 
## "Rejoice Dear Hearts"

##

## Peter Cavanaugh

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## Copyright 2014 by Peter Cavanaugh

##

## Smashwords Edition

FOREWORD

On May 31, 2013, Eileen and I were together with all four daughters (each one lovelier than the other three) and eleven grandchildren (each one smarter then the other ten) for the first time in six years. It was a Cavanaugh Family Reunion occasioned by the graduation from High School of our oldest grandson, Will Pyron, in Middletown, Ohio, just north of Cincinnati.

When I decided to do a follow-up to last year's "No Irish Need Apply" with another compilation of essays, Sierra Star columns and other scribbled notations from 2013, I thought I would lead off with two particular pieces referencing my thoughts on the demonstrable value of a Jesuit education as reflected in the actions of our new Jesuit Pope. Relax. It's all cool stuff.

Since protocol required some sort of graphic depiction of the book title, the cover picture of our family get together in Ohio seemed absolutely perfect, although having almost nothing to do with Chapters One and Two of this collection, other than in a lovingly abstractive way.

"Rejoice Dear Hearts" generally follows the year 2013 chronologically, picking things up where "No Irish Need Apply" leaves off and ending with my final column of the year, "Getting It."

With the Republican Party of early 2014 almost as torn as our national political profile as a whole, it's a fine time to get in the game and hang on for a great ride ahead.

It's important to pay taxes, but even more important paying attention.

Then – trust yourself.

Peter Cavanaugh

Oakhurst California

March 17, 2014

## Chapter One – "Rejoice Dear Hearts"

As any of our four daughters and eleven grandchildren would surely testify, my primary philosophical observation about life in general and any subject in particular all comes down to this: "It's all in how you look at it. All in how you study it." For me, this really does seem to say it all.

I herein pay tribute to my original source for such a deceptively simple and powerfully influential and inspirational saying, that being one "Brother Dave Gardner".

"Brother Dave" was a singer/comedian from Jackson, Tennessee. After a one-semester term as a Southern Baptist ministerial student at Union University, he began a musical career as a drummer and vocalist. He started filling time between songs with stream-of-conscious commentary and was surprised when he discovered his audiences came to see his "comedic routines" rather than music, even though Dave had a national Top 20 hit in 1957 with an instrumental called, "White Silver Sands."

Legendary RCA artist Chet Atkins was amazed with "Brother Dave" and produced a comedy album in 1959 that catapulted Gardner into national prominence. "Rejoice, Dear Hearts!" sold a million copies. Numerous appearances on "The Tonight Show" continued his ascent into the entertainment stratosphere, but arrest for marijuana possession in 1962 brought his career to a screeching halt. This was seven years before Woodstock. He died of a heart attack in 1983 at the age of 57.

Many folks considered Dave Gardner to be blatantly Conservative. In the early 1980s, Texas Oilman H. L. Hunt moved Brother Dave and his wife to Dallas, but soon became disenchanted with Gardner's alcohol and drug abuse. Simultaneously, Gardner was often quoted in the Liberal press for "telling it like it is", particularly his strong opposition to American involvement in Vietnam. Referencing his own experiences, Gardner would say, " I was in World War Two and I saw lots of blood spilled, but it never sent anyone to Heaven."

Those who knew him report it was impossible pinning Gardner down on anything given his amazing proclivity to verbally dance between subjects, positions and ideas with lightning rapidity, juxtaposing all elements at every turn. The universal consensus was — Brother Dave Gardner made you think.

I'm sure that's why I took to him so quickly. Brother Dave Gardner was like a Jesuit!

I was particularly blessed in my youth receiving the benefit of a four-year Jesuit education at Le Moyne College in Syracuse. I still often tell friends, "The Sisters at Cathedral School taught me WHAT to think, but the Jesuits at Le Moyne taught me HOW to think."

The essence of Jesuit instruction is to present as many sides of a given topic as possible, then insist you make up your own mind without claiming absolute certitude. The Jesuits are often said to be "the intellectual vanguard of the Catholic Church" — a distinction historically supported by being booted out or suppressed individually and as a group by The Vatican more than once. A Doctor of Philosophy from Syracuse University who taught one senior class in Theology at Le Moyne was an atheist.

So I delight in talking with everyone about everything.

I just finished communicating with John Pero, Central Valley Tea Party Coordinator, about a "Gun Control" meeting scheduled for Oakhurst. I enjoy my conversations with John and have applauded his dedication to civic involvement in print as well as in person, even though we hold widely disparate views on many national issues.

I look forward to hosting Madera County Sheriff John Anderson, a fine Republican, at our March 2nd Meeting of the Democratic Club of Oakhurst. With the Ole' Kettle gone, we've moved to Sweetwater Steak House for a while. Sheriff Anderson will be bringing us all up to date on various local law enforcement fronts and will be glad to answer any questions raised.

I remain continually impressed by District Five Supervisor Tom Wheeler's Town Meetings at our Community Center and again urge everyone to be at the next one here or in Ahwahnee, Coarsegold, North Fork or Raymond. Tom does more shows than Elvis in his prime.

And I wish that our Congressional representatives in Washington in both Senate and House could put us first in their thoughts and learn to listen to — rather than talk at each other. They might just find out they share much more in common than not and that hard work and cooperative effort over time can bring brilliant consequences. I haven't given up yet.

"Don'tcha know a diamond ain't nothin' but a piece of coal that's stuck with it?" —

Brother Dave Gardner (1959)

Chapter Two – "Rejoice Dear Hearts" (Part Two)

Father Phil Keane, SS. (1941 – 2012)

With time flying by at laser velocity even faster than Superman's iconic speeding bullet, it's amazing to recall that our "For Your Consideration" column is now well into its fourth year as a regular weekly feature.

Initiated through the efforts of Lynn Jacobsson in late Autumn '09, colleague Alan Cheah and I have enjoyed sharing a hopefully more progressive perspective on national and local politics than that so generously offered by other regular Star contributors such as Dr. Bill and Junior Froelich.

There are even times when we are accidently more prescient than usual, such as in the newspaper's February 21st issue. In an offering entitled, "Rejoice, Dear Hearts." I devoted significant space to a discussion of Le Moyne College in Syracuse, a Jesuit institution.

The whole thrust was stressing the importance of critical thinking as encouraged by a Jesuit philosophy exposing students to comparative schools of reflective thought without fear of concurrent contamination. One learns to avoid confusing knowledge with belief or firm facts with fanciful fiction. My specific point of focus was the brilliant early '60′s comedy of a gentleman named Dave Gardner, who reminded me very much of "a Jesuit" in his awesome ability to seemingly reflect on almost everything at once.

Little did I know that within a few short weeks Cardinal Jorge Mario Bergoglio of Argentina would be chosen to head the Roman Catholic Church, naming himself Pope Francis the First. In the process, our New Holiness also becomes the first Pope ever hailing from the Americas and, of even greater significance, the first Jesuit to reign supreme over a billion plus faithful souls around the world.

Make no mistake. There's much more happening here than meets the uninformed eye. Don't look for immediate, obvious, rapid change. Do expect extraordinary thought, rigid reorganization, steel discipline and exemplary dedication to social justice and economic equity.

Less welcomed by many will be initial adherence to traditional male organizational dominance and most matters concerning S-E-X. This wild and dangerous area includes negative outlooks on homosexuality, promiscuity, birth control, abortion, masturbation, all sensitive body parts, and fond memories of innocently discovering puberty — or any extended conduct –mental or physical — relating to all of the preceding.

So I submit Francis the First will be sexually and constrictively conservative, while socially and positively progressive. You know what? I'll take that for openers.

Late last year, I lost an old friend.

Father Philip Keane, S.S. had attended school with me for six years at Cathedral Academy in Syracuse. When we graduated in '59, I headed for Le Moyne as Phil began his studies for the priesthood, eventually becoming Proctor at St. Mary's Seminary in Baltimore and obtaining global renown as a major Catholic Theologian.

In 1977, the Paulist Press published a masterwork by Father Keane entitled, "Sexual Morality." Among other brilliantly reasoned positions was Phil's argument that "homosexual conduct cannot be understood as absolutely immoral." In May of 1984, the Vatican's Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger ordered the book banned by officially lifting its imprimatur, believing Father Phil was promoting an "intrinsic evil."

This is the same Joseph Ratzinger who despises Rock & Roll music for being "an expression of elemental passions," referencing "Heavy Metal" as "an instrument of The Devil", and hates Harry Potter for being guilty of "subtle seductions, which act imperceptibly and deeply, dissolving Christianity in the soul before it can grow properly." Yep. The same former member of Hitler Youth who — in 1990 — defended the Church's Inquisition driven condemnation of Galileo in 1633 as being "rational and just." Galileo's mortal sin, of course, was to insist that the earth moves around the sun.

In 2005, Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger became Pope Benedict XVI. A few weeks ago, Benedict became the Sarah Palin of Pontiffs, quitting before his job was done.

Phil Keane would have made a fine Jesuit.

I remember Father Phil's final words to the class after celebrating Mass at our 50th High School Reunion in 2009.

"I'll pray for you for all Eternity."

To which I responded at the time in my heart and now in print — "Rejoice, Dear Hearts!"

Perhaps there's hope in this new Pope.

## Chapter Three – "Heave – Ho – Ho – Ho!"

It didn't matter if they'd been naughty or nice.

Last Thursday (12/6/12) yet another several hundred radio employees across the nation were unceremoniously heaved out the door in time for Christmas by Clear Channel Communications, including many who had been at their respective stations for many decades. For any practical purpose, most are discovering they have no place to go. Traditional business models in the broadcast industry have been savaged by unrestrained self-interest. Make no mistake. These are not "layoffs". They are career executions — loyal service and consistent performance reflecting a job retention value of ice cold zero.

Why not ignore former pledges to serve a community by fulfilling FCC license obligations on airways owned by the people with dozens of employees covering important assignments in news and public affairs programming when you can get away with effectively not offering anything to anyone? After all, isn't that what makes a market free? Reducing statutory obligations to a desirable state of functional impotency until they mean absolutely nothing?

An accompanying Clear Channel Corporate Press Release patronizingly states: "Like every successful business, our strategy continues to evolve as we move forward as a company; this creates new jobs and unfortunately eliminates others. These are never easy decisions to make."

What nonsense. Clear Channel has become alarmingly facile in reaching such determinations, particularly since Bain Capital got involved four years ago. Last week's gallows drops brought the total body count to over eleven thousand dismissals in the wake of industry consolidation driven by governmental deregulation and the escalation of leveraged borrowing. As far as being a "successful business" is concerned, even as many banks are celebrating the end of a banner year boasting record profits and payoffs, Clear Channel is now over eleven billion dollars in debt with major balloon payments due just around the corner.

This is a pernicious pattern we see elsewhere, most notably in recent days with the much discussed and disgusting Hostess Brand debacle in which 18,500 employees are paying the price for decades of miserable mismanagement — malfeasance continuing with the absurd allegation that demise of the "Ding Dong" represents an unavoidable consequence of American unionism.

Ultimately "Twinkies", "Ding Dongs" and "Wonder Bread" will rise again as these valuable franchise names are sold to new owners, but with a work force severely crippled in consequential compensation. Meanwhile, former bosses have personally made millions of dollars wheeling and dealing their way out of self imposed crisis after crisis, funded by fast times, hot action and easy money. You can bank on that.

Wild gambits have been paying off far too often for wily gamblers at the escalating expense of all not financially fixed in a wretchedly rigged game.

That's why I'm so happy Massachusetts Senator-elect Elizabeth Warren (D) is said to have been chosen for a leading role on the new Senate Banking Committee in our 113th Congress about to convene in January.

Harvard Law Professor Warren handily defeated incumbent Republican Scott Brown in November to become the first woman senator in Massachusetts state history and now inherits the seat held for 47 years by the late Edward Kennedy.

Senator Warren's position on the Banking Committee will come nearly two years after oppositional forces successfully campaigned against her from running the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau she both envisioned and created.

Now she's back to address desperately needed changes, including the introduction of appropriate remedial legislation and reinstitution of the Glass-Steagull Act — abandonment of which in 1999 lead directly to subsequent economic nightmares in 2007.

Here's hoping 2013 will witness Senator Warren decisively delivering a retributive "Ho-Ho-Ho!" against all those banks that feed wild corporate greed. Wall Street has regarded Elizabeth Warren as an enemy ever since 2008 when she served as chief watchdog in overseeing the seven hundred billion dollar bailout, taking both the institutions involved AND the Federal government to task time and time again for ineptitude and incompetence.

It's taken her five years to reach a position of prime power.

The last laugh is the longest.
Chapter Four – "Still Stoned"

"I had a dream last night.

I was piloting a plane.

And all the passengers were drunk and insane.

Lost all the treasure in an overseas war.

It just goes to show you don't get what you pay for!"

The Rolling Stones — "Doom & Gloom" — December 2012

The world is still here.

So are death, taxes and The Rolling Stones.

Shortly after Eileen and I moved to Des Moines upon my appointment as Program Director of KSO Radio in 1964, a group of young investors brought a new English band into town who were heralded as a bunch of "dirty Beatles", sporting not only "long hair", but "street clothing", an "insolent attitude", "coarse language" and "rude behavior". I found the first two allegations to be true, but the last three were nothing more than flamboyant record company press agent drivel.

Their first American release, an explosive remake of Buddy Holly's "Not Fade Away", had not been a smash hit, but had brought them to the public eye. Standing before the microphone in only a partially-filled auditorium with easily less than several hundred in attendance, it was clear the boys were very much on the ascent given the unusually enthusiastic welcome accorded by the crowd following my words of introduction.

"Ladies and Gentleman. The Rolling Stones!" I found the Stones to be thoroughly engaging, although genuinely exhausted. They were disappointed in the turnout, but pleased to be playing in "The States" and were convincingly confident that better things lay ahead. They were looking forward to again spending some recording time in Chicago on their tour and were particularly excited about a return visit to Chess Records in the Windy City where Chuck Berry, Bo Diddley and other Black Icons had put it in the grooves.

Judging from the title of their first million-seller which was to come out of the Chess sessions, Mick and company certainly found playing within such sacred studio walls the source of inspired "Satisfaction".

Shortly thereafter, our two year old daughter Laurie stopped repeatedly going "Yeah, Yeah, Yeah" like the Beatles and started imitating Mick Jagger's "Come-On!" which sounded more like "Ka-Mow!" Her Irish grandmother asked me if she had been "exposed to Negroes". Of course, with her father blasting every cut off "Aftermath" at top volume on the family "Stereo Hi-Fi" from dawn till dusk, she had — and in a particularly important way.

The Rolling Stones' early successes and later global triumphs brought final international recognition to the primitive urban blues typified by their heroes at Chess Records, especially African-American artists such as Muddy Waters, writer of "Rollin' Stone", for which the band is named.

While early Rock & Roll represented an explosive fusion of "Country & Western" and "Rhythm and Blues", both basic music forms purely American in origin; it was the English who engaged in an amazing resynthesis — elevating "black music" to a position of cultural preeminence in the world of white Rock. It was The Rolling Stones who effectively did this first and, to many and to this day, do it best.

And it's The Rolling Stones I still find myself listening to these days on my morning walks up Stagecoach, now on an iPod cranked to 11, finding continuing inspiration from a band celebrating their Fiftieth Anniversary this very month.

Their newest lyrics are as ancient as their old — eternal, primal hope springing forth — utterly irrepressible even in the worst of horrid circumstance.

National debt? Fiscal cliff? War weapons on civilian streets?

"All I hear is doom and gloom.

All is darkness in my room.

Through the night — your face I see.

Baby, come on!

Baby, won't you dance with me?"

## Chapter Five – "Sheikh It Up Baby"

Al Gore didn't sell out to Al Jazeera just because they have the same first name.

There's that half a billion bucks.

Al and a pal, businessman Joel Hyatt, formed Current TV on August 1st of 2005 in an effort to create a viable "Progressive" cable information channel to position against Rupert Murdoch's phenomenally successful FOX News. While becoming available in forty million homes through Gore's considerable political clout, the basic Current mission has been a big flop. That is — until now.

