The Fan

If you press your face up to a fan - one of those pedestal fans on a pole, like this one:

- you'll find yourself in the midst of unceasing drama and action and change and excitement and turmoil.

But pull your attention just a couple of inches backward to the center point of those spinning blades - right where the incoming air gathers to be expelled - and you'll find, strangely, utter stillness and peace. That place is home. It's the source - the unchanging "cause" - while all the rest is varied "effect". And it's absolutely unremarkable and extraordinarily easy to miss.

You have a choice: to identify with the turmoil or with the source of it all (i.e. with the peace you actually are).


As I once wrote, I spend at least fifteen minutes after every gym workout in a lethargic slump. For several years, my slumping bench positioned me in view of a pedestal fan. Like Vasudeva (Hermann Hesse's ferryman) and his river, I pondered pretty much every ramification of that fan.

Midterm Elections

Since I live in New York, with no Trump apologists likely to run in my district, I plan to vote for as many sane, capable Republicans as I can find in the midterms. Here's why:

If Trumpism makes moderates rebound to the extreme left for comfort and revenge, we'll just keep repeating the vicious cycle, swinging the pendulum endlessly to reciprocal extremes. The country does not need a Bernie Sanders or Jill Stein at this point. We need Jack Kemps. Politicians who are decent and bland and boring and centrist (and whose policies we can pleasantly rail against, per normal, knowing our institutions of government will be safe in any event).

We tried forcing Hillary Clinton (who I came to believe would have been a very capable president) down the throats of half our fellow Americans - who, for whatever reason, despised her. And we see what happened there.

Considering all the hysteria on the left, I understand that I am being especially contrarian here. But I refuse to be trolled into confronting extreme with extreme. As I'd tell a rabid Trump supporter: the country's more important than individual emotions.

My father always told me to aim for win/win resolutions to conflicts and negotiations. Whenever possible, leave the other guy happy, too. This will be my voting strategy from here on out. Leave the other side happy (though not necessarily thrilled and delighted). Let's never offer another Hillary Clinton again...not that there was anything wrong with her, not that she wouldn't have been a good president, but because I don't want to support a leader who feels like a stick-in-the-eye to half the country.

Yes, it goes without saying that half the country will inevitably be annoyed, irritated, and geared up to defeat any given candidate...and that the tribal echo chambers will concoct phony reasons for hating anyone on a given ticket. But, still, c'mon people. We knew how Middle America felt - has always felt - about Hillary Clinton. And we put her out there anyway, 'cuz...fuck those people.

That's not a great stance. I didn't appreciate having my legitimate concerns about Trump steamrolled by a base that thinks "fuck those people." I actually like Rust Belt blue collar males between 35 and 55, and am happy to share a country with them, and believe their preferences and concerns matter, even when they strike me as ignorant. Democracy does not mean the smartest ideas win, it means people and ideas I disagree with get a shot. Sometimes we lead, sometimes we ride. Either way, fuck nobody!

So I believe we need a sane Republican party (or whatever party arises to represent America's sane, moderate right wing) way, way more than we need Democratic victory (and I'd feel the same even if I were more of a fan of Democratic ideology). So I'm all about focusing on that.


Please, Lord, bring us another boring Gerald Ford (even if it means another shifty pardoning).

How We Got Trolled Yesterday: The Story You DIDN'T Hear

Per my posting earlier today about how we're being trolled, here's an example: The executive order yesterday on immigration restrictions was not a huge big deal.

I'll wait patiently while you bellow and rage. The pique level is, as I've said, stuck at "11", and people are prepared to Hitlerize just about anyone or anything. Unless I hastily reaffirm my virtuousness to you via high-minded pro-immmigrant language, you very likely might stop reading and never come back. In fact, some of you stopped reading three sentences ago. That's the moment we're in. That's the problem.

Let's proceed.

The executive order yesterday on immigration restrictions was not a huge big deal. What was a huge big deal was that the sane generals (like Matthis) were removed from the National Security Council, which will be run entirely by Banon and Flynn (Flynn is The Worst Possible Thing, excused only by reason of insanity), putting them in exclusive, unchecked control of the entire national security apparatus, without so much as frickin' input from (sane) career military or intelligence people - none of them will even be at the table. The crazy kids have the keys, unchecked. This is the single most terrifying thing I've seen the US Gov do in my lifetime.

