Banana/maga Republic

Sitting around the extended family table during Thanksgiving-tide, discussions somehow degenerated to subjects that were dangerously close to politics. I made the mistake of mentioning to an in-law relative that our Republic was delivered from insurrectionary disaster by one brave Vice President. The defender of our Constitution was, on January 6, 2021, Mike Pence. Now it is popularly believed that trump chose Pence as his VP in 2020 because it was a favorable political arrangement. . . a Republican ticket led by a bad boy, but with a good boy strung along just to keep things decent. In our little confab around the big table, one member responded to my comment about Mike Pence with a statement that the Capitol police had set barricades aside so that the the crowd could enter the building. Say what? She must have watched the edited/redacted video versions that had been presented, a year or so ago, by some GOP guppy who was fishing for excuses about the insurrection, or maybe by some foxy video editor whose mission was to spoil the vines of public journalism. The videos I had seen, supplemented by hours and hours of testimony from the House Jan6 Committee enquiry - those videos were a visual testimony that the attackers at the Capitol had not gathered for a walk in the park, or a stride up the steps, or a stroll through the halls . . .

. . . but rather that: the attackers had intended to obstruct justice, through violence and unlawful disruption, by terminating the count of Electoral vote. The tallying of those Electoral votes was a duty of Congress that had been planned in the founding documents of our democratic republic, Constitutionally mandated - to be conducted by the Vice President of the United States. Mike Pence did his job that day. JD Vance, read 'em and vpleep. But I digress. So I learned my lesson yesterday evening: For a peaceful thanksgiving with extended family, don't talk politics. But I do harken back to the bountiful heritage of Thanksgiving: we can still be thankful for our United States of America, even if is, in 2025, being transformed into a banana-maga republic. I do like bananas, with a little peanut butter. Reminds me of that good ole boy peanut farmer from Georgia, Jimmy Carter. Where's Jimmy when we need him? But I know where Jimmy is now, because he was, as I am, born again. I am glad that this life on earth is not the whole deal. We who are born again have far more beautiful and righteous home awaiting us in the heavenly realms. I am Thankful for that! Thank God for eternal life, proven historically by the man from Galilee who was executed on a cross and then, three days later, lived to tell about it. King of Soul

The New Song

In the midst of our first snowfall of the season, a visitor stopped by at the window, to provide the first hint of yuletide color.

I thought of the words that Jesus had spoken long ago:  "Look at the birds of the air, that they do not sow, nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them." So I was pleased to serve as an instrument of God's will by providing seedpods, which they crack open with their beaks and then pluck for food. I am grateful to the Lord, who created the bird, and provided an abundance of resources so that I could feed the bird and so that I can, and have been for 43 years, providing for the family that the Lord birthed, through Pat, to me and her.  But shortly before that album and our union in marriage, many years ago, the Lord provided for me resources and opportunities to compose and record, on vinyl LP, a record of original and traditional songs sung for the glory of the Lord who was born in Bethlehem long ago.  Revelation 5:9The message sent out on those vinyl grooves concluded with the phrase, "and they sang a new song, saying," "Worthy are You to take the book and to break its seals; for you were slain, and purchased for God, with your blood, men from every tribe and tongue and people and nation." . . . which is to say, Jesus "purchased" all persons on earth who are willing to join Him instead of hooking up with the pricipalities and powers and wise guys and deceivers and magamaniacs who think they are in charge of this world. How about you? Perhaps some day you'll join us. You can hear the song here: Revelation 5:9

The Henry and the donald

Henry VIII was the tyrant king of England from 1509 until 1547. He was a MEGA king. (Make England Go Awry) Anybody who got in his way, he just pushed them aside and did whatever he wanted to do. He was a misoginyst. His first wife, Catherine gave birth to a bunch of daughters. But those future queens did not match his expectations, so he ditched Catherine and hooked up with another consort, Anne. But there was a clusterfud of complications surrounding that switcheroo. There was a problem with his desire for her, because scripture (this was a time when the MAGAs of that day were pseudo-religious). . . scripture forbade him to ditch Catherine and marry his brother's wife. He wanted the pope to annul his marriage to Catherine but the pope wouldn't go along with it. So in order to grant himself legitimacy, Henry forced his MAPA (Make a pope go away) lawyers to recognize him as blahblah head of the church of England instead of the pope, and just to make it plain who was in charge he conjured up a MEGA attack to get them to trash their ages-old religious legacy and replace it with MEGA (Make England Go Awry) abd ditch the fuddy-duddy pope and the church's old-school biblical rules. So the MEGAmaniacs stormed the steps of religious tradition and the halls of English Law; thus Henry was able to ditch Catherine and get himself hooked up with Anne. But she birthed girls too. . . a disappointment that intensified Henry's institutional assaults, which actually turned out to be all for naught anyway. Anne's daughter Lizzie was on the throne for sixty years, a rein of such longevity that it was not surpassed until her namesake, Elizabeth II reigned for an even longer period in the 20th century. Now I don't know but I been old that history doesn't repeat but it rhymes, and I think that's what we detect here in these modern times. In distant America, Henry's orange-headed monarchical stepchild, king donald of MarLago, conjured up legal and so-called evangelical psuedo-religious manipulations and insurrections to summon up a MAGA (Make America Go Awry) insurrection and trash the 14th amendment so he could put his fat ass back on the oval throne again. So we see that history does not repeat itself, but it does rhyme. Capitol barricades falling down, falling down, Capitol bridges falling down, MAGA breaky. 

