The Art World

I'm not usually aware of much going on in the avant-garde art world. I often go to art museums, but they are way behind the curve. It appears that several artists are acting dramatically to resist the current administration.

According to an article in the New York Times,  the artist Christo, famous for "wrapping" or otherwise decorating prominent buildings and parks has been working for years on a project to "create a vast public artwork in Colorado that would draw thousands of tourists and rival the ambition of 'The Gates,' the saffron transformation of Central Park that made him and Jeanne-Claude, his collaborator and wife, two of the most talked-about artists of their generation."

Christo stated that he will not proceed with this project "because the terrain, federally owned, has a new landlord he refuses to have anything to do with: President Trump." Coverage of Christo's cancellation in "The Art Newspaper" explains that the planned "Over the River" project would have "covered 42 miles of the Arkansas River in silver fabric for 14 days" -- they showed the following image of Christo's design.

"Christo, Over The River, Project For The Arkansas River, State of Colorado, 2007, collage in two parts. Photo: Wolfgang Volz, © Christo 2007"

The Times article also summarizes several other artists' protests:

"In late November, more than 150 prominent artists, curators and gallery workers picketed in front of the Puck Building in Downtown Manhattan, owned by the family of Jared Kushner, Ivanka Trump’s husband and now a senior adviser to President Trump. Under the banner of a continuing social-media and protest movement called Dear Ivanka, critics of the President have directed almost daily condemnations of his actions and policies to his daughter, a prominent art collector. And on Inauguration Day, dozens of galleries — and a few public art institutions — closed in cities across the country as a part of a movement, J20, that plans to broaden protest activities in the coming months to address issues like racism, immigration and gentrification."

Also, an article titled "Richard Prince, Protesting Trump, Returns Art Payment" described how artist Richard Prince has returned $36,000 to Ivanka Trump, a payment for a work that he did based on her Twitter feed: "Mr. Prince first announced his decision in a series of tweets, saying that he was disavowing the work. In language that echoed Mr. Trump’s rhetoric, he called his own work 'fake' and added, 'I denounce.'"

Good Badlands

I think everyone has probably heard that the new administration has issued gag orders on a number of government agencies, prohibiting the discussion of information on climate change, health, and various other issues. And that the staff at Badlands National Park defied the order for a few hours until they too were shut up and shut down...

From the Washington Post

This struggle is just beginning!

Dr. Seuss and "America First"

The slogan "America First" is an old one -- used in the 1940s by Nazi sympathizers. At that time, Theodore Seuss Geisel (1904-1991) -- later known as Dr. Seuss -- was a cartoonist for a journal titled "PM." In a post today about a recent revival of this odiously-intended slogan, Language Log has a post titled:

Only America First

Along with some linguistic discussion, Language Log writer Mark Liberman included some of these cartoons. Remember: they date from the 1940s!

Here's a little background from a CNN article, "Trump's 'America First' has ugly echoes from U.S. history," by Susan Dunn --

"It is extremely unfortunate that in his speech ... outlining his foreign policy goals, Donald Trump chose to brand his foreign policy with the noxious slogan 'America First,' the name of the isolationist, defeatist, anti-Semitic national organization that urged the United States to appease Adolf Hitler."

From DC: More Photos from Evelyn

From the March

I will add more photos as I get them today.

"Nice people made the best Nazis."

Writer Naomi Shulman wrote an op-ed for station WBUR titled "No Time To Be Nice: Now Is Not The Moment To Remain Silent" (November 17, 2016). One paragraph from this article has turned into an internet meme -- that is, it's widely quoted without full attribution, and sometimes with additions or alterations by whoever is quoting. It's appeared on Facebook and elsewhere. Here is a direct quote:

"Nice people made the best Nazis. 

"Or so I have been told. My mother was born in Munich in 1934, and spent her childhood in Nazi Germany surrounded by nice people who refused to make waves. When things got ugly, the people my mother lived alongside chose not to focus on 'politics,' instead busying themselves with happier things. They were lovely, kind people who turned their heads as their neighbors were dragged away. 

"I don’t remember the first time I heard the stories my mother told me; I feel like I always knew them. She’s dead now. If she were alive, I imagine she would be quite sanguine; all her anxieties would be realized, so there would no longer be anything left to fear."

