also has no shame, will appear in person and speak at the meeting  - as will South Dakota's shameless Governor Kristi Noem.  Both Cruz and Noem harbor presidential delusions.

Another speaker at the meeting will be the NRA's executive director, Wayne La Pierre, who is a bit of a celebrity himself.  During the two days of the convention LaPierre will undoubtedly be modeling several of the fine Italian suits that the NRA membership so graciously purchased for him.

But there will also be some who are noticeably absent.  John Cornyn, the other Republican senator from Texas and Republican Congressman Dan Crenshaw had both been expected to attend, but now say they won't be there due to other obligations.   And at least four nationally known entertainers who had planned to perform at the event have now cancelled as a result of the shooting in Uvalde:  Don McClean ("Miss American Pie"), Lee Greenwood ("God Bless the USA"), Danielle Peck ("Findin' a Good Man"), and T. Graham Brown ("I Tell It Like It Used to Be").

But perhaps the most surprising cancellation comes from one of the arms manufacturers that normally fund and promote the event.  A spokesman for Daniel Defense, the company which manufactures the AR-15 issued that following statement:

"Daniel Defense is not attending the NRA meeting due to the horrifying tragedy in Uvalde, Texas, where one of our products was criminally misused.  We believe this week is not the appropriate time to be promoting our products in Texas at the NRA meeting."

Others also question the timing and location of the event.  Street protests are occurring in Houston today, and yesterday students at Lamar High School in Houston walked out in support of stricter gun laws.

(And for those wondering what the proper use for an AR-15 would be, Senator Bill Cassidy of Louisiana recently told a reporter that people need AR-15's to protect themselves from feral hogs!)

It's a comfort to know that United States Senators put such a deep level of thought into justifying their inaction on protecting school children from the ravages of weapons of war.

Meanwhile, NRA, enjoy your party and don't give a thought to the blood flowing down the halls of America's schools.  It's all just part of the cost of maintaining our freedumb and protecting ourselves from feral hogs!

And may the feral hogs who are speaking at the NRA's annual meeting in Houston this week never have to experience the pain and horror that has been inflicted on the families of Uvalde, Texas, and the hundreds of other American communities that have been bled at the altar of the National Rifle Association.  

May God have mercy on the rotten souls of the cowardly politicians who allow children to be gunned down in America's schools.

Beto is Mad as Hell, and so is America!

 

by Pa Rock

Citizen Journalist

Salvador Ramos was born on May 16, 2004, in the state of North Dakota, but he essentially spent his entire life in the west Texas community of Uvalde.  As a young child Salvador attended the Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, a school largely comprised of Hispanic children.  He was reported to have been socially awkward and a loner, possibly as a result of a serious speech impediment that included a stutter and a strong lisp, and he was the subject of bullying throughout much of his middle school and high school years.   

Salvador had dropped out of high school and until recently was working at the local Wendy's where he told a co-worker that he was saving his money to buy guns.  A couple of weeks ago he had apparently achieved his financial goal because he quit going to work.  

Salvador turned eighteen on Monday, May 16th, and the following day he turned up at a local gun store and purchased an AR-15 semi-automatic rifle.  The next day he went back to the same store and purchased 375 rounds of ammunition for his new gun, and the day after that he returned again to the same store and bought a second AR-15.   Sometime, presumably during the same period, he also purchased a tactical vest and at least seven high-capacity (30-round) magazines.  

The young man's gun-related purchases totaled somewhere near four thousand dollars.   There were apparently no reports made to any law enforcement entity regarding these highly suspect purchases by such a young individual.  

Federal law requires a person to be twenty-one-years-old before they can legally purchase a pistol, the law allows the purchase of "long guns" (rifles and shotguns which were thought to be more likely used for hunting) at the age of eighteen.  AR-15's, while weapons of war used to kill people en masse, are considered by law to be long guns.

But the long and the short of it is this:  Salvador Ramos, a troubled youth who had been bullied in school, had been identified as a "loner," and had even been taunted in school with the nickname "shooter," quit high school and got a job for the specific purpose of saving enough money to buy guns.  By the time of his 18th birthday he had saved all of the money he needed to purchase two semi-automatic weapons and other items that he deemed essential for carrying out the plan that had apparently been percolating in his brain for a very long time.

Then on Tuesday, May 24th, just eight days after his birthday, Salvador shot his grandmother with whom he had been living (she has so far survived), posted on social media that he had shot her and that he was heading to an elementary school, and then took his grandmother's pick-up truck to the Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, a school which he had once attended.  

The young shooter wrecked his grandmother's truck in a ditch near the school, and grabbed one of his guns and a backpack full of ammunition and headed for the school building.  Governor Abbott of Texas reported that the shooter then "engaged" with a police officer outside of the building, but Abbott later clarified that no shots were fired during that engagement.   (At this point it remains unclear as to what happened outside of the building as Ramos entered.)  Salvador Ramos then charged into the building and entered a room that was occupied by two teachers and their fourth graders, most of whom were ten-years-old.

As Ramos rushed into the building, he apparently dropped the backpack outside.  It was found to have contained seven 30-round magazines full of ammunition.

