Gay in Moscow

Sexual Ethnic Cleansing

 

I wrote Gay in Uganda on May 30^th last. I thought it to be a one-off essay because Uganda is so obscenely corrupt and twisted and, of course, a third world, non-white country. All fair reasons to respond that I don’t have the knowledge to comment further.

 

I also wrote there, "I seldom write about gay rights or related controversies, mostly because I don’t understand them and I don’t care that much.” All true. I do not campaign for causes, I do not march, I do not seek a spotlight for any cause. I do understand repression and cruelty and authoritarianism and that’s what I choose to write about.

 

Thus, I am moved to write about the further repression of gays in Russia. Further, because it is already ingrained in much of the populace but now it has the cloak of law. The Russian Supreme Court, rubber stamp toadies of Vladimir Putin, has identified a great enemy of Russia, the “global LGBTQ+ movement.” As if Russia doesn’t have enough external enemies, now they have identified a great internal enemy. Gays. “People who aren’t like us.” Sexual ethnic cleansing. Hello, Uganda.

 

ABC News writes, “Activists have noted the lawsuit was lodged against a movement that is not an official entity, and that under its broad and vague definition authorities could crack down on any individuals or groups deemed to be part of it.” 

 

In America, it would be like suing “the Left” or “the Right,” depending on who is in office.

 

“I deem you queer. You’re under arrest. Prove you’re not.”

 

Reminiscent of, “You look Jewish. You’re under arrest.”

 

It’s a national movement in Russia now. It has to be. It’s the law, permission for every lazy cop in the country to say, “I got a few more again today, chief,” and expect a reward for doing his job. An observer might say, “But at least they aren’t putting them in gas chambers.” A distinction without a difference.

 

The gulags didn’t have gas chambers either but they murdered ten million Russians and others before and during WWII and long thereafter. It’s easy for a Russian leader to murder millions of people. See Poland, Ukraine, Georgia and Chechnya. A few hundred thousand in a country no one has ever heard of here, a few hundred thousand more there and you’re in the big leagues of murder. Tyrant prestige. You rule by fear. “Make it happen or you’re next.” And it happens.

 

Americans tend to have an aversion to over-the-top LGBTQ+ antics. I give you gay clowns performing in grade schools as an example. But being gay? I know of no one who begrudges gays the joys of life. Yes, I know there are some, but few. As I wrote in the same essay, “I’m in the camp of ‘You be you and I’ll be me and let’s both go in peace.’” 

 

Still, I recognize an anti-gay bias in America. I think it has to do with conflating the few who offend with the many normal gays who just want to live in peace. And the fact that it’s so easy to hate those who are different than us.

 

Today, after that odious ruling by the Russian Supreme Court, gays have to hide. Again. They are no longer welcome in “polite society.” Their contributions are unwelcome and ignored. It remains to be seen whether they will be rooted out of their esteemed scientific, intellectual and academic positions. They must be, mustn’t they, to comport with the law? The answer, of course, is yes. But what will happen is a version of “Well, we didn’t mean you. We meant those people outside.”

I cannot not say anything.

* * * * *

"First they came for the socialists, and I did not speak out—because I was not a socialist.

Then they came for the trade unionists, and I did not speak out—because I was not a trade unionist.

Then they came for the Jews, and I did not speak out—because I was not a Jew.

Then they came for me—and there was no one left to speak for me."

—Martin Niemöller

* * * * *

I cannot stand by quietly.

--Then they came for the gays and I did not speak out--because I was not gay.-- 

Who will speak for me?

—Charles Stromme

* * * * *

Poor Russia. 

 

“Let the denunciations begin... again.”

“Let the pogroms begin… again.”

 

“If I were a rich man… ”

 

Poor us.

 

Hating America

The hatred is working. You can see it in Congress, on campuses and among your neighbors. They hate because everyone is hating.

 

Neighbors? Yes. Someone had to vote in those scurrilous members of The Squad and their sycophants. They were your neighbors, at least somebody’s neighbors in America. 

 

Where did our neighbors’ hatred come from? We went to the same schools, we read the same books, we go to the same churches, we intermarry. Yet some are rabid haters, anti-American by any definition. They are not like us, we imagine. 