The article continues Naomi Shulman's observations of some of her friends and neighbors' reactions to the election. She mentions "apolitical" people she knows who refuse to discuss politics. They say things like "Count me among the silent resistance." She asks:

"The silent resistance? What did that even mean, to resist silently?"

She concludes: "I miss my mother. I am speaking for her now."
If you see this meme floating around the internet, you might want to link to the actual article. Obviously, it's a little more subtle than the imitators. Again: "No Time To Be Nice: Now Is Not The Moment To Remain Silent."

Naomi Shulman from WBUR.

Congressman John Lewis, Patriot

John Lewis

John Lewis, Congressman from Georgia, says that he will not attend the inauguration Friday because he regards the President-elect as an illegitimate president. The president-elect had the expected Twitter fit in response, saying that Lewis is "all talk, talk, talk—no action or results."

Lewis is a hero of the civil rights movement, having put his life on the line for civil rights in the sixties -- leading a march in Selma, Alabama where he was beaten and suffered a fractured skull. The New Yorker calls him "the singular conscience of Capitol Hill." John McCain once called Lewis 'one of the most respected men in America.' The Washington Post writes: "For a lifetime of civil rights work, Lewis was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 2011. Last year, the Navy announced it would name a ship after him, making Lewis one of just a few to get that honor." (Links: "JOHN LEWIS, DONALD TRUMP, AND THE MEANING OF LEGITIMACY" and "In feud with John Lewis, Donald Trump attacked ‘one of the most respected people in America’")

Lewis's refusal to attend the inauguration is an act of patriotism and heroism. Paul Krugman, in his column today, puts this in perspective, saying "talking frankly about how Mr. Trump gained power isn’t just about truth-telling. It may also help to limit that power." Here are a few of the paragraphs from the column:

"...let’s ask whether Mr. Lewis was right to say what he said. Is it O.K., morally and politically, to declare the man about to move into the White House illegitimate?
Yes, it is. In fact, it’s an act of patriotism. 

"By any reasonable standard, the 2016 election was deeply tainted. It wasn’t just the effects of Russian intervention on Mr. Trump’s behalf; Hillary Clinton would almost surely have won if the F.B.I. hadn’t conveyed the false impression that it had damaging new information about her, just days before the vote. This was grotesque, delegitimizing malfeasance, especially in contrast with the agency’s refusal to discuss the Russia connection. 

"Was there even more to it? Did the Trump campaign actively coordinate with a foreign power? Did a cabal within the F.B.I. deliberately slow-walk investigations into that possibility? Are the lurid tales about adventures in Moscow true? We don’t know, although Mr. Trump’s creepy obsequiousness to Vladimir Putin makes it hard to dismiss these allegations. Even given what we do know, however, no previous U.S. president-elect has had less right to the title. So why shouldn’t we question his legitimacy? ...

"What this means is that Mr. Trump must not be treated with personal deference simply because of the position he has managed to seize. He must not be granted the use of the White House as a bully pulpit. He must not be allowed to cloak himself in the majesty of office. Given what we know about this guy’s character, it’s all too clear that granting him unearned respect will just empower him to behave badly. 

"And reminding people how he got where he is will be an important tool in preventing him from gaining respect he doesn’t deserve. Remember, saying that the election was tainted isn’t a smear or a wild conspiracy theory; it’s simply the truth.... 

"So let’s be thankful that John Lewis had the courage to speak out. It was the patriotic, heroic thing to do. And America needs that kind of heroism, now more than ever."

The New Yorker writer, David Remnick, concludes:

"Trump avoided the draft by citing bone spurs in his feet. He has said he has made 'a lot of sacrifices' for his country because he has created jobs and 'built great structures.' The sacrifices that Lewis has made for his country and for the cause of justice are manifest in the scars on his skull. It is a safe bet that he will not be wounded by any tweet. And there are those who know well what he has done to advance the cause of justice and human rights. Eight years ago, at a lunch following the inaugural ceremonies, the new President signed a piece of paper for him with the inscription 'Because of you, John. Barack Obama.' John Lewis surely believes in the orderly transfer of power as a tenet of democracy, but asking him to keep quiet and sit through the inaugural ceremonies this time is asking too much."

