One for All, All For One

Swinging their batons with vigor, the Chicago police drive protestors back and away from the heavily guarded building where NATO ministers are meeting. The footage I watched aired on Democracy Now and in addition to the crowd scenes showed veterans of the Iraq and Afghanistan invasions tossing their medals in the street; a few of them apologized to the people of Iraq and Afghanistan for destroying their respective countries.

NATO, lest we forget forget, is the acronym of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization, conceived in the aftermath of World War II to contain Soviet expansionist designs in Eastern Europe. The Soviet Union is long defunct but NATO lives on as the military arm of the global 1%, active in conflicts far from its headquarters in Brussels.

The United States funds an inordinate share of NATO’s military budget, and in return NATO provides legitimacy, of sorts, for our invasion and decade-long occupation of Afghanistan. Under NATO’s aegis, the United States can claim it isn’t acting unilaterally. The claim is BS and cannot stand scrutiny (everyone knows who calls the shots and runs the show), but it allows our politicians to salve their consciences and sleep easier at night, as well as making it possible for our less-than-enthusiastic partners to convince their constituents that when it comes to NATO, it’s one for all and all for one.

The American public is overwhelmingly opposed to the war in Afghanistan and beginning to understand the staggering costs in blood and treasure, multiplying year after year with no end in sight, despite what the president says, but the political class remains immune to the public will. Popular sentiment against the war is present, but not focused enough to force politicians to pay attention. It’s often said that politics is really about distribution – who gets what, when, and how much – and it’s clear that in the United States the military-security complex is first in line, exempt from austerity fever, and ever and always sacrosanct.

 Even in a depression we find money for wars, for bombs, for aircraft, for ships, while the growing needs of citizens for affordable health care, decent jobs, education and public infrastructure are ridiculed as unaffordable “entitlement” programs that must be trimmed or sacrificed.

In this era of austerity and debt hysteria we can even find $70 million to hand to Israel for missile defense. What could $70 million buy here in our own nation, where so many are struggling? We can’t even debate the question because to do so is to challenge the prevailing orthodoxy, and in contemporary America, dissent is verboten, a lesson delivered to the Chicago protestors at the business end of a police baton. 

Hoist the Cup

Seeing is believing.

If I hadn’t watched every minute of the game, if I had looked only at the stats – possession, total shots, shots on target, corners – I would have assumed that Bayern Munich beat Chelsea easily. The fact that Chelsea was outplayed for most of the Champions League final yesterday and yet still walked away with the hardware, is one reason football is the endlessly fascinating game that it is. 

In football, the improbable happens all the time.

Petr Cech was a monster in goal for Chelsea. Bayern pressured the Chelsea end relentlessly, wave after wave of attacks led by Ribery and Robben, but Chelsea refused to buckle, even without stalwart defenders John Terry and Branislov Ivanovich. On their back foot most of the game, the Blues showed grit and heart and championship character. And yes, the soccer gods appeared to side with Chelsea on this occasion, no question about it. No matter the sport or the team, it takes a bit of luck to win a championship.

Bayern had numerous chances to put the game away, but they couldn’t do it.

When Fernando Torres came on in the 84^th minute and Chelsea behind a goal, the Blues became more attack minded. Torres and Didier Drogba haven’t been on the pitch together very often, but it should be remembered that it was Torres’ hard work that won the corner on which Drogba headed home the equalizer. No commentator has mentioned this, but it struck me as significant.

If this was Didier Drogba’s final appearance for Chelsea, the big man certainly exits in fitting style. In games on the largest stages, Drogba delivers the goods. He was cool as ice when he stroked the winning penalty kick into the back of the net, as were Frank Lampard and Ashley Cole before him. The core Chelsea stars came through in the clutch, and coupled with some brilliant goal keeping from Cech, some luck and some Bayern miscues, the Blues became champions of Europe by the most difficult route possible.

Hopelessly Hoping

In January, the finance wizards of California Governor Jerry Brown’s administration projected a budget deficit of $9 billion. When Brown released his May Revise a few days ago – an annual ritual watched raptly by school districts and other government agencies – the deficit had swelled to $16 billion, meaning more austerity for the Golden State, unless voters approve tax increases in November.

Because raising taxes in our state requires a super-majority, a couple of anti-tax Republicans in the Legislature can effectively block any tax increase, which is why Brown has no choice but to take his proposal directly to the voters by way of the initiative process.

The people’s elected representatives cannot behave like grownups, so appeal is made directly to the voters, leading more often than not to unintended consequences, like the most sacred of all sacred cows, Prop 13.

It’s an abject state of affairs, but Californians know the drill by rote. Arnold Schwarzenegger vowed to clean up the mess in Sacramento, drive his Hummer through the gridlock and partisanship, usher in a new era of prosperity, and instead Arnold managed only to punt tough decisions and leave the state worse off than he found it in 2003.

The official unemployment rate in California is 11%, meaning the true rate is much higher. School children may have a shorter school year ahead, and students in the UC, Cal State and community college systems will surely face higher fees. Next month, thousands of young people will graduate saddled with student loan debt and anemic job prospects. Sorry your American Dream is unattainable.

