Blogger’s Disclaimer: I may not agree with all the sources of information I’m presenting, and I don’t expect all my readers to agree. I just want to put it out there as food for thought. By the way, if you don’t agree with me, you can unfriend me on Facebook if it makes you feel good; however, I won’t unfriend you regardless of your opinion of this material.
Why Am I Doing this Blog?
This link takes you to my Crystal City – Part I blog post from March in case you need a look at “Journalism 101” in that blog. This new blog will be about our mainstream media and other information, how most of us (me included) use it, how it affects us and our world, both positively and negatively, and some possible ideas on how we might acquire more accurate information and use it differently.
I’m thinking this blog will be in at least two parts, to make it easier to digest. Part I is just an introduction. In Part II, I’ll provide what I hope is thought-provoking material about media and information that seems to preoccupy all our lives.
Where were you the week that “he who shall not be named” (hereinafter referred to as “DJT”) was elected? We were in Portland, Oregon trying to get out of town on vacation during the week the presidential election results were announced. You probably noticed the immediate reaction (hard not to if you had a radio or TV turned on) all over the country. The question is, was that reaction based on emotions or was that reaction based on logical and rational thought? How did you react? More to come on that subject.
Side Note about Previously Elected Presidents
OK, this is a bit of a digression, but only to add a bit of perspective about our leaders and how they’re perceived. Months ago I happened to read something about some surveys done to rate the presidents that have been elected. It surprised me. I’ll just give you an overview here, and you can go to the web sites and check out all the numbers (names, percentages, etc.) in detail if you like. My recommendation is start with wikipedia, which is what I did.
Top 10 most popular presidents ranked in order of popularity:
Rasmussen Poll (2007): Washington, Lincoln, and Kennedy were the top three, followed by Reagan and Eisenhower in ninth and tenth place.
Greatest presidents:
Gallup Poll (2011): Reagan, Lincoln, and Clinton were the top three and Bush (G.W.) was in 10th place.
Gallup Poll (2013): Reagan in 7th place and Barack Obama was in 11th place.
Three other polls rated Reagan 2nd, Clinton 3rd , and Bush (G.H.W.) in 4th place.
Best presidents since World War II:
Quinnipiac Poll (2014): Reagan 1st on “best” list and Obama 1st on the “worst” list.
Quinnipiac Poll (2017): Reagan 1st and Obama 2nd on “best” list and Obama 1st on the “worst” list.
I guess I found the polls interesting partly because of Reagan’s high rankings. If you recall, when he was elected the first time, many thought that he would never be a good president, because he was an actor with no prior political experience. Not everyone agrees, but obviously the polls indicate that he did OK during his presidency.
Moving Beyond Journalism 101
Being a good journalist can’t be an easy job in the 21st century with all the distractions and pressures. There’s so much going on, so many sources of information, so much competition, and so many controlling factors. But let’s switch the view to you as the receiver of the news. How do you decide about what to believe and to trust? Not an easy question to answer.
Happy Mother’s Day, Mom, in remembrance of you on this day!
Just a photo or two or three and some music to honor my Mom, that’s all.
A few notes about the music and photos. My Mom was buried in Liberty, Texas. I was able to honor her with a visit in 2015. The bird is the Varied Thrush. It represents my beautiful Mom, because I couldn’t find a good picture of her to share with you. The music is totally random but music that I thought was appropriate to express my feelings about her. The Glen Miller piece was from her era. He died in 1944. She died in 1964. Listen at your leisure to the music as I did when I was putting this together.
The idea for this blog dawned on me in SoCal (southern California) on one of our many trips down to visit relatives and of course get away from the @#$%^&* rain for a few days – I do love that natural vitamin D! One morning I was enjoying an early breakfast and reading the Wall Street Journal (provided by the hotel). In the “Review”, section was an essay written by Bruce Feiler. It was adapted from his forthcoming book (March 21), The First Love Story: Adam and Eve and Us.
By the way, my recommendation is that you read the article if you’re a WSJ subscriber, or just use this link and check out the video interview with Bruce Feiler. I think the essay is a very thought provoking piece, especially if you’re married and (hopefully) in love or perhaps recently fallen in love. Rather than get off on a side trail about my opinion of how important love is or what it means, I’ll just let Bruce Feiler’s ideas speak for themselves. I may summarize his ideas along the way. Also, if you have a Bible handy, it might help you to better understand if you read Genesis chapters 1 and 2 and for good measure 1 Corinthians 13 (the “love” chapter) in the New Testament. It’s a lot to digest, but I’ll provide some bullet points that might help.