Glass half-Full

The F***ing of America

In 1959, when I was in 4th grade, the teacher accused me, falsely, of scribbling the F-word on the boys’ bathroom wall. I was offended that she would point at me because I was a good kid and would never do such a thing. To this day, I do not know who the profane scribbler was, but I did, at the time, suspect my classmate, Johnny whatshisname. Perhaps that traumatic experience is why, to this day, I am offended whenever I hear the F-word. And that’s just about everywhere. Today, as my wife and were taking our daily stroll on our hometown greenway, I heard the dreaded word uttered by a passerby who was conversing with someone. It still perplexes me that the obscene F-word is now used in normal speech by seemingly decent people. This is a little bit like the “like” phenom, which is, although less offensive, has always bothered. Another common phrase that hear on the greenway and in many other places, including TV shows and online gabbers. You know what I’m talking about. You probably hear it every day: “I’m like. . .—“ The phrase would certainly be useful if the speaker was saying, “I’m like a normal person looking at my phone… etcetera etcetera. . . that is to say, the word is used as a conjunction in an English sentence. (I was a useless English major at LSU) They let me get out of there with some parchment upon which was printed, “BS, General Studies.”

But I digress. I was railing about the F-word. My sensitivity was pushed over the edge of alarm when, today, I heard brother Frankie, one of my contemporary post-evangelical brothers in Christ, use the F-word. n I mean, if bro Frankie used it, I suppose it’s now a given that the F-word is just part of the vernacular. I mean, it used to be a stand-in for “damn” as in “I don’t give a damn!” But nowadays you hear: “I don’t give a f***.” My mercy toward my fellow English-speakers is now reaching full acceptance of the change that has taken place during my 73 years on this earth. So I’ll just go aheaad and write it: I don’t care, any more, what the f****ing say. I don’t give a damn. MAGAmania has taken over he country anyway. Now that my madness is settling into aged reticence, I will simply keep my madness to myself and plead with my fellow Americans: MAKA! Make America Kind again. King of Soul

Red America

Red America Red America was never about to submit to a liberal Democratic agenda. I should have seen it coming. Even though their candidate was an insurrectionist lawbreaker! Hell, my deep South lawyer cousin compared the insurrection to "tossing tea in the harbor!" Made me wonder. . . how many people lost their lives at the Boston Tea Party? Probably not as many as the five or six who lost their lives in the assault against our Congress and our Capitol. It seemed to me that the Jan6 insurrection was more like firing shots at Fort Sumter. Sure as you're born, 't'was no stroll in the park, no stroll from the Ellipse to Collapse of Capitol security.

But now that the dust has settled and the American people have again spoken through the smokescreen of their ballots, I am starting to understand the cold, hard facts. The magamaniacs were never going to afford sympathy, nor support, for the likes of folks who wanted to get sex change operations, or even play around with their organs as if there were no difference between the standing one and the receiving one, and then when a young'un did start to be thumping around down there in the uterul regions somewhere. . . they wanted to snuff it out? Well, shut my mouth! But now the dust settles and we find ourselves with the chief insurrectionist on a legal path to taking charge of the powers that be… like Jefferson Davis come back from the dead? Go figure. . . never would have thought it my lifetime. I mean, I grew up down here, south of mason-dixon, and have seen from time to time license plates with a rebel caricature and declaration, "The South shall rise again." Maybe the south did win the civil war after all. Hell I don't know. What does Nov5th show?! In order to cope with these developments, I am inclined to ponder the message of a prophet of ancient times. So I'll close with these words from Jeremiah, and wait for the next shoe to drop:

"Righteous are You, O Lord; but I would plead my case with you: Why has the way of the wicked prospered? Why are all those who deal in treachery at ease? . . . Many shepherds have ruined my vineyard; they have trampled down my field; they have made my pleasant field a desolate wilderness."

