Thanks for the article Ranjit. Re: the reference to LINK WRAY & 'the Power Chord': Here's an update:
Legendary guitarist LINK WRAY is going to be recognized in Fredericksburg with a state historical marker dedication ceremony this fall 2026.
The Virginia Department of Historic Resources approved the marker to commemorate the location where WRAY and his band, the Ray Men, originally improvised the groundbreaking rock instrumental "Rumble".
This moment occurred during the July 12 1957 sock hop that Fredericksburg native and James Monroe HS grad and former Councilor Billy Withers spoke about at the 8-15-26 Historic Fredericksburg Foundation/HFFI LINK WRAY 'Rock, Roll, Rumble & Rebellion" Tribute Party hosted by the WRAY family at the Colonial Tavern.
The MC for that night suggested to LINK WRAY that the teens usually ask for a 'stroll' (a slow dance rhythm). LINK wasn't familiar with it. And instead improvised an aggressive, edgy instrumental track right on the spot. The teens couldn't get enough of it, and asked for more throughout the rest of the sock hop.
This Power Chord and heavy distortion ultimately altered the course of rock, punk, and heavy metal.
The marker will be erected just east of the intersection of U.S. 1 and Fall Hill Avenue (the former site of the Fredericksburg Arena, sometimes called Armory), where the dance took place. While the official ribbon-cutting and dedication for the physical highway marker will take place this fall, no date/time has yet been announced.
Monitor the following sites for the announcement: The Historic Fredericksburg Foundation (HFFI) events calendar, as they are actively involved in promoting the commemoration.
• The Virginia Department of Historic Resources press page, which regularly updates public unveiling logistics for newly cast markers.
• The City of Fredericksburg's official Government Newsflash, where public attendance details for municipal dedications are posted.
As part of HFFI’s LINK WRAY Tribute Day on 8-15-26, we took a trolley ride through Fredericksburg, tracing the path to where the Fredericksburg Arena once stood. As our driver pulled into the back of the lot, on Rt. 1 near Fall Hill Ave, we rolled through a cloud of smoke from a mobile BBQ—a surreal moment that made us feel as if we had stepped straight back in time. The driver played 'Rumble' on the spot.
Thanks, Sue. Yes, I read about the new dedication marker (in the Advance, I think) and think it's a great idea. Fredericksburg isn't just for Geo. Washington, Ambrose Burnside, and Carl's!
I admire and share the intent, to a certain extent, but not the diagnosis, nor the strategy.
Much akin to the idea that the solution to racism is more language police, rather than substantive policies changing the economic and civil liberty harms done due to racism - I'm not sure more catchy jingoes are the cure for addressing environmental concerns.
In fact, I've come to believe such tactics have done more harm than good for most issues which people care about. IN the amount of energy wasted upon them, then celebrating them, and then feeling like the problem has been solved.
You know, like a successful fund raiser for poor, likable Timmy's sick Aunt's chemo treatment, rather than asking why we suffer a system where choosing between the house and chemo is an everyday choice.
Thumping each other's back when we provided 500 turkeys for Thanksgiving, rather than asking why 500 hundred families don't know where their next meal is coming from.
Pablum for us rather than realistic solutions.
Wouldn't we do better if we solved it like we did ozone depletion?
If you figure out what matters, look at what's being gotten rid of, and what is being tolerated by those in power.
No one's going after your Marvin Gaye. (Though I notice few venues giving Natalie Merchant's rendition of "Which Side Are You On?" much play time - but maybe I missed it on American Idol or the Super Bowl halftime show).
Still, I can download it if I want to (and have).
What IS being systematically destroyed ARE regulations that protect not only the environment, and the people who happen to live in it, which, it turns out, is most of them (giving exceptions to some members of the Musk, Bezo's, and Stephen Miller families, of which I'm not so sure).
Civil liberties, inspector generals, rule of law, treaties, the Constitution.
The problem with focusing on marketing rather than policy, is that - as we found when those hippies aged and got their 4001k's tied to the stock market more than the farmer's market- they started voted with the end of their body closest to their wallet, rather the one near their hearts and brains.