Riding to the rescue comes Sheikh Hamad bin Thamer Al Thani, Chairman of Qatar Media and, more importantly, Emir of Qatar, Supreme Chancellor and head of the government of Qatar — a family run business for the last hundred and fifty years. Having overthrown his father in a bloodless 1995 palace coup, the Sheikh enjoys enormous popularity among the 250,000 citizens of this tiny nation geographically squeezed between Iran and Saudi Arabia and it's no wonder. His constituents are the richest people on the face of the earth, pay no taxes, enjoy free education and health care and have moved from transportation by camel to 747s in a single generation.

The Sheikh is paying an estimated $20,000 per "Current" viewer with his five hundred million dollar purchase of the channel, which should make you feel important if you've been watching, but please know he's buying viewing location, not viewer loyalty. He'll be tearing down the old house and erecting something quite new in the neighborhood.

The current lineup and name "Current TV" will shortly disappear, to be replaced by "Al Jazeera America" – programmed out of New York and Qatar. I know that sounds weird, but this is a changing world — and to influence future change and stay on top — we need to be aware.

My own familiarity with Al Jazeera — The Island" — comes about through Fresno Free College Foundation's 50,000 watt KFCF (88.1) which carries both evening news reports and live breaking coverage when appropriate from "Al Jazeera English."

Admittedly quite skeptical at first, I now regard the service as thoroughly professional, impressively produced and journalistically superior to much of what we find ourselves receiving these days from our traditional commercial broadcast networks, squeezing every penny for more profit to the bottom line.

News bureaus have been closed by the dozens and staffers fired by the hundreds as viewers and readers have been short changed by the tens of millions.

To the embarrassment of our culture, the most penetrating foreign reporting is often found in documentaries that run on the financially challenged Public Broadcasting Service, often in the work of young journalists who are forced by circumstance to finance their own projects or rely on the occasional philanthropic grant.

So here comes the Emir with billions to boogie.

Since its creation in November of 1996, Al Jazeera has become one of the most powerful media sources on the globe and is generally credited with being "the engine of the Arab Spring".

Bob Simon conducted an extensive interview with The Emir in an impressive "Sixty Minutes" segment about Qatar on January 15th of last year. Check it out. It's worth your Google.

Qatar was our ally with NATO in the overthrow of Muammar Gaddafi in Libya and is recognized by many as a force for lasting peace in the Middle East, a view not shared by the current Israeli government.

American Secretary of State Hilary Clinton recently told the Senate Foreign Relations Committee that Al Jazeera is gaining more prominence in the U.S. because it offers "real news" — something she said American media was falling far short of doing. The Secretary added that other countries and global news outlets were making more inroads around the world than we are and that "the United States is losing the information war."

Wait? What do I hear?

"The Muslims are coming! The Muslims are coming!

Hey, they're already here!

Prince Alwaleed Bin Talal of Saudi Arabia — with a personal wealth of 28.7 billion dollars — is the second largest owner of — FOX News.

In this changing world.

## Chapter Six – "N.R.A."

There's recklessness in the air.

This is a winter of deeply divisive discontent.

Even though the American people have spoken.

Barack Obama was elected in November for a second term as our President with a 51% to 48% win over his opponent — a three and a half million vote victory margin. Democrats in The United States Senate now outnumber Republicans 54 to 45 and picked up eight seats in the House of Representatives, where they now trail the GOP by just 33 votes, a significant shift away from their former 49-member majority. In fact, there were a million more Democratic ballots cast for House members than Republican on a national basis in 2012, but some fancy pre-election hanky-panky (formally known as "Gerrymandering") is keeping John Boehner as Speaker for another two years of crocodile tears.

Elbridge Gerry was Governor of Massachusetts in 1812 and helped engineer the restructuring of several state senate districts to benefit his political party, said organization curiously known at the time as "Democratic Republicans". Their opposition was The Federalists. A local Federalist newspaper in Boston casually noted that one of the new "carved out" sections resembled a grossly contorted — salamander. Combining this humorous imagery with the good Governor's name, the practice of gaining advantage by such chicanery became known as "Gerrymandering." The name has stuck ever since for over two centuries, therein offering an important cautionary note for writers of all stripes. Words do live on.

Elbridge Gerry continued his political career to become Fifth Vice President of the United States under James Madison — as everyone knows.

But one clear, undisputed, unqualified fact of the entire matter is that the sole reason the GOP controls the 113th House of Representatives is because they gerrymandered congressional districts through a 30 million dollar investment during the 2010 election cycle in "blue states" such as Michigan, Ohio, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin. This campaign was so successfully executed that Republicans went from controlling both legislative chambers in 14 states before Election Day to 25 states afterward, paving the way for new salamander art.

Now they're trying to work that same slithering magic with rules governing the Electoral College, scheming and dreaming that a future Presidency might similarly be sliced out.

All of this was released last Thursday by the Republican State Leadership Committee, along with the specific admission that only through such activity was the House not lost. This was also the same time Lance Armstrong gave it up to Oprah, although not nearly as fully as the RSLC in honestly owning up to cause and effect. Admittedly clever manipulation carried the day. Score a big one in memory of the Gipper.

So — here's the deal.

Along with all the aforementioned realities, even Ronald Reagan wanted to ban assault rifles. He remembered being shot. Latest accredited polling shows 56% of American voters believe laws covering the sale of firearms should be made more strict while 7% say regulations ought to be lessened. 85% of respondents are in favor of background checks for private and gun show sales with only 12% opposed. 63% of the American people support a stringent limitation on high capacity magazines. A total ban on military war weapons, such as used to kill twenty little kids in Connecticut, is favored by an overwhelming majority of fellow citizens 55% to 40%.

So who are these creatures calling our President an "elitist hypocrite" in a misleading radio and television ad referencing his young daughters with a dangerous appeal to the worst instincts of gun-rights subversives?

How can any fair-minded individual consider the National Rifle Association to be anything other than a cowardly cabal of antagonistically angry and horribly frightened old men?

As English Moralist Samuel Johnson reminded us on April 7, 1775, false patriotism is "the last refuge of a scoundrel."

They dare to flamboyantly wrap themselves in our treasured flag with feigned defiance, hiding from their fear as a small child shakes and trembles behind its mother's apron.

Pathetically pitiful.

Outrageously antiquated.

Surely shameless.

The N.R.A.?

Not Really American.

## Chapter Seven – "Fairly Unbalanced At The Speed of Lies"

##

##

It sometimes seems half my old friends are three-quarters nuts, but few of them watch FOX.

Given a career background in broadcasting and advertising from the late '50′s onward — "Mad Men" being outrageously authentic — this might not come as a complete surprise, but I should offer further subjective commentary that these particular vocational endeavors did and do require a certain degree of basic smarts, however jaded.

And so it was I found myself not thoroughly mystified near the end of last year when a "Press Release" was released by an outfit identifying itself as "The Intelligence Institute" stating that its researchers tested 5,000 people measuring everything from cognitive aptitude to common sense and found that people who identified themselves as FOX News viewers and "Conservative" had, on average, significantly lower intelligent quotients. The results of this "4 year study" were said to solidly establish the fact Americans who obtain their news from FOX News channel have an average IQ of 80, which would represent a 20 point deficit from a norm of 100 — not that far from special needs.

But there was no Santa Claus. Such dramatic testimony quickly turned out to be a fanciful hoax concocted as a Pre-Christmas prank by who knows whom, but I am happy to report that investigation into the authenticity of such a delicious allegation did establish several unchallenged findings by the University College London Institute of Cognitive Neuroscience.

It seems Conservatives regularly demonstrate their proclivity for accepting without challenge many outrageous falsehoods presented by FOX personalities and their foam-at-the-mouth counterparts in Talk Radio due to enlarged — and here's a word you don't often hear at the barber shop — "amygdales" — such condition being associated with greater emotional inflexibility and accelerated danger response.

Amygdales are almond-shaped groups of nuclei located within the media temporal lobes of the brain in complex vertebrates. That includes us. Have you checked yours today?

This physiological variance would seem to account for many Conservatives displaying a greater susceptibility to conspiracy models of thinking, "they're coming for our guns" being a timely case in point.

Absurdly spun tales driven by anxiety and fear find immediate, almost pleasurable acceptance in the minds of our enlarged amygdale brethren, perhaps making more understandable ready acceptance of such novel concepts as "FEMA concentration camps", "Obama otherness" and "enhanced interrogation."

An excellent book entitled, "The Republican Brain" by Chris Mooney ((John Wiley & Sons – 2012) tends to strongly echo the idea of congenitally impaired cognizance, as does a Farleigh Dickinson University study which reveals that FOX viewers are the worst-informed media consumers in the America they profess to love. PBS came in first, just ahead of "The Daily Show" with Jon Stewart. How 'bout that? And the Colbert Report is right behind. Pun intended.

Mooney offers fascinating elaboration, but it pretty much comes down to ready Republican acceptance of only those thoughts, ideas and philosophies that offer comfortable conformity with already established, often pre-conditioned beliefs. Ultimately, it seems more a case of "nothing new" than "low I.Q" — Resurgent Isolationism — the last mindset we need as ready or not we accelerate our collective slide through time.

Paraphrasing the late Bette Davis as she so brilliant spoke of aging — "The 21st Century is no place for sissies."

And perhaps no place for FOX News without substantial changes in programming and presentation.

Check out this — "Breaking News!"

In January of 2013, FOX News had its worst prime-time ratings in the coveted 25-54 demographics since August 2001 and its lowest total day ratings since June 2008. And — gasp — MSNBC's Rachel Maddow beat "Studio B" and the 11 PM repeat of "The O'Reilly Factor" for the very first time. Even many "Republican Brains" have had enough — FOX's interpretation of the famous phrase "fair and balanced" finally perceived as the hideously cruel joke it always was.

As for a concluding analytical summation, I love the quote Mr. Mooney chose to open his book and close this week's column with it here:

"Reality has a well-known liberal bias" — Stephen Colbert

## Chapter Eight – "Bullfighting in Coarsegold"

##

Although the Oakhurst area has been treated to two separate displays of impressive support for gun rights these last few weeks at the intersection of Highways 41 and 49, local participants might as well have been demonstrating against the introduction of bull fighting at next year's Coarsegold Rodeo.

No one is discussing any such thing, just as no one is talking about taking anyone's guns away or introducing any major legislation nationally that hasn't already been the law here in California for at least the last two decades.

The old "Slippery Slope" argument isn't remotely applicable. That's like arguing for no speed limits in characterizing any form of collective restraint as inevitably opening the door to complete restriction. As Mr. Spock would observe — that's not a logical perspective.

So let's use basic reason.

What has President Obama's history been on gun legislation since he took office in January of 2009?

In February of that year, he supported former President George Bush's last minute rule before leaving office allowing loaded guns in national parks.

In 2010, the Brady Center to Prevent Gun Violence gave the President a report card of seven F's for his first year in office, including one on "standing up to the gun lobby."

FactCheck.org reported at the end of 2011, "We've seen little or no evidence that the Obama Administration is doing much to regulate guns or gun ownership."

Caroline Brewer, Director of Communication for the Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence, says, "We certainly don't have a record of President Obama calling for an elimination of any kind on handguns in the United States." Brewer adds, "After the near fatal shooting of U.S. Representative Gabby Gifford, the President called for better background checks, not banning guns."

All of the above is presented in response to a number of anti-Obama, anti-government proclamations included in the recent Tea Party supported Oakhurst demonstrations.

Can't our poor President do anything potentially right for the seemingly outraged politically right? And let's be mindful of the fact that President Obama's record on Gun Safety prior to the Sandy Hook killings, particularly lack of inclusion or even the slightest reference to the issue in his successful re-election campaign, has earned him significant negatives from the left wing of his own party.

To help set the record straight, the Democratic Club of Oakhurst will be distributing informative leaflets on both Saturday, March 16th, and Saturday, March 23rd, from 2 till 4 in front of Von's.

I already have my own sign ready. It simply says, "Support the Constitution! NO Confiscation!"

We'll have a copy of the Second Amendment visible as well. It states, "A well regulated Militia, being necessary to the security of a free State, the right of the people to keep and bear Arms, shall not be infringed."

I am of the opinion that the phrase "well regulated" clearly necessitates reasonable measures of control, meaning it's probably not cool to keep nuclear tipped rockets in one's garage. And I believe the words "free State" can be fairly defined as the new government existing on December 17, 1791 — known to all these days as our current United States of America. It's hard for me to envision our Founding Fathers declaring, "If we get this wrong, shoot us!"

Anyone who thinks they're going to overthrow a tyrannical federal government with their AK-47′s might want to read up on drones, cruise missiles, our Navy SEALs and APC's.

Please.

## Chapter Nine – "McClintock No April Fool"

Guilty.

When I first learned the date of April First being fortuitously chosen for our Fourth District Congressman Tom McClintock's first appearance at an Oakhurst "Town Meeting", I herein confess being overcome with exuberant expectation. I savored the joyous prospect of reviewing his visit with some sort of playfully pejorative "April Fool" headline. As can be seen above, this was not to be.

It was pretty much a Tea Party party.

Even North Fork Steve was there — a political peacock fully costumed in colorfully enchanting, majestically magnificent, red, white & blue patriotic garb. Betsy Ross would have been proud. Steve got to close the session with a passionate, almost tearful expression of gracious gratitude extended to Mr. McClintock for his service to the nation, including an apology for having inadvertently exposed such a distinguished visitor to a lack of proper decorum on the part of certain unspecified individuals.

This would have undoubtedly included Susan Rowe, Chair of the Madera County Democratic Central Committee, who provided McClintock with the "most applause of the night", as accurately reported by Carmen George in last week's Star.

When called upon, Ms. Rowe noted that, while the overwhelmingly Republican U.S. House of Representatives recently approved The Violence Against Women Reauthorization Act of 2013 by a two to one margin, our Congressman voted against it. She pointedly asked the Congressman for a "Yes or No" answer as to whether he would cast his ballot in the future for or against similarly progressive legislation.

McClintock replied, "I'm not going to vote for a bill just because it sounds good. You can't tell a bill by its title." This thrust of admittedly clever repartee fully quenched any remaining audience thirst for intelligent analysis of the issue. It simultaneously energized loud and continuous hand clapping which realized the additional purpose of drowning out Ms. Rowe's repeated refusal to accept anything less than crystalline clarification from the Congressman. The timing was superb. If I didn't know Susan, I would have expected McClintock planted her in the audience for just such a thing and herein hope to dispel subsequently whispered rumors reflecting such suspicion.

It's important to understand that Susan wasn't present to win friends and influence people. With media in attendance and the courage of her convictions, she was there to set the record straight. She later stated — "McClintock is never going to forget that Town Hall Meeting. He became increasingly uncomfortable when he was pressed for an answer. I think I did what I went there to accomplish."

But that little exchange pretty much sums things up.

Tom McClintock is an intelligent, articulate, highly polished professional who can measure an audience well and speak with confident assurance, albeit more than occasionally bringing forth in his often vitriolic ruminations more wistful fantasy than witnessed fact.

Why get flustered by fancy figures such as impudently offered by that annoying Alan Cheah, for example, when there are dependable sources to be conveniently referenced who simply make stuff up? For Fresno Bee readers, Doonesbury recently did a whole week's worth of brilliant panels on this very subject.

Yes, Alan was at the meeting, too, speaking up about how utterly mindless the House approved "Ryan Budget" is, a project McClintock proudly takes credit for helping to create. Everyone knows that Cheah is obviously a Keynesian, if not from Kenya, itself, like his Socialist hero in what used to be The WHITE House.