Salvador Ramos shot and killed both teachers who were in the "combined" classroom, and he killed nineteen students, reportedly shooting some in the face.   Police began assembling at the scene almost immediately, but some news reports indicate that it may have taken forty minutes or more before they entered the building.   There were reports of parents talking about entering the building themselves if police did not act.   The timeline of events remains unclear at this point.

Police reportedly did break out windows of several classrooms in the hope of freeing students trapped in those rooms.

When the tactical unit did enter, they found the classroom door to be locked and sent for a school employee to unlock it.  When the team gained entry to the bloody classroom, one of the members shot and killed Ramos.

Yesterday, after NRA talking points had been shared with their political supporters, Governor Greg Abbott, Senator Ted Cruz, and Uvalde Mayor Don McLaughlin and more than a dozen others gathered in Uvalde for a press conference related to the shooting.  All of the people on the stage were males, and, with one exception, all appeared to be white.   After the governor had finished his initial remarks, and as the lieutenant governor was preparing to speak, Democratic gubernatorial nominee Beto O'Rourke, marched into the meeting and walked up to the stage, commenting as he approached that Governor Abbott was continuing to "do nothing" to stop school shootings.

Members of the governor's entourage began trying to shout down O'Rourke with Ted Cruz yelling that he should stop this "stunt" and Mayor McLaughin referring to O'Rourke as a "sick son of a bitch."  Governor Abbott ordered O'Rourke removed from the hall, and he was escorted out by police. Once outside the outraged O'Rourke spoke to the press unimpeded by the governor's team of "yes" men.

O'Rourke continued his attack on Abbott for doing nothing after several recent mass shootings in Texas.  He noted that Governor Abbott, who is quick to blame shootings on "mental health" issues, has refused to expand Medicaid which would increase access to mental health services for people who need it, and he noted also that Abbott "has refused to champion Red Flag laws, and refused to support safe-storage laws so that young people cannot get their hands on guns."

Just like the majority of Americans, Beto was mad as hell and he wasn't going to take it anymore!

Later in the day Beto was invited into the homes of some of the families of the victims, while the town's mayor and the state's governor and other dignitaries were busy clapping each other on their Anglo-backsides and congratulating themselves on the heartfelt response that they had given to the devastated community.

It had been a battle of ideologies.  One side had once again sought to calm the rage of the people with thoughts and prayers and finger-pointing at various straw men, and the other side began spitting fire and seriously challenging the status quo.  Guns and mass shootings were going to be a very big political issue in Texas in 2022, whether the NRA was ready for the fight or not.

Beto O'Rourke and America won the day, but the war rages on.

A Death in the Family

  

by Pa Rock

Four souls have called this little house their home for the past several years:  me and my little dog, Rosie, and my son Nick and his large Boston terrier, Riley.  We had spent many months developing our routines, adjusting and learning to live in close proximity to one another in a calm and orderly manner, but now that calm existence has been has been shaken.

Riley passed away yesterday afternoon, and today there is a big hole in our lives.

Riley looked like a Boston terrier, but he was actually about the size of two standard Bostons.  His usual weigh was around fifty pounds, leading to the suspicion that a standard bulldog had been introduced to his bloodline at some point.  And Riley had a bulldog attitude which he showed by standing his ground whenever he did not want to do something.

Riley would eat his food, aggressively, and if Rosie ignored hers he would snarf that up as well.  But Rosie was the boss when it came to toys and creature comforts.  When I would bring them the occasional chew toy following a visit to town, Rosie would quickly hide hers and then wait for an opportunity to make off with his.  In the evenings after Rosie had retired for the night, Riley would search the house until he came up with one of the toys, which he would then enjoy away from the pesky little dog.  But Riley loved Rosie in spite of her occasional thievery, and he would rush to her defense any time he felt there was danger.

Riley also monitored the kitchen and knew when I was preparing my lunch.  As soon as my meal was ready, he would position himself close by and wait patiently for me to finish, knowing that he and Rosie would score the final couple of bites of whatever I as enjoying.  It was impossible to not respond to those big eyes and that wry smile that was always on his face!

Riley, who would have been twelve in September, became sick a few days ago and began sleeping almost continuously.  It soon became obvious that he was shutting down, and Nick, who has had Riley since he was a pup, stayed by his side constantly hoping for a change in his condition.    Yesterday afternoon when it was clear that Riley was suffering and stood no chance of recovery, Nick bundled him up for his last ride to the vet.    I drove the sad party to the vet's office, but Nick took him into the exam room alone where, after consultation with the doctor, he made the difficult decision to have his dog, the most stable presence in his life for the last dozen years, put to sleep.

And today grief weighs heavy on our hearts.

Thought Trap

 

(Editor's note:  The following is another submission from my old friend and "guest blogger," Bob Randall.  In this piece Ranger Bob takes a deep dive into the under-used skill of critical thinking.  It is informative, evocative, and certainly timely.)

Thought Trap

by Bob Randall

There’s a bumper sticker out there that says, “If you voted for Biden, you owe me gas money.”

How does one reach that conclusion? The “clever” author of that meme and the “clever” bumper owner probably would answer that gasoline was cheaper under the previous administration because Trump was pro-fossil fuel and Biden is on a fool’s quest to convert to green energy. Trump good, Biden bad. No more thought needs to be given. To be fair, the mirror image on the left puts no more thought into memes like, “Biden good, Trump bad.”

