Posts published in “Rainey”

If I were asked to draw a map of the United States, using only the outlines of the 48 contiguous states, I'd have to give it some thought.

As a child in school, so many years ago, I could whip one up in short order.  But, now, as a grown-up, some eighty-years later, the same project would take a lot more time.  More thought.

Because this nation is divided.  No.  It's more like fractured.  Red vs Blue - rural vs urban - gay vs straight and still, to our shame, Black vs White.  And Brown.  And Yellow.

We've even got folks who want to redraw state borders to fit their political beliefs.  Make part of Oregon part of Idaho.  Or, make part of California a piece of Oregon.  Never gonna happen.  But, they're out there and they'll keep making noises.

Long ago, I quit saying the Pledge of Allegiance.  "One nation."  "Liberty and justice for all."  I just can't do it.

Same for parts of the National Anthem and "America, the Beautiful."  "...Alabaster cities."  "Brotherhood."  "From sea to shining sea."  Our seas haven't been shining for at least a hundred years.  "Brotherhood" is in short supply.  And I challenge anyone to find an "alabaster city." Been to downtown Portland or Seattle lately?

The oft-repeated words of our anthems and the pledge just don't square with the reality out there.  We can mouth the words or sing the tunes.  But, the words have become descriptive of some other country where "brotherhood" and "shining seas" exist.  Maybe Norway, Sweden or Finland.

Please don't get me wrong.  We're blessed with our Republic - our democracy.  I have strong, positive and loving feelings for my country - for our way of life.  But, both are in danger of being lost if we continue to walk our current, widely divided pathways.

Maybe the strongest division we must overcome is the rural vs urban.  Eastern Washington vs West of the Cascades.  Eastern Oregon vs West of the Cascades.  Northern Idaho vs Southern Idaho.

Or Eastern Idaho vs the more populous Western Idaho.

Many of us have lived in both urban and rural environments at one time or another.  And, we've found there's something to be said for both.

But, somehow, we're pitting one against the other - economically and politically.  We believe someone else is getting more than we are.  Someone else is getting more benefit - more dollars - more recognition.  I heard a lot of that living in Eastern Idaho.  "Those guys in Boise" most often claimed.  Now, I live in small town Oregon so it's "those guys in Portland."

Maybe the most divisive issues are political.  Like people wanting to redraw Idaho's Western border clear over to the Cascades and South to California.  It's notable they made a little detour around Bend which most rural Oregonians think is a hotbed of "liberals."  Another made-up division.

Abe Lincoln was the guy who said a "house divided against itself cannot stand."  He certainly headed a nation deeply divided in 1865.  More than any other accomplishment, he laid the groundwork to bring North and South together as much as was possible at the time.  Even though we still have that division in some small, angry Southern corners.

We must get past these divisions, whatever they may be.  We've got to rid ourselves of divisive politicians and their false rhetoric.  We need new, younger voices vying for political leadership and others socially and culturally.  We need to accept - and understand - whatever differences there may be, get past them and concentrate on things that bind us.

We need to work hard on the "brotherhood," "shining seas" and the "alabaster cities."  We had 'em once.  We've can have 'em again.

Trying to write about our national political activities these days is getting much harder to do.  Used to be you could take the usual issue and the politicians involved in it and opine this way or that in reasonable commentary.

No more.  The amount of misogyny, cruelty, idiocy and just plain B.S. being passed of as political "discussion" these days has made it tough even to consider some of the elected cretins fit to hold the offices they do, much less quote them.

The following two despicable examples appeared on TV "news"  pages within three hours recently.

Rep. Dana Rohrabacher is known for saying alarming, ignorant and quite stupid things on a regular basis.  His latest?  He told a convention of Realtors in D.C. home sellers "shouldn't have to sell to people who offend their personal beliefs."  Meaning buyers who are Black, gay, lesbian, atheist, Muslim, etc..  Next day, to their credit, the Realtors cut him off their endorsement list and, more important, from their PAC.

Then, the always - always - moronic Rep. Louis Gohmert.  His latest?  He told an interviewer Special Prosecutor Mueller had "spent his entire career defending Muslim terrorists."  Even followed up with a national news release.

Of course, there's the House "Freedom Caucus" writing the Nobel Committee to formally push for the next Peace Prize to be given to Donny Trump.  Can you even imagine the reaction within the Nobel Committee when that hit the mailbox?

But, here's one entirely sadistic political story that didn't just reach the bottom of the barrel.  It broke through to new mud and took the current GOP "administration" to a new, much lower cesspool.

