Seasons Greetings from the White House

Thousands of federal employees laid off just before Christmas. Others, like TSA airport security personnel and Border Patrol agents forced to work without pay. And who is responsible? Take it from the horse's mouth.   

Whack The Piñata

A surprise at the Cinco de Mayo festival: an effigy of The Donald (may Scottie teleport him to another galaxy) with the head fashioned into a traditional Mexican piñata. Wouldn't you like a whack at that? James Comey knows what's inside.

There were two identical heads sitting on the ground. Looks like the plan was to perform the ceremony three times. I would have loved to have photographed it but there was no indication of the time and no one to ask. It might have been cathartic.

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Black Friday

Oh, what a grim day it was. A small demonstration took place late yesterday afternoon across the street from my office building. I think the location was chosen because there is an investment company there with a large bronze sculpture of a bull and bear on the corner. You know, capitalism and the rich. It was behind an eight foot fence by mid-day, which sort of deflated the symbolism.

The sign above was a bit awkward. The couple below were more than a little grim. As I was editing these pictures I wanted to go back and play them Bobby McFerrin's iconic song but I realized I'd have to do the same thing to myself, and I knew it would never work. The day is much too dark.

I'm okay with differences of opinion, even strong ones. But I cannot respect the judgement of people who support Trump any more than I can climate change deniers, vaccine paranoids or people who think President Obama was born in Kenya.

The big women's march is today. Reports starting Sunday.         

But Almost Nobody Does

To overgeneralize, lots of people have short memories and hold long grudges. Some individuals, but not nearly enough, are seeing the risk of Muslim equivalents of the appalling World War II Japanese internment camps, worried about suppression of the press like in Russia and Turkey, or granting broad license to industrial polluters in search of profits.

But I will not soon forget President Obama: the intentions of good for the whole country, the clarity of his intelligence and above all, his dignity, a quality sorely lacking in his successor. We, his admirers and supporters, are not going away.

I think this is enough of this for now. There are lots of other photos on Flickr here and I may yet edit more. No other new local material so I may need to collect myself for a day or two. 

Years ago, someone wrote a comment here criticizing me for just about never producing "the occasional rant." I hope I've made up for it over the last ten days.               

The Crowd

The people, united, will never be defeated. That's what they chanted sometimes. That's what they hope, but there are no guaranteed outcomes in bare-knuckle politics. Never be defeated? Ask a few Syrians about that. Maybe this administration and its colleagues in congress will so offend the American people that they will get the crap kicked out of them in the 2018 mid-term Congressional elections. But maybe not. They are good showmen, in the P. T. Barnum sense, and unafraid of deception. (Although that doesn't make them unusual.) Most Americans will remember Barnum's most famous quote, "There's a sucker born every minute." We just saw that in action, didn't we?

So here are people in the crowd, angry, maybe hopeful, maybe not, but simply needing to emote. The first two shots are around the starting area at the Gateway One building.  Note the Peabody signs. Peabody Energy is the largest privately held coal company in the country and an adversary of environmentalists. Their headquarters is inside.

After everyone wandered around downtown for a bit the crowd seemed to gel at the intersection of 4th Street and Washington Avenue. The last shot is from my office window, which overlooks that location.

But let's also remember that our most revered president, Abraham Lincoln, once noted that "you can fool some of the people some of the time, but you can't fool all of the people all of the time." God, I hope he was right. 

And, hey, a shout-out to Gunn, our friend in Norway - I like your idea. Know any European editors who might like to buy some of these images?        

Not Any More

Lady Liberty sheds a tear. From the anti-Trump rally.            

Yeah, I'm There

At the Anti-Trump rally downtown yesterday afternoon. I'd say there were a couple of thousand people. It had a starting point but no pre-defined route, wandering through major streets, blocking traffic and pissing off a lot of motorists. That didn't help their cause.

Still, my heart was with them. I think that's a look of real pain on the face of the woman with the sign below. If my face hadn't been stuck in a viewfinder I'd have looked about the same. I am not getting over the election. It's eating at me. Trump and his pals violate about every value I have. I'm sick. I'm ashamed to be an American these days.

But that can't be allowed to persist. I'm thinking and thinking about what I should do. Cannot just sit and watch with mouth gaping.             

Fourth of July in Harrison, Michigan - 1

The big Fourth of July parade in this area is in Harrison, the next town north of Clare. Pure small-town Americana. This year's theme was super heroes.

Everyone here is so friendly. People strike up a conversation just because you are standing there. The man above and his family participated in the parade, riding a fancy truck promoting his auto detailing business. Mrs. C, a noted member of the language police, pointed out the spelling error on his shirt. Well, his brother printed it, he said. We avoided discussing politics.          

Orlando and St. Louis

This was taken a week ago Sunday at that Pagan Picnic thing. I didn't think I was going to use it on the blog. A bit of photojournalism to put on Flickr but entirely grotesque.   

And then Sunday in Orlando. 

THE OCCASIONAL RANT: there are some things about country that disturb me greatly. Guns and violent homophobia are examples, along with people like this who say someplace is safe only when law abiding citizens are packing heat. Idiots. Evildoers.

NO MORE ASSAULT WEAPONS. I've had the privilege to see a lot of the world. NOWHERE in the first world has a gun death rate ANYWHERE close to America's. Let us think of Australia's reaction to a mass killing with an assault weapon.

Which leads to the question of Mr. Trump and what he had to say on Monday. I cannot find the words to respond. I believe in pluralism. Within some loose boundaries, we should gladly tolerate people we disagree with. But Trump is far beyond what is marginally acceptable. That man is so dishonest, so narcissistic, so sick, I...I... 

Almost universally, I welcome people who piss me off. Not this one. How can we respect anyone who supports him?