The other day I was listening to Noam Chomsky on Democracy Now. The venerable old professor admitted that optimism is difficult to muster these days, what with senseless foreign wars (AF-PAK, Yemen, Iraq, and others related to the War on Terror or the War on Drugs), Wall Street criminality aided and abetted by Democrats and Republicans alike, a dysfunctional political system, national elections that are nothing more than crass and misleading advertising campaigns, environmental denial, human rights abuses, and state sanctioned murder – at home in the penal system and abroad with the use of drones. 

This is a grim list for sure, yet Chomsky identified the Arab Spring, the Occupy Movement, the recent election in France, the popular pushback against austerity measures in some European countries, and the fact that Latin American nations are asserting their independence from domination by the United States, specifically when it comes to the failed War on Drugs.

Chomsky takes hope from the fact that some people are not asleep, passive, insensate, cowed or demoralized to the point they are willing to surrender ideals of freedom, justice and equality without a battle.

One other comment from Chomsky caught my ear, and that was when he talked about April 15, tax day in the U.S. If we had a functioning democracy, Chomsky said, April 15 would be a day of celebration rather than a day of dread. If we had a functioning democracy, we would relate paying taxes with contributing to the public good, the public welfare, to taking care of our common needs, rather than with an evil, over-reaching, liberty-stealing government. Americans have been fed a steady diet of anti-government propaganda for so long that even people who benefit from programs like Medicare and Social Security claim to hate the government!

Which brings us back to California, where citizens profess to want safe roads and freeways, top-notch schools and public safety, parks and recreation areas, clean beaches and safe water, but balk at ponying up the dough to pay for these services. The wealthy apparently feel they are above paying taxes, the poor can’t pay, and the middle class is no longer broad or deep enough to carry the freight.

And so, divided and polarized or simply driven to indifference, we cannibalize our state and our children’s future.

This weekend several thousand people who refuse to accept the status quo will gather in Chicago to protest a NATO summit taking place in the Windy City. The Chicago police, with ample assistance from the Department of Homeland Security and the FBI, will lockdown quadrants of the city. The NATO ministers need peace, quiet and privacy as they discuss contingencies for future conflicts and armed interventions -- democracy from the barrel of a gun. At the slightest provocation, such as a grandmother holding aloft a bouquet of roses at the wrong moment, the heavily armed security forces will spring to action.

Don’t expect the major American news media to cover the Chicago demonstrations, at least not in any meaningful way. What the protestors want and have to say won’t fit the narrative frame the media will have decided upon in advance. If the protests become violent and property is damaged, we’ll hear about it, but if peace prevails, we won’t hear a word.

 

Commencement

Our niece graduated from Pitzer College yesterday. 259 graduates in the Class of 2012 at this small, private, liberal arts college -- one of the five Claremont colleges. On a day that dawned hazy and turned sunny, orange and white were the dominant colors. Neat, symmetrical rows of white folding chairs under a huge white tent, green grass underfoot, parents and friends and relatives jockeying for vantage from which to shoot video or still photographs while music from a jazz quintet played over loudspeakers. The anticipation builds as ten o’clock nears and faculty and graduates line up for the triumphant processional walk up the center aisle.

The president of Pitzer College, a woman, welcomes the graduates and guests and then rattles off some of the accomplishments of this class: the thousands of hours of community service rendered, the trips abroad, the academic achievements, the honors earned, the trophies won in pool or on court and field. Pitzer College may be small and private and liberal, but it doesn’t lack for passion or spirit or pride. Our niece had a marvelous experience here, living in the dorms, studying in Ecuador for a semester, and forming friendships that in all probability will last her a lifetime. No matter what twists and turns happen in the future, the Pitzer class of 2012 will forever be connected by their shared experience, the fact that they were together on this milestone day, under a great white tent, wearing white caps with orange tassels.

Dr. Angela Davis is the commencement speaker and receives a cacophonous and prolonged ovation when she is introduced. My wife and I are old enough to remember when Angela Davis was a lightning rod figure, a walking controversy, feared by politicians and on J. Edgar Hoover’s Ten Most Wanted list. Intelligent, black, outspoken and courageous, Davis was too much for then Governor Ronald Reagan, who vowed that Dr. Davis would never again hold a position in the University of California system. Father Ronnie, protecting young, impressionable minds from the dangerous radical with the Afro and hoop earrings. Fortunately, this vow didn’t come to pass.

Dr. Davis set her iPad on the podium and began speaking, slowly at first, about her experiences in the world, in life, how after she was fired a second time from UCLA she was invited to teach here, at Pitzer, but only under strict conditions – student access to her lectures was limited, and the location of these lectures a closely guarded secret, lest a crowd gather and mayhem ensue, a mass conversion to Communism, feminism, and equality.

In the way she effortlessly taps a deep font of knowledge and wisdom, Davis reminds me of Maya Angelou and Toni Morrison. She clearly enjoys young people, her smile is warm and effusive, her sense of humor enhanced by her years rather than diminished. Using her own story as living proof, she tells the graduates that if they are lucky to live long enough, every defeat can be turned into a victory. She uses words like “social justice” and “equality” and “militarism”, words that may be standard currency here at Pitzer, but are largely absent from American discourse. In fact, the concepts sound hoary, antiquated, and foreign. What does social justice mean in contemporary America?