The newly configured California Fourth Congressional District, which runs in a narrow band roughly from Lake Tahoe to somewhere south of Guatemala, was constructed to be "safely Republican", but not for the likes of Karl Rove. McClintock was most pointed in his candid observation that Rove's recent moves to potentially discredit certain Tea Party type candidates were "very much misplaced" and Rove "has done enormous harm to the Republican Party." I enjoyed hearing that and take heart in McClintock's promise to monitor and address local concerns in conjunction with new Merced River Plan, his commitment to include petroleum and "all energy companies" in closing federal tax loopholes and his pledge to avoid implementing changes in current Social Security cost of living formulas.

With Tom McClintock — we have a man with a plan. Foxy! Rural constituency or not, folks, this is no "Country Bumpkin."

Setting aside obvious political differences, I consider Tom McClintock to be a top tier, high grade, first class act — an experienced player of obvious talents and practiced skills. Indeed — even as he watches out for us — Congressman McClintock is surely someone to unfailingly and consistently keep our own eyes on.

Susan Rowe will.

## Chapter Ten – "A Classic Case of Premature Capitulation"

In the frenzied world of political foreplay, there are few things that offer the same degree of collective embarrassment as a revival of premature capitulation.

I just don't get it.

With any number of viable options remaining open toward reducing a Federal debt primarily bloated in little over a decade by two unneeded wars and radical tax cuts for the wealthy under Republican leadership, President Obama's unconscionable surrender on Social Security and Medicare issues in his new budgetary proposals are more mysterious than quantum mechanics, the Bermuda Triangle and Donald Trump's hair all rolled into one.

That's why the 125 member Oakhurst Democratic Club approved the following resolution at its monthly meeting on April 5th:

"It is hereby resolved that the Oakhurst Democratic Club strongly condemns any action on the part of President Obama which would in any way negatively impact upon future payments of Social Security benefits, including any changes in annual cost-of-living adjustments as currently structured."

In the interest of full disclosure, I should mention that I am on the Executive Committee of the Club and moderate our monthly meetings. I would also observe that the vote referenced above was not unanimous. After all, we're Democrats. At least a third of those in attendance expressed certain reservations on issues dealing with party loyalty, phraseology, timing, and other understandable concerns. But a clear majority joined me in supporting the desirability of an immediate, decisive response to what seems to be an odd and unhelpful inclusion in our President's initial overture to a chronically recalcitrant and oftentimes mindlessly oppositional Congress.

In such matters, this is not Obama's first rodeo.

On January 13, 2009, a young President-elect prefaced his first term in office with a three-hour dinner meeting at the home of conservative columnist George Will in Chevy Chase, Maryland with other G.O.P. luminaries at the table, including the Weekly Standard's Bill Kristol, New York Times columnist David Brooks, and Charles Krauthammer of the Washington Post. This and a number of other Administrative olive branch gestures through subsequent months and years have conclusively proven that any motion toward conciliation and compromise with "the other side" has normally come to naught, particularly after dramatic Tea Party victories in 2010. Reflection upon such Democratic losses offers further reason to scorn such unwelcomed abandonment of fundamental basics as we witness in President Obama's new proposals.

John Boehner became Speaker of the House of Representatives with an astounding Republican majority even as separate state elections saw Republicans seize control of governorships from Democrats in Pennsylvania, Michigan, Tennessee, Kansas, Oklahoma, Wyoming, Iowa, New Mexico, Ohio and Wisconsin. By the time all votes were counted, the GOP had additionally won at least 19 state legislative bodies from Democrats, including both chambers in Alabama and Wisconsin, the Michigan House, the Ohio House and the Pennsylvania House — just in time for gerrymandered redistricting.

It is my strong contention that this powerful and impressive 2010 Republican resurgence was a direct consequence of disaffected, disappointed, disillusioned 2008 Obama supporters, particularly the young disenchanted, staying home by the millions. There was a sad and self-defeating abandonment of hope in a President who, during his first two Oval Office years, was seen not practicing what he had so passionately preached.

"Yes, We Can't?"

The only true hope of passing progressive political legislation in the relatively near future rests with a wrestling of House control away from current conservative extremes in 2014. Such a transformation, combined with a "filibuster proof" Senate majority and a sitting Democratic President, could finally put obvious objectives derailed in 2010 back on track, but not if we once again fall victim to déjà vu.

Although I remain absolutely delighted that Barack Obama is our President instead of Mitt Romney, now almost as unknown and unwelcomed in Republican rhetoric as George W. Bush, I am thoroughly convinced there are a multitude of other moves to be made in addressing governmental spending other than slashing into COLA. How about moving FICA payments above the current threshold of $113,700, changing income tax rates back to Clinton Presidency levels and, most of all, closing billions of dollars lost through corporate loopholes?

Perhaps Senator Elizabeth Warren (D-Massachusetts) says it best for The Oakhurst Democratic Club:

"I was shocked to hear that the President's newest budget proposal would cut $100 billion in Social Security benefits. Our Social Security system is critical to protecting middle class families, and we cannot allow it to be dismantled inch by inch. In short, a "chained CPI" is just a fancy way to say, "cut benefits for seniors, the permanently disabled and orphans."

I love that lady! But hate those cuts.

# Chapter Eleven – "Them or Us?"

"Four score and a hundred and fifty years ago

Our forefathers made us equal as long as we can pay.

Yeah, well maybe that wasn't exactly what they was thinkin' –

Version six-point-oh of the American way.

But hey — we can just build a great wall around the country club

To keep the riff-raff out until the slump is through.

Yeah, I realize that ain't exactly democratic,

but it's either them or us and it's the best that we can do."

Steve Earle — "Amerika v.6.0″ (2003)

02-amerika-v-6-0-the-best-we-can-do.mp3

It's now 2013 — 10 years down the road.

I live ever more unencumbered by great wealth.

And with plenty of company.

A new study released last week by the Pew Research Center dramatically demonstrates an undisputed fact — economic inequality has widened substantially during the first two years of our current recovery from the Great Recession as the upper 7% of American households have witnessed an average net worth increase of 28% — almost a full third — while the wealth of the remaining 93% of us has flat out declined. Got it?

From 2009 to 2011, the average accumulated worth of America's 8 million most affluent households jumped from $2.7 million to $3.2 — even as the average holdings of the bottom 111 million families fell from $140,000 to $134,000, a drop of 4%. OK with you?

That top 7% owned 56% of the nation's wealth in 2009, but it jumped to 63% by 2011 and is still climbing, leaving the rest of us to fight for little pieces of the remaining less than 37%. Paul Taylor, Director of the Research Center, summed it all up as follows — "It has been a very good recovery for those at the upper end of wealth distribution, but there has been no recovery for the lower 93% — which is nearly — EVERYBODY." Think that's cool?

Let's face it, folks. Forget redistribution. We need restitution. That's not evil envy — just honest observation. For over thirty years the American middle class has been on a slow but steady decline. Anyone who doubts this only need look about and take a true count.

Want more jobs? At living wages? With real security, a return to prosperity and pride restored?

The whole sad scene needs a time machine. Climb in! Get set! Hang on, Sloopy!

Yes! Eisenhower era tax rates! Dwight David Eisenhower was Supreme Commander of Allied Forces when he won World Was Two as a five-star general, let alone being elected to our nation's highest office as a great Republican.

Let's see. For the wealthiest Americans making over $400,000 a year that would be a marginal rate of — 91% — effective from 1954 through 1963 when I graduated from college, still leaving the rich with tons of money. My friends and I were doing fine as well. Today it's way less than half that — only 35% above $388,350, even as The Tea Party sulks and sobs over "highest in history" taxation as they continue their vigilant search high and low for FEMA Concentration camps wherein Barack Obama is worshipped as a living god, women wear pants while voting and spoken English is forbidden.

For those who preach financial belt tightening as a hangman knots his noose, that whole "austerity" deal was finally revealed as the fraud it was only days ago with the discovery of "a spreadsheet coding error" in a seminal economics paper quoted time and time again by conservative elements insisting "spending is the problem." It's not. Long constriction by wrong conviction is. We're collectively being had while those having us laugh all the way to the bank — amused that so many still unwittingly accept free fall when it's promoted as freedom. Free? Dumb!

We can flash the cash. Borrowing has rarely been cheaper. Only the badly bewildered doubt we're good for it. Nobel Prize-Winning Economist Paul Krugman is correct. "The austerity agenda looks a lot like a simple expression of upper-class preferences, wrapped in a facade of academic rigor."

The only true burden our grandchildren might bear will be the inevitable consequence of not trusting in ourselves. Their future well being depends upon a collective commitment to our flag, our nation and, most of all, to each other.

Nothing to it — but to do it.

And why not make lobbying a Federal Felony, punishable with all the money anyone has and life imprisonment in a padded cell with 200 decibels of Justin Bieber piped in 24/7?

We ARE the Country.

Let's take our CONGRESS back!

## Chapter Twelve – "An Informal Toledo Radio Reunion"

Press Release

May 14, 2013

Informal Toledo Radio Reunion

Peter C. Cavanaugh, now prominently showcased in Cleveland's Rock & Roll Hall of Fame, will be joined by other past and present Toledo radio broadcasters in an "Informal Toledo Radio Reunion" at Manhattan's Restaurant & Bar Downtown on Tuesday, May 28th, from 5 till 7 PM.

Mr. Cavanaugh was Executive Vice-President and Chief Operating Officer of Reams Broadcasting from 1983 through 1992, a period of time which witnessed WIOT-FM become the highest-rated Rock Station in America and, with sister facility WCWA, produce dozens of Toledo "River Rallies" in Promenade Park featuring top national attractions. In the same decade, hundreds of thousands were drawn to annual Fourth of July and Labor Day Fireworks presented by Reams Broadcasting simulcast live and synchronized to music and lasers on the banks of the Maumee.

Cavanaugh, now a private broadcast consultant and writer for McClatchy Newspapers, lives with his wife, Eileen, in Oakhurst, California at the southern entrance to Yosemite National Park. This "Reunion" at Manhattan's marks his first visit back to Toledo in a dozen years.

"We're calling this an "informal radio reunion" and that's exactly what's planned", reports Cavanaugh. He continues, " You are enthusiastically invited if you have ever worked for — or listened to — any Toledo radio station — ever. All you have to do is show up! "

UPDATE — 5/29/13

 http://www.toledoblade.com/TV-Radio/2013/05/29/Radio-reunion-lets-local-DJs-voice-gratitude-to-former-exec.html
Chapter Thirteen – "ABC Outfoxes Competition"

##

Bill O'Reilly? Sean Hannity? Megyn Kelly? Make way for King Karl!

On Friday, May 10th, ABC Chief White House Correspondent Jonathan Karl grabbed major media attention across a wide spectrum with an "ABC Exclusive" now revealed to be woefully inaccurate, significantly misleading and pathetically unprofessional.

What appeared to be direct quotes from the e-mails of White House and State Department aides turned out to be significantly less. After CNN challenged Karl's credibility, he admitted he hadn't actually reviewed the material in question himself, but was "quoting verbatim" from someone who allegedly had. The White House finally put an end to all speculation with the release of documentation proving Karl's inaccuracy — and once and for all establishing beyond doubt that the Administration did not engage in any Benghazi talking points cover up.

Edward Wasserman, dean of the Graduate School of Journalism at Berkley, unequivocally says of Karl's "Exclusive", "It's highly problematic ethically, and the failure to acknowledge or correct is even worse." Wasserman's review is echoed by Tom Fiedler, dean of the Boston University College of Communication, who stated Karl's report "cries out for a correction."

Ramping up the craziness — it seems that the Obama White House had already made the alleged source of Karl's revelations available to Republican leadership several months earlier in tandem with Confirmation Hearings for CIA Director John Brennan, except the actual documents offer a much different conclusion than that so self-servingly and haphazardly presented by Karl.

The fact that so many Congressional Republicans expressed shock and dismay over initial coverage of the phony ABC "discovery" offers woeful witness to and undeniable evidence of their own gross negligence in not reading what had been in front of them all along.

After Benghazi blaming went the way of reported flying saucer landings on Von's roof, Big Foot sightings in North Fork and the most recent alien abduction up near Fish Camp, at least Obama haters still had FBI subpoenas of Associated Press phone records and IRS persecution of the Tea Party to fall back on — for a few minutes. But if scandals were sandals –they'd now have sore feet.

New information indicates that no laws were clearly broken in either instance, although both subjects remain areas of deep concern in terms of obviously conflicting interpretations of applicable legislation on the part of underlings who, in every instance, had no direct connection to or communication with the President regarding their actions. Even in the face of House Speaker John Boehner's "Who's going to jail?" pandering, ambiguity is not a felonious offense.

But the big buzz bursting out of Jonathan Karl's sloppy journalism has left its toll. A new survey by Public Policy Polling reveals that 23% of Americans have come to believe that "Benghazi is the biggest political scandal in American History", although a full 39% of this number have absolutely no idea where Benghazi might be located.

This grouping presumably includes the 17% of our fellow citizens who still insist that President Obama is a Muslim and the 24% who "know he was born elsewhere", including more than half (55%) of registered Republicans according to a Dartmouth poll.

By my estimation, a "low information voter" is infinitely worse than a "no information voter" — the latter representing simple ignorance while the former illustrates a simple mind.

Rhetorical venom seeps into some, yet poisons all.

## Chapter Fourteen – "Blurred Lines"

Megan Richardson was so mad she could spit.

The source of her anger was Scott Sloan and his unabashed enthusiasm for "naked young girls."

Scott is the midday host on 50,000-watt powerhouse WLW — throughout the years Cincinnati's most listened-to radio station.

I was in Cincinnati last weekend for our grandson, William's, High School graduation.

William, an Eagle Scout, is headed for Ohio University in the fall where he has entered an ROTC program in preparation for extended military service following college. When he rose with other similarly pledged classmates during formal commencement ceremonies to indicate his commitment, I was filled with pride. It wasn't that long ago I carried him on my shoulders as he laughed and pulled my hair.

Joining daughter Colleen and son-in-law Lindsey Pyron (William's Mom & Dad) — with us in Cincinnati for William's happy occasion were our three other daughters — Laurie from Nashville, Candace of Detroit and Susan from right here in Oakhurst — all of the preceding accompanied by their own families. It was the first time in six years all of us were together. Eleven grandchildren aside, I was the only non-Republican in the bunch. Spirited political discussion is never excluded from our conversations, but we truly love each other. The joy of reunion always takes unchallenged precedence over all else whenever and wherever we meet.

WLW is owned by Clear Channel, a media giant offering extraordinary conservative programming, including syndication rights to Rush Limbaugh, Sean Hannity, Mark Levin and others of that ilk. In fact, WLW's primary coverage area, a combination of Southern Ohio, Eastern Indiana and Northern Kentucky counties, is about as conservative an area as you'd ever hope to find this side of Ho Chi Minh City. That's why Scott Sloan's live interview with Megan Richardson of the "International Womens' Council" struck me as hugely entertaining and spectacularly unique. It also illustrated a particularly pertinent point. Against every principled position — an opposite usually exists. For genuinely sharp focus on any subject, we are decidedly dulled without debate. In the search for truth, black and white sometime join and merge to gray. Clarity often waits only behind blurred lines.

And it was "Blurred Lines" that was driving Megan Richardson nuttier than a pound of pecans on Scott Sloan's WLW show.

"Blurred Lines"is an R&B/Hip-Hop smash here and overseas. Robin Thicke (Alan's kid) is the recording artist, accompanied by American rapper T.I. and singer/producer Pharrell. It is #1 in Australia, Canada, New Zealand, Ireland and the Netherlands and listed among the Top Ten in Belgium, Denmark, France, Portugal, Switzerland and here in The States. But in Megan's view it's not the song that's wrong — it's that "disgusting video."

In the visual presentation we see Thicke, T.I. and Pharrell casually standing around appearing almost oblivious to topless models Emily Ratajkowski, Jessi M'Bengue and Ell Evans prancing about in wild, provocative frolic — almost ignored by the targets of their seduction. You almost get the impression the guys would rather be at a ballpark. Since the topless part of the piece and certain suspect gestures violate YouTube's terms of service, they keep taking it down, then someone puts it back up. Make no mistake. This is for mature viewers only. Ask your teen.

