Cruz Control

An article in the LA Times this morning highlights the importance of Heidi Cruz to her husband's presidential campaign, and reading it made me curious about the woman who married Ted Cruz. Without a doubt, Heidi Cruz is an attractive, intelligent, and accomplished woman who would seem to be the ideal political spouse. And she has indeed been a huge asset, acting in the role of Ted's "better half". It almost goes without saying that convincing women to support Ted Cruz would be a very tough sell, and that is where Heidi comes in. The thinking being that if Ted could land a woman like Heidi Nelson, he can't be all that bad. Unfortunately, on issues that are important to women, he is indeed all that bad.

And, as Cruz has recently learned, utilizing his wife in his campaign has provided Donald Trump with an opening, and he didn't hesitate to exploit it. Heidi Cruz is an investment banker at Goldman Sachs, and her employer provided the no-interest loans that Ted used to finance his 2012 Senate run. It appears that Cruz took pains to hide the source of that money by not disclosing the loans as required by campaign laws. Trump immediately pounced by tweeting that Cruz is "in bed with Goldman Sachs". Heidi is currently taking a leave-of-absence from her job to work on her husband's presidential campaign.

Cruz's problem with this goes deeper than just a simple filing error, which is what his campaign has been trying to argue. He has been trying to run as a populist, but these Goldman Sachs revelations are making a mockery of his efforts. And the fact that Cruz's hypocrisy is being called out by a defiantly unapologetic billionaire does does not seem to be mitigating the damage to the Cruz brand. As we have seen time and again during this presidential campaign cycle, there are two sets of rules. One for Donald Trump, and another for everyone else. Over the course of his utterly bizarre campaign, Trump has managed to turn the conventional wisdom completely upside down.

 Like Ted Cruz, Donald Trump also has an attractive spouse and a photogenic family. However, the similarities end right there. Because while Heidi Cruz is a conventionally attractive women, Melania Trump could more accurately be described as perhaps "exotic". She also happens to be Trump's third wife, and his impressive brood of children are the products of those three marriages. Melania is a retired supermodel, who has left a rather extensive portfolio of photographs that show her practically naked. One could easily be forgiven for assuming that would be a deal-killer for evangelical voters. Why on earth would they vote for a thrice-married New Yorker, who cannot even plausibly fake being religious, over the son of an evangelical preacher? I simply don't have an answer for that.

The Rebel Robin Hood

"Before you leave here, Sir, you’re going to learn that one of the most brutal things in the world is your average nineteen-year-old American boy.” - Phil Caputo, A Rumor of War

A Marine Corps sergeant said those words to Caputo during the Vietnam War, but they could just have easily been spoken with Jesse James in mind. The notorious outlaw could not have been much more than 19 when he sat for that photograph. James cut his teeth at the tender age of 16 as a bushwhacker in one of the various rebel paramilitary organizations that engaged in vicious guerrilla warfare with Union militia organizations in Civil War Era Missouri. The fact that Missouri didn't secede, and was even staunchly Unionist in sentiment, didn't keep the state from descending into barbaric chaos. The war as it was fought in Missouri was one that pitted neighbor against neighbor and it was marked by atrocities on both sides. And that was the cauldron out of which Jesse James emerged as a fully-formed menace to peaceful society.

I am about 3/4s of the way through T. J. Stile's excellent biography titled Jesse James: Last Rebel of the Civil War and thought it might make for an interesting blog post. The subject of Mr. Stile's book has become a fixture in American culture, so it is hardly surprising that I likely first learned of Jesse James from watching an episode of the 1970's sitcom the Brady Bunch. Not to be confused with the New England Patriots, of course. Anyway, the premise of the episode revolves around the fact that young Bobby Brady thinks Jesse James was a hero, and his concerned parents track down a man whose father was killed by James during a train robbery, and invite him over to give Bobby the straight dope. In the words of the old codger, Jesse James was a "coward" and a "mean dirty killer".

My next exposure to Jesse James probably came by way of the terrific 1980 Western about the James and Younger Gang titled The Long Riders. The film cast three sets of brothers to play the gang members, many of whom were in fact siblings in real life. The scriptwriters got it mostly right with the history, although the film's depiction of the disastrous bank robbery in Northfield, Minnesota took a few liberties with the record. That scene has bodies dropping left and right, but in reality only two townspeople and two outlaws died during the shootout itself. Still, it vividly captures the raw violence and chaotic confusion of the event. I would definitely recommend the movie.  It is highly entertaining. 