This mighty nation - this "shining beacon on the hill" - this nation made up entirely of immigrants - this proud country -  has begun stripping babies and children from their families at our borders.  Tearing apart families whose only "crime" has been to cross our borders, seeking their own liberties in this "bastion of freedom."

Now, we're told, in addition to that cruelest of acts, our "government" has LOST nearly 1,500 hundred of those kids - 1,500!  Authorities - or what passes for "authorities"- have no idea where they went, who has them, whether some are being sold into sexual slavery or other human bondage and, if so, by whom.  Trump's hardline Chief of Staff said they'd be "placed in foster care - or whatever."  "WHATEVER?!"

Trump's people are also trying to "justify" this inhumane family destruction by saying maybe more people "will be deterred"  from trying to cross our borders if they know what awaits  And our Attorney General mumbled much the same thing!

What the Hell kind of people are these?

And now our "government"claims it's "not legally responsible."  "NOT RESPONSIBLE?"

I cannot even imagine the sadistic political "minds" that ordered these crimes-against-humanity.  Much less the actual government employees doing it - reaching out to grab crying children and stripping them from their parent's arms.  Whose "government?"

As I said, it's much harder these days to even comprehend some of the political goings, much less write something cogent about them.  The Rohrabacher's and Gohmert's and some of their Cretin kin are hard enough to deal with.  Maybe - just maybe - a couple elections will send them back to their loyal "bases" and they can enjoy their full taxpayer paid retirements in well-deserved anonymity.

But, I'm sitting here, trying to comprehend what's happening in our beloved country.  My mind wonders  how far we've strayed from being a welcoming nation with a compassionate populace.  I'm trying to find the words to describe the cruelty, anger and rank idiocy so prevalent  in our nation's politics.  Wondering if we'll ever rid ourselves of the mindless, sadistic, lying and corrupt "leadership" currently driving this country further into a huge ditch.

As I search for words, the ones that repeatedly flash in my head are "...suffer the little children...."  Biblically, the word "suffer" meant "let the little children..." or "do not impede the little children..."

Trump, Sessions, their minions and a Congress that stands idly by are using the word "suffer" in its worst application.

What the hell has happened to us?

"Where there's a will, there's a way"

Just seven words.  Seven one-syllable words.  Words we've heard time and time again in many circumstances.  "Where there's a will, there's a way."

For a decade or more, this country has seemed to be "off-course," drifting aimlessly without direction.  Maybe the absence of contemporary "will" has contributed to a national loss of "way."

Think about it.

In 1941, faced with war on two sides of our circular world, this nation was called to arms by Franklin Roosevelt.  He defined a need for national unity and all-out commitment to win two wars.  Following that call to arms, we found the "will" and the "way" to win both in less than 48 months.  Because the whole nation was focused in a definable undertaking.

In 1961, faced with Soviet successes in space, John Kennedy, following Roosevelt's path, defined a need for the country, saying this nation would send a man to the moon in the next decade.  We found the "will."  And the "way." Again, national focus.

We did.  We found the national "will" to accomplish the seemingly Herculean tasks that had been defined.  We got to the moon.  And beyond.

When the need was set, the "will" and the "way" followed.  Successfully.  Orderly.  Quickly.

Forget, for a moment, all the national divisions that surround us.  Ignore, temporarily, the political battles that have weakened our society.  Just consider the American family.  However it's constituted in your world.

The pressures of keeping a family together have never been greater.  More than half of American families have both parents working.  Trying to keep up with the prices of groceries, health care, gas, school needs and dozens of unplanned expenses we all face.  Plus, just parenting.

Many of today's families are in single-parent households.  There, those pressures are even greater as one parent tries to take the place of two while dealing with all those demands.  Full time.  Then some.

Nearly all of us - parents or not - have our heads down, "pedaling" as fast as we can to keep up with ever increasing demands on our time, our treasure and our talents..

At the national level, the picture seems much the same.  Most of those in charge seem to have their "heads down," trying to do everything in these demanding times to "keep up" as a nation.

Except Congress.  Congress - such as it is - is hopelessly divided, producing little in ways to make our lives better.  That must change.

The President sits atop a government that seems aimless as we lurch from one crisis to another.  Whether it's rampant inflation to a pandemic to national health emergencies to international calamities to gun massacres to gas prices.  Trying to clean up the national mess and the ever-present, day-to-day multiplying of national demands.  There's no time for leading - for setting a national course - for defining a new national goal.

"National will," if you will.

