June 2, 2024

Cry Baby Cry

What a bunch of cry babies. The very definition of "sore losers." Zero self-respect. They are as detached from reality as the felon (formally known as the defendant).

I watched the felon's 30+ minute run-on sentence today. Back in 2015, he combined the public speaking tactics of Hitler and Don Rickles. The felon thus wooed the crowds of maga-ites, and brought wirra to non-maga republicans. In time, the republican party had become a cult -- for only a cult member could watch the felon sputter on stage and think, "He is my leader."

Certainly other enemies of American democracy hope to inflict him on our nation once again. But it is cult that poses the immediate risk, as they seek to play the same role as those in Jim Jones cult in Guyana, forcing those who wanted to live to drink from his poison cup. For the felon has almost completely morphed into his Jones phase, in the manner of all sociopathic "leaders."

I understand that we have to exist in a country where a significant number of adults live in an alternative reality. But that makes it all the more important that we win not only the presidential election in November,but as many as possible in both houses of Congress and in the states. For the cult has turned republican office holders into flying monkees.



Note: I am not in the best of moods this evening. I got up early, and on my way to the pharmacy I came upon an accident on the highway. What had once been a motorcycle had turned into debris scattered in both lanes for a significant distance. I was there before any of the emergency responders, able to see the body of the man who had been enhoying himself moments before.

Although I'm a hermit, who prefers to leave my house/property but once a month, I had to make two other trips in the afternoon, and one in the evening. Being old, the old roads and newer highways that I drove on took me past where, over many decades, I came upon scenes where both friends and strangers died in accidents. Motorcycles, cars, and trucks.Some good dtivers, not at fault, some speeding.

I found myself thinking the crybaby republicans are like people ticketed on the interstate for speeding, complaining that others were speeding, too. And agreeing with Jim about ghosts on dawn's highways.

Please drive carefully. Do the speed limit, at most, depending upon road conditions.

Thank you,
H2O Man

May 29, 2024

Hurry Up & Weight

I have been working in my garden today, thinking about how miserable the defendant is while waiting for the jury to decide his fate. This reminded me of his recent attempt to gain the support of the libertarian party last Saturday. Due to the negative response he got, the defendant did not bother to file the paperwork for their nomination.

The defendant has a fairly limited comfort zone. It includes being in front of a cheering crowd a rabid maga types, cheating on a golf course, and being spanked while consuming fast food. He does not do as well outside of that zone. Indeed, if one listens to his full presentation on Saturday, he goes from being confident to capturing the cadence of Jim Jones on his final day.

"We've been so betrayed. We have been so terribly betrayed," the recording of Jones says. "I've tried my best to give you a good life. In spite of all that I've tried, a handful of our people, with their lies, have made our life impobsible." Just as Melonia plagiarized Michelle, I anticipate the defendant's upcoming remarks to mimic Rev. Jim's for paranoid thinking.

A number of people I respect have said they think the verdict will come in on Friday, or Monday at the latest. Until then, enjoy knowing the defendant is unhappy. Very unhappy, indeed. And he's going to carry that weight a long time.

May 28, 2024

A Request

On May 22, I posted "A DU Interview" with author James Kunen. And, of course, I sent him the link to the OP/thread, which he enjoyed. Among our communications since then, he sent the following, which he thought community members might find a pleasant and meaningful way to exercise their Amendment 1 rights:

"Here is a link to a safe site with a pre-filled FORMAL COMPLAINT to the Supreme Court about Justice Alito. You just fill in your name and address, print it out, and mail it in: https://www.dumpalito.com/

"You can also send a copy to Sen. Dick Durbin to get him to wake up and hold hearings.

"I thought you'd want to seize this opportunity, and maybe send the link around to your extensive network. If we could get 100,000 of these complaints to the Court and Durbin, it could really have an impact, I would think."

It is said that an ounce of prevention is better than a pound of cure. Hence, in anticipation of anyone saying, "No! This will do no good!" I shall share what was Rubin Carter's shortest message when speaking at universities. Rubin stated that the "No!" philosophy and life style was negative, and needed to be replaced with "Yes!' He would then lead the audience in saying "Yes!" rather loudly.

Now, somewhere between our favorite nay-sayers and our "Yes!" friends and associates are good people who wish there was "something (they) could do." Indeed, every grass roots organizer encounters good people who have been tricked into believing that they are powerless to confront the threats to our society. The best organizers know that if you provide them with small tasks now, by election time they will have made progress.

