Respect Our Flag and the Values It Represents

Just for the record, when NFL players kneel during the National Anthem, they are protesting police racial violence. they are not breaking the law or dishonoring the flag. They are in fact implementing their 1st Amendment right of free speech. Their protest has nothing to do with the flag or the military, although Donald Trump tries to re-define their protest in those terms and distract us from the chaos that is his White House.

Our flag, however, is being disrespected almost every day by those who label themselves patriots.

On June 22, 1942, the National Flag code became Public Law 77-623, chapter 435, which among other things states: "No part of the flag should ever be use as a costume or athletic uniform." All of those tee-shirts, baseball caps, swimming suits etc. which feature the flag or a part of the flag are against the law. (The law does allow for flag pins to be worn on the left lapel and flag patches worn on the uniform of military personnel and other public service members.)

Two Violations

This law also states: "The flag should never be used for advertising purposes in any manner whatsoever. It should not be embroidered on such articles as cushions or handkerchiefs and the like, printed or otherwise impressed on paper napkins or boxes or anything that is designed for temporary use and discard."

Those popular paper plates featuring the flag, omnipresent around the 4th of July, are against the law. Those car dealers and other retailers who display the flag in their ads are violating the law.

In fact, the way the flag is displayed at many NFL football games violates the law which states: "The flag should always be permitted to fall freely." It is not to be stretched out over a football field and held in place horizontally.

The National Flag Law is continuously being violated in a variety of ways, but an athlete kneeling in the presence of the flag is within her/his rights, and not disrespecting the flag.

Our flag represents our country, based on our Constitution, which protects citizens' right to protest . The flag and the democratic values it represents should be honored and respected.

But, then there is this guy.

No One, Including Trump, Is Above The Law

When Michael Cohen, Trump's personal lawyer, under oath, said he broke campaign finance laws at the direction and in coordination with Donald Trump, he directly linked Trump to federal crimes against the integrity of our elections.

However, Trump thinks he is above the law. He used his twitter account and the bully pulpit of his office in an attempt to influence the jury in the case of  his former campaign chair, Paul Manafort. Now that Manafort has been convicted of fraud and tax evasion, he is sending signals to Manfort that he will pardon him if he doesn't spill his guts to the investigators.

Although Special Counsel Mueller's investigation has resulted in 35 indictments and five guilty pleas, Trump calls it a "witch hunt" and attacks his own Attorney General, Jeff Sessions, for removing himself and politics from the investigation. Implicit in all of this is that he wants to fire Mueller and end the investigation of his campaign.

According to Cohen, Trump ordered him to pay Stormy Daniels and Karen McDougal, prior to the 2016 election, to keep quiet about their sexual affairs with Trump and thus prevent voters from being influenced by that knowledge. Two felony crimes.

In addition, Cohen implicated Trump in the crime of receiving illegal and undisclosed contributions and funnelling the money through the Trump organization.

No matter what his base thinks, Donald Trump is not above the law. Fortunately, our Founding Fathers foresaw a situation like the present, and in Article One of the Constitution, made provisions for the impeachment of a president.  In their discussions, they were particularly worried about a president or presidential candidate interfering with elections and the Electoral College.*

The only problem we face at the present time is that we have a majority in the House and the Senate who either are afraid to challenge Trump or are basking in the power of controlling the three branches of government. (They will control the Supreme Court if they are successful in appointing Brett Kavanaugh.)

The irony is that we have the opposite of what the Fathers feared--a majority lording it over a minority. Now we have a minority-elected president and a minority party controlling the House and Senate. A minority lording it over the majority.

That being the case, if citizens want to make Trump subject to the rule of law, they will have to exercise their right and responsibility to vote, thus giving the power back to the majority, and thus returning to a true democracy.

* In addition to impeachment, the Courts ruled during the Watergate era that a president can be indicted. 
"Though the President is elected by nationwide ballot, and is often said to represent all the people, he does not embody the nation's sovereignty. He is not above the law's commands: "With all its defects, delays and inconveniences, men have discovered no technique for long preserving free government except that the Executive be under the law...." Sovereignty remains at all times with the people, and they do not forfeit through elections the right to have the law construed against and applied to every citizen."