But you probably don't know (or at least don't understand how catastrophic it is) because you, like half the country, were freaking out over the executive order. President Bannon trolled you (via a limited, temporary, executive order subject to judicial counterbalancing - slipping in measures against green card holders just to spark extra sputtering pique), and the media whipped you into a frenzy and then spent the rest of the day covering your frenzy - which wound you up even more. And with that circus going on, two conspiracy-minded whack jobs unapproved by Congress and unfettered by rationality staged a coup. Barely reported, hardly noticed, 'cuz, hey, we're chanting slogans here!

From the perspective of mainstream rust belters, the arty farty liberals were freaking out yet again on TV, this time to defend terrorists. So they didn't even hear the important story. And if they had, it would have concerned them.

We need to stop being trolled; set off by small stuff custom-engineered to trigger us into serving as The Diversion. Breathe! Pay attention! Think! Cease responding in hyperbolic ways that 1. make everyone miss the real story, and 2. make half the country think you're as whacky and over-dramatic as Trump told them you were. The more we freak out about every little thing, the less ammo we have to to make the rest of the country pay attention when seriously bad shit like this happens.

Again, read John Schindler's Twitter feed, an alternative perspective way closer to the truth than what you're seeing in media or in social media (and put up with his anti-Obama, anti-Hillary, anti-PC stance, which is shared by half the country, including lots of nice, sincere, smart people who have a different perspective, and some of whom will help us bring down Trump). To understand his feed, you'll need to learn some new acronyms: IC = intelligence community; NATSEC = national security; EO = executive order; MSM = mainstream media; OIF = Operation Iraqi Freedom; NSC = national security council; FSB = Russian intelligence; DOD = department of defense; USG = US government; WH = White House).

We need to stop being whipped into a frenzy by media and social media. We need to stop triggering at every minor action, statement, and tweet. We need to suck it up when he does the normal right wing stuff he earned the right to do November 8th. We need to stop going to "11" on every distasteful bit of this or that, so we can keep our eye on how he's actually wrecking the country, and so we have some ammo left when little backstage tiptoe moves like this happen, and we need people to hear about it and understand it and pay attention. If YOU dind't hear about it or understand it, then you were trolled.

Nationalism: The Shrinking "Us" and the Swelling "Them"

So many people eager to make America great; so much "America First"; and such great patriotic need to protect America from immigrants and terrorists. America, America, America! And yet these same people can't stand fully half of Americans. How can you profess to love something when you despise 50% of it?

It's a paradox, and it's inevitable.

Nationalism always shaves itself thinner and thinner, because us/them thinkers are eager to increase the "Them" side of an equation, and averse to increasing the "Us" side (it's like a ratchet wrench). Dividing lines grow tortured and irrational. Gerrymandering is hard-coded into the human psyche.

Years ago, I wrote:

Nationalism is always a noble-seeming mask for xenophobia. Show me someone who loves "Us", and I'll show you someone who hates "Them".

Here's a corollary:

Show me someone who loves "Us", and I'll show you someone with an ever-shrinking notion of "us".

There are many extremely avid nationalists in Catalunya. On my first trip a few hours down the Spanish coast to Valencia (the neighboring province), I remarked, with surprise, to a local cab driver, "I didn't realize people spoke Catalan here!" The person I was traveling with, who was Catalan, elbowed me hard in the ribs. It was later explained to me that Valencians speak Catalan, but they call it Valencian, and get very upset at the notion of any equivalency between these two (absolutely identical) languages*. The Catalans watch this utter insanity, yet it never occurs to them to examine the paradoxes of nationalism.

* - read the first paragraph here to see what their pique has wrought, even in neutral Wikipedia (the compromise language atop - about Valencian being a "variety of Catalan" - makes as much sense as saying that apples are a variety of apples).

Crazy Like Foxes: We're Being Trolled

"So what the hell's going on here?" you may well be asking yourself.

I ran a huge online community for eight years, and helped manage earlier online communities since long before there was a Web. I was around and keyed in (Zelig-like) when computer viruses were titillating thought experiments for computer scientists, rather than real world scourges. And I've watched trolling develop as an art form from a front row seat. I've played chess with every escalating generation of scary mega trolls.