 

Yet they are us. Molded of the same clay as we, but they burn with the need to hate someone or something. If they could just hate hard enough or long enough, their lives would be better and they could have the things they want and they could be at peace. If you have to pay the cost of their hatred, well, so what?

 

They are American Narcissists. “Everything for me, I as long as I don’t have to pay. We deserve it. Our moms and our friends told us so. You? Well, no. You’re different.”

 

Many of the American Narcissists have never worked, never created, never farmed or ranched or raised or grown. They still want stuff, though. They still need to feed their broken families. They still need to prove they are worthy; they are good enough; they are as good as… you. But without the work and sweat and sacrifice you endured. The things you suffered to get what you have. Those things are quite inconvenient to them, and why bother if the subsistence checks keep coming? 

 

In AOC’s case, I suspect an insatiable ego coupled with the burden of being cutesy. It’s difficult for her to believe the world doesn’t revolve around her. It always has, from being a cutesy bartender to being a cutesy Congresswoman. But she is still the lightest of Congressional lightweights, a cutesy nonentity among entities, her vote counting only on spending and pork projects.

 

To put a finer point on it, where did AOC’s hatred come from? The Squad’s hatred, their apparent hatred of America?

 

I can almost understand the goofy anti-semite Ilhan Omar, the one who supposedly married her brother. Ilhan is a refugee who sought a better life in the America she hates. She was brought up on hatred and used it to achieve power by hating America. Hitler used it to achieve power, too.

 

Hatred wrecks things, people things, relationships, promises, understandings. The United States of America is a people thing, too. 

 

Enough hatred will wreck the United States. That’s the plan. It’s working.

EDIT: Ron DeSantis, on behalf of the State of Florida, DID send a plane to evacuate Americans. Couple other Americans did, too. The USA? Well, not yet. Same for the billionaires. Too busy?

 National Policy Under Biden

It's not really a policy decision but in its absence, it is. 

The US hasn't yet sent planes to evacuate its citizens trapped in Israel. Not its poor, doomed kidnapped citizens, that's a story for another day. 

This is about Americans who are inside Israel and who desperately want to come home. Their lives are in danger. They can't get out because no airline will fly to Tel Aviv or Jerusalem. 

TWENTY other countries have already sent in rescue planes to evacuate their citizens. Twenty. Including nations that we might consider "lesser" nations than mighty America. 

Nigeria, for instance. But not the USA. Oh, no. If you're an American citizen trapped in a cellar in Jerusalem, hunker down, boy. "We stand with Israel" doesn't mean we care about you.

This is a perfect opportunity for a presidential candidate to show that "our thoughts and prayers" are not enough. YOU HAVE TO DO SOMETHING. 

For those few of you old enough to remember, billionaire H. Ross Perot flew a Boeing 707 full of badly needed supplies to North Vietnam in the middle of a war just to help our POWs. To help them. I'll never forget that gesture of compassion, paid for out of his own pocket.

So Trump, out of your own pocket. DeSantis, on behalf of the State of Florida. Or any American billionaire anywhere. The time has come for you to share your riches. I'm talking to you, Jeff Bezos, and you, Larry Ellison, Warren Buffett, Larry Page, Bill Gates and Mark Zuckerberg. You each have more than one hundred billion dollars! That's $100,000,000,000 for those of you who don't know how many zeroes it is. 

Okay, ride into space, that's fine and fun. But do something merciful here on earth, too. Help some stranded Americans get home alive. It's not too much to ask. It's one small gesture. 

Charter a plane or two, stock them up, send them over, bring our brothers and sisters home. Our government isn't doing doing it yet, but the need is immediate and critical. You won't even miss the couple hunded thousand dollars it will cost you.

Call me. 541-767-2659. I'll donate the first hundred bucks.

The National Debt, Redux

I haven't written about the national debt in a while. I wrote about it several times in my old blog, Alibiforignorance.blogspot.com. Just search for debt and you'll find a host of my scribblings.

You remember (the) Simpson-Bowles (Commission), don't you?

"The final plan, released on December 1, 2010 reduced the federal deficit by nearly $4 trillion, stabilizing the growth of debt held by the public by 2014, reduce debt 60% by 2023 and 40% by 2035. The deficit would be eliminated by 2035." (Thank you, Wiki.)

It wasn't implemented because it couldn't get a super majority in committee. Too bad. If you go to my aforementioned blog, search for the post "The National Debt... and Us." It's one of my best.