Richardson's talking points were the usual "we're all going to hell in a hand basket" rap, mixed with outrage at Sloan's insistence that she's completely missing the fact that "Blurred Lines" graphically presents an excellent "learning opportunity" to teach his own daughter about reactionary rhetoric, exploitive sex and media manipulation. While I initially suspected Scott was brilliantly baiting Megan, I eventually came to conclude he was honestly being truthful in his general assessment and summary dismissal of Ms. Richardson's novice naiveté.

My own perspective is that both the song and video are pretty cool, though admittedly hotter than your average bare.

The "Blurred Lines" video was produced and directed by Diane Martel.

Watching kids go hungry is obscene.

As is ignorance, intolerance, stupidity and war.

Not bouncy breasts.

Hey! Hey! Hey!

VIDEO —  http://m.vevo.com/watch/robin-thicke/blurred-lines-unrated-version/USUV71300526?playonmobile=true

Scott Sloan WLW Interview —

Download:  130530_3_SLOAN_1369929784_4992.mp3

## Chapter Fifteen – "Uncle Elmer Rides Again!"

##

##

##

My little brother and I sat quieter than mice on cotton.

Several times each year, my widowed mother would book us on New York Central's mighty "Empire State Express" from Syracuse through the Mohawk Valley to Albany, where we would spend a few days visiting my grandfather, William's, three aging sisters in their expansive second floor flat on Grandview Terrace overlooking the Hudson River.

There was Aunt Bumps and Aunt Ellie, married to their respective husbands for over fifty years, and Aunt Belle, who hadn't been married for even fifty minutes to anyone at all. Belle, my feisty eighty-two year-old favorite, had been engaged to a handsome young Irish policeman named Steve when he dropped dead of a heart attack in the middle of Albany's 1897 St. Patrick's Day Parade. At least once a month after Sunday church, Aunt Belle would take a trolley car to Saint Agnes Cemetery with a picnic lunch to bring Steve up to date. She never took another lover.

Aunt Bumps was married to Uncle Jack, while Aunt Ellie's husband was my Uncle Elmer, a taciturn, solemn Baptist who never spoke a word he could avoid, but always furtively slipped me a quarter for ice cream — quite a score back then.

The five octogenarians had moved in together during The Great Depression and never found reason to drift apart. The secret of their remarkably amiable coexistence was faithful adherence to certain points of protocol established over time to insure group tranquility while honoring specific individual priorities.

Uncle Elmer's supreme moment of unchallenged control occurred three times weekly at 7:30 PM when everyone would take his or her place in a favorite living room spot, all household lighting would be extinguished without exception and thirty minutes of unbroken family silence would begin as the opening strains of Rossini's "William Tell Overture" filled the air and the sonorous voice of announcer Fred Foy solemnly intoned, " Return with us now to those thrilling days of yesteryear! From out of the past come the thundering hoof beats of the great horse Silver! The Lone Ranger rides again!

It was a holy moment. Elmer would take a mighty hit from his ancient briar pipe and rock deeply back with eyes tightly closed – lost in supreme contentment.

With tens of millions listening over the ABC Radio Network, "The Lone Ranger" was broadcast live from the studios of Detroit's WXYZ, 1270 on your AM dial starting on January 31, 1933. Partners George W. Trendle and H. Allen Campbell owned the program, as well as "The Green Hornet" and "Sergeant Preston of the Yukon" which also originated in the Motor City.

Trendle was notoriously cheap, choosing to use "The William Tell Overture" and other classical pieces as background music in his productions since they weren't subject to copyright payments.

Fran Striker, who wrote virtually all of the "Lone Ranger" scripts, received nothing other than a minimal salary for his efforts through the years and was once briefly fired when he asked Trendle for a three dollar per episode raise.

As radio historian Jack French noted in his 1999 essay on Trendle entitled, "The Miser of Motown", "The strength and popularity of WXYZ and its syndicated network programming became a gold mine for Trendle and his banker cronies. But the talented cast, crew and production staffs of these shows always got short-changed. Many of the high-handed practices Trendle perfected would not have been successful in any era other than The Depression, where any job was eagerly sought by desperate Americans."

Perhaps that's why Striker, in formally composing a list of essential Lone Ranger characteristics for writing assistants, included these exact words: "The Lone Ranger believes that men should live by the rule of what is best for the greatest number."

Trendle and Campbell eventually used part of their "Lone Ranger Money" to put a new radio station on the air a few miles north of Detroit in Flint, using their "Trendle and Campbell" initials for the call letters of W-T-A-C. I joined WTAC in 1964 as a local DJ and ran into many of the "WXYZ old-timers" during my Michigan years, including "The Lone Ranger" himself, Brace Beemer. That role came to be played by Clayton Moore in the subsequent TV series and is now inherited by Armie Hammer in the new movie opening next Wednesday, July 3rd, at the Met Cinemas.

With Johnny Depp as Tonto, this new "Lone Ranger" promises to be THE summer movie of 2013 and, judging from the trailer, looks like another Disney masterpiece. I'll be there for the first showing, saving an empty seat right next to me.

For Uncle Elmer.

"Hi-Yo, Silver! And away!"

## 

## Chapter Sixteen – "Delta Yawn"

##

##

On Saturday, May 25th, I encountered an extraordinary turn of events at Yosemite International Airport in Fresno when attempting to initiate a flight to Cincinnati via Delta Airlines. Now, a full month having past as of today, the 25th of June, I have decided to share my correspondence with the corporation.

So far, the only respondent seems to be a computer named Michelle.

Peter Cavanaugh 6/25/13

May 30, 2013

By Mail

Richard H. Anderson

Chief Executive Officer

Delta Airlines

1030 Delta Boulevard

P.O. Box 20706

Atlanta, Georgia 30320-6001

Dear Mister Anderson,

With appropriate apology for the tardiness of this correspondence due to a heavy schedule these last few days, I feel it important to bring to your direct attention an absolute horror encountered last Saturday, May 25, when attempting to fly from Yosemite International Airport via Delta.

Booked on a 6:25 AM Delta flight (Delta # 4624) to Salt Lake City with a connecting link to Cincinnati, it was 5:05 AM when my wife and I arrived at the terminal. At 5:35 AM, after having had our luggage checked and tagged at the Delta counter, we proceeded to a long TSA security line

When we finally reached our designated gate at 6:10 AM, we were puzzled to discover no one on duty at the Delta stand and shared our concern with several other passengers similarly chagrined. Adding to an ever increasing level of discomfort was watching our luggage through the terminal window being casually loaded on what had to be "our plane" outside.

Then was 6:15 AM with no one available with whom to address our mounting concerns.

At approximately 6:20, a gentleman who eventually identified himself as a Delta Supervisor named Ray Martinez appeared on the scene and declared we all had "missed the flight."

Without elaborating on the ensuing drama, including Mr. Martinez' threat to summon police when my own expressing of outrage reached admittedly heated proportions as we watched "our plane" still parked only feet away with pilots and crew completely ignoring frantic hand waves and other supplicant signals from thus abandoned would be passengers (ALL SIX OF US!) — suffice it to say that our degree of infuriation reached epic proportion when Mr. Martinez finally sheepishly admitted he had boarded a number of "standbys" and there we simply no seats for us on the Salt Lake City Flight.

I now stress in this communication to you that AT NO POINT THAT MORNING WAS ANY ANNOUNCEMENT MADE OF THE SALT LAKE CITY FLIGHT BEING PRE-BOARDED OR BOARDED OR ANY "LAST CALL" ANNOUNCEMENT GIVEN.

Reflecting upon the fact that Martinez repeatedly and insolently lied to our faces about this last factor cannot help but give rise to a strong suspicion that he may well have been illicitly enriched by those he allowed to fly in our place.

Admitting to "Agent Error" after well over an hour of effort, all who would have been aboard having also missing connecting Eastbound links in Salt Lake City, my wife and I were finally rerouted to Cincinnati through LAX, adding four hours to an already long travel day. Several others were less fortunate, plans undone and a Holiday Weekend destroyed.

I obtained the names of two fellow victims who are herein copied and would be, I suggest, available for confirmation of all of the above and, as well, some appropriate compensatory gesture on the part of Delta for the severe inconvenience so miserably encountered.

Sincerely,

Peter Cavanaugh

June 14, 2013

Dear Mr. Cavanaugh,

RE: Case Number 9102172

Thank you for sharing your concerns with Mr. Richard Anderson, our Chief Executive Officer. He has asked that I respond on his behalf.

We were truly sorry to learn that when you and your wife arrived at the gate, it had already been dispatched. I regret that after your arrival and baggage check, you encountered lines at the security check point and arrived late to the gate. We can certainly understand your disappointment with our check-in guidelines which requires passengers be at the departure gate at least 15 minutes prior to schedule departure time. At this time, all passengers are boarding and the flight dispatched.

I realize it was upsetting to arrive at 6:10 and find the gate unattended and the door shut. Please allow me to clarify that it is the responsibility of each passenger to arrive at the airport with sufficient time to complete all ticketing, baggage check, security clearance procedures, and arrive at the gate ready to board within our guidelines. If a passenger has not met the guidelines, they risk having their reservation cancelled and may not be able to travel on their confirmed flight.

Respectfully, this requirement applies to all customers checking in, with or without baggage. It is also important to mention that once all passengers who had arrived at the gate on time are boarded and the wait list has been cleared; the door of the aircraft may be closed. We would release seats of passengers not onboard at the 15 minute mark and clear standby passengers. This was correctly done. After the door is closed and as soon as the Captain has received his takeoff slot, the flight may depart the gate even if it is prior to scheduled departure time.

Again, I apologize you were not accommodated on your flight due to the missed check in. In the event a flight has departed, our team members should assist passengers in rescheduling their travel on the next available flight. We apologize that you and your wife arrived later than expected. Also, I was dismayed to hear that our agent threatened to contact the authorities due to the heated and stressful situation. After reading your comments, I understand why you wanted to bring this matter to our attention. We expect our team to be helpful and professional at all times.

Please know I will be sharing your comments with our Airport Customer Service leadership team for internal follow up. For future reference, I encourage you to visit our website at delta.com for the latest information regarding the check-in guidelines for both domestic and international travel.

Mr. Cavanaugh, while we normally do not offer compensation when a passenger arrives late to the gate, we understand your concerns. Therefore, as a gesture of goodwill, I have issued you and your wife each a Delta Choice gift in the amount of $25.00. Your Delta Choice gifts will arrive under separate cover and will include the gift codes, customer IDs, and instructions on how to redeem the gifts.

Again, we are very sorry for the flight disruption due to the security delay and the missed gate requirements. Your business is appreciated and we hope to have an opportunity to regain your confidence in our service.

Sincerely, Michele Schrader Coordinator,

Corporate Customer Care Delta Air Lines

June 15, 2013

Dear Ms. Schrader,

I find myself singularly bedazzled by the hopelessly gratuitous, woefully inadequate response you have submitted on behalf of Mr. Anderson to the issues outlined in my May 30th complaint concerning Delta service in Fresno at Yosemite International Airport.

Your correspondence ignores any number of salient points brought to Mr. Anderson's attention, including the demonstrable fact that others and I were at the appropriate gate "15 minutes before schedule departure time" with no agent in site or "stand by" passengers being processed.

The undisputed fact that no Pre-Boarding Announcements, Boarding Announcements or "Last Call" Announcements were given in relation to our flight also remains unaddressed.

The terminal public address system was fully functioning.

Unmentioned in the May 30th letter to Chairman Anderson was my willingness and that of others to allow a number of passengers seeking to make an earlier Delta flight to Phoenix ahead of me in the T.S.A. security line when their boarding time and "last call" were loudly announced.

I herein demand satisfactory compensatory rectification for the May 25th incident at Yosemite International Airport and your preposterous note of June 5th, which adds insolent insult to inofficious injury.

Sincerely,

Peter Cavanaugh

June 18, 2013

Dear Mr. Cavanaugh,

RE: Case Number 9102172

Thank you for writing and allowing me the opportunity to further review your concerns. I am sorry you were dissatisfied with our response.

Again, we are very sorry for the missed flight from Fresno. I can certainly understand your frustration when you arrived at the gate and found the flight had been dispatched. After reading your correspondence again, I understand why you feel I did not adequately address your concerns. I apologize if I overlooked some of your comments based on the reservations data.

While Flight 4624 operated by our Delta Connection partner, SkyWest, left the gate 10 minutes earlier than scheduled, there seems to be some confusion as to the time the door was closed. I understand from your messages that you arrived within the check in requirements. Further, we apologize if announcements were not heard regarding the flight's boarding at the terminal or security area. I can certainly understand your frustration when you let passengers ahead of you in line in security and only to arrive and find the agent had already left the gate.

Mr. Cavanaugh, while we cannot erase your poor impression, as a additional gesture of concern for the late arrival to your destination, I have issued you and your wife each an Electronic Transportation Credit Voucher (eTCV) in the amount of $150.00. Please note the voucher numbers and associated Terms and Conditions will be arriving in a separate email within 24 hours. I encourage you to add Delta Air Lines to your receiver list so the voucher documents are not misdirected to your spam folder.

Please keep the voucher numbers and the Terms and Conditions since the numbers are required for redemption. It is also important to mention that there is no Direct Ticketing fee for reservations confirmed online at delta.com. Further, I have also received additional correspondence from other passengers. Therefore, I will be responding to Mr. Ueland's and Mr. Dumbeck's concerns directly. Again, we are very sorry if there was a discrepancy at the boarding gate in Fresno on May 25. Your business is valued and we hope to serve your future air travel needs.

Sincerely, Michele Schrader Coordinator,

Delta Air Lines

June 18, 2013

Michele Schrader

Delta Airlines

Madam:

There is no "confusion as to the time the door was closed" on the part of anyone involved except, I must conclude, those whose inexcusable negligence, abuse of authority and cavalier behavior now add blatant dishonesty to their own untrue accounting.

And there was not a problem "hearing" any announcements before, during and at a point of "last call." THERE WERE NO ANNOUNCEMENTS MADE. PERIOD.

I must suggest this sad incident clearly now requires accentuated executive review.

With ever mounting frustration,

Peter Cavanaugh

June 20, 2013

Dear Mr. Cavanaugh, RE: Case Number 9102172

Thank you for your most recent message. We apologize for any misunderstanding. The confusion and discrepancy with the time the door closed is on our part.

Unfortunately, it seems the computer time shows the entries for your seating, the standby clearance and other seat discrepancies almost an hour after your flight departed. I apologize for any errors with our system and the gate agents handling of the flight departure.

My explanation only intended to advise you of the reasoning behind my earlier comments and not as a excuse. I truly regret you felt this was cavalier behavior or dishonesty. Further, while we understand your frustration, there were boarding announcements in the gate area.

Respectfully, this flight departed the gate with 43 passengers onboard at 6:24. It would be impossible to board and dispatch a flight without any announcements or contact with the passengers. However, it seems the messages were not broadcast throughout the terminal or security area. According, we are sorry that the announcements were not heard in the rest of the terminal or security area. This concern has been forwarded to our Airport Customer Service Leadership team for internal review. Again, I would like to emphasize that we are extremely sorry for the situation that you experienced, and that our position on the matter has had such an impact. We have tried to apologize in the sincerest manner possible with assurances of internal follow-up in the areas of service which you identified.

I am sorry for your continued disappointment. Mr. Cavanaugh, we regret the disruption to your travel. I hope in time you will provide us with another opportunity to restore your confidence.

Sincerely, Michele Schrader

Delta Air Lines

June 20, 2013

Michele Schrader

Delta Air Lines

"It would be impossible to board and dispatch a flight without any announcements or contact with the passengers. However, it seems the messages were not broadcast throughout the terminal or security area. According, we are sorry that the announcements were not heard in the rest of the terminal or security area."

Again, Ms. Schrader, I am ever more disappointed with your escalating defense of this inexcusable incident.