More, we might expect nay-sayers to pontificate the "No!" of the class of citizens who have convinced themselves that they are by definition the "elites, that the Supreme Court doesn't care what we "little people" think. I'll go far as to agree with them when it comes to Alito and Clarence. But the others, even those conservative republican, do care. Roberts knows it is a bad thing when a growing number of citizens lose faith in the court.

Thus, I am requesting that you participate in this small effort, and share it as far and wide as you can. For as Rubin once told me, small doors sometimes open into large rooms.

May 22, 2024

A DU Interview

"A university is definitely not a democratic institution. Whether students vote 'yes' or 'no' on a given issue means as much to me as if they were to tell me they like strawberries."
-- Herbert Deane, vice dean of Graduate Faculties, Columbia University (April, 1967)


In 1970, a copy of "The Strawberry Statement: Notes of a College Revolutionary" was my late oldest brother's favorite book. It detailed the thoughts and experiences of author James Simon Kunen, who was both a participant and observer of the 1968 student protests at the university. This was the first of a series of important books by James Kunen:
https://www.google.com/search?q=books+by+james+kunen&rlz=1C1CHBD_enUS901US901&oq=books+by+james+kunen&gs_lcrp=EgZjaHJvbWUyBggAEEUYOTIHCAEQIRigATIHCAIQIRigATIHCAMQIRigATIHCAQQIRigATIHCAUQIRigAdIBCDkzNjVqMGo3qAIAsAIA&sourceid=chrome&ie=UTF-8

When I read "The Strawberry Statement," it immediately became one of my favorite books. Other things that influenced my thinking on the role of educatio included A.S. Neill's 1960 "Summerhill: : A Radical Approach to Child Rearing (with a powerful introduction by Erich Fromm); the 1962 Port Huron Statement, primarily by Tom Hayden; and Abbie Hoffman's 1968 "Revolution for the Hell of It." James Kunen seemed a wonderful blend of those three.

He has done a serious interview regarding the recent Columbia University protests, which I will link below:
http://jameskunen.com/Columbia%20New%20York%20Mag%20Interview%2020240506.pdf

Because of the acrimony in discussions on this forum regarding Gaza, college protests, and the weather, along with the national atmosphere of anxiety, depression, frustration, and a sense of impending doom, I asked James Kunen if he would participate in an interview for the Democratic Underground. I was hoping for a message of impending positive, and he agreed!
-- Patrick R. McElligott (aka H2O Man)


Q; My older son's favorite part of The Strawberry Statement was when the cop, upon hearing your name, mistook you for Irish and let you go. How, he asked, did you keep from bursting out laughing?

JK: It was scary. The police had a bus ..... it might have been a city bus, but I think it was a police bus. The cops were slamming people around. I was the first one on the bus, and when he said that, I was too afraid to laugh.


Q: Who were the biggest influences on your thinking when you were a student?

JK: One was the novel "Lord Jim." The character is on a ship that he thinks is sinking. He jumps off. But it turns out the boat isn't sinking

The other was the television series "Davey Crockett." You might remember that. Davey held that when you know what you really believe in, you go with it. So when we were in (Columbia President ) Kirk's office, and the police were going to throw us out, I knew what I believed. A lot of students jumped out a window to safety. I didn't jump.


Q: My younger son recently looked me in the eye and said, "Old Man, I thought your generation was going to save the world. What happened?" Do you think the 1960s and early '70s brought about progress?

JK: Yeah, in areas like gay rights, women's rights, and civil rights. I can't recall if student activity was the real cause. It wasn't so much a result of that, is that it was a time of disorder that resulted in a new order.


Q: What influence did the Beatles and other musicians have on youth back in the day?

JK: They absolutely had a major influence. The fact that we were listening to the Beatles together, and the Rolling Stones and others together at the same time gave us a generational identity. And that was really the first time the young generation had the feeling of being united as a group, and a social force.


Q: It's said that history rhymes, rather than repeats. What do you think of the recent campus protests?

JK: I'm not sure that it really rhymes or repeats. In '68, it was Vietnam. In '85, it was investments in South Africa. Gaza is different. But people see something they know is wrong, and they see what is possible. They take over a building to make their voices heard.


