H/T to the author of the tweets and a fellow pilot for the retweets that got my attention.
Politics.
Anger.
A popular meme on the Internet these days goes something like this: “Sally voted for Hillary. Bob voted for Trump. They realize the election is over now and even though they have disagreements when it comes to politics, Sally and Bob agree to be friends. Be like Sally and Bob.” Several of my friends and relatives have shared this meme and I have to say it just makes me angry.
Then, when I go to Facebook (which I still do when I know that I absolutely shouldn’t be there), I see all sorts of whining and complaining about all the political posts that are flying by on the feeds of folks that I’m friends with. They complain that they go to Facebook to see recipes and happy pictures of people and they wish that everyone would stop talking about politics all the time.
I don’t know if anyone’s noticed, but the Trump Administration has pretty much been a god damn dumpster fire since his mediocre inauguration. We have Executive Orders coming from the White House like they’re freaking decrees. Rights are being stripped away from Americans left and right. Some friends from high school say it’s the whole “one bad kid ruined it for the whole class” mentality but I don’t know if anyone’s noticed or not but the vast majority of Americans are not in high school. I do not need to be treated like some wainked out teenager who gets spanked because everyone in the room is getting spanked. I am an American and a god damn patriotic American at that. I was fairly attentive in my social studies classes when I was a kid. I read. I research. I watch the news. I even listen to folks that have a different political viewpoint from mine if they are able to support their beliefs, just like I support mine. But anyone that rolls over and puts up with the horse crap that is coming out of Washington D.C. should be ashamed of themselves.
My beliefs of what this country should be are very simple. The populace should be working hard, contributing more to society than it takes, leaving the world better than we found it and doing good things for themselves and other people regardless of skin color, race, nationality, sexual orientation, gender identity or whatever other label you want to slap on someone. I don’t have to pray to your God and you don’t have to pray to mine because quite frankly, as an American it’s none of my business whom you pray to. If you want me to read your Bible, don’t start out by beating me over the head with it every chance you get. Just because I believe that a woman has the right to do as she wishes with her own body doesn’t mean that I want women getting abortions at Wal*mart (Always White Trash, Always). I happen to believe that abortion is the wrong answer to the question 99.5% of the time but you know what, I don’t have a vagina, I don’t plan on getting a vagina and therefore I should have absolutely NO say as to what a woman can or can’t do with her body. If we want to outlaw something let’s start with face or neck tattoos or something, but that’s a rant for another day.
I’m not only angry about people telling me that I shouldn’t discuss politics, I’m angry that people are telling me to get over it. I’m not getting over it. Ever. I’ve had to listen to that cantankerous old stupid man Mitch McConnell contort politics six ways from Sunday to do everything he can to make President Obama’s term as short and miserable as possible and now I’m suppose to be happy that a man with fake hair, a fake tan and completely without a clue is sitting in the big chair in D.C. Give me a break. When we have a failed reality star who has done everything he can to make himself important in Hollywood since he was big enough to throw his junk around women become president it’s obvious that this country is a raging dumpster fire that’s about one and a half steps away from a completely meltdown to an “Idiocracy” scenario.
And don’t even get me started about any relatives who voted for Trump thinking that I’m going to be happy and cordial at the next family reunion. “But I didn’t agree with Hillary!” Wonderful. I’m happy that you’re offended by pant suits and that you made the bold choice to vote for a man who was supported by the KKK, is intent on taking away any right I have as a gay man away from me as quickly as possible and has loaded up his Administration with every white, rich, swamp dweller one can name. Draining the swamp? Get the hell away from me with that BS. The swamp is overflowing with raw sewage but Benghazi and an email server. Shall we discuss all the Administration officials using a private email server? No, because they’re not Hillary. Hillary stood by her man. Any woman that voted against Hillary because she supported Bill during the Monica scandal is a woman that would rather have a man make decisions for her.
On Tuesday night we had some sort of public spectacle to announce Trump’s pick for the vacant Supreme Court position. The position has been open for a year but because Obama was black he wasn’t allowed to get any traction with his nomination because, well, you know, these things take time. So instead we were stuck with an American Idol-type fiasco from the Orange Cheeto making grand gestures to tell us that he’s nominating a man that started a “Fascism Forever Club” in high school. That should be a hoot and half.