Catholic Bishops Still Don't Get It

While the Pope is in Ireland apologizing for years of clerical sexual abuse, bishops are still trying to cover it up. 

Although  a Pennsylvania' grand jury determined that hundreds of Roman Catholic priests abused over a thousand children and went on to describe the church's "behavior as a playbook for concealing the truth," the state bishops' conference lobbied the Pennsylvania legislature to prevent legislation which would have extended the statute of limitations for child abuse.

Prior to that, several bishops went to court in an attempt to prevent the grand jury from from releasing the report on clerical sexual abuse within the Catholic Church.

Church leaders still mount court battles to prevent or reduce payments to victims.

Within the last week, a retired Mexican Cardinal threatened abuse victims and indicated they should be "ashamed." * 

One would think that in 2018 the Catholic Church would have reached the point of holding abusers accountable, and helping the survivors achieve the justice they deserve.

The victims do not need any more apologies; they need justice.They need their church to take action. The first and most minimal action is to stop covering up the abuse. the second and more important action is to assist the victims in their pursuit of justice.

When a mass shooting occurs, the White House, the GOP legislators, and the IRA  send their "thoughts and prayers," but refuse to take any useful action to keep guns out of the hands of mentally unstable individuals. The Catholic Church, unfortunately, seems to be taking the same course in reference to clerical sexual abuse. In addition to "thoughts and prayers," the bishops may set up a "commision" to study the problem.

Thoughts, prayers, apologies, and commissions are inadequate evasions. It's time to do the right thing, prosecute the abusers, eliminate the enablers, and seek justice and offer support for the victims.

* cf. article in Crux by Ines San Martin, August 21, 2018

Are Statues of Black Footmen/Jockeys Racist?

I grew up in northern Ohio in the 1950s, and I was always repulsed at the sight of a statue of a black footman/jockey. Even at a very young age I considered such figurines racist. a representation of a black man as a subservient slave. In fact, during those years,  my father once confronted a neighbor with such a statue in her front yard, and she replied, "Oh, I'm not racist, but isn't he such a cute n----r?" She obviously did not consider it in racial terms. To her it was yard art similar to a garden gnome. On the other hand, her use of the n-word revealed her true feelings.

For all the years since, I have regarded the owners of black footmen as racists, and in many cases, they were. 

However, more recently, I happened upon some interesting information which might contradict my assumptions and may cause me to reconsider.

Charles Blockson, a historian and collector of Underground Railroad memorabilia, claims that the presence of a black footman with a lantern indicated that the home was a stop on the Underground Railroad. If the lantern was lit or if a green scarf was attached to the footman's arm, the runaway slave knew the house was safe; if however,  a red flag was attached, the slave knew that he should not stop.

Some claim that even the clothing of the footman was a code. A striped shirt indicated this was a place to swap horses. A tailed coat meant overnight lodgings. A blue sailor's waistcoat meant this homeowner could get you to a port to depart for Canada.*

Not everyone accepts Mr. Blockman's theory, but even if the footman was some sort of code in the days of the Underground Railroad, it definitely no longer had that significance in the 20th century. Those who displayed it, did so for other reasons.

In addition, there is another theory as to the origin of of this particular yard ornament.  According to the River Road African American Museum, a 12-year old black boy, Jocko Graves, wanted to help George Washington cross the Delaware to attack the Hessian troops in Trenton. According to the story, Jocko was too young to join the Revolutionary effort, so he volunteered to watch Washington's horses, and then froze to death in doing so. To honor the boy's sacrifice, Washington reportedly commissioned a statue which became the basis for the modern lawn ornament of a black footman. 

The story of Jocko Graves appears to fall into the same category as young George chopping down a cherry tree. A story created more to demonstrate Washington's gratitude than Jocko's sacrifice. On the other hand,  the theory about the Underground Railroad may have some basis in fact. The slaves and the homeowners needed some means of communication and this method may have been used from time to time.

