Boy, Are We Dumb!

I guess I am getting old. The main impact the TV arguments about striking Syria with missiles have had on me is astonishment at how dumb we are. I have heard a few intelligent comments on both sides of the issue, but most of the comments have been dumb. Yesterday I watched Amy Goodman and Bill Richardson debate. Dumb and dumber. Goodman argued that we should not go after the Assad regime because 65 years ago our country had used nuclear weapons. I was dumb with admiration at her dumbness. But then Richardson took the other side, making arguments so dumb my mind went blank, overwhelmed. I can't even remember what he said. I do recall he looked shaken by his own lack of conviction. He couldn't convince himself, which is the first step you take before attempting to convince someone else.

The Horror of Memory

 According to the morning newspaper, researchers have discovered a protein people need to keep their memory sound. Eliminating the protein, RbAp48, leads to senior moments. For example, you forget where you left your glasses or forget your own phone number. The good news is that this has nothing to do with Alzheimer's disease. But how do you combat a protein deficiency? Do you eat more steak? Do you buy a protein supplement? Do you avoid vegetarian lunches? Or do you lean back, like Donald Rumsfeld, and enjoy forgetting the horrifying mistakes you made when younger?

Bombing Syria

I might be misreading the comments, but it looks as if Iran and the USA have nudged each other into the position that a minor slap in the face of the Syrian government, which won't change the status quo, is tolerable to both sides. Iran really does not like nerve gas (Iraq used it against them), but Iran will continue to support the Shia side of things in the growing Shia-Sunni conflict. The American government talked itself into a place where now it has to retreat or act in some way. This is a mess on top of the mess we call the Middle East.

Polls show that the American people do not want to intervene in Syria between what amounts to Islamic terrorists on one side and Fascists on the other. Our plan to intervene in a calculated way that has no impact on the status quo is absurd. True enough, our navy has ten times more fire power than all the other navies of the world combined. Our tax dollars paid for that. We have the guns. But we do not want to serve as the world's unauthorized police force. The problems of the Middle East should be settled by the people who live there. Or not. It's on them.

Martin, Bobby and John

As young man at UCLA, walking across campus one day, on a grassy slope I saw MLK addressing a group of about 50 students. I ambled on over. I got within 20 feet of him. He looked compact, smooth as a pebble, well-dressed. I wasn't religious, and he was a preacher, and he preached in a style different from what I was used to. The style struck me, a kind of surfer, as strange--yet of all the American leaders of my youth, King was the one I respected most. 

I'd met JFK, and of course he was a phenomenon. He's the only President I recall who actually interested people. I'm not talking about his major speeches, which had a manufactured craft to them. His press conferences, where he spoke off the cuff, were actually funny. He seemed amused by them.  Bobby Kennedy's rise came later as he learned more empathy; he was crushed by the murder of his brother, which somehow translated into a fresh aware of the economic injustice built into the American system. He would have been President, and then he was murdered, too.

No one doubted the courage of the Kennedys, but King's courage awed me. I didn't understand how he and the people marching with him could risk their lives. They walked peacefully into attack dogs and clubs and shotguns. I still don't know how they did it. The most I ever did was walk into tear gas. They were committed to die, to give up their lives if need be, in the name of nonviolent change. And they did die, and change came. 

King was, among other things, more multidimensional than I could quickly follow. It wasn't hard to see that his position of civil rights was right. But then he added a commitment to economic justice. To some of his followers his support of unions diluted the civil rights push and alienated several of the big shots who had supported civil rights. And then he came out against the Vietnam War, almost the first important figure to do so. He did this too early, so to speak. Most of the country wasn't ready yet. Many liberals asked, "Why doesn't he stick to civil rights?"   And then he was gone.

The Race Card

Many Republicans resent any reference to racism in politics. They do this in the belief that their party supported the Civil Rights Act (true) and that they personally are no more racist than most Democrats (true) and that Martin Luther King's dream of a society where people are judged by their character rather than by their skin color has been achieved (false). They can point to the election of a black President as proof. In short, more than 50% of white Americans think we've reached a colorblind status, more or less like Stephen Colbert's TV character. My guess is that these believers seldom interact with a black person, and the whole question is fairly abstract for them. They get upset at complaints against racism, which they see as "playing the race card" to get votes. (Of course, there is another sort of person who is simply a pro-lynching bigot.)

