Update no.1018

 Update from the Sunland

No.1018

12.7.21 – 18.7.21

Blog version:  http://heartlandupdate.blogspot.com/

 

            Toall,

 

Jeanne and I took our first journey this week since the COVID-19 pandemic exploded a year and a half ago—a 10-day trip to the Great Plains to visit all our chi’ren and grandchi’ren.

We chose to use Uber for our transport to Sky Harbor International Airport—our first use as well. I must say it is a very well organized, easy to use, convenient, and an easy transportation system.

The outbound flight was full, orderly and without even a hint of incident—no Karens! Everyone wore facemasks, some more properly than others. The instructions from the flight attendants were normal, except for the guidance to reposition our masks between sips and bites.

We spent a few days in Wichita, Dallas and Austin. We missed our oldest son Courtney, grandson Jack (Happy 21^st Birthday, Jack), and second granddaughter Tylyn. We offer a big shout out of gratitude to youngest son Taylor, Sherri and their son Wyatt for hosting the Wichita portion of the clan. Taylor did a magnificent job cooking up our feast on his five-burner griddle.

We rented a car (thank you, Sherri) for the drive to Dallas for our visit with our oldest grandchild and granddaughter Aspen Shae and her partner Jazelle. I must confess to being “out of shape” in dealing with people on the highway. People seem to be more aggressive, less patient, and more inconsiderate than I remember, but it was the tractor-trailers (the large semi’s) that really got to me. South of Waco, Texas, on Interstate 35 South, there are large highway signs that state,

No Trucks

In Left Lane.

Of course, we had to contend with these trucks occupying all two, or three, or in one instance four lanes across INCLUDING THE LEFT LANE. Of course, when the trucks block all lanes of traffic, tempers would flare and judgment would evaporate. Fortunately, for us, we were not under any time constraint, so we were able to wait patiently for the traffic clot to clear, although not devoid of an occasional demonstration of my frustration.

We visited Aspen’s apartment several times, played some card games, and enjoyed her beautiful pup Maya. We sampled the offerings at Aspen’s employment, the Happiest Hour (pub) at 2616 Olive Street, Dallas, Texas, met some of her colleagues, and enjoyed a nice evening under the oak trees. We visited the Dallas World Aquarium (DWA) at 1801 North Griffin Street, Dallas, Texas, which I must say, was well worth the effort despite the myriad children crowding the facility. The young’uns were well mannered and respectful, but it was the squadron of strollers with a good half dozen doublewides for infant twins that made navigation and progress more difficult. Nonetheless, the DWA was a most impressive establishment. The creators went to great lengths to the create feel and sight of rain forest inside at large building in Dallas, Texas. The walls and containment provisions were molded and textures to look like rocks. The selection of critters was interesting and attractive with a good mixture of fish, amphibians, reptiles, birds, and a few cats. If you are ever in Dallas and have an afternoon to spare, I highly recommend the DWA for your exploration and entertainment. Thursday evening, we went to dinner at Terilli's restaurant (ristorante) at 2815 Greenville Avenue, Dallas, Texas. Aspen and Jazelle conspired to treat us to an excellent Italian cuisine meal. It was not until il conto del pastoarrived that I realized she had already paid for the meal with an explanation that they wanted to do something for us after all we had done for them—very touching coming from our granddaughter. As a related footnote, returning to our hotel from Aspen’s apartment, we passed through Dealey Plaza a couple of times. Most folks do not recognize the historic significance of that particular location in Dallas; I was 15-years-old on that day in November 1963. I remember it well; I was in woodshop when the announcement came over the Public Address system. Thank you very much Aspen and Jazelle for a most enjoyable visit

