Haunting Hunter

 

Do you mind another rant tonight? I’m angry. Today the Washington Post had an article that in effect said Biden’s compassion for his son “blew up in his face.” I think just the opposite: the Republicans vicious, vengeful investigation of Hunter Biden has made them look ridiculous.

That’s not to say the younger Biden hasn’t done some pretty awful things in the past—no need to detail them here because MTG already did a good and appalling job of that. Although he flaunted father’s power and reputation, there has been no proof found that he ever compromised the president, whether that is due to the son’s caution or the father’s wisdom, we may never know.

I know liberals who say they have no sympathy for Hunter because he was raised with wealth and privilege and still “went bad.” That seems to imply wealth and privilege will protect you from a bad drug habit, though I think just the opposite is often true. There is a judgmental Puritanical thought in that thread about strength and courage will always lead you to make good choices. I’m not sure that’s true either. I like to remember that Jesus pardoned the sinner, especially the repentant sinner.

But let’s go back to wealth and privilege. Hunter was born in 1970, the year his father was elected to the Senate. I don’t think there was a lot of wealth then. When Hunter was two, he and his older brother, the late Beau Biden, were seriously injured in a tragic accident that took the lives of their mother and younger sister. The boys were hospitalized for some time. Who can calculate the damage done to a two-year-old by such trauma? After that, theirs was probably not a normal childhood—their father was in the Senate and they no doubt had nannies, though it is to Joe Biden’s credit that he rarely stayed in DC but went home to Delaware each night to be with his boys.

I have not researched Hunter’s life enough to know when and why he turned to alcohol and drugs but apparently those problems increased after the 2015 death of his brother, Beau. Today, though, Hunter seems to be trying to put his life back together again. He has paid his back income taxes. (Tax experts tell us that people almost never go to prison over delinquent taxes these days, so no, James Comer and  Gym Jordan, he did not get a sweetheart deal—he was treated like any other citizen.) That his plea bargain on the gun charge has to be negotiated does not appear to be politically motivated. He has acknowledged his out-of-wedlock child and is apparently trying to be a good father to all his children. And he has the firm support of his father and stepmother.

What Republicans Chuck Grassley (that old man who ought to retire and who has said he doesn’t care if the accusations are true or not), James Comer (new to the national spotlight and so anxious for his five minutes of fame) and Gym Jordan (always a pain, but karma may get him yet—lots of athletes remember Ohio) have done is to target Joe Biden at his weakest point. Hunter’s former business partner, Devon Archer, pretty much laid their hopes to rest this week, but they blunder on with accusations. It is a shameful spectacle.

Throughout all this, Joe Biden has remained in the background, at least on this specific issue. As a parent, I can only imagine the urge to retaliate, to deny, to speak out in anger must be strong. But as Biden has done with other attacks on his age, his integrity, his ability, he has kept his head down and gone about the business of governing the United States. I think such rectitude indicates great strength of character, and I admire him.

And, personally, I am rooting for Hunter. I hope he stays on the straight and narrow, finds his calling, and goes on to a successful life. Gulp, he’s a year younger than my oldest son and the same age as my oldest daughter. and I know how I feel about them. I could never be as restrained as Biden.

Come Spring. . . .

My cheerful funny socks

Perfect for a happy spring evening

That was the saying of frontier women in the 19^th-century American West. Hard as their lives were, they were always optimistic, they always thought things would get better, “come Spring.” It hasn’t quite come Spring yet…the days may be longer, but mornings are chilly and spring bloom is still to come in all its glory. But tonight, Christian was out spreading pre-emergent weed killer, although some have already emerged.

The biggest thing that gives me Spring-like hope today is the spectacle of all those fantastic young people who walked out of their classes today. In schools where they were locked in (that must violate fire laws if not civil rights), many took a knee. Their courage in bucking the status quo should give us all hope. No more shall we say, “That’s just the way things are,” or “It [whatever?] will never work, never pass. [Choose your topic—gun control, abortion, taxes] will never change.” The young shall lead us, and it’s up to us to follow, not give in to resigned defeat.

Conor Lamb’s stunning victory in Pennsylvania gives me hope too. It was a resounding rejection of our orange president, his policies, his instability, his mercurial temperament. He may think he’s the smartest man in the universe, but he just took yet another walloping. And Lamb set a pattern for other Democratic candidates to follow in the upcoming mid-term elections. I especially like him because he did not blindly follow the party line but adhered to his own beliefs. Integrity is pretty refreshing these days.

I am also heartened by the Republicans in Congress who are criticizing the shut-down of the House investigation of Russian intervention in our elections, with the weak conclusion that yes, there was intervention, but no, it didn’t favor Trump. That flies in the face of every other investigation, of the FBI and other agencies, and even of common sense.

And while the orange president won’t link Russia to the nerve gas attack on a former spy and his daughter, the UK has expelled twenty-three Russian diplomats because of the incident, other countries are following that lead, and even Nikki Haley, the US voice at the UN, has said publicly that the US associates Russia with the attack.

Meantime, the orange president is busy firing people. Someone suggested he be reminded  that he’s in the White House now and no longer running “The Apprentice” on TV. I remember my dad saying you never fire someone—you make them want to resign. Could it be that this flurry of firings represents the death throes of a terribly frightened man who is spinning out of control? That possibility holds both hope and apprehension, the latter with a prayer that he not do anything so drastic as to ruin all of us as Mueller closes in on him.

The firing that I find most reprehensible is the potential dismissal of Andrew McCabe from the FBI, just four days short of retirement. Sources say he may lose his benefits, which would be so unjust that we ought to all run screaming into the streets.

Saddest news of the day is the death of that amazing man Stephen Hawking. Tributes on the internet have been plentiful and eloquent and so have quotes—I like the one where he said we are but a pack of monkeys on a minor planet in the solar system of a very small star. Talk about putting us in our place. But perhaps the most striking quote is to the effect that those who talk about their own IQ are losers. Sound like anyone you know?

Peace and restful sleep, my friends. Some days are disheartening, but today I think humanity and compassion and love are going to win out.