It is certainly possible to "board and dispatch a flight without any announcements" since THIS IS EXACTLY WHAT TOOK PLACE.

My "dishonesty" reference was to those providing you with altered information.

You were not there.

I and five others ready to testify were.

And will.

Peter Cavanaugh

June 20th, 2013

Subject: Delta Customer Care –

Tell Us How We Did

Dear Peter,

It was our pleasure assisting you with your Delta Customer Care request. Our goal is to deliver the very best service possible, so your feedback is important in helping us recognize and improve our quality. Please let us know how I did by completing a brief survey via the following link:

 http://delta-acs.com/survey/pch.php?id=734&batch=1161&e=hltv12

Thank you for your participation and for your business,

Michele | Delta Customer Care

*******THIS IS AN AUTO-GENERATED EMAIL. DO NOT REPLY TO THIS EMAIL, YOU WILL NOT RECEIVE A RESPONSE*******

June 23, 2013

Dear Mr. Cavanaugh

RE: Case Number 9276860

Thank you for taking the time to write. On behalf of Delta Air Lines, Air France, and KLM we appreciate the opportunity to review your comments. We assure you we will reply within 30 days. Please know we strive to meet a goal of responding within 7 days, however, due to the complexity of some correspondence, we may need additional time to respond and appreciate your patience. If you need assistance with a current reservation, please contact Reservations directly at 1-800-221-1212 or visit delta.com for our international reservation offices. They will be happy to assist you. Sincerely, Customer Care

June 24, 2013

Dear Mr. Cavanaugh,

RE: Case Number 9102172

Thank you for your email dated June 20.

I understand your continued disappointment. Respectfully, as you have indicated, you were not at the gate when Flight 4624 was boarded. Our records indicate that 43 passengers were onboard when the flight was dispatched. We understand you feel that our agents did not make any announcements in the gate area and the passengers boarded with our instructions from our personnel. After additional consideration, I regret we have been unable to resolve this matter to your satisfaction.

Again, thank you for writing.

It is my hope we can put this matter in the past

. On behalf of Delta Air Lines, I apologize we were unable to fully resolve your concern.

Sincerely, Michele Schrader

Delta Air Lines.

June 25, 2013

"It is my hope we can put this matter in the past. "

No, Michelle.

We're now moving this into your future.

Peter Cavanaugh

 http://petercavanaugh.wordpress.com/2013/06/25/delta-yawn/

Chapter Seventeen – "Lenny and The Lottery"

It has been judged a "chilling tale of conformity gone mad."

"The Lottery" was first published by The New Yorker magazine in June of 1948 and is today regarded as one of the most famous short stories in the history of American literature — dazzlingly brilliant in its relentless darkness.

In an annual rite of spring, a rural community chooses — by random drawing — a sacrificial victim, who is then stoned to death by one and all to insure a bountiful harvest.

Written by Shirley Jackson, "The Lottery" is a study in collective mentality, an evolutionary adaptation that provides a mechanism for common consensus, but also offers an ever present possibility of group sanctioned, morally reprehensible behavior.

An extreme example in modern times is easily witnessed by brief reflection at the ultimate horrors unleashed under Hitler's Third Reich.

Discernable resonance might be cited in mindless generational adherence to traditionally cherished, but demonstrably antiquated notions such as belief in an utterly flat world from which we might sail straight off the edge without due caution. It's been far less than a thousand years since our relatively ancient species set that matter straight.

An even milder, but similarly concerning development in recent days has been the stunning cultural castigation of Paula Deen, a stoning I feel is both unwarranted and unfair.

66 year-old Paula Deen is an American celebrity chef and Emmy Award winning television personality with whom I had been completely unfamiliar until she admitted using the "N-Word" during questioning in a legal deposition and now the you-know-what has hit the you-know-where. Mind you, Ms. Deen didn't use the "N-Word" on her TV show or in her cookbooks or yell it at someone in public, especially at an "N". She merely admitted that she had allowed that word to pass her lips at some point in life. Her exact testimony under oath was, "Yes, of course. But that's just not a word that we use. I don't — I don't know. As time has gone on things have changed since the 60′s in the south."

Since this display of sincere candor exploded on the front page of the National Enquirer last month, Paula Deen has been brutally ostracized by the American press — her integrity bashed, her endorsements crashed, her reputation thoroughly trashed.

She has been effectively fired by The Food Network, Walmart, Target, QVC, Home Depot, J.C.Penney, Sears, K-Mart and Ballantine Books in an outrageous example of wimpy, smarmy, patronizing, knee-jerk, lemming-like response to potential accusations of marginally offensive racial insensitivity or something vaguely akin.

What's wrong with us?

I find myself in complete agreement with former President Jimmy Carter who courageously states, "I think Paula Deen has been punished, perhaps overly severely, for her honesty in admitting the use of the word in the distant past. She's apologized profusely and should be forgiven."

I'll go one step further. I think we should all use the "N-Word" as often and as loud as we can till it's all worn out and we can throw it away forever.

Here's Dusty Hoffman quoting Lenny Bruce as directed by Bob Fosse back in '72:

"l'll pass with seven niggers, six spics, five Micks, four kikes, three guineas and one Wop. You almost punched me out, didn't ya?"

"l was trying to make a point — that it's the suppression of the word that gives it the power, the violence, the viciousness."

Lenny Bruce was a high wire act. A gentle genius.

When Michael Richards of "Seinfeld" fame tried to use Bruce's classic monologue on the " N-Word" in 2010, he failed miserably. It's one of those stream-of-consciousness ramblings one has to repeat perfectly, word for word, beat for beat, or not try at all. Richards is not a real racist – just a poor performer. He tried some Lenny lines, blew his balance and killed his career in less than two minutes' time.

"Sticks and stones may break your bones, but words can never hurt you" (Traditional Children's Chant) (Timeless)

One more thing about Lenny Bruce: "Dirty Lenny died so we could all be free"

Steve Earle —  FCC Song (2005)

Niggerly yours,

Peter "The Mick" Cavanaugh

## Chapter Eighteen – "You Never Can Tell!"

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##

##

"It was a teenage wedding and the old folks wished them well.

You could see that Pierre did truly love the Madamoiselle."

"You Never Can Tell" — Chuck Berry — (1963)

 You_Never_Can_Tell

You can't buy it where they make it.

Lynchburg, Tennessee is the home of Jack Daniels, distilling fine bourbon whiskey by the billions of barrels, but it's in Moore County. That's been dry since way before Prohibition.

A bit north of Lynchburg is Cookeville, about 80 miles east of Nashville, where our oldest granddaughter, Katherine, was married on Saturday to a handsome young Second Lieutenant named Patrick. He'll be heading off to Flight School in just a few weeks

I've known Katherine for almost 21 years, holding her in my arms that first day she was born on December 20, 1992. She was baptized in a fine Irish Christening gown Eileen and I brought from Killarney a short time before for just such purpose. In the years that followed as she began to ever so magically enter early childhood, the enchanted "Riverdance" unexpectedly exploded from a Dublin stage into the global phenomenon it became, reviving traditional Irish music and dance from modern cultural obscurity to unparalleled prominence – lifting both to world renown.

Following my presentation suggestions with proper precision, Katherine would patiently hide behind the living room couch biding her time as I would elaborately initiate her introduction in my announcer voice to an imagined audience bubbling with anticipation. As opening strains of "The Countess Cathleen" filled the room with fiddles and flutes, I would continue my recitation of exaggerated hyperbole until a specifically selected instant, at which point two year-old Katherine would leap into sight with electrified launch and River Dance in joyous abandon exactly as did Jean Butler in the original production.

I was most honored when Katherine called several weeks ago and asked if I might assist her in preparing music for both her wedding ceremony and the reception to follow. And so it was that extra tears flowed when she appeared in dazzling view, hitting that exact cue once again – but this time slowly and gently gliding down the aisle like the most graceful of beautiful swans accompanied by her wonderful father, Paul.

Katherine and Patrick had scripted everything out with acute attention to every tiny detail. "Riverdance" selections with ten edited tunes from George Clooney's highly eclectic "O Brother Where Art Thou?" was surely creatively brilliant and was accompanied by outstanding visual elements, further elaboration upon which must await some future time. Suffice it to observe that "Blue Grass" music directly evolved from its native Scotch – Irish origins in the hills and valleys of early Appalachian settlement. I'm quite proud that Katherine knew this and figured out a way to combine both in theme and execution.

Shifting mood, her Reception following lunch started with Chuck Berry's early Rock & Roll classic, "You Never Can Tell," then rocked right along – virtually offering every form of contemporary tunes right up through today.

At the entrance to the Cookeville Town Center, wedding guests were confronted with a large, down-home, hand-lettered sign which simply read, "Today two families become one, so pick a seat – not a side."

That immediately brought to mind my colleague, Alan Cheah's "For Your Consideration" column from last week 's Sierra Star, which I had just read before leaving the hotel.

As mentioned previously, we have never found need to read each other's words until actually published, an excellent approach which has proven most viable in our collaborative effort – great minds thinking alike.

Alan's basic theme was that, despite basic differences in fundamental political persuasion, there is every reason to discover common ground in oppositional positions wherever found and act collectively toward better times in mutual best interest. I herein echo those sentiments.

It just might work.

Whenever we can, let's agree to agree.

You never can tell.

Chapter Nineteen – "Sharing and Caring"

The House and Senate have adjourned for their hardly earned annual five-week summer break, so it's business as usual these lazy, crazy days of August in Washington with nothing of meaningful significance happening in the halls of Congress.

One of the last things passed in the House last Friday was a record 40th anti-ObamaCare vote (232 to 185) on a measure introduced by Tom Price (R-Georgia) charmingly entitled, "The Keep The IRS Off Your Health Care Act of 2013"– doomed to failure from the outset with a Democratic President and Senate fortunately in place. Price, a national Tea Party hero, has gone on record time and time again condemning "The Patient Protection and Affordable Health Care Act of 2010″ as a "government takeover of health care", a characterization as patently false as it is insipidly stupid. However, this qualifies Price to be often mentioned as a possible new House Speaker if John Boehner doesn't talk the talk and walk the walk, trembling at every turn lest he upset Eric Cantor, Paul Ryan, Kevin McCarthy and other beneficiaries of rich, self-interested, ever wealthier campaign donors, the infamous Koch brothers coming quickest to mind.

After 24 years in the Senate, Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Kentucky) has become a multimillionaire — and not just for good looks. Dedicated to Barack Obama's political destruction since the day our President took office, McConnell ironically now faces primary competition for his Senate seat in 2014 from even more conservative candidates pledged to out-hate Mitch at the drop of a hood.

As with their previous 39 attempts to undermine the expressed will of the American people, our uptight Right continues wasting time and talent in petulant pursuit of party purity. We can look for more of the same just down the road unless responsible GOP traditionalists can wrestle party control away from its wistfully wayward John Galt wannabes — dedicated do-nothings with dreams of an Ayn Randian inspired Utopia dancing through their heads like sugar plums on Christmas Eve.

For the uninitiated, John Galt is the iconoclastic hero of "Atlas Shrugged" — a long-winded, bombastic 1957 work of political fiction from Alisa Rosenbaum writing under the pseudonym "Ayn Rand."

Alisa was a Russian-born atheist heavily influenced in her early years by William Edward Hickman, an American serial killer. The hero of Rosenbaum's novel "The Fountainhead", Howard Roark, is said to be based on Hickman and is admiringly described in the book with these words — "He was born without the ability to consider others." Hickman was hanged from the gallows at San Quentin on October 19, 1928 for the gruesome kidnapping, killing and dismemberment of 12 year-old Marion Parker. Justice Clarence Thomas has described "The Fountainhead" as his "favorite book."

"Objectivism", a core philosophy developed by Ms. Rosenbaum and now espoused in our times by Tea Party Libertarian types, essentially preaches that the proper moral purpose of one's own life is the singular pursuit of individual happiness — concern for others being relegated to the dust bin of history — as antiquated a notion as Christianity. WHAT?

Behold the following directly copied this instant from the Ayn Rand Institute's website as written by Dr. Edwin Locke: "Christianity cannot be practiced consistently, destroys the integrity of man's mind, and is incompatible with living successfully and happily in the real world."

I prefer Matthew 25: 34-50 in the Standard American Bible and these words of Jesus:

"Then the King will say to those on his right, "Come, you are the blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world. For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat; I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink; I was a stranger and you invited me in; naked and you clothed me; I was sick and you visited me; I was in prison and you came to me."

"Then the righteous will answer him, "Lord, when did we see you hungry or thirsty and gave you something to drink? And when did we see you a stranger and invite you in or naked and clothe you? When did we see you sick or in prison and come to you?" The King will answer, "Truly I say to you, to the extent you did it to one of these brothers of Mine, even the least of them, you did it to me".

Ultimately, it all comes down to caring and sharing.

Godliness and selfishness are intrinsically oppositional.

Let he or she who achieves material success enjoy first and foremost the fruits of their labor, yet remain ever thoughtful of those with less attained, especially children of poverty whose lot is surely not of their own design.

"Blessed is he that considers the poor: The Lord will deliver him in time of trouble." – Psalm 41:1

When we elect folks to government who scorn the concept of social equity and a common good — government won't work. It never has. It never will.

It simply can't.

## Chapter Twenty – "Challenging the Challengers"

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##

##

Reince Priebus is a mealy mouthed mouse with a Star Trek name who just squeaked "surrender" again.

Reince is National Committee Chairman of the Republican Party, elected on January 14, 2011 after seven rounds of voting in the aftermath of union busting Scott Walker's election as Governor of Wisconsin. Walker endorsed Priebus' bid for the Chairmanship from the get go, attributing the party's and his November 2010 victories in Wisconsin to "Priebus' leadership and involvement in the Tea Party movement that swept the state and the nation" during that election cycle.

So here we are with over 600 dead and thousands wounded in a single vicious day of bloody Egyptian rioting last week with hundreds more killed those same 24 hours in Syria, Iraq, Yemen and Lebanon as "The Arab Spring" has disintegrated into a savage summer.

Ignoring all that, as even Fox News now solemnly intones the American Middle Class is well on the way to economic extinction and global scientists have again universally confirmed our planet is undergoing the most severe degree of climate change in the last 65 million years, Priebus priorities have elevated to pathetic first place prominence — a new Republican pastime -– the art of cable spanking.

In a letter sent on behalf of the Party to Robert Greenblatt, Chairman of NBC Entertainment, and Jeff Zucker, President of CNN Worldwide, Reince demanded the networks cancel two independent productions because both projects still in development would be about — Hillary Clinton.

When refusal was instantaneous, Reince introduced and obtained a unanimous vote from all attending the National Summer Republican Committee Convention in Boston to ban CNN and MSNBC from covering Republican Presidential Primary Debates in 2016.

Setting aside the fact that Reince and the GOP have no actual power to enforce such a restriction, this marks another tactical capitulation on the part of Priebus to extreme right-wingers who remain dominant in Party planning, even though there was serious talk from Reince immediately following Obama's victory last November about becoming more centrist.

But in an interview with Joe Scarborough on MSNBC in March, Priebus used such phraseology as "a lot of idiotic things" and "a lot of stupid biological things" in characterizing Republican campaign rhetoric in the lost Presidential election. Ever more evident is a continuing retreat from reality and reinforced realignment to the newly emerging theme that "the candidate was the problem", theoretically making any contemplated departure from hard core conservative principles more heretical than ever.

This was again signaled a few days ago at the Boston gathering when Priebus told reporters Mitt Romney's reference to "self-deportation" on the issue of Immigration Reform was "hurtful and horrific."

As top traditional Republican faithful gathered at that same Boston hotel where Mitt Romney learned he would not be President on November 6, 2012 — as these key players tried to determine and define the future direction of their imperiled Party – Gov. Pat McCrory (R) and Tea Party partners in the North Carolina State Legislature enacted and signed a broad bill to massively restrict voting rights, a move designed to deeply curtail minority and youth voting in the state.

