Carl,
First: Your weather. Aside from the smoke from the fires, I guess you're
getting a taste of what New York weather is often like in August. That's a big
change for your neck of the woods. But today was beautiful here, not humid and
I'm not sure it reached 80 degrees. We had blue skies and sunshine. That's the
kind of day we used to have in June, long, long ago.
On the Flashpoints podcast, I heard the Roots Action press conference given by
Norman Solomon, John Keriokou, a lawyer whose name isn't familiar to me, and
David Swanson. It had to do with the presentation of a petition being presented
to, whom? I suppose Trump or someone, demanding that American planes be removed
from the airspace over Syria. Everyone who spoke was articulate and reasonable
and they said important and moving things. In the meantime, Trump is
threatening North Korea, and the rest of us, with nuclear war. I listened to
that speech and an unbidden voice said to me, loud and clear, "Someone better
take him out before the rest of us die in flames".
And yes, we have the personalities that we have and they don't suddenly improve
with age. Given the difficulties of aging, the negatives in our personalities
probably get worse. But additionally, most people are not accustomed to
observing their own capacities and level of functioning, and as they become
more forgetful and their judgment slips, they don't realize what's happening
and they blame other people for their own confusion. I can understand and
empathize. I see the differences in my own functioning. I forget stuff. I'm
not as confident of my own judgment as I used to be because I accept that aging
makes inroads. For aging people, giving up control or watching it just
disappear, is hard.
Miriam
-----Original Message-----
From: blind-democracy-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
[mailto:blind-democracy-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx] On Behalf Of Carl Jarvis
Sent: Wednesday, August 09, 2017 6:20 PM
To: blind-democracy@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
Subject: [blind-democracy] Re: Knowing the truth doesn't necessarily make one
free!
Miriam,
I listened to all the same news. Very disheartening. Especially disturbing is
the muzzle put on the Media. As the mass media is consolidated and programs
and news move further to the Right, the next attack will be to finish off NPR
and all Public Broadcasting. Then take control of the Internet, regulating it
to reflect commercial radio and TV. Then it will be a simple matter to send
out the Military Police to haul in those who dare stand their ground.
We still have heavy smoke from the fires in British Columbia, and the
temperature is just now touching 88 degrees near Quilcene, with humidity that,
just guessing, must be about 80 percent. Cathy is ill, probably due to the
smoke, but also after dashing around helping her mother yesterday, while her
mother(the Saint) bitched about everything and everybody. I have concluded
that the worst thing about getting old is that we are still the one inside this
old, wasted body. I swear in all that is Sacred that I will live my last years
in a joyful state. Living with some dour old grump would be a fate worst than
Hell. In fact, that's what it would be.
We met with a client yesterday who was a spitting image of my mother-in-law.
Nothing is good. No one cares if she lives or dies.
She can't find any decent help. People steal from her and take advantage
of...this blew my mind...take advantage of her Good Nature.
I almost told her that they got it all. But seriously, what a grim way to wind
up. Especially since most of us have had some good times.
My dad was my shining example of a man facing his death. His mind was clear to
his last breath, and he and I sat for hours revisiting the good times we'd had
as a family. Sure, there had certainly been some bad times, too. But we
shared the sweet memories. And my dad died being loved and missed...and above
all, remembered. That is a message I can't get through to my mother-in-law.
Carl Jarvis
On 8/9/17, Miriam Vieni <miriamvieni@xxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:
Today, I've listened to the Intercepted podcast and to Democracy Now.
Among other things, I learned from Alan Niern that we are experiencing
a rightist revolution. He listed the many things that the current
administration and the radical Republicans have done since January,
many of which cannot be reversed. I heard, several times, Trumps
threat to North Korea of a US pre-emptive Nuclear war. I was reminded
that the Blackwater employees who murdered all those Iraqi citizens,
had their sentences reversed, and how Eric Prince is suggesting that
his new mercenaries take over the running of Afghanistan so that the
US can take control of all those minerals that have been discovered
there. I learned about an effective organization, backed by the Koch
Brothers, and other powerful business interests in the US, that has
been organizing right wing think tanks and political organizations
throughout Latin America in order to organize the population to
support fright wing causes. They succeeded in unseating the leftist
president of Brazil and installing her corrupt, right wing successor.
I listened while powerful Democratic politicians assured their donors,
donors like medical insurance companies, that we will never have a
single payer health system in the US. That reminds me, last night I
read that Joshua Holand, a supposedly left wing writer, has an article
in The Nation, saying the same thing, and explaining why single payer
is no good. Did you know that the State Department is pretty much
dismantled? Did you hear about the scientist at the EPA who was
switched from his position to one in which his responsibility is to
keep track of money received from gas and oil companies?
I'm absolutely exhausted and disheartened, as I knew I would be when I
listened to Alan Niern predict what would happen on Democracy Now on
the night of the election.
Miriam