That being said, I still consider the black footman ornaments racist. I have a difficult time believing that those homeowners who display this black caricature are attempting to honor fugitive slaves and those who helped them.

Although the concrete footman no longer serves as a hitching post or a lantern bearer, some claim to display the figurines to recall the Old South or exhibit an equestrian theme, which is another way of honoring the good old days of segregation and Jim Crow, the days when a black man knew "his place" in society. More than being a welcome sign, the figurines tell us "This is White space." And, of course, "Blacks are not welcome."

If collectors of Americana want to preserve examples of the black footmen as part of our past, they should be careful to make clear these modern caricatures (large lips and protruding eyes) represent  repugnant symbols of subservience to African Americans. Their only value is that they remind us that some white citizens in the 20th century had a need to ostensibly tell African Americans that they were second class citizens.

*Snopes labels Blockman's theory as "unproven."  

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A Presidency in the Gutter

Donald Trump has done many things that I thought a President of the United States would never do. He courts racists and Neo-Nazis. He makes fun of the handicapped. He invites Russian to the Oval Office and reveals classified information about one of our allies. He lies constantly. He attacks the FBI and JOD. He attempts to end the Mueller Investigation. He refuses to release his tax returns. He pays money to a stripper to prevent her discussing their sexual encounter. He values the word of Vladimir Putin over that of our own intelligence agencies. And, he ordered ICE to take young children from their parents who were seeking asylum in the US and imprisoned them.


This list could on and on, but today he went a step farther. In a text, he bad mouthed Omarosa Onee Manigault-Newman, his former aide whom he had previously praised. His text: "When you give a crazed, crying lowlife a break, and give her a job at the White House, I guess it just didn't work out. Good work by General Kelly for quickly firing that dog."

The President of the United States calls a black female a "dog." 

I presume that "dog" is his a thinly disguised, misogynistic euphemism for "bitch." In his mind, women are dogs and bitches. He obviously has no respect for women, and he has previously made it clear he has no respect for blacks. In fact, Omarosa reported in her book that Trump uses the pejorative term, "n...er," in the Oval Office.

As a result of the 2016 elections, this is what the office of the President and the Oval Office has become: a shameless cauldron of racism and misogyny. That is why it is imperative that the citizens of this country send a message in the 2018 elections that this is unacceptable.






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Buck on Phil's Dorky Dance

Buck, my cantankerous friend and sometimes golfing partner, has been experiencing some health problems over the last two years. I attribute his ill health to the 2016 election of Donald Trump. Buck, a longtime registered Republican, was shocked when the GOP nominated Trump as their presidential candidate, and voted for a third party candidate, and like many was amazed Trump won the election.

He and I no longer meet for our weekly breakfast at Nick's Diner. These days, when we periodically get together, we meet later in the day at Havana Haven, a cigar lounge that features a humidor of quality cigars, a bar with a variety of  tasty scotch, comfortable leather lounge chairs, and few large screen TVs usually featuring the Golf Channel with the sound muted. (For those of you worried about second hand smoke, Havana Haven has an elaborate ventilation system.)

Last week, after we each had fired up a Rocky Patel, the bartender, Maria, came to take our drink order. Of course, Buck is quick to respond, "I'll have a double of Glenfiddich, single malt, 12 year on the rocks. And my manservervant here will have soda as he has to drive my Rolls for me."

Maria looked my way and I said, "Don't mind my grandfather; he has an undiagnosed brain disorder. I would like a double shot of Delmore single malt, straight. And the old guy is paying."

As she walked away, Maria muttered under her breath but loud enough for us to hear, "And I could have gone to the beach today, but I'm stuck in this nursing home, medicating retired clowns."

The Golf Channel was showing video of Phil Michelson dancing in his signature long sleeved shirt, presumably a commercial for something. Buck could not resist, "And Maria thinks we are clowns?. If you can't dance, don't do it in public, and definitely not on TV. If he has do do it, he should go to the basement and close the door."
"Well," I offered, "he probably made more money in that minute than you and I made in our best years."