Crimminy.
Look it, I’m an American. I am a 48 year old, married, white, gay American male. I take my hat off when I hear the Star Spangled Banner. I like to believe that the United States of America is land of the free and the home of the brave, but if we continue to be completely stupid and make stupid choices and bury our head in the sand, there ain’t gonna be a country to be proud of for much longer.
Get your heads out of your ass, America, stop telling me to be all Pollyanna over something that is nothing more than a travesty waiting to go nuclear and for the love of God, get a friggin’ clue.
Multipass.
So who wants to wager how long it will be before the Trump Administration starts pushing for a national “Multipass” type credential card for every citizen of the United States? I’ll admit that I have a tin foil hat in my closet that seems to not be gathering dust lately, but if you take a step back from the insanity spewing from the White House, you can see the signs where such a scenario is quite plausible. A National registration card using the latest technology for this sort of thing would be a wet dream for Trump and his efforts.
- Trump wants to deport illegal immigrants. No Multipass? Out you go.
- Trump is still carrying on about alleged election fraud, despite the fact that there is no evidence that massive election fraud took place during last November’s election. No Multipass? No vote.
- Trump wants to take our border security to the next level. No Multipass? You’re not getting back in the U.S.
And this is just the tip of the iceberg. How long would it be before you had flash your Multipass to get into a sporting event or a concert or the mall? With embedded RFID technology in the Multipass, every citizen of the United States could be tracked at any given time. Why go through the hassle of bugging the telecoms or tech companies for access to smartphones and other devices when you can just track the Multipass? You wouldn’t even know when your Multipass is being scanned. Have a scanner in the mall and Johnny is at Destiny USA. Bomb goes off at Destiny USA, let’s round up everyone that was in the area where the bomb went off.
Craziness, right? Don’t be so quick to dismiss.
Now, I would use every ounce of voice that I have to dismiss such an act. One of the many perks of being an American is the fact that we can move freely about the country without constantly being tracked. But if there’s enough hysteria, enough lies and enough spin, I could totally see Trump supporters backing such legislation. And we know that Trump is really good at lies and his folks are really good at spin.
Scary times, people. Scary times. I feel like I should start practicing, “J.P. Wing Multipass”.
Truth.
Without debate, without criticism, no Administration and no country can succeed — and no republic can survive. … And that is why our press was protected by the First Amendment — the only business in America specifically protected by the Constitution — not primarily to amuse and entertain, not to emphasize the trivial and the sentimental, not to simply “give the public what it wants” — but to inform, to arouse, to reflect, to state our dangers and our opportunities, to indicate our crises and our choices, to lead, mold, educate and sometimes even anger public opinion. This means greater coverage and analysis of international news — for it is no longer far away and foreign but close at hand and local. It means greater attention to improved understanding of the news as well as improved transmission. And it means, finally, that government at all levels, must meet its obligation to provide you with the fullest possible information outside the narrowest limits of national security. … And so it is to the printing press — to the recorder of man’s deeds, the keeper of his conscience, the courier of his news — that we look for strength and assistance, confident that with your help man will be what he was born to be: free and independent. — John F Kennedy, April 27, 1961
The words “truth” and “lies” have been coming up a lot since the inauguration of Donald Trump to the presidency. Mr. Trump has been president for four days and there has been nothing but the release of “Alternate Facts”, declarations and bold statements that contradict what we see and hear with our own eyes. Trump validates his success via ratings and numbers and polls, and when they don’t swing his way he declares that these numbers are false and that the media is nothing but a bunch of Fake News.
The controversy as to the attendance, in person and via television and media streaming, of his inauguration has gone on for way too long. The issue is that Press Secretary Sean Spicer made statements on Saturday that contradicted what actually happened and what was recorded by journalists, citizens and other observers at the event and around the world. The first appearance of Mr. Spicer as Press Secretary set a dangerous precedent of stating facts and painting the media as to be loaded with falsehoods, bad intentions and liars. Again, I reference George Orwell’s “1984”. We are coming dangerously close to the storyline in the famous novel.