Here’s a totally irrelevant (but wonderful) quote to get you started. I saw this on a napkin dispenser at MOD Pizza in Beaverton, Oregon on March 28th while I was eating my pizza, enjoying a beer, and making some notes in my blog notebook.
Bob Dylan, Poet Laureate and Nobel Prize in Literature in 2016:
“May you’re your heart be always joyful.
May your song always be sung.
And may you stay young forever.”
Karen O and the Kids: All is Love (from Where the Wild Things Are soundtrack)
Quoting from Bruce Feiler’s Essay
“In December 1867, Mark Twain was touring Jerusalem when he visited a room in the Church of the Holy Sepulchre identified as Adam’s tomb. He was overcome with emotion. ‘The fountain of my filial affection was stirred to its profoundest depths,’ he wrote. Twain became obsessed with his oldest ancestor, at one point urging planners in New York to replace the Statue of Liberty with a monument to Adam. He went on to write a half-dozen pieces about the first couple, including Extracts from Adam’s Diary and an Autobiography of Eve.”
“Adam, in Twain’s retelling, is initially uncomfortable with Eve. It used to be so pleasant and quiet here, he says, ‘I foresee trouble. Will emigrate.’ Eve is equally unimpressed with Adam. ‘He talks very little. Perhaps it is because he is not bright, and is sensitive about it.’ (who says Twain didn’t have a sense of humor!) But slowly the two come around. ‘I see I should be lonesome and depressed without her’, Adam says. Eve echoes his feelings: ‘I love him with all the strength of my passionate nature…It is my prayer, it is my longing, that we may pass from this life together.’”
Patti; Tuck & Patti: Love is the Key
Adam and Eve in love? Really? Who would think such a thing?”
Feiler goes on to say that several very famous people would agree that, yes, they were in love, and that, given the transitional state of the family for the last 30 centuries – major changes with high divorce rates, lifestyles in our hyperconnected world – maybe Adam and Eve could offer some guidance.
Some Bullet Points in Summary of Feiler’s Ideas
Obviously taken out of context (you really need to buy the book or get a copy of the WSJ essay), here are some more thoughts, quoted and/or paraphrased from the essay.
The first couple have been victims of a long campaign of character assassination. One reason is that we rarely read the opening chapters of Genesis with the idea that Adam and Eve might be in love. He goes on to explain this important point in detail.
Who is God’s chosen sex, man or woman? If you read and compare Genesis 1 and Genesis 2, the answer appears different. Feiler elaborates, then concludes by saying they are entirely equal.
In support of the equality idea, if you look at Michelangelo’s famous painting in the Sistine Chapel, it is Eve, not Adam and not God who occupies the exact center of the room. In the third panel, the two figures (Adam and Eve) reach together for the forbidden fruit. They are not estranged, they are partners.
Milton’s Paradise Lost was a step-by-step argument that Adam and Eve were equal.
In Shakespeare’s words, “Love is not avoiding conflict; it is about overcoming it”.
The most underappreciated aspect of Adam and Eve is how they continually return to each other after periods of separation. They start life united, then Eve goes off alone. She could remain apart but instead returns to Adam. Once out of Eden, they could split, but instead they stay together.
Beatles: And I Love Her
Some Final Thoughts
The Bible is the first to put a man and a woman at the start of the human line. God can’t procreate. He needs human partners – starting with Adam and Eve – for humanity to succeed.
Feiler concludes his essay by saying that the first couple struggled too, yet they found a way to heal their wounds and forgive their wrongs.
Some More Music
Eagles: Love Will Keep Us Alive (Hell Freezes Over album)
Del Shannon: Sea of Love (really old song)
Karen O and the Kids: Building All is Love (from Where the Wild Things Are soundtrack)
Another birthday, another year, I won’t tell you my exact age, but I’m right on the line between “baby boomers” and the one before that, which Tom Brokaw calls the “Greatest Generation”. But this blog isn’t about me; it’s about and for my folks.