Prior to reading the Stile's biography, I had managed to pick up a fair amount of knowledge about Jesse James because of my interest in the Civil War. From a purely military standpoint the theater of war in Missouri was essentially a sideshow, at least after the first year, at which point conventional military operations shifted away from the state. But, for the many thousands of citizens living in Missouri during the war, it was sheer hell. What I find particularly interesting is that outside of a few counties, slavery wasn't that deeply-rooted in Missouri, which had a very diversified economy. But

the slaveholders in the state had become intensely radicalized by the troubles in Kansas during the 1850, and it would have been difficult to find more ardent secessionists anywhere in the South. And the most ardent one of all was probably a formidable woman named Zerelda Elizabeth Cole James Simms Samuel, the mother of Frank and Jesse James. 

 

Zerelda Samuels deserves to be the subject of a feature length film. Just reading about her strikes terror into my heart. A botched attempt by the Pinkerton's to flush Frank and Jesse out of her house using an incendiary device ended in tragedy when the thing exploded inside the house killing her young son Archie, and blowing off one of Zerelda's arms. Needless to say, the botched raid only resulted in an avalanche of sympathy for the James brothers. That was in 1875 and she would go on to live until 1911, outliving her infamous son Jesse by nearly 30 years. I really need to find a biography of her. There must be one out there. 

 

Ice Princess

"Megyn Kelly's false eyelashes are so big, every time she blinks, the breeze wakes up Ben Carson"

I can't say with any certainty if Donald Trump's absence was the reason I didn't watch Thursday night's GOP debate, but this was the first one that I missed. For the previous two debates I did live updates on Facebook, as I watched, and that made the experience somewhat less painful. That option was not available to me this time, although I suppose I could have live-tweeted the thing to my 8 Twitter followers. My feeling at the moment is that my Twitter account is not going to amount to much. I hate the format, and that 140 character limit just does not work for me at all.

But, in fairness to the Twitter platform, it is the perfect vehicle for delivering pithy one-liners like the example I pasted above. Users had a field day with Megyn's ridiculously long false eyelashes, and for whatever reason, Ben Carson was the target of most of the better ones. Another user pondered whether they were strong enough to pierce a belt buckle, which was an obvious shot across the good doctor's bow. I once suggested that the Carson campaign slogan should be "Nap Time in America", but they never took me up on it. Maybe I'll tweet it out and see what happens.

Feet of Clay

"I admire him, I frankly confess it; and when his time comes I shall buy a piece of the rope for a keepsake." - Mark Twain

The target of that marvelous insult, British imperialist Cecil Rhodes, is making headlines this morning. Oriel College, one of 38 largely self-governing colleges at Oxford University, released a statement saying that it has decided not to remove a statue of Rhodes from the campus. The surprise announcement has infuriated student activists who, under the battle cry of Rhodes Must Fall, had been petitioning the school to take it down. The students were seeking to emulate the protest movement at the University of Cape Town in South Africa that culminated in the removal of a statue of Rhodes from the campus on April 9, 2015.

The problem they have with Cecil Rhodes boils down to the incontrovertible fact that the man was an unapologetic racist, and imperialist, who does not deserve to be honored. Yet, on the other side, you have those who support keeping the statues and they generally frame their argument by invoking the defense of history. It typically sounds like this: "Yes, Rhodes was a complicated figure who held some decidedly incorrect opinions about many things, but we shouldn't judge him through a 21st Century lens. We must not erase our history, however unpleasant it may be, because that would make us no different than the Taliban". The very tenuous connection there being that the Taliban blew up some statues of Buddha when they took power in Afghanistan.

If those arguments sound familiar to you, it is almost certainly because we have been hearing the same things coming out of the mouths of Americans, who have their own monuments to white supremacy to defend. The symbols of the failed slave republic, called the Confederate States of America, have become weapons in the ongoing culture wars that roil our political waters. In particular, the Confederate battle flag has been a lightning rod especially since the mass-shooting that took place in an historically black church in Charleston, South Carolina in June of this past year. And once it became known that the white gunman, 21-year-old Dylann Roof, had posed in photos brandishing both guns and the Confederate battle flag, a movement targeting the flag started. A movement that quickly broadened to include other symbols of the Confederacy, including the statues of prominent Confederate political and military leaders.

Unforgivable Blackness

"Because of where we sat, we had a close up view of your conduct in the fourth quarter. The chest puffs. The pelvic thrusts. The arrogant struts and the ‘in your face’ taunting of both the Titans’ players and fans. We saw it all."

