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MORE CHATTER THAT DOESN'T MATTER

I am a victim of the Kavenaugh dilemma.  I sat glued to the television set (and I am not a TV aficionado) during the recent hearings.  I was mesmerized by Judge Kavanaugh’s in depth answers to the questions of legal precedent, his   knowledge of the law and his communication skills in expressing that knowledge in a clear, concise and distinct manner that even I could understand.  I  saw for the first time that the decision of a Judge is not (or should not be) his decision but his ability to understand the words of the law, the interpretations of others in similar cases, and after careful analysis, render a decision in the case before him on the basis of existing law, analysis, review and with the insight of precedent.  

Perhaps I am naive but it seems to me that our laws,  and the challenges they address, might be compared to the framework of a great building. Our Constitution is the foundation on which a framework of legal decisions either strengthens and enhances its strength to withstand society's  earthquakes and tsunamis of time or falls as rubble into the abyss.  I have watched (perhaps not always with the same intensity) many inquiries in the Senate nomination process from glimmers of the Bork nomination, the Clarence Thomas spectacle and more recently that  of  Justices Roberts, Alito, Kaden, Sodermeyer and Gorsuch.  They were at the mercy of men and women (many of whom were obviously inferior intellectually, morally and judicially)  who would, in their advise and consent role,  influence, if not determine,  their fate.  I have been awed by an awareness that those Judicial nominees represent the best of our country’s thoughtful and intellectual giants .  While I have been impressed and overwhelmed with the extent of wisdom, knowledge and intellect that each articulated, none impressed me more than Judge Kavanaugh.

If politics is a validating factor in the Judicial process we have invalidated the process.   Politics were exercised when we voted for the President whose responsibility it is to appoint our Judges. That is a responsibility that we are affixing  when we vote for a President.  Representatives are appointed by the ranking member of each party in the Congress to serve on a committee to advise and consent to those Presidential appointments. When politics becomes more important than merit in a judicial review, the process is compromised, in my view.  Politics restrains our liberty by depriving us of the assurance that our laws will be judged in an enlightened, fair,  unbiased manner unstained by preconceived political views.

 

In the case of Judge Kavanaugh,  we have not only permitted politics to disgrace that liberty,  we are engaged in ruining a lifetime of achievement,  discounting a great intellect and destroying a man and his family because, as a youth, it is alleged that he engaged in youthful, immature acts of sexual misconduct that are both unproven and uncorroborated.  Furthermore, in what I truly believes has been a partisan effort to thwart this nomination by the Democratic party, two people’s lives and that of their family have been inexcusably forever  affected.  Does our stupidity have no bounds?

I want to make it clear. As President Trump has said, and I think we all agree, (perhaps even the Trump haters who have made this nomination process so obscene) Dr. Ford’s testimony was heart wrenching and credible.  Judge Kavanaugh’s  testimony was just as riveting and soul searching.  I cried with heartfelt sympathy and compassion for both.  I personally (like I believe a large percentage of women in our country today) also suffered sexual misconduct.  I understand her agony.  However, I look back on those years when young boys had more arms and legs than a centipede and thank goodness I escaped the humility of permitting satisfaction to their raging hormones. I hold those boys no ill will today and in fact, enjoy visiting with them and their family on my infrequent visits to my home town. They were guilty of engaging in acts that could ruin their life by today’s “me too” outcry.  Yes – there was and is a problem. However, any model that  might actually be an instrument in our effort to provide guidelines for awareness, respect, moral values and behavior continues its downhill decline and  is deemed offensive in both political correctness and secularism.

 If Judge Kavanaugh is innocent as he claims, should he pay the price for Dr. Ford’s years of anguish?  Isn’t that what we will be saying if the charges cannot be substantiated and Judge Kavanaugh is denied this appointment for which he is uniquely qualified?  What about “Innocent until proven guilty”? Could Dr. Ford have relived a very bad dream so long that she now believes it happened and her dislike for Judge Kavanaugh, the President and the party that spearheaded his nomination, now be the face to which she has affixed to the perpetrator in that dream?