Blogger disclaimer: I wondered in the past about social media, about very personal information, Uncle Jack’s favorite chili recipe notwithstanding, actually I thought it was very tasty :), or other more intimate information. Being a private person, it didn’t sit well with me, telling the world those things that should be reserved only for the person who is sharing or for their family and close friends. Breaking through that shell of privacy, in this blog post I’m sharing very personal information. It just seemed appropriate to say it after all these years, as a tribute to my Mom and Dad.
Don’t Ever Take Them for Granted
Taking parents for granted is not something anyone should do. When they’re around, you should appreciate and cherish them. My Mom and Dad have both been gone a long time, my Mom in 1964 and my Dad in 1985. When I hear people talk about their parents, no matter what the context, it makes me think of my own parents.
First, and most important, they were good parents, in all the ways parents should be good parents – disciplining, education, providing a home, and more. On Sundays (and other days), my Mom always had dinner ready on time. With my Dad, it was doing stuff like hunting and fishing, which we did a lot of. I had many wonderful father-son “bonding experiences” with my Dad.
Rites of Passage
Pow, the loud sound broke the silence of the cold morning air. My Dad had driven us out to one of his favorite spots on the deer lease, called “Devil’s Hollow”. The lease, a big ranch probably 500-600 acres, was in the Texas hill country near Mason many hours drive away from our home in southeast Texas. All layered up to ward off the sub-freezing cold, we trudged up the hills with our rifles until we found a good spot behind a scrub oak tree. I got settled in to wait, and my Dad left. The viewpoint was great with a clear view across the draw and to the left and right. I was about 14 years old at the time. I had my hand warmers going and my multiple layers of clothing but was still cold. Soon a nice 8-point buck stepped out about 90-100 yards away across the draw. I took careful aim with the scoped rifle and shot him through the right shoulder. He took a step or two and went down. I stayed in place behind the scrub oak, and the “buck acres” started (see note). Basically, the shakes, it happens to hunters, athletes, etc. after something exciting just happened. Another buck materialized on my left, possibly a trophy buck, within easy shooting distance, but I missed (too much excitement). My Dad, who had barely enough time to get down the hill, came back to help me. We went over and field-dressed the deer and packed him down the hill. My first deer, it was a great morning for a young kid!
Note: OK, “buck acres” is a colloquial expression, hopefully I spelled it correctly, but deer hunters are familiar with it. I couldn’t verify it online.
One of my big regrets in life is that I didn’t do more of the “man thing” with my son when he was growing up. Oh we’d set off rockets, take the skiff out on the lake to fish, and stuff like that, but that was about it. All Dads should be aware that once those years are gone, they’re gone. If you’re a Dad, don’t mess up, and I’m not excluding daughters, spend quality time with them too.
A Belated Eulogy for My Dad
I don’t remember my Dad ever saying I love you, but I don’t begrudge him for that because I know he loved me. I loved and still love you, Dad. So this is my belated eulogy to you, Dad, perhaps to make up for the shaky knees and quavering voice that I had at your funeral service in 1985, reading some Bible verses, and wanting to say more. This is my testimony to you 32 years later. Rest in peace, Dad.
1 Peter 1:24: “For all men are like grass, and all their glory is like flowers of the field, the grass withers, and the flowers fall, but the word of the Lord stands forever.”
A Belated Eulogy for Mom
Her passing was more than 20 years earlier than my Dad, in 1964. The details of her personality and her life are not totally clear in my memory, but some things stand out. I mentioned her dinners (we used to say “supper”) were consistently on time. On Sundays after church, as I recall it was usually roast beef, mashed potatoes, and green beans. My love of cookies comes from my Mom – she’d make peanut butter cookies with the impressions made with a fork and homemade tapioca pudding, yum! The house was always neat and clean.
I’m going to quote from an old letter (January 21, 1959), just an excerpt, which I think speaks volumes of what kind of person my Mom was:
“Dearest Elaine,
How are you? I’m so ashamed of myself for not writing or calling. I think of you many times a day and pray that you are adjusting yourself to your aloneness. No one can know what you are going through until they go through the loss of their loved one. I do feel that you and Edwin had something within your own lives that few, few married people ever find. It seems very ironical and sad that mortals cannot express themselves naturally and freely. I have never learned to show or let others know how I feel.”