And I can confirm that we, ladies and gentlemen, appear to have been trolled.

Read two things: this piece from lefty Mother Jones, and this Twitter storm from John Schindler, a veteran Intelligence Services dude with a very shrewd mind, some far right wing sentiments (some of which may rub you the wrong way, as they do for me), and an earnest patriotic impulse to put country way ahead of party and stand staunchly anti-Trump.

(The anti-Trump movement will only succeed if we really listen to the right-wingers in our potential coalition, who have far deeper insight into the basis of Trump's appeal, so I recommend Schindler's Twitter feed as a daily read...and also click through to his great articles in the NY Observer. He also is keyed into the Russia connections, though if you want to delve into that - it gets way crazier than you'll want to let yourself believe - read Louise Mensch and, if you dare, the guy she cribs off of - who's working at either the hysterical fringe or else at the Very Core Of It All, we shall see: Adam Khan).

Back to those first two links. They're both a little right and a little wrong (though way more correct than any other voices you're hearing right now), but if you add them together, you'll understand how the trolling is working. Steve Bannon is a troll par excellence. It's easy to forget that he's smart.

This explains why anti-Trump centrists like me have had an instinct to plead with people to calm down and be smart and focused, rather than flailing around, pinning the outrage level at a constant "11". I've been sensing the trolling. Now, it's filled in a bit.

Nothing solidifies the Trump coalition like a freak out on the left. When the left freaks out, just like the right, it gets 1. stupid, and 2. reverts to its most divisive tropes, shoring up the other side. Trump was elected, in the first place, as a deliberate move to freak out the left. A cherry bomb, if you will. The tone (repeat: the tone) of the backlash cements his base of support. But people are way too outraged/reactive to see it....just as victims always take comically long to spot a troll's agenda once they've been emotionally triggered.

We've been (legitimately) concerned about Trump's easy manipulability, but, ironically, it's the rest of us who've been manipulated.



For the dim-witted (and smarties who've let outrage temporarily dull their wits): I'm not saying his stances, actions, words, policies, tweets, appointments, etc., are hunky dory. I'm not saying they don't require push-back. I'm not saying we should appease or enable. I'm not saying it's good.

Lefty Mother Jones Writer, Right-Wing Steely Intelligence Dude, and Centrist Blogger Me are all as opposed to Trump as you are, if not more. I'm sitting here puzzling this out, sleepless, at 5:30 am! I'm not saying Steve Bannon won't destroy the country. I'm saying we need to work, not kvetch. John Schindler's essential quote: "Trump will be stopped when a strong majority of Americans accept he's a nut who violates our laws. Not before."

He's talking about the right there, but it applies to the left as well. Acceptance is not agreement. Acceptance is not "normalization". Acceptance is not capitulation. Something about the liberal psyche (the same part of the brain which gives rise to the notion of, jesus christ, "safe spaces") predisposes them to standing there like chickens in the rain, repeating "No no no no no no no no....this is not happening." It's happening. The left's been stuck in this groove ever since he first ranted about Mexican rapists and glided down his golden escalator; the same sputtering "you've been trolled!" reaction again and again and again.

Let's belatedly get past the fact that he's him and he's here. Let's jar loose of our static posture of surprise and shock and outrage. Let's recognize that 100% of the country totally knows you're upset and fearful and hate him (and Trump supporters cares about that as much as you cared how they hated and feared Obama, which, I know, makes you want to plug your ears and shut your eyes and scream "FALSE EQUIVALENCY!!!!"). Ceaseless wailing will not bring about the gratification of your needs! Instead, let's use grown-up steely wits to deal with this. (Here are some suggestions, just for starters). Above all, let's remember that, unlike Tea Party vs Obama, we have coalition partners on the right. That's a huge difference. LISTEN TO THOSE GUYS! (Here's another to read, and one more)

Perfume

Extremely polite people make me anxious. I wonder what horrible unspoken thing they're waltzing around. Also: I want to crawl out of my skin whenever corporate people lead off by telling me what I did right. The other shoe will surely drop after the pro forma stroking. And I've already explained how effusive people never, ever stick around. I shudder whenever anyone starts flattering my wonderfulness, having a long history of making out infinitely better with those who deem me merely marginally tolerable.