Great Falls in Solidarity with Whitefish, Montana

In the last few days the Great Falls, Montana, City Commission and Montana's governor, state attorney general, US representative, and senators have all announced that they stand in solidarity with the town of Whitefish, which was threatened by white nationalists. A march against the Jewish community of Whitefish by neo-Nazis was announced for Martin Luther King Day, but as of now the march may not actually take place.

Commissioners read a proclamation January 3 that was met with resounding applause from meeting attendees. The proclamation stated that the commissioners "express our solidarity with our brothers and sisters in the ongoing struggle to free this world of the ideas and conduct that served to undermine a free and virtuous society, and to those who would promote these false ideas long since rejected by civilized peoples, we say and I use the words as they are spoken in Hebrew…never again." The commissioners cited George Washington's letter to the Jews of Newport, Rhode Island promising religious freedom in the newly founded country. (source1, source2: Radio Station KPAX Missoula, and Tablet Magazine.)

Here is the full statement from state officials via KPAX:

December 27, 2016

Dear Fellow Americans,

As we close out this year and look toward the future, we as Montana’s elected leaders are focused on the values that reflect our true character. Therefore, we condemn attacks on our religious freedom manifesting in a group of anti-Semites. We stand firmly together to send a clear message that ignorance, hatred and threats of violence are unacceptable and have no place in the town of Whitefish, or in any other community in Montana or across this nation. We say to those few who seek to publicize anti-Semitic views that they shall find no safe haven here.

We offer our full support to the Jewish community, Montana families, businesses, faith organizations and law enforcement officers as they ensure the security of all our communities. We will address these threats directly and forcefully, putting our political differences aside to stand up for what's right. That's the Montana way, and the American way.

Rest assured, any demonstration or threat of intimidation against any Montanan’s religious liberty will not be tolerated. It takes all Montanans working together to eradicate religious intolerance.

We are encouraged that so many Montanans from a variety of religious backgrounds have joined us in condemning this extreme ideology.

God bless the great state of Montana and the United States of America.

U.S. Senator Jon Tester

U.S. Senator Steve Daines

U.S. Representative Ryan Zinke

Governor Steve Bullock

Attorney General Tim Fox

"Grab Your Wallet" Boycott

Boycotts may or may not be a good approach to protest in the current disastrous political climate. However, various boycotts have definitely been suggested, and especially promoted by a group called "Grab Your Wallet." Here's their list of corporations and why this group suggests boycotting them: https://grabyourwallet.org/

Link to a brief description of this effort: "The Grab Your Wallet Movement Wants People to Boycott Donald Trump-Affiliated Retailers by Kerry Close.

In the news today: the GrabYourWallet boycott of L.L.Bean, caused by a large (and potentially illegal) donation to a PAC by a member of the Bean family.

Link: "Group Says It’ll Take LL Bean Off Boycott List If Company Takes Linda Bean Off Board" by Steve Mistler.

I'm more or less chagrined that I just made an L.L.Bean order this morning before learning about the boycott. I'm not sure what I'll be doing.

"A new consumer movement is rising"

"In the old normal, it would have cost little to stand up against neo-Nazi slogans. But in the new normal, doing so might involve angering key players in the White House, including the president-elect, Donald J. Trump, who has hired the former editor of Breitbart as his senior adviser. Mr. Trump recently proved the damage he could do to a company by criticizing Lockheed Martin on Twitter; soon after, its stocks prices tumbled.

"Still, a new consumer movement is rising, and activists believe that where votes failed, wallets may prevail. This struggle is about much more than ads on Breitbart News — it’s about using corporations as shields to protect vulnerable people from bullying and hate crimes."

A long NYT article "How to Destroy the Business Model of Breitbart and Fake News" by Pagan Kennedy describes efforts to inform large corporations when their ads appear on right-wing fake news sites: especially Breitbart News. The article describes how this effort is proceeding:

"In the past month and a half, thousands of activists have started to push companies to take a stand on what you might call 'hate news' — a toxic mix of lies, white-supremacist content and bullying that can inspire attacks on Muslims, gay people, women, African-Americans and others.

