A lot of people -- from both sides of the aisle -- are livid with the President because he has thus far refused to condemn Nazis and far right hate groups. In his remarks to date, his response has been tepid, at best. The question is...why?
It seems like a no-brainer. It seems like the type of thing that almost ANY president could do without much effort. Sadly, the man currently occupying the White House isn't just any president!
You see, Donald J. Trump finds himself in a bit of a bind because he has backed himself into a corner.
I think it is grossly unfair to say that all individuals who voted for and/or support Mr. Trump are bigots and racists. However, most individuals who ARE bigots and racists back Mr. Trump to the hilt. And herein lies his dilemma.
With possible impeachment looming, Mr. Trump is counting on those bigots and racists to have his back -- to be his stormtroopers. Consequently, from his perspective, he can't bow to political pressure to call them out. If he did, they might turn on him and call him a sell-out. There's a good chance his poll numbers would tank into the teens!!
And so, he is stuck. I'm sure he understands he needs to make a stronger statement about the violence and deaths that occurred in Charlottesville, but he must do so in a manner that doesn't piss off the hate groups that form the backbone of his support.
Of course, he has no one to blame except himself. He put himself into this straitjacket. It will be interesting to see how he tries to wiggle out of it.
I am NOT an early morning person! Never have been. These days 8 am is when I tend to roll out of bed.
This morning, however, I was up at five stinking twenty in the morning. Why? Because our new cat, Lou, needed to be taken 35 miles away to Montesano on the first leg of his trip to be neutered in Tacoma.
I was expecting a loud but otherwise peaceful trip. Boy, was I in for a big surprise!!!
You see, the carrier we had borrowed proved to be no match for our little kitty. He escaped from it in less than 5 miles into our trip. I got him back into the carrier and damn if he didn't get out again in short order. So, there I am hurtling down the highway with a frantic cat doing everything possible to insure we would wreck.
It took all of my sage wisdom to develop a strategy that got us safely from Point A to Point B. And I have the scratches and puncture wounds to show for it!!
For years, I swore I would never open a Twitter account. For the most part, I think the Twitter world is insipid. Why waste one's time on an avenue one isn't interested in?
Then a funny thing happened. We decided that the radio station should be on Twitter and I kinda head up the production/internet side of the station, so I became the de facto Twitter person!!
In some ways, Twitter has made it easier to connect with certain individuals. On the other hand, I have enough trouble trying to communicate with people in-person and via email. Being limited to 140 characters almost guarantees that I am misunderstood regularly or that I don't express my points adequately.
As I near my 60th birthday, I am still amazed at the impoliteness of some people. A recent situation illustrates this frustration to the max.
I serve as the [unpaid volunteer] Production Manager for KOSW 91.3 FM in Ocean Shores, Washington. We're always working to develop new ways to interact with our listeners and the overall community. We held an event yesterday that accomplished these ends.
I hatched an idea to host a Chubby Bunny Challenge live on the radio. I got the idea from Cassidy Quinn's vlog that I used to subscribe to. She posted a video of her own Chubby Bunny Challenge versus her dad and it was funnier than hell!
Ms. Quinn is an Entertainment Reporter for KGW-TV (NBC affiliate) in Portland, Oregon. As it so happens, Portland is 3 hours or less from Ocean Shores. We got to thinking, "Why not invite Cassidy Quinn to take part in our event?" It would represent a win-win situation: She would be put in the spotlight and, maybe, garner new YouTube subscribers and our radio station would get a little press from it ourselves.
We realized at the outset that getting Cassidy was a long shot. KOSW is a small rural station and Ms. Quinn is a very busy young woman. But heck, it was worth a shot.
And so, we started a very public campaign on our station's Facebook page. We received a very enthusiastic response from our own deejays and the listening public at large. Untold numbers of people emailed or texted her. Invitations to come to Ocean Shores were left in the comments section of her YouTube vlog and on her Facebook page.
She did not respond to a single one of them!! Not one.
This amazes me because she constantly invites people to contact or interact with her. While many public figures hide their contact information, she provides a multitude of ways to get in touch with her. And though we utilized most, if not all, of these avenues, all we received for our efforts was silence!