"But we still have our pride," as he sent a large puff of smoke ceilingward.

"And your pride is paying for these drinks. Thanks."

"Whatever, Phil demonstrated his lack of pride at the US Open when he ran after a putt and hit it while still moving. Who would do that?"

"A very wealthy pro golfer wearing a long sleeved  business shirt."

For some time, we enjoyed our cigars and scotch in silence. Up to this point we had avoided politics, but I knew Buck was bound to bring it up. "What," he asked, "do Stormy Daniels and American farmers have in common?" 

"They are independent, hard-working entrepreneurs," I offered.

"Wrongo, bongo! They both got screwed by Trump and were paid to keep quiet."

Why did I not see that coming?

Ron's Tidbits: Blogging Again

Ron's Tidbits: Blogging Again: 2016 was the last year I blogged on a somewhat regular basis. As you recall it was in 2016 that a  minority of citizens elected Donald T...

Blogging Again

2016 was the last year I blogged on a somewhat regular basis. As you recall it was in 2016 that a minority of citizens elected Donald Trump President of the United States. Prior to that election and ever since, the internet, at least in the United States,  has been a hotbed of distasteful, disgusting hatred coupled with the notion of "alternative facts."




With so many voices out there spewing hatred, I was reluctant to continue blogging for fear I would be just another angry voice. Of course, I could choose not to be angry, but the fact is I was angry. I was angry that our country was systematically and at the highest levels rejecting our core values. 

Honesty, for example, became a joke. Our President would repeatedly lie to us, and his followers and political allies would just laugh it off as "Trump being Trump." I was angry when in the early days of the current administration I saw the President of the United States sharing confidential information with a Russian diplomat. But that was just the beginning of a series of embarrassing, uncaring actions that culminated in the practice of taking children from their parents and putting them in cages which DHS euphemistically labels care centers. At that point, I thought we were at the bottom, but then POTUS attacked our allies in Europe and NATO and went to Helsinki to play nice with Vlad Putin.

While I am still angry, I am an old man and refuse be caught up in the 24/7 news cycle and the clever distractions of Trump tweets or Russian bots. I will continue to be informed and attempt to separate the wheat from the chaff, but I do not intend to mud wrestle with neo-Nazis.  I will not throw mud on the white robes of the KKK; they have already soiled themselves.

What I will do is write about what interests me, whatever that happens to be at any given time. That may be religion, popular culture, sports, history, books, and yes, politics. I trust I will be able to refrain from hatred (Twitter and Facebook are better suited for that), but hopefully still retain a bit of sarcasm and satire.

That having been said, I am resurrecting Ron's Tidbits.

(If  I were honest, I would have mentioned the real reason I am returning to blogging: my wife told me to either go in the back room and write blogs or get a real job.)

Easter 2018 by Jim Bacik

For those who do not have the opportunity of reading Father Jim Bacik's meditations, I took the liberty of sharing his Easter Mediation (2018). May the liberating power of Easter be with you.

Sunday Meditation

Easter Sunday     B Cycle   April 1, 2018

James J. Bacik

Reading: 1 Corinthians 5: 6b-8   (optional)

On this great feast of Easter, the most important liturgical celebration of the year, the epistle interprets the resurrection of Christ from the perspective of the Exodus event commemorated at the Jewish Passover meal. By the time of Jesus, the Jews celebrated their liberation from bondage in Egypt with a sacred meal that included unleavened bread and roasted lamb. As part of the Passover celebration, pious Jews disposed of the old bread leavened by yeast, which they considered sinister and corrupting, and baked new unleavened bread, symbolizing a new purified life. The roasted lamb reminded them of the Exodus when God commanded the Israelite families in Egypt to slaughter a lamb, sprinkle the blood on their doorposts, roast the lamb and eat it in haste, ready to depart Egypt (Ex 12: 1-30).