The above passage is excerpted from the infamous "letter from a Tennessee mom" in which she took issue with Carolina Panthers quarterback Cam Newton's exuberant celebrations. The mom, Rosemary Plorin of Nashville, framed her criticism of Newton through the eyes of her 9-year-old daughter who was at the game with her. That silly episode was only the most high-profile example of something that Newton has been dealing with all season, and today he finally got it off his chest.  Only the most obtuse observer would deny that Cam Newton's race has everything to do with all of the criticism that is leveled at him. Black athletes have always had to walk a very fine line as far as how much emotion they could express without incurring the wrath of white society.


That goes back at least as far as the first black heavyweight champion Jack Johnson, a man who gleefully broke every social convention having to do with the color line as it was drawn in early 20th century America. Johnson not only beat white fighters, and grinned broadly as he stood over their prone bodies, he also dated white women and that was the ultimate taboo. A frantic search was undertaken to find a "Great White Hope" who could defeat Johnson and restore the heavyweight championship to the white race. In tandem with that, Johnson was brought up on baseless criminal charges of having violated the White Slave Traffic Act, better known as the Mann Act.

Johnson would ultimately flee the country to avoid prison and eventually lose his title to a far inferior white fighter in a match that was surely fixed. There wouldn't be another opportunity for a black heavyweight until the incomparable Joe Louis came on the scene 20 years later. And the two black men who managed Louis drew up a strict set of behavioral rules for him to follow both in and out of the boxing ring. They had witnessed the destruction of Jack Johnson and were determined not to allow that to happen to their fighter. Which is why we see so few photographs of Joe Louis smiling. He was forced to wear a mask so as to not offend white sensibilities.

 Those two examples might seem hopelessly dated and irrelevant in an age when black athletes dominate college and professional sports, but I'm not so sure we can dismiss them so quickly. The fact that Cam Newton plays quarterback, a position that has historically been the property of white athletes, adds a disturbing element to the mix. For a long time it was widely believed that black athletes didn't have the intelligence to play quarterback, at least not at the professional level, and black quarterbacks coming out of college would be turned into either wide receivers or defensive backs. Very few coaches, players, or analysts would openly acknowledge what was taking place. It was like the proverbial elephant in the room. And, speaking of elephants, let us not forget what got the conservative gasbag Rush Limbaugh fired from his gig as a commentator at ESPN after about two weeks on the job. This is what he had to say about Philadelphia Eagles quarterback Donovan McNabb back in 2003:

"Sorry to say this, I don't think he's been that good from the get-go," Limbaugh said. "I think what we've had here is a little social concern in the NFL. The media has been very desirous that a black quarterback do well. There is a little hope invested in McNabb, and he got a lot of credit for the performance of this team that he didn't deserve. The defense carried this team."

Donald J. Trump Superstar

I fear for my country...

A Rogues Gallery

 Ladies and gentlemen, I present to you the fierce defenders of our Constitutional liberties. What a motley collection of sad sacks. And what the hell is Dennis Miller doing here? That moron on the bottom right does bear more than a passing resemblance to the washed-up comedian/right wing shill. Those strangely whimsical seven-point stars superimposed over their mugshots tend to detract from what they obviously hope would be menacing images. Instead, they look more like middle-aged Teletubbies to me. How pathetic that they all allowed themselves to be taken alive while 53-year old LaVoy Finicum went down fighting. At least the crazy old Mormon rancher had the courage of his convictions, although I imagine that will be cold comfort to the 11 children and 19 grandchildren he left behind. However, these guys are nothing but pussies who wilted immediately once they were confronted by the authorities. Still no word on what the remaining occupiers at the bird sanctuary are planning to do. They are now leaderless, and my guess is that they will end the standoff sooner rather than later.

Bird Brains

It appears that the "brains", and I use that word very loosely, behind the Oregon bird sanctuary siege are now in federal custody. The Bundy brothers, along with several others other members of their merry band of misfits, were apprehended following a traffic stop that turned into a brief gunfight. Ryan Bundy was wounded, and militia spokesman Robert LaVoy Finicum was killed, during the exchange of gunfire. According to reports, the gang was driving to a community meeting when their cars were pulled over. It isn't clear whether they were deliberately courting a confrontation with law enforcement, by leaving the sanctuary, or if they were actually stupid enough to believe that they could come and go as they pleased. I'm going with the latter.

