In the aftermath of the Paxton travesty

 

Sophie being cute. Photo by Jordan Burton.

But I also hope that folks across the country — even in “safe” blue geographies — are finally, finally, after years and years of ignoring the folks who’ve been making the argument, starting to understand that Texas isn’t an outlier, it’s a bellwether. It’s a miniature funhouse mirror showing us a terrible preview of what’s to come for our national political situation if we don’t course-correct (or, more terrifying but possible, can’t course-correct).—Andrea Grimes, Home with the Armadillo (Substack)

Sorry, but this is another political post. The dangers of too much power in any man’s hands has been on my mind for a while. As far back as Harry Truman, conservatives found the word “socialism” an enormous threat; for progressives today, the fear-laden word is authoritarianism: power in the hands of one person. Authoritarianism vs. democracy.

The facts are a bit scrambled, but in 2022 Elon Musk refused to let Ukraine use his Starlink communications system to coordinate a drone attack on a Russian fleet in the Black Sea. Ukraine and its allies were “concerned.” Musk claimed he averted a much bigger catastrophe—read a hint of nuclear revenge. Whichever side is right, the fact is that one man, holding the power of communication, may have changed the course of the war. And that one man was not a military specialist, not a government representative. Just a man who is incredibly rich and controls a major communications network.

We see these one-man power struggles all around us. Ron DeSantis has come close to devastating Florida with his strict laws enforcing what history is taught, what books students can read, who can vote, what rights women have, what medicine trained physicians can practice, who you can love and who you cannot, who can play what sports. Strangely enough, he has not carried his extreme control into the area of gun safety, and there are few restrictions on gun ownership. His never-ending grasp reaches into every aspect of every Floridian’s life--and he’s probably not done yet. Florida is suffering because of it—citizens, particularly physicians and college faculty, are leaving the state in droves. But so are LGBTQ citizens, parents of trans children, probably Black citizens. Economic results are also being felt, with DeSantis biting the hand that feeds him—the enormous Disney complex that hires thousands of Floridians and brings millions of tourists to the state. What advantage DeSantis sees in creating this 1984-ish society I can’t see, except that it outdoes trump and appeals to a narrow segment of ultra-conservative voters. Perhaps—oh, make that probably, there’s a whole lot of personal ego involved too. There’s been so much pushback out of Florida that I’m not sure how big his base in his own state is.

Greg Abbott of Texas is of course another example of a leader gone power-mad. Abbott came to prominence as the Attorney General who sued the federal government every day, a clear sign that he was not into supporting democracy. He has not only passed draconian laws concerning guns—no license, no training, young age limit for ownership, any kind of gun is fine, including concealed—but he too has unrealistic laws concerning abortion, voting, gay and trans students, book bans, etc. His inhumane and devious tricks at the southern border have brought him clashes with the federal government, but he remains defiant—while even young children die.

Texas and Florida have earned contempt from much of the nation. One could say they are laughingstocks, but there is nothing funny about the disregard for the individual human life. That disregard negates everything this country was founded on: the principle that all men are created equal. Those regimes definitely move us toward authoritarianism.

One can’t quite say that Paxton has that much power, but what his acquittal shows us if that if you are a useful tool to powers with money, you can grab onto power and hold it. Corruption, in favor of the moneyed few, gives Paxton his power, and in many ways, it’s as scary as the domination of authoritarians. Anyone with half a brain, watching even a portion of the impeachment proceedings, knows that Paxton was guilty. His own attitude and absence from the proceedings seem to indicate that he knew it didn’t matter. He was confident and, to our detriment, it turns out he was right. Corruption won out.

The former guy, as Joe Biden calls him, has long been a known admirer of authoritarian leaders, from Hitler and Mussolini to Putin and Kim Jong Un. What semi-saved us from some of his worst ideas was that he had a minority in the House. Democracy worked, to some extent. Trump is already spouting his plans for a revenge reign, should he return to the White House in 2024. And he has famously said that he listens to no one but himself. Scary words from an overweight man of questionable mental stability who has surrounded himself with corrupt advisors. What Joe Biden did when he first came into office was to surround himself with experts in many fields.