1 Corinthian 13:4-8: “Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. Love never fails.”
Liberty, Texas Memories
Interestingly, in 2013 I went back to Liberty for my 50-year high school reunion. Besides seeing my friends that I hadn’t seen in a half century, a couple of other notable events happened. Going to a pep rally at the new high school and a Friday night football game was a real treat, and it seemed like I was back in 1963 (Back to the Future) sitting in the stands cheering for the team (they won). But more importantly as planned, I went to see my Mom’s grave site (pictures of both my Mom’s and Dad’s grave sites are below). I wanted to decorate the headstone and found the red flowers at a store in town.
The other thing that I had planned on my trip was to go see my old house. I knew that it was still there because I Googled it before I left Portland. As I zoomed-in in Google, I was kind of amazed to see it after so much time had passed. One day I drove over to the house. It had a For Sale sign in the yard so I called the agent to see if I could look at the house. She made a call; I went over, knocked on the door, and was greeted by a friendly face. The woman living there went to high school with my younger sister, which at the time I thought was an amazing coincidence, but you know Liberty is a small town. That and good ole Texas hospitality might have been the primary reasons why I was able to visit my old home so easily. Walking in the front door, I experienced one of those serendipitous moments, like I was time traveling back to my earlier life. The furniture and decor were different, but the floor plan was the same. I walked past the living room straight into the kitchen where my Mom prepared all those meals for us. The door to the garage was on the right, more memories of pickled snakes and of freshly killed deer hanging from the rafters waiting to be processed for the freezer. Not my Mom’s favorite place to hang out. We took the stairs to see my sisters’ bedroom and my brother’s and my bedroom at the end of a long hallway. This was the same room where I had to repaint the walls and ceiling in one corner because of a disastrous lab experiment with my new chemistry set, a Christmas present.
I’m going to wrap this up with pictures and music.
Update: I forgot to add quotes yesterday, which I’m doing now including the Christmas quotes link at the bottom.
I like this next quote because it reminded me of an incident in my life at my home in Texas. I got a chemistry set as a Christmas present and immediately set about using it in my bedroom. While experimenting with mixing various chemicals, I decided to heat a test tube and forgot to take the stopper out. I wasn’t hurt, but I had a nice painting project repairing the ceiling and walls in the corner of my bedroom.
John Vane
At the age of 12, my parents gave me a chemistry set for Christmas, and experimentation soon became a consuming passion in my life.
Back to the Future (main them from Back to the Future soundtrack)
I watched Back to the Future again (for the umpteenth time) the other day. It’s definitely in my top 10 list of favorite movies, heck maybe even top 3, along with Raising Arizona and Predator. Further back in the list of favorites would be James Bond movies, especially the ones with Sean Connery (You Only Live Twice, Goldfinger, etc.). I noticed how young Michael J. Fox looked in Back to the Future. Of course the movie was made in 1985. I suppose it’s that aging thing, something about being relative to your own age makes a person react in a certain way. The music too is a big part of my favorite movies, Huey Lewis and the News in Back to the Future and John Barry in the Bond movies.
Coldplay: You Only Live Twice
What’s Your Point?
Someone close to me reminds me when I get off track or “excessively verbalize” – yikes, that’s not common wording, but I suppose it’s appropriate.
I was kinda getting off track, my main purpose, as I recall, was to say Merry Christmas, but I always like to throw in some pictures and music. Another thing on my mind was to mention that I’m running again (the slide show follows). For those who missed the late 2016 summer of my not running, I’m finally back. Adios to “the boot”, sayonara chump, good riddance, etc., etc.
Willie Nelson: On the Road Again
Pictures from My Recent Run
This area below isn’t terribly far from where I live in Oregon. By the way, the brown and white animals are alpacas, not horses. I also saw plenty of raptors and one dog, an untethered German Shepherd in someone’s yard, but he wasn’t interested in me.
I’m not running very fast these days, but it’s great to be out on the roads again.
Joe Cocker: Feelin’ Alright
Canned Heat: On the Road Again
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More Music and More Pictures and More Quotes
Just a few more pictures, selected at random, I do like taking pictures. and some music, then I’m done for this go-round, except for a whole bunch of Christmas quotes that I added.
It’s good to step back from all the things going on in our lives and remember the important events, like Thanksgiving Day. Just some brief thoughts before I jump into a few pictures, some quotes, and maybe some music.
Huey Lewis and the News: The Power of Love
Giving Thanks
I am thankful for my family, because they have enriched my life beyond measure. Families should never be taken for granted.
