Ribbon Cutting

Today we attended the ribbon cutting for the new bridge over Little Dry Creek on Rome's wonderful Riverwalk. This completes the connection between the section of Riverwalk along the west side of the Oostanaula River with the Mount Berry Trail section. With any luck within another yera we will be back to celebrate the bridge being built to span the Big Dry Creek a few miles farther north. That section will tie the Mount Berry Trail to the Armuchee Connector! That will make it possible to walk from the confluence of the rivers all the way north to the Connector, across that bridge to the east side of the Oostanaula and back to your beginning point with no retracing of your steps and with out crossing a single road.

Checks and Balances

 I have always rejoiced in the checks and balances the founders built into the Constitution. They are meant to protect everyone from excesses by the majority while preserving government by we the people. Many of those checks just slow things down to help us be sure we are on the right track. Therefore I have opposed "stacking the courts" as FDR sought to do when his reforms were stymied by a right wing court.

Today I have changed my mind. We have a Supreme Court with four, very right-wing, very political, relatively young justices all appointed by presidents who achieved their office against the wishes of a plurality of the voters. (Roberts fits description that as well, but at least has some respect for precedence and the reputation of the court) Three of them were appointed by a man twice defeated in the popular vote and who only squeaked by in the Electoral College thanks to covert intervention by the world's current greatest war criminal.

The current Supreme Court of the United States is morally and ethically illegitimate. 

This morning's ruling weakening protections for our precarious worldwide ecology is the final straw. These extremists cannot continue to tear apart our nation, threaten our environment, and weaken our voting and privacy rights.

Therefore I now support the following actions:

1. Enlarge the court. Their workload is too large anyway.  And the people have favored Democrats to appoint judges for 28 of the last 32 years and yet, during that time Republicans have appointed a majority of the current justices! Republicans deliberately stole (IMO) two positions on the court -- stonewalled an appointment by our first black president and rammed through an appointment by a president about to be defeated soundly. Enlarge the court to balance the court to something approaching the ideology of the nation at large.

2. Do away with the filibuster. The filibuster is NOT the Founder's idea. The founders created a Senate that is already a brake on the majority. With the extreme filibuster instituted in the 1900s a small minority have a veto virtually any legislation. It has crippled our legislative branch. It was always a bad idea, and under unethical folks like McConnell, it is tyrannical. I personally would favor a return to the true "talking filibuster", but at this point ax it altogether.

3. Impeach Clarence Thomas. His refusal to recuse himself from votes involving issues his own wife is neck-deep in is unforgivable in an American jurist. Impeach him.

Unless we take back our rights, the Republicans will further erode them. Some are actively seeking to make a nationwide ban on abortion.  Thomas would revoke all SCOTUS rulings based on a right of privacy. (He is a black man married to a white woman; would he strike down Loving v. Virginia?)

Americans have decided:

- we want the voting rights of minorities (and everyone-else) protected

- we believe personal decisions like abortion, who we love, how we express that love in private, belong to the individual(s) not the state.

- the earth belongs to all of us and We the People have a right to protect it from the profit motive of corporations.

These six individuals are a clear and present danger to my children and grandchildren and my beloved former students. At 75 years of age, I pray to live long enough to see these six either gone from the court or in its minority again.

And by the way, if one of my children or grandchildren ever decides that she needs an abortion, I will be honored to provide her transportation, and if she likes, hold her hand through the procedure, regardless of what the vile Trumpists say or do or any unConstitutional laws they get through this illegitimate Supreme Court. As the Declaration that we celebrate next week proclaims, some rights are self-evident, and God-given.

Gleaning Facebook: Cassidy Hutchinson

As is true of almost all those who have testified in the bipartisan open hearings investigating the January 6 attempted coup, Cassidy and I likely disagree politically much more than we agree, but we do agree on the most basic of all small-r republican values: free elections resulting in peaceful transfers of power.

It is astounding that we have reached such a point in America that it takes real courage for a Capital-R Republican to stand up for that principle.