Solutions?
Fair question to a man who criticizes.
No one magic potion, certainly. Neither a song nor dance, though there is a time and place for both.
I would first suggest more objective diagnoses of the problems.
When you start your basis on the time of your youth as being some halcyon day of yore, rather than a time which was different, but not necessarily better - it may fit well in a poem, but the data may not back you up.
I've never read Anne Dillard's ode to Tinker Creek, but from what I've heard, its moving - in a back to nature sort of way.
I did grow up a few miles downstream of Hollins College though. And while it may have been more pristine back then in that protected environment - I remember that stream of blessed memory a little differently.
Yes, we got to fish the creek a couple of times a year for the put and take trout provided at the insistence of the local legislator who just happened to own a convenience store along the bank.
It was grand. As were the fried bologna and egg sandwiches he made.
Great guy.
But just upstream of the dam they quit stocking pretty quick. The water wasn't as choice. Slower, muddier,
Also filled with peculiar floating mossy blobs that strangely related to the open sewer pipes discharging.
Smelled funny too, never could figure out why.
Upstream a little farther, the fish were more stunted than you would expect in a stream that large. Caught a yellow mudcat there one time, about the ugliest fish I ever seen. Swam crooked. Threw it back.
That was just below the Eli Lilly discharge pipe which folkds weren't encouraged to get to close to, you know, for "security" concerns.
And if the wind came from the south or east - the views around the Singer Furniture plant may not have been that breathtaking, but the VOC's certainly were.
Of course, closer to home, if you were young, bored, and looking for amusement - you could peel the lead paint chips off of the new aluminum siding as long as your Mom didn't catch you.
Much, much of that has changed since that time.
Some would say for the better.
My grandsons don't feast on lead chips. The factories have closed, and their worst damages were addressed long before then.
Some would say they closed because we traded our jobs away to China. I would say we did so without compelling China to have a fair playing field. We made sure Tinker Creek ran pure, but not the Yangtze. But that was a failure to make our policies apply to all of our products, not because the policies weren't worthwhile.
Likewise for wages, civil liberties, and rule of law.
And in many cases, us "liberals" are just as guilty as anyone else. Maybe worse, because we ought to know better.
We say we're enlightened, and if we'd been alive back in the day we'd been dead set against slavery. We prove it by melting a stature here, taking a license plate there, making sure everyone knows the proper term du jour.
Yet we shop at Walmart or Amazon, same as anyone else - giving little thought to those Uighurs slaving in the factory near Tibet, But that's different, right?
So I would suggest on all of these things, including the environment - the first thing is not a catchy tune.
But rather a clear, objective diagnosis of suspected problems, with clear metrics.
As was done for particulate matter. PCBs, leachate, whatever.
Then how do we fix it?
Again, with hard, solid plans that involve continual feedback.
Here's a key part, which everyone one of us now labeled as "communists' should embrace.
Insist the solution involve capitalism. With both the damages and solutions monetized and again, continually monitored for return on investment.
Will it work?
I would say based upon how much programs like Project 2025 wanted them destroyed, and how Republicans such as Youngkin attacked RGGI, and the Republican SCOTUS, Congress, and President are attacking our civil liberties, environmental protections, treaties, civil service, Constitution, and rule of law - they have already told us what is worth protecting.
Respectfully, I would say those are the things we should focus on.
If you want to hum a tune while doing so, by all means - do. There's plenty of work to go around in the meantime.
"If a tree falls in the forest, does anyone hear?......"
Thanks for your long and detailed response, Books of Leo! I actually have read Annie Dillard's wonderful book.
To be sure, as one who teaches environmental politics and has helped to lead a green nonprofit I have never thought that a good song is a panacea or substitute for strong regulations or anything else needed to mend the environment. Not for a minute. Believe me when I say that right now I would happily trade the top 50 best pro-environment songs and the entire corpus of Motown and the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame for 50 elected members of Congress who understand basic science and feel a strong sense of urgency for solving our problems in intelligent ways. We can always make new music, but a livable planet...?
