February 7, 2025

A Question

Q: Who do you think is providing the type of leadership in the Democratic Party that you favor? There is no “right” or “wrong” answer. It may be more than one person. This includes those in the House of Representatives, the Senate, or someone not currently in office. My picks are Jasmine Crockett and AOC.

Thank you.

February 7, 2025

Planes

I remember a story that my late friend Rubin Carter told me long ago. This is from what we called Rubin's “Buddha phase,” when he was isolated in prison for a crime he did not commit. At the time, I was one of the two people that he communicated with, besides his attorney.

Members of a tribe of hunter-gatherers came across an airplane on the savannah, at the edge of the jungle. At first, they approached the plane with great suspicion. Eventually, the leader climbed inside the plane, and found the seats to be a comfortable place to sit and watch the world go round. In time, a young man found that he could drive the plane around the open fields. But they never learned that the plane could fly.

That airplane, of course, is us. Human beings. Groups and individuals. Modern human beings are the highest level of consciousness on the living Earth. While all life on Earth and in the universe is mechanical, the energy force behind and within all of life offers human beings the opportunity to evolve. And that does not involve the paths of physical evolution that we all are aware of – or, of course, the superstitious interpretations of ancient stories that hold the Earth is 6,000 years old.

The evolution of humanity, Rubin wrote, is the evolution of our consciousness. And that due to the organic structure of our brains, it cannot evolve unconsciously. We must make the conscious effort to learn how to “fly” our airplane. That is the only alternative to humanity avoiding the mechanical path towards self-destruction – think of the United States today – and eventual extinction.

Now, Rubin had always been well-read. He studied Aristotle, Freud, Plato, Twain, and the Bible, among others. But his first flying lesson came when he read Viktor Frankl's 1946, “Man's Search for Meaning.” Frankl describes his experiences in a nazi concentration camp, and his intense journey to find meaning in those circumstances.

Those familiar with Frankl may have noted that the three methods he identified as paths to inner – or conscious – evolution are similar to those identified by the prophet Jesus in the Sermon on the Mount (Matthew) and Sermon on the Plain (Luke). This is, of course, because around the globe and throughout history, the “awakened ones” have taught the same basic lessons. (Fromm; The Sane Society; Fawcett; 1955; page 69)

There tends to be two ways to start taking this conscious route. One is as an individual, like a monk. The other is in a group. Eventually, the two overlap. Rubin used to say it requires the same degree of patience that the smallest creature needs to start on the plain and climb to the top of the highest mountain. Some may need a leader while on that plain, but on the mountain, everyone is both a student and a teacher.

Gandhi noted that his devotion to religion required him to become active in the political process. An atheist can, of course, be just as actively involved in those political issues, on the exact same side. And be just as “awake” as intended by Rubin's use of the word fifty years ago.

I think about groups engaging in the political process, and about airplanes. Many of us are no doubt active at various levels in politics, with other groups large and small. At the same time, I think of this forum as that airplane. At a time when this country is confronted with an extreme domestic threat to democracy, we have the potential to organize to target any/all elected representatives in DC for messages of encouragement or to voice our strong opposition to their actions. If we picked one each week day, I will speculate that would open the plane's door.

February 5, 2025

Generation upon Generation

"Your children are not your children.
They are the sons and daughters of Life's longing for itself.
They come through you but not from you,
And though they are with you yet they belong not to you.
You may give them your love but not your thoughts,
For they have their own thoughts.
You may house their bodies but not their souls,
From their sould dwell in the house of tomorrow,
Which you cannot visit, even in your dreams.
You may strive to be like them,
But seek not to make them like you,
For life goes not backward nor tarries with yesterday.
You are the bows from which your children
As living arrows are sent forth.
Let you bending in the archer's hand be for gladness."
-- Kahlil Gibran


Last night, I watched Aaron Sorkin's 2020 film, "The Trial of the Chicago Seven." My daughter living in Europe and her husband had recommended it to me over the weekend. She had either forgotten that I was acquainted with three of the film's characters -- two defendents and one lawyer -- or else I hadn't mentioned it to her. (Seems like I would have at some point over the years, when we discussed Angela Davis. But that's another story.)