I watched a video recently by a reporter who toured Kevin McCarthy’s district, the farming heartland of California. It was scary. Almost to a person, voters said Biden was too old and they were thinking they would support trump again. The word authoritarianism means nothing to them. I won’t use Hilary’s term deplorables, but I will say they are among the uninformed who believe every bit of disinformation handed to them. Without questioning it.

I leave you with a scary thought: does the Paxton acquittal presage an acquittal for trump? I would hope not. Trump will be tried n a courtroom by a jury of his peers, not by politicians with political loyalty to blind their judgement. But in this day, no one can predict anything. I for one want to fight hard—against authoritarianism, against corruption, for democracy. Hope you’ll help. There’s no room for complacency now.

 

 

 

 

Who says woke?

This illustration has absolutely nothing to do with tonight's post, 
but it is another chance for me to show off my forthcoming mystery. 
And who could find a picture of woke?

Pardon my absence from blogging—I’ve been consumed with proofing, one more time, the manuscript for Irene Deep in Texas Trouble, before I send it to the formatter. But now that’s off my desk and sort of off my mind. What’s still on my mind are some current terms that we hear all the time—terms that are new to our culture in the last few years.

You may guess that “woke” is first I’m thinking about. Gov. Ronald DeSantis gave a speech recently in which he talked about the woke invasion. Everything was in aggressive military terms which struck me immediately. As he drew a verbal picture of an invading army, I couldn’t help think how wrong that was—whatever woke is, it is not tangible and to cast it as an army is ridiculous.

Have you ever noticed that the only people who talk about woke are right-wing conservatives. If the rest of us use the term, it is in defense. DeSantis would tell you that it is an acronym that stands for the Stop the Wrongs to Our Kids and Employees (Stop WOKE) Act—they really had to stretch to get a title which would make an acronym. But the real origin is so ironic as to bring forth laughter from progressives—and no doubt from the Black community. The word came into use among progressive Black Americans in the nineties—one essay I read refers to it as Black slang. It meant to be informed, educated, and socially aware, particularly of injustice and racial inequality. Exactly the opposite of the meaning conservatives have attached to the word. To them, in their incorrect use, it denotes anything they don’t approve of, which turns out to be anyone who is not white, straight, male, and Christian, or any idea that displeases that narrow segment of the population. It is quite possibly the most ridiculous misappropriation of a word that I can remember. Yet hundreds of Americans bitterly decry the woke invasion. Ask them to explain what it means, and nine out of ten are stymied. What a way to fight a war.

Another term that has been bothering me is cancel culture, and I’ve only recently gotten a glimmer of what it means. With current moves to ban classic books like some of Mark Twain or To Kill a Mockingbird and rewrite such classics as Roald Dahl’s children’s literature, I always assumed that the phrase meant the right is out to cancel our historic culture until we end up like an Orwellian society with no past. Not so! It means we are becoming (or already are) a culture that cancels out that which doesn’t fit our ideal vision. Wait! What I mean is that Republicans cancel out (marginalize is a big word these days) whatever doesn’t fit their ideal of America, from LGBTQ citizens to the history of slavery. Makes you a bit uncomfortable? We’ll just cancel it, write a law against it, silence those who disagree with us. The result is we are in danger of raising an entire generation with no accurate knowledge of history, no understanding of anyone who differs from them, no grasp of the great literary traditions in world literature and American literature. Ron DeSantis is not, I suppose, a stupid man—he has degrees from Yale and Harvard (I used to hear that I relation to the second Bush and I didn’t buy it then and I don’t buy I now). Yet DeSantis seems to overlook the maxim that he who doesn’t know history is doomed to repeat its mistakes.

And therein is a dilemma: is DeSantis truly ignoring history or is he using that as a political tactic to play to the amorphous group called “the base” and skyrocket his political aspirations. Does he really believe what he says or is he simply saying whatever he thinks will boost him?

These terms, woke and cancel culture, are matters of language, and it is the uneducated who are easily swayed by this manipulation of our language. And that is exactly where DeSantis would have America headed—by taking over public college curricula, banning books, fining those who speak out, DeSantis is dumbing down if not America yet, at lest his own corner of the country. And he has ambitions to move beyond that. It is a frightening prospect, truly frightening.

Please note that if a law being considered in Florida now passes and if I lived and wrote in Florida, I would probably be under fire for having blogged about the governor. The only saving grace for me would be that I am not paid for blogging. IF I were paid, I would be subject to a $2500 fine. Trust me, few bloggers make that kind of money.

