Kinzinger: Civil War Reality Check

It certainly wouldn't be anything like a Saturday-night rumble in the bowling alley parking lot.  I wish Kinzinger had prepared a more articulate statement instead of speaking off the cuff, but I agree with all he says here:

A few things Kinzinger forgot to mention. In addition to the loss of electricity and running water, there would be no working toilets.  Just sit with that thought a minute.

No air conditioning, either, which would be devastating across the South.  Up north, the lack of heating in wintertime would be just as bad.  Apart from military casualties, many millions of people - of all parties and persuasions - would be suffering and starving across the nation.

Also, there would be no front line, as in the wars we read about in history books. There would be numerous fronts and areas of conflict; and no safe place "behind the lines" anywhere. 

But just exactly what army would be fighting what army? Think about that a moment. The rightwing boys show up with all their cool army gear and guns . . . and who shows up on the other side?   

A moment's reflection shows that this whole idea of civil war is just a gung-ho fantasy - which, left unchecked, could become, God forbid, an excuse for wholesale manslaughter.  

It is certainly a symptom of unreasoning hatred, not human decency, and certainly not Christianity:  Remember the One who said, "Put your sword away.  He who lives by the sword will die by the sword."

Much more likely, though hardly less horrible, would be for the federal authorities to find some flimsy excuse to declare a National Emergency and suspend the Constitution, the courts, and all state and local governments not directly subordinate to military rule from Washington. The few pockets of resistance that might spring up here or there would quickly be put down by military patrols, which are already occurring in some cities.  

So no need for a war, which would disppoint the rank and file, but too bad. Life would go on and profits continue to fill the coffers of the ultra-wealthy. Which was only to be expected. 

Let us hope that these dire situations never arise, and that all this stupid talk is just stupid talk. I have to believe that cooler heads and good sense will in time show us the way out of this dark tunnel. Please God. 

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Chateau Poseidon: Episodes 10 & 11

Tom and Damien carry on with renovation work, decor planning, and friendly visits.

Episode 10: Chopping down overgrown ivy; a visit by a couple of Brits who are renovating another chateau; and a secret transatlantic flight.

Episode 11:  Fun with spray paint; a difference of opinion; late riser vs. early riser; a quick lunch in the town market; and Damien's design plans for all the first-floor (American: second-floor) bedrooms.

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Sunday Drive: Ave Maria

Il Volo performs the Schubert hymn at a Christmas concert in the Senate of Italy, 2014.

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Bernie Sanders Condemns Murder of Charlie Kirk

I agree with everything Bernie says:

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Charlie Kirk Shot Dead at Utah College

California governor and prominent Democrat Gavin Newsom has posted this tweet on the murder of rightwing activist Chrarlie Kirk at a college in Utah today, and I agree with every word:

Kirk was no angel.  He was an archetypal bully - smug and self-righteous, with a cruel mouth.  But I'm sorry he was murdered.  Not only for the reasons Newsom stated - which are essential to civilized society and individual human decency - but also because of what the repercussions will be.

Yet the brainless vicious bitches over on the comments section of Joe.My.God.'s blog are whooping it up in celebration.  YOU STUPID JERKS.  Your attitude is as disgusting as anything that ever came out of Kirk's mouth.  You are not on some higher moral plane.  You are down there in the gutter with all the other self-righteous ratbastards of the world.  Cold-blooded murder is never a cause for celebration.

But I'll stop right there - the morality of all this, regardless of which side you are on, is obvious to any decent adult.  A society where it's okay to just shoot anybody you disagree with is not a society I wish to live in.  

I despised Kirk's hateful words and attitudes towards gays and all others who weren't just like him - I thought him an arrogant SOB just like the ones who beat, bullied, and humiliated me in high school, and were unkind in more subtle ways later on.  But my thoughts tonight are with Kirk's widow and two small children; no one should have to go through a tragedy like this, regardless of politics or religion.

From the Sermon on the Mount:

Click to enlarge.