That’s a thought trap that we should all work to avoid. It starts with a logical fallacy. In this case, it’s a bias. For the sake of argument, let’s say that the bumper owner is biased against Biden/for Trump and subconsciously sought out a meme that would confirm that bias. A confirmation bias is the tendency to search for and recall information that confirms one's prior beliefs. The bumper owner only needs to compare fuel prices in the two administrations to reach a conclusion that satisfies him or her. It is not necessary for them to search for more information about the world petroleum market pricing, the boycott of Russian oil and gas, or any other relevant information. Those ideas don’t confirm the bias so they can be discounted and discarded. 

The bumper sticker also uses a strawman argument, another type of fallacy. It implies something else that is easier to argue. In this case, it presents Biden as being irresponsible, wrong headed, or incompetent and then he is easy to denigrate. It makes an assumption, and then proceeds with criticism.

We can’t say the same about the meme’s author without more information. If you jumped to a conclusion that the author was of the same mind as the owner, you used your own logical fallacy. It happens to be the same one. It was your confirmation bias. You also took a mental shortcut. Mental shortcuts, or heuristics, can have advantages. If you’re in the woods at night and something big jumps at you, it might be sasquatch. You should take that mental shortcut and run. If it turns out that your friends played a trick on you, you can all laugh about it later. Mental shortcuts don’t necessarily lead you to the correct conclusion, just a fast conclusion. The motivation for the meme’s author could simply be profit. Maybe they have made other bumper stickers marketed to the political left. Maybe they made a killing from selling COEXIST bumper stickers. I don’t know and unless you’re the one who printed the sticker and marketed it, you don’t know either. 

I posted once before asserting some things as being Trump’s fault. Did I take a mental shortcut to reach that conclusion? Well, I gave some general examples of things he has done and there has been plenty of previous thought given to the subject that wasn’t discussed in the post. Was my argument using a confirmation bias fallacy? How sure am I of my assertion that he gave rioters permission and encouragement to storm the Capitol on January 6? A counter argument might be that he was just speaking metaphorically. If there is good evidence of that, then I should retract my statement. Maybe I shouldn’t have even made that statement without better evidence. I think there’s some pretty good evidence, so I’ll stand by it for now. However, if convincing exculpatory evidence is ever presented, I will change my mind.

So, am I being unfair to the bumper owner? He has a limited canvas on which to place his argument and can hardly place 20 other stickers on his car to support his meme. Now that would be something to see. Still, let him make his arguments with substance rather than memes. 

If you read the first sentence in this post and eagerly read on because you expected me to argue for or against the sentiment of the bumper sticker, you’re probably disappointed. That is not the point of this writing. It’s about poor thinking skills. If you have gotten this far, and you’re still disappointed, you’re just the person I am writing to. I could go on but I’m tired of writing and Pa Rock is tired proofreading for spelling errors. There are plenty of books about critical thinking. I recommend The Skeptics Guide to the Universe, How to Know What’s Really Real in a World Increasingly Full of Fake by Steven Novella, Et al. 

Protestant Clergy Also Prey on Children

 

by Pa Rock

Citizen Journalist

For years, generations even, Roman Catholic clergy have been the go-to villains when it came to children being sexually abused by representatives of God on Earth, but the ugly truth of the matter is that people who are sexually aroused by children tend to gravitate towards places where vulnerable children are available:  schools, child care centers, and especially churches - many of which even sponsor groups, likes scout troops, to pull more children toward the church and its activities.

It should therefore come as no surprise to anyone to learn that protestant churches are also prime stalking grounds for people who seek sexual gratification from contact with children.

The Southern Baptist Convention is America's largest protestant denomination.  Last year delegates at the group's annual meeting aired concerns that they had been hearing regarding the church's Executive Committee routinely ignoring reports of sexual abuse of children by church officials.  The delegates pressed for an outside investigation into those complaints.   The group, Guidepost Solutions, was hired to look into the situation and issue a report.   Their investigation lasted seven months, and yesterday the 288-page report on the matter was made public.

According to the report, the investigation revealed that for at least two decades leaders of the Southern Baptists within the Executive Committee had "stonewalled" and "denigrated" survivors and others who had tried to bring matters of sexual abuse within the church to their attention.  The report even said that the survivors and others who told of the abuse were sometimes met with "outright hostility" by members of the Executive Committee.

The primary motivation for the active avoidance of the reports of sexual abuse appears to have been to protect the church's money and property.   One highlight of the findings was this:

"Our investigation revealed that, for many years, a few senior EC leaders, along with outside counsel, largely controlled the EC's response to these reports of abuse . . . and were singularly focused on avoiding liability for the SBC."

That situation, where church leaders operated in a cocoon of denial, led to abusers being quietly transferred among congregations, and churches who received the miscreant ministers were never notified of their predatory pasts - the exact same dynamic that had played out in many Catholic dioceses with clergy who were sexual predators.  One staff member who worked for the Southern Baptist Convention's Executive Committee reportedly kept a list of clergy on whom they had received reports, a list that numbered in the hundreds, but no one took any action to insure that those accused predators were no longer in positions of power within the church.