The gummint spent $1.45 TRILLION more than it took in from all sources in FY 2022.

In 1981, the national debt was $908 BILLION

Today, 2023, the national debt is $33 TRILLION

Now, we're OVERspending an amount that exceeds by 150% the amount of national debt the yeyar my daughter was born. In other words, within living memory

NB: There's not enough money IN THE WORLD to pay off our debt.

If you owed someone more than you could pay, what would you do? Maybe you would sell some of your assets, the ones your creditors want the most. Your vacation home, your second Tesla, your gold bars (Thank you, Sen. Menendez). Anything to stave off hungry creditors.

What has President Biden done? Well, he sold off land near our military bases, or allowed it to be sold, in violation of national policy. He (and some of his forebearers) have looted the Federal Pension Reserve. There was real money there but they promised to repay it. How's that going, federal pensioners? Seen any repayments? He and Congress have done NOTHING to cut back on discretionary spending.

They can, of course. They just won't. Remember the money you couldn't repay? Well, you could cut down your discretionary spending, couldn't you? Wouldn't that free up some cash? Why can't the gummint do that? Well, the first thing you'll hear is that a large part of gummint money is untouchable. Nice touch, that.

But not ALL of the gummint's money is untouchable. They can cut back on SOME of it, can't they? Yes, they can, but they won't. Don't see the need. They might want to give some of it away to buy votes in swing states. Keep your eye out for large sums of money going to swing states in the next 14 months. You'll know why. 

You'll also see government agencies scrambling to spend any leftover money in their budget. Have to, they say, or they might not get as much next year. 'Oh, dear, our budget might get cut. Can't have that. SPEND!"

Stay tuned. I'm going to post something about MY plan for reducing the national debt. Until next time, I'm your humble correspondent.

Biden Visits Lahaina

Biden Visits Lahaina

"Oh, you poor Lahainers. (Well, who knows, Jill?) Here's $700 for every single house. Yes, sign up at that table and tell us where to mail it. 

"Oh. What? What happened? A fire? Is that what this was? Hot, I bet. And dirty, too. And kinda crunchy. Cap'n Crunch, get it? Are those bones? Where'd the houses go?

"I used to eat Cap'n Crunch when I was growing up here on the island. Big pirate on the box? Parrott? Was there a parrott, Jill? I love parrotts, could talk about them for hours. OK, I'm back. Never left. Before, you know, the big, um, what do they call it? Oh, thanks Jill. Hurricane.

"A few of you walk with me and pretend we're talking. Jill and I gotta be wheels up in two hours. Give my people your particulars and we'll have someone deliver the checks. To where? Where? That's not my problem. See my people. We gotta get back to Lake Tahoe in ninety minutes. No joke.

"On the way to the airport we're going to stop at the FEMA conference in Kaanapali. Costs that agency $1,500 bucks a day and more per person to stay there with all those pools and spas, plus meals!  I bet they're good, those meals. No Cap'n Crunch, probably. 

"I wonder if I could get a chocolate chip ice cream cone? Hey, you, have one waiting at FEMA. Yeah, I can order things like that. I forgot. Convenient as hell, being president.

"FEMA's only gonna be there a week, though, unless they extend, which I think they are gonna do. They're entitled. Thank God Kaanapali was spared and we can get the hell out of here and, uhhh, oh yeah, that FEMA is still with us. They've got a lot of emergencies to manage. Maybe those Lahainers could volunteer to help 'em, do you think, Jill? Or maybe pay 'em a little?"

 Prighozin In Hell

Told ya so. Back on June 29, when I wrote:

"Really? Attack Moscow? Executions will follow, of course. Lots of them. No defense will be allowed. There will be show trials, just like in the 1930s. Prigozhin will die. There is no dissent in the Russian military or civilian life. If you think you see some, you are seeing a lie."

Of course, no one was going to attack Moscow from within Russia. Even the Chechens aren't that stupid. Murders, yes, they'll do that, even mass murders at children's theaters and kindergartens, but that only annoys the cops and National Guard. But take on the real Russian military? With equipment they gave you? On the Orders of Madness Scale, 1-10, what would that be? Ten isn't high enough.