Or maybe I can just offer this: . . . MAKA. Make America Kind Again. Can we just give it a try? Glass half-Full

Make America Kind Again. There is a very old book that has served many Americans, for a very long time, as a source of wisdom and inspiration. The Bible was divided, long ago, into two main testaments.  In the Old Testament, Jeremiah had spoken to his people with these words: “If you do not oppress the alien, the orphan, or the widow, and do not shed innocent blood in this place, nor walk after other gods to your own ruin, then I will let you dwell in this place . . .” In the New Testament, Jesus Christ said this:  “I was hungry, and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty, and you gave me something to drink, and you invited me in, I was a stranger and you invited me in.” His disciples, puzzled at these words, asked for a clarification. He answered them, explainging that whenever they had done such  acts for any stranger, it was the same as if they had done it for him. Now, not everybody reads the Bible. I understand that. But in our American history, any accurate study will reveal the influence of that good book in our hundreds-years-old society.  In this day and time, it is indeed time to get back to our heritage of kindness, acceptance, tolerance, and good will toward all humans.  Our New York Harbor includes the Statue of Liberty.  The sight of that gigantor icon has been presented, for a very long time, to millions of immigrants who set their course for the United States of America, Land of the Free and Home of the Brave. 

While our nation has historically benefited from the sundry civilizations of many immigrants,  a foundational principle of Liberty and Justice for All was established long ago. As a child of the 1950's, I pledged allegiance, every morning before classes started, to that flag representing Freedom and Justice for All. Our British forebears played a major role in the diverse development of our United States.  One Brit in particular, Sir Paul McCartney sang these words on an old LP record:

“Someone’s knocking at the door; somebody’s ringing the bell. Do me a favor, open the door and let ‘em ing.”

Our immigrant forefathers were not pet-eating “trash.” Neither are the seekers of today’s immigrant populations.  Songwriter Neil Diamond had a good understanding on this immigration situation:

Saturday, November 9, 2024

Here’s an excerpt from Smoke, my 2014 novel of the Classic genre. The year is 1937. A young American businessman is traveling through France, in a roundabout route to visit the grave of his father who had never returned from the the Belgian battlegrounds of 1918. In chapter 14, Philip finds himself a guest at the dining table of an hospitable French family, near Strasbourg, close to the German border. Philip is on a journey in which he accompanies two sisters who have fled from Germany. The girls have escaped the third reich while their brother, Heinrich, is still imprisoned on a concentration camp called Dachau. In dinner table conversation, the French hosts are speaking forthrightly, with urgency, to the girls and their parents. This excerpt is lifted from page 161 of Smoke:

Cartier looked directly into the man’s face, then at his wife. “You do need to stay nearby until Heinrich is released, or at least until you have heard some definite news, or until this whole damned Nazi thing blows over.” Henri Leblanc then spoke excitedly, “The Third Reich is not going to go away! They will inflict their German hatefulness on Jews and some others as long as they can! They will not stop until they are forced to stop. Hitler and Goebbels have railed against the Jews since the beginning, even since ’33. It was their intention all along to rob you of your business and then run you out of Germany. But our leaders, Petain or — we need another Clemenceau, or Poincare, maybe that young man, DeGaulle — somebody needs to rise up and intervene la-bas. Ever since Hitler waltzed into the Saar last year, with no resistance whatsoever from us, those Nazi brutes who salute and follow his every command without question have been frothing at the mouth to run the Jews out of Germany. That is what the Gestapo is assigned to do, and the Third Reich will not cease its campaign against the Jews — especially the prosperous ones such as you.” “But do not despair!” said Henri’s wife. “You have come to the right place. We can help you. We’ll give you sanctuary as long as we can.”

novel by Carey Rowland set in Europe, 1937 That was a fictional scene based upon historic fact. For the complete story of 1937 told, read Smoke.

The Good News

Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted. Blessed are the gentle, for they shall inherit the earth. Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for what is right, for they shall be satisfied. Blessed are the merciful, for they shall receive mercy. Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God. Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called children of God. Blessed are those who have persecuted for the sake of righteousness; for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are you when people insult you and persecute you, and falsely say all kinds of evil because of faith in Christ. I say to you, whoever is angry with his brother shall be guilty before the court; and whoever says to his brother, ‘you are good for nothing’ is guilty, and whoever says ‘you fool’ is guilty as hell. Therefore, if you are presenting your offering at church, or wherever, and there remember that your brother or sister has something against you, go and, first, be reconciled with that person; then go and present your offering. Make friends with quickly with your opponent at law, while you are with him or her on the way, so that your opponent will not hand you over to the judge, and the judge to the officer, and you be thrown in prison. You have heard that it was said: “an eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth.” But do not resist an evil person; but whoever slaps you on your right cheek, turn the other to him also. Do not turn away from him who wants to borrow from you. You have heard it said, “love your neighbor and hate your enemy,” but I say to you love your enemies and pray for those who give you a bad time. Most important of all: Do unto others as you would have them do unto you. King of Soul