Next stop was Austin, Texas, and the home of middle son Tyson and his family, Melissa, Judson and Avalon. On Saturday, we drove to the Hays City Store restaurant at 8989 Ranch to Market Road 150, Driftwood, Texas, for a delicious ‘linner’ (or ‘lunner’ depending upon your preference) – another dining establishment well worth the effort to enjoy. That evening, neighbor Bob has a 500-pound 500mm (20 inch) telescope inside a three-meter dome installed in his backyard. He invited us to visit Saturday evening for a demonstration. We looked at the lighted surface of the waxing quarter moon, the Ring Nebula (M57, NGC 6720, GC 4447), a globular cluster, and the Eagle Nebula (M16, NGC 6611, Sharpless 49, RCW 165, Cr 375, Gum 83, Star Queen Nebula). He patiently took the time to explain exactly what he was doing and how he was pointing the telescope at the precise spot in the night sky and employed an automatic tracker to hold the selected objects centered in the eyepiece despite the rotation of the earth. It was most impressive watching him work the telescope. On Sunday, after naptime, of course (hey, I’m an old man, don’t judge), I spent a good portion of the afternoon in the pool helping the kids with their swimming strokes and breathing technique as well as more time in the water than I have spent in 50 years chatting with Melissa. Tyson planned and cooked on his smoker an exquisite meal of baby back pork ribs, lightly breaded mac & cheese, and a light, tasty jicama & mango salad.

That is it so far; more to follow.

 

            The follow-up news items:

-- In a separate forum, a friend and I debated an opinion contention that Black Lives Matter (BLM) and Critical Race Theory (CRT) [1013] are compromising the U.S. Navy’s ability to perform its national defense mission. I thought I would share my response since it is relevant to contemporary debate.

Perhaps, nonsense to you . . . you're white. I highly doubt it is nonsense to those with dark skin pigmentation. I think General Milley [1015] was spot on correct. It is long past due that we all learn about the genesis of white privilege whether the genetic pigmentation in our skin is white, black, brown, red, yellow, or pink. Racism, individual and institutional racism, has been a part of our history for 400 years. Denial is NOT acceptable. We must understand our part in history. The Navy's problems today are far greater and deeper than CRT.

 

A friend, brother-in-arms, and contributor to this humble forum, who resides in the Motherland, sent along the following article of interest:

“Joint Chiefs Chairman Mark Milley feared Trump would attempt a COUP after losing the election, warned of a 'Reichstag moment' and said the then-president was preaching ‘the gospel of the Führer’, new book claims”

“•            Gen. Mark Milley, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, reportedly feared then-President Trump would attempt coup after November election 

•            Claim was made in book titled I Alone Can Fix It: Donald J. Trump’s Catastrophic Final Year by Washington Post reporters Philip Rucker and Carol Leonnig 

•            In days before riot at US Capitol on January 6, Milley confided to friends that he feared US was approaching 'Reichstag moment,' according to the new book

•            He reportedly told friends that Trump was preaching ‘the gospel of the Führer’ and that he was ginning up his 'brownshirts in the streets' 

•            Milley grew alarmed in the days after the election when Trump fired several senior officials from their posts at the Pentagon and installed loyalists

•            They may try, but they’re not going to f***ing succeed,' Milley told his deputies when discussing possibility they might try a coup

•            'You can't do this without the military,' Milley is quoted as saying. 'You can't do this without the CIA and the FBI. We're the guys with the guns'”

by Ariel Zilber and Nikki Schwab

Daily Mail (London)

Published: 21:51 EDT, 14 July 2021 | Updated: 08:09 EDT, 15 July 2021

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-9789949/Top-general-feared-Trump-attempt-coup-losing-election-book-claims.html

After reading the article and doing a little more research to fill in the blanks, I responded with the following comment:

Thank you for sending that article along. It is accurate to the best of my knowledge. There are various similar versions moving around the American Press. Yes, we came dreadfully close to the “Reichstagmoment” as General Milley described it. Unfortunately, I suspect most Americans have no idea what General Milley was talking about in his comment. And, to the consumers of the magic snake oil elixir peddled by the [person who shall no longer be named], they will only deny all of it as pure fabrication intended to malign, denigrate, and discredit their messiah, the man who sold them the cure-all he claimed it to be. And, the worst part, we have a good chunk of the BICP [Bully-In-Chief’s Party] who are actively and aggressively trying to block any attempt at illumination by denying the insurrection ever occurred—“[Y]ou would actually think it was a normal tourist visit.” [Representative Andrew Scott Clyde of Georgia; 12.May.2021] As long as we have members of Congress in the Senate and House of Representatives who spew forth such bald-faced lies and choose ignorance over knowledge, the wounds inflicted by the [person who shall no longer be named] will not heal.