Comments:

Jim Howell I knew there had to be some patriots still look left in Republican Party.

Wendy Cannon Edelkind Sad they are trying so hard to discredit her. She is 25 years old. She has her whole adult life ahead and is just beginning in her career. Why would she chance it all by lying? I appreciate her standing up for her beliefs and doing what needed to be done.

Jaki Day Another brave women.

Jim Kissane

Leonard D Reeves She is more courageous than all those men who have taken the 5th.

Diann Howell Steward Thank you for sharing this!

Mailon Baxley Yes!

Don Rusk No one truly thinks she is lying. They are just worried about political survival!

Ted Parkhurst She is a powerful truth-teller!

Brad Weber Don't laud her as a hero. She's worked for the most treacherous scum in DC, namely, Rafael Cruz. She is part of the scheme that McConnell cooked up to divorce Trump from the GOP while keeping as many of his previously non-voting base as possible. McConnell has been heard on several occasions that he wants the Democrats to do the GOP's dirty work. She is a player in that scheme. The GOP used Trump to get their Extreme Court majority, and tax cuts for their donor buddies. Ms. Hutchinson successfully drew attention away from Flynn and everyone else who isn't cooperating with the J6 Committee, or pleading the fifth. What she did was clear the way for Ron Desantis to get the 2024 GOP nomination. Desantis is more evil than Trump, and smarter. Don't trust her. She'll be working for the next GOP president's office, and that will probably be Ron Desantis.

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The former President of the United States literally had a temper tantrum akin to that of a toddler.

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Even Fox (so-called) News admits that this testimony is compelling.

Old Leaves: The ACA is Upheld by SCOTUS

For the last decade Americans have had much better access to good medical care than before the ACA. I hope we can soon move further toward full access for all to good health care. I support removing the profit motive from healthcare and making equal access to heath care a right for all rather than a privilege for those who can afford it.

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June 28, 2012

It is a wonderfully historic day in America.

I am proud to support a former Constitutional law professor as President of The United States,

And I am proud to support the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (derisively called “Obamacare” by his political enemies). The American people support this act in almost all its parts, though a strong minority oppose it on principle amd a smaller group are confused about it and oppose the Act though they support its parts. A pretty large minority of the bill's opponents feel the bill does not go far enough!

First impression of the Results: 

• it will energize the far right- but they are already pretty well all-out enthusiastic opponents of the President.
• it will also energize the President’s supporters. He has been validated as a Constitutional expert and as a leader. He has accomplished what Theodore Roosevelt, FDR, Harry Truman, John Kennedy, and Bill Clinton failed to do. What many of us have had as a major political goal for decades has been accomplished.
• many independents and conservative Democrats will change their opinions as they see the benefits of this act and it has the increased authority of having been tested and having passed Constitutional muster in the Supreme Court.
• the only part of the Act that was found wanting was the Romney/Republican idea of an individual mandate. The Democratic more-straightforward tax idea (which Roberts found in the Act de facto) has been accepted.

My joy is overflowing.  Just imagine:

• Health insurance providers can NOT cancel your policy because you get sick. 
• Kids won’t be denied health insurance because of pre-existing conditions, NOW.
• Ordinary folks will be no longer be just one catastophic ilness or injury away from bankruptcy.
• Parent’s health insurance policies can cover young folks until age 26, NOW
• Grown-ups won’t be denied health insurance because to a pre-existing condition, as of 2014. 

Thank you, Mr. President, for your leadership. You took a lot of grief from your base over your compromises, but I believe you got through a great, but flawed, reform that was probably about the best bill that could have gotten a majority in the Congress. You went for "what you can get" as Edward Kennedy advised you. The reform will be refined and improved over the years.

Thank you, Mr. Chief Justice, for putting, in this instance, right and law ahead of politics. I wish (barring an opportunity for another Breyer, Stevens, Souter, or Ginsberg) you had been on the Court in 2000. I wonder if things would have been different.