In addition to “1984”, I can’t help but think of the original mini-series “V” and its follow-up “V: The Final Battle”. After an appearance of the antagonists, “The Visitors”, was thwarted by The Resistance and the Visitors were revealed to be who they really are, the broadcast was shut down and the journalist covering the story was shot dead. Later, a new press conference was held, completely staged, with the same audience threatened and instructed as when to applaud.
I can’t help but reflect on the fact that Mr. Trump had paid staffers in the crowd at the Press Conference before his inauguration clapping and cheering at his remarks. When the president spoke at the CIA Memorial Wall on Saturday, he used the opportunity to falsely talk about the turnout at his inauguration, slam the media a bit, attempt to reverse the fact that he and the CIA have been at odds over the possible connection between Trump’s business dealings and Russia (and perhaps Russian’s influence on our last election) and all the while there were staffers applauding his remarks. At a memorial wall that honors those that died in the line of service.
Today, Press Secretary Sean Spicer mentioned during the press briefing that the President believes that 3 to 5 million illegal immigrants cast a vote in the last election, alluding to the cause as to why Hillary Clinton actually won the popular vote. The man just can’t let this go.
According to Trump, there has been some vast conspiracy across the country that caused this rift in the electoral process, despite the fact that:
- There is absolutely no evidence to suggest that this actually happened, despite the fact that the media has been trying to somehow prove this since Election Day
- The president is doing absolutely nothing in the way of an investigation to prosecute the people that were involved in this alleged conspiracy
- The president and his administration is taking absolutely no action to assure that this sort of voter fraud will never happen again
- There is absolutely no evidence that this happened
- Do we really think that if the election was so skewed by the numbers of voters he is stating that we wouldn’t want to have a special election after determining that the potential for fraud had been eliminated? Why is Congress or no one else taking action on this?
Trump is banking on the fact that if it’s discussed enough and if it’s said enough, this blatant lie will somehow become a truth in the dialogue of the American public.
People. This is the storyline of “1984”. This is how the Nazis ascended to power in the 1930s.
I am trying my best to maintain the respect of the office of the President of the United States. I really am. But I have absolutely no respect for the man that currently holds that title and most of that is because the man is a lunatic and all evidence suggests that he is some sort of pathological liar. The man lies constantly. He keeps telling these lies so he will believe them and he hopes everyone around him does the same thing.
I don’t think the American public is that stupid. I think we’re pretty stupid, but we’re not that stupid.
If Trump was being honest all the while I could wrap my head around the fight against some of his idiotic policies. Don’t get me started about him silencing the EPA or the National Parks Commission. But when you take honesty out of the equation, it is impossible to know what to fight, what to ignore and what to focus on. A man is only as good as his word.
And right now, Trump is proving that he is completely unworthy as a man.
I’ve always thought that Trump supporters, as much as their beliefs differ from mine, believed that they were doing what they believed was right as a patriot. A patriot has honor, dignity and respect. Trump has none of these. He’s a bully. He’s deluded. And he’s a liar.
We deserve better than this.
Change.
I cannot help but reflect on these quotes from 1984 by George Orwell.
The party told you to reject the evidence of your eyes and ears. It was their final, most essential command.
And if all others accepted the lie which the Party imposed—if all records told the same tale—then the lie passed into history and became truth. ‘Who controls the past’ ran the Party slogan, ‘controls the future: who controls the present controls the past.’
As of this writing we are just over 48 hours into the Trump Presidency. In those 48 hours, the only statement from Press Secretary Sean Spicer is to contradict the eyes and ears of the nation and state that Trump’s inauguration was the biggest inauguration ever.
From the pbs.org website, a side by side comparison of the crowds in 2009 and 2017.
Mr. Spicer indicated that the magnetrometers used by the Secret Service to screen the audience at the 2017 Inauguration slowed the down folks from getting into the viewing area and prevented many from getting to view the historic event.
The Press Secretary also said that white protective coverings were used for the first time for this inauguration, and the white coverings highlighted any empty space.
When confronted with the blatant inaccuracies of Press Secretary Spicer’s statements during the conference yesterday, Kellyanne Conway told NBC’s Chuck Todd that they were “Alternate Facts”.