Ed Litton, the President of the Southern Baptist Convention, said that he is "grieved to my core" over the facts revealed in the report and he is calling on the membership of the church to "lament" and prepare to change the culture within the denomination.

Yesterday's report listed several recommendations designed to begin changing the culture with respect to the on-going patterns of sexual abuse within the church, and those recommendations will be front-and-center in discussions when the SBC holds its annual meeting in Anaheim, California, next month.

The problems are out and on the table, and now they must be dealt with.   It's the Christian thing to do.

Bad Peanut Butter

 

by Pa Rock

Citizen Journalist

The J.M. Smucker Company has announced a voluntary recall of some of its Jif Peanut Butter products due to possible salmonella contamination.  The peanut butter affected was manufactured at the company's Lexington, Kentucky, plant.   The product range code for the bad peanut butter is 1274425 through 2140425.  (Those numbers represent the first seven digits of the 11-digit product code featured on the peanut butter container.  Digits five through seven (425) represent the Lexington plant.

I don't generally pay much attention to recalls because 1.) they seem to be so prevalent as to numb consumers to their true impact, and 2.) they rarely, if ever, impact me personally.  But extra-crunchy Jif is my favorite peanut butter, so I did notice when the news was being bandied about on the internet yesterday.  Still, I did not panic and rush to the cupboard to check my stash.

But then last night as I was lying in bead reading, sometime around 9:00 p.m. (the excitement in my life knows no bounds!), my telephone suddenly rang.  People who are important in my life know two things:  I do not respond well to texts, and I don't like to be called after dark.  So when I finally pulled myself up off of the bed to see which idiot was breaking rule number two, I saw that it was an 800 number - and laid back down without  answering.  

This morning I learned that last night's call had been important after all.  It was from the "Jif Consumer Relations Team" at J.M. Smucker alerting me to the fact that I may have purchased some of their tainted peanut butter at Costco.  I learned that because during the night the Smucker Company  had also sent me an email on Costco letterhead advising of the recall and saying that I may have purchased some of the bad peanut butter.

I had one almost full large jar of extra-crunchy Jif that I had purchased in a two-pack from Costco.  I had either already eaten the other jar, or given it to my son, Tim, who is sometimes with me when I shop at Costco in the Kansas City area.  My product code showed that it had been made at the Lexington plant, but the number was just outside of the affected range.  Because I have felt ill for the past few days, I threw the almost-full jar away anyway and notified Tim and his family, too.

Here is my takeaway from all of this peanut butter drama.  I know that our privacy is severely limited by the powers of technology - and that Alexa listens to every thing I say and takes notes - and Google reads all of my email and then inundates me with ads regarding anything that I might have even just thought about, but at some point it is a bit of a comfort to know that a merchandizing giant like Costco can punch in a couple of keystrokes on its corporate computers and know who to quickly notify in case of a product recall.  

Technology can be an inherent danger to free people, such as at times when authoritarian forms of government are on the rise, but at other times it can be a blessing when it is harnessed for the public good.

If only there was a way to keep the good uses while eliminating the corporate and government spying!

Costco will reimburse its customers who were caught up in the peanut butter recall.

Thank you, Costco, for looking out for your customers and for responding so quickly!

To Fish, or Not to Fish

 

by Bob Randall

("Ranger Bob")

(Editor's note:  As promised, here is the first in a series of postings by "guest bloggers."  Bob Randall wrote the following piece especially for "The Ramble.")

(About the Author:   Bob Randall, a.k.a. "Ranger Bob," is of former college roommate of mine who earned a Bachelor's degree in Biology and a Master's degree in Life Sciences with an emphasis in Biology.  He has an extensive interest in conservation and climate issues.  Bob served twenty-six years as a Park Ranger with the National Park Service.  He is now retired and spends as much time as he can trout fishing!)

To Fish, or Not to Fish

by Bob Randall

I was getting ready to go fishing while my wife was watching the morning news. I heard the news person say that hate crimes were up and they would tell us why after some messages. My wife and I said in unison: “It’s Trump’s fault!”  

The news person went on to say that people were being radicalized by social media. That is probably true. Now, Trump didn’t create social media. Everyone knows that was Al Gore’s doing. No! Wait! He created the internet.  

Anyway, Trump doesn’t make people get on social media. He gave them permission and encouragement to go to the Capitol to threaten and intimidate legislators into overturning an election. He encourages them to search out places where they can hear opinions that line up with their own opinions or maybe go even a little further, and further, and further, ad nauseum into radicalism. Trump didn’t create an educational system that doesn’t teach critical thinking. Trump doesn’t care about abortion or the separation of church and state. He doesn’t really care about gun possession or law and order. Trump has no conscious idea about any of that except that by playing to those ideas, he has opened up a fan base. He is a witless leader. They are witless followers. And neither Trump nor his followers care. They adulate him and play to his narcissistic needs. Together, they create a sick circular positive feedback system. Imagine a lab rat that gets food when it correctly completes a maze. It doesn’t know why; it doesn’t care.  