Less than 20% of black Americans believe we have achieved MLK's dream. For them--I am guessing--the question is not abstract. Instead people with black or brown skin see bits of racist behavior on a daily basis, maybe noticing that white people avoid sitting next to them on the bus. They know where they are wanted and where they feel out of place. 

When the Feds Took Away Our Arrows

In some of the wild parts of America, usually in a desert, you might be hiking along and come across a large but deteriorating concrete arrow on the ground, maybe 70 feet long, in the middle of nowhere. If you follow the arrows, they will lead you to San Francisco.

In 1920 these arrows ran from New York to the west coast, one arrow every ten miles. Of course many of them are gone now. Question: Who made them and why?

The arrows were built by the federal government to guide early airplanes carrying the mail. They were decommissioned in 1940.

Rinse? Ryence? Rhiennse?

I know I don't have the name of the chairman of the Republican Party right--I remember that his name reminded me of a movie on personal hygiene I once watched in the army. . . .  Anyway, Chairman Rinse Penis has recently declared that NBC and CNN will not be allowed to host Republican Presidential debates because they and Fox News are about to make a film about a woman who may run for President. The Republicans consider the premise absurd, even for TV. No woman will ever be elected President. But given how badly the networks treat Republicans in general, submerging them in a loathsome soup of Marxism, shouldn't Chairman Penis be boycotting all the networks, not just two?  I mean, down with CBS and ABC, with Fox and the Latino networks and all the others and with those who watch them and then attempt to vote.

The Hero

Let us assume that a hero is a person of great courage who is admired for his noble deeds and bravery. Some of my progressive friends consider Private Manning and Edward Snowden heroes.  Other progressives disagree.

Manning is known mainly for two things. He released footage taken from an American helicopter as its gunners shot down innocent people, a genuine atrocity but not news--we'd been talking about this assault for several years. Manning is also known for surviving a remarkably ugly incarceration by the military after they discovered his information dump. Manning apparently released about 700,000 secret documents without reading them first. This act was a crime.  My hope was that Manning would be sentenced to time served and then released, but today he was sentenced to 35 years and made eligible for parole in ten years. During his trial Manning stated that he had done the wrong thing and regretted it. He has my sympathy, but I don't think I'm ready to call him a hero yet. He may become one. He's 25 and facing an ordeal of the sort that makes heroes of some people. 

Edward Snowden dumped a ton of unread information from the NSA's program to spy on Americans. The dump was treated as news, although similar information about the NSA had already been published in books and magazine articles written by investigative reporters. They had been largely ignored by the mainstream media, I guess, but Snowden got media attention because he had broken the law and, even more compelling, because he had run away to China and then to Russia, where he now lives. Running off is not the act of a hero, but Snowden has computer skills, obviously, and he should be able to find civilian work and live well in his new country. I hope that works out.

My view of government leakers is that they become heroic when they commit a crime (for a good reason) and then do the time; doing the time is what proves their seriousness and keeps the lightweights on the sidelines.

 

Support Your Local Council

 Howard Dean, whose national Democratic party chairmanship created the political network that first elected President Obama (for which Dean got no credit), is now trying to get Democrats involved in very local politics. That is where you can take the starch out of the Teabaggers. I just want to add that it can be done. 

About 12 years ago, some of us noticed that our small town had a majority of Democratic voters but a Republican city council that refused to take up any issue that might annoy George W. Bush. We set out to change the situation by finding better candidates and supporting them through volunteers from our peace vigil and the local unofficial Democratic club. The hardest part was getting rational people to run for office. Anyway, 12 years later, last night, the city council voted 4-1 to support a proposed federal bill that will ban guns resembling assault weapons and ban large capacity magazines. The only one to vote against lending support to sanity was Council member Gary Plass, an out-of-touch Republican functionary. He gave his usual reason: "We were hired to keep the water running and the sewer going, and that's what we should do. It (anything of national concern to local citizens) does not belong on this dias."  Somehow he has missed why we elected the other four council members.  Apparently Gary Plass believes he's still surrounded by obedient Bushniks.

Egypt, Do As We Say

I've been watching American experts on Egypt talk about the conflict there, and I have come to a conclusion: we have no experts on Egypt. Some of these experts tell us to support the military and the majority of Egyptians in a revolution against a religious dictatorship. The other American experts tell us we should support the Islamists because they won an election a year ago and they constitute at least part of the future of Egypt. My thought is that we should try butting out. American experts in how other cultures should conduct themselves ought to close their pie-holes. Just shut up. Shut up. I mean this in the best possible way.