By the same token, perfume and cologne repel me. It's not that I dislike strong aromas. It's because my attention is iexorably drawn to the underlying stink. Something about such fragrances hyper-attunes my nostrils to body odor. I suppose it's a result of three things: 1. my contrarian impulse to always resist misdirection, 2. too many stays in cheap motels where powerful deodorizers only marginally masked the atrocities requiring them (and the horror of gradually becoming aware of the masking's dissipation), and 3. this, which I still haven't managed to flip, except in fits and starts.

Another View of Marches, Plus More Daily 202 Raving

Once again: I love Washington Post's "Daily 202" feature. It's emailed every day, and it's really insightful (not a word I'd use to describe much news coverage these days). It changes my mind on lots of things, and I treasure that. If you're not getting it, and paying close attention, you're really missing out. I'd describe it as left-center.

In today's edition, it (tacitly) makes a point I've deprecated from my own writing about the marches: that marching isn't the same thing as voting. It's a much more active step, and it gathers energy. But it also touches on a concern I expressed in a comment discussion beneath a recent posting: activation on the left can help, but can also swing things too far, leading to Tea Party-style litmus tests, where any Democrat who works with Trump on anything gets assault-via-primary. That dynamic is already starting to fall into place (nothing to do with the marches):

Several of the Democratic senators who want to run for president in 2020 won’t vote for anything Trump wants because they’ll be concerned about opening themselves up to attacks from their left. We got an early taste of this dynamic on Friday afternoon: John Kelly was confirmed as secretary of homeland security by a vote of 88 to 11. Among the “no” votes were four likely presidential candidates: Elizabeth Warren, Cory Booker, Kirsten Gillibrand and Kamala Harris. These kinds of votes will put pressure on more moderate Democrats to follow suit. Imagine the thousands of phone calls asking a lawmaker why they voted for something when Warren, Booker and Bernie Sanders voted against it.

You're not going to see this angle on CNN. And the following is exactly the sort of telling note (not much heard elsewhere) that makes this a daily must-read:

One small but telling illustration of how little the Trump administration actually cares about expanding his coalition: The Spanish-language version of Whitehouse.gov no longer exists. You get a 404 error if you try to visit.

Skin in the Game

You can recoil, or march, or bitch about it, or you can do something about it. Contribute! Like you've never contributed before! If you're normally a $20 donor, give $50 or $100, and check the "recurring" option (one-time donations are vastly less useful than recurring). Consider giving beyond the pain point, and sell some old stuff on eBay to make it up. Bear in mind that good causes hang by a string (I speak from experience), so don't imagine yourself as a negligible part of a vast tide. This isn't like voting; in the nonprofit realm, individual contributors are way, way more than symbolic.

I'm about to write checks, past the point of pain, to the nonprofits listed below, which were smartly recommended by John Oliver on his show a while ago (note that all links go directly to subscription/donation pages; back up to home pages for background). I'm funding the opposition, the disadvantaged, and the at-risk. The following is just a start.

Note: there are services that consolidate your donations. Write just one check, and you can remain anonymous (while still receiving a tax deduction receipt), to avoid follow-up spam, etc.. They do add some overhead expense, but it's mitigated by avoiding multiple credit card fees (you'll just charge once): Justgive.org, and Network for Good. I think (not sure) only the latter handles recurring donations. And neither includes every charity (but I'd imagine they'd be receptive to complaints about gaps).

Ok, here goes:

Mexican American Legal Defense and Education Fund
Planned Parenthood (even if you have moderate views on abortion)
Center for Reproductive Rights (if you're a bit more leftward on this than I am)
The NAACP Legal Defense Fund (way more moderate than the divisive "Black Lives Matter")
The Trevor Project for LGBTQ Youth
National Resources Defense Council (environmental)
The International Refugee Assistance Project

Also, journalism will be under attack. I've bought digital subscriptions to both WAPO (which has been fantastic in doggedly standing up to Trump, and this daily emailed WaPo newsletter is spectacular) and NY Times (even though I already have a free log-on from a family member), as well as David Cay Johnston's incipient DCReport

If I find a good Muslim rights group, I'll contribute to that. Meanwhile, I go out of my way to patronize Muslim-owned restaurants, and I will join Gloria Steinem's call to register as a Muslim if such a registry arises.

