Monday Musings - February 3, 2020

1. Welcome to February 2020.  It is already the third day of the new month. Remember, this February is a Leap Year February, hence, it had 29 days!

2. Yesterday was an interesting weather day. It started partly overcast, then turned into a gray rainy day, and finally the clouds cleared about 2:30 PM and the sky was clear and beautiful. 

3. How about that Super Bowl? It definitely was SUPER! I did not post it on my blog, but someone at work asked me who I wanted to win and I said Kansas City and they will win by 10! I missed it by a point--they won by 11. Final score, in case you missed it: Chiefs 31 - 49ers 20. The Chiefs actually scored all of the points needed to win the game during the 4th Quarter (21)!

4. We are back to the Impeachment proceedings today. I wonder what surprises await us? 

5. Hopefully, the weather here in the Baltimore region will continue to be as moderate for February as January was! I love mild winters. I know the ret of the country is getting slammed--but it is relatively mild here.

6. Today in History. On February 3, 2005, Alberto Gonzales wins Senate confirmation as the nation’s first Hispanic attorney general despite protests over his record on torture.

The Senate approved his nomination on a largely party-line vote of 60-36, reflecting a split between Republicans and Democrats over whether the administration’s counterterrorism policies had led to the abuse of prisoners in Iraq and elsewhere. Shortly after the Senate vote, Vice President Dick Cheney swore in Gonzales as attorney general in a small ceremony in the Roosevelt Room at the White House. President Bush, who was traveling, called to congratulate him.

Headlines

Reid, Chiefs are comeback kings - CBS Sports

SARS Stung the Global Economy. The Coronavirus Is a Greater Menace. - The New York Times

Iowa Does Represent America: It’s Old - The New York Times

China counts economic cost of virus as markets plunge, death toll up - Reuters

Russia to expel foreigners with coronavirus, halts passenger trains to China - Reuters

Bushfire smoke blows into Australia's capital as fire threat eases - Reuters

Ronald Reagan Quote for the Week

Hatred, envy, and bigotry are as old as the human race itself, as too many tragic passages in the history of the world bear witness. What is new and daring and encouraging about the American experiment is that from the beginning, men and women strove mightily to undo these evils and to overcome the prejudice and injustice of the old world in the virgin soil of the new.
  -- Remarks in New York City on Receiving the Charles Evans Hughes Gold Medal of the National Conference of Christians and Jews - March 23, 1982

-- Bob Doan, Elkridge, MD

What Does the Groundhog Say?

Punxsutawney Phil

Groundhog Day 2020 has arrived! It kind of slipped right onto the scene amid the political circus occurring in Washington. 

The day is a palindrome-- 0202 2020.

It is Ground Hog Day, that uniquely American celebration to hopefully declare an early end to Winter and the beginning of rebirth and declare an early Spring. 

It is also Super Bowl Sunday! Maybe Phil from Punxsutawney can also predict the the outcome of the big game. 

I know it is a much needed diversion from the political upheaval of the day. 

So I am watching the forecasting event live. My favorite rodent in the world has arrived with his prediction. 

So what does the groundhog say? 

And the prediction is for an early Spring. Yay!!

-- Bob Doan, Elkridge, MD

What Does Failure Look Like?

The Senate confirmed that the fix is in and that the Impeachment Trial is not a trial but a political exercise in futility.

No witnesses, no documents, no justice in the Senate - LA Times

Republicans Block Impeachment Witnesses, Clearing Path for Trump Acquittal - The New York Times

While the final outcome, as I wrote some days ago, has almost never been in doubt, taking the high road to get to that ending would have been the honorable thing to do. 

Despite the weak defense argument that no witnesses were required, the failure to investigate fully the charges during the trial is a threat against the Constitution. AND even if the allegations were proven, the second question about whether they constitute an impeachable offense could then have been addressed from a factual basis. 

It is clear that fearing for their jobs the Senate Republicans, save for two brave souls, hung together.   It is a perversion of the words of Franklin when he warned the Continental Congress that: We must, indeed, all hang together or, most assuredly, we shall all hang separately. 

Rather than having an official, sworn testimony upon which voters could base their decisions during the upcoming elections, now we are left with a book,  rumors and innuendo. Let the blustery comments begin.

The truth is out there--but will remain hidden from view. The coverup is complete. The Senate has most assuredly failed in executing its most solemn of tasks.