Henry David Thoreau
“I am grateful for what I am and have. My thanksgiving is perpetual.”
Read more Thanksgiving quotes.
I am thankful for my country and feel very fortunate to live in the United States of America. I was reading in the American Legion magazine about the 75th anniversary of Pearl Harbor. A man who had survived the attack, a sailor on the USS Tennessee, described what it was like to be there when it happened. We should all thank the many men and women who have made sacrifices to protect our way of life.
Coldplay: God Put a Smile on Your Face
Ronald Reagan
“If we love our country, we should also love our countrymen.” Read more Reagan quotes.
John F. Kennedy
“Let every nation know, whether it wishes us well or ill, that we shall pay any price, bear any burden, meet any hardship, support any friend, oppose any foe to assure the survival and the success of liberty.” Read more Kennedy quotes.
I am thankful that I have the freedom to worship my God freely and express my beliefs freely.
Take a minute and express your own thanks, not just on Thanksgiving Day but every day.
Just Some Pictures
I like taking pictures. More of my pictures are here.
What could be more timely and apropos than a blog about the 2016 national election, eh! I’ve been reading (actually listening) to a Tom Robbins book titled Tibetan Peach Pie (2014). What a treat! Long time since I read Another Roadside Attraction or Even Cowgirls Get the Blues. Robbins is 84 and living in La Conner, Washington, more or less in my neck of the woods.I only mention him because he was a newspaperman for many years and talked a bit about how much fun journalists have with writing headlines for their articles.
I was thinking about what the title for this piece should be:
Election 2016: Anyone Have a Good Write-in Candidate
Synonyms for the Word “Circus”
My Namesake (Bernie) Dropped Out of the Race – Dammit!
As an aside, let’s look at the word “circus” as in political circus. According to Merriam-Webster (MW) online one of its definitions is: “a place of uproar or confusion”. Some of the synonyms are:
“Babel, bedlam, madhouse, scrum (British), and three-ring circus”.
The Related Words are even more interesting and nonetheless applicable to what we, as Americans, have been subjected to in this election year:
I hear a voice saying, what’s the point. Be patient.
Man Feeding Gulls
What’s My Take On It?
In the days when I was working in an office – I’m more or less retired now – I felt that my political and religious beliefs were personal and therefore not up for discussion or debate. Besides, have you ever noticed that when you discuss politics or religion with anyone, close relative, friend, or total stranger, the discussion is usually one-sided or unidirectional? The other person talks, stops talking, and you talk, but they’re not really listening to what you say, they’re thinking about what they want to say next to reinforce or emphasize THEIR point.
However, having said that, I think we all have a moral obligation to examine the issues and stick to our own beliefs. You may alienate or disagree with a friend or relative by taking a stand, but that shouldn’t matter. As someone once said, “do the right thing”.
To restate my main point, should we vote our conscience regardless of any distracting and probably very biased information about the issues and the persons for whom we are casting our votes? (Anyone know of a good write-in candidate for president?) Spoiler alert – beyond that last question, I’m not telling you who I’m voting for, as I said, it’s personal.
How Does One Make an Intelligent Choice?
I could do an entire blog on information sources, can you trust the media, etc. etc., but I’ll do that one later. In the following short list, I’m including links to an Oregon site (voter’s guide) and some non-local sites, including one about media. There is so much out there (in the internet universe), but obviously, not all sources will be trustworthy and/or unbiased.
This poem was sent to me by a close relative, it has nothing to do with politics, but take it to heart. This poem is best read outside, in a loud voice, with your arms out-stretched. Lowercase letters and punctuation were intentional by the poet. Enjoy.
e.e. cummings (1894–1962)
i thank You God for most this amazing
day:for the leaping greenly spirits of trees
and a blue true dream of sky;and for everything
which is natural which is infinite which is yes
(i who have died am alive again today,
and this is the sun’s birthday;this is the birth
day of life and love and wings:and of the gay
great happening inimitably earth)
how should tasting touching hearing seeing
breathing any—lifted from the no
of all nothing—human merely being
doubt unimaginable You?
(now the ears of my ears awake and
now the eyes of my eyes are opened)
If you read my last post, about Crystal City, I said something about episodes or turning points in our lives. Some turning points obviously are more major than others, such as what happened to people at Crystal City. My story here is a minor inconvenience by comparison.