I gain no satisfaction from forecasting six years ago the destruction the [person who shall no longer be named] has wrought upon this once grand republic. The consequences and outcomes from his malignant narcissism were and remain entirely predictable.

“That’s just my opinion, but I could be wrong.”

Clyde’s pronouncement represents not just the 9^thCongressional District of Georgia, but in a larger sense, his words reflect the public stance of the fBICP.

{Note to forum: I realized I have been using a descriptive term erroneously for some months now, and it is long past due that I update my usage. Instead of BICP (for the Bully In Chief Party, i.e., former Republican Party), the correct term should be fBICP (former Bully In Chief Party). Please accept my apology.}

I cannot predict whether the drivel vomited upon us all by Clyde and his cohorts can be overcome, but I must believe that the truth will eventually prevail despite their baseless yammering.

To which, the contributor responded:

“You paint a dismal picture of the future of your republic. You are so right things have to change, not an easy project when many of those who make the rules do not want those changes for their own personal gain. At the end of the day Cap it has to be the voters, the public, to generate those changes. Can that happen I wonder…?”

. . . and my reply:

I suppose it was a rather dismal opinion, but I do believe it accurately reflects my current perspective. The fBICP group prefers ignorance over knowledge and that to me is a deeply fatal flaw. Perhaps the greatest single element of the destruction wrought by the [person who shall no longer be named] is his sanctioning, legitimizing, and amplification of those ultra-right fringe groups who espouse a variety of extremist views, e.g., white supremacy, my way or the highway, radical moral projectionist intrusions upon our privacy and freedom of choice, et al. Yes, I hold sufficient belief in the resiliency of this once grand republic that broad public disgust with him, what he has done, and those who support him will eventually correct itself and return them to the obscure, dark shadows of the fringe margins of our society.

 

            Comments and contributions from Update no.1017:

Comment to the Blog:

“Richard Branson may not have his name spread across his enterprises like the Chump, but let’s not kid ourselves about his having a big ego. If he were really concerned with customer experience, there are others better qualified who would have taken that seat. Elon Musk and several others play in that league, too, name or no name.

“I understand that you have great personal vitriol for the Chump, but let’s not go lightly on Giuliani. He chose the wrong vehicle, but Rudy did his insane best to support and participate in the corruption and power-grabbing.

“We’re having a great deal of hand-wringing here in Ohio about our relatively low vaccination rate, but the numbers are not spiking or anything close. Then again, our Republican governor is not a Trumpist, which makes him kind of an oddity.”

My response to the Blog:

I certainly have no disagreement. There is no question Sir Richard has a gargantuan ego and unbridled ambition. I am also under no illusion about his rationale for flying prior to certification that was a construct of convenience to satisfy the regulators. Many similar individuals, e.g., Howard Hughes, have done such things. I imagine most folks, male or female, who have attained that level of wealth, have a smattering of narcissism as well. My point was the egotism, ambition, and yes even narcissism that drive such men do not become malignant as in the case of the [person who shall no longer be named]. My advocacy is that citizens must learn to recognize those malignant forms and cull them from the herd before they can become destructive as in the case of the [person who shall no longer be named]. A man who treats people with such contempt deserves no respect whatsoever regardless of his station (real or perceived).