Mel Tolbert

Today I was privileged to sing for the funeral of Melvin Tolbert. Mr. Tolbert was an active member of Trinity United Methodist Church as long as I can remember. His daughter Cynthia was in my sister Carol's 1967 class in at West Rome High School when my father was pastor at Trinity. Later she taught with me in Floyd County Schools, including McHenry. Mr. Tolbert was still driving himself to church a few months ago, and I always enjoyed talking with him after church. I sang "In The Garden" and "How Great Thou Art". I was blessed to have Debra Malone accompany me on the piano.

 

Telling Stories at Camp Sidney Dew

The folks at Camp Sidney Dew, the storied Scout Camp up near the Pocket in the panhandle of Floyd County Georgia, called a few weeks ago to ask me to do a one hour storytelling program for their campers. The event ended up get postponed on account of a Covid infection. But tonight I finally got to do that.

 

What a gorgeous location for a summer camp. 

But before I could get there I had to get through the security gate. 

I was sent to the Council Ring. I waited quite a while for my audience of about 80 to assemble. 

I had a little time to wander around and read the signs and notice the
special features of this special space.

Eventually the crowd took their seats. The camp supplied a great public address system which helps a lot in this sort of venue. I was tickled to discover that a significant part of the audience were folks from Ellijay. My "Yellowtail" story is set in Ellijay. I followed up with a ghost story -- "The Lieutenant's Jacket"--  which i set in Everett Springs for this telling. Afterwards I let the kids visit for a few minutes with a corn snake and a king snake.

One favorite moment: After I finished my tall-tale I asked the kids at what point they decided, "Wait a minute, this must be a talltale!" Several volunteered their eyeopening moments. One Cub Scout volunteered that he almost cried when "Yellowtail" (my imaginary Copperhead) died. 

The Council Ring signage includes the twelve attributes every scout memorizes 
and that I include in my "Yellowtail" story!

 

I am very curious about how this gravestone came to be here at Sidney Dew. Mr Hardin must have been a Scout and a supporter of the camp.

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Here are some comments from a post about this I wrote on Facebook:

Julie C. Watson
I didn’t realize it was still a BSA camp. Is the Girl Scout Camp still there?

Terrell Shaw
Julie C. Watson Gazelle Dew is gone but Misty Mountain GS Camp is just up the road a ways.

Julie C. Watson
Terrell Shaw not having been in Rome in a good while or a Girl Scout- I wasn’t sure! We need to camp up in that area sometime soon, and drive around! Thank you!

David Matheny
Terrell Shaw ..Near Lake Marvin?

Sarah Anne
What’s your traveling expense rate for Lynchburg?

Terrell Shaw
Sarah Anne might be a tough sell to the DNR. You just need to come back to Georgia! (I managed to tie a little GA ecology into it, and showed off a corn snake and a king snake.)

Michael J. Burton
So many memories of the council ring. Helped tote some those stones in 1957 as an order of the arrow initiate..

Bruce A. Day
I'm a little dyslexic... I read you were going to address SCOTUS...

Fifty-seven years!

I really was not enthusiastic about attending the reunion tonight. I'm in the middle of getting ready for our annual Fourth of July party. As Mother's executor I have lots to do preparing for Zoom distribution sessions. I want to do some writing. I need some new stories...

But we had paid our fee, and so we got cleaned up and dressed just in time and drove down to the Marriott. 

We had a great time visiting with my West Rome High School classmates from 57 years ago. 

Here are a few pics:

Ron Kennedy is a retired teacher, and like me has a special interest in ecology.
Ron is one of my closest friends my last two years of high school.

Alice Jeffries and I were the WIYN High Lighters (Is that what we were called? Something like that.) We drove to the WIYN radio station at the corner of Broad and Second Avenue every week to broadcast the West Rome High news.

