October 2024 - Page 3 of 7 - Ramblin' with Roger

Stop Project 2025 comic!

It includes enabling the president to have much more power than the constitution allows.

Here’s your problem: trying to tell all your friends about Stop Project 2025 and why they should care. It’s difficult because the plan is dense, vaguely incomprehensible, and perhaps a little bit boring. I point to this great page, which is quite thorough.

It includes a 38-minute video, a quiz, and lots of words—important words, to be sure, but still. It does direct you to that four-and-a-half-minute song I’ve linked to before.

Several people created the Stop Project 2025 Comic, which you should share. Why did they make this?

“We’ve made comics to explain some of that agenda, and move you to vote against it.

“We did this because you shouldn’t have to read this monstrosity. After all, it’s more than fifty times as long as the Declaration of Independence and the U.S. Constitution…combined.

“Our two founding documents are short because it doesn’t take a lot of words to say, ‘You matter, and you have a voice.’

“Project 2025 is longer because it’s a detailed plan to shut you up and shut you out.

“Don’t let it do either.

“Read on, then vote.”

Project 2025 is a detailed plan to shut you up and shut you out.

You matter, and you have a voice.

Related – Election Subversion 2024: Last Week Tonight with John Oliver

Is immigration something you do or something you are?

When Trump Rants, This Is What I Hear from Carlos Lozado, a NY Times writer who came to the United States at age three, is touching. The article is probably behind a firewall, but here are a few paragraphs.

djt’s “eating the dogs” rant prompted Lozado “to look back on his xenophobic cacophony, building so relentlessly over the past decade, in attacks that have narrowed the distance for me between immigration as a memory and being an immigrant as a present identity…

“When Trump told four Democratic women in Congress to ‘go back’ to their countries, he unknowingly trivialized how often I’ve gone back in my mind, wondering what that other life, that other person, might have been like.

“When he mocked immigrants for not speaking English, he ignored the interplay between native tongues and new ones and how demanding purity in language — and in people — is utterly self-defeating.

“How can immigrants ‘poison the blood’ of the nation when we have always been its lifeblood? With his accusations, Trump is administering his own brand of venom, one whose cumulative effect is to disfigure a nation, not exalt it.”

Sunday Stealing: best birthday party

It’s Love

birthday month music

Sunday Stealing Questions 200.07 includes my best birthday party. Or parties

What’s the best birthday party you’ve ever had?

I’ve had a lot of fine birthday parties. The first one I can think of is when I was 16, and my parents rented out something called the American Civic Association on Front St. in Binghamton, NY. It was the place where my father had volunteered. Our house is very small, so I never had any real parties at my house – one with two people attending when I was eight – so getting that place was great. I remember my father found a couple of my friends making out in one of the closets, and he casually invited them to leave the closet. In 2009, one of those mass casualty events occurred at the ACA, which devastated me.

I remember my 33 and a third part. My birthday is in March, so you can’t have an outdoor gathering in upstate New York. We had it in July. Somewhere in this house, I even have a copy of the invitation.

My 50th birthday was at my current church, and my sister from San Diego was there. There was singing involved.

Ya gotta have…

Since I got to be 60, I decided I would have a hearts card game at my house for my birthday week, and we’ve done that most years. In 2015, my friend Karen, who I’ve known since we were in kindergarten, attended. She said she knew how to play hearts – she did not – but she regaled the group with her stories about the music business, including finding marmite for Paul McCartney in New York City and singing Will the Circle Be Unbroken in an elevator with Johnny and June Carter Cash.

When I was working, I would take off my birthday. If it were a Saturday, I would take off the Friday before; if it were a Sunday, I would take off the Monday after. I think some people thought this was a weird indulgence until I read a book by Henri Nouwen, the late Canadian theologian I quoted several times in this blog.

Where is your favorite place you’ve ever visited?

The Barbados honeymoon was paid for by Jeopardy.

How do you like to spend your free time?

This is an odd question because I still struggle to find the answer. I don’t even know what free time entails. Take this weekend, for instance. I was telling somebody I could be doing A&B&C&D, going to a gala, a play, a concert, a movie, and church; it’s all vast.

Formerly Young

What’s one of your favorite bands?