I'd recommend the film for everyone ..... especially those on this forum that continue to post about their anger with today's younger generations. It is a reminder that a dynamic known as the "generation gap" divided society at that time. The gap was wider than the Grand Canyon in the era the movie covers.

Although the term "generation gap" was coined by John Poppy in a 1967 LOOK magazine article, sociologists had recognized it for decades. It is just that it was far more extreme in the late 1960s to early '70s. White teenagers in particular were rejecting their parents' values. While this created a large sub-group, it was composed of several smaller groups. Thus, as the film shows, even amongst those protesting the Vietnam war at the Democratic National Convention, there were distinct differences among them.

It wasn't, of course, not just the war and the threat of being drafted. It was differences in language, in sexual values, in the choice of intoxicants, in growing concerns about the environment, about Civil Rights and Women's Rights, music, and dress. In other words, the meaning of life. Thousands had been active in the primary campaigns of Senators Eugene McCarthy and Robert Kennedy. By the time of the Convention, it was known that Vice President Hubert Humphrey would be the nominee, despite not having entered a single primary contest.

There is no doubt that the riots outside the Convention -- and the assault on Dan Rather on the Convention floor -- being televised played a role in Nixon beating Humphrey. Now, other than in Georgia, those 18 to 20 did not have the right to vote until 1971, when Nixon signed the 26th Amendment into law. In 1972, young voters showed up at an all-time high of 50%. However, their parents re-elected Nixon.

There have been other divides among sub-groups of the Democratic Party, without a single one increasing our chances of victory in presidential elections. I suspect that there is a lesson here. Senator Ted Kennedy's primary challenge of President Carter certainly played a role in Reagan's 1980 victory. In 2000, Arthur Schlesinger Jr. was not fond of Al Gore, and had contempt for the VP pick. In his journals, he noted that he and his sub-group thought there would be "no harm" in W. Bush winning what would surely be a single term in office.

Every sub-group views society -- including politics -- in the same general context. Members tend to communicate primarily with other members of the sub-group about issues important to them. They view non-members as less insightful, and in many cases, as "the problem" if not "the enemy." And this can only result in difficulties in potential communication between the different sub-groups in American politics .... because when members of one sub-group are fully convinced that they, and they alone, know The Answer, they see "enemies" everywhere.

This might work -- for a time -- when you are in the majority. It is less efficacious when one is in a non-majority group. And it is far, far less effective in getting a desired result when other groups are viewed with contempt. It used to be that the Democratic Party was the majority. But there are more independent voters today. The republicans come in third place, yet they now control the House, Senate, and White House.

It requires no more insight or intellectual ability to blame young adults for our party's loss in November than for your republican brother-in-law to blame immigrants for the horrible state our country is in. We understand the republican language of hatred and fear, and can thus identify who our opposition is. But if we are to win future elections, we have to increase the numbers of people who will vote for our candidates.

In 2016 and 2024, the campaigns assumed that no sane republican would vote for the felon. Without question, trying to attract republicans was a losing strategy. Bringing the pre-corpse of Dick Cheney on stage is evidence of how poor a strategy that was. Any time that you count upon the inner goodness of your opposition in an election, you have a problem. And every time you blame young adults for the mess we are in, you are the problem.

February 1, 2025

Hypatia

"All life is a blur of republicans and meat." -- Zippy the Pinhead


I remember the "Zippy for President" campaign. I thought the idea of a cartoon character for president was funny. I had, after all, lived in the Nixon, Reagan, and Bush 1 & 2 eras. Little did I realize the republican party would run Zippy's degenerate brother to inflict eight years of proctalgia fugax upon the nation.

Perhaps the most profound of Zippy's insights was, "Reality distorts my sense of television." I think it safe to say that the internet now plays as significant a role in the distorted reality of a significant percentage of the American public. At risk of sounding correct, I think the corporations that exert control over the information highway and television might have an agenda. Call me paranoid if you must.

