A mixed bag

All posts in the A mixed bag category

Whew!

Published October 26, 2020 by Nan Mykel

Finally made it back before the election. (The Classic and Gutenberg were dueling and not everyone had that problem, but I hope it’s smooth sailing now.)

We were going to see what kind of diary this was going to be. When I heard Trump talking about moving out of the country I had hopes he was ready to move on, in which case this would turn out to be an adventure diary/novel.

Then I read the article in November’s Harper’s magazine called “The Enemies Briefcase — Secret Powers and the Presidency” (p 53-57) by Andrew Cockburn, in which William Barr fortified by a legal opinion the legitimacy of George H. W. Bush’s attack on Panama without congressional approval. During the Iran-Contra scandal Reagan’s minions underwent rehearsals for mass roundups of “subversives.”

Among others, a conservative young lawyer named William Barr was assigned the task in the CIA’s legislative office of designing accommodation measures to keep Church Committee investigators away from its most important records. An article in Politico in June warned that in the event of a national emergency on the grounds of national security, the president would have more than 120 statutory emergency powers at his disposal.

Ignoring the above concerns (didn’t the courts find fault with calling the need for a southern “wall” due to an emergency, in retrospect?), I have to wonder if Trump could rein in his paramilitary troops even if he wanted to. They’ve been practicing. What’s their payoff?

Trump will be concerned about the prospect of Prison if he should lose. EXCEPT that Attorney General Barr has said the president has the power to pardon himself and his friends. (I assume this covers his family, too.) I might see him high-tailing it to a dictatorship, except for the danger to the current dictator, and Trump’s knee-jerk tendency to play “Gotcha.”

Unless we’re VERY LUCKY, I’m thinking this could turn out to be a tragedy instead of an adventure or comedy.

Sickipedia

I’m so glad to be back on WordPress…

I HATE TO HATE

Published October 26, 2020 by Nan Mykel
Our President

I know that hate can make one a hateful person, but the news that the vacancy on the Supreme Court has just been filled inches me pretty close to it. It seems there’s no mercy in politics; possibly never was. A little power can sure rot the soul, if there is one.

2020 Mystery–Scarier

Published October 9, 2020 by Nan Mykel
B E A F R A I D

I know the title of this edition scares off some readers. I get scared thinking about it, but perhaps better now than later. Sigh, maybe AND later. I just read what’s in Bill Barr’s playbook, and it isn’t pretty. He has a way of seeing things from, frankly, an un-American point of view. (I already referred you to the recent Atlantic article, but I was garbled, so here’s another attempt to pass on the info without the references which the Atlantic series has a slew of:)

Barr believes our founding fathers were mistaken in drawing up the documents upon which our country is based. For example, he is against the separation of church and state.

He believes the powers of the president should be unlimited, extending even to the ability to pardon friends, enemies and himself.

Check it out here:
The Battle for the Constitution – The Atlanticwww.theatlantic.com › projects › battle-constitution

As far as I can figure, major players in what could be thought of as a coup are our president, our attorney general, our vice-president and the head of our senate, plus the Proud Boys, the neo Nazis, the Boogaloos, KKK, you-name-them. Quite a group for those Evangelicals who believe in God as opposed to science fueling our country. Sounds like it would be a real theocracy.

I forget–what’s the name of God’s son?

This week’s joke: When I typed “Barr” into my Tags space the automatic corrector choice printed itself out, spelling Barr+acuda

I WONDER WHY…

Published October 9, 2020 by Nan Mykel

The 2020 Nobel Peace Prize has been awarded to the World Food Programme.
The prize is one of the most prestigious in the world and recognizes those who have contributed the most towards ending conflict, promoting peace and building relationships between nations. This year’s award carries particular significance in a period dominated by division, economic woes and a global pandemic.

Previous winners include former US Presidents Barack Obama and Jimmy Carter, Malala Yousafzai, Kofi Annan, Nelson Mandela, Martin Luther King Jr. and the European Union.

I wonder why our president wasn’t given the award.