PS Just tonight I read Heather Cox Richardson’s Letter from an American about President Biden’s significant visit to the Edmund Pettus Bridge in Selma, Alabama on the anniversary of Bloody Sunday and the voting protest march from Selma to Montgomery. (read it here: March 5, 2023 (Sunday) - by Heather Cox Richardson (substack.com) This is exactly the kind of history DeSantis and his ilk would suppress—brutality against people of color. We must not let them succeed.

 

 

Booster, prayers, and a wry laugh

 

Finally got my new Covid booster today. I mentioned the other day I’d gotten the run-around trying to book an appointment for the Moderna booster at the only local place I could find that has it. We were early for the appointment, as requested. Walgreen’s was late, though when the woman finally gave me the shot, she was most pleasant and also skilled—a painless shot, and tonight my arm is tender but not really sore. But back to the wait at the pharmacy—we were there at least forty-five minutes. When we got to the pharmacy—why are they always in the far back corner of a humongous store?—I was ready to sit down, so Jordan checked me in. I can’t tell you what all occurred, but she was at the counter a long time. When she finally came to sit by me, she said, “They make it so difficult—no wonder a lot of people just won’t bother.”

Jordan herself has had difficulty. You can only make an appointment online or by telephone—and when you try by telephone, you get the dreaded automatic voice on the other end of the phone. Jordan tried online the other day and was told she is not eligible. I thought that was wrong, because this booster has been highly touted for everyone twelve and up. A neighbor said no, you must be over sixty-five or immune compromised. That didn’t sound right to me, so Jordan asked today. She is eligible, but they couldn’t make an appointment with a living, breathing person in front of them. I suppose the earlier verdict of ineligibility was a computer glitch, and if she tries again, it will go through. But she’s not inclined to try again right away, says it’s a busy week, and I should not bug her, so I am keeping quiet (do you have any idea how hard that is for me?).

At any rate, I think it’s bureaucracy gone amuck, and she’s right. The process needs to be streamlined. I know that’s easy for those of us on the consumer end to say, but I’d like to get the word to someone with clout. President Biden counts controlling the pandemic as one of his victories, as well he should, but he needs to have someone look into the delivery process. It’s sad to think people won’t inconvenience themselves, because the number of daily deaths is still high. We had a local case this week of a forty-year-old dad who died. I have no idea of his vaccination status.

The weather around the world seems to have gone amuck—mudslides, floods, typhoons in all corners of the world. Tonight, comes word that power is out to the entire island of Cuba, and Ian is expected to make landfall in Florida as a Category Three or Four hurricane on Wednesday afternoon. Two and a half million people in Florida—think of the enormity of that number! —have been asked to evacuate. Ferocious storms like Ian—and some notable earlier ones like Katrina, Harvey, and Maria—cause damage that is beyond comprehension for those of us who sit inland in safety and pray that maybe we’ll get some rain out of the storm. I remember driving in the Houston area with my daughter-in-law Lisa showing me the high-water marks on buildings. Astounding.

Please join with me in praying for the safety of all those in the path of Ian.

Nice to end the day with a laugh, although I’m sorry to say my laugh makes me sound political and biased once again, but Republicans are having a hard time these days. Dr. Oz said John Fetterman’s habit of wearing shorts and hoodies made it seem that he was attacking authority in the balls—and thereby gave Fetterman a wonderful slogan in a state where people would line up for blocks to attack authority. In Texas, the pretty obviously corrupt Attorney General Ken Paxton, who keeps sticking his nose into other states’ business, ran from his home to avoid a subpoena—literally almost ran. He was in a truck driven by his wife who is a state senator. Paxton has been under indictment for seven long years with no court date, because he keeps gaming the system. And now to think his wife is a state senator. No wonder Texas is a political mess.

But the saddest funny story of all is that trump and DeSantis are now calling each other names. The former guy calls DeSantis “fat, phony, and whiny” (terms that could apply to himself as well) while DeSantis calls his former sponsor “a moron who has no right running for the presidency” (that too could be a two-way street).  And these two adolescent bullies want a chance to run our country? I don’t think so.

So there you have it: a day to inspire prayers and laughter. Do get our booster. It’s worth the trouble.