Republican Congressmen Act Like Mobsters as They Try To Disrupt Michael Cohen's Testimony

Remember the gangster movies you've seen where  a  Mobster will own certain Congressmen whose job it is to disrupt a hearing into Mafia actions and murders.
That is what it looked like today as the Republicans made no attempt to get at the truth, but instead spent their five minutes attacking Michael Cohen for what he'd done in the past. Rep. Jordan was like an attack dog looking for red meat instead of the truth. He literally repulsed me as he flailed around looking to score points. It was a depressing sight to see that there aren't any Republicans that want to find out what's really true about the scumbag playing The President these days. The New York Times recently ran a story about what happened to the young men and women who had voted for Romney (an ethical man) and then voted in 2016. They either voted for Democrats or stayed home. There is no young generation for the Republicans. More and More they are looking like a party heading for a cliff.. There are only so many angry old white people in this country, people who can't stand that their  segregated world has disappeared.

Prostitutes in Robert Kraft Prostitution Arrest Came From Poorest Part of China

The women who were working as prostitutes in Florida where Kraft was caught are mostly from the area Chinese call Dong Bei. It's been called Manchuria and  Manchukuo when the Japanese held it. The Ming Dynasty (the last dynasty) came from here. At one point they practiced the same kind of Buddhism practiced in Tibet.
The women working there were sending home money to their husbands and children to help keep them alive. The weather there is like the weather in Northern New York (Syracuse and above) a place where companies leave for a better climate. They have been losing universities also.
So the rich men slept with the poorest women in China. Now that's income inequality.

Greatest Voices I've Heard

The three greatest voices I've ever heard are: Sam Cooke, Johnny Maestro and Edith Gruberova.
Let's look  first at Sam Cooke. His voice was magnificent. He and Mavis Staples were the best singers in gospel. Cooke left gospel (where they say once you leave, you can never go back). He recorded "You Send Me" and he was on the pop charts. He was a wonderful singer who died early after being shot by a motel owner. (It wasn't a hate crime, she was also Black.)
Next we have Johnny Maestro, who never seemed to stay with any group, but it's his voice on "Happy Birthday Baby" Who knows what happened to that man with the great voice. He seemed to disappear.
Next we have the great coloratura soprano, Edith Gruberova, whose voice on the "Queen of the Night Aria" from the Magic Flute by Mozart will make you believe in angels. She now sings bel canto roles but in her youth she was the best singer of that aria. (Whether the Magic Flute can be called an opera is questioned by operatic scholars, but if's only ever performed by opera singers).

I'm a Protestant, but Pope Francis Was My Hero

Perhaps I don't have the right to speak about this, but I will try anyway. When I first read about Pope Francis, I was so impressed, he became my hero. As a Christian, I always like to read about those who go into the ghetto to help others less fortunate. I still respect him, but I realize his papacy is on the line now. What I have to say doesn't mean I've lost respect but that if anyone is going to deal with these atrocities it's going to have to be him. If he can't do it, then I blame the entrenched powers in the church that are  against fixing this. I have often wondered how a church survives the never ending headlines on priestly and Cardinal abuses of children. Since Jesus is my strength and my redeemer, I don't care how believers get to know him. But today, I would not put my daughter in the hands of a priest. I'm going to pray for Pope Francis to fix this.

Robert Kraft, owner of the New England Patriots gets Tired of Watching Brady Beat All the Odds

Today Robert Kraft, the owner of the New England Patriots, was charged with soliciting prostitutes in Florida. And they have tapes. You wondered how long it would take an elderly guy like Tom Brady to get under Kraft's skin. Every time he sits in his special seats he looks out and has to watch an aging Brady function as his Quarterback. Since he's only six years older than his buddy, Trump, it must be embarrassing that a Playboy Playmate is in love with Trump. but not with him. So he proved he had the balls and battled forward with a hooker. Now no one will laugh any more at him.

Europeans Express Their Disgust at Trump Regime

Vice President Pence and other members of Trump's administration and family are getting the cold shoulder in Europe. America' which once created the Marshall Plan, with money that helped European countries rebuild after the Second World War, is no longer thought about as the American Way.
The American Way is now represented by our dunce of a president, a man considered odious and stupid by many Europeans. Ever since our involvement in seemingly unending wars in the Middle East we've been less admired, but Trump has taken Europe's view of America to a new low. I wouldn't wear a Make America Great Again hat if you're visiting the Continent. You just might get spit on.