Pink Floyd: On the Run (Dark Side of the Moon)
It Was Only a Small Rock!
I run. Sometimes I talk with others when I run. My left foot landed squarely on top of a rock, not large, but it fractured the fifth metatarsal bone – that’s the one that connects the little toe to the ankle. Metatarsals help provide arch support and balance. Sometimes called a stress fracture, people who do physical activities like dancing or running tend to be more prone to this type of injury. On my x-ray you could hardly even see the faint line that indicated a fracture – hopefully it will heal quickly.
Pink Floyd: Time (Dark Side of the Moon)
What’s Plan B?
When stuff happens that affects your life and your lifestyle, such as being very active (running, cycling, swimming, working out), then what? Maybe I’ll find some good quotes and include those – if life gives you lemons, make lemonade or whatever. You might like Ron White’s updated version of the lemonade quote below.
What the heck, try these quotes on for size.
Steve Jobs
Sometimes life hits you in the head with a brick. Don’t lose faith.
I believe that if life gives you lemons, you should make lemonade… And try to find somebody whose life has given them vodka, and have a party.
Pink Floyd: Breathe in the Air (Dark Side of the Moon)
What’s Your Point?
Actually, that’s what a family member (near and dear) says to me when I start rambling on about some run I just did – she’s not a runner, but I still love her. Not sure I have a specific point, just killing time while my foot heals. Got tired of Netflix, so I thought I’d do some blogging.
The pictures in the slide show I took after one of my favorite 10K runs in Estacada, Oregon. Very interesting place as you can see in the pictures. Be sure to check out Fearless Brewing if you’re in the neighboorhood.
Signing off for now, time for more boring Netflix. Never fear, I’ll be trucking on down the road before you know it! Enjoy the pictures and the music!
On February 27, 1948, the Crystal City Internment Camp officially closed. I’m writing this 68 years later in August 2016. I’m not by nature a history buff, never was when I was in school, and I’m only a bit more of a history buff now. However, the whole story about Crystal City got under my skin and made me want to try to understand why it happened.
Stuff Happens, but All Lives Matter
Try this, to put it in perspective for you, to make it personal. Think about something that happened in your life, perhaps a turning point, a wrong decision, a happenstance that sent you down a whole different path. Maybe it was temporary and your life later returned to “normal”. I can think of several episodes in my life – serving a year in Vietnam as a sailor, moving my family cross-country not once but twice. Give it some thought, and you’ll probably come up with at least one episode. How would it have affected your life if you had been one of the thousands of Germans, Italians, or Japanese who were interned (confined) in a camp during WWII?
The answer is “dramatically” of course. Read the following quotes from the book.
More Quotes from Jan Russell’s Book
“Eb Fuhr, who was 17 when he was interned and 22 when he was released said, ‘No one can appreciate the intense terror of government power and the despair of hopelessness that we felt behind that barbed-wire fence’. Then he said, ‘By the same token, no one can appreciate the thrilling sense of freedom I felt when it was over.'”
“Carmen Higa Mochizuki was eleven years old when her father, a poor farmer in Peru who made his living selling milk from his cows was arrested. The government seized her father’s assets. They lost everything in an instant. Her mother, father, and nine siblings were transported to the United States, under American military guard, from Callao, Peru to New Orleans. Their passports and visa were confiscated.”
“At the port in New Orleans, the women, and children were marched to a warehouse, forced to strip, and made to stand in line naked. ‘Then we were all sprayed with insecticide that stung our skin,’ remembered Carmen. ‘Since we had no passports or proof of identity we were arrested as illegal aliens and put on a train to Crystal City. During the train ride, the sister thought we might be killed there.'”
“Politics” Defined: Merriam-Webster
“Activities that relate to influencing the actions and policies of a government or getting and keeping power in a government
The work or job of people (such as elected officials) who are part of a government
The opinions that someone has about what should be done by governments : a person’s political thoughts and opinions”
Does politics enter into any of this? Was Executive Order 9066, the order that allowed FDR to set up Crystal City even legal. I decided to do some research to answer that question.
Some Wikipedia Stuff
“United States presidents issue executive orders to help officers and agencies of the executive branch manage the operations within the federal government itself.”
By the way, don’t feel obligated to use the links, but you might find the information edifying.