Rather, I do think that music and the arts as a whole can play formidable supporting roles in boosting social movements. Think of the Civil Rights movement, the Women's movement, the anti-war (and pro-war, too) movements, etc.
Remember the impact of Helen Reddy's "I am Woman?' Gaye's "What's Going On?" Or Credence Clearwater Revival's "Fortunate Son?" I could go on. Such music got people thinking and helped to galvanize action. That's why political campaigns and rallies hire notable musicians to play their events. But just digging music is never a substitute for either tangible action (e.g. not just clicking "like") or solid results. In the essay above, I never suggest that it is.
If you look at my many other columns for the Advance, as well as my Substack "No Lines in Nature," you'll see that I write about the myriad challenges faced by environmentalists quite regularly. Personally, I think the greatest challenge we face now in "green" politics, as well as the rest of politics in general, is weak leadership. But you gotta find ways to point that out (as in howling "I ain't no senator's son!" when you get drafted to fight in Southeast Asia) and inspire voters to demand better elected officials. Music can help here.
As with Col Huber, I know I should apologize. In that I know you are trying.
And you both have a respective body of work that should make anyone feel justified to rest on his laurels.
He mentioned the other day that he's pushing 80, I hope I'm able to eat creamed corn at such an age, much less to continually research and provide amazing insight and commentary.
Amazing.
But the question I ask here, is kinda the same thing I've been asking him.
In that we've tried all of those things, and we see they are not only not working, but regressing, then what?
And please know that I am using this forum to ask myself that question, as much as asking you.
I too love nature, and suspect I share many of your goals.
I doubt I've had the impact of many, but like to think I've helped. You know, the old think global, act local thing.
In that I started a side business as a HERS rater 20 years ago. Went full time with it back in 2013.
Met a lot of smart people and had a lot of fun along the way. Took my training with Southface in Atlanta, from a bunch of engineers from Georgia Tech. Attended the Passivehaus inaugural class for raters back in 2011 in Champaign, Il, tested the 2013 LEED Single Family of the Year, presented to the local home builders association for years, certified close to 200 Energy Star single family homes, and tested/certified thousands of multifamily homes for Energy Star, Earthcraft, and Zero Energy Ready homes. Including around here for the last couple of years, though I'm winding down now.
Did repurposed 100 year old schools, churches, even a factory one time.
Back a few years ago, did some sampling of new home construction under the Southeast Energy Alliance for the good people at Viridiant in Richmond.
That was insightful, in that we discovered that duct leakage in code compliant systems was much worse than expected (like about $30 out of every $100 was going out the window).
Got them to change the state code based on that study - now its not supposed to be more than $4/100.
I'd like to think that matters.
And is the type of resolution that makes sense to me. I can defend it.
Cold hard numbers, cold hard facts.
But what I'm seeing is that now, not only for the environment - but for our overall system, our system is not working.
It has been coopted. Corporations are people, 3 year olds in courtrooms are not.
That don't make sense to me. Does it to you?
We should recognize that. We should say that.
Our taxes (tariffs) change daily, and can change again by nightfall; based upon the whims of one man.
I wouldn't want that even if he were a good man.
Which he ain't.
When Nobel Peace winners like Maria Ressa tell you that the attacks on our system of government, civil liberties, media control, etc. are following those tactics used by a totalitarian in her country when he took over, maybe we should listen.
Our system of checks and balances isn't working.
Hopefully, that will change in November.
I pray so. And voted so today.
But in case you haven't noticed, the party that attempted to violently overthrow the government last time we tried to vote them out, is in power again.
Playing their own music, only louder.
And this time they've spent the last two years systemically destroying just about every safeguard we have, at the same time they are purging the military of those who show principle, as well as the courts, FBI, etc.
Instead. we have masked men walking the street who are seizing and/or killing citizens and non-citizens alike.
With impunity and anonymity.
And for the environment, again - there has been harassment and destruction of policies, suppression of studies, disobedience of laws - by those sworn to uphold them.
They are already starting wars, rescinding rights, shutting down dissent.
And the solution is a good song, write a letter of protest, or - in the case of politicians - kneel down while wrapped in kente cloth or read a sternly written letter over your glasses before asking for another donation to the PAC, cause their PAC is bigger than our PAC?