And, that's what seems to be missing.  Some sort of national undertaking that involves us all, that unifies us working for a common goal, a goal that defines the "will" so we can be bound together finding the "way."

Nations that lead - that prosper - almost always have some sort of national direction working at a common undertaking.  It's the sort of inspirational "glue" that binds all in a well-defined task.  Like winning a war or two.  Like setting goals for space achievement.

At the moment, we seem divided - one from another - in nearly all things.  Our eyes are down - not lifted to the horizon of common understanding.  We seem to lack the purpose of common "will."

We need something large and defining to bring us all together in single purpose.  Something like ending homelessness in the next decade.  It could be done.  Undertaking serious work on global warming before it gets completely out-of-hand.  It can still be done.

There are other huge challenges we face.  Challenges we can overcome IF we can end the current divisions wasting precious time.  Challenges sapping our strength and our resources.

"Where there's a will there's a way."

Old words.  Words from a previous time.  Long ago.  But, at least in my opinion, words we badly need to listen to.  Today.

This column originally ran a few years ago.

Trying to write about our national political activities these days is getting much harder to do.  Used to be you could take the usual issue and the politicians involved in it and opine this way and that in reasonable commentary.

No more.  The amount of misogyny, cruelty, idiocy and just plain B.S. being passed of as political "discussion" these days has made it tough even to consider some of the elected cretins fit to hold the offices they do much less quote them.

The following two despicable examples appeared on "news" pages within three hours a few days ago.

Rep. Dana Rhorabacher is known for saying alarming, ignorant and quite stupid things on a regular basis.  His latest?  He told a convention of Realtors in D.C. last week home sellers "shouldn't have to sell to people who offend their personal beliefs."  Meaning buyers who are Black, gay, lesbian, atheist, Muslim, etc..  Next day, to their credit, the Realtors cut him off their endorsement list and, more important, from their PAC.

Then, the always - always - moronic Rep. Louis Ghomert.  His latest?  He told an interviewer Special Prosecutor Mueller had "spent his entire career defending Muslim terrorists."  Even followed up with a national news release.

Of course, there's the House "Freedom Caucus" writing the Nobel Committee to formally push for the next Peace Prize to be given to Donny Trump for his work with North Korea.  Can you even imagine the reaction within the Nobel Committee when that hit the mailbox?

But, here's one entirely sadistic political story that didn't just reach the bottom of the barrel.  It broke through to new mud and took the current GOP "administration" to a new, much lower cesspool.

This mighty nation - this "shining beacon on the hill" - this nation made up entirely of immigrants - this proud country -  has begun stripping babies and children from their families at our borders.  Tearing apart families whose only "crime" has been to cross our borders, seeking their own liberties in this "bastion of freedom."

Now, we're told, in addition to that cruellest of acts, our "government" has lost nearly 1,500 hundred of those kids - 1,500!  Authorities - or what passes for "authorities"- have no idea where they went, who has them, whether some are being sold into sexual slavery or other human bondage and, if so, by whom! Trump's hardline Chief of Staff said they'd be "placed in foster care - or whatever."  "WHATEVER?!"

Trump's people are also trying to "justify" this inhumane family destruction by saying maybe more people "will be deterred"  from trying to cross our borders if they know what awaits  And our Attorney General mumbled much the same thing!

What the Hell kind of people are these?

And now our "government"claims it's "not legally responsible."  "NOT RESPONSIBLE?"

I cannot even imagine the sadistic political "minds" that ordered these crimes-against-humanity.  Much less the actual government employees doing it - reaching out to grab crying children and stripping them from their parent's arms.  Whose "government?"

As I said, it's much harder these days to even comprehend some of the political goings, much less write something cogent about them.  The Rhorabacher's and Ghomert's and some of their Cretin kin are hard enough to deal with.  Maybe - just maybe - a couple elections will send them back to their loyal "bases" and they can enjoy their full taxpayer paid retirements in well-deserved anonymity.

But, I'm trying to comprehend what's happening in our beloved country.  My mind wonders  how far we've strayed from being a welcoming nation with a compassionate populace.  I'm trying to find the words to describe the cruelty, anger and rank idiocy so prevalent  in our nation's politics.  Wondering if we'll ever rid ourselves of the mindless, sadistic, lying and corrupt "leadership" currently driving this country further into a huge ditch.

As I search for words, the ones that repeatedly flash in my head are "...suffer the little children...."  Biblically, the word "suffer" meant "let the little children..." or "do not impede the little children..."

Trump, Sessions, their minions and a Congress that stands idly by are using the word "suffer" in its worst application.