Another Facist Conspiracy

In a democracy if you have 70 million voters, you have 70 million different opinions. To get something done, you have to compromise. There is no other democratic option. Yet there are citizens on the Right and on the Left whose ideology forbids compromise. I have, for example, a far-left friend whose ideology has led him to the conclusion that Sen. Elizabeth Warren is part of a vast Fascist conspiracy and the President Obama is--I will clean this up a little--human fecal matter. Warren compromised on something (I forget what), and of course the President has compromised on many issues. I'll admit that the Presidents I have voted for have disappointed me. That will continue unless we elect a leader who has exactly the same opinions I have. Will that happen? What are the odds?

A Moment of Genius

The USA has produced four political statements that resonated all over the world: Jefferson's Declaration of Independence, the Founders' Constitution and Bill of Rights, Lincoln's Gettysburg Address and, in my generation, Martin Luther King's "I Have a Dream" speech. There are two memories from my youth that I treasure. One is shaking hands with JFK. The other is standing on a slope at UCLA with about 50 other students as MLK talked to us in the open air. The curious thing, which I learned from TV this morning, was that when King stood up to deliver his most famous written speech before a huge audience, the talk contained no reference to his dream, which some of his friends had heard him talk about. But the speech, as written, was not working, and Mahalia Jackson said to him, "Tell them about the dream, Martin." King went off script and began to improvise.

Amy Goodman vs. HIstory

Over here on the Left, Amy Goodman is a hero, and for good reason. I doubt if anyone questions her courage or hard work. She has, clearly, a great heart. Now she wants to take Obama to task for not fulfilling his promises, and she can make a case in some instances. But consider the following comment she published a day or two back about President Barack Obama's vow to end the American war against Iraq. "Has Obama ended the war in Iraq? Certainly not for the Iraqis. July was one of the bloodiest months there since the height of the insurgency against the U.S.-imposed Iraqi government. So far this year, more than 4,000 Iraqis have been killed. . . ." And so on. She lists the many atrocities committed by the Sunni against the Shia and vice versa. Apparently Goodman believes that Obama once promised to end the Shia/Sunni conflict in the Middle East that has been going on for 1300 years. I don't remember him promising that. Instead he promised to get our troops out of Iraq, and then he did it. Did not most of us on the Left predict that the original Bush invasion of Iraq would end in a Sunni/Shia conflict? Blaming Obama for the struggle going on in Iraq today is kind of dumb.

A Narrow Victory

Today the Chaucer Boys, who have read their Ayn Rand, biked to Riverside Park in Windsor. The park used to be two gravel pits and a grove of redwoods, but, as many of you know, now it's a grove, surrounded by grapes, with two nice lakes except that the water contains a lot of mercury. The lakes are not lively. Anyway, we rode around the big lake. Had to walk two short stretches. On the way home we got passed on the road by other bikers. That is to be expected. Everyone passes us except for small children, but this was the first time we got passed by a trike ridden by an old guy with no legs. He was using hand pedals. Geez. Fortunately we came to a long hill and managed to catch him at the top when he paused to rest. We raced on down the hill--that was his weak spot. He could not coast really really fast downhill on a trike. We left him in the dust.

Matt Saving Freedom

The old white men of America are a patient lot. Yes, we knew that black men in New York were being stopped on the sidewalk and frisked for no reason.  That was public policy. We were patient. When Latinas shopped in the mall, security followed them from store to store but only to keep them from stealing things. We put up with it. If people who looked like Arabs were hauled off of commercial airline flights, well, you have to be careful. I just want to say that today, with the government keeping a log of the phone calls made by old white men like me, that's an outrage. Has our government gone mad? Matt Damon spoke for all of us old white guys when he said of the President, "He broke up with me." That's telling him, Matt. And, of course, thanks for saving freedom in your movies.

American Students: Below Average

 In New York State last year, 55% of the students passed the reading test. But this year only 31% passed. The average student was below average. I should point out that the test has been changed. The Board of Regents adopted national standards pushed by the Federal government called the Common Core. I will grant you that no one really knows what this test predicts. No data is available. Nevertheless I think it is clear that in a single year, American students have suddenly become stupid; teachers and schools have failed en masse. Or we are stuck with the unfortunate alternative, which is that when it comes to education the Federal government and the NY Board of Regents can't tell the difference between their own flabby bottoms and random pairs of hot rocks.