I don't know man, I ain't seeing it.
I ain't.
And the only hope we have of convincing people not to vote for more of this is by promising we'll keep the price of gas down rather than letting it follow free market pressures?
I don't think that's working.
I'm not sure I want it to work if our rights, beliefs, honor are what we are trading for it.
And honestly, it hasn't worked for 40+ years.
Its getting worse. We finally got CO2 to level off and now we're jacking it up again for data centers?
Damn, man.
We're out of balance.
And losing, on every front. Including this one.
Maybe it's time to change tactics.
Maybe we ought to quit trying to be Republican light. That may be good for Chuck Schumer's bank account, but I don't think it's helped those who voted for him.
You ever wonder why Hillary Clinton or Kamala Harris never took off, but Trump did?
I don't think it's because they were women. It was because they weren't real.
Every answer had to been thought out, every point debated. The one thing you could be sure of is that everything was negotiable.
Trust me, no one ever accused DJT of overthinking something.
And while his greed, ignorance, racism, yada, yada, yada are undeniable - no one can say he's hidden it.
I also think that's why folks like Mamdani and El-Sayed are striking such a resonance with voters.
They are open about their principles and are willing to defend them. Strongly - thoughtfully.
I think we may be in agreement that such strong and intelligent leadership is our hope if the system does remain functional.
But I think we also may want to be considering what happens if it isn't.
That too is a real possibility. Then what?
As Americans, do we ask what would Jesus do, or what Jefferson would do?
You know, whenever a government becomes destructive of the life, liberty, and pursuit of happiness of its citizens....
Just wondering. To myself as much as anyone else.
Feel no need to be reading at this point. Much less responding.
Again,
Wife's out of town and I'm just passing the time 'til the Braves game, since my Red Sox crashed and burned last night.
Sure hope I'm wrong. Not so sure I am.
We'll see.
Then what?
Night. And as always, looking forward to your next column.
"In the year 2525...."
Thanks for the article Ranjit. Re: the reference to LINK WRAY & 'the Power Chord': Here's an update:
Legendary guitarist LINK WRAY is going to be recognized in Fredericksburg with a state historical marker dedication ceremony this fall 2026.
The Virginia Department of Historic Resources approved the marker to commemorate the location where WRAY and his band, the Ray Men, originally improvised the groundbreaking rock instrumental "Rumble".
This moment occurred during the July 12 1957 sock hop that Fredericksburg native and James Monroe HS grad and former Councilor Billy Withers spoke about at the 8-15-26 Historic Fredericksburg Foundation/HFFI LINK WRAY 'Rock, Roll, Rumble & Rebellion" Tribute Party hosted by the WRAY family at the Colonial Tavern.
The MC for that night suggested to LINK WRAY that the teens usually ask for a 'stroll' (a slow dance rhythm). LINK wasn't familiar with it. And instead improvised an aggressive, edgy instrumental track right on the spot. The teens couldn't get enough of it, and asked for more throughout the rest of the sock hop.
This Power Chord and heavy distortion ultimately altered the course of rock, punk, and heavy metal.
The marker will be erected just east of the intersection of U.S. 1 and Fall Hill Avenue (the former site of the Fredericksburg Arena, sometimes called Armory), where the dance took place. While the official ribbon-cutting and dedication for the physical highway marker will take place this fall, no date/time has yet been announced.
Monitor the following sites for the announcement: The Historic Fredericksburg Foundation (HFFI) events calendar, as they are actively involved in promoting the commemoration.
• The Virginia Department of Historic Resources press page, which regularly updates public unveiling logistics for newly cast markers.
• The City of Fredericksburg's official Government Newsflash, where public attendance details for municipal dedications are posted.
As part of HFFI’s LINK WRAY Tribute Day on 8-15-26, we took a trolley ride through Fredericksburg, tracing the path to where the Fredericksburg Arena once stood. As our driver pulled into the back of the lot, on Rt. 1 near Fall Hill Ave, we rolled through a cloud of smoke from a mobile BBQ—a surreal moment that made us feel as if we had stepped straight back in time. The driver played 'Rumble' on the spot.