Drawing on this symbolism, Paul instructs us: "Clear out the old yeast, so that you may become a fresh batch of dough." Since Christ, our paschal lamb, has been sacrificed, we should celebrate, not with the old yeast of "malice and wickedness," but with the "unleavened bread of sincerity and truth."

By linking Easter and the Exodus, the epistle invites reflection on the liberating power of the paschal mystery, the death and resurrection of Christ. In Luke's Gospel, Jesus began his public ministry by presenting himself as a liberator who will free the captives and preach the good news to the poor. In his personal interactions, he freed individuals from their fears, guilt and isolation. He healed lepers confined to the outskirts, freeing them to return to their families and friends. He liberated women from their social isolation and included them in his preaching and mission. His preaching called for forgiveness and reconciliation that breaks the cycle of violence and recrimination. Through his death and resurrection, Christ extended his liberating power to all people, in all times and all places.

By liberating us from all that enslaves us, Christ freed us for personal growth, for serving others, for contributing to society, for promoting the common good, and for extending the reign of God in this world.

Easter is a joyous feast because it proclaims the ultimate defeat of all the forces that impede, limit and confine the human spirit and celebrates the final triumph of Christ's liberating grace, which brings us full human development. Christ, the paschal lamb, has given us a fresh start so we can put aside the enslaving patterns of the past and enjoy the new life of authentic freedom.

We can imagine people who can benefit from this liberating message: the married woman who still feels guilty over a teenage abortion; the collegian who is struggling to escape the drug culture; the executive who is caught up in the whirlwind of frenetic activity; the social worker who is overwhelmed by an excessive case load; the citizen fighting cynicism over partisan polarization; the parishioner who feels unfairly constrained by the pastor and his staff; and the pastor who feels burdened by administrative responsibilities. Human existence is inevitably limited and constrained, which means the Resurrection, with its liberating power, is good news for everyone, including ourselves.

In what specific way can the Easter celebration be liberating for me?

  

Kaepernick is not the Problem

At a time when many NFL football teams need a quarterback, Colin Kaeprnick, a proven NFL quarterback, is unemployed.

 

 Is it that Colin Kaeprnick, a once revered NFL quarterback, refused to stand for the National Anthem as a protest against police brutality, and racist police profiling.? Is the league sending a message? Is it that the league owners fear negative backlash from fans put off by Kap's quiet and peaceful protest?

His unemployed status poses a problem, but the problem is not Colin Kaepernick. The problem is that everybody is arguing about his protest rather than discussing the the issues raised by the protest.  The press seeks everyone's opinion about his kneeling during the National Anthem; but why is the league, Roger Goodell, the owners, and the coaches not being questioned about their response to police brutality and police profiling?

The press is obsessed with the protest and the reaction to it, but ignores the issues causing the protest.

But this is not new. The establishment, when challenged, always attacks those presenting the challenge, rather than addressing the issues generating the protest. This occurred when women sought their voting rights, the unions sought to organize, blacks sought equal rights, and Americans opposed the War in in Vietnam and later in Iraq. However, in these cases, the message was always part of the story. In Kap's case, everyone has managed to avoid the message and focuses on his protest.

Whether taking a knee during the National Anthem is an appropriate protest is not the point. He is exercising his right to free speech in a peaceful manner. He is not breaking laws.

On the other hand, the NFL has a history of giving their players "a second chance" after they beat their spouses or shoot someone. What is different about Kaepernick's protest is that it calls attention to the issue of race, the issue neither the NFL nor the country wants to deal with,

Kaeprnick is not protesting against the police, he is trying to focus attention on police brutality and racism. In fact, this past weekend NYPD officers rallied in support of Kap getting a quarterback job in the NFL. (AP)

Let's face it, A football player used the huge NFL stage to remind us that racial injustice is still a glaring problem in our country. Unfortunately we have gone after the messenger and ignored the message.

The NFL owners should be hiring/or not hiring him based on his quaterback skills, not his use of free speech.