"In mid-November, a Twitter group called Sleeping Giants became the hub of the new movement. The Giants and their followers have communicated with more than 1,000 companies and nonprofit groups whose ads appeared on Breitbart, and about 400 of those organizations have promised to remove the site from future ad buys."

It started with Kellogg's -- which removed its ads from Breitbart and was then the target of both negative and positive consumer actions. (I bought two boxes of Kellogg's cereal this week. Unfortunately I didn't like one of them very much.) But it's an ongoing effort, and I hope it will work. As far as I'm concerned the problem is that in order to see the ads you have to look at despicable websites, which profit the minute you open them. What a world!

“Innovate Against Hate” Prize

Between now and February 17, 2017, the Anti-Defamation League is looking for applicants for a $35,000 prize titled "Innovate Against Hate," according to a press release dated January 5.

The prize "will be awarded to nonprofit organizations or individuals such as programmers, students, academics, journalists, artists and social entrepreneurs who devise new approaches to uncovering and countering anti-Semitism and other forms of online hate speech." (source)

Here's the list of types of projects this contest is looking for:

• "Develop positive, constructive efforts to understand, expose and undermine some form of online hate, such as harassment, extremism or cyberbullying;
• "Educate diverse audiences about the contours and dangers of hate online, particularly those that chill the ability or willingness of people to use social media;
• "Build awareness of existing tools available on various social media platforms to tackle hate and encourage not only their active use, but also ways to improve them;
• "Encourage counterspeech initiatives that bring Jewish and other ethnic and religious communities together to speak out against and overwhelm hate speech online."

The Anti-Defamation League has been active since 1913. According to their website, it is "the world's leading organization fighting anti-Semitism through programs and services that counteract hatred, prejudice and bigotry." Co-sponsor of the contest is The Natan Fund. The application form and instructions are HERE.

"A statement of inclusion and love for community"

"All In Service DC" is "a team of people from the hospitality community, service workers, and restaurateurs, who are making a statement of inclusion and love for community. As a service industry - like a gracious host - we welcome all." Participating restaurants will donate a share of the profits that they make during Inauguration Weekend (when business will no doubt be very good) to several service organizations that provide food, shelter, and medical care for those that need it. Recipients of their aid are very likely to lose a variety of lifeline services from the policies of the incoming administration.

From the "All In Service DC" website:

"INAUGURATION WEEKEND 2017"

"ALL IN SERVICE DC celebrates DC’s diversity by giving back to local organizations that keep our community thriving. 

"This inauguration weekend, eat and drink in DC for good.

"The events of the inauguration present a vital opportunity to serve our nation’s capital by creating inclusive spaces, in service not only to our guests, but also to our community. These are the fundamentals of hospitality, and it is in this spirit that we invite you to join us."

Participants choose which of several helping organizations to donate to. The list appears to be growing as the idea takes hold, though of course its impact is as yet unknown.

Some of the charities designated by "All In Service DC":
  

Conservation: Hero and Anti-Hero

"The World Wide Fund for Nature and the Zoological Society of London ... reported last year that between 1970 and 2012 there had been a 58% decline in the abundance of vertebrates worldwide." -- Article in the Guardian

Even an ordinary person can witness the decline in wildlife in recent years. Evelyn and Tom were in the Everglades last week, and noticed how birdlife was scant compared to Merritt Island, a refuge near Cape Canaveral. Yes, pelicans and cormorants are still present -- as we saw last year (photo right).

The noticeable attrition of Everglades wildlife is attributed to predation by the Burmese Python, an introduced snake. The Park Service explains:

"The population of Burmese pythons presently established in the park is the result of accidental and/or intentional releases by pet owners. These introductions can have devastating consequences to our ecosystem. Burmese pythons have been found to feed on a wide variety of mammals and birds in the Everglades -- even the occasional alligator! By preying on native wildlife and competing with other native predators, pythons are seriously impacting the natural order of south Florida's ecological communities." (source)

An 'Anianiau, endemic honeycreeper on Kauaii. Endangered!