Thanks, Sue. Yes, I read about the new dedication marker (in the Advance, I think) and think it's a great idea. Fredericksburg isn't just for Geo. Washington, Ambrose Burnside, and Carl's!
Is that the problem?
Really?
I would posit that it is not.
I admire and share the intent, to a certain extent, but not the diagnosis, nor the strategy.
Much akin to the idea that the solution to racism is more language police, rather than substantive policies changing the economic and civil liberty harms done due to racism - I'm not sure more catchy jingoes are the cure for addressing environmental concerns.
In fact, I've come to believe such tactics have done more harm than good for most issues which people care about. IN the amount of energy wasted upon them, then celebrating them, and then feeling like the problem has been solved.
You know, like a successful fund raiser for poor, likable Timmy's sick Aunt's chemo treatment, rather than asking why we suffer a system where choosing between the house and chemo is an everyday choice.
Thumping each other's back when we provided 500 turkeys for Thanksgiving, rather than asking why 500 hundred families don't know where their next meal is coming from.
Pablum for us rather than realistic solutions.
Wouldn't we do better if we solved it like we did ozone depletion?
If you figure out what matters, look at what's being gotten rid of, and what is being tolerated by those in power.
No one's going after your Marvin Gaye. (Though I notice few venues giving Natalie Merchant's rendition of "Which Side Are You On?" much play time - but maybe I missed it on American Idol or the Super Bowl halftime show).
Still, I can download it if I want to (and have).
What IS being systematically destroyed ARE regulations that protect not only the environment, and the people who happen to live in it, which, it turns out, is most of them (giving exceptions to some members of the Musk, Bezo's, and Stephen Miller families, of which I'm not so sure).
Civil liberties, inspector generals, rule of law, treaties, the Constitution.
The problem with focusing on marketing rather than policy, is that - as we found when those hippies aged and got their 4001k's tied to the stock market more than the farmer's market- they started voted with the end of their body closest to their wallet, rather the one near their hearts and brains.
Solutions?
Fair question to a man who criticizes.
No one magic potion, certainly. Neither a song nor dance, though there is a time and place for both.
I would first suggest more objective diagnoses of the problems.
When you start your basis on the time of your youth as being some halcyon day of yore, rather than a time which was different, but not necessarily better - it may fit well in a poem, but the data may not back you up.
I've never read Anne Dillard's ode to Tinker Creek, but from what I've heard, its moving - in a back to nature sort of way.
I did grow up a few miles downstream of Hollins College though. And while it may have been more pristine back then in that protected environment - I remember that stream of blessed memory a little differently.
Yes, we got to fish the creek a couple of times a year for the put and take trout provided at the insistence of the local legislator who just happened to own a convenience store along the bank.
It was grand. As were the fried bologna and egg sandwiches he made.
Great guy.
But just upstream of the dam they quit stocking pretty quick. The water wasn't as choice. Slower, muddier,
Also filled with peculiar floating mossy blobs that strangely related to the open sewer pipes discharging.
Smelled funny too, never could figure out why.
Upstream a little farther, the fish were more stunted than you would expect in a stream that large. Caught a yellow mudcat there one time, about the ugliest fish I ever seen. Swam crooked. Threw it back.
That was just below the Eli Lilly discharge pipe which folkds weren't encouraged to get to close to, you know, for "security" concerns.
And if the wind came from the south or east - the views around the Singer Furniture plant may not have been that breathtaking, but the VOC's certainly were.
Of course, closer to home, if you were young, bored, and looking for amusement - you could peel the lead paint chips off of the new aluminum siding as long as your Mom didn't catch you.
Much, much of that has changed since that time.
Some would say for the better.
My grandsons don't feast on lead chips. The factories have closed, and their worst damages were addressed long before then.
Some would say they closed because we traded our jobs away to China. I would say we did so without compelling China to have a fair playing field. We made sure Tinker Creek ran pure, but not the Yangtze. But that was a failure to make our policies apply to all of our products, not because the policies weren't worthwhile.