Mailon Baxley (and Donna) has remained in Rome and we have run into each other many times
during the last couple of decades. Sheila and I shared a table with Mailon and Donna,
Craig and Patricia Brewer, and Ken Gossett.

I reminded Jane McCollum of the day in 1983 0r maybe 1984 when we happened upon each other at the Riverbend Mall. I had baby Brannon in my arms and Jane had a baby in hers. I remarked to her that I was glad to see that at least one of my classmates had waited as long as we had to start a family. Turned out the baby she was holding was not her child; the baby was her GRANDchild!

Tom Powell and Jane Smallwood. 

Carol Chapman and Roger Wade

Gordon Walden with Craig and Patricia Brewer

Paula Craven and Gordon Walden were two of my MYF friends
at Trinity United Methodist Church 1962-67.

Our memorial wall has grown. 40 of our classmates have died since graduation day in 1965.

Gleaning Facebook: Our Rights Are On the Ballot

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The Electoral College (through a very political and very radical Supreme Court) has envenomated America again and again this week.

First a stupid ruling on guns which will cost many lives.

And today overturning Roe v. Wade, eviscerating precedence and human rights.

Facebook Comments:

Chris Goss don't forget Miranda rights optional, forcing states to pay for religious institutions, etc...they are desperate to throw folks off the Hearings and galvanize their single issue voters

Jaki Day Guns owners have more rights than women

Donald Abernathy There is a greater agenda on the horizon I'm afraid.This is just the beginning a radical right,who embraces extremist groups, violence, and the end of our democracy.They are to stupid to cope in a logical world where people work out differences, so they're going to create one of power and violence.

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The right-wing radicals appointed to the Supreme Court by the criminal Trump -- who could not get even a plurality of votes for president -- made it clear: Reproductive rights, contraceptive rights, gay rights, marriage rights are ALL on the ballot this fall.

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A vote for ANY Republican is a vote for the radical right..

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March? Protest? Of course. But most important VOTE!

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Facebook Comments:

Donald Abernathy
We need to plant Flowers in this district, get rid of of Ms radical Greene.

Howard Smith
I could not agree with you more. Women’s rights, gay rights, voting rights and more are all at risk unless we vote for those who will protect them. Your vote is your voice. Use it this November!

Margo Ash
This is what I'll be wearing EVERY time I go out in public, from now through the Fall elections - including while I stand in line to vote. I'll also be volunteering politically - and I'm not a well woman. https://tinyurl.com/2v742r6h

Weekend in Hayesville

 We worked hard on our weekend board retreat for the Southern Order of Storytellers, but we also had a lot of fun. Here are some pictures from the trip...

Our home for the weekend was Cill Dara... 

...the beautiful home of Anne Wheeler and Dick Berliner... 

...high on a ridge above the Hiwassee River.

Dick & Anne's ten-year-old golden doodle Bridget...

...was a very amiable companion...

 

I am thankful that my favorite traveling companion was willing to join
with the SOS board for the weekend.

Dick and Bridget walked down the ridge... 

...to the river with me.

Saturday was a very long day of planning work by these
six  members (and  advisor) of the SOS board of directors.

Late Saturday afternoon we celebrated our work with a meal
together at the Crown Retaurant in Brasstown, NC. (This picture  of Kanute and Kathy at the Crown is taken from the restuarant's website.)

After supper Kanute gave us a tour of the John C. Campbell Folk School where he serves on the board.

Gwen and I took the opportunity to "perform" on the stage there.

Then we drove by a new curiosity nearby -- a Bitcoin "Mine". It was a huge outdoor remotely operated computer facility with very noisy and controversial cooling fans.

This was the Sunday morning view out our bedroom window.

Dick And Anne had eggs and bacon and toast ready for us by the time we got upstairs a little before 8.

Soon we were on our way back across the state line to a marina on Lake Chatuge where Cap'n Kanute was ready with a pontoon boat for a tour of the lake -- back across the state line right up the the cove where Kanute and Kathy live.

We could not have ordered more beautiful June weather for our weekend.