I missed on the "show trials" comment, at least thus far. Maybe they learned their lesson in '37. Can't let people see these days, or ask questions. Too much media. The alternative is just to disappear people. Important men got a ride in the country back then, Burnt by the Sun-style, lesser men were shoved into the execution room and their blood ran down a trough. I've seen one. I also wrote "No defense will be allowed." Pretty sure that one will hold.

But "Prigozhin will die?" Nailed it. Looks like someone, someone with a MANPAD that is, shot down his executive jet this morning, US time. You can't just buy a MANPAD (Man-portable Air Defense System) just anywhere but the Russian military has one in every closet. Not much of a problem to station someone in the known flight path of a private jet and tell him when to shoot. Gives the shooter something to brag about over vodkas until he, too, is silenced. Pity the two pilots and the server. No pity for the others.

Are there any lessons for us here? I don't think so, just reaffirmations of what we already know and choose to forget or ignore. Lessons about who you can trust and how far. 

Putin's greed, arrogance and villainy know no bounds. Compare that to Biden and even Biden's greed is tempered. Chump change in comparison. 

The arrogance? How about Biden giving $700 to each Lahaina resident while his FEMA staff, the ones that didn't respond to the fire, stayed in $1,000-a-night-plus Maui suites where the Lahaina fire wasn't such an annoyance. Mel Brooks: "It's good to be king."

The limits? I have COVID for the second time. My vaccine card is full up but I have it again. Small example, big lesson:

Don't trust government.

Navy Joan Visits the White House

"Welcome to the White House, Navy Joan. You can call me Grandpa Joe or just Grandpa or anything else that works for you. I'm Hunter's daddy. Will you hold my hand?

It's so nice to meet you. Did you know that we're going to hang a Christmas stocking for you this year? I'll make sure there's something nice in it for you.

Ms. Roberts, it's a pleasure to finally meet you. I hope you'll enjoy your visit here. If there's anything you need, we'll make sure you have it. Please be comfortable and enjoy the moment.

My staff will give us a White House tour and then we'll have lunch. I hope you're planning to stay the night. We've had the Lincoln Bedroom set up just for the two of you."

-----

If you can imagine this scene, can you also imagine the effect it might have on American civility? Leading by example? Showing strength in the face of adversity? Bringing people together instead of driving us apart? Peace?

Unwelcome stuff happens to us all the time. Sometimes it's our fault. No matter, it's our job to rise above it, to deal with it in a civilized manner, to learn from it if we can and not repeat our mistakes. It's what we do as civilized Americans. Above all, we do not hurt innocent children or others in the process.

It's too bad that Hunter was never a Boy Scout. That system teaches virtue and responsibility. He would have learned a lot there.

Hunter was a Jesuit volunteer in Portland, Oregon, for a time. Presumably, there were Jesuit administrators of his volunteer program. He, and all of us, could learn much from Jesuitical teachings. They teach love of Christ, service to others and the promotion of justice.

Where there are problems there are often solutions. A solution may be effective but not palatable. Still, if it's the only solution then that's what you gotta do. Bite the bullet, as they say. 

Which solution you choose will reflect, inter alia, on your character. People will notice. 

I can identify with problems with ex-spouses. No matter what, you have to choose the solution that best serves your children. It can be expensive and frustrating but you MUST serve your child. Damn your ego, just do it. Pay the support, pay for summer camp, pay for braces, take your children when you can.

I am a life-long conservative Republican. If Joe Biden treated Navy Joan like this I would vote for him because I could identify with his humanity. I will vote against him because, among so many other reasons, he will not.

 Distractions

Look over there! It's demon COCAINE!!!

KJP spent half of today's White House briefing talking about the little baggie of cocaine found in the White House, in a crack of furniture where visitors congregate. 

The amount is so small that a big-city cop would likely have just emptied it on the ground. Why not? It's legal most places, thanks to political vote fishing. And, just for the record, I don't believe it was Hunter's. Even Hunter is more discreet than that.

That's what the Secret Service should have done, then maybe make a comment to the effect of, "Don't do this, America. This is your house, too."

But NO! Look over there! We found some cocaine!

KJP could have taked about the economy, Ukraine, Prigoshin, China, our transportation crisis, energy and so much more. Instead, "You want a briefing, I'll GIVE you a freakin' briefing." 

It just won't be about anything important. That's the way of today's White House. "We'll talk to you but we won't tell you anything."