A couple of years ago, following extensive testing, I was diagnosed with mild cognitive impairment - MCI.  A low form of dementia.

At the time, the neurosurgeon said he couldn't make a prediction for how much time I have left until the curtain closes.  Based on his long medical experience, he opined it could be a few months to a year to several years or maybe nothing would ever change.  No "roadmap" as it were.

In a subsequent conversation, he said the scores on my tests indicated possibly as many as seven years of decline.  But, even that "best-I-can-guess" opinion was followed by several disclaimers.  So, the upshot is, we don't really know how this is going to go.  Or when.

I'm not writing this as a search for pity or sympathy.  Rather, as a lifelong reporter, I want to describe how this journey goes as a "first person" account.  As long as I can.  Family "first lady" Barb has asked me to start a written log and make entries as I notice changes.  And I have.

Just this morning, I was trying to figure out what three bottles of unused prescription medication were for.  She told me.  Then she told me again.  And one more time.  At the moment, a couple of hours later, I don't remember what she said.  But, I can tell you the four-digit home phone number we had in 1948.  I can tell you our home address in 1945.  Long term things are very clear.  Remembering what we had for dinner last night, not so much.

Yes, I've done a lot of research about dementia.  Some is encouraging.  Some is frightening.  Causes are mostly unknown.  Cures are non-existent.  Outcomes nearly all a dead end.

But, there's room for optimism.  At age 89, life has been very good.  I've had my share of both ups and downs.  On balance, things have worked out pretty well. Some dementia patients live their lives with little difficulty.  Maybe I will, too.

No, it's not me that should concern anyone.  It's Barb.  And our daughters.  The ones who likely will experience an ever-increasing burden of care as my awareness changes.  If it does.  They're the ones who will feel the load - both personally and financially.  Caregivers, so often, have the tougher battle.  Being close but knowing nothing they do can reverse the symptoms or bring back someone they love who no longer knows who they are.  If it gets that far.

We've taken care of legal and financial matters as best we can at this point.  Necessary documents created.  Wills updated.  Outside financial and medical support researched.  Home health options examined.  Figuring out what remodeling changes may be necessary for security purposes.  Lots of little details that have never been important before.

One of the difficulties we face is trying to figure out if the changes in my life are because of the dementia or just old age.  Weakness, balance, weight loss.  Even memory.  None of us comes with instructions.  I don't have an "owner's manual" to refer to.  Is the new pain this morning age-related, caused by some dementia decline or just because I slept wrong?

Aging, we're often told, is not for sissies.  That is one hell of an understatement!  When we recently lived in a 55+ community, we saw so many people suffering from just about everything physical.  And mental.  Simply because of advancing years.  Even those who lived the "good life" and took care of themselves were weakened and disabled by a body in which the various parts no longer worked as they should.

No, I don't talk about this dementia business for personal reasons.  Rather, I do it as someone who has been a life-long professional reporter, a researcher of fact; someone interested in the human story.

I'll start - and maintain - the log of changes as they occur as Barb wants.  We've already got some back entries to insert. Will be interesting to look back as we go.  Sort of like comparing how we look today with old photographs of what used to be

I won't bring the subject up again in this space unless something significant occurs.  Which we don't expect.  But, as a lifelong student of fact, I'll try to keep a sort of "third person" attitude for as long as I can to monitor what has become, for me, an unexpected journey.

But, really, isn't that what's life's about for all of us?  Unexpected journeys?

If you can read that, you probably swear as much as I do and you know just what I meant instead of using the actual words. Those are not good, respectable words, actually.

I find myself using more "foul" words lately - more than in previous times. Our mass and (un) social communications are full of the foul and getting - er, well - fouler.

As a journalist/broadcaster for several decades, I usually know the right words - the respectable words - to use. I was raised in a home where "not a discouraging word" was used or heard. In short, I know better.

But, as a casual Facebook user, I'm amazed - and often disgusted - by the continual use of such printed words in postings. Both in memes and individually written texts.

Sometimes, the gutter words - f**k, s**t, pi***d and more - seem to be in nearly every post. They're used - and re-posted - by people I know don't use such words in their everyday activities. For some, they're probably repulsed by others who use them. But, we all know what they are.

They've become verbal crutches for a lot of folks who think their use makes you sound more angry or more "adult" or authoritarian. In the stands at sporting events, heard at an adjoining table in a restaurant or just used in otherwise normal, day-to-day talk or postings between acquaintances.
As a society, we've either become more accepting of their use or we've learned to ignore them. They add nothing to any communication so if you block them out, you won't have missed anything.