And here's Texas misanthrope, Ted Cruz, calling for the abolition of the Internal Revenue Service, perhaps leaving the payment of federal taxes to be defined as an optional exercise.

Not to be outdone, Rand "Surly But Curly" Paul keeps elevating attacks on New Jersey Governor Chris Christy for being fat and fatuous, but really because he was photographed being cordial to Barack Obama.

And there's renewed discussion in Washington of once again holding the nation hostage by refusing to shortly raise the already Congressionally limited debt ceiling unless Obamacare is overturned.

But anything with our President's name attached is automatically and bitterly challenged in certain circles completely regardless of content, branded as "bad" only because it involves "Barack."

As a dramatic illustration, we witness California's own national embarrassment, Congressman Darrell Issa, turning up absolutely nothing in extensive hearings before his House Oversight and Government Reform Committee tying the Obama Administration to any sinister wrong doing in the case of "Fast and Furious" and/or "Benghazi" and/or "The IRS" and/or anything else. Forget "mountains of proof." He couldn't even find molehills. Nothing. NOTHING. N-O-T-H-I-N-G.

I herein defy anyone, particularly local pundits, to produce a single shred of actual evidence indicating otherwise.

Come on.

Show what you've got. Put it out here.

As Clara insisted in those old Wendy's commercials, "Show us the beef!"

Or let us blissfully rapture in your sullen silence.

## 

## Chapter Twenty-One – "Justice"

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##

"The Butler" begins with an exclamation point and ends with a question mark.

As this week marks the 50th Anniversary of 1963's "March on Washington" with Dr. Martin Luther King sharing his historic dream before hundreds of thousands, "The Butler" was #1 at the box office for a second triumphant weekend before millions of moviegoers.

The film's first few minutes are not for the feint of heart – a savage encapsulation of deadly oppression – while the last moment is powerfully inconclusive and appropriately so — for that's where we are.

"The Butler" (PG13) ostensibly traces the White House career of Eugene Allen, who served eight U.S. Presidents over the course of 30 years, witnessing sweeping social changes during his three decades of dedicated service at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue.

But this is a movie, not a traditional documentary.

For cinematic purposes, Eugene Allen is morphed into a marginally fictional character named Cecil Gaines, brilliantly portrayed by Forest Whitaker – perhaps Oscar-bound again.

As was true in the case of "The Last King of Scotland", a film that won Whitaker his 2007 Academy Award for Best Actor in a powerful portrayal of Ugandan dictator Idi Amin, "The Butler" is a fictionalized chronicle, so leave your fact checker home.

That observed, it nonetheless presents an extraordinarily encompassing mosaic of recent American history with a sharp black perspective rare in its raw revelations. It centers on a continuing struggle for civil rights, an effort only partially realized in our times with mileposts reached, but great distance remaining.

Timing couldn't be more perfect, perhaps the primary reason our local Oakhurst audience burst into appreciative applause as final screen credits rolled – an enthusiastic endorsement of the movement at least as much as the movie.

In a serendipitous prelude to "The Butler", Rachel Maddow appeared last week in a live MSNBC broadcast from Boone, North Carolina, where voting in Watauga County has been reduced by a new Republican controlled County Board of Elections from three separate precincts to a single, barely accessible polling place for over 9,000 registered voters, including students at Appalachian State University, a predominantly black institution. Simultaneously, the GOP chair of the Forsyth County Board of Elections is attempting to shut down an early voting site at Winston-Salem State University – another minority school. And the Pasquotank County Board has just proclaimed students at Elizabeth City State University with a majority African-American enrollment ineligible to cast local ballots in November.

All of this is happening in tandem with passage by the North Carolina State Legislature of what has been generally referenced in the national press as "the nation's worst voter suppression law." Let it be noted that the theoretical excuse for such a draconian measure –"widespread hidden voter fraud" – accounted for far, far less than one percent of all votes cast in North Carolina in 2012 – actually .00174%.

In an interview Sunday on "Face the Nation", former Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff and Secretary of State, Colin Powell, told Bob Shieffer of CBS, "These kind of procedures that are being put in place to slow the process down and make it likely that fewer Hispanics and African Americans might vote, I think, are going to backfire, because these people are going to come out and do what they have to do in order to vote, and I encourage that."

I herein salute General Powell for such prescient commentary and praise Ms. Maddow for bringing desperately needed focus to these virulent attempts at reviving the soul-scarring, rights-robbing, humiliating ghosts of moldering Jim Crow legislation, now rising from the dead like vampires at dusk.

And such things do not exist in sterile isolation.

"The Butler" serves up significant food for serious thought.

It is not so much a summary as a summons.

Work undone remains justice unknown.

But not unreasonable, undeniable or unobtainable.

Justice.

It's all up to – just us.

## Chapter Twenty-Two – "Huh?"

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I couldn't believe my lying ears.

They were telling me our ultra-right, super conservative Tea Party Congressman, Tom McClintock, was openly extolling the virtues of Dennis Kucinich, a far-left, extremely liberal, former Democratic Congressman from Ohio.

McClintock, representing California's newly reconfigured Fourth District, was holding a "Town Hall Meeting" last Wednesday in the North Fork Rancheria's Community Center as part of an ambitious four-appearance schedule that also included stops in Oakhurst, Shaver Lake and Prather.

An earlier gathering hosted by the Oakhurst Chamber of Commerce was co-sponsored by "Women in Business", a group clearly placing politics above gender in their support of McClintock, who refused to vote for the "Equal Pay for Women Act" and the "Violence Against Women Act", while being completely supportive of the anti-gay "Defense of Marriage Act." Even our right-leaning Supreme Court has now declared "D.O.M.A." unconstitutional.

But this same McClintock was suddenly before me in North Fork praising Dennis Kucinich, a man once described by Cleveland Tea Party Patriots as being "Ohio's Top Socialist".

The reason for McClintock's out of the blue endorsement was a statement made by the former Mayor of Cleveland a day before referencing President Obama's rumored decision to level a punitive, "surgical blow" against Syria as retribution for crossing a "red line" in resorting to the use of poisonous gas against a civilian population.

Here's what Kucinich said that obtained McClintock's sanction and blessing: "So, what? We're about to become Al Qaeda's air force now? This is a very serious matter – and to try to minimize it by saying we're just going to have a "targeted strike" – that's an act of war."

After extended reflection, I find myself agreeing completely with Representative McClintock and Mr. Kucinich in this matter, even as I maintain widely dissimilar notions on almost every other issue mentioned during the Congressman's well-received, hour-long presentation. And that includes frogs and toads.

McClintock, as astute a politician as I've ever encountered, is wisely tapping understandable local concerns over economic consequences of past federal environmental legislation with his virulent opposition to proposed endangered species designation of the Yellow-Legged Frog and threatened species designation for the Yosemite Toad. His view is that U.S. Fish and Wildlife guidelines will likely cause severe restrictions on land access and could limit or forbid activities such as grazing, trout stocking, logging, mining and recreational use — resulting in a devastating impact on our regional economy.

Similarly, he is firmly against recent proposals from the National Park Service and its much-discussed (some say "disgusting") Merced River Plan.

"Radical environmentalists want us to look – but not touch", summarizes McClintock.

Given the fact that these topics have pretty much risen to the top of foothill community issues, the September Meeting of the Democratic Club of Oakhurst will feature, as our guest speaker, George Whitmore, Chair of the Tehipite Chapter of the Sierra Club's Yosemite Committee. The Tehipite Chapter encompasses all of the counties of Fresno, Madera, Merced and Mariposa, and parts of two other counties, including all of Yosemite National Park.

Mr. Whitmore has held various assignments at the local, regional and national levels of the Sierra Club for the last fifty years. He also attended Representative McClintock's meetings of last week in North Fork, Shaver Lake and Prather.

While observing that our Congressman is "very smooth, even when handling sticky questions", Whitmore also declares, "Tom McClintock was clearly born a hundred years too late – and would have been more in sync with the way things were done – or not done – in the 1800's. He probably thinks that Teddy Roosevelt was one of the worst Presidents we ever had, perhaps even worse than Obama."

But Mr. Whitmore also adds, "All of the dire predictions of impending doom if we try to rescue the frog or toad from oblivion could come true if we leave the Fish and Wildlife Service or other entities free to do whatever they wish. These agencies need to hear from the citizenry. The widely divergent views as to how Yosemite should be managed are only to be expected, given the very strong connections people feel to this remarkable place. To me, it is a cathedral – a cathedral as many as possible should be allowed to visit."

As a member of the Democratic Club of Oakhurst's Executive Committee and moderator of our monthly meetings, I herein cordially and enthusiastically invite you to join us at the new Denny's at 9 AM this coming Saturday– regardless of party affiliation – to engage in a spirited, yet admirably amiable question and answer session following our speaker's opening remarks.

Then, after the meeting, you are also encouraged to attend the 11th Annual Run for The Gold Car Show at the Oakhurst Community Center, where this columnist gets to glide into his blue suede shoes and spin a few Rock & Roll Oldies again this year for the Oakhurst Kiwanis.

And for our October Meeting of the Democratic Club?

How 'bout David Martin from the U.S. Forest Service?

## 

## Chapter Twenty-Three – "Goodbye Hannah Montana"

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##

With every tune came a memory.

Joining the Sierra Oakhurst Kiwanis last weekend at the Oakhurst Community Center for their 11th Annual "Run For The Gold", I received a rare opportunity to play "DJ" again – spinning only music from the 50's and early 60's to properly match dozens upon dozens of ageless classic cars shimmering in proud display.

As closing strains of "Venus" by Frankie Avalon (Chancellor Records – 1959) filled the air, I briefly reminisced about all those early "Beach Party" movies featuring Frankie and, of course, everyone's favorite Mickey Mouse Club Mouseketeer– Annette Funicello. Even as I said her name, my mind flashed back fifty years.

I had started my radio career five years beforehand at WNDR in Syracuse and was still doing both a morning and afternoon show there in September of 1963. But WNDR's signal didn't reach Utica, New York, fifty miles to the east. Consequently, WTLB reigned supreme in the Utica-Rome market, also enjoying extended listenership through much of the historic Mohawk Valley toward Albany.

At the invitation of WTLB's Program Director, I would occasionally jump into my '63 Chevy SS Super Sport Impala (425 hp) (9 miles per gallon) and head down the Thruway to pull a Sunday afternoon air shift. The format was much looser in Utica and a young, imaginative DJ could experiment with interesting techniques and approaches.

It was upon such an occasion I received a call on our WTLB "Hitline" from a young female purporting to be – Annette. Believing the caller to be charmingly fraudulent, I cheerfully expressed my disbelief, concluding with a challenge to prove her identity with an immediate visit to the station. Fifteen minutes later, accompanied by a protective cohort of several large male cousins, there was Annette — spending a few days in Utica visiting her family.

Interspersed with a few tunes, I interviewed her on the air for two and a half hours. I mean, come on! It was Annette! Having become known as "America's Sweetheart", she still exuded that untouchable, unknowable virginal innocence I had always associated with female Mouseketeers and all Catholic High School girls.

"M-I-C"—–See you later!"

"K-E-Y"—–Why? Because my body is the Temple of The Holy Ghost and/or Walt Disney and they won't share me."

"M-O-U-S-E!"

But how things change.

Contemporary Disney darlings from the revived "Mickey Mouse Club" ('89 to '96) included Christina Aguilera and Britney Spears, while Lindsay Lohan starred in Disney's remake of "The Parent Trap", "Freaky Friday" and, with a title unintentionally prophetic, "Herbie: Fully Loaded."

While Annette's beach movies at their hottest were considered "slightly spicy," Christina, Britney and Lindsay have left illusions of perpetual celibacy far behind. But the transformation of Disney's All-American, clean cut, utterly wholesome "Hannah Montana" to the real life Miley Cyrus on this year's MTV Music Video Awards must have witnessed poor Walt Disney spinning away in his rumored cryogenic chamber faster than light speed squared.

Joining Robin Thicke in live performance of his undisputed #1 Summer of 2013 hit, "Blurred Lines" (introduced to Sierra Star readers in a characteristically predictive column way back in early June), Miley was agonizing in her sad professional determination to turn from sweet to slattern without the talent to pull anything off other than clothing.

What was dependable in the past is dicey in the present.

Ask retirees of International Business Machine, long considered a paragon of corporate stability and trustworthiness.

Here's a headline from last Sunday's Huffington Post: "IBM To Move Retirees Off Its Health Plan Due to Rising Costs." The article went on to explain that 110,000 former employees will shortly have to pay a significant portion of premiums for medical, prescription drug, dental and vision coverage. Other large employers are also moving away from formerly guaranteed health benefits, including American Airlines, as the United States remains the only nation in the entire industrialized world without some form of universal health care for its citizens.

The first serious step in that direction, our Affordable Care Act of 2010, is under renewed attack again by a retrogressive Republican Party determined that only the strongest deserve to survive as a matter of natural order and national priority.

Last week, former President Bill Clinton initiated a series of discussions aimed at explaining various components of the Act, legislation made even more complicated by necessary adjustments, capitulations and compromises demanded by bitter partisan opposition to its passage.

Summing things up, Clinton stated, "The current system is unaffordable and downright unhealthy for millions of Americans" and emphasized, "other prosperous countries cover everybody and do it at far less cost", even though the United States ranks first "by a country mile" in the percentage of income spent on health care.

Those who scoff at "ObamaCare" are either embarrassingly clueless or intentionally misleading, depending upon the reliable ignorance of "low information voters" to join them in pejorative, mocking dismissal of remarkable, life saving legislation long overdue.

There are times when change is good.

This is one.

## 

## Chapter Twenty-Four – "Déjà-Vu All Over Again"

##

##

There's been nothing like it since "The Stand in the Schoolhouse Door."

And so we witness another futile fight against the unstoppable forces of predestined inevitability.

On June 11, 1963, Governor George Wallace became a national symbol in bold defiance of federal law when he attempted to block the entrance of two black students to Foster Auditorium at the University of Alabama. It was a symbolic effort to honor his inaugural promise to support "segregation now, segregation tomorrow, segregation forever." Confronted on the spot by Deputy U.S. Attorney General Nicholas Katzenbach supported by a phalanx of Federal Marshals, Wallace abandoned his one-man blockade and many years later in 1979 stated, "I was wrong. Those days are over, and they ought to be over."

Whether House Speaker John Boehner will eventually experience a similar "Road to Damascus" conversion remains to be seen, but he now embarrassingly stands in open rebellion against the expressed will of the American people in abject surrender to the most conservative elements of his hopelessly divided, morally bereft Republican Party.

Even while remaining under attack from ultra-extreme fringes calling for his immediate ouster as Speaker, Boehner announced in an abrupt turnaround that, while still not allowing a House vote on Immigration Reform for fear of instantaneous majority passage, he would yield to Tea Party pressure and approve a vote on defunding The Affordable Care Act of 2010 as the cost of approving a stopgap spending measure.

The government will theoretically run out of money at Midnight September 30th, so you might not have to bother looking for your Social Security check in October if Republicans don't get their way.

No Medicare payments. Or extended Unemployment Benefits. No Food Stamps for anyone. No Army. No Navy. No Air Force. No government!

Hey, No I.R.S!

Down with all "Takers."

Up with "Freedom" – finally honestly and openly defined as "keeping all our money instead of paying taxes."

It's a matter of principle!

"Limit" government?

Hell, let's just blow the whole thing up!

Or maybe that won't happen till a few weeks later in mid-October, when raising the debt ceiling to pay for things already purchased becomes hostage as it did thanks to the GOP in the summer of 2011 – resulting in the first downgrade of credit in U. S. Government history. Factoring everything, a new study by the Bipartisan Policy Center indicates that fiasco will cost taxpayers $18.9 billion over 10 years as a consequence of higher interest rates on government borrowing.

Experts warn that inability to make a deal this time around may well lead to an immediate risk of U.S. government default, a major financial crisis and downward economic momentum well on the road to deep and prolonged recession.

As President Obama properly observes, "We have not seen this in the past, that a budget is contingent on us eliminating a program that was voted on, passed by both chambers of Congress."