Q: In "The Strawberry Statement," you wrote about Mark Rudd, a national leader of Students for a Democratic Society." He went underground shortly after that. When I interviewed Mark for DU a few years back, he was teaching math at a community college in New Mexico. He was backing BBarak Obama for president, and advocating non-violent change. Is this a normal part of the aging process?

JK: I think Mark Rudd is his own special case. A real journey. Things reached a point where he thought violence would work. Then he went underground.

Most of us saw what was wrong, and wanted it fixed immediately. Eventually, we learned that "perfect" is the enemy of "good," and focused on what is possible.


Q: There are three presidential candidates this year: President Biden, Trump, and RFK, Jr. What do you think of each?

JK: Trump is a sociopathic con man. I don't get his appeal. Kennedy is on a narcissistic ego trip, despite the destructiveness of his campaign. I definitely support Joe Biden. I do have concerns about his age. Yes, he is sharp right now, but what about the next four years? Older people can have a rapid change. But he is the best choice, especially considering the other option.


Q: Independent voters now outnumber Democrats or republicans. How important is it to do outreach to independents to re-elect President Biden?

JK: Campaign professionals -- and I'm not one -- have two schools of thought. The first is to turn out the vote. The second one is to reach swing voters. I think that we need to do both of these.


Q: When Nixon resigned, I was sure we would never see his ilk in office again. Today, he would seem a decent fellow compared to Trump. What has happened to our country?

JK: Nixon wasn't the first cynical con man in Washington. Remember Senator McCarthy in the 1950s. I think that what has happened is social media and Fox News.


Q: Outreach to young voters is essential. Who do you think is better at this, AOC or her primary challenger, retired Wall Street banker Marty Dolan?

JK: I totally agree. I admire AOC. She is a brilliant communicator. She speaks clearly.


Q: The internet provides advantages the underground press of our day did not have. Yet it risks keeping people from traditional grass roots campaigning. How important is it to engage in going door-to-dooe?

JK: I think it's very important. There isn't the same sense of community that there was 75 years ago, Back then, there were trusted messengers in neighborhoods, in the PTA, and church. So we need to still be activists.

One thing I've noticed in recent years is that those attending meetings almost all have gray hair. We need to work on getting young people involved.

May 21, 2024

A Circus State of Mind

"For the benefit of Mr. Kite
There will be a show tonight on trampoline
The Hendersons will all be there
Late of Pablo Fanque's Fair, what a scene
Over men and horses hoops and garters
Lastly through a hogshead of real fire!
In this way Mr. K. will challenge the world!"
Lennon; Being for the Benefit of Mr. Kite! ; 1967.


Michael Cohen tried his hardest to be the pit bull lawyer that the defendant sought. Roy Cohn had been a attorney for mobsters, aggressively lying and threatening anyone who got in the way of his clients. Old Toy was an amoral individual with ethical rabies.

At the time, Michael Cohen was comfortable playing that role. One can debate how good he was at it, but it is clear that he provided linkages between the Trump Organization and organized crime in the New York City area and beyond. In a very real way, this included relationships with individuals that would benefit others we know in crimes never prosecuted back then.

The names that come to mind include Rudy Giuliana, Bernard Kerik, and -- to a lesser extent -- Robert Costello. Along with the defendant, these swine engaged in what they considered "legal crimes" that no one of a certain status was worried about being prosecuted for. They considered these to be no more an issue than breaking the speed limit on an interstate highway -- something that "everyone does."

Hence, the outrage that the defendant is facing legal charges in New York. Their attitude is like that of if they were pulled over for speeding, and the police officer did not apologize for the inconvenience he caused them upon recognizing how important they were. Even pointing out that others were speeding and the officer had not given them tickets doesn't work. Even worse, in their eyes, is that they can't bribe this DA or judge.

So what's a defendant to do? His own legal team refuses to play the role of Old Roy and dive through a hogshead of realfire. So they turn Robert Costello, who had been attempting to serve as Michael Cohen's "handler" after the FBI raid. But Cohen was alert enough to recognize which way the wind was blowing, and sought other legal representation. So we had Costello doing his best Roy Cohn from the witness stand.

Yesterday, some of my friends & associates -- not on this forum -- were concerned that Costello had damaged Cohen to an extent that helped the defendant. "Oh, ye of little faith," I said to them. For I knew that Costello was going to get his ass kicked today.