When the name of the last graduate has been called, when the tassels have flipped from back to front, and caps launched airborne, there are tears and smiles, high fives and hugs, flowers and leis, Mylar balloons, and most of all, the prized diploma, in Latin and English, as is the Pitzer tradition.

 

  

  

Cheapskate

The mid-50’s man waiting for his car to be washed looked like three million bucks. A full head of salon-quality hair with flawless blonde highlights, expensive Italian loafers, crisp black slacks and a fitted light blue dress shirt open at the throat. He wore a platinum wedding band, and balanced an iPad on his knee. His skin was perfection, smooth and radiant, and he carried himself with the authority of a man who has his world on a string.

One of the games I play to pass the time when I take my car to Prestige Car Wash on Milpas Street is trying to match people with the cars coming off the wash line. I make mistakes now and again, like when I assume the pretty late 30’s blonde woman with the impressive diamond ring and recently manicured toenails must belong to a silver BMW, when in fact her ride is a hunter green Range Rover.

My three million dollar man belongs to a brand new black Jaguar, no question about it. There’s a BMW, a Benz and a Porsche in the queue, but I just know this put together gent is going to step forward and claim the Jag when the Mexican crew finishes polishing the wheels. And sure enough, when one of the workers standing near the Jag raises his hand and calls, “Ready,” the man slowly stands up and saunters over. He circles the car, looking for imperfections, and then folds himself into the driver’s seat and drops two quarters in the Mexican’s hand.

No lie. I was close enough to see and it was two quarters.

I also saw an incredulous look slide quickly across the Mexican’s face. This is a worker for whom tips are bread and butter -- and tortillas, beans, salsa, meat, chicken and eggs – and in his occupation rich cheapskates are an occupational hazard.

Tipping generously was one of the few lessons I learned from my father. Pete always said that if a working person like a bartender, waitress, cab driver, bellhop or doorman does you a service, show your respect for their effort and tip them well, because, like you, they’re just trying to make it.

After my Jaguar man drove off, I sat in the sunshine with my wife and daughter and thought about what my father said, and how the Jaguar man is emblematic of the sickness that afflicts contemporary America. Honest labor gets no respect from the rich.

I don’t agree with one of Mitt Romney’s cronies who penned a book extolling the virtues of extreme income inequality, nor can I wrap my brain around the mentality of the Republican Party – or the wealthy clientele they so assiduously serve – no matter how I try. It’s beyond my comprehension, beyond my frame of reference, and beyond my conception of what America should stand for.

Three and a half decades of the same twisted ideology. Cut taxes for the wealthy, cut taxes on investment income, dividends, capital gains; structure international trade agreements to encourage American companies to send jobs to low wage countries; relentlessly privatize public services and never miss an opportunity to attack unions, collective bargaining, and public employee pensions. This is good for America? How? In an economy that turns our consumption, on the buying of cars, houses, home appliances and furniture, why do the Republicans insist on making it nearly impossible for working people to consume?

Our Honda CRV is ready, shiny and clean. My daughter has two $1 bills in one hand and her little pink purse in the other. After handing the bills over, she digs in her purse and gives the car wash man all the change she has, a $1.38.

Good girl. Never forget where you come from.

Post-Op

Six days since my rotator cuff surgery. Pain is constant but not overwhelming, and I’m down to one Percocet a day. The most difficult aspect so far is getting a decent night’s slumber; I have to sleep on my back, propped up with pillows, but force of habit makes me yearn to roll on my left side. Yesterday I took a walk in the neighborhood for the first time since the surgery, my arm encased in a navy blue sling. Except for almost being run down by a Quest Diagnostics SUV (pedestrians get no respect in Santa Barbara anymore), it was invigorating to be outside in the open air. I also washed dishes for the first time, a milestone I know my wife appreciated. Tomorrow I see my orthopedic surgeon for a follow-up.

Meanwhile, the earth keeps turning on its axis and the perfectly quaffed and sartorially splendid weatherman on Good Morning America, Sam Champion, reports on extreme weather in this or that section of the country, without ever, not once, offering an explanation for what’s causing the record breaking heat or spate of tornadoes or flooding. I don’t think I’ve ever heard Sam Champion or any mainstream weather hound, for that matter, speak the controversial words, “climate change.”

I read that Mr. Obama made a surprise and secret visit to Afghanistan. Inside a fortified aircraft hangar located inside a fortified perimeter, Obama pretends to speak to the troops when in fact his speech is directed at American voters; the setting, the timing, and the rhetoric is stage-managed to assure voters that our decade long Afghan misadventure has actually been a smashing success. Obama now sees a way forward in Afghanistan, a path to peace and prosperity for the long-suffering Afghan people. Hail and rejoice! Shortly after Obama left the country on Air Force One, the Taliban, who do understand a thing or two about political theatre, mounted an attack in Kabul.

What else? On April 30^th I watched Manchester United play Manchester City in an important English Premier League match. Seeing the squad Sir Alex Ferguson sent onto the pitch