But that's where we seem to be — locked in a renewed confrontation with fantasy driven, tri-corner hat sporting, Obama hating, pretentiously posturing, self-designated "patriots" who clutch to their hearts a Federal Constitution they seem amazingly incapable of fully understanding, truly appreciating or ultimately defending.

An ever-careening cartoon.

It would be laughable if it were not so terribly tragic.

"Those who stubbornly try to recover a past that no longer exists — they have a static and inward-directed view of things." " I have never been a right winger" –

Pope Francis I –New York Times (9/19/13)

## Chapter Twenty-Five – "Crossfire"

##

"Sexist and Infuriating"

Letters to the Editor for 9/19/13 edition of the Sierra Star

Dear Editor,

Mr. Cavanaugh's column in the Sep. 3, Sierra Star, "Astute politician," managed to greatly offend members of the Oakhurst Area Chamber of Commerce's Women in Business. Women in Business is a group of area businesswomen, meeting once a month to network, learn, support and mentor in the business community. We are a diverse group of women. Although we are not a political group, the women encompass a broad spectrum of interests, passions and political opinions.

Women in Business did not, as Mr. Cavanaugh states, "co-sponsor" the recent Economic Development Committee luncheon at which Congressman McClintock was the speaker. He was invited to speak by the chamber on issues relevant to the local economy. We merely held our monthly luncheon at the event. We felt it was a good opportunity to communicate with other business people and to hear the Congressman's remarks.

As informed citizens should do, we listened and learned in a respectful manner. Our presence at this luncheon certainly did not indicate our support of any or all of the Congressman's positions. That was not the intent of the luncheon in the first place.

Did Mr. Cavanaugh's presence indicate he was in agreement with the speaker? That seems to be your logic, Mr. Cavanaugh.

Why Women in Business was singled out (both Rotary clubs were also in attendance) is beyond us. Your assertion that we would place "politics above gender" is sexist, infuriating and unsubstantiated by any facts. Your remarks were misguided and undeserved. We believe a public apology is in order.

Karen V. White, Amy Hogan, co-chairs, Women in Business

Published in the Sierra Star 9/26/13

"Bedtime Manners"

I am happy to respond to Ms. White's and Ms. Hogan's request for substantiation of my assertion in the 9/3/13 Sierra Star that characterized sponsorship by "Women in Business" of Congressman McClintock's recent Oakhurst appearance at the Country Club as having placed "politics above gender."

As the father of four women and grandfather of four more, I feel it important to herein include without edit the rest of that observation as stated in my column: "–placing politics above gender in their support of McClintock, who refused to vote for the "Equal Pay for Women Act" and the "Violence Against Women Act", while being completely supportive of the anti-gay "Defense of Marriage Act."

As far as Ms. White's and Ms. Hogan's obvious attempt at now scurrying away to distance themselves from McClintock's politics — for which he is not asked to apologize — and their expressed chagrin as to why "Women in Business" were "singled out", I would wish to place into evidence a full-color flyer urging attendance issued by the Oakhurst Chamber of Commerce on August 21st with only "Women in Business" listed in large, bannered, headlined font and no other organization similarly featured or even mentioned.

Referencing the verb "co-sponsored", I offer the following definition of "sponsor" from the Cambridge American-English Dictionary: "Sponsor – To support a person, organization, or activity by giving money, encouragement, or other help."

And at the risk of again being labeled "sexist", I can only suggest Ms. White and Ms. Hogan exercise a bit more caution the next time they jump in bed with an activity — political or otherwise.

Peter Cavanaugh

Oakhurst

Chapter Twenty-Six -- "Lynching a Law"

"We're not going to be disrespected. We have to get something out of this. And I don't know what that even is." — Tea Party Congressman Marlin Stutzman (R-Indiana) offering characteristically definitive insight explaining his vote last week to shut down the government.

"You should be ashamed of yourself!" — Tea Party Congressman Randy Neugebauer (R-Texas) addressing a young female Park Ranger forced to turn back visitors at Washington's World War Two Memorial — something for which Neaugebauer had voted and was responsible.

"He has no place in any station of government and we need to realize that he is an enemy of humanity" – Tea Party Congressman Trent Franks (R-Arizona), speaking of our President.

The inmates are not only running the asylum, they're forcefully ruining it.

Any assessment by political poseurs that the shutdown was a consequence of failing to negotiate and compromise completely ignores the stark reality that a handful of bitter, spiteful Obama-haters have successfully leveraged themselves into a command position by fanciful fabrication, skillful manipulation and raw intimidation.

President Obama defined everything succinctly in addressing a Maryland construction company gathering Thursday morning when he called for a simple up or down vote in the House on an already approved Senate Bill that would end the impasse. The President said House Speaker John Boehner could reopen the government and send 800,000 people back to work "in just five minutes", rightfully declaring that Boehner "doesn't want to anger the extremists in his party."

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid went even further condemning Boehner's refusal to yield to reason, openly calling him "a coward." Reid also insisted that Boehner was reneging on a prior promise to facilitate a continuing resolution to fund the government without partisan strings attached.

But the Tea Party isn't interested in simple strings. They want a hangman's noose around ObamaCare — for some -- second best to one around the man himself.

The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act was approved by both houses of Congress and signed into law on March 23, 2010. That was three and a half years ago.

Since that time, the essential features were reviewed and upheld by the U.S. Supreme Court on June 28, 2012.

Running against an opponent who dramatically promised to "end ObamaCare", the President easily won re-election on November 6, 2012 by trouncing Mitt Romney in the Electoral College 332 to 206 — defeating the former Governor of Massachusetts by more than 5 million votes.

The American people have surely spoken.

But the House of Representatives refused to listen, even though there were almost two million more votes for Democratic House candidates than Republicans nationwide in 2012, but GOP redistricting through state gerrymandering resulted in a Republican House Majority of 234 to 201 in the 113th Congress and has led us to where we are.

And where will you be this weekend?

Mountain Democrats hope you'll be spending some time at the 2013 Oakhurst Fall Festival on Saturday and Sunday in the Community Park from 10 AM to 4 PM. Stop by our booth to say, "Hi!" and ask any questions you might have about "ObamaCare." We'll have answers available and/or information directing you to reliable sources. We happen to believe The Affordable Care Act is an excellent start on providing what every other country in the entire developed world has enjoyed except us — until now.

It's good for you and long overdue.

Like fine wine & tasty chocolates!

## 

## Chapter Twenty-Seven – "Accountability Thirty-Ought-Six"

##

##

$24 billion flushed down the drain, but Ted Cruz gained his fleeting fame.

That seems to be bottom line for the disastrous Tea Party Slam Down that brought our Federal government to a wrenching halt for 16 painful days, continuing right up to a last second Congressional deal avoiding chaotic global consequences, possibly concluding with catastrophic collapse.

Standard and Poor's, a highly regarded, non-partisan financial services company, says the debacle has also reduced projected fourth-quarter GDP growth from 3% to 2.4%, a significant blow to our national economic health. Here in the foothills, an extensive article in Friday's Fresno Bee cited such specifics as revenue cut in half at Todd's Barbeque in Oakhurst, a reservation cancellation rate of 90% at the Gateway Restaurant and Lodge just outside Sequoia National Park and similarly stark developments at the Narrow Gauge Inn near the southern entrance to Yosemite. All told, over a half million business bucks were blown here in Madera County alone.

One of the most disturbing aspects of our first Federal shutdown in 17 years, now ranked as possibly the most severe ever, were the well-worn canards, clichés and quaint commentaries emerging from an oftentimes seemingly clueless general public.

A now famous and clearly catalytic NBC News/Wall Street Journal poll published October 10th demonstrated a decisive majority of voters blamed Republicans more than Democrats for the suspension of services. Less reported was the fact that an astounding sixty percent also said that they would vote and replace every single member of Congress, including their own representative, if such action was possible.

"Government sucks."

"They need to get along."

"Everyone is to blame."

False equivalency is the sign of a sluggish mind.

While a requirement to pay taxes is important, the need to pay attention is even more imperative.

Watching Fox News is not paying attention.

Updated studies confirm that those watching FOX are less informed than those watching no news at all. That doesn't mean FOX viewers are stupid – just unknowingly susceptible to cynical, ratings-driven programming that elevates form over substance. Human nature finds comfort in the confirmation of righteous pre conviction. Ask Bill O'Reilly on his way to the bank.

But turning off TV and referring to our President as a "tyrant", "thug" or "disgrace" is insipidly, abysmally lazy and hateful – demonstrating not only pungently pretentious posturing, but shameful ignorance of information easily accessible from a multitude of alternative media sources.

Our own Congressman Tom McClintock (R-California) shares direct responsibility for all of the horrors recently encountered in the Tea Party Fiasco and should be held appropriately accountable.

His Republican colleague, Devin Nunes (R-California) said it perfectly in voting to reopen the government along with seven fellow GOP California representatives. Nunes exclaimed, "No more lemmings!" — having earlier described colleagues who were willing to bring about the shut down as "lemmings with suicide vests."

I'm hoping that Devin can convince his furry friend, Tom, to agree with Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Kentucky) and publicly confess that any similar actions in the future should be judged as hopelessly irresponsible.

In an interview Thursday, McConnell admitted that his party had learned a painful political lesson. He said he saw no reason to go through the agony again in January 2014 when the current stopgap measure is set to expire.

Quoting McConnell: "One of my favorite old Kentucky sayings is there's no education in the second kick of a mule. The first kick of the mule was when we shut down the government in the mid-1990s and the second kick was over the last 16 days. There will not be another government closing. I think we have fully now acquainted our new members with what a losing strategy that is."

In a Sierra Star column last April, I unambiguously stated that Tom McClintock was no fool. We'll soon find out if he's a mule.

I'd hate to have to call on Tom Waits.

"And I filled me a sachel full of old pig corn.

And I beat me a billy from an old French Horn.

And I kicked that mule to the top of the tree.

I kicked that mule to the top of the tree."

Tom Waits – "16 Shells From a Thirty-Ought-Six" –"Mule Variations" (1999)

## Chapter Twenty-Eight – "Oakhurst in The Blind"

##

##

There I was — twice at the Met, then heading down the hill.

"Gravity" is the only film I've ever seen in The Fresno Bee's "Critics Choice" movie listing scoring "A's" straight across the board.

That's five out of five – with The Bee, Entertainment Weekly, The New York Times, The Los Angeles Times and The San Francisco Chronicle all weighing in on a unique cinematic wonder.

Relax.

If you haven't seen "Gravity" yet, there's no "spoiler alert" necessary here.

But it shouldn't hurt to mention that the technical frontiers crossed in this stunning achievement four and a half years in production are simply breathtaking, combined with an incredibly paced digital soundtrack by Steven Price and brilliant performances by George Clooney and, most particularly, Sandra Bullock.

Viewing it at our Met Cinema on two separate occasions opening week, I couldn't help but yield to fierce temptation and travel down 41 for the full IMAX 3-D presentation at the Edwards 22 Stadium complex in Fresno, catching even more unanticipated subtleties with this third experience.

I had never before been exposed to "in the blind" phraseology – since confirmed by NASA as a haunting tag to astronaut communications cast into a vacuum offering only unconfirmed, perhaps non-existent reception — however hopefully transmitted.

Yes! Like writing a newspaper column!

Comparing notes with my Sierra Star colleagues, it's fascinating to learn that one thing — perhaps the only thing — we all share in common is puzzlement at how relatively little feedback we receive from readership no matter how hard we try to stir things up.

Along the same lines and to make my brother and sister writers feel better, it has been clearly established in the world of broadcasting that far fewer than one percent of listeners ever call their favorite Talk Radio host to voice opinions.

There seems to be a generic predisposition in our species for most of us to let others lead, perhaps even required as an evolutionary necessity for viable social organization until now.

Hey, you. It's time to wake up, look around and check in. Don't be afraid to think boldly, question everything and trust yourself. Most of all, keep an open mind.

Hopefully providing worthy example, my candidate for heroic move of the week is Greta Van Susteren of FOX News.

Generalization for purposes of simplicity is dangerous at best — convenient conveyance taking precedence over challenging complexity.

In summarizing consequences of the 2010 Affordable Care Act, President Obama went on record stating, "If you're one of the more than 250 million Americans who already have health insurance, you will keep your health insurance. This law will only make it more secure and more affordable."

This was not a lie and remains as true as the sky is blue.

But retrospectively, he would have been better adding, "I'm not talking about maintaining rip-off "junk insurance" which isn't real insurance at all, guaranteeing corporate profits — not personal benefits — and I'm speaking on behalf of the government and myself, not insurance companies."

So when a small percentage (less than 5%) of our "insured" population holding trash contracts starting receiving cancellation notices in advance of further ACA implementation after the first of the year, predictable yowls and screams of feigned indignation exploded coast to coast.

With Walter Cronkite spinning in his grave like a dreidel on Dexedrine, even time honored CBS News ended up looking extraordinarily stupid when a junior producer passed along a completely unsubstantiated item to Charlie Rose on "CBS This Morning" which reported that 56 year-old Dianne Barrette of Florida was going to pay "ten times as much" for insurance under the Affordable Care Act.

That's where Greta comes in. Following up on the CBS story, Ms. Van Susteren interviewed Ms. Barrette on the air and discovered that the "ten times" allegation was totally lacking in substance and, moreover, that the ACA offered considerable, cost-efficient benefit to Ms. Barrette once she actually understood the law. Fox executives quickly canceled future interviews with the Florida woman as a consequence of Greta's persistence in tracking down the truth.

The Republican Party was against Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid way back in the day and is opposed to The Affordable Care Act in our times, even viciously so in radicalized circles. There is consistency in such contrariness. But it's time to catch up to the rest of mankind.

"The entire cost of medicine for people of all ages – all of it. Doctors, hospitals – from the time you're born to the time you die. All are included in a government program. What we are talking about doing, most of the countries of Europe did years ago. The British did it thirty years ago!"

– President John F. Kennedy in 1962 –- unsuccessfully endorsing universal health care for all Americans.

## Chapter Twenty-Nine – "11/3/63"

##

##

I was casually roaming about the kitchen of our family home in Syracuse making a tuna fish sandwich — living room TV droning in the background.

At that exact moment, the most honored newsman in broadcast television was standing next to a United Press International wire machine at CBS headquarters in New York on Friday, November 22nd, 1963, when the first horrifying words clattered into teletype view. Since there was no adequate time to properly prepare normal telecast logistics for that era, a single slide proclaiming " A CBS News Bulletin" quickly leapt onto TV screens coast to coast, interrupting "As The World Turns" at 1:40 PM Eastern Standard Time. The deep, resonant voice of Walter Cronkite solemnly intoned history unfolding at the speed of light.

"Here is a bulletin from CBS News. In Dallas, Texas, three shots were fired at President Kennedy's motorcade in downtown Dallas. The first reports say that President Kennedy has been seriously wounded by this shooting."

My heart stopped. Cronkite? Off-camera? Unheard of!

There was a shuffling of papers with excited, muted murmurings audible in the background as the newsman then continued:

"More details just arrived. United Press says that the wounds for President Kennedy perhaps could be fatal. "

Everything that followed comes back with astounding clarity in relentless, wrenching, slow motion recall.

Finally appearing on camera wearing shirt and tie, but without suit coat, Cronkite continued providing additional facts with proper qualification for almost an hour as they chaotically became available. At 2:38, his powerful delivery finally trembling with deep emotion, viewers heard confirmation of the dreaded truth.

"From Dallas, Texas, the flash, apparently official: "President Kennedy died at 1 p.m. Central Standard Time – 2 o'clock Eastern Standard Time. Vice President Johnson has left the hospital, but we do not know to where he has proceeded. Presumably he will be taking the oath of office shortly and become the 36th President of the United States."

I had initiated my radio career at WNDR (AM 1260) six years earlier at the – in my case — not so innocent age of 16 — and was by then doing both a morning (6-9 AM) and afternoon (4 – 7 PM) DJ show on the highly-rated "Top Forty" station.