Finally, I am not a Democrat. I'm a centrist/moderate, and I refuse to tribalize. I prefer a mix of thoughtful, sane, rationalize leaders from both sides. But this is an extraordinary time. So I think I'm going to contribute to the Democratic National Committee. Not because I agree with all that they stand for; not because I think people like Debbie Wasserman Schultz and Nancy Pelosi have The Solution. But simply because things are out of balance. I'll contribute to help restore balance, assuming that much of my contribution will be wasted in the usual posturing and tone-deaf floundering. And I will work twice as hard as ever to find and support principled (i.e. anti-Trump) Republicans. Such lonely creatures deserve our support and attention.

Endlessly Reminding You That We Hate You

1. Donald Trump, even in his fact-free sycophantic bubble of narcissism, is quite well aware that tens of millions of people don't like him. We had an election for that (just recently!), where we had the chance to express this in a meaningful way (those who stayed home literally don't count).

2. So today there are massive protests, to impress upon Mr. Trump that people don't like him, period. Again, he knows that.

3. So what do we do when he actually does something? When he starts banning Muslims, or persecuting Muslim citizens? Do we trot this out again? The millions who dislike him - who he knew about, and who were tallied in November, and who marched in January - will be seen as griping yet again. Yawn.

Don't get me wrong, it's always fun to goad the opponent, by repeatedly reminding him that we're opposed to him, personally, period, regardless of whatever he actually does. But maybe we can stop "teaching" him something he already knows, and try something different; something that requires some balls. For example, would anyone out there care to join me in publicly declaring yourself Muslim? That move is still priced cheaply; the cost will only rise later. Get in early!

If you'd rather just vent your indignation, cool. Enjoy. But know that there are actual things that can be done.

The next time your urge to stand up and be counted will actually mean something will be during midterm elections. How focused are you on that? How much are you focusing others on that, and preparing to push everyone you know (and make them push everyone THEY know) to register?

Have you purchased subscriptions (digital or print) for every single news publisher you ever make use of or generally admire (see this and the final paragraph here)? Have you badgered everyone you know to do likewise in order to support strong independent journalism?

Will you more than double your normal charitable and political giving this year, past your pain point? (here are some suggestions).

Are you paying attention to local politicians, and supporting the good guys? And generally activating politically? (That doesn't mean reposting snarky FB posts and clucking your tongue at Trump's latest outrageous tweet. It means donating and working and trying and evangelizing, way past the point where it doesn't feel like fun.)

Are you ready to support pragmatic, generally sensible politicians even if they're not your most favoritest - even if they're imperfect and prone to compromise, and even if they don't shmear you with rhetoric about transforming the country into your most perfect snowflake dream? Liberals just spent eight years fuming at Obama for working the system rather than sticking it to the "bad guys." They backed Bernie, who offered them every possible pony. Now that stakes have risen, are you ready to get real, and maybe even feel affinity for right-wing Never Trumpers (read, for instance, Rick Wilson and John Schindler) who don't emanate that comforting tribal smell?

Are you staying up on issues by reading primary sources as much as possible (rather than trusting and parroting your usual media gatekeeper)? How in-depth will your command be of news and issues in the years ahead? Will you continue to merely accept bulleted talking points?

Are you reading widely across the political spectrum, and doing everything you can to broaden your views and escape your bubble? To maintain your resolve and values while finding empathy and common ground with those who view things differently? To recognize, for example, that lots of good people voted Trump for totally non-racist reasons?

Are you securing your online communications and (more important) helping less technically competent people do likewise?

Are you going out of your way to make Muslim, Mexican, and generally immigrant neighbors, workers, coworkers, waiters, busboys, etc. feel like somebody's got their back, and making sure they have your cell number?

Are you gonna do something other than just bitch about it?

Orwellian

I was paying at the cash register of my favorite Italian deli this afternoon. Trump was snarling his inaugural address on the TV, while customers stared in horror. The clerk cheerfully announced my total:

"$19.84, sir."

"You're not kidding," I retorted, handing over my money.

No one noticed. No one grinned. Again.