There are so many examples of both rapid man-made disasters and slower more natural (or natural-seeming) disasters. Polar bears: losing their habitat to Arctic melting. Giraffes: 40% population decline in the past fifteen years. Elephants: losing habitat dangerously in Asia and Africa. Rhinoceroses: several species endangered or (in some cases) recently extinct. Hawaiian birds -- disappearing rapidly because a slight change in average temperature has allowed disease-bearing mosquitoes to penetrate their previously safe habitat. Many smaller and less-spectacular species are also in trouble.

In the cited Guardian article today, I read an interesting discussion about the media and how TV nature programs -- one in particular -- cover the news of threats to wildlife. It strikes me that there are no heroes here, but another example of how popular media sources handle a reality that's too unpleasant to accept.  But here's the essence:

"David Attenborough’s blockbuster nature series Planet Earth II is 'a disaster for the world’s wildlife' and a significant contributor to planet-wide extinctions, a rival natural history producer has claimed. 

"The BBC programme concluded in December and drew audiences of more than 12 million viewers but presents 'an escapist wildlife fantasy' that ignores the damage humans are doing to species everywhere, according to Martin Hughes-Games, a presenter of the BBC’s Springwatch."

Hughes-Games, a presenter of the BBC’s Springwatch, calls the Attenborough blockbuster "'an escapist wildlife fantasy' that ignores the damage humans are doing to species everywhere." Although Attenborough's presentations at least mentioned the need for conservation Hughes-Games "urged the BBC to commit to making more wildlife programmes that overtly address conservation."  He says:

"These programmes are still made as if this worldwide mass extinction is simply not happening... The producers continue to go to the rapidly shrinking parks and reserves to make their films – creating a beautiful, beguiling, fantasy world, a utopia where tigers still roam free and untroubled, where the natural world exists as if man had never been. [Attenborough and others] are lulling the huge worldwide audience into a false sense of security. ... No hint of the continuing disaster is allowed to shatter the illusion."

Do I need to make parallels to other coming disasters? Do I need to point out that many folks hold the media responsible for declining public intelligence and increasing rejection of unpalatable truth? What can I do? Not much.

2016 Wrap-Up and Looking towards 2017

First, I wish all my readers a Happy New Year, and as much hope as possible for the coming year, though some aspects of the future do now seem awfully dark!

At the beginning of 2016, this blog was nearly dormant. I started it as an exploration of "heroes" and "antiheroes" for secular Jews like myself, and I wrote mini-biographies of a few hundred figures from many cultures and many eras, as well as some general cultural thoughts.

"Judaism provides a code of ethical conduct," I wrote in 2010 when I started this blog. "Many secular Jews feel they’ve left all the belief, rituals, and taboos behind but kept the moral code." I continued: "Some of the heroes of secular Judaism aren’t Jewish. For example, Abbe Gregoire, active during the French Revolution, was instrumental in freeing European Jews from discrimination by defining them as human. Buddha and Martin Luther King are heroes to many secular Jews. Their lives have meaning or they are recognized heroes of secular Jews. Conversely, there are lots of anti-heroes: individuals who are intensely not-respected by most if not all secular Jews."

Unfortunately the idea of a hero has become all-too-relevant under the coming administration. Soon after the November election, I started finding new heroes to write about, not so much from the secular Jewish viewpoint, but from the viewpoint that alas, we might need a few heroes to avoid normalizing the coming disaster and directly or indirectly supporting destruction of valued institutions, disruption of efforts to rescue the environment, terrible bigotry including antisemitism, and persecution of minorities. I've been blogging this theme regularly, and feel sure I'll continue to find new material for posts in the new year.

 

To reflect my new approach to writing about heroes, I have adopted a new motto for my blog:

"Unhappy is the land that needs a hero." -- a quote from Bertolt Brecht.

Brecht, of course, reminds me of the lurking parallel between our time and his youth in Germany, where a beautiful era of freedom for the arts and music became a nightmare. I'm trying to avoid overdoing these parallels, and to keep my focus on the here and now and our own heroic potential.