Democracy and the Republic

Our nation is a hybrid, and has been from the beginning. This is why we have always had, as we still do, Democrats and Republicans. Our United States of America was conceived in 1781, At that time, our leaders convened in Philadelphia to write a Constitution. From that time onward, even until now, we have been double-minded nation. The concepts upon which our Constitution was founded originated about 2700 years ago in ancient Greece. On that Mediterranean peninsula, a civilizing population elected their leaders by voting. They called it Democracy. But also during those ancient times, a philosopher named Plato wrote a document describing a way of governance called the Republic. Much has been written, over two millennia of time, about these foundational principles. But democracy and the republican idea had gotten buried in the ashes of history as Europe was governed and managed for two thousand years by kings and priests. That’s what today is called authoritarianism. Maybe we have outgrown that; maybe we have not. We’ll know soon enough how all plays out. Leap now to the 17th-century, in a period of time called the Enlightenment, and we find a recovery of those two ancient concepts of governance: Democracy and the Republic. When America was being settled and “civilized” by Europeans, 1500-1800 AD, these resurrected ideas were brought forth as a basis of constructing a government that would leave monarchy in the dust of American history, and replace it with a government of We the People.

In 1791, when our patriots and founders began writing our Constitution, our leaders—you’ve heard their names—Thomas Jefferson, Ben Franklin, John Adams, John Hancock, George Washington et al— were struggling between these two ancient foundational concepts, Democratic and Republic. Surely you have noticed that, today, and (as I write this) tomorrow, we are still divided, peacefully, between Democrats and Republicans.

Democrats generally want all the people to be involved in all levels and phases of government. Republicans seem to prefer appointing leadership to people who are well-endowed and have a lot of assets to work with. Democrats seem to prefer keeping governance at the humblest levels of society, so that those who are rich and famous don’t take control of everything. Tomorrow, November 5, 2024—or more likely the day after that—we shall see who wins the latest round of Democrats v. Republicans. And I might as well disclose. . . I am a registered Republican who has already voted for a bunch of Democrats. Whatever happens, I say. . . God bless America, land that I love!

CapitolWord Address

Four years and several episodes ago our People brought forth, within this nation, a new administration, conceived in Liberty, and dedicated to the proposition that all men and women are created equal. Now we are gathering in a new civil election, testing whether this nation, so conceived in Constitutional Law, can still endure. We are met on a great media field. We are approaching a new election, in which we hope to re-dedicate ourselves to the principles upon which this nation was founded: life, liberty, the pursuit of happiness, under the covering of a Constitution that assures all of us equal rights and privileges in the brotherhood and sisterhood of humanity. We stand now, election-ready, to re-affirm that every duly-registered voter in this nation is assured the right to vote and the assurance that their vote will be correctly counted, and to have those voter-affirmed state-majorities correctly tabulated and reflected in their legislative assemblies, with Electoral Votes to be determined by those state legislatures and properly delivered to Congress for tabulation, as our Constituion requires.  Reflecting now upon this history, we remember that four years ago. . .

 American defenders of our Capitol and our Constitution died in defence of our Constitution, our sacred liberty, and the heritage of our American life, individually and collectively. And so, now, we re-assemble to collect our votes and to tabulate them honestly, without deceit and without prejudice, with malice toward none and goodwill for all. Now, for those who, four years ago during the violent assault of our Capitol, had given their last full measure of devotion to our Justice. . . And for those generations of Americans yet to come, we gather to vote and to be assured that our votes and their future votes will be properly and legally tabulated, according to the good will and integrity of duly-appointed local officials.  These principles and hopes we resolve, so that liberty and justice for all shall not perish from the earth. And yet, and yet, in the ill wind that now blows . . . as foxes conspire to spoil the vines of our Liberty, we renew our resolve to work toward electoral integrity and Justice . . . even as dark clouds of obstruction and deceit congregate on the horizon.  And so we ponder the words of Shakespeare's Romeo (interpreted here for our present context , and published in this dramatic moment of impending contention): ". . . for mind misgives some consequence, yet hanging in chads, shall bitterly begin with this election's rebels" Whatever happens, let us re-dedicate ourselves to the preservation of Liberty and Justice for all. Go out and vote, and pay attention to what happens in the wake of our 2024 election. Glass half-Full