I picked the Rascals, formerly known as the Young Rascals. I’ve listened to them quite a bit recently; Felix Cavaliere’s birthday is coming up. When The Beatles broke up in April 1970, they were probably my favorite active band.

My favorite Rascal song is It’s Love, with that great Hubert Law on the flute. I had it on vinyl and then got a new record player. It’s Love is the last track on the second side of the Groovin’ album (1967). Just as it gets to about 15 seconds before the song ends, the new stereo record player rejects it because the runoff on the LP is too short. The machine thinks the record must be over. So I bought the CD pretty much for the last quarter of a minute of the song.

What is the cutest animal you’ve ever seen in person?

Cute doesn’t come to mind. The most striking thing I ever saw was a peacock at the now-defunct Catskill Game Farm, only about an hour South of where I am now.

How would you describe your style?

I have no idea. Laissez-faire.

If your wardrobe could only be one color, what would it be?

Well, obviously green. There are lots of different shades of green that I’ve probably written about.

Philharmonic Hall

What was the first concert you ever went to?

Seals and Crofts in New York City, on November 12th, 1971, with my then-girlfriend, who eventually became my first wife. Boz Scaggs was the underappreciated open act.

What is the best book you’ve ever read?

It’s an impossible question, so I’ll just say the World Almanac because, for a half-century, I would get it every year, and it was my go-to source of enjoyment and information. Or one of these.

What’s your favorite movie of all time?

I just did a blog post about movies, but I don’t know if I could ever narrow it down to a single film.

What’s the stupidest movie or TV show you’ve ever seen?

In general, it would be a reality show. When my daughter was a teenager, she would watch Temptation Island, though she knew it was trash. I couldn’t stand it.

If you could only have one food for the rest of your life, what would you choose?

Well, pie is the perfect food. You can have apple pie, pizza pie, or chicken pot pie, which are all wonderful.

Annoyed

What are your biggest pet peeves?

I have so many, but let’s go with people who can never apologize. They can never be wrong. When they are wrong, they may say, “Sorry if you were offended,” rather than take ownership.

Are you more into brains or looks?

I believe that intelligent women are inherently more attractive.

Do you celebrate any holidays? What’s your favorite?

My favorite holiday is probably Thanksgiving because it involves food other than Halloween candy, Valentine’s Day candy, or chocolate in the Christmas stocking.

The #1 hits of 1994

Motown

The #1 hits of 1994 are what a bad typist likes: a concise list! I will acknowledge that I own the Boyz II Men and All-4-One albums from which these hits derived.

All the songs went platinum except Stay, which “only” went gold.

I’ll Make Love To You -Boyz II Men (Motown), 14 weeks at #1 pop, three weeks at #1 AC, nine weeks at #1 RB. Now that’s crossover power.

I Swear – All-4-One (Blitzz/Atlantic), 11 weeks at #1 pop, #3 AC, #13 RB. This song was a #1 CW and #42 pop hit for John Michael Montgomery in the same year.

The Sign – Ace Of Bass (Arista), six weeks at #1 pop, #2 AC

On Bended Knee – Boyz II Men (Motown), six weeks at #1 pop, #8 AC, #2 for two weeks RB

The Power Of Love – Celine Dion (550 Music/Epic), four weeks at #1 pop and AC

Bump N’ Grind – R. Kelly (Jive), four weeks at #1 pop, 12 weeks at #1 RB

Stay (I Missed You) – Lisa Loeb & Nine Stories (RCA), three weeks at #1 pop, #5 AC. From the movie Reality Bites, starring Winona Ryder and Ben Stiller. I never saw the movie, yet I have the soundtrack on CD. Ethan Hawke, also in the movie, directed the Loeb video.

All For Love -Bryan Adams/Rod Stewart/Sting (A&M), three weeks at #1 pop, eight weeks at #1 AC. From the movie Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves starring Kevin Costner, which I saw on TV in 2023.

Here Comes The Hotstepper – Ini Kamoze (Columbia), two weeks at #1 pop, #2 for four weeks RB. The song samples Hot Pants-I’m Coming by Bobby Byrd and Heartbeat by Taana Gardner. It incorporates Land of 1000 Dances. The song was later incorporated into the movie Ready To Wear (Pret-A-Porter), starring Julia Roberts. Ini Kamoze means “mountain of the true God.” I don’t think I ever heard this song before.