They were lies. Spinning lies as “Alternate Facts” brings us to the quote posted at the beginning of this entry.
The party told you to reject the evidence of your eyes and ears. It was their final, most essential command.
The people of the United States deserve better than this. We deserve to be told the truth. We deserve to have a president that was elected by a majority vote. We deserve to be treated with respect, dignity, fairness and most importantly, as human beings with eyes and ears and a functioning brain.
Kellyanne Conway is banking on societal apathy. Trump is banking on apathy. Spicer is just destroying any credibility he may have right out of the gate.
I’m frustrated. What can I do, Joe Fairly Average citizen, to help further positive change in our country? I have asked myself, “what can I do?”
For one, I have been very vocal since Trump took office. Vocal on Twitter, somewhat vocal on Facebook and now, vocal on my blog. I have found a reason to blog responsibly again.
Secondly, I started a petition at change.org today. This is my first time doing such a thing and I don’t know what the outcome will be. If you agree with the petition I have started, please follow the link and make your voice heard. Spread the word.
Please follow me on Twitter. Yesterday I spent much of the day sharing the news of marches around the world. I was so proud to see the millions of people protesting in the Women’s March, across seven continents around the world. I shared photos and stories and evidence that there is strong motivation in our country to keep us moving forward. We need to keep up that momentum.
We need our progress to keep moving in a forward direction. We want to embrace the 21st century, not retreat back to the 1950s.
We can do this. But it’s going to take a lot of work, a lot of dedication and a lot of patience.
I am ready to do my part. Are you?
Memories.
I lived in the small city of Jamestown from 1987 to 1988 and from 1990 to 1991. This little city sits near the southwestern corner of the state and is home to a couple of famous people, including Natalie Merchant and the group 10,000 Maniacs, but probably more famously, nearby Celoron is birthplace of Lucille Ball.
The city plays up its connection to Lucy in a big way, with many areas of the downtown area devoted to Lucy. This is a development since my days of living there; back in my day there was hardly any mention of Lucy in the area. A few bawdy stories from the natives, but that was about it. One of the bright spots of Jamestown is that, despite the downtown being situated on the side of a fairly steep hill, the downtown area is still quite walkable. Walkable cities are wonderful. More cities need to adopt this and move away from Urban Renewal blunders of the 60s and 70s.
I’ve passed through Jamestown on a couple of occasions over the years but yesterday I drove all over the place, looking at mobile homes I lived in near the Pennsylvania border, going by my old apartment high up on the hill by the airport and the like. The city seems to be in better condition than when I lived there in the late 80s and early 90s. Things seemed a little brighter.
Passing through there made me realize how much I’ve changed in nearly 30 years. I still knew my way around and I felt comfortable getting from point A to point B while driving the area, but I’ve done a lot of growing up since my Jamestown days and it feels great. I definitely have no desire to ever live there again but maybe I’ll pass through again in the future.
One of the interesting things about that part of New York State is that with it being 400 miles from what folks thinks of as “New York”, it has absolutely nothing in common with the Big Apple aside from the state designation of a postal address. Jamestown feels like a midwestern town. Many of the residential streets are still made of brick. The pace is slower. The accent is (thankfully) completely different. Natives say “pop”. I think because of its distance from the focus of New York State, many of the roads are in really rough shape. Driving on a nearby expressway in the Jeep at 55 MPH nearly knocked my Wrangler apart; I had to slow down to keep the Jeep on the road from all the patch pavement laid helter-skelter along the roadway.
Small wonder I saw a huge number of Trump/Pence signs and never saw one sign for Clinton/Kaine.
It’s not that Jamestown is rabidly anti-anything, at least based on my experience, but it’s more that Jamestown, much like the rest of rural America is looking for change.
Maybe they’re just sick of feeling forgotten.
Infrastructure.
Earl and I were riding around the area in the Jeep this afternoon when we got into a discussion about the crumbling infrastructure of Upstate New York. While I haven’t heard any reports about water issues like the atrocities in Flint, Mich., one can’t help but notice that Upstate New York municipalities, as well as the NYS Department of Transportation, is having a hard time keeping up with one component of our critical infrastructure, and that’s maintenance of our roadways.