"Normalized bigotry emboldens further bigotry"

Here's the conclusion of a very insightful article from Slate about the way it's easy to confuse satiric stories on the internet with malicious articles on the same subject:

"Regardless of anyone’s self-satisfied “don’t blame me, I was just X-ing,” all actions online have consequences—at least the potential for consequences, intended or otherwise. So for god’s sake, take your own words seriously."

The article, "The Internet Law That Explains Why 2016 Was So Terrible" by Whitney Phillips and Ryan M. Milner begins by citing "Poe's Law" which states that "online, sincere expressions of extremism are often indistinguishable from satirical expressions of extremism." Sometimes, the confusion is even intentional -- and manipulative. I've been very bothered by this exact issue.

The most bothersome example is the claim of some alt-right provocateurs who say they are "just trolling" and that their extremist statements are not somehow serious -- even though they give rise to bigotry, violence, and dangerous laxness about acceptable political speech. The authors state:

"The rise of the so-called alt-right—a loose amalgamation of white nationalists, misogynists, anti-Semites, and Islamophobes—provides a more sobering example of Poe’s law. White nationalist sentiments have metastasized into unequivocal expressions of hate in the wake of Trump’s electoral victory, but in the early days of the group, it was harder to tell. Participants even provided Poe’s law justifications when describing their behavior. A March 2016 Breitbart piece claimed the racism espoused by the 'young meme brigades' swarming 4chan, Reddit, and Twitter was ironic play, nothing more, deployed solely to shock the 'older generations' that encountered it. According to Breitbart, those propagating hate were no more genuinely bigoted than 1980s heavy metal fans genuinely worshiped Satan. The implication: First of all, shut up, everyone is overreacting, and simultaneously, do keep talking about us, because overreaction is precisely what we’re going for."

In other words, they want to have it both ways -- pretending their extremism is just a pose taken to goad people. But actually inspiring belief in the pretend bigotry to the point that gullible people act on the extremist views. Maybe the now-well-known story about child sex-slaves in the basement of a neighborhood pizza place in D.C. began as a joke (or "just trolling") but a weak-brained man with a real assault rifle showed up and started shooting.

The following paragraph from the Slate article summarizes what I've been worrying about without myself being able to frame it so well:

"Perhaps the best illustration of this tension is Pepe the Frog, the anti-Semitic cartoon mascot of 'hipster Nazi' white nationalism. The meme was ostensibly harnessed in an effort to create 'meme magic' through pro-Trump 'shitposting' (that is, to ensure a Trump victory by dredging up as much chaos and confusion as possible). But it communicated a very clear white supremacist message. The entire point was for it to be taken seriously as a hate symbol, even if the posters were, as they insisted, 'just trolling'—a distinction we argue is ultimately irrelevant, since regardless of motivations, such messages communicate, amplify, and normalize bigotry. And normalized bigotry emboldens further bigotry, as Trump’s electoral victory has made painfully clear." (My emphasis.)

Supposedly, Facebook is going to crack down on fake news. I wonder how this challenge of fake fake news will be handled.

"Do not be distracted by a delusion of impending normalization."

 Miklós Haraszti

Miklós Haraszti, Hungarian author, published an op-ed today in the Washington Post titled "I watched a populist leader rise in my country. That’s why I’m genuinely worried for America." In this article, he summarized his advice for America in the new era. He bases the advice on experience with Viktor Orban, Prime Minister of Hungary. Under Orban he watched the country change "from an exemplary post-Cold War democracy into a populist autocracy." His advice confirms some of my worst fears. He starts with this chilling statement:

"Alas, right now I find it hard to squeeze hope from our past experiences, because halting elected post-truthers in countries split by partisan fighting is much more difficult than achieving freedom where it is desired by virtually everyone."

Here are some of his suggestions:

• "Do not be distracted by a delusion of impending normalization. Do not ascribe a rectifying force to statutes, logic, necessities or fiascoes. Remember the frequently reset and always failed illusions attached to an eventual normalization of Vladimir Putin, Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Orban."
• "I think hope can be damaging when dealing with populists. For instance, hoping that unprincipled populism is unable to govern. Hoping that Trumpism is self-deceiving, or self-revealing, or self-defeating. ... Or hope extracted, oddly, from the very fact that he often disavows his previous commitments."
• "Please do not forget that populists can turn into peaceniks or imperialists at any moment, depending on what they think could yield good spin that boosts their support. Remember how Putin and Erdogan had switched, within months this year, from warring to fraternity. Or how Orban in opposition had blasted any compromises with Russia, only to become Putin’s best friend upon his election."
• "It probably helps to be as watchful as possible on corruption, to assist investigative journalism at any price, and to defend the institutions that enforce transparency and justice. And it also helps to have leaders in the opposition who are not only impeccably clean in pecuniary matters, but also impress as such."