-- Bob Doan, Elkridge, MD

Truth of the New Normal

What is the new normal? 

We as a society have discovered the new normal through the political upheaval that we have been experiencing. And also in the social paradox that we are daily confronted with. 

The new normal is that there is no normal. Everything is in play right now. Civility is gone and brutal dishonesty is the has become the closest thing to truth that we can find. I need an interpreter to understand where we are on the continuum of truth to falsehood. 

 I was astounded at the loose handling of truth and fact on both sides during the Impeachment Trial. I was appalled at the blatant misrepresentations and falsehoods being professed as fact. But, in a society where absolute truth has been eradicated, it it to be expected. Society has become the product that has been taught in schools for decades. 

There are no absolutes. Truth is evaluated through the observer's lens and is the result of viewer experience. Therefore, there is no false news--or false truths, only truth of a different perspective.

It is not serving us well. We need some absolutes to help us navigate landmines out there.

-- Bob Doan, Elkridge, MD

January--and it's not over yet!

It is the 30th of January!

It feels as if 2020 just began and it is about to be 8.3 percent complete with the end of January arriving tomorrow. 

It has been a tumultuous month.


- The U.S. killed an important Iranian general

- Iran attacked U.S. bases

- The Impeachment Trial began in the Senate

- The stock market rose to all time highs making us think that the economy is doing great

- The fires in Australia were out of control and then were contained, mostly

- The coronavirus burst onto the scene eclipsing our fears of the flu and probably beginning a pandemic

- Kobe Bryant and eight other people died in a tragic helicopter crash

- Two satellites had a close encounter over Pittsburgh last evening

And the month is not over yet!

I wonder what February will bring? I hope it is more sedate.

Did you ever notice that January is generally thought of as cold and snow while February is hearts and flowers? February is the colder of the two months!

-- Bob Doan, Elkridge, MD

As the Impeachment Continues

The defense rested. 

The question still on the table is do the President's actions meet the threshold for removal from office? Despite their assertions that the President did nothing wrong, questions remain. And, despite the assertions to the contrary, if the President did do something wrong do the transgressions meet the threshold for impeachment and removal from office. 

I have been fully interested in the entire proceedings and how the case has progressed. Moving into the next two days of questioning the next steps in the process are becoming clearer. 

I find that the process has been a fascinating and instructive look into the deepest workings of our government. 

Despite that the final outcome is almost assured, the journey to the completion of the impeachment is critical.

Observation: Did anyone else notice that the Chief Justice asks everyone to recite the "Pledge of Allegiance to the Flag" at the beginning of the session? It is not a pledge to the flag--it is the Pledge of Allegiance. The first line is about pledging allegiance to both the flag and the Republic for which it stands. 

-- Bob Doan, Elkridge, MD

Illegal Dumping - Elkridge

Garbage Along US 1 in Elkridge, MD
January 26, 2020

It was incredibly terrible what Chris and I witnessed over the weekend with respect to trash dumped along the highway. In Elkridge, along U.S. 1 near Troy Hill someone piled what appeared to be a large pick-up truck load of garbage along the highway. 

We could not believe that someone had just dumped  trash along the road, but then further along the highway alongside of the on-ramp to MD 100 was another smaller pile. We heard that there were other piles as well along the road. Sadly, we could find no news reporting about the incidents. Chris and I considered whether it was a group cleaning litter form the roads, however, there was no signs that the roadways were any cleaner. 

Looking alongside the highways I noticed that the amount of litter is out of control. Of course the litter is highlighted because of the winter and the grasses are not growing to hide the trash. I cannot fathom why people believe that it is alright to throw their garbage into the environment. We are turning our region into a large garbage dump. 

-- Bob Doan, Elkridge, MD

Monday Musings - January 27, 2020

1. I an unbelievable burst of speed, the last Monday of January is upon us. The first month of this new decade will be complete in a few short days. 

2. Orioles pitchers and catchers report to Spring Training in two weeks from today, February 11th. 

3. Garbage. I haven noticed a huge amount of garbage along the roads. Yesterday in Elkridge along the side of U.S. 1 someone dumped a large number of garbage bags! What is going on. What do people feel the need to make the outdoors as dirty as their homes and cars?

Jax During Basketball Game
Arundel Middle School
January 26, 2020

4. The loss of Kobe Bryant in a  a tragic helicopter crash reminds me that life is a gift and each day should be lived as if there were no tomorrow.