What would Joyce Bascom do?

feed the hungry

My wife and I attended the funeral of Joyce Bascom on Saturday, October 12. She had died two months earlier. Her life epitomized the Christian life in the best way possible. One might ask, “What would Joyce do?” in a given situation.

When we first attended our church, she was among the first people to welcome us, not just to say hi but to show genuine interest in who we were, where we came from, and how we started attending there. She was a very engaging person.

She was married to Paul, who she had known since grade school, for over 60 years until he died in 2015.

As noted in her obituary, she was actively involved in numerous causes, “including volunteering with the Red Cross, Traveler’s Aid, and Planned Parenthood. She worked tirelessly for the rights of all people, with a special focus on equality for the LGBTQ+ community.” Specifically, she was “chair of the More Light Committee, working to build inclusion in the Presbyterian church.”

What I learned at her funeral was that after her grandson Christopher was killed in an accident involving a drunk driver, she would meticulously clip articles about similar incidents and send them to an association dealing with driving while intoxicated. The organization created storyboards they could share with the media, creating a narrative that helped turn the tide.

In 2008, “Joyce was awarded the James and Pearl Campbell Peace and Justice Award by The Capital Area Council of Churches.”

Joyce “has always been a horse-girl since her father got her that first pony as a child… At the age of 84, many years after her last horse had passed away, Joyce got ‘back on the horse’ – taking riding lessons once a week.”

Action

After her funeral on Saturday, my wife and I were walking back to our car. A woman was walking up in the middle of State Street, holding the top of her head and limping. I could see even from a distance that the top of her head looked red.

She was walking by us and then decided to walk over to us. Apologetically, she shared how she had been mugged and hit on the head, with her wallet, her money, and her identification gone. She had been to hospitals, and spoke about the extraordinary wait for care at Albany Med (notoriously true, unfortunately).

Social services told her she couldn’t receive help in Albany because she was receiving aid in her hometown in western Massachusetts. So she reluctantly asked for some money, and we gave her a twenty, which was all we had before we went to the bank.

We offered her a ride, but she demurred. My wife remembered that she had had some sandwiches in the refrigerator at church from a meeting five days earlier. They were probably a little bit underwhelming in taste, but they were still okay to eat. So my wife put them in a plastic bag we had in the car, offered them to this woman with the caveat as mentioned earlier, and she happily took them.

Afterward, I realized this was what Joyce Bascom would do, if not more. That’s why I enjoyed knowing her.

Fear an orange win

xenophobia

I fear an Orange win. While it’s been brewing in my mind for a few weeks, it is epitomized in observations made by commenters on ABC This Week on October 13.

RACHAEL BADE, ABC NEWS CONTRIBUTING POLITICAL CORRESPONDENT: ‘We’ve been talking about women this entire election, how they’re running away from Trump. Childless cat lady comments, abortion, just Trump’s temperament in general. But… in the final weeks of this election, we are really starting to see that Donald Trump has been very successful with turning out men or at least getting them excited to vote for him.

“And not just conservative men, but men who consider themselves to be…pro-abortion rights, socially liberal men, black men, Latino men. And, you know, I was interviewing one of the more famous focus group analysts, Sarah Longwell, at “The Bulwark,” and she was talking about why, and it sounds like a lot of these men, they don’t view Donald Trump as extreme.

“You might disagree with that. They like him. They think he’s somebody that they would want to hang out with, and he has just been sort of successful and leaning into the strongman mentality that right now, with, you know, all the chaos in the Middle East, with the issues with the hurricanes, she’s hearing more and more in focus groups not just from men but also some women who are reaching for that sort of strongman mentality and starting to second-guess Harris.”

Not extreme?

SUSAN GLASSER, THE NEW YORKER STAFF WRITER: “I think this conversation we’re having, it’s really a question of who, in the end is the election about, and if people’s gaze is focused on Donald Trump, his escalatory rhetoric, I mean, some of the things we’ve seen this week are the most nakedly racist and xenophobic things I’ve ever seen from a national candidate, and that includes Donald Trump in his previous two outings.”