That's transparency today. Transparency is whenever they'll deign to talk to us. They count those, you know. Then she can say, "The White House has spoken about this X many times." What underlines that is "Weren't you paying attention?" Prol.

Bottom line for us today is, "Why did you call this press briefing at all?"

The real bottom line for KJP is, "We clicked off another day without reporting an international blunder. The election is that much closer. Whew."

Sorry, No Good Guys in Ukraine

The most important thing for Americans to know about the Russia-Ukraine War is that 

THERE ARE NO GOOD GUYS!

It's easy to hate Putin. Too easy, really, because it hides ugly facts of the war, like:

There really are Ukrainian Nazis. Not sympathizers, not kinda-like Nazis, real freakin' Nazis. They are front-line troops and senior commanders and policy makers. They are waging war with the money and things we give them. God DAMN them. What does that make US? Their enablers?

The cute, comic, puppet leader is only for show. He cleans up nice and he is the face of Ukraine. His is a face of TV make-up, reading lines written by someone else. His pretty face and pretty wife confuse us into thinking, "Oh, we have to help that poor guy, don't we?" 

So we do. $130 billion that we know of and no end in sight. And no accountability for our assistance. No auditing whatsoever. "It's a war against RUSSIA! Trust us."

Mind you, there are good men and women in Ukraine and, yes, in Russia. They are Tevye and his village in Fiddler on the Roof. They are farmers and builders and workers and makers who are kept from innovation and production because so many others get a taste of their hard work, just a taste, along the way. 

That's the way the Mafia runs things, with one big exception. Only the local Mafia bag man gets a taste and he passes it along. In Russia, every person in authority gets a taste. That's why huge projects fail. Like the Olympic Village in Sochi, GEORGIA. Like missing submarines. Like lost manned space projects. So many of the last, but you don't get to hear about them. That news is forbidden.

Good people are being killed or marginalized. Men and women with good hearts, good goals, lovers of peace and good will. They are terrorized into silence. I can't blame them.

And Russia, I'm looking at YOU now. Deranged, muddled thoughts of the past are made national policy by one twisted, unbelievably rich sicko. Just one. Rich simply because he stole everything. He is cautiously supported by a lunatic fringe of blood-sucking, self-enriching, would-be dictators who want to be him. That's how Russia under Putin works.

There are many good men and women in Russia and the former Soviet Union. They are terrified. 

I know because I lived among them and I love some of them, fine people, ex-Communists all. I have a friend who spent time in the gulags for harboring anti-Soviet sentiments. That came with plenty of beatings. Good man, though.

Putin is rounding up the usual suspects after Prighozin's folly in fake-attacking Moscow. 

Really? Attack Moscow? Executions will follow, of course. Lots of them. No defense will be allowed. There will be show trials, just like in the 1930s. Prigozhin will die. There is no dissent in the Russian military or civilian life. If you think you see some, you are seeing a lie.

But that's not enough. Putin has to further terrorize the average Russian citizen. Just like in Fiddler. His citizenry already has nothing. They feel themselves well off if they have things that every American takes for granted. Food, for instance. Clothes. An apartment. Detergents. Medicines. A car. 

All while Putin has the biggest and best of everything. Because it doesn't cost him anything, except the money he stole.

Have you seen Putin's 463-foot yacht? It has gold toilet paper. 

Think of Tevye again. Bidi bidi bum.

 

D-Day 2023

I last posted my respects to the men - and women, as Bob Welch reminded us in American Nightingale - of D-Day 1944 on June 6, 2010, calling it Back Page News. This year, not do much as a single mention anywhere in our local rag, the Eugene Register-Guard, not even on the back page. Nothing on TV news, either. What a comment on our national conscience.  What a disgrace.  

To us in America, raised on US-centric WW II history, this was the critical event of WW II in Europe. The beginning of the end, and maybe it was. But that gives short shrift to the Soviet Union's sacrifices. We don't like them anymore but back in the day they killed 9 out of 10 German soldiers lost in the war. Russia and its contemporaries remember them and honor them. Us, not so much.

We saw Nancy Reagan placing flowers on the grave of Gen. Teddy Roosevelt, Jr., in 1994 while President Reagan looked on. I remember. There is no more talk of major celebrations in Normandy or elsewhere ever again. Their time has passed, although there are living survivors. Today, the living and dead veterans get not so much as a nod. Anywhere, from anyone.