Likewise for wages, civil liberties, and rule of law.
And in many cases, us "liberals" are just as guilty as anyone else. Maybe worse, because we ought to know better.
We say we're enlightened, and if we'd been alive back in the day we'd been dead set against slavery. We prove it by melting a stature here, taking a license plate there, making sure everyone knows the proper term du jour.
Yet we shop at Walmart or Amazon, same as anyone else - giving little thought to those Uighurs slaving in the factory near Tibet, But that's different, right?
So I would suggest on all of these things, including the environment - the first thing is not a catchy tune.
But rather a clear, objective diagnosis of suspected problems, with clear metrics.
As was done for particulate matter. PCBs, leachate, whatever.
Then how do we fix it?
Again, with hard, solid plans that involve continual feedback.
Here's a key part, which everyone one of us now labeled as "communists' should embrace.
Insist the solution involve capitalism. With both the damages and solutions monetized and again, continually monitored for return on investment.
Will it work?
I would say based upon how much programs like Project 2025 wanted them destroyed, and how Republicans such as Youngkin attacked RGGI, and the Republican SCOTUS, Congress, and President are attacking our civil liberties, environmental protections, treaties, civil service, Constitution, and rule of law - they have already told us what is worth protecting.
Respectfully, I would say those are the things we should focus on.
If you want to hum a tune while doing so, by all means - do. There's plenty of work to go around in the meantime.
"If a tree falls in the forest, does anyone hear?......"
Thanks for your long and detailed response, Books of Leo! I actually have read Annie Dillard's wonderful book.
To be sure, as one who teaches environmental politics and has helped to lead a green nonprofit I have never thought that a good song is a panacea or substitute for strong regulations or anything else needed to mend the environment. Not for a minute. Believe me when I say that right now I would happily trade the top 50 best pro-environment songs and the entire corpus of Motown and the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame for 50 elected members of Congress who understand basic science and feel a strong sense of urgency for solving our problems in intelligent ways. We can always make new music, but a livable planet...?
Rather, I do think that music and the arts as a whole can play formidable supporting roles in boosting social movements. Think of the Civil Rights movement, the Women's movement, the anti-war (and pro-war, too) movements, etc.
Remember the impact of Helen Reddy's "I am Woman?' Gaye's "What's Going On?" Or Credence Clearwater Revival's "Fortunate Son?" I could go on. Such music got people thinking and helped to galvanize action. That's why political campaigns and rallies hire notable musicians to play their events. But just digging music is never a substitute for either tangible action (e.g. not just clicking "like") or solid results. In the essay above, I never suggest that it is.
If you look at my many other columns for the Advance, as well as my Substack "No Lines in Nature," you'll see that I write about the myriad challenges faced by environmentalists quite regularly. Personally, I think the greatest challenge we face now in "green" politics, as well as the rest of politics in general, is weak leadership. But you gotta find ways to point that out (as in howling "I ain't no senator's son!" when you get drafted to fight in Southeast Asia) and inspire voters to demand better elected officials. Music can help here.
Thanks for reading and sharing your ideas.
Sir,
As with Col Huber, I know I should apologize. In that I know you are trying.
And you both have a respective body of work that should make anyone feel justified to rest on his laurels.
He mentioned the other day that he's pushing 80, I hope I'm able to eat creamed corn at such an age, much less to continually research and provide amazing insight and commentary.
Amazing.
But the question I ask here, is kinda the same thing I've been asking him.
In that we've tried all of those things, and we see they are not only not working, but regressing, then what?
And please know that I am using this forum to ask myself that question, as much as asking you.
I too love nature, and suspect I share many of your goals.
I doubt I've had the impact of many, but like to think I've helped. You know, the old think global, act local thing.
In that I started a side business as a HERS rater 20 years ago. Went full time with it back in 2013.
Met a lot of smart people and had a lot of fun along the way. Took my training with Southface in Atlanta, from a bunch of engineers from Georgia Tech. Attended the Passivehaus inaugural class for raters back in 2011 in Champaign, Il, tested the 2013 LEED Single Family of the Year, presented to the local home builders association for years, certified close to 200 Energy Star single family homes, and tested/certified thousands of multifamily homes for Energy Star, Earthcraft, and Zero Energy Ready homes. Including around here for the last couple of years, though I'm winding down now.
