An Embarrassment of Riches

I'm sure that the following sentiment is highly subversive but I'm really experiencing difficulty mustering any enthusiasm for the 9 million dollar, winner take all golf match between Tiger Woods and Phil Michelson to be held on Friday in Las Vegas. The prospect of two gazillionaires playing golf for additional millions, being sponsored by the bazillionaire Capital One Bank, and underwritten by the mega-bazillionaire AT&T while over 5 million working families in the U.S. continue to languish in poverty this Thanksgiving somehow fails to inspire interest in watching this spectacle at the citadel of materialism.

Jim Acosta and Press Freedom

It was beyond ironic to hear Trump lecture reporters earlier today on the subject of 'decorum' when commenting further on the removal of Jim Acosta's White House press pass and on a judge's order to reinstate same.
Confrontational journalism involves walking a fine line between showing respect for the subject at hand and one's responsibility to ask the tough questions of those in public positions of power. Indeed, respectful confrontation with those in power is an essential aspect of serious and responsible journalism. We need more; not less of it to uncover the truth behind the omnipresent obfuscation we are all experiencing in these confused and troubled times. I think that Acosta has kept himself on the correct side of an acceptable line and that his unpopularity with the Current Occupant does not therefore render him wrong, inappropriate, or otherwise worthy of sanction or any other form of public rebuke from the one person who has consistently disrespected just about everyone within his poisonous orbit.
The freedom of the fourth estate to provide a check on the powerful and an unfettered delivery of information to the people who employ them is an indispensable aspect
of a full functioning democracy. Long live independent journalism!

Election Day

For the past two years, I have been writing about the emerging majority of citizens who are proving an alternative voice to the established leadership of both mainstream political parties. Today a coalition of young first time voters, women, African-American, Hispanic-American, college educated white Americans, and other previously under represented groups will perform the sacred duty of democratic citizenship by voting in record numbers. The authenticity of progressive candidates such Beto O'Rourke in Texas, Stacy Abrams in Georgia, Andrew Gillum in Florida, and scores of other down-ticket hopefuls throughout the country has resonated across ideological lines and engendered a level of enthusiasm for real change in our political life while offering an emphatic repudiation of the current administration. As Leonard Cohen poetically predicted in song: 'democracy is coming to the USA'.

My America

Please join me as we visit a not atypical day spent in San Francisco....

Yesterday, while attempting to hoist into the back of the Subaru a 150lbs. box containing an appliance set for return to the dealer, two strangers (City workers from a job site across the street) came over offering assistance and promptly lifted the 'bad boy' safely into the vehicle and then said that they were happy to help me upstairs with the new box after I made the exchange...one guy was Hispanic; the other was African-American. I gave thanks with handshakes and a farewell wave.

While at the dealership, I was guided through the appliance exchange process by a delightful Asian-American woman (Alex) who took special care while assuming personal responsibility to ensure that the exchange was conducted seamlessly to my satisfaction. We said goodbye with a hug of appreciation.

Back in the neighborhood, I was greeted at my favorite coffeehouse by three of my favorite counter staff: Crystal who is Asian-American; Claudia, from Barcelona; and Nissian who is from Mongolia. Laughter and good natured banter accompanied the delivery of my latte and croissant as we shared our day's experience.

The next stop was the local Safeway where I was soon engaged in a lively discussion about the latest Warrior victory with the produce guy Dave (African-American) and store manager Randy (Asian-American) as we stood in a circle completely absorbed in conversation and oblivious to the world around us.

This is the America I know...where the concept of 'the other' does not exist; where we gather in friendship, with mutual interest, in assistance to each other, with laughter and goodwill, with an open and fearless heart, and finally with an unspoken awareness that we are united in this very precious moment by our common, shared, and glorious humanity.

The Need To Finally Renounce Saudi Arabia

Secretary of State Mike Pompeo's recent call for a cease fire in Yemen is as late arriving as it is likely disingenuous. The world has been asking for accountability for our support of the criminal assault on the Yemeni civilian population conducted by Saudi Arabia for nearly four years. Providing munitions, tactical support, and clandestine special operations on behalf of the Saudi war effort has rendered us complicit in the ongoing war crime of deliberately targeting civilians while also aiding in the blockade of the Port of Hodeidah, which has halted the flow of humanitarian assistance to the Yemeni people and materially contributed to widespread disease and famine throughout the country.

Together with the revelations related to the likely Saudi murder of journalist Jamal Khashoggi and the continuing bombardment of one of the poorest countries on the face of the globe, we finally have been brought to the precipice of some sort of reckoning with regard to our role in allying with perhaps the most brutal and undemocratic regime in the world. I think George W Bush said it best: 'when one gives aid and comfort to those engaged in terrorism, he then becomes a terrorist'. In a rare statement by a mainstream journalist, MSNBC's Chris Hayes suggested yesterday that it is now long overdue for the United States to actively disengage from our association with Saudi Arabia and its war in Yemen. In so doing, perhaps we might begin to rebuild our international standing in a world that increasingly no longer looks to us for moral leadership.