 

 

 

TRJr deserves a special mention.  Gassed and wounded at Soissons in 1918, he had to overcome strenuous resistance to be in the invasion at all. His commanding officer reluctantly OK'd it but thought he was sending him to his death. Oldest man in the invasion, second man off the lead boat in the first wave (give that some thought), only general to land with the first wave, only man to serve with his son on D-Day.  

 

Medal of Honor for his actions on D-Day, one of only two sets of fathers and sons to win the Medal of Honor, along with Arthur and Douglas MacArthur.  

As successive waves came ashore, he walked around under fire encouraging them to move inland and he personally led assaults against German positions, just as he did when he first came ashore. He was admirably portrayed by Henry Fonda in the movie The Longest Day. He is a man well worth remembering.

 

Here's his Medal of Honor citation:

 

For gallantry and intrepidity at the risk of his life above and beyond the call of duty on 6 June 1944, in France. After 2 verbal requests to accompany the leading assault elements in the Normandy invasion had been denied, Brig. Gen. Roosevelt's written request for this mission was approved and he landed with the first wave of the forces assaulting the enemy-held beaches. He repeatedly led groups from the beach, over the seawall and established them inland. His valor, courage, and presence in the very front of the attack and his complete unconcern at being under heavy fire inspired the troops to heights of enthusiasm and self-sacrifice. Although the enemy had the beach under constant direct fire, Brig. Gen. Roosevelt moved from one locality to another, rallying men around him, directed and personally led them against the enemy. Under his seasoned, precise, calm, and unfaltering leadership, assault troops reduced beach strong points and rapidly moved inland with minimum casualties. He thus contributed substantially to the successful establishment of the beachhead in France.

Only three other men won the Medal of Honor on D-Day, and one on June 7.  Four of the five were awarded posthumously, including TRJr who died of a heart attack on July 12, 1944, the same day he was promoted to major general.

TRJr is seldom remembered any more, just like the rest of our D-Day and WW II veterans. But today is a good day to remember and thank him and them.

"If history were taught in the form of stories, it would never be forgotten."
-- Rudyard Kipling

 

Achievements, not deaths, are the legacy of Normandy but it is death that dominates our thoughts of them today.  For each recorded act of heroism and sacrifice and death there were hundreds more that went unobserved or are forgotten. Each of them died to keep us free. It is our shame that they appear to our children only as roles in video games instead of in stories of heroism and sacrifice that we have taught them.  

Gentlemen and ladies of D-Day, thank you for giving my family and me our freedom and our future.

* * * * *

"We’ll start the war from right here!"
Teddy Roosevelt, Jr, upon learning that his unit had landed a mile from their designated beach on D-Day.

 

Gay in Uganda

 

 

People in Uganda who have HIV/AIDS know they have it. The great majority are in treatment and are “virally suppressed.” That’s the good news.

 

The bad news. The Ugandan gummint has another cure. “Ban Homosexuality Or Die!” No, really. To quote Nancy Reagan, “Just Say No.” To your sexuality. Just tell your longings to go away and man up, gay people. “Oh, shit,” say gay Ugandans.

 

Fast forward to today. The Ugandan government is strongly, angrily, opposed to homosexuality. So strongly opposed, if fact, that they have made it illegal!

 

On the lighter end of sentencing for being gay, “Attempting to have same-sex relations,” will get you fourteen years in prison. Attempting? How does that work? In a Ugandan prison? Think about that for a moment. Actually doing the deed will get you life. In a Ugandan prison. For having consensual sex. Life.

 

“Aggravated homosexuality,” defined as when one partner has HIV or involving children “or other vulnerable people,” (skirt down, grandma!) will get you the death penalty. So, if you have HIV, “No sex for you or we’ll kill you both!”

 

Uganda isn’t entirely heartless. The new bill also makes identifying as LGBTQ+ NOT A CRIME! “Free to be me” is the law, as long as you stay in the president’s lane and don’t touch.

 

Frank Mugisha says that instead of targeting LGBTQ people, the gummint “should be focusing on tackling some of the greater social problems of the country.” He also said, “They should target individuals who are engaged in direct human rights violations and undermining democracy, but also corruption and abuse of other human rights as well.” 

 

Frank won’t be heard, sadly. You know Frank, right? He was head of the group Sexual Minorities Uganda. You probably guessed it already. The gummint banned it.