Mike McGuire for Supervisor

Mike McGuire, the young progressive supervisor from the north end of  Sonoma County, is about to run for re-election and win. It's fun to win. Anyway, he is starting with some expertly handcrafted beers from the Bear Republic and Ruth McGowan and an array of award-winning Kendall Jackson wines plus help from Ken Rochioli.

For the children in attendance, there will be a water balloon toss, potato sack races, face painting and a petting zoo hosted by the Gateway 4-H Club. The chili feed will also feature live music by Chris Rovetti and the Meatballs.

The event takes place at Richard’s Grove & Saralee’s Vineyard on Sunday, Aug. 25 from 1:00 to 3:30 pm. There is a suggested donation of $25 from attendees. People interested in attending should RSVP here or contact the campaign by email at Kay@MikeForSupervisor.com.

Erotomania

About a month ago Susan and I went with friends, Dennis and Marty Renault, to hear a rehearsal of Berlioz in Monterey. Before the music began an excellent docent talked about Berlioz and took questions from the very elderly attendees. The final question came from grizzled shrimp who wanted the speaker to explain the connection between the symphony and Berlioz's "Clara Bow syndrome," which is asshat-speak for erotomania. The speaker refused. Now this was an old bunch of people, but Clara Bow had made her last movie before most of them had been born. I had actually seen part of one of her films on TV, and I understood why she had been a major movie star. She was like, well, the young Shirley MacLaine or like Amy Adams (but better).  Back in her prime, in an attempt to blackmail her,  a tabloid had falsely accused her of exhibitionism, incest, lesbianism, bestiality, drug addiction, venereal disease and alcoholism. She had been accused of everything but running for mayor of New York. The charges were false, and the tabloid editor ended up serving an eight year sentence, but apparently news of this outcome has yet to reach parts of Central California.

The Maltese Bippy

Some of us rate John Huston's THE MALTESE FALCON as the best private eye film of all time. It was a forerunner of film noir, introducing for the first time the murderous young beauty to detective movies. The spare prose was excellent in a minimalist way. Sam Spade was totally hard boiled, and I loved the ending, in which you realize that Spade knew the killer as soon as he saw his partner's body. But until recently I had only watched the third version, the classic Bogart and John Huston remake, which came out about 1941.  Recently I watched the first two versions, and it was informative.

The original THE MALTESE FALCON came out in 1931 and starred Bebe Daniels and Ricardo Cortez. In this movie and in the first remake, the actress got top billing. Una Merkel played Effie. Spade is portrayed as a smart-mouthed, jovial womanizing dude, and the secondary roles are fairly well cast (you can't help comparing them to the brilliant cast of the Bogart film). This movie was shot before the Hollywood Sex Code came into effect, so the interaction seems a bit like a modern film. It's worth seeing for fun, if you get a chance. The next version was very loosely based on the novel, and it was titled SATAN MEETS A  LADY (I think).  This 1936 film stars Bette Davis (!) and Warren William as a smirking dude out for the money and sexual favors. A young Marie Wilson makes a memorable Effie. A stout woman takes what we consider the  Sidney Greenstreet role.

In the second remake, the one we all know, Bogart brings gravitas to Spade. The character actors exude genuine menace. John Huston wrote and directed--this was the first film he directed--and the tale of how he wrote the script is worth summarizing. In those studio days, the first step in bringing a novel to the screen was to ask a secretary to type up the entire novel, word for word, in a screenplay format. Huston asked a secretary to do that. And then what the secretary had typed (unedited, not worked on) was accidentally sent to the head of the studio, who okayed it. My guess is that Huston made a few changes later, but his version remains remarkably faithful to the book.

Heroes or Traitors?

Some on the Left seem conflicted about Manning and Snowden, grateful for the key information they leaked but not ready to call the two young men heroes. In Manning's case ambivalence seems to spring from the fact that he sent out 700,000 documents. Either he read all 700,000 or he doesn't know what he released. To some that might seem injudicious. Manning's confinement by the military has apparently been grim. If I were the judge in his case, I would sentence him to time served and release him, but no one expects a humane military solution.

Snowden has a related problem. He took a huge amount of unread data on three computers to China and Russia, where their spy agencies undoubtedly copied it when he went downstairs to lunch. Also he ran away like a cheetah.  This morning we hear that he has been granted a permit to stay in Russia. That's a good place for a libertarian. Maybe Rand Paul will be the next to move there. In the meantime, our legislators can--if willing--get to work on privacy issues in both our government and corporate systems.