"I have always conceived of this presidency as a reflection of the poor state of collective mental health in our society," Dr. Bandy Lee said in our first of three 2020 interviews that we did for DU. (See link below.) Later in the interview, she added, "I have often said that 'the Resistance' is like the immune system of the body: we must replenish ourselves, know our target, and keep healthy! We should take mental hygiene seriously and practice it regularly. It may sound strange, but this means setting boundaries to protect our personal and leisurely lives. Far from being selfish or complacent, doing the things we enjoy and giving time to our loved ones are all a part of responsible action."

https://www.democraticunderground.com/?com=view_post&forum=1002&pid=13009498

There are, of course, many benefits to television and the internet. Much of that focuses upon reality. It allows us to see documentation that this administration is cruel and out of control -- perhaps at a faster, more intense pace than anticipated. But at the same time, more misinformation and disinformation flood both television and the internet. They pollute the environment in a similar way to industries dumping toxic wastes into the water supply.

Just as I know that drinking polluted water puts poisons into my body, I understand that exposing myself to misinformation and disinformation is unhealthy. I know this, hence I try to avoid it. If I don't, despite recognizing it for what it is, the toxicity will reach a level where I talk to myself ...... saying things like, "I hate them" and "I'll never forgive them." Luckily I am there to remind me that virtue signaling is so unattractive, and adds nothing positive. Then I stop, hoping no one heard me.

This is a time for listening to the sane, healthy voices. Not to the supporters of Zippy's degenerate twin, or the sociopathic felon himself. And to keep in mind Malcolm X's teaching that every man who throws worms into the lake is not a friend of the fish. Malcolm was a wise man. He learned that the NOI demand for several states was never going to happen. Post-NOI, Malcolm's understanding of global realities went hand-in-hand with his increasing efforts to improve domestic conditions.

Before his death, there were communications between Malcolm and Martin Luther King, through a Chicago attorney. King, of course, would go on to speak of the need for a revolution of values in America, in his greatest speech given exactly a year beore his death. They lived in a tough era. Blowing up a church and killing four little girls was but one measure of the the profound immorality that would soon take -- among others -- Malcolm and Martin's lives.

There were, of course, thousands of people who followed Malcolm and Martin. They knew they could trust these two to tell the truth. They were willing to speak up, to be active, to risk going to the ER, to jail, or to the cemetery. These people organized others to vote. Despite the fact that the government was imperfect -- each branch of the local, state, and federal levels -- it was those people's efforts that brought change. And, of course, coordinating with the anti-war and the women's movements.

Let's follow the example of the brave and determined people of the past. Time is wasting. That is a luxury that we do not have.

January 26, 2025

The Way

"Fear is the greatest obstacle to learning. But fear is your best friend. Fear is like fire. You can make it work for you -- it can warm you in the winter, cook your food when you are hungry, give you light when you are in the dark, and produce energy. If you don't learn to control it, it'll destroy you and everything around you. Let it get out of control, and it can hurt you, even kill you.

"The hero and the coward feel the same thing, but the hero uses his fear, projects it onto his opponent, while the coward runs. It's the same thing -- fear -- but it's what you do with it that matters. You must understand fear so that you can manipulate it. Fear is the friend of exceptional people."
-- Cus D'Amato


In the past week or so, I have noted that a lot of Good People I know have expressed doubts and fears about the next four years -- and beyond. Some from real life contact, some on the internet. Strong people. Intelligent people. People with legitimate concerns about democracy and others' well being, and people I have concerns with regarding their safety. For hatred is a violent, destructive force.

Intimidation is the tactic of a weak human being. I had a conversation with a good friend. He said, "I'm a white male, and I'm scared by what he's done in a week!" I understand that. Many people are already suffering. More are feeling like there is a dangerous bully in the White House, giving others license to be aggressively hostile. The hostile atmosphere goes from small villages to large cities.

I was tempted to start out by quoting the Buddhist gospel of Matthew, where the author quotes the Master as saying, "Do not be afraid" several times. I opted for the Cus quote, not because of any fear of sounding preachy, but because I recognize we are in a fight. I favor non-violent protest, as groups or individuals. But in our day-to-day life, I don't believe in being a victim. And being overwhelmed with fear can be the genesis of a victim mentality that renders one believing they are helpless.

We are not helpless. I am not, you are not. I would not lie about that. In order to understand what we are up against, let's start by looking at what was the republican party, circa 1966. This is shortly after the then extremist Barry Goldwater was buried by President Johnson in the 1964 presidential election.

"They're somewhat like the lowest form of plant and animal life. Even at their highest point of vitality, there's not much life to them; on the other hand, they don't die."
-- Senator Eugene J. McCarthy, 1966.