Near the end of the week, my wife sent her one more private email. Della wrote that all we really wanted at this point was SOME acknowledgement. Even telling us to go F... O.. would let us know that she had noticed the invites.
But no response was forthcoming. Our opinions of her have changed due to this non-interaction.
It in no way dampened our Chubby Bunny Challenge. We already had a contingency plan. We blew up a picture of her face and affixed a stick to the back of it. One of our DJs role-played Cassidy Quinn to the delight of those attending. After watching hours upon hours of her videos and "borrowing" audio snippets from them, we conducted a live "interview" with Ms. Quinn that was absolutely hilarious.
We had great attendance and, because of the numbers, we ended holding one contest for adults and another for children. The adult winner somehow stuffed 12 marshmallow peeps in her mouth and the kid's winner managed 7. I got a stomachache simply calling the action!!
All in all, it was a great event and a great day.
Still, I'm very peeved with one Cassidy Quinn!! All she had to do was send one note stating something like, "Hey folks, I'm really flattered by all your positive attention, but I have plans for that weekend" and no one would have held it against her.
But she chose not to do that. No, she chose to do nothing. And that silence proved deafening.
I had to go back to the radio station -- KOSW -- this early morning because of an internet streaming problem. In trying to run down the problem, I came across the answer to a different streaming issue that has vexed us for months!
Mind you, the problem I am trying to solve now is elusive. It doesn't make a lick of sense. In fact, this problem contradicts the way we and/or I understood how this whole thing works.
But it goes to show that if one is open to possibilities, answers can be found.
I suppose I should wait for the next issue to arise, so my eyes will be open enough to solve the present one!
The bad person is the resource of the good person.
~ from Verse 27 of the Tao Te Ching (Derek Lin translation) ~
We have a friend here in Ocean Shores who just cannot get out of his own way. He is, as they say, his own worst enemy. Anytime success is within his grasp, he finds a way to turn it into a catastrophe! Needless to say, his life is in constant upheaval and turmoil.
The man is a role model. Not the kind one usually thinks of. He models the ways NOT to live one's life. And though I'm certain it is not his intent, he is a valuable teacher.
In many ways, he's a sweetheart of a guy. He has a slew of positive attributes, but his negative ones often negate them. He incessantly seeks the counsel of others, but rarely takes the advice proffered. He is a lovable (albeit pathetic) fellow.
He is my resource! I believe I am a better person because of his example. It's not that I feel morally superior to him. No, it is more that I see some of myself in him and this has motivated me to make some inner changes.
I didn't want to move to Ocean Shores -- my wife wasn't too thrilled with it either. But this was how the cards fell.
We have now lived in our 690 sq. ft. apartment for going on 3 1/2 years. We've made some friends. There are organizations we are involved with. We have sort of adopted our 15 year old neighbor as our pseudo-granddaughter.
I'm still not overly thrilled with living in this town that caters to tourists, but I've learned to accept it. This is where we've landed, so we are trying to make the best of it.
And that's a big life lesson. You don't always get what you want. It is not uncommon for circumstances to dictate the situation. While there are times and variables that are in one's control, much of our lives are dictated by external forces.
The old Taoist adage is certainly true. Learning to go with the flow -- acceptance -- is far easier (and less stressful) than constantly trying to swim upstream.
Why fight the current when the vast majority of the time all it means is that you wear yourself out and yet find yourself in more or less the same spot?
Gosh, it's been a long time since I've posted anything. In fact, I posted nary a thing throughout the entirety of 2016!!
One of the reasons for my lack of writing on this blog is that a lot of the political stuff I used to write about I now broadcast on the radio. I have a show on KOSW 91.3 FM -- The Left [Left] Coast -- that I do Monday - Friday from 10 - 11:20 pm Pacific Time.
I'm a bit bushed right now. With a sidekick, I broadcast tonight a doubleheader at North Beach High School (both the girls and boys teams lost) and then I had to high-tail it to the station to get ready for my show.
Anyhow, I am going to make an effort this year to post, at least, once per month. We will see if I keep to this schedule.