I wonder if an effective opposition here will be able to live up to these plausible suggestions for resistance. Or if we will be destroyed as Hungary has been.

I was intrigued by this author, whose work I had not  heard of. Here is his brief biography from his page at Central European University, where he is director of research on human rights at the Center for European Neighborhood Studies --

"Miklos Haraszti is a Hungarian author, professor, and human rights promoter. His books, including A Worker in a Worker’s State and The Velvet Prison, have been translated into many languages. He was a founder of Hungary’s democracy and free press movement in the 1970s. In 1989, he participated in the "Roundtable Negotiations" on the transition to free elections. As a member of Hungary's parliament in the 1990s, he authored the country's first laws on press freedom. From 2004 to 2010, he directed the media freedom watchdog institution of the 56-nation Organisation for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE). Recently, he headed the OSCE's observation missions for elections in the U.S. and in Kazakhstan. He has taught at several universities, including Bard College, Northwestern University, and the New School. In the past two years, he gave courses on global press freedom issues at Columbia University."

Real or Fake?

“Smearing people just because you don’t like what they’re saying often works to shut them up,” Ms. Binkowski [Snopes' managing editor], 39, said. “But at Snopes you learn to grow a thick skin. I will always push back. At least until someone shows up at my workplace and kills me.”

Urban legends were the subject of most Snopes investigations in its first 20 years or so, but now the leaders of the investigative website -- David Mikkelson, Snopes' founder, and Brooke Binkowski, the managing editor -- are busy with the new trend: intentional political lies.  An article in the New York Times titled: "For Fact-Checking Website Snopes, a Bigger Role Brings More Attacks" documents the new work that Snopes is doing -- checking and reporting on the deluge of misleading and false stories designed to sway the masses in ugly ways. Anyone who remembers the fate of the staff of the French satiric journal "Charlie Hebdo" can see that a bit of heroism is involved in keeping Snopes going! (If you don't know about Charlie Hebdo, link here.)

From the article:

"One way to chart Snopes’s increasing prominence is by measuring the rise in fake news about the site itself. If you believe the internet, the founder of Snopes, David Mikkelson, has a longer rap sheet than Al Capone. He was supposedly arrested for committing fraud and corruption and running a pit bull ring. In the wake of a deal that Snopes and others made this month to start fact-checking for Facebook, new slurs and allegations poured forth.

"The underlying message of these spurious attacks is that the movement to fact-check the internet is a left-wing conspiracy whose real goal is to censor the right, and therefore must be resisted at all costs."

I've been counting on Snopes to help me out when I see obviously fake stories repeated on the Facebook pages of my friends, though these are usually the old-style stories that are eye-popping but not intended for actual harm. Now it's more important than ever to be watchful and skeptical. For a summary of how bad things are in this respect see: "Wielding Claims of ‘Fake News,’ Conservatives Take Aim at Mainstream Media."

"Sanctuary policies are an exercise of basic state and local powers"

Here's an opportunity for local governments throughout the land to protect vulnerable, innocent residents, write three law professors in the Washington Post. The article, "Trump can’t force ‘sanctuary cities’ to enforce his deportation plans," explains the constitutional principles that support local opposition to certain federal anti-immigrant actions. These principles, based on the tenth amendment, have in the past been upheld by courts in cases brought by conservatives. Erwin Chemerinsky, Annie Lai, and Seth Davis, the law professors at the University of California at Irvine, explain:

"Cities and public universities are exercising their constitutional authority when they declare themselves 'sanctuaries' in response to Donald Trump’s vow to deport 2 million to 3 million immigrants upon taking office next month. Trump has threatened to force state and local governments to implement his deportation policies, including by taking away federal funds, but such actions would be unconstitutional and likely halted by the courts." ...