Let's think of the John Birch Society/ KKK branch of the republican party back then as an infection in the body politics, the type that would express themselves by bombing a church and killing four little girls. (If you're too young to remember, look it up.) Dr. King prescribed a social penicillin. Society only took enough of the remedy to begin feeling better, but not the full prescription. The virus of hatred not only survived, it has mutated into a stronger version.

The metastasized version of this cancerous growth on the social fabric spread during the Obama years. The felon rode the infection into the White House in 2016 and again in 2024. Thus, the nucleus of this tumor is found in the Oval Office. It is surrounded by a maga administration and members of both houses of Congress. The cell's membrane is permeable, and thus leaks hatred. Its christian nationalist varient believes in asexual reproduction by binary fission in the missionary position only. All pleasure is a sin.

Thus, in a matter of a few short years, this terrible infection has reproduced and spread throughout the country. Some states have a higher concentration than others. But it is found everywhere. Clearly, we need to update Dr. King's prescription. One that allows us to overcome fear and hatred, and to work to cure society from this ugly disease.

"Be a good neighbor. If my garden is ready before yours, we should share mine now, and yours later. Too many people don't understand the power of sharing. You have to remember that all of the earth is the Creator's garden, and he shares it with us. This is why I say sharing is divine intervention.
"And what we sometimes miss is the song of the smallest bird. We do not listen closely enough. But the song of the smallest bird is the prettiest. It lifts the Creator's spirit to hear her song. Now that is the divine intervention that people overlook every day."
-- Chief Paul Waterman, Onondaga Nation

It is hard for me to believe it has been 25 years since I did my last of four interviews with Paul. This was at a time when people were worried about the Y2K millennium bug. We take care of ourselves when we help take care of others. We take care of ourselves when we refresh by taking time to listen to the natural world. There is no "hatred" outside of humanity.

As we do this, we all grow stronger. It is the first step in the struggle we are in. None of us want to be in the current socio-political environment we find ourselves in today. But this first step is what leads us up the path out of this dark valley, and heads us in the direction of the mountain top.

January 21, 2025

Carter & King

"Watch out now, take care
Beware of greedy leaders
They take you where you should not go
While Weeping Atlas Cedars
They just want to grow, grow and grow
Beware of darkness (beware of darkness)"
Verse Four


I remember that President Carter had a tree house built for Amy in the Atlas cedar on the White House lawn. He designed it himself, in a manner that did no damage to the tree.

I have pictures of John & Yoko with Muhammad Ali at President Carter's inagaugural ball.

I have a picture of George Harrison with his friend Jack, in the Oval Office with Jack's father, President Ford. Jack was a strong environmentalist, with a special interest in forests.

I was thinking about these things as I listened to my favorite song on George's first post-Beatles solo (triple) LP "All Things Must Pass" today. Many consider the first two albums in the set to be the best of any of the four's solo career. And, of course, verse four sparked a memory of President Carter.

That memory was certainly better than watching activities in DC this afternoon. I sat in my great-great-grandfather's rocking chair, drinking a cup of coffee, and looking out the window. It is frigid here in the sticks of upstate New York. So I had bought extra bird food to put out, and watched a variety of birds coming to eat.

Due to hunters, it is illegal to feed deer in this state. However, the birds never consume or carry away everything I place on the ground. Since squirrels have destroyed all the bird feeders I've placed up over the decades, I just place the sunflower seeds and cracked corn on the ground. By dusk, some deer stop by for a snack. (They wait until dusk so as to not risk a confrontation with my cranky hen. She has no patience for crows or deer, and chases them away.)

This got me to thinking about Jimmy Carter. And, of course, I was also thinking about Martin Luther King, Jr., as I had glanced at DU as the coffee was brewing. There were nice messages about Dr. King on the forum. Certainly the messages and lessons from these two great human beings are as important today as they have ever been. Though I wasn't watching the news today, I know what was happening, and in my mind's eye, I connect these things.

What is President Carter most famous for in his post-presidency? Helping poor people with housing. Having assisting in house-building in my younger years, having someone like him is essential. Just as everyone pitching in was essential.