 

I seldom write about gay rights or related controversies, mostly because I don’t understand them and I don’t care that much. I’m in the camp of “You be you and I’ll be me and let’s both go in peace.” You’re gay? Fine with me. You’re straight? That’s fine, too. Go Ducks!

 

But there is no nuance in imprisoning or killing people for having gay sex. No wiggle room. (No pun intended.) No space in the Ugandan universe for that.

 

Biden is reviewing US plans for providing HIV relief to Uganda. Yeah, sure, (thank you for that phrase, my Norwegian Grandma). Cutting back on AIDS relief will help solve the problem by speeding up the deaths of sick Ugandans. That’s his idea. What’s yours?

 

Edited from 2014

The Death of the Ball Turret Gunner

There is a war poem that was once known by most interested and informed Americans.  It's called "The Death of the Ball Turret Gunner."  It was written by Randall Jarrell and published in 1945.  We don't know it today because, I think, it is too real, too graphic, too ugly.  It makes us too uncomfortable.  It makes us pray that our lost loved ones didn't depart like that.  But many did.  It's what war does.

I'd like to know what you think it means or if you think it has any meaning at all.  I think its point was to tell Americans that our military was not dying dignified, quick, clean, comic-book shot-through-the-brisket deaths.  That's a lie told so that we can sleep.

No, they were (and are and always have been) dying deaths of unspeakable horror and terror and pain.  So if we support a war it asks us to at least consider what it is that we support.  Men and women are dying because we asked them to and we knew they would die.  It doesn't seem too much of a burden to ask us to read about or watch what we asked for.  It's little enough.

The Death of the Ball Turret Gunner

By Randall Jarrell

From my mother's sleep I fell into the State,

And I hunched in its belly till my wet fur froze.

Six miles from earth, loosed from its dream of life,

I woke to black flak and the nightmare fighters.

When I died they washed me out of the turret with a hose.

"Do not go gentle into that good night...
Rage, rage against the dying of the light."
     -- Dylan Thomas

The day is coming to a close here.  Did I dare enjoy it?  Yes I did, but I also remembered the ball turret gunner, the tanker, the pilot, and the grunt, and those whose pieces we couldn't find.

Happy Memorial Day

 Edited from Memorial Day, 2014

Happy Memorial Day

It's time to mourn them again, we who confine our mourning to government-sanctioned holidays. Today we mourn those who died at the hands of our enemies while defending our freedom, our rights, our traditions, our nation. Your right, in point of fact, to ignore their sacrifices and pursue the pleasures they paid for. But you won't do that, will you? Please?

I have written about this day before. Their sacrifices haunt me. All that I am and all that I have was paid for by men and women whom I never knew. 

Don't be afraid to laugh today, to enjoy, to love, to rest. The day is meant for that, too. That's why we fly our flags at half mast only until noon in their honor and at full mast thereafter to honor America. Oh, you didn't know that?

But remember them today, those who will never again visit us, never go on another picnic with us, never again kiss us. Once they were like us, and they wanted to.

In the last line of the movie The Bridges at Toko-Ri, RADM Tarrant (Fredric March) says, after a successful bombing raid that suffered heavy losses and while launching the next raid, "Where do we get such men?" Where, indeed?

Thank you. I remember. Every day.

____________________

If our soldiers are not overburdened with

money, it is not because they have a distaste

for riches; if their lives are not unduly long, it is

not because they are disinclined to longevity.

Sun Tzu

Whistleblower Retaliation – My Experience

 

 

I was an IRS tax collector and manager and I was good at it.

 

One day I overheard two other managers discussing a novel idea to increase collection statistics. Problem was, it was illegal to do what they were doing. It was in another IRS district, I thought, but it was troubling nevertheless. I was in the Pacific Northwest Region of the IRS at the time. 

 

My highest direct manager was the Chief of Collection. I wrote a memo to him detailing what I saw as a serious problem and why it was illegal. I thought, it doesn’t behoove the IRS to break the law while enforcing other laws. 

 

It seemed simple. I would tell him in detail what I discovered and why it was illegal, then I’d let the system do its job. Of course, I thought, we’d fix the problem. That was the right thing to do and we tried to do the right thing, didn’t we? After all, we were the government and we were expected to act in citizens’ best interests.