It crossed my mind that Pa Rock would want some specific examples to back up my assertions. Maybe some other time. You already have some specific examples in mind of why I’m right or why I’m wrong. That’s part of the problem. We look for ideas that confirm our pre-existing biases, create straw men to knock down, and then make false comparisons. We all do it. The challenge is to know that we’re doing it and then correct those errors. Right now, I’d rather talk about fishing. 

Fishing wasn’t very good that day. I watched the water surface for emerging insects and the rings caused by rising trout. Finally, in a pool protected from the worst of the current, I saw them. The hatch only lasted about 15 minutes. The emergers were so tiny that I never saw them, just the trout taking those invisible insects. They must have been midges. I had to cast across a swift current to get in the sweet spot and because the fly line was swept downstream as soon as it touched the water, I mended back up stream trying to keep my fly from being ripped downstream. A strike! In my excitement, I pulled the fly out of the fish’s mouth. I missed six more over the next few minutes and then it was over. I wish I could blame Trump for that. 

My biggest fear if Trump is ever re-elected would be that he would create a national blue law prohibiting fishing on Sunday. That’s a law I would violate. 

Change is Coming to the Ramble

 

by Pa Rock

Tired Old Typist

On November 8, 2007, I was sitting around my lonely apartment in Goodyear, Arizona, surfing the internet when I came across some blogs.  I had written a lot over the years, and had things published in a few less-well-known magazines and small newspapers, and I had quite a pile of writing that I just dragged along with each move.    As I read those blogs, I saw them as a way to begin storing all of my accumulated writings in one place.

That night I wrote a piece about the young man who was my favored candidate for the following year's presidential race.  It was titled simply "Obama '08!"  After completing the short piece, I decided that I would learn how to post it as a blog entry.  Thirty minutes or so later, "Pa Rock's Ramble" was born.  One year to the day after that initial posting, Barack Obama was elected the 44th President of the United States!

The name of the blog came from the name that my oldest grandchild, Boone, had given me - "Pa Rock" - because he lived in close proximity to his other grandfather whom he called "Pa."  Boone was eight when I began this effort, and he has now recently turned twenty-three.  At the time I began writing The Ramble, I had two grandchildren - and now I have six, and the youngest one will soon be six-years-old.

The Ramble was not intended to become a daily effort, but it quickly evolved into just that.  I used it to post all of my old writing that I wanted saved, covered a lot of politics (including commentary on four individuals who served as President of the United States since that first effort was published in November of 2007), posted reviews of books that I read and enjoyed, did many travel pieces - and posted from places like Mexico, Central America, the Caribbean, Japan and Okinawa, Taiwan, Korea, Guam, and even Cuba, not to mention several locations in the United States.  I even expanded into genealogy and put much of my own family history into this space.

Today's posting of Pa Rock's Ramble is #5,472.

It's been quite a ride.  But it has also turned into a major time-eater as I search for more and more interesting things to write about and struggle to keep things at least somewhat fresh.  I do the blog in the mornings, and, of late, some days I have been stuck at the computer until early afternoon trying to piece together a daily entry.  

But I am seventy-four-years-old and there are other things that I want to accomplish in my life.  I recently made a personal decision that I was going to step away from this blog and pursue those other interests while there is still time.  I told my youngest son, Tim, the writer, over the weekend of my decision and he made one request.  He said that I should offer to let a few of my friends do a bit of "guest-blogging" before hanging it up or going on an extended hiatus.  This week I made that offer to several friends and a couple have responded positively.  

My good friend, Ranger Bob, a conservationist who has concerns about climate change, submitted several pieces, one of which will likely run in this space tomorrow, and the rest will appear over the next few weeks as I slowly back out of my daily publishing routine.   (I am pacing myself instead of just quitting cold turkey!   And I will still undoubtedly still have blogging flare-ups when the world gets so crazy that I just have to say something!)

So, effective today, expect Pa Rock to begin fading away.  As I regain control of my time, I will be focusing on some other things (primarily writing) that I want to accomplish before the sand drains completely out of the hourglass.

Thank you, patient readers, for putting up with my rambling for all these years - and for your friendship.

The Morning Rush

 

by Pa Rock

Crabby Old Man

This morning I was up well before dawn cracked, and was on the road to Springfield, Missouri, for a doctor's appointment just as the night was beginning to change to day.  Springfield is one hundred miles - exactly - from where I live.   I had an appointment for lab work at 8:05 a.m. and then had to sit around for a visit with the doctor's assistant at 10:30, so I managed to get in some reading while I waited.

The labs were "fasting" which meant that I drove that hundred miles on an empty stomach without my usual wake-up iced tea, but the lab tech gave me a couple of graham crackers and a small can of apple juice after she took my blood and urine - because I had been such a good boy!

The only thing of significance that I saw on the drive over to the big city were three separate buckboards of Amish near Diggins, Missouri.  One had three adults in the buckboard seat, another had two older ladies, and the third had a young couple with a pre-adolescent girl sitting in the back of the buckboard facing on-coming traffic.   All were dressed in their traditional black attire, including wide brimmed straw hats for the men and bonnets for the women.   Even though the Amish keep their buckboards off of the actual road itself, almost all car and truck drivers are exceedingly careful and shift to the inside lane when they see that they are coming up on a horse-drawn conveyance along the side of the road.