Suddenly, I noticed that the Beatles were playing "Get Back" on a roof top. As a member of the DU community for over two decades, it hit me. We need to confront the damage that the felon and maga cult will do by setting negative emotions aside. George sang about them:
"As each unconscious sufferer
Wanders aimlessly"
..... followed by "Beware of Maya." He was speaking of illusion, which is where negative emotions always leads to. Always.

President Carter showed that helping those in need creates a better society. Martin Luther King showed that a dedicated, non-violent group of citizens can bring about positive change. It's up to us to honor their examples.

January 18, 2025

The Bane of Society

CIA Agent: "Well, congratulations! You got yourself caught! Now what's the next step in your master plan?"
Bane: "Crashing this plane... with no survivors!"
-- The Dark Knight Rises (2012)


In the past 48 hours, I have had four people call me, with the primary purpose of asking if I plan to watch the inauguration? Er, no. Not happening. Have I been watching the news and keeping up on all the insane things the sociopath has been saying? Again no. That's just me -- I haven't read fiction since 1974, and only very rarely watch fiction.

My youngest daughter, who is otherwise an outstanding social worker, says that it is diagnostic that I am this rigid. I'm not, of course. I've watched a few fictional movies, going back 40 years ago to "The Breakfast Club." I saw "Titanic" in a theater, though I was the only one telling jokes -- or laughing uproariously at my jokes -- towards the end. Shit, I even watched "Mean Girls" with my daughter when she was a teen. This despite her insisting that Amy Poehler's character was based on me.

I have also watched fiction with my sons. I loved "True Detective: Season One." And there were two Batman movies that I plan to watch again on Monday. They are "The Dark Knight" (2008) and "The Dark Knight Rises." Both of these are far closer to non-fiction than shall be the inauguration. If anything, the inauguration itself is diagnostic evidence of a country that is not mentally well. Just my opinion, but as always, I tend to agree with me. Rigid, my ass.

The first of these two represents the sociopath's first term in office. Originally, the second was going to feature Heath Ledger as the Joker again. I thought he was outstanding the first time in capturing the essence of psychopathy. One can only imagine how great the follow-up would have been. A tragic event resulted in a change.

The character of Bane (Tom Hardy) was intense, for "Bane" exists today, as a kid in foster care or detention center, as an adult in jail or prison. He has an anti-social personalty disorder ..... distinct from sociopathy in that Bane had loyalty to another human being. He carries a populist message of rage against the machine. That might sound familiar, were I to watch the inauguration or "news."

January 17, 2025

Scrambled Eggs (Yesterday)

"Just like a chicken can't lay a duck egg, because the system of the chicken isn't constructed in the way to produce a duck egg, a duck can't lay a chicken egg." -- Malcolm X

Malcolm X understood systems. He knew a system can only produce from what it contains, hence chickens lay chicken eggs, and ducks produce duck eggs. We can apply that logic to other systems. For example, one can order lobster at a McDonald's counter, but never be served anything that can be mistaken for lobster. (To be fair, however, McDonald's does serve what a surprising number of people mistake for food.)

In recent months, forum members have increasingly focused on the system known as the Department of Justice. The DOJ is headed by the Attorney General. It has divisions, programs, and offices, and also oversees the FBI. It is a bureaucracy, that by nature follows tradition.

Let's look at a few statistics. Since 1961, there have been 23 AGs, and 17 "acting" AGs. (Some "acting" would be confirmed at some point.) Of these, 12 served Democfratic administrations, and 25 republican administrations. There have been 19 white men, two non-white men, one white woman, and one black woman. Twenty-two were christians.

I think that some were pretty darned good, some were criminals, and most were average bureaucrats. I think that John Mitchell, though after resigning, became a convicted felon, was more honest than most others in republican administrations who served as AG. He was merely convicted for conspiracy, obstruction, and perjury.

It is worth noting that only one AG since 1961 is remembered for leadership beyond bureaucracy and tradition. That was Robert F. Kennedy, Sr., who served in his brother's administration. Those who worked with him found him to practice charismatic leadership. He was willing to try new avenues, for example, in going after organized crime.

At various times since 1875, there have been "special counsels" appointed for cases where there might otherwise be conflicts of interest. These were formerly known as "special prosecutors" or "Independent counsel." Despite the different titles, they are all of a similar nature. Perhaps those of most interest have been those apppointed since the days of Watergate.