"Sanctuary policies are an exercise of basic state and local powers to regulate for the health, safety and welfare of their residents. Some entities have acted out of a moral objection to mass deportations, but that is rarely the only motivation. Many local leaders recognize that sanctuary policies are vital to preserving police-community relations and ensuring that residents feel safe reporting crimes and accessing basic government services. Still others are responding to the risk that collaboration with federal immigration officials could lead to racial profiling and civil liberties violations. Public schools and universities have voiced concern that more aggressive immigration enforcement will jeopardize student safety and interfere with their schools’ educational missions."

Legal precedent rests on cases that concerned local efforts to override Federal gun control laws. I am particularly happy to read this:

"In an opinion by Justice Antonin Scalia, the court held that the [Brady handgun] act violated principles of federalism and the 10th Amendment for Congress by compelling state and local governments to comply with a federal mandate. Under the anti-commandeering principle, the federal government can no more require state and local governments to help it carry out mass deportations than it can require local officers to investigate and enforce federal gun laws."

The California legislature and other local authorities are considering how to legislate or make policy to protect their vulnerable residents legally, without shielding actual criminals.

Mayor Javier Gonzales

A few weeks ago, I heard an NPR interview with Santa Fe's mayor, Javier Gonzales. Mayor Gonzales, along with several mayors around the country from Chicago to New York to Seattle, have pledged that their cities will remain safe places for people without documentation. The mayor's statement:

"This is a test of our values. Every leader across the country will have to make a decision about, what are we going to stand for? And so there is a real choice that I'm prepared to make and be held accountable for. ... I've got to believe that the president-elect who said his primary focus was to create jobs in our country, who has said that he wants to heal and move forward -- that he'll see this as a very divisive, hate-driven type of rhetoric that does not allow our country to be great again. If anything, it further divides us and it moves us in the wrong direction."

UPDATE January 26, 2017. The new administration is indeed threatening sanctuary cities, and their mayors are pushing back. See: "‘Sanctuary City’ Mayors Vow to Defy Trump’s Immigration Order." 
I will do another post on the subject soon.

Barbara Mikulski

Barbara Mikulski, now 80 years old, is retiring after 30 years in the US Senate. Today's column by Gail Collins in the New York Times, "The Senate Bathroom Angle" describes Mikulski's career, especially how she worked tactfully to have the almost all male Senate create a bathroom for women Senators. Collins also suggests indirectly why we are unlikely to see leaders like her again. I hope you read the entire article, but here's an excerpt:

"In Washington, Mikulski has always exhibited a highly unusual combination of feistiness and bipartisanship. Susan Collins, a Republican senator from Maine, recalled that when she first arrived, Mikulski immediately reached out.

"'She didn’t know me from Adam — or perhaps I should say from Eve,' Collins said in a recent tribute on the Senate floor. 'Yet, despite the difference in our seniority, our states and our parties, she took me under her wing. … I was so grateful for her kindness and her wisdom. … She taught me the ropes of the appropriations process and instituted regular bipartisan dinners for the women of the Senate.'

"Those dinners have become famous — especially since the male side of the chamber has become more and more viciously partisan. In the beginning, they were held in a Senate room named after the late Strom Thurmond, an infamous pincher of ladies’ bottoms.
...
"Recently Mikulski and Collins invited their female colleagues for coffee, to welcome the latest generation of newcomers. It was a final gesture of outreach as Mikulski moved on into Senate history.

"She deserves some kind of permanent memorial. Maybe they could put a plaque in that bathroom. Or better yet, they could rename the Strom Thurmond Room in her honor."

Howard McMahan (1930-2016)

Howard McMahan was a wonderful family man, the father of three children, grandfather of nine, and great-grandfather of nine more. He worked in government and private industry, mainly in Fort Worth, Texas. His wife Myrtle is my cousin, and I have very fond memories of their wedding many years ago. I was very sad to learn that he died yesterday after a very long decline from Altzheimers.

Howard with a fanciful sculpture at the Fort Worth Modern
Art Museum where he and Myrtle took us in 2008.