For most of us, the shock value - if there ever was such thing - has worn off. Maybe that's why they creep into our speech without a second thought. I read more of them in a week online than I remember hearing in a year, living on a mountaintop above the Arctic Circle with 50 other guys 60 years ago.

It wasn't so long ago the American public was shocked - shocked, I tell you - when Clark Gable said to Vivian Leigh in Gone With The Wind, "Frankly, my dear, I don't give a damn!" Now, you hear a lot worse than that on your TV any night of the week. You can even watch "constipated" actors sitting on toilets or bears in the woods wiping their butts with the latest tissue. The goal posts for shock value have been moved way, way down the field.

The overall coarseness in our nation is an ever-present and growing societal reality. You don't like it. I don't like it. But, it's hard to escape. Politicians are using the "bad words" in speeches. (See old Trump rallies.) Older folks, raised in more restrictive times, now post or re-post online words I would have gotten a soapy mouthwash for at home. A lot of young people - who certainly know better - pepper conversations and texts with 'em. They're everywhere.

We've gotten way past "damn" or hell" or other such old expletives. And we're not going back. The new, casual, more common use of profanity has worked its way into our usual, everyday language. Most of us try to ignore it. Most of us won't use it. But it's ever-present. And we're getting inured to it.

Damn!

Congress and the rest of us are about to run head-long into the 1st amendment to the U.S. Constitution regarding "free speech."

Ever read all those words?  Well, here they are:

"Congress shall make no law respecting the establishment of religion, or prohibiting the exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of free speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the government for a redress of grievances."

That's all of it. Right there.  Forty-five words.  But, just four words - "...freedom of free speech" are the ones pounced on by everyone who believes that right, as it may - or may not - apply to them, has been tampered with.  And, while many people may make that claim, constitutional scholars by the dozens have hundreds of "legal" interpretations but no clear answer.  It can be awfully fuzzy.

Please note right here.  I've spent a lifetime defending the right of free speech.  As someone who's been a reporter/writer for most of 60 years, I've held my nose and defended some really terrible "free speech."  And, for the most part, still do.  But, there are limitations.

Here's a list of generally recognized legal limitations to "free speech" I came across the other day: obscenity (depends on context but not regular old porn), fighting words, defamation, child pornography, perjury, blackmail, incitement to lawless action, true threats, solicitations to commit crimes and plagiarism of copyrighted material.  Legal decisions have been rendered - and, for the most part, accepted - on all counts.  But, as I said, "fuzzy"still applies

Private companies - like the one who recently deleted all of Donald Trump's accounts - have a lot of leeway in how they handle users - DJT and others - including their own employees.

But, let's say you're a government employee.  Any government employee.  Your employer has the right to make sure your speech doesn't conflict with your job.  But, (un)social media has made it more difficult to regulate employee speech in a constitutional way. (Un)social media has blurred a lot lines.  Legal and otherwise.

So, let's consider what DJT said a while back which resulted in an attack on our Capitol. Were his words to a crowd of many hundreds, spoiling for a fight with Congress, really protected "free speech" as Republicans claimed?

Well, go back to the list above and see.  I find "incitement to imminent lawless action" and "solicitations to commit crimes" pretty well nails it.  True threats, too. You might throw in "fighting words" for a topper.  I don't think he's off the hook there.

When people talk of "free speech" relating to government, the issue is often turned on its head.  "Free speech" in the Constitution is really used to protect you from government punishing you for your speech - not the other way around.  But - and this is a big jump - the article citing "free speech" means government - and its representatives - are most often held to a higher responsibility to make sure what they do and say doesn't lead to unlawful actions.

So, again, "free speech."  Did Trump cross the line?  Did he abuse the right of "free speech?"  Did he use his speech to instigate or condone illegal actions?  My take is yes.

Trump has proven to be the false prophet so many of us - mainly New Yorkers - believed to be the case years ago.  A lot of Republicans in Congress - and I believe elsewhere - have recently thrown in the towel and decided that is a fact, too.  The defections in the House are interesting, especially some from the "hard" right.

While "Donnie" still has a corps of several million "believers," it appears he'll be too busy defending himself in one courtroom or another to "lead" effectively.  And, it seems, he'll be too busy scrounging for dollars to keep his heavily mortgaged companies alive.  Trump just has to be thinking that running for president was the worst decision he's made on his own.

"Free speech" finally got him.  Got him good.

But, look at the bright side.  He's got his own special place in our country's history.  And an asterisk beside his name, too.  Something no other former president can say.  Talk about speech.  And free, too.