Since Nixon, there have been some versions of these in the Carter, Reagan, Bush1, Clinton, and Bush2 administrations, before Jack Smith was appointed during the Biden presidency. Some of these have resulted in criminal prosecutions, which added to the numbers of convictions that administrations from Nixon to the felon have had. Let's consider the numbers from Nixon to Obama.

Tricky Dick was the champion of corruption. There were 76 indictments and 55 convictions from his 5.6 years in office. With President Obama's administration, there were zero indictments or convictions. During the Carter years, there was one indictment and zero convictions. Ford and Bush the Elder both rank with one indictment and conviction, though this number for Bush was largely due to pardons. Reagan had 26 indictments, with 16 convictions. W had 16 and 16. Thus, if we view this in terms of a sporting contest, the republicans win, 120 to 3 in indictments, and 89 to 1 in convictions.

Note: I am not listing the Congressional investigations here. But we have seen serious ones, from Watergate to Iran-Contra to the J6 Committee. We have also witnessed bullshit ones, such as Benghazi. It is worth noting that despite absolutely clear grounds for impeaching and convicting Reagan on Iran-Contra, Democrats -- led by Ted Kennedy -- were convinced that it would hurt the country to do so that close to the Nixon disgrace.

I'll end by saying this. Merrick Garland is, by definition, a bureaucratic leader who follows the traditions of the DOJ. President Biden picked him, in my opinion, to attempt to bring stability to the DOJ following the felon's damage to it. Upon being sworn into office, I fully expected Garland to dress in black jeans, shirtless under a black leather jacket with the DOJ colors, mirror shades with a blunt hanging from the left side of his mouth, to ride a Harley into mar-a-lago, and to grab the scruffy sociopath by the nucha, and drag him to prison.

Instead, he viewed the situation as the DOJ always does, in the Cynafin model of "ordered" (simple or complicated), "unordered" (complex or chaotic), or "disordered." Investigations into each are done by way of the pyramid method of starting at the bottom and working up. Gosh darned him for not recognizing that the felon would not only run again, but that he would be elected in 2024. Clearly, he was out of touch with how stupid the American public is.

And how about this Jack Smith character? Is that even his real name? I think we can all agree that he alone is responsible for that shit-stain on the fabric of justice, Judge Cannon. More, it is entirely his fault that we now have the most corrupt Supreme Court in modern history. So now, here we are. We're at a crossroads as a party. One choice is to remain ignorant about how the system works, including why it at times fails to bring about justice, and focus all of our bitterness on Garland and Smith. Or we can take the time needed to understand an imperfect system.

January 15, 2025

Vroom

"We must seek out the spiritual people because only that is going to help us survive. We have a great force -- a great brotherhood. This brotherhood involves all living things, And that, of course, includes us all. We are talking about the natural world, the natural force, all the trees, everything that grows, the water. That is part of our force,

"But when you gather spiritual force in one place, you also gather the negative force. We begin to perceive the enemy now, the power and presence of the negative force.

"There is a great battle coming."
-- Faithkeeper Oren Lyons, Onondaga Nation.


I just watched Stephen Colbert's comments on the sociopath's focus on Greenland. I have extended family connections there, some very old, others in more recent times. The sociopath's attitude towards them and their human rights is not "new." It is the same one that European explorers had, and the European "boat people" that settled the "New World." It is the same one that exploits Indigenous People and their territories today around the globe.

This has me thinking about the message from friend Oren Lyons, the Faithkeep of the Onondaga Nation, who sits upon the Haudenosaunee's Grand Council of Chiefs. I am fortunate to have known Oren for over a half-century now. I've saved a lot of information from Oren's time, including when he sat on the United Nation's Indigenous Peoples of the Human Rights Commission.

Considering that a malignant gowth will again occupy the Oval Office soon, I was remembering Oren's close friendship with Senator Daniel Inouye. I had a high opinion of the Senator, especially from his leadership in investigating the Iran-Contra scandal(s). Though an imperfect man, I consider him one of the very best Senators of my lifetime.