The notion that djt is not an extreme candidate suggests that Americans are more ahistorical people than I had already feared.

Gen. Mark Milley, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, is quoted in Bob Woodward’s new book, War. The general approaches the writer “in a state of panic about the prospect of a Trump revival. ‘No one has ever been as dangerous to this country,’ the general exclaimed. ‘I glimpsed it when I talked to you … for Peril [Woodward’s previous book], but I now know it, I now know it. … We have got to stop him! You have got to stop him! … He’s a total fascist. He is the most dangerous person to this country! … A fascist to the core!’”

Intuition

REP. MIKE JOHNSON, (R) SPEAKER OF THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES: We all know intuitively that a lot of illegals are voting in federal elections.

“Intuitively.” The Speaker was on CBS’ Face The Nation. He must “intuitively” know the 2020 election was “rigged” because he played a leading role in Trump’s legal effort to overturn it. He “has made statements in recent weeks suggesting that the certification of the election results is conditional.”

How Harris Can Finish Strong

Meanwhile, New York Times columnist David Brooks notes that “Undecided voters in a Times Opinion focus group were recently asked to describe Kamala Harris’ efforts. They responded with phrases like: ‘honeymoon’s over,’ the paint is wearing off,’ ‘uninspired,’ ‘absent,’ and ‘scared to talk directly to the American people.’ Researchers who have been surveying voter sentiment as the campaign progresses found that there’s been a decline in how voters think about Harris, while sentiment toward Donald Trump has rebounded slightly since the September debate…

“The playwright David Mamet once wrote a memo to a group of fellow writers in which he reminded them that audiences ‘will not tune in to watch information.’ They will ‘only tune in and stay tuned to watch drama.’ What is drama? Mamet says it ‘is the quest of the hero to overcome those things which prevent him from achieving a specific, acute goal.’ The screenwriter Aaron Sorkin builds on that definition. He says that strong drama is built around intention and obstacle. The hero has to be seized by a strong, specific desire, and she needs to face a really big obstacle.”

Passion

“That suggests that Harris needs to show the American people her strongest, most acute, and controlling desire, the ruling passion of her soul. I know what Trump wants. He wants to dismantle the elites who he thinks have betrayed regular Americans. It’s unclear what Harris wants most deeply, other than the vague chance to do good and to be president…Candidates who are not driven by a single, specific, compelling desire become reactive. “

This aligns with what people, even those who are going to vote for her, have been saying to me about how they don’t know what she really thinks, believes, or values.

Yet she’s always working at a disadvantage. Harris’ responses to her battery of recent interviews are being scrutinized, while djt ducked the 60 Minutes interview altogether. He hasn’t released his health records, as she has. Moreover, his supporters stand with him by ‘sussing out rhetoric from reality.’ In other words, many of his loyal fans don’t believe he’ll do what he says he’ll do.

“What’s extraordinary… is the dire and graphic nature of his language.”

More to the point, as an opinion piece in the Boston Globe says: “He’s running a closing-days campaign fueled by falsehood – and it could work. After all, as he demonstrated with his Big Lie about the 2020 election, even his most far-fetched claims can race to the far corners of the country before fact-checkers are able to set off in persuasive pursuit.

“From last week’s assertion that Aurora, Colorado, and other towns have been ‘invaded and conquered’ by ‘vicious and bloodthirsty criminals‘ to his recent description of illegal immigrants as ‘savages,’ ‘predators,’ and ‘animals’ who want to ‘rape, pillage, thieve, plunder, and kill’ Americans, to his ominous warning that migrants ‘grab young girls and slice them up right in front of their parents…,’ it’s trademark Trump, a dark, roiling, racially-tinged rhetorical torrent, unlike anything we’ve seen in any presidential campaign in modern American history.

“That dystopian rhetoric is an obvious attempt to create fear sufficient to move voters beyond his enormous character faults and his well-documented assault on democracy and get them to conclude that however unsavory they find him, he’s the strongman the country needs to solve its supposed problems.”

For reasons involving his cult of personality, 45 is graded on a curve, and he could win in November—probably not the popular vote, but quite possibly the Electoral College. I’d SO love to be wrong.