 

I welcome this last effort by the President to conclusively seek verification that Judge Kavanaugh did or did not engage in the alleged acts. But in fact, I do question whether we as a nation should deprive ourselves of the benefits of a great mind because of the acts of an errant teenager who has  proven himself to be a model citizen,  husband,  father  and exceptional in intellectual  and Judicial prudence on the basis of unsubstantiated allegations amid political misrepresentation and attitudes?

Let us not, in our rush to Judgment, further diminish the promises guaranteed under our Constitution. We should all hold sacred our one great liberty under the Constitution.

INNOCENT UNTIL PROVEN GUILTY.

THE JUDGE KAVANAUGH DILEMA

I do not understand what is happening in this country! I am 85 years old. I grew up in a rural religious community and later moved to a nearby small town.  My friends were the same from early childhood until I left home after graduation from High School. From the age of 10, keeping the boys at bay and keeping them in their place was part of the development scene.  I personally underwent an incident similar to what is alleged against Judge Kavanaugh in our High School gym and fellow students intervened.  No teacher knew and the boy remained a good friend throughout his life and was an upstanding citizen in the community, accepted for his gay life choice.  There were other students who observed the incident and not one would remember it today.  

This incident was not sexual but nevertheless, by today’s standards, the boy (about 16 at the time) and I would have undergone severe and traumatizing scrutiny and his life (and perhaps mine) could have been forever blemished in the community.   I remember the incident today because of all the claims, outcry and accusations and wonder   “why” the fuss. Rape is wrong and must be acknowledged. Sexual harassment in the workplace must be managed and needs to be dealt with but in my opinion too many women are using irresponsible acts of immaturity, disrespect and abuse as reasons to label otherwise good citizens.  Questionable conduct must be confronted.  As a former employee in the entertainment industry (CBS to be precise) I learned this lesson first hand.    

I had forgotten my childhood incident but as women come forth with their accusations and claims of trauma I remembered it and that caused me to question their motives. Are we putting too much emphasis on  "me too" memories  by trying to legislate morality and not enough on teaching our children rules, respect and the dos and don’ts of life? The Me Too crowd wants to make an issue of things that happened in a bygone era, much of which was either consensual or a matter for rejection.  

In my youth, keeping hormone active boys in their place was dating 101.  As I think back, I recall at least 10 events that I personally experienced that involved questionable and possibly illegal behavior by today’s standards.  To have pursued an action against those young men would have ruined their life and certainly created a drama that would have left me forever marred.  I had brothers and I understood the problems of young men at that age.   Those young men who made inappropriate sexual advances grew up, married, had families and became pillars of society.   Was I a target? Was I to blame?  I was neither pretty nor flirty and I did not wear attire that was suggestive so go figure!  I took solace that others had similar problems so I don’t think I was any different.

When I grew up, girls who succumbed to the sexual advances of hormone active young men were known labeled and had a reputation for promiscuity.  Just for the record, I was a virgin when I married my husband 67 years ago this October 7 and I have never had sex with any man other than my husband. In spite of many questionable acts of behavior directed at me in my youth, I suffered no shattered mental drama, no fear of men and certainly, no ill will toward any boys who acted inappropriately during my youth.  Yes, there were instances of questionable conduct and even inappropriate conduct but I acted appropriately as I was taught by my parents and my older brothers.

If anything untoward happened in Judge Cavanaugh’s youth,   he has proven himself to be a good citizen and responsible member of society.  I am heart sick that any man who has suffered through childhood development in a different era when sexual guidelines were not yet developed can now in later years be ostracized by society because of youthful over active hormones! (Guidelines that are nothing more than use  a condom, take a birth control pill or just  say yes and if there is pregnancy, get an abortion).