Inouye thought that if we had won the 1988 presidential election, that Oren would make an outstanding Secretary of State. I suspect that someone of DU is thinking, "Wait a second, H2O Man ..... didn't your old friend Harvey Arden say exactly that in his 1987 National Geographic article on the Iroquois?" Good call, my friend! Harvey also detailed Oren's inviting him to come along to a meeting at the presidential palace in Bogota, Columbia, where the Sandinista government of Nicaragua was meeting with Miskito leadership. The Indians were caught in a war between the Sandinistas and the CIA/Bush-Reagan administration's contras.

The meeting became heated when Russell Means spoke. DU readers who remember Russell will understand. At that point, Oren took over, using what is known as the Power of the Good Mind. The meeting went from being emotional to using rational thought. The result was some progress. No miracles, but understanding and respect. I think of this now, at a time when understanding and respect are under attack by the malignant growth threatening American society.

I think about how Harvey's article showed Oren traveling internationally on his Haudenosaunee passport. My mind quickly turns to the confused people known collectively as "sovereign citizens," that range from maga-like people, to those who believe -- despite reality -- that they are Native Americans by way of Morocco. They "travel" on our roads and highways, without actual driver's licenses, but often with imaginary passports -- along with huge stacks of single-spaced documents that have never worked in courts.

Before I start to think about selling such fake documents, I'll address another issue that likely has 50% of the two DUers who read my nonsense to ask, "Has poor H2O Man's brain become dehydrated? Is he suggesting the Power of the Good Mind could benefit us today? Surely the maga cult is beyond hope, and it's us against them." Fair enough. But let me tell about something that happened more than fifty years ago -- which to those of my generation, still qualifies as "current events."

If you have seen the movie "The Hurricane," early in the movie, a bunch of heavily armed prison guards are coming to remove him from his cell. He is worried the autobiography he was working on would get "lost" in the move, but a guard agrees to protect it. There was a lot more to that than the movie could fit in.

In 1973, Rubin told me the prison was becoming tense, and that our ability to communicate with cassette tapes no longer existed. He expressed concern that there could be a riot. I told him to take over -- rather than being a virtual hermit -- and lessen the tensions. He told my brother that this inspired him to run for the presidency of the prisoner;s council at Rahway. He did, and he won.

Rubin and I had spoken about Haudenosaunee history, and the concept of meeting with the leader of each of the various violent groups to convince them of the benefit of joining together in a peaceful manner. In prison, those groups are known as gangs, and frequently are based upon ethnic issues. So Rubin started talking with the heads of the various gangs. Even the most rabid KKK leaders knew that Rubin was a serious man. They respected him.

I have lots of documents from that brief era. Tensions were reduced. Rubin invited social workers, state politicians, and others to visit him at Rahway. He and other inmates created a program called "Scared Straight." Then Muhammad Ali visited Rubin. The two had not been friends back when Rubin boxed. Ali called Sonny Liston the "big ugly bear," and Rubin the "little ugly bear." Rubin was friends with Liston, and had beat seven of Ali's sparring partners.

Ali announced that he would do an exhibition fight with Rubin at the prison to bring attention to his case, and the prison industry. That was too much ..... a couple nights later, the armed guards removed Rubin and placed him in the Vroom Building. This was the state's psychiatric unit for the dangerous, insane inmate population. Older forum members may recall my quoting Princeton U's Gresham Sykes infamous 1958 study of New Jersey's prisons previously: "Centers of opposition in the inmate population -- in the form of men recognized as leaders by fellow prisoners -- can be neutralized through the use of solitary confinement or exile to other state institutions. Just as the Deep South served as a dumping ground for particularly troublesome slaves before the Civil War, so to can the mental hospital serve as a dumping ground for maximum security prisons."

In time, a federal court ruled Rubin had to be released from Vroom. While still an inmate, he sued the state and won -- the money going to hire the detective who eventually was important in solving the triple murder that Rubin was accused of being. The identity of the two actual killers had been known in police circles early on, but Rubin became their focus.

Now, I'm not suggesting that maga leaders are the same as the 1973-74 gang leaders in Rahway. Most of them are younger, for instance. Others have inhabited other jails and prisons. Plus avenues for controlling the herd's thinking have advanced with the internet. More, no program will provide a magic solution to the rising tide of hostilities in the society we live in today.