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Taco Tuesday Tablescape

Jeffrey Kevin has some fabulous Mexicana fun with this one.  M.P., having grown up in El Paso, will surely get some new ideas for the next Tex-Mex dinner he cooks, which is fairly often.  We already have a good bit of Mexican decor, including a set of dinner plates, bowls, and saucers with concentric rings of southwesty colors:  red, orange, yellow, lime green, sky blue.  And we have those very same napkins!  With a full-length table runner to match!  

But we totally need those red placemats with the rainbow-colored tassels.  You go, J.K.!

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Sunday Drive: Top 5 Songs of 1965

"Billboard Top 5 songs from 1965 | Gen Z Music Producer Reaction" -- the title says it all.  But I give Isaac Brown credit for being intelligent, articulate, and not at all snotty as some others of his generation would be.  He's respectful, not sarcastic; a nice guy.  You can see as he listens to each song, and occasionally comments, that he approches them across the gulf of sixty summers with a very analytical mind, like an archaeologist.

But wait to watch his head explode when he gets to "Wooly Bully"!

1965 was a very good year for pop music - this is my kind of music, from that sweet slice of time after Meet the Beatles but before Sgt. Pepper.  No, I wasn't part of the counter-culture. Too square; still am.

For more fun with Isaac, go watch him listen to Rumours for the very first time!  (How the hell do you get to be a music producer without ever having heard Fleetwood Mac?  Sheesh!  Kids these days . . . )

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Cavalcade of Food: Stove Swap

Kevin and Ralph along with their friend Todd replace a range in the kitchen corner of the Cavalcade private museum.  Kevin likes to do this every so often; his place is full of dozens of old stoves and other appliances.  Check out the wonderful sliders they use this time to eliminate the strain of lifting the ranges with a dolly - wow, how easy that is.

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Waitin' for the Weekend

"Love Is Love" by Clint  Collide:

There's a sprinkling of famous faces in this one. As always, you can just pause the video and right-arrow through the pics to save time. 

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The Story of Harry S. Truman

Official portrait of President Truman
by Greta Kempton, 1947.
Click to enlarge.

I am so disgusted with all that is going on in our country and in the rest of the world now that I can't stomach the news anymore.  A couple of times a week, I run my eye over the headlines on the news feed, ditto the headlines on Joe.My.God., but I don't want the details.  I see the abyss opening wide ahead of us, and I can't bear to think of what may come.  Of course, I have no crystal ball, and things may yet get better instead of worse; but having a long view of human history, and knowing how mighty states have often fallen from greatness into ruin -- well, it's best not to fill my mind with dread of things I cannot prevent or control.

The Farm Journal, May 1916

I find comfort in my faith, and in revisiting the brighter spots in history.  Harry Truman was one of them, and I offer this video summary of his life in the Oval Office as a reminder of what a president can and should be.  His small-town upbringing was the source of his virtues as well as his shortcomings; but by God, he had the right stuff, never waivering in his faith in American democracy and his respect for the inherent worth of the common people.  That was a true man, a strong man, and a good man.  One of the greats.

If you find this video refreshing, I heartily recommend the definitive biography, entitled Truman, by the late historian David McCullough.  There is an audiobook version on YouTube (slow the speed down to about 75%) that makes for fascinating listening - though you can start in the middle, if you like, with Truman's sudden elevation to the presidency on the death of FDR in April, 1945, a few weeks before Germany surrendered.  The job just got rougher and tougher from there on out, but Truman plowed right on, true to his lights, keeping the country and the world on course for peace and prosperity, doing an astoundingly fine job that would have broken many a lesser man.  That's why ever since he left office in January 1953, he has consistently been ranked in the top ten of American presidents.

The video opens with Truman thanking his hometown neighbors for the rapturous welcome they gave him when he returned to Independence, Missouri, after leaving the White House for the last time.  Enjoy.

 

On a personal note, it's odd to realize I am older now than FDR was when he died, and older than Truman was when he left office.  Where does the time go?

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Todd and Rob Strip Down and Cut Up

 The mountain boys put windows in the potting shed.

M.P. says it would be easier to just remove the siding and put translucent fiberglass panels all around the outside. When I said, why don't we do that with our own storage shed, he just growled and looked away.

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