5. Both of the boys youth basketball teams lost yesterday during hard fought games.

6. And now, we return to the Impeachment Trial after a much needed day off.


7. History today. On January 27, 1945, Soviet troops enter Auschwitz, Poland, freeing the survivors of the network of concentration camps—and finally revealing to the world the depth of the horrors perpetrated there. Auschwitz was really a group of camps, designated I, II, and III. There were also 40 smaller “satellite” camps. It was at Auschwitz II, at Birkenau, established in October 1941, that the SS created a complex, monstrously orchestrated killing ground: 300 prison barracks; four “bathhouses” in which prisoners were gassed; corpse cellars; and cremating ovens. Thousands of prisoners were also used for medical experiments overseen and performed by the camp doctor, Josef Mengele, the “Angel of Death.”


Headlines

Kobe Bryant, Transformational Star of the N.B.A., Dies in Helicopter Crash - The New York Times

Trump Tied Ukraine Aid to Demands for Inquiries, Bolton Book Says - The New York Times

As Coronavirus Fears Intensify, Effectiveness of Quarantines Is Questioned - The New York Times

China virus deaths rise to 80 as Hong Kong bans visitors from worst-hit province - Reuters

Turkey searches for last people missing from quake that killed at least 38 - Reuters

Ronald Reagan Quote for the Week

Too often character assassination has replaced debate in principle here in Washington. Destroy someone's reputation, and you don't have to talk about what he stands for.


-- Bob Doan, Elkridge, MD

Billy Coulter and Arch - A Concert Evening

Billy Coulter (L) and Arch (R)
Cellar Music House Concert
January 25, 2020

Last evening, Chris and I attended a house concert featuring Billy Coulter and Arch. The concert was the revival of the Cellar Music House Concert Series which had been dormant for a few years. 

It was a nice evening for a house concert as the weather was nice and did not present difficulties for driving. To make the evening even better, the music was fabulous. Billy Coulter has a nice easy rock sound with lyrics that come from the heart. He is well known in the D.C. area and has won many local awards. He related a story where one of his songs was even used in by a national news outlet. Billy and Arch make a great duo and it is clear that they have played together often and they work together as a smoothly functioning team to create enjoyable and compelling music. 

I added a short video to help visualize the venue and highlight the performers. 

Cellar Music House Concerts creates an intimate forum with close access to the artists. The room allows for good viewing and easy access. It is in the basement, or cellar, and so there are stairs. The crowd last evening was friendly and enjoyed the performance. The exchange of food and drink made the evening a perfect--good food, great drink, and fabulous music. 

What could possibly be better? 

-- Bob Doan, Elkridge, MD

Orator for the Ages

In this day of sound bites and speeches which are nothing more than quotable moments strung together to garner crowd reaction, it was refreshing to hear a speech delivered by an orator that carried itself without applause or comment by the audience. Adam Schiff provided a performance memorable of performances by Daniel Webster and Patrick Henry. 


Most speakers work today for the reaction and applause--they give small bites of information and play to the crowd. How difficult it must have been for Adam Schiff speak to a silent room and provide over two hours of riveting, cogent oratory. And not on just one occasion, but two moving days, both Thursday and Friday nights.

Adam Schiff
Closing Argument in Trump Impeachment Trial Day 3
January 23, 2019

But I was amazed, when I woke this morning, to find that I was not the only person so moved by the closing argument delivered in an eloquent manner. My Twitter feed was "blowing-up." 

Last night followed on to Thursday night. I felt one of the strongest statements Schiff made last evening was:

All over the world, those living under oppressive regimes look to us. They look to us because we have a rule of law. Because in America, no one is above that law. To my Senate colleagues, I implore you: Give America a fair trial. She's worth it.
-- Adam Schiff, Day 4 President Trump Impeachment Trial, January 24, 2020

And, what is wrong with a fair trial? There is always fear when things done in darkness are exposed to the light!

Follow the evidence!

We the People of the United States, in Order to form a more perfect Union, establish Justice, insure domestic Tranquility, provide for the common defence, promote the general Welfare, and secure the Blessings of Liberty to ourselves and our Posterity, do ordain and establish this Constitution for the United States of America.

It is not about who wins or who loses--it is about preserving the Republic. 

-- Bob Doan, Elkridge, MD