Weather reports started to get serious as I got close to Springfield, and the sky began to darken.  I arrived at the medical complex just as big drops of rain started to hit the windshield.  By the time I had spent the morning inside of the building and came back out, the storm was over and the heat and humidity were rising.  Now West Plains is under a tornado watch until 7:00 p.m.  (I have an exceptionally good basement - however, if one of the fifty-foot pines in my back yard were to blow over onto the house, it might take awhile before I could dig my way out.   But as Gilda Radner used to say, "It's always something!")

Any regular readers of "Pa Rock's Ramble," and there are a few, might want to be sure and check in tomorrow when I anticipate sharing some special news.

Until then . . . share the road and keep some food and water in the basement!

Cawthorn Flames Out

 

by Pa Rock

Citizen Journalist

Team GOP lost one of its all-stars last night with the defeat of freshman Congressman Madison Cawthorn of North Carolina in that state's primary election.   Cawthorn, the youngest person ever elected to the U.S. House of Representatives, earned a reputation in the House as someone who was quick to make headlines for all of the wrong reasons.  He had been endorsed for re-election by Donald Trump.

Cawthorn lost to North Carolina State Senator Chuck Edwards in a five-man primary race by 1,319 votes or 33.4% to 31.9 percent.  The other three candidates trailed far behind.  North Carolina voting laws do not require a run-off election if the leading candidate received more than 30% of the total vote.

During Madison Cawthorn's very brief time in Congress he has been both gotten married and divorced and was involved in numerous misadventures that managed to make their way into the press.  He was twice stopped for trying to board a passenger plane with a gun, he was recently pulled over on a traffic violation where it was discovered that he was driving on a revoked license, and old pictures of him modeling lingerie at a party have emerged, as have photos which suggested some sort of odd relationship between himself and his male second cousin who happens to be a paid member of Cawthorn's congressional staff.  Cawthorn has also been accused of sexual harassment and insider trading.

But the story which seems to have caused the most political damage to the candidate was one that he intentionally initiated.   Two months ago Cawthorn was a guest on the "Warrior Poet Society" podcast hosted by John Lovell when he made the following statement (as quoted from CNN):

"The sexual perversion that goes on in Washington . . . being kind of a young guy in Washington, where the average age is probably 60 - 70 - - (you) look at all these people, a lot of them that I've looked up to through my life, I've always paid attention to politics . . . Then all of a sudden you get invited - - 'We're going to have a sexual get together at one of our homes, you should come.'  . . . What did you just ask me to come to?   And then you realize they're asking you to come to an orgy.  . . .  Some of the people leading on the movement to try and remove addiction in our country, and then you watch them do a key bump of cocaine right in front of you.   And it's like, this is wild."

Many important figures within the Republican Party were very unhappy with Cawthorn's characterization of social life among the politicos of Washington, DC, and some seemed to be focused on helping to defeat him.   The congressman blamed his primary loss last night on a coordinated attack by "establishment" Republicans.

Clearly Chuck Edwards is unlikely to be any more concerned with the general public good than Madison Cawthorn was,  but many in the Republican Party are hopeful that Edwards can at least keep from making a spectacle of himself.

And meanwhile Madison Cawthorn still has over seven months to serve in Congress - and no re-elcction to worry about.   A smart guy like him could have some fun and do a whole lot of damage in seven months.   Perhaps he could start by sharing some names and details from those cocaine-fueled orgies.

This is your golden opportunity, Maddie.  Do unto them like they did unto you!

Mother Guinea has Taken to her Nest

 

by Pa Rock

Farmer in Spring

We have had enough rain of late that the grass has been growing like crazy and always seems to be too wet for a good mowing.  When I got home from Kansas City on Saturday, the yard was in such a ragged state that one of the many local yard mowing concerns had left a business card in my mailbox!  Sunday began as sunny, and I got in about an hour-and-a-half on the mower before the rain forced me to quit, and yesterday I was finally able to get it finished.

The thorough mowing really helps to show off the new roses!

The guineas like to follow me around as I mow because the mower stirs up grasshoppers and all kinds of sweet, juicy bugs.  Since returning from Kansas City I had only seen two of the three guineas, and yesterday only two followed in the wake of the mower, so I was concerned that one had fallen victim to a predator. 

While occasionally observing those two as I mowed, I began to realize that they were both the males - who don't even like each other - and that it was the guinea hen who was missing.  This morning I could not find any of the three until I checked the barn.  There I found the two males on patrol inside of the barn, and after examining a couple of stalls, I located Mother Guinea patiently sitting on a nest.

Hatching eggs in a natural setting, even an enclosed one like my ramshackle old barn, is a risky business, but these guineas appear to be fairly smart for poultry, so maybe they will be successful and we will soon be entertained with the peeping demands of hungry baby birds here at Rock's Roost!

This old place needs some young blood and fresh energy!

The GOP's Brave New World: Hurricane Guns and Space Lasers

 

by Pa Rock
Citizen Journalist

I'm old enough to remember when at least a few Republicans had sensible approaches to national security and were capable of advancing military strategies based in reality, but now, with the rise of QAnon and other conspiracy cults that rest snuggly under the GOP umbrella, modern Republican military strategies seem to be the stuff of Marvel Comics.