Did repurposed 100 year old schools, churches, even a factory one time.
Back a few years ago, did some sampling of new home construction under the Southeast Energy Alliance for the good people at Viridiant in Richmond.
That was insightful, in that we discovered that duct leakage in code compliant systems was much worse than expected (like about $30 out of every $100 was going out the window).
Got them to change the state code based on that study - now its not supposed to be more than $4/100.
I'd like to think that matters.
And is the type of resolution that makes sense to me. I can defend it.
Cold hard numbers, cold hard facts.
But what I'm seeing is that now, not only for the environment - but for our overall system, our system is not working.
It has been coopted. Corporations are people, 3 year olds in courtrooms are not.
That don't make sense to me. Does it to you?
We should recognize that. We should say that.
Our taxes (tariffs) change daily, and can change again by nightfall; based upon the whims of one man.
I wouldn't want that even if he were a good man.
Which he ain't.
When Nobel Peace winners like Maria Ressa tell you that the attacks on our system of government, civil liberties, media control, etc. are following those tactics used by a totalitarian in her country when he took over, maybe we should listen.
Our system of checks and balances isn't working.
Hopefully, that will change in November.
I pray so. And voted so today.
But in case you haven't noticed, the party that attempted to violently overthrow the government last time we tried to vote them out, is in power again.
Playing their own music, only louder.
And this time they've spent the last two years systemically destroying just about every safeguard we have, at the same time they are purging the military of those who show principle, as well as the courts, FBI, etc.
Instead. we have masked men walking the street who are seizing and/or killing citizens and non-citizens alike.
With impunity and anonymity.
And for the environment, again - there has been harassment and destruction of policies, suppression of studies, disobedience of laws - by those sworn to uphold them.
They are already starting wars, rescinding rights, shutting down dissent.
And the solution is a good song, write a letter of protest, or - in the case of politicians - kneel down while wrapped in kente cloth or read a sternly written letter over your glasses before asking for another donation to the PAC, cause their PAC is bigger than our PAC?
I don't know man, I ain't seeing it.
I ain't.
And the only hope we have of convincing people not to vote for more of this is by promising we'll keep the price of gas down rather than letting it follow free market pressures?
I don't think that's working.
I'm not sure I want it to work if our rights, beliefs, honor are what we are trading for it.
And honestly, it hasn't worked for 40+ years.
Its getting worse. We finally got CO2 to level off and now we're jacking it up again for data centers?
Damn, man.
We're out of balance.
And losing, on every front. Including this one.
Maybe it's time to change tactics.
Maybe we ought to quit trying to be Republican light. That may be good for Chuck Schumer's bank account, but I don't think it's helped those who voted for him.
You ever wonder why Hillary Clinton or Kamala Harris never took off, but Trump did?
I don't think it's because they were women. It was because they weren't real.
Every answer had to been thought out, every point debated. The one thing you could be sure of is that everything was negotiable.
Trust me, no one ever accused DJT of overthinking something.
And while his greed, ignorance, racism, yada, yada, yada are undeniable - no one can say he's hidden it.
I also think that's why folks like Mamdani and El-Sayed are striking such a resonance with voters.
They are open about their principles and are willing to defend them. Strongly - thoughtfully.
I think we may be in agreement that such strong and intelligent leadership is our hope if the system does remain functional.
But I think we also may want to be considering what happens if it isn't.
That too is a real possibility. Then what?
As Americans, do we ask what would Jesus do, or what Jefferson would do?
You know, whenever a government becomes destructive of the life, liberty, and pursuit of happiness of its citizens....
Just wondering. To myself as much as anyone else.
Feel no need to be reading at this point. Much less responding.
Again,
Wife's out of town and I'm just passing the time 'til the Braves game, since my Red Sox crashed and burned last night.
Sure hope I'm wrong. Not so sure I am.
We'll see.
Then what?
Night. And as always, looking forward to your next column.
Moving.