I would like for every member of the Committee to be quizzed on what they did on their dates in their youth.  How many  can actually say that they neither engaged in nor were subjected to some degree of inappropriate  sexual advances in their youth and did any of those advances occur when either party was under the age of 18? 

Come on America – get real.  How can we ever have great romantic literature if we take sex out of romance? 

THOUGHT FOR THE DAY

After a night of unusual cold for Southern California, the sun shines bright and the nippy air inside the house has warmed.  The day has began and life goes on.

News on line and on the tube reveals little startling information beyond the sanctions imposed on North Korea for their alleged hacking of Sony Pictures.  This is an action that I want to applaud if we really have proof that it was North Korea who hacked Sony.

I have heard several reports that suggest that the hacking exhibited an expertise and efficiency beyond the scope of North Korea's capability.  Our FBI and State Department have cast aside these reports and seem confident of their analysis and judgment.

As a "doubter" from way back, I am not sure whether I believe the private expertise or the bureaucratic conclusions. I do know that it would be disheartening for our bureaucrats to be wrong and yet, incompetence has become a frequent guest at our administrative buffet that serves up law and order.  Thus, I sincerely hope that our disenchantment of South Korea has not provided another instance of grasping at straws and drawing conclusions based on inaccurate assumptions that cannot be substantiated.  I have no doubt that South Korea deserves whatever sanctions we impose but my sense of fairness needs it to be for the right reasons.

OUR WORLD AS WE KNOW IT

I can't know what others may be thinking but  it seems to me an uncommon number of people see themselves as "smarter" than their fellow man.  I understand the affliction because I tend to suffer from it myself. That said, I suggest we all exercise what we perceive as smart in our choices for leadership and politics.

It seems to me that it is time we all come to grips with a truth -- those that we depend on to exercise intelligent decisions on our behalf are probably not that much smarter than you or me.  Unquestionably, they think they are but have you really seen any evidence that they may be? Elected representatives may have more information on which to make their decisions but do you really think that their thought processes are that much improved over the constituents who elected them and whom they serve?

It seems to me that we need to get away from our "one issue" thought process. Whether our elected officials reflect a pro or con position on things that are important to us as individuals should not, in my opinion, be the basis on which we vote for them.  We need to look at the person and their position as a whole and consider whether this person will not only represent us well on one issue but consider whether he or she can reasonably represent our best interests.

Perhaps we  need to be looking for the person who brings a broad sense of logic, wisdom, compassion, pragmatism.world affairs and yes, a degree of intelligence beyond listening to their political leadership and voting the party line.  Isn't it time we choose our leadership based on their vision and expertise in the area in which they will serve?

JUST AN ORDINARY CITIZEN WHO IS FED UP

I am frustrated with the ongoing accounts of government malfeasance and those who should be aggressively prosecuting it.  Elected Democrats would have us look the other way and elected Republicans have not the guts to pursue action against obvious disreputable acts. 

Benghazi is obviously a mess that was mishandled.  Why are there no answers?  The Administration and the Democrats are stonewalling and the Republicans let them get by with it!  The IRS has abused their trust and again, the Democrats say it has been solved, no one is too blame while the Republicans continue to try to get beyond the lies without success. No one has been fired, no one has even been accused, there has been no action that would get to the bottom of the problem.  Our laws are nothing more than words written on paper with no one enforcing them.  Why o we pass laws if we can’t enforce the ones we have?

The Attorney General has brought disrepute on his office by his apparent lies, an abuse of power that is over the top and failed to enforce the laws of the land and still, no one takes him to task.  While he refuses to enforce our immigration laws our President declares his faith in the Attorney General and the Republicans who should be actively pursuing these matters whine but does nothing.
 
I know that I will get no action from my Congressional Representative because he is a Democrat and abides by the party line. Everything is okay as long as it is the Democratic line.  I will get no help from my Senators because they are Democrats and they, too, follow the party line.   More and more I feel like a person without a country.  I love my country, but that does not mean that I love the political hacks who have been elected to serve the country’s best interests. 