As soon as our President's death was confirmed, programming was completely and drastically altered for a three-day period all the way through Midnight of John F. Kennedy's State Funeral and Burial in Washington's Arlington National Cemetery on November 25th.

Even before the tragic reality of the assassination became finally determined, I responded to a call from WNDR's Program Director — assembling and delivering to the station a fairly extensive collection of classical music from various sources. The most somber selections were used to provide appropriate interlude between constant informational updates that continued throughout the period. In the absence of a formal network affiliation, I and a dozen other WNDR announcers took turns reading fresh copy from United Press International, the Associated Press and even our old Western Union Telegraph machine that spat forth limited bits of data on yellow ticker tape – the earliest digital electronic communications medium from the time it started transmitting stock prices in 1870. With one letter or symbol at a time, it moved about as fast as Twitter.

We had TV sets tuned to NBC, ABC and CBS. That's all there was. I watched live as Lee Harvey Oswald was shot and killed that Sunday in the basement of the Dallas Police Department.

Most of us never left the building until late Monday night on the 25th. When I departed – it was for good.

I had taken it upon myself to cancel several weekend dance appearances or "Sock Hops" which I felt it inappropriate to present due to the assassination. One of them involved an important station client, who was furious. Following a loud and fierce shouting match with our WNDR General Manager, I resigned on the spot – never to return.

It was then I headed West.

"The West is the best. Get here — and we'll do the rest."

Jim Morrison – "The End" ("The Doors" — 1967)

I did.

They have.

## 

## Chapter Thirty – "Unleashed"

##

When I wrote, "Local DJ", an accounting of my sordid five-decade career in Rock & Roll radio, an overriding theme throughout was a continuing conviction that "Rock & Roll" is primarily an attitude – the music form providing an important extension of same. Consequently, all of the relatively limited numbers of characters included in the narrative were chosen for "attitude". Right up there with The Beatles, The Rolling Stones and The WHO — a reader will find – Alan MacLeese.

By way of further introduction, I offer this brief excerpt from the book:

"Al MacLeese was a columnist for the Flint Journal. I had read several superb pieces he had written and had dropped him a note expressing appreciation for his wit and style. He had called me and we had lunch. He was a grizzled old time newspaper rogue and was not unknown to heavily partake in liquid stimulants from time to time. I mentioned that Syracuse, New York was my hometown. He mused:

"I remember finishing the last of my gin at five in the morning in the middle of the lobby at the Howard Hotel in Syracuse while feeding what remained of my plastic Florida driver's license to a light-brown hamster hurriedly spinning his rusty wheel in an old, copper cage."

This was all narrated without pause and in a single breath.

I received a Christmas Card from Al the following week. I've kept it ever since with other treasured memorabilia. There are but four handwritten lines:

"Roses are dreary,

Violets are sick;

Did you kill Christ,

You Irish prick?"

Even as I had introduced Academy Award Winning Film Director Michael Moore to an unsuspecting public with "Radio Free Flint" Sunday mornings on WWCK, I enticed Alan to bring his "MacLeese Unleashed" newspaper column to radio immediately following Mr. Moore, which he did with astounding success. Ratings and listener participation reached historic proportions.

I am overjoyed that Roger Van Noord, former Managing Editor of the Flint Journal and a friend of Alan's through the years, has brought forth a masterful depiction of one of the most talented and singularly gifted characters I ever encountered on or off the air. Moreover, Van Noord has done so in a particularly creative and effective manner with a unique blend of his own observations combined with copious email received from MacLeese, himself, spanning a full decade of what amounted to self-imposed professional exile during his final years in the little town of Hallowell, Maine – population 2,381.

"Unleashed," offers an extraordinary reading experience and abundant opportunity for comforting introspective reflection as one ponders the amazingly inspiring words of Alan MacLeese – gone from us now — but never to be forgotten.

Roger Van Noord has done a remarkably wonderful thing.

## 

## Chapter Thirty-One – "The Fourth Estate Fades Away"

##

##

##

Recent coverage in commemorating the Kennedy assassination a full half century ago sheds intriguing light on the astounding changes in American journalism we've seen evolving these last few decades. As technological revolutions in the delivery of news content have combined with a pronounced national shift to the political right, the traditional role of the American press to act as unofficial watchdog in the preservation of democratic rule has undergone a powerful and radical transition.

With ownership reduced to three or four major players, radio and television broadcast and cable news operations, both locally and nationally, have been reduced to churning out limited coverage on almost everything with minimal investment chasing maximum profit.

Ratings rule the day — prioritizing potential popularity over mundane matters of genuine importance. Similarly, newspapers and magazines have slashed staffing across the board, their old business models shredded by Internet competition. What the public needs to know has been replaced by what it heeds to know – interesting and entertaining material presented in as titillating and emotionally evocative a manner as possible. Negativity dominates discussion.

The New York Times' classic promise to deliver, "All the news that's fit to print" has been replaced by virtually all commercial media entities with, "If it bleeds, it leads!"

Consequently, the American public has generally become as intellectually fat and lazy as physically displayed on full public view by your average Walmart shopper on any given day.

With shallow thought, "The American people" are easily bought. No wonder John Boehner constantly invokes this phrase with such confident conviction, especially with "Citizens United" having unleashed even more hundreds of millions of dollars dedicated to enhancing brilliantly targeted thought control.

"One man – one vote?" Hah. What a sad thought.

Thanks to redistricting maneuvers performed with perfection in the aftermath of our 2010 census, the Republican Party now controls the U.S. House of Representatives by a commanding majority; even though Democratic candidates for the House received a million and a half more votes than their GOP counterparts.

While Fox News fans remain thrilled with their tailor made, customized vision of the world soothingly being reinforced hour after hour by polished performers, even our somewhat more objective networks are now answering Wall Street's siren call for revenue through revisionism.

In the last few months, we've seen ABC's White House Correspondent, Jonathan Karl, breaking an "ABC News Exclusive" unfavorable to the Obama Administration that was quickly revealed to be fundamentally unsubstantiated. "Sixty Minutes" from time honored CBS News suffered professional humiliation in November when correspondent Lara Logan carried a Benghazi report filled with lies from start to finish and even MSNBC's Political Director, Chuck Todd, caused many an eye to roll when he proclaimed it wasn't his job to inform viewers when politicians spread misinformation, having also expressed his opinion that a proposed NBC special on Hillary Clinton was nothing but a "total nightmare" for him.

Locally, although Fresno's KMJ's Ray Appleton has been known in the past to interject his own deplorable negative commentaries and/or grunts of disapproval during live Presidential broadcasts, a new low was reached on Thursday, November 14th, when "John and Jen" interrupted President Obama in mid sentence while he was holding a White House Press Conference on "The Affordable Care Act."

John Broeske suddenly jumped into the broadcast without a semblance of true professionalism as he solemnly and arbitrarily declared, "That's about enough from this guy" – thus ending KMJ AM/FM coverage of the event, even as the Presidential Press Conference continued for another half-hour on live TV.

Aldous Huxley envisioned a "Brave New World" would commence in 2540 AD.

Look what's getting here early.

Chapter Thirty-Two – "Duck!"

Phil Robertson is not an obvious quack.

He presents himself as the real deal – a true believer – unkindly referenced by non-supporters as an ignorance driven, self-made, white trash, super rich, unrepentant, full-blown, mega-star bigot and damn proud to be one.

The genuine article.

Like that "Okie from Muskogee" Merle Haggard once sang about, but times ten.

A&E's "suspension" of Phil from his phenomenally successful "Duck Dynasty" series is as ludicrous as it is unfair.

For the sparsely informed – Phil put down his Browning Auto-5 Semi-Automatic and shot his mouth off in the January 2014 issue of the ever so elegant GQ "Gentleman's Quarterly" with remarks regarded by many as racist, homophobic and sacrilegious – quickly perceived in certain circles as a taunting trifecta.

Phil made the cut for such a high tone publication after this season's premiere of "Duck Dynasty" recently drew over 11 million viewers – the most-watched nonfiction cable telecast in history. When you're hot, you're hot.

The man's self-definition couldn't be more clearly conveyed. No one should be even slightly surprised by what Robertson rapped, particularly his partners at the Hearst Corporation and Disney- ABC, both 50% owners of A&E. And the fact remains he didn't utter his nonsense during any of the "Duck Dynasty" episodes, all of which are subject to extremely heavy editing to extract the most out of what normally starts out as a mushy mess.

Here comes that overused, but ever true cliché:

While I deplore much of what Phil had to say in GQ, I equally and unequivocally support his right to say it and for others to react accordingly.

If honesty is a virtue, Phil might be granted points for that as well, yet only to a limited extent, for honesty untempered by wisdom signals the folly of a fool.

For someone holding a Master of Arts Degree in Education from Louisiana Tech, as does Patriarch Phil, one would normally expect a bit more sophistication than displayed in his chronically crude and widely quoted pronouncements, both on and off the air. By example, comparing one's wife to a Labrador Retriever is not generally recommended as persuasive foreplay in all but the most canine of cultures.

Did you know that Phil was also a schoolteacher, Willie has a Bachelor's Degree in Health and Human Performance from the University of Louisiana and Korie is a graduate of Harding University? This is why I herein propose that "Duck Dynasty" – for all its down home, by golly, gee wiz charm — is pretty much a great big act.

So is A&E's supposed punishment of Phil, who's already completed most of his fourth season work and isn't even due back on the set till March, by which time all will be amiably settled to everyone's contractual satisfaction, leaving issues of unresolved morality and propriety for others – elsewhere — some new day.

"Reality Television" is a contradiction in terms – like – "Military Intelligence" or "The Vegetarian Tiger" or "A Fish Camp Socialite."

And if all this hasn't made you want to duck and cover – I hope you're sitting down.

A few days ago, Dr. Bill Atwood, J.R. Froelich, Alan Cheah and I were sitting around the bar at Crab Cakes amiably and festively conversing about all sorts of things, when Dr. Bill came up with an outstanding idea. You might only read about it here this one time, since part of the concept is to maintain confidentiality as a critical aspect of the initial exercise until we see what happens during and after our first "session".

The genius of the proposed intellectual adventure rests in its simplicity.

Just the four of us will pick a certain time and place and sit down together. Each will summarize our basic thoughts and generalized philosophy without interruption, contradiction or debate in any form. There will be no note taking and nothing discussed may be used in any future columns by anyone present other than that which may be, in time, unanimously agreed upon.

That's it!

If you don't believe me, ask any of the others.

In a phrase, it would be quite cool individually and collectively discovering "where each of us is coming from."

I think that would be an extraordinarily positive way to begin a New Year and congratulate Dr. Atwood for his proposal, as well as Alan and J.R. for their enthusiastic endorsement of the basic concept.

Happy 2014!

"You may say I'm a dreamer, but I'm not the only one."

Imagine!

## Chapter Thirty-Three – "Getting It"

##

##

Buried under eight feet of snow and six feet of earth, he's not going anywhere.

That would be my great grandfather and namesake, Peter Cavanaugh, who was born in Ballyoughter, Ireland in 1816 and now rests under a remarkable Celtic cross next to St. Mary's Church in Fulton, New York — having established permanent residency at such a fine location upon his death in 1892.

Fulton, on the leeward shore of Lake Ontario, averages 179.6 inches of snowfall per season. It is 30 miles northwest of Syracuse, which receives a comparatively puny 115.6 annual inches. It was 72 ever so dry degrees on our back deck in Oakhurst last week as I spoke with my brother in Syracuse, where it was 8 above zero with two feet of freshly fallen snow on the ground from the previous night.

As anyone who watches the Weather Channel or just looks out the window knows, we are being confronted with increasingly strange and potentially ominous environmental conditions in current times, the jet stream dividing us into two separate realities between East and Far West in this latest instance of marked deviance from national norms. We are becoming as temporarily polarized climatologically as we are even more sadly separated in our political persuasions – devolving into a new U.S.A. – The Un-United States of America. Yet, unlike the scientifically undeniable realities of global warming, this social disintegration won't last long. Formed by the unwavering forces of unstoppable demographic change, a new America awaits us all. I say, let's get on with it.

Following Barack Obama's reelection in 2012 and a pronounced diminution in the popularity of ultra-conservative candidates by an awakened national electorate, the Republican National Committee undertook several months of serious study into what went wrong and what to do about it. This massive "Growth and Opportunity Project" conducted 36,000 online surveys, initiated 800 conference calls and employed fifty focus groups. Its final recommendations involved increased efforts to clarify messaging with a renewed focus on appeals to minorities — particularly Hispanics, African-Americans, Asians, women and youth. Since the results of the exercise were presented for consideration and action last year, the national GOP has moved in exactly the opposite direction.

Last week's Sierra Star presented a summary of 2013 highlights in Madera County, beginning with "a substantial loss of income for area businesses" due to October's governmental shutdown, which included a closure of Yosemite National Park for 16 days. Jerry Rankin, who manages Oakhurst's Comfort Inn, is quoted as saying, "Within the first 4 hours, we had about 15 rooms cancel. That's $1,500 in lost income."

Similarly, with over an estimated million local dollars vaporized as a direct consequence of the unwarranted slam down, Dan Cunning of the Yosemite Visitor's Bureau noted, "If there is a silver lining to this cloud, it is that it didn't happen during our peak season." Not so fast, Dan. It could happen again this brand new year if our Congressman, Tom McClintock, has anything to say about it.

This Representative has gone on record time and time again in his dedicated efforts against the trumped up specter of "big government" in general and President Barack Obama in particular. McClintock presents himself as a champion of individualism, opposed to such nonsensical collective fantasies as "economic fairness" and "social justice." What's wrong with that new Pope? In attempting to tie repudiation and overturning of "ObamaCare" into approval of last fall's temporary congressional budget deal, McClintock was directly responsible for Yosemite's closure and this region's ensuing financial woes, sharing such shame with fellow supporters in the GOP's hard-right wing.

And where is Tom on Immigration Reform? Infrastructure investment? Job creation? Voter suppression? Tax reform? Unemployment Insurance? Women's Rights? And yes – where is our Congressman on still another prohibitively expensive government closure?

He's busy rolling up his 2014 campaign kitty – much of which he'll not even need to spend – being securely cocooned in a "safe district."

Tom McClintock is not worried about you – or for you – at all.

He's got his.

Get your own.

##

About The Author

At the age of sixteen in 1957, Peter C. Cavanaugh enjoyed a fifty-eight percent total audience share on his hometown station, WNDR in Syracuse, New York. Decades later, he wrote "Local DJ" -- a book about his adventures ever since, promoting and producing literally hundreds of early concerts with the likes of Chuck Berry, The Rolling Stones, Jimi Hendrix, The Who, Bob Seger, Ted Nugent, Alice Cooper, Kiss and so on, as well as running Reams Broadcasting -- a seven station radio group which included the top-rated Rock & Roll stations in America. In the early '80's, Cavanaugh introduced Michael Moore to an unsuspecting public over WTAC and WWCK in Flint, Michigan.

Mr. Cavanaugh is former Chairman of the NBC Source Board, President of the ABC Radio Affiliates Board and President of the Flint Area Advertising Federation. He is a multiple award winning broadcast executive -- prominently featured in Cleveland's Rock & Roll Hall of Fame. Peter lives in Oakhurst, California, with his wife of 50 years, Eileen, and remains active with broadcast consulting, writing, counseling and public speaking.

COOL LINKS:

"Digital Scrapbook" \-- http://www.wildwednesday.com

"Professional Website" \-- http://www.petercavanaugh.com

Peter C. "Blog Site" \-- http://www.petercavanaugh.wordpress.com

Facebook Link -- http://www.facebook.com/peter.cavanaugh1

To Write Peter Cavanaugh \-- mailto:ledzep2001@aol.com

"Remembering WTAC" \-- http://www.facebook.com/big6WTAC

"Sherwood Forest Concerts" \-- http://www.facebook.com/SherwoodForestInDavisonMI