May 14, 2024

Q & A

Question: Is the defendant nodding off in court, as many have reported, or is he in deep contemplation, as he claims?

Answer: Sociopaths need frequent stimulation. Without it, they become bored. They have short attention spans when bored. Prolonged boredom in the courtroom causes the defendant to nap. Keep in mind that there is no documentation of the defendant, while in the Oval Office, participating long long, highlt detailed meetings. Indeed, he has bragged about his ability to reach spontaneous decisions on important matters.

May 12, 2024

Twister

"Let him twist slowly, slowly in the wind." -- John D. Ehrlichman


In early 1973, there was a growing interest in the investigations for the series of crimes known collectively as "Watergate." Ehrlichman thought that the confirmation hearings of Nixon nominee of L. Patrick Gray for the director of the FBI was distracting attention to the crimes that would soon result in his incarceration. Thus, his infamous quote, with more than a hint of delight in Gray's ongoing evisceration by Congress.

Will history repeat itself in 2024? (I know, I know: it rhymes, rather than repeats.) Might the university demonstrations hint at trouble at the Democratic National Convention, similar to 1968? Could divisions result in a sludgy crook winning in November? Need we be overly concerned with the eventual republican VP pick? And what if Kristi Noam becomes the national dog warden?

The good news is that President Biden will be re-elected in November, while the defendant will continue to twist slowly, slowly in the wind. Due to a variety of factors, it will be a relatively close victory. What is also essential for our focus is the Senate. And of course we'd like to regain control of the House.

Now, we've had shady presidents in the past, with Nixon being the most obvious example. So if we are to create a historic rhyme, now is the time to hang the defendant and his associates around the necks of every republican running for office.

Nixon was smarter than the defendant. It took time, but he eventually twisted slowly, slowly in the news. There was an opportunity in 1976 to make gains in the House and Senate, but divisions in our party prevented this. Even Jimmy Carter's win was close, and I consider him one of the most gifted politicians of my lifetime. We have similar potentials this year for meaningful gains.

We have been given gifts such as Moscow Marjorie and Kristi Noem. They have caused a shift that shouldn't go unnoticed. There are republican office-holders and right-wing medias that have now speak against both. They dare say publicly the things they have been saying in private for years. The maga cracks widen.

Since the close of court on Friday afternoon, the defendant has been splattering nonsense into his universe. The most interesting example can be found in "highplainsdem's" OP:
https://www.democraticunderground.com/?com=view_post&forum=1002&pid=18942090
It must be understood in the context of the defendant's compulsive projecting. Add an image of a criminal about to be hung in a 50 year old high plains Clint Eastwood western.

Tomorrow, it is expected that Michael Cohen will be called to the witness stand. The media horseshit about him being a convicted liar and thug will be correctly placed in the context of his employment with the defendant. He was being paid to play the role of Roy Marcus Cohn. Though Cohen can appear emotional at times when describing the defendant, he actually does good while testifying in recent years.

Cohen will be but a few feet away from the defendant for the first time in eight years. Michael can -- and will -- do more damage to the defense case than any other witness. The defendant will struggle to not react to Cohen's testimony. He will twist slowly, slowly and break wind. The only question will be how long he can control himself in or outside of the courtroom.

Enjoy the show!

May 8, 2024

A Strong Wind

On this day, I find myself thinking about this quote from my old friend:

'We are flowers from the sunseeds planted in organic life on earth, with the capacity and the ability to grow stronger, wiser, more intelligent, and more beautiful than anyone can imagine. We must try to become what we can be, and not just settle for what we are at the moment. That is the path for humanity if humanity is to evolve. If we fail to evolve and continue down the destructive path we are now headed, then we will simply disappear from this earth.' -- Rubin "Hurricane" Carter

May 4, 2024

Oren

I've posted the below quote a few times here in the past 20 years. In the past few days, I've had a number of conversations with people about some of the teachings of Iroquois' Wisdom Keepers. One of these was with a good friend here on DU, and this made me think of this quote, which I hope you like:

"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 see the enemy now, the power and presence of the negative force.
"There is a great battle coming."
-- Oren Lyons, Faithkeeper, Iroquois Confederacy.