Are you one of those who voted to return incompetent people to the seat of power?  If so, shame on you.  If not, is it not about time you wrote your Congressman, Senator and the President and told them what you really think, what you want and what you expect?  Then, and only then, perhaps someone will begin to recognize that you and I really want some action and that the “pussy footing” around at the “coed club” in Washington has to stop!!!  More than anything, I want to see this country get back on a footing that will sustain our liberty, create opportunity and provide us security.  We aren't getting it with the hacks that we have elected.  Let's get busy!!1

ON THE ROAD AGAIN

Friday, March 22, we board KLM Flight 901 to Amsterdam where we board the Viking river longboat Aegis for a 15 day cruise along the Rhine, Main and Danube Rivers. Our cruise will include visits to Holland, Germany, Austria, Slovakia and Hungary

March 23, we arrive in Amsterdam, capital of the Netherlands, and transfer to our ship.*Aegis.  Upon completion of boarding, we have the day to explore the city.

March 24, we sail to Kinderdijk, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, where our tour includes a network of windmills and exposes us to their indight into flood management technologies.

March 25, Our morning tour of Cologne, includes a visit to the Dom, Germany’s largest cathedral and a Unesco World Heritage Site. After lunch we are “free” to explore Cologne on our own.

March 26, Cruising past  castles along the Rhine, and a stop in Koblenz to visit Marksburg, the only Rhine castle never destroyed.

March 27, Miltenberg Enjoy the Main River as it winds its way through the Spessart region. After lunch, we stop in Miltenberg, known for its half-timbered houses, including the oldest inn in Germany.

March 28, Würzburg After breakfast we tour Würzburg’s Bishops’ Residenz, one of Germany’s largest and most ornate baroque palaces and a UNESCO World Heritage.

March 29, Bamberg After our morning sail and lunch we visit Bamberg, another UNESCO World Heritage Site.

March 30, Nuremberg After breakfast aboard ship we visit Nuremberg, and spend free time exploring Nuremberg’s old town.

March 31, Regensburg. Arrive in Regensburg in the late morning; after lunch, we  tour this medieval city, another UNESCO World Heritage Site.

April 1, Passau On a morning walking tour,  we will explore Passau’s narrow streets and Italianate architecture, and pass the Veste Oberhaus, a 13th-century fortress that served for centuries as a bishop’s stronghold.

April 2 Melk & Krems.  After breakfast we visit the abbey at Melk, a 900-year-old Benedictine monastery featuring Austria’s finest Italian baroque architecture and then rejoin our ship for a  cruise through the spectacular Wachau Valley this afternoon. Before dinner, you have free time to explore.

April 3, Vienna We ride along Vienna’s Ringstrasse, which replaced the city walls in the mid-19th century, see  Vienna’s world-famous Opera House, St. Stephan’s Cathedral and Hofburg Palace. After lunch aboard explore Vienna on our own.

April 4, Bratislava. After our early morning arrival, we will do a walking tour of Slovakia’s capital and explore this capital city. 

April 5, Budapest Cruise the Danube River which divides this Hungarian capital city into “Buda” and “Pest”.  Explore both parts, enjoy lunch aboard and the rest of the day exploring.  A final traditional Hungarian farewell dinner aboard completes our “River” adventure.

April 6, A 6 AM depart Budapest for Amsterdam and our connecting flight  to Rome (Civitavecchia), Italy  for our Mediterranean Sea voyage aboard the cruise ship, Norwegian Jade.

April 7 and 8  At Sea

April 9 Alanya, Turkey

April 10, Limassol, Cyprus

April 11, Haifa, Israel

Apr 12, Ashdod, Israel

April 13, At Sea

April 14, Iraklion, Greece

April 15, At Sea

April 16, Naples, Italy

Apr 17 Rome (Civitavecchia), Italy. Depart Rome for a connecting NY flight scheduled to  arrive Los Angeles 1220AM, April 18.

test feb 25