DEAR WHITE EVANGELICALS

Published October 7, 2020 by Nan Mykel

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(Strong) words from Christian pastor, John Pavlovitz:
“Dear White Evangelicals,
I need to tell you something: People have had it with you.
They’re done.
They want nothing to do with you any longer, and here’s why:
They see your hypocrisy, your inconsistency, your incredibly selective mercy, and your thinly veiled supremacy.
For eight years they watched you relentlessly demonize a black President; a man faithfully married for 26 years; a doting father and husband without a hint of moral scandal or the slightest whiff of infidelity.
They watched you deny his personal faith convictions, argue his birthplace, and assail his character—all without cause or evidence. They saw you brandish Scriptures to malign him and use the laziest of racial stereotypes in criticizing him.
And through it all, White Evangelicals—you never once suggested that God placed him where he was,
you never publicly offered prayers for him and his family,
you never welcomed him to your Christian Universities,
you never gave him the benefit of the doubt in any instance,
you never spoke of offering him forgiveness or mercy,
your evangelists never publicly thanked God for his leadership,
your pastors never took to the pulpit to offer solidarity with him,
you never made any effort to affirm his humanity or show the love of Jesus to him in any quantifiable measure.
You violently opposed him at every single turn—without offering a single ounce of the grace you claim as the heart of your faith tradition. You jettisoned Jesus as you dispensed damnation on him.
And yet you give carte blanche to a white Republican man so riddled with depravity, so littered with extramarital affairs, so unapologetically vile, with such a vast resume of moral filth—that the mind boggles.
And the change in you is unmistakable. It has been an astonishing conversion to behold: a being born again.
With him, you suddenly find religion.
With him, you’re now willing to offer full absolution.
With him, all is forgiven without repentance or admission.
With him you’re suddenly able to see some invisible, deeply buried heart.
With him, sin has become unimportant, compassion no longer a requirement.
With him, you see only Providence.
And White Evangelicals, all those people who have had it with you—they see it all clearly.
They recognize the toxic source of your inconsistency.
They see that pigmentation and party are your sole deities.
They see that you aren’t interested in perpetuating the love of God or emulating the heart of Jesus.
They see that you aren’t burdened to love the least, or to be agents of compassion, or to care for your Muslim, gay, African, female, or poor neighbors as yourself.
They see that all you’re really interested in doing, is making a God in your own ivory image and demanding that the world bow down to it.
They recognize this all about white, Republican Jesus—not dark-skinned Jesus of Nazareth.
And I know you don’t realize it, but you’re digging your own grave in these days; the grave of your very faith tradition.
Your willingness to align yourself with cruelty is a costly marriage. Yes, you’ve gained a Supreme Court seat, a few months with the Presidency as a mouthpiece, and the cheap high of temporary power—but you’ve lost a whole lot more.
You’ve lost an audience with millions of wise, decent, good-hearted, faithful people with eyes to see this ugliness.
You’ve lost any moral high ground or spiritual authority with a generation.You’ve lost any semblance of Christlikeness.
You’ve lost the plot.
And most of all you’ve lost your soul.
I know it’s likely you’ll dismiss these words. The fact that you’ve even made your bed with such malevolence, shows how far gone you are and how insulated you are from the reality in front of you.
But I had to at least try to reach you. It’s what Jesus would do.”
John Pavlovitz”

WHAT IS A PATHOLOGICAL LIAR?

Published October 7, 2020 by Nan Mykel



Recently, Dr. Drew Curtis began to argue that pathological lying, as had been described historically, was not defined in the manner that contemporary mental health professionals define disorders. Specifically, he noted that disorders are based on four criteria: 1) atypicality (they are statistically infrequent or violate norms); 2) maladaptive (they impair functioning); 3) suffering (they cause emotional distress); and 4) danger (they create risks of harm or loss for self or others). These criteria are used to determine which patterns of behaviors, thoughts, and feelings are simply part of the natural variability of the human experience and which are pathological. From Psychology Today 9=7=20, Hart and Curtis

What personality disorder is associated with pathological lying?

Antisocial Personality Disorder – people living with this disorder often display pathological lying as a key symptom, and may use lies to gain status or manipulate others. Google search

YOU CAN’T TAKE IT BACK

Published October 7, 2020 by Nan Mykel
BUT I BELIEVED HIM!

Two refrains remain from childhood and they keep coming back to me: “The goblins will get you if you don’t watch out,” and “The little man who wasn’t there.”

I WANT TO GET BACK TO POETRY

Published October 6, 2020 by Nan Mykel
F U N

Poetry and reading about evolution and making collages is more fun, and doesn’t drive my readers away. What’s more, my stomach gets sour when I think about current reality, but I fear we’re running out of time. All I can do is write this blog. I don’t like pestering phone calls or knocks on my door. If they bother me why wouldn’t they bother someone else? I’ll just continue to self quarantine and wish I still had someone to pray to.

All of which leads to referring readers to two excellent blogs, both of which refer you to an excellent source re the takeover:

Horty Rex connecting you with https://www.esquire.com/

Diane Ravitch connectng you to: https://coronavirus.house.gov/sites/democrats.coronavirus.house.gov/files/10.2.20%20Political%20Interference%20Report%20%281%29.pdf

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