Use this link to see a list of the number of executive orders issued by past presidents and the current president. By far the most, FDR issued over 3,000 executive orders. You might note that the Federal Register, especially if you’re a “research hound” like me, makes for some very interesting reading about what has been published by various agencies.
There is no constitutional provision nor statute that explicitly permits executive orders. The term executive power in Article II, Section 1, Clause 1 of the Constitution refers to the office of President as the executive. He (or she) is instructed therein by the declaration “take Care that the Laws be faithfully executed” made in Article II, Section 3, Clause 5 or face impeachment.
From ThisNation.com (August 8, 2016)
“Executive Orders are controversial because they allow the President to make major decisions, even law, without the consent of Congress. This, of course, runs against the general logic of the Constitution — that no one should have power to act unilaterally. Nevertheless, Congress often gives the President considerable leeway in implementing and administering federal law and programs. Sometimes, Congress cannot agree exactly how to implement a law or program. In effect, this leaves the decision to the federal agencies involved and the President that stands at their head. When Congress fails to spell out in detail how a law is to be executed, it leaves the door open for the President to provide those details in the form of Executive Orders.”
Wrapping it Up
Remember Howard Beale in Network. See my earlier blog, America, Part 2, August 1, 2013. Are you madder than hell and not willing to take it anymore?
I told myself I’d let this piece about Crystal City speak for itself and not politicize over it. But I felt compelled to add a bit of political content to educate and make sure the issues were clear.
For me, the bottom line question is, if in fact the U.S. government was instituted (from day 1) to serve the needs of the American people, are the American people’s needs being served?
That’s it, I hope Crystal City was a good read for you!
Blogger’s Note
I am admittedly a “train freak”, something about the sounds, the vibrations as it passes, etc. If you happen to be in Sacramento, I highly recommend you go to the California State Railroad Museum. I was there in 2008 and was very impressed with the exhibits (several full-size engines) and a well-presented history of the transcontinental railroad. The museum sits on the site where it ended.
In Part I, there is a picture with the caption, “What is It?”. Maybe you weren’t fooled ..
It was merely a garden ornament masquerading as a miniature planet (somewhat earth-like).
The Power of Love (from the Back to the Future soundtrack)
What’s the Big Deal?
OK, so what, the federal government decided to imprison a lot of people against their will because they might be a threat to America. That seems reasonable and justifiable, right? Obviously, not the power of love.
I had to think about what all of it meant to me after I started reading Jan Russell’s book, which as I said before, is really quite interesting and revealing. Note the following passage from her book. Go to Amazon if you want to snag a copy.
“By August 1945, the machinery of internment implemented during the run-up to the war in December 1941, was already being taken apart. Already many of the fifty-four internment camps operated by the US military and the thirty camps operated by the Immigration and Naturalization Service had shut down. The camp at Crystal City, the only family camp, was still open, but with a reduced population That summer 2,548 Japanese, 756 Germans, and 12 Italian internees were left.”
The author estimated that there were approximately 6,000 internees incarcerated at Crystal City during its six years of operation. It was officially closed on February 27, 1948. I had just turned three at the time and was living in Texas.
In her preface to the book, the author talks about the 120,000 Japanese (62% of them American-born) who were forcibly evacuated from the Pacific coast after the bombing of Pearl Harbor. She also talks about the executive order signed by President Roosevelt, which permitted the secretary of war to arrest and incarcerate Japanese, Germans, and Italians who had been declared “enemy aliens”.
Just an aside, as you mull over the previous two paragraphs, I want to comment on the effort and methods used to write the book, which author Russell describes in detail in the sources and notes. As a writer, I thoroughly appreciate the effort it took to compile the information. Interestingly, another book, Unbroken, by Laura Hillenbrand, also involved internment during World War II and was very well-researched and written and also relied heavily on personal interviews.
It Is a Big Deal!
The answer of course is yes, it is a big deal. I may do more Crystal City installments, after going through the book in more detail and gaining more insights into how I feel about what happened and how I should respond. OK, it was just plain wrong, all of it – there, I’ve said it. Am I going to recommend to others how they should respond? No, it’s up to each individual to make up their mind how to respond.
Back to the Future Main Theme (City of Prague Philharmonic)
A Quick Tour of Washington and Yamhill Counties in Oregon
blazinbernie
Looking for a Rufous 