 

I sent the memo up through my branch chief, thinking I had done my good deed for the day. I thought he would be pleased. I was so naïve.

 

A few days later the memo came back with a big NO on its face. Weird, huh? Didn’t anyone care that we were breaking the law and abusing innocent taxpayers? It seemed like no one did.

 

I re-wrote the memo a week later and sent it back up though my boss. I stressed how harmful it would be to the IRS if this ever came out or if the press got ahold of it. I said it was urgent to take steps to stop what we were doing. It seemed obvious to me that we needed to get ahead of the story and stop what we were doing. It was bound to get out, I thought.

 

A week passed. My branch chief visited me in Olympia. He angrily handed me my second memo and told me never to raise the issue again. It finally dawned on me. My senior management was in on the game. They benefitted from the illegally inflated collection numbers and they didn’t want to change a thing.

 

Another week passed. I decided to write a similar memo to our local Congressional representative. She hated the IRS and I knew it would get her attention. At the time, Congress was holding oversight hearings about IRS abuses. This would give her something to say. I expected to be called to testify.

 

My boss made another unexpected visit. I was busy at my keyboard. He asked what I was doing. I said, “I’m writing another memo about that illegal collection scheme.”

 

He was very angry, shouting at me, “I told you not to bring that up again!”

 

I said, “This isn’t for internal consumption.”

 

He asked, “Then who is it for?”

 

“I’m writing it for our local Congresswoman.”

 

He was so angry that he turned purple. He yanked the papers out of my hand and said, “I order you to stay in this building until I get back to you.”

 

Well, OK, I had plenty of other work to do. I could hear him shouting over the phone in another room. He came back to my office. “We want to make a deal,” he said.

 

A deal? The IRS doesn’t make deals with its employees. I was suspicious. He continued, “If we take this to the Office of Chief Counsel, in DC, will you be satisfied with their answer?”

 

That was our highest level of legal expertise. I thought, why not? If I was wrong, I’d have to eat my words but I was sure I was right. I said, “When?”

 

He said, “In two days.”

 

I said, “OK, I can live with that if you can.”

 

Sure enough, two days later a representative from the office of the Assistant Commissioner for Collection sat down with a National Office attorney. He explained the problem and she read my latest memo. She said, “You’re not really doing this, are you?”

 

“Well, yes, we are.”

 

She said, “I order you to stop this immediately. Today. Then give me a list of whom you have subjected to this, how much is involved in each case and what you plan to do to refund their money. I’ll expect your first report by the end of the day.”

 

That’s the story but not the retaliation. National Office was pleased. I was given the highest awards in the IRS and in the Treasury Department. I was an IRS celebrity for a moment.

 

Then came my annual rating report. I was good at my job and, naively, I expected a good rating. That wasn’t the case. I got a poor one. It was grossly unfair. I filed an “Institutional Grievance” in protest. It was upheld, my rating was changed and I went back to me job. Retaliation #1.

 

I was invited to teach an advanced slot at an IRS CPE. I was also an attendee at the conference. A man gave a presentation about a new program he was involved in. I was well versed in that particular area of tax law. At the end he asked for questions. I stood up and said, “I’ve worked with you in that area. Nothing you’ve said here is true. Let me explain.”

 

I was right but because of what I said, my division chief gave me a three-day suspension “for creating a hazardous work environment.” I grieved that, too, and it was reduced to “a verbal warning in writing.” Yes, there was such a thing. Retaliation #2.

 

I transferred to the Eugene, Oregon, IRS office. A new branch chief came in. She called me to say that she didn't like what I was doing and she was going to eliminate my job and send me back to the field. I said, "Do you realize I'm collecting $20 million a year?"

 

"That doesn't matter. You belong in the field working cases and that's where I'm going to put you. That's final."

 

So, she did. One week later she "re-created" the position and assigned one of her friends to it, someone who, of course, knew nothing about estate tax collection. I really hate careerists. Retaliation #3.

 

There is a current scandal about FBI retaliation against whistleblowers. I believe the accusations. I experienced the same bitter pettiness in the IRS from insecure, little people. It’s time to create a government work environment where employees are free to follow their consciences. To the extent there are codes of conduct for managers, they are flawed. Fix them.

 

“If you know better, you do better. If you do better, you get better.” – Philip Bridler