Rolling Stone reported this week that early on in his presidency Donald Trump became consumed with the notion that China might be attacking the US with a "hurricane gun," a device that they could point at us, pull the trigger, and cause massive hurricanes.   Trump, and Republicans in general, had no time for boring scientific nonsense like climate change and global warming, but a hurricane gun - well that was something they could get excited about!

Not only did Trump keep asking about hurricane guns - even after his concerned staff tried to distract him with other bright objects, he also seemed to be obsessed with the idea of using those awful hurricane attacks as grounds for retaliatory military action against China.  

Why, except for the adult diaper and the lack of a functioning brain, Donald John Trump could have almost passed for another James Bond!

Not too long after that a Georgia businesswoman who was then only thinking about running for Congress put up a posting on Facebook that suggested the California wildfires were not natural (because forests "don't just catch fire"), but instead had been started by Pacific Gas and Electric (PG&E) in conjunction with the Rothchild family, using a space laser - with the ultimate aim of clearing land for a high-speed rail operation.

That crazy quilt of galloping paranoia and right-wing-nuttery was, of course, penned by Marjorie Taylor Greene.

If these spectacular weapons are out there and already operational, why hasn't Vlad Putin used them in his war on Ukraine.   It must be so frustrating for great military strategists like Trump and Marge to have to sit back and watch Russia struggle with old fashioned weaponry like tanks and fighter jets when there is other very cool stuff that should be brought to the fight!

The great Republican generals of the past, people like Grant and Eisenhower, are now just dusty old footnotes in history.  Tomorrow's school children will be enthralled to read of a world that was rescued from oblivion by brave Republican politicians wielding wicked weather blasters and hot-shot lasers!

Thank you, GOP, for continuing to share your hallucinations with the world. Laughter is the best medicine - it's even better than Ivermectin!

Okinawa Reversion Day, Fifty Years On!

 

by Pa Rock

Eyewitness to History

The United States took possession of small Japanese island of Okinawa when World War II ended in 1945, and for the next twenty-seven years it was under the control of the American government.  Then, in the early 1970's the Nixon administration made a decision to return the island to Japanese control.  That transfer of control of the island back to Japan was referred to at the time as "Reversion Day," and it occurred fifty years ago today on May 15, 1972.

It was a bright and beautiful day on Okinawa back when the reversion happened.  I know that because I was there on Reversion Day.  I had arrived on the island three months earlier on February 2nd (Groundhog Day!) and was serving as a young lieutenant with the US Army Transportation Corps, and living at a US military area called the "Naha Wheel."   (The city of Naha is the capital of Okinawa.)    My duty assignment was as a stevedore platoon leader at Naha Port.  The Wheel was soon turned over to Japanese forces within weeks of reversion, and, as I remember it, I had to move to a light truck unit at Naha Airbase. 

I married an American lady while serving on Okinawa, and our oldest son was born there.

When the 40th anniversary of Reversion Day was celebrated on Okinawa in 2012, I was again living on the island, that time as a civilian social worker employed by the US Army - but working for the Air Force at Kadena Airbase.  

Having spent a total of four years living on that tiny strip of land in the Pacific, I have a strong affinity for Okinawa and its people.  They were truly an important part of my life

And now ten more years have passed.

Not all Okinawans were happy about reversion to Japanese control.  Many thought that the island, which had a history as both a dependency of Korea and as an independent kingdom, should be self-governing.  There have been continuing demonstrations against the Americans, who still have a strong military presence on Okinawa, and the Japanese throughout the past fifty years.

I heard that former Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel, who is now the US Ambassador to Japan, spoke to a celebratory gathering on the island today - just one more indignity that  a truly wonderful people were forced to endure!  But they have survived several occupations and Rahm, too, shall pass.

I miss you, Okinawa.  Be well and stay safe!

Oklahoma is Still OK!

 

by Pa Rock

Theatre Fan

I am just getting home and unpacking from a hurried trip to the Kansas City area where I took my son and granddaughter to the famed Starlight Theatre to see a new version of Rogers and Hammerstein's classic musical, Oklahoma!  Olive, who is ten-going-on-seventeen, has a big interest in acting and stagecraft, and Pa Rock wanted to make sure that her theatre education included exposure to one of the greatest musicals ever written.

We acquired front row tickets on the morning that they went on sale, and I was all keyed up for a big evening of watching dusty farm hands and calico-clad maidens signing and dancing their way to and through a "box social" in the Oklahoma territory days of the early twentieth century.  But a couple of weeks before last night's big open, I received a notice from the Starlight stating that this was an "updated" version of the play, but that all of the music and original dialogue would included in the performance.  I was a might concerned and somewhat irritated, figuring that the usually trustworthy Starlight had slipped me a bait-and-switch.

As soon as the curtain rose, one "update" was obvious.  A scene depicting the original set was drawn onto the flats at the back of the stage, but the set itself looked more like the interior of a large school lunchroom, with tables and chairs neatly lined up and bearing things like coolers, a crock pot, cans of soda, and even a tub of unshucked corn-on-the-cob.  And the cast, who were sitting and standing among the tables, looked more like a ragtag group of high school or community college students who had joined the drama club because it was the only organization tha would have them.