I have no intention whatsoever of going lightly on Giuliani; he deserves no quarter. I only note in the distant reaches of my mind that I hold a sliver of sympathy for the man largely due to his earlier accomplishments. He made a dreadful mistake hitching his wagon to such a despicable man, but such is life; and, he shall pay the consequences for that mistake. I just hope justice comes to the root cause of all this destruction before he passes. There is always hope until there isn’t.

You are lucky so far, but a low vaccination rate suggests considerable vulnerability to this virus. Hey, at least you are inoculated. Governor DeWine has been one of the saner people with an ‘R’ after their names.

. . . with a follow-up comment:

“As an interesting side note, Governor DeWine and his predecessor, Governor Kasich, are trying to carry on the legacy of Barry Goldwater, John McCain, and Republicans of that tradition. Whether they can keep that part of the party going remains to be seen, but they have not been destroyed as have so many others.”

. . . along with my follow-up response:

I have noticed and acknowledged the same phenomenon as well. They are not alone; we can add Kinzinger, Cheney, Dent, and others. Yet, it appears the Tea Party and fBICP faction of the Republican Party are dominating the disintegration of the Grand Old Party (GOP). I also agree with your prognosis. The perpetuation and amplification of the BIG LIE to feed the malignant narcissism of the [person who shall no longer be named] does not bode well for what was once the GOP. I watched a digital animation of what astrophysicists suggest is what the destruction (consumption) of a neutron star by a black hole might look like in space. The video is a perfect metaphor for what we bear witness to in contemporary politics.

 

Another contribution:

“As to Update 1017, please feel free to publish this response:

“Thank you for the excellent and informative commentary, Cap.  As you know from my previous defenses of us disappointed patriotic voters who opposed Trump in the primary but believed he was preferred over the ambitious Demogoddess in the general election, I agree that it was a huge mistake for the more recently suicidal GOP (Repandercrat Party) to nominate Trump. It is astonishing to see its floundering loyalty to the dishonored man today. Furthermore, I agree that his malignant narcissism makes him deserve a relatively low presidential ranking. I will always believe several of his achievements would not have come about under anyone else, but whether these were worth the national damage he allowed or encouraged will remain debatable. Lord help us if we cannot find a true conservative to lead a new GOP or a daring third party while we amend our great constitution to correct the oversight of the flawed but wise Founders, who could not imagine a need for term limits!”

My reply:

I recognize that we shall probably disagree, but compared to the highly destructive malignant narcissism of the [person who shall no longer be named], Hillary would have been a more appropriate president. At least, she would have acted like a president instead of a damnable Ugly American. I am no fan of Hillary as I have written many times, but when placed against the [person who shall no longer be named], she is a saint. Yes, the [person who shall no longer be named] should be ranked far below James Buchanan and he is last. We can debate the man’s “accomplishments,” but some of those are happenstance. I cannot see any benefit he may have contributed to or received credit for being even remotely worth the destruction that he has wrought on the very fabric of this once grand republic.

As I have also recently written, I once considered myself a conservative—a Barry Goldwater conservative no less; but not today. If conservative means imposing their values, their sense of morality, their beliefs on everyone, then I am adamantly and vociferously anti-conservative. Many years ago, I thought conservative meant small government, respect for individual freedom and rights, and support for the rule of law. Today . . . not so much. Nope, I abandoned conservatism long ago.

You are spot on correct. The Founders/Framers never envisioned term limits. There was no need. Life expectancy in 1790 was 33 years; in 2020, it was 80 years. Death limited their terms of office. The 22^ndAmendment(1951) was the first move to constitutionally impose term limits in office, but that was only for the president. Congress will not take the same initiative to self impose term limits on themselves, and there is no mechanism for We, the People, to do so other than our precious votes, and that is not likely. Local voters want to retain their representative, because the longer they serve, the higher they get in the congressional hierarchy, and then the more they get in pork barrel largesse from the national treasury. It is a vicious circle.

 

            My very best wishes to all.  Take care of yourselves and each other.

Cheers,

Cap                        :-)