There aren't a lot of Oren's or Rubin's today. Just my opinion. But there are those in the DU community who have the ability to communicate with some influential maga people in their area. And that is essential for lessening tensions, and reducing violence in the next four years.

January 11, 2025

Wipe Your Feet!

"One of the first things I think young people, especially nowadays, should learn is to see for yourself and listen for yourself and think for yourself. If you form a habit of going by what you hear others say about someone, or going by what others think of someone, instead of searching that thing out yourself and seeing for yourself, you will be walking west when you think you are going east, and walking east when you think you are walking west."
-- Malcolm X

My daughter, son-in-law, and three month old granddaughter left yesterday, after visiting on a holiday season visit. This is my daughter that used to live in Boston, where she used to work with the current state attorney general. She is the kind of human being that our country needs.

She did not meet "Mr. Right," or "Mr. Left," to better serve her being. I used to tell her that she was no more likely to meet a good man in Boston than she was in Knappsville -- a mid-1800s crossroads that has continued to lose residents ever since. There are three houses and two trailors now. I am of an age where my daughter can appreciate my weak attempts at humor, in what both daughters call "dad jokes."

I told my daughter she would meet the person she was intended when she turned 30. And that she'd meet him when least expected, in an unusual setting. Fathers know these things, sometimes. Since the railroad no longer runs by here, after she had visited years ago, I drove her to another station where my father, his father, and many other family members had worked in the days of old. She was catching a train back to Boston.

The last thing she said to me before departing was, "I'm hoping to find an isolated seat. I don't want to talk to anyone." But of course, when she got on, she saw a young man who really caught her attention. Seeking any opportunity to talk to him, she correctly said, "Oh, my father read that!"

He was from a European country that this one can learn from. Soon, they began taking turns in going back and forth from Boston to Europe. More recently, they got married. I'm able to marry couples legally, and that made the second time in recent years. I did it for my son and daughter-in-law previously. I think it's a giggle that they wanted me to, as I've known me longer than they have, after all.

A lot of his extended family can here for the wedding. Since then, they've told me to move to their country, since the felon would be elected and destroy the United States. I said that President Biden would be re-elected. They said I was standing in the picture's frame, and could not see the whole picture. I thought that they all were really nice, highly intelligent and well-educated people who were simply wrong. It's not as if I am rigid in my thinking, for when VP Harris became our candidate, I fully supported what I knew would be the winning ticket.

I'm sitting in what is now a den, in a house that was a stage coach station in the late 1700s. I'm in my maternal great-great-grandfather's chair. There's a dozen pictures of relatives from my paternal side, people who were born and lived in the 1800s. Some of the pictures were taken in Ireland, and others nearby. At this stage of life, I know I am not far or long from when I'll be a picture added to the wall.

Years ago, just before having major surgery, I updated my Last Will & Testicle. The local pastor of a nearby church (which I got listed on the state and federal historic register) thought it was strange that I included instructing which ever kid lived here to spread my ashes on ice in the driveway. Thus, I will be more than a picture on the wall -- I will be what people track in the house on the bottom of their boots.

Since my daughter & family left, I've been thinking about my children, and my two little grandchildren. I've been reading Erich Fromm's book, "On Disobedience: Why Freedom Means Saying 'No' to Power." He wrote it in 1963, the year that President Kennedy was murdered in a very public way. Even old writings and events are still important. Fromm's book is an important read for Democrats today, as we enter a dark era.

My daughter has been active in politics since well before she was old enough to vote. While living in Boston, her social circle was made of two groups: political activists and amateur boxers. Among her friends in political activism, she was the lone registered Democrat, though other boxers were. All the other activists were registered independents, though they voted for my daughter's last supervisor, the current state Attorney General.

A number of them had come out for my daughter's wedding. I had a blast talking about political and social issues with them. Their thinking struck me as about the same as my son-in-law's family's ..... and indeed, their country's. I respect these young adults, and they respect me. I tell them what Onondaga Chief Paul Waterman used to tell young people: think for yourself, and act for others." I also tell them that the Democratic Party is our best hope, and it can only reach it's full potential if they invest their energies and talents in it.

I hope they remember to wipe their feet when they come in during the winter. For I shall not be here in a way to remind them that I'm stuck to the bottom of their boots. Can't have a clean house if I'm scattered on the floor.