I first encountered Oren in the early 1970s, on opposite sides of a boxing ring. He was the trainer/ cornerman of welterweight & middleweight champion Carmen Basilio's last fighter. I was in the corner of my brother-in-law. Over the decades that followed, I would get to know him in other ways, though my son and I have always enjoyed seeing him and his fighter at boxing cards.

My cousin contacted me yesterday. He was going through his mother's belongings, including her large library of books. He found a copy of "Parker on the Iroquois" (Syracuse Universary Press, 1986), and said she would want me to have it. Parker, a Seneca, was the first NYS Archaeologist. This was a collection of three of his books, published between 1911 and 1916. I already had each of the three. He said he had been looking through the one on the code of Handsome Lake, based upon his vision of the future when he was in a coma in 1798. He is considered by many Iroquois to be the 4th prophet.

I suggested that he watch Bill Moyers' interview with Oren. In the interview, Oren talks about the vision of Handsome Lake, with a focus on the parts regarding the environment. I think that those who want to take a break from news about the defendant might enjoy watching it, too:

Peace,
H2O Man

May 2, 2024

Life

Q: Do you have any closing message for out readers?

Chief Paul Waterman: Live. Don't be afraid to live. We can live through this time.

I did reburials at the Penn Site. Germ warfare killed them. At the Bloody Hill Site, it was small pox. Some of the burials were of parents and their children. They were holding hands. This seems to happen when germ warfare kills families.

But we are here today. It's our turn to live now. And if you are reading this, it's your turn as well. Make the most of it. Enjoy your family.




Quite a few people find life in 2024 stressful. It could be from factors in their daily life, to the state of our society. I thought I'd attempt to start a discussion on this, starting with a story about a "potentially" stressful situation tat Chief Waterman and another member of the Council of Chiefs found themselves in years ago. The other Chief shared this story with me.

A group of Iroquois men who self-identified as the Warrior Society were holding Paul and Oren hostage in the Oneida bingo hall. The NYS Police and Sheriff's Departmet had surrounded the place. Oren said that being held at the wrong end of shotguns was stressful. But Paul was relaxed, and telling the younger men about temselves. The fellow holding the gun on Paul wanted to shut him up by placing the barrel in Paul's mouth. He told Paul to open his mouth, or he'd blow Paul's head off.

"Fuck you," Paul replied, laughing. "The first sound of a gun shot, and the police will kill every Indian in here." In a relatively short time, the stand-off ended. Oren told me that he had never witnessed anyone as calm and brave as Paul that day. (If you are thinking, "No big deal," you can stop reading now.)

Now, when do you do your best thinking? When you are well rested and relaxed? Or when you haven't gotten proper rest, and have had existential stress since, say, the defendant became president? Most people function better mentally when well rested and relaxed.

Jon Steward recently reported on how often the media reports on the defendant, including on unimportant issues such as his ride to court. I will speculate that someone somewhere was talking about the defendant on television or the internet every hour of every day since he announced he was running for president back in 2015. Stop and think of the sum total of hours that you have been exposed to either the defendant or someone talking about him.

Watching the defendant increases the levels of the hormone cortisol in your blood, and that blood goes throughout your body, including your brain. Those high levels take a toll on you. Thus, high levels are "the tip of the iceberg" of problems people experience, according to Bruce McEwen, a neuroscientist and cortisol expert at The Rockefeller University.
https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/ldquo-stress-hormone-rdquo-cortisol-linked-to-early-toll-on-thinking-ability/

Among things effected are memory, organization, visual perception, and attention. It also can reduce adequate sleep. It can cause changes in your brain that show up on brain scans. Thus, it seems evident that frequent and prolonged exposure to the defendant isn't healthy. I think it is worse than if one was exposed to the individual I think shared the most personality traits with the defendant, Charles Manson. Might we agree that if one was exposed to Charlie's madness for the same amount of hours you have been exposed to the defendant, it would not improve the quality of your life?

It is no coincidence that the prophet Bob Marley sang, "Live if you want to live." This is the opening line of his powerful song "Positive Vibration." Other lyrics include, "If you get down and you quarrel everyday you're saying prayers to the devils, I say" and "Say you just can't live that negative way, if you know what I mean. Make way for the positive day."

The amount of acrimony on this forum, along with some of the thinking expressed, indicates that we can all benefit from turning off the defendant, relax, and listen to Bob Marley. It's a little bit easier.