Will the arrest of their leaders convince the rest of this motley militia to lay down their arms and surrender? I guess we'll know the answer to that soon enough. The fear all along has been that any armed clash between the Bundy's, and law enforcement, might serve as the catalyst that generates support for the occupiers. Up until now, they have mostly been the objects of scorn and ridicule. But now their movement has a martyr in the person of the Robert LaVoy Finicum, the militia movement's answer to Baghdad Bob. And, if I'm not mistaken, Finicum is the one who recently had his foster children removed by the state because of his presence at the siege. Another one of these hypocrites who rails against the government, but is more than happy to cash those government checks every month.

Countdown

Every time I attempt to either like, comment, or share something on Facebook, this is the friendly message I get. What really burns me is that the idiots continue reminding me of important dates, like my friends birthdays, but when I try to wish one of them a happy birthday I get one of these. If Facebook were a country, it would be the third most populous one in the world. And, depending on the source, the social media site's current market value is pegged at anywhere from $250 to $300 billion. And yet this massive corporate entity does not provide anything in the way of customer service that involves talking to a human being. It simply does not exist. Which begs the question of why don't they offer live customer service? It isn't as though they can't afford it. Hell, Zuckerberg could buy the Philippines and put the entire population to work providing customer assistance to Facebook users. And if Manila isn't interested, I'm reasonably certain he could find another developing country that would be more than happy to be acquired.

My mama always told me that if life gives you lemons, then you make lemonade. So, I am going to use their stupid messages as motivation to update my blog every day. A countdown, if you will. As I know from past experience, it is a whole lot easier updating my status on Facebook than it is trying to update my blog. Most everything requires a lot more effort with the blog. Instead of just clicking "share" on a story I want to share my thoughts on, I now have to use a hyperlink. And if I want to share a video on this page, I have to actually embed it using HTML. Earlier today, I came across a video on Facebook of an 18-year-old Rafael "Ted" Cruz sitting astride a bicycle and answering the question of what he wanted to do with his life. What he had to say is revealing, to put it mildly. Maybe we are comparing the wrong GOP presidential candidate to Hitler. The thought of a Cruz presidency is positively terrifying, whereas a Trump presidency would likely be more embarrassing than apocalyptic. Here is the video:

30 Days in the Hole

I guess that desperate times do indeed call for desperate measures. The last time I posted to my blog was in November of 2014, and that post was prompted by something that was happening on Facebook. At that time, I was an admin on a military history page on FB and had posted about the controversy that conservatives had cooked up over a song that was played during a Veteran's Day concert on the Washington Mall. Bruce Springsteen, Zac Brown, and Dave Grohl covered a 1969 Credence Clearwater Revival anti-war anthem called Fortunate Son and the right-wing echo chamber accused them of "hating the troops" or some such imbecilic nonsense. I thought it might make for an interesting and timely post for the military history page, Livingbattlefield. Only to find myself accused of being insufficiently pro-American by the British twit that owned the page! He told me that our there was no place for "politics" on the page and proceeded to take down my post. To say I was angered by his reaction would be putting it very mildly, and that incident surely contributed to the break in our relationship that would come a couple of months later.

The really interesting thing is that the post was hardly political at all. Rather, it was a balanced look at the various ways in which the music of the 1960's has been used as the soundtrack for the entire era, including the Vietnam War. The first few comments on the post, from our page followers, were of the Neanderthal variety and I guess that was all he needed to hear. Obviously, they had already gotten the memo telling them to be outraged over the song selection and immediately registered their displeasure over my post. And probably without even bothering to read it past the first paragraph. I could count on one hand the number of people following that page who were capable of higher reasoning. Most of them were barely literate, and their political views were to the right of Attila the Hun. It still amazes me to think I stuck it out over there for nearly a year.

And here I am a year later still struggling with the same old bullshit. Facebook blocked me for 7 days for posting lyrics to a song in a comment thread, and then followed that up with a 30-day block after I was back barely a week. I knew it was going to happen again, but wrongly assumed that there would be some intermediate sentence of perhaps 15 days. Instead, it went from 7 days to 30 days. I went through the stages of Facebook death, and have finally arrived at acceptance. It is just incredible how much time there is in the day without Facebook greedily devouring the hours. I have rearranged my library and started reading books again. And my need to fill the extra hours has led me to start planning some home improvement projects. In the middle of my 7-day ban, I was struck by the crazy urge to replace the bathtub in our upstairs bathroom, and started watching youtube videos to teach myself how to go about doing it. Only to have my son plead with me not to start such an ambitious project because it would surely not get finished once I got back on Facebook. I deferred to the lad's wisdom and put down the sledgehammer. But now, all things are possible. I am firmly convinced this will turn out to be a blessing in disguise.