The Mueller Brace that Keeps My Head Straight

As you've probably read I'm disabled, but there are things that help me get through the day. Because my wrists are shot, I use braces to exercise my arms. One of my braces says "Mueller" on it. When my anger at Trump runs high, I look at this brace and think we'll get our country back. Of such small things is hope composed of.

































as you've

The College Board Gets It Right

In Thomas L. Friedman's column in The New York Times he talks about important changes to the College Board Exams. This can replace all the Advanced Placement Classes students cram for and then forget. I am speaking as a professor emeritus from a Cal State.
1. The knowledge test on our constitution. Most of my students didn't know how many senators California had. much less the concept of presidential succession when a president dies, much less what's in the Bill of Rights. And yet these people are allowed to vote. If you're going to be tested on this, that will make up for what they didn't learn in  the Los Angeles School System( I had students who couldn't read)

2. The second test will involve computer science and coding. If they aren't forced to learn about computers before they go to college they may never learn and they'll be unemployable (In the CSU I taught at the math requirement could be filled by taking an advertising class).

Since all students in China have to know calculus to get into a university. this is not too much to ask.

The True Degradation of the Trail of Tears

One of worst thing about reading American History is finding out the country you love was capable of extreme cruelty to those Americans who were not white. Mary Glickman has written an incredibly moving account of Trail of Tears, called an Undisturbed Peace. Andrew Jackson was an evil President and it’s no surprise that another evil President, Donald Trump, made a joke about it the other day . The Cherokee dressed like white Americans and had a city called Echota where the homes looked like those in Boston or Philadelphia. Despite this their land was taken and they were driven across the Mississippi,with many of them dying along the way.Other tribes had children and adults set in burning piles as they succumb ed to Cholera. This barbarity continues today as I saw the Onondaga, a tribe of the Iroquois demeaned outside the reservation by being called “chief.” Just as the racists call blacks “Dr.” this designation demeans the American c  called by this slur.

El Paso is a safe All American City

The people in El Paso love their city which is one of the safest in th United States. I once was visiting El Paso to visit a family there. The father insisted I be given a tour. The pride in his voice for the city, as we saw almost every thing there was to see, ended when we looked at the beacon on the mountains behind the city. I have seen the statistics on the town I love, Syracuse, New York, and El Paso is a much safer place to live. Don’t believe Trump when he shits on towns near the border. I would be proud to live there.

Google Never Cared Much About Google Plus

This story may be apocryphal  but I believe I read it. Zuckerberg heard about Google Plus and hurried over to Google headquarters. He expected to see all the lights on. When the facility appeared to be empty of high levels of activity,he stopped worrying. A significant start up doesn’t look like that. Google is closing the doors by April on plus. No surprise; they never really cared about it ,anyway.

You Voted For Trump: Now Pay Higher Taxes

If you’ve incorporated yourself as a business or live in a state without a State Tax, you can pass this blog and go back to your video game. However if you live in a place like Oswego, N.Y. You might want to keep reading. Your county voted for Trump in 2016 and now your income taxes are higher than last year. Trump and the Republicans lowered taxes on the very rich, but raised them for you. You can’t write off your state income tax or property taxes against your federal tax, so you’re screwed. This county was where I lived on a farm, and loved going to the Pulaski and Sandy Creek Methodist Churches. I was a counselor at Camp Zerbe, the Boys Club camp, and loved the Salmon River ,going to its source. It was a great place to live. Now, for ordinary people, it’s a little more expensive place to live.

Songs to Assist Meditation

These pieces were picked out by sound engineers:
Enya Watermark
Enya Orinoco Flow
DJShah mellomaniac (Chillout mix)
All Saints Pure Shores
Rue de Soleil  We Can Fly
Marconi Union Weightless
Coldplay Strawberry Swing
Rebecca Newman. Canzonetta Sull’Aria 

The ABC Murders on Prime:They Have Murdered Hercule Poirot

I suppose there are people who think that turning Agatha Christie on her head and showing how ghastly the world really is adds something to literature (or in this case, the silver screen) . I am not amongst them. I still can’t believe I sat through the whole ghastly production. If you are the kind of person who think there should be Nazi Stormtroopers in “My Fair Lady” than this is something you might like. If you can believe Poirot was a priest in the Great War than this could be your cup of Earl Grey. There are detectives who who lead us into the London world of Jack the Ripper, but Agatha Christie took us into country houses where many people were Lords and Ladies. After I finished my dissertation, I read as much Agatha Christie as I could. I wanted to escape into this idealized England as far as I could (you know from my latest blog that would be too hard for me to do today.) Agatha Christie doesn’t represent enlightenment, she represents pleasant escape.

Brexit and Chinese Opium

Every time I start to feel sorry for the position Great Britain faces with Brexit, I go back to my reading of Chinese History and the Chinese Opium Wars. In Great Britain opium was illegal, with the prospect of death for possession. Despite this the British Navy forced opium on China and engaged in  two wars to force it on the Chinese Government, therefore increasing the number of opium addicts. Any attempts by China to limit access to opium was illegal and could be countered by the British with the use of force. If you look at how the British treated the Irish or the Indians when they enslaved them, you have to think it’s time the British were paid back for their arrogance and brutality. The upper classes never acknowledged citizens of these countries as their equals. Maybe it’s time for the sunset on the British Upper Class which were incompetent in the First World War and allowed so many men to be slaughtered in the trenches. Maybe the Union Jack should be lowered and embalmed.