In order to move goods to and fro around the area we need to have a good highways with safe bridges and road surfaces that aren’t going to ruin a vehicle. As we bounced along a state maintained highway, I remarked to Earl that in my nearly 48 years of living in the Empire State I have never seen the roadways in such disrepair. And I have been very attentive to roads my entire life.
Back in 1987 a bridge on the New York State Thruway over Schoharie Creek collapsed, killing ten people. It was a very big deal when this happened nearly 30 years ago and measures were taken to avoid the situation again. Money was poured into our highway infrastructure throughout the Upstate counties and the roads were beautiful. But Mother Nature can be quite hard on asphalt around here and the constant scaling back of construction projects due to budgetary concerns is really start to show the wear and tear on our highways.
On a recent road trip, I was startled by the condition of the main thoroughfare in the Jamestown area. The picture above was taken along NY Route 394 in the Town of Busti. This busy road serves the majority of commercial interests in the area. I can’t help but wonder how many cars get beat up on this roadway as residents try to do something as simple as go to the mall.
Businesses that might consider moving to the area must look at the condition of our roads and buildings and bridges and wonder if the state is really as committed as they claim to be when everything seems to be in disrepair.
I know this all falls on the shoulders of the budget and the fact that there’s just not enough money to go around. I hear the word “entitlements” being thrown around quite a bit. Some like to blame welfare, others like to blame the “lack of taxes” on the rich. I think it’s a mix of everything.
I wish I could suggest a solution to the faltering economy in the Empire State, but I don’t have answers. All I know is that what we are doing isn’t working. With weekly reports of politicians being hauled off to jail I suspect that corruption is part of the problem as well but the populace seems too lazy to vote to get some new blood in Albany.
This is disappointing.
I’m hoping that someday I’ll be around to see the Empire State live up to its name once again. I just hope I don’t lose the Jeep in a pothole while I’m trying to get to the grocery store.
Captain Caitlyn.
Photo courtesy of Mike Fizer at aopa.org
Caitlyn Jenner is a pilot. Before today I didn’t know that she was a pilot.
AOPA (Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association) writer Barry Schiff recently featured Caitlyn in his regular feature on pilots and predictably is getting some flack for the feature. There’s usually some flack from the sidelines when something new or different is introduced in a traditional atmosphere (and aviation is steeped in tradition). This is sad but true. I took a moment this morning to send a message to Barry thanking him for his inclusion of Caitlyn in his column.
While I believe that a lot of what Caitlyn does is publicity driven and I don’t agree with some of her political leanings, as a fellow pilot I can’t help but smile when I think about her flying her 1978 Beech Bonanza V35B. Good for her! If our paths were to cross I’d shake her hand and ask to see her airplane. It sounds fantastic.
DL 2003.
I’m pretty sure I’ve used this blog title of “DL 2003” before, as I’m pretty sure I’ve flown this flight number before. I mentioned to Earl this morning that I know I’m becoming a seasoned airline traveler when I can pack for a trip in less than five minutes, I roll my eyes at the “gate lice” (zones 2 and 3 crowding the gate before boarding has even started) and I’m starting to repeat flight numbers.
I find it all rather exciting.
I am off to Greenville, South Carolina for the week for work. I’m looking forward to the team meetings that are scheduled for the week; I find them to be energizing and exciting. The hours are going to be rather intense, but I enjoy the challenges, my position and my career in general. I haven’t been able to say that throughout my entire life.
I’m happy that I’m arriving in Greenville the day after the latest Republican Debate. The debate was held at the Peace Center, which is across the street from the hotel I usually stay at whilst in Greenville. Rates there were higher than normal when I was booking this trip so I opted to save the company a little money and decided to stay at another hotel, though I will still be in the downtown area. Winter weather conditions are forecasted for tonight into tomorrow; I’ll get to see firsthand how the folks in the South handle the snow and ice. It should be a hoot.