The actors were, of course, professionals and part of a national touring company - but right before the curtain went up the announcer reported that at least five of the characters would be portrayed by undersides.  Then, just minutes into the production, it became obvious that the second male lead, Will Parker, was being played by a female.

Things were not looking good, but fortunately for us we stayed and were treated to a wonderful night of entertainment!

The cast was, for lack of a better word, non-traditional.  Curley and Laurie were an interracial couple - and both sang like angels.  Curley played an acoustic guitar and he walked and danced himself through several of his numbers, and Laurie displayed some classy modern dance moves.  The other music was provided by a string orchestra which was located at the back of the set and included seven members.   Our front row seating was too near the stage (which is necessarily high) for a good view of the orchestra, but it appeared to consist of at least two violins, an electric guitar, a banjo, and the conductor played a bass and was himself quite a showman!

One of the highlights of the show was Ado Annie's rendition of "I Cain't Say No,"  which rocked the house!   There was also a musical number in which shucking the corn was part of the choreography.

The scene where Curley visits Jud Fry in his dingy smokehouse home is traditionally one of the darker moments of the show.  Curley uses the opportunity to try to convince Jud that he should consider hanging himself, and stressing how much people would respect him as a corpse, which, of course, leads into the song, "Poor Jud is Dead."    Last night the scene was performed on a totally dark stage with the two young men sitting across from each other at one of the tables.  A stagehand crept into the scene and filmed each of the young men as they said their lines and sang - using a low-light hand-held video camera - and that footage was enlarged to gigantic proportions and shown live on the back wall.  It was eerie, and very effective at highlighting the morbidness of the moment.

The dream scene at the beginning of Act II is essentially a one-woman dance performance, but it was  totally amazing as the dancer galloped and danced across the smoke-infused stage and shared Laurie's dream with the audience.

And, yes, the play faithfully uses all of the original dialogue and music, as promised, but then it closes with an extra scene that further explores the complicated characters of Jud Fry and Curley.  The additional situation and dialogue reveals a startling new dimension to the story.   Jud Fry, who Rogers and Hammerstein portrayed as a somewhat simplistic villain, comes across with more depth and even a certain amount of charisma in this new telling of the story, and Curley is seen through a more critical eye, even by Laurie.

This modern version of Oklahoma! brings a more modern feel to the story without physically transporting it into the 21st century.  Oklahoma! premiered on Broadway nearly eighty years ago - on March 31st, 1943.  After seeing last night's performance, I have no doubt that it will be having a successful run at some big venue eighty years from now.   It is a universal story with a lasting power that can be adapted to fit the world as it is - and the world as it will become.

The only suggestion that I would offer - as if anyone would ask! - would be that the curtain calls be arranged around an encore presentation of "Everything's Up to Date in Kansas City."  The cast already knows the lyrics and the orchestra has the sheet music - so why not use it and milk the audience for some added enthusiasm to take with them as they head to their cars?

Oklahoma! at the Starlight is more than just "OK!"  It is gripping, engrossing, toe-tapping, and a helluva good time!    There are two more performances - tonight and tomorrow night at 8:00 p.m.   It's great musical theatre, Kansas City!  Don't miss it!  Olive enjoyed it immensely, and so did her dad and Pa Rock - and you will, too!

Everyone is up-to-date in Kansas City,  especially the quality of its live theatre!  Great show, Starlight!

MTG (Marge The Grifter) has a Big Payday!

 

by Pa Roc

Citizen Journalist

Oh my how politics have changed!

Back in the day when a politician went out to campaign, he (and it usually was a "he") had a special vehicle that he used solely for that purpose.  That car, or sometimes a pickup truck, was always a nicely maintained older model, something the common folks could identify with and appreciate.  Their congressman, or whatever, was a regular Joe, just like them.   The Cadillac Escalade or Jaguar stayed at home, locked securely in the garage.

That was then, but this is now, Baby!  

Now that we have had the spectacle of Donald Trump and his white trash, reality show opulence to help shape our national psyche, it is suddenly acceptable and even desirable to put on airs while campaigning.

At least that is what Georgia congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene  (a.k.a. MTG - or Marge The Grifter) seems to think.  Records released by the Federal Elections Commission (FEC) show that Marge used $92,000 in campaign contributions to buy herself a new, luxury campaign vehicle.  How sweet is that?!

The exact vehicle information has yet to be made public, but FEC records indicate that it was purchased from a Buick/GMC dealership, and that the highest priced vehicle currently listed on that company's website sells for $81,860.  It would appear as though Marge bought an extremely high-end vehicle and then had it "tricked out" with every extra that could be added.

According to OpenSecrets.org,  Congresswoman Greene pulled in over three-quarters of a million dollars so far during this election cycle from retirees - and those old people undoubtedly take great comfort in knowing that she is using their social security money to drive around in style.  

So while Our Little Margie is busy driving around Georgia in her chrome-plated war wagon defending white America from the ravages of  Obama and Critical Race Theory, Gramma and her friends are luxuriating in their senior living spaces while enjoying yet another lunch of cat food meatloaf - and cheering her on!

If it wasn't for that danged CRT they could all be enjoying the good life - like Marge!