I’ve been debating folks on my friends list on Facebook since the announcement of the passing of Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia. Several folks have been saying things like they’re breaking out the champagne or posting lyrics to celebratory songs such as “Celebration” or “Ding Dong The Witch Is Dead”. While my ideology is nearly the polar opposite of Justice Scalia, I can’t bring myself to be in a celebratory mood over a man’s death. I’m reminded of the story of when Vivian Vance found out about the death of her television husband William Frawley. The two didn’t like each other in real life and when she found out of Mr. Frawley’s passing she barked out “Champagne for everyone!” with a gleeful tone. Having the same approach to Justice Scalia’s death seems tacky to me. While I think the United States will be better off with him off the Supreme Court, celebrating the fact that death removed him from the bench seems overly ghoulish. While the man said some hateful things and pushed for divisive legislation, I’m sure that his family is still mourning the death of their loved one. Imagine sitting at a Thanksgiving dinner, arguing with your grandfather, who believes in the polar opposite of everything you believe in and then he drops dead in the mashed potatoes. I’m sure you wouldn’t jump up and starting singing and drinking champagne and I’m pretty sure you’d be offended if some stranger walked up to your grandmother and screamed “Good riddance!” at the calling hours. While these scenarios may work in comedic scenes of a sitcom, in reality they’re callous, mean spirited and completely unnecessary. I firmly believe that we should conduct ourselves on the Internet in the same exact manner that we conduct ourselves in real life. And if you would drink champagne in the presence of Justice Scalia’s family and cheer about his death, well, I’m not sure that I want to be associated with you.
Our life on this planet is a fleeting moment of indeterminate length. To live our life to the fullest is to embrace our wisdom, grow with the Universe, share our experiences and conduct ourselves with compassion. To live to the contrary is detrimental to what I believe is the “master plan” of life.
Choices.
My mom called to chat this evening. She was “Granny Nanny” this evening; she was baby-sitting my seven-year old nephew this evening as my sister went out for a night on the town. My nephew had a friend over; they were watching a wrestling movie. My nephew then apparently decided to relocate the cat’s bed while she was eating in the kitchen. My mom had to pause our conversation to ask why the cat’s bed was being relocated. There was no real response except my mother let out a little bit of a noise that resembled what I would have heard at my nephew’s age when I relocated the cat’s bed. It was good to hear that even though it was 40 years later, the old girl still has that feisty kick.
I mentioned in a blog entry earlier this week that my family didn’t really talk about politics when I was growing up. My mom apparently still reads my blog (hi Mom!) because she thanked me for recognizing that she made thought out choices when she votes. This spurred a conversation about the upcoming Presidential elections. We actually talked politics. She’s the more liberal minded of the family. My social awareness, such as it was when I was growing up, was definitely influenced by her. I remember her telling me that Anita Bryant was a very mean lady that didn’t like some people when I saw her on the news with a pie in her face. She didn’t get wicked upset when a distant cousin came out as gay in the late 1970s (others in the family kind of had a freak out). We talked about taxes and our impressions of the New York State Welfare System and both agreed that it is way too easy to abuse. It was a great conversation. When talking about the Presidential elections, we both agreed that neither of us were thrilled with the choices that were shaping up for November but we further agreed that we didn’t think it would be a good thing if Trump became President (I really can’t see that man with access to the nuclear codes). We would vote for whomever we thought was the least damaging to the country as a whole. I told her I would have a gun in the house if the wrong choices were made and chaos insued. That sparked a conversation about my dad teaching me how to shoot all sorts of guns when I was a late teenager and that I was still pretty good at it. There were other points of the discussion that were quite nice and refreshing. I’m happy that I can talk to her about these things as an adult. It was a great conversation.
I can’t imagine living in Iowa, New Hampshire or South Carolina right now with the barrage of political ads that they must be enduring. With the GOP beating the war drums of fear in an unprecedented fury, Bernie Sanders yelling about his far-left social ideals and Hillary doing her thing again, I don’t know if I would be able to watch any media in those influential states without quivering in fear that another attack ad was going to grace my television screen.
I’ve come to terms with the fact that my ideal candidate just ain’t gonna happen in November. The best we can hope for is to weigh all the points and plans and elect the person that is going to do the least amount of damage by respecting majority opinion, the Constitution and the recognition that “all men are created equal”. I want a Patriot, not a Grandstander.
I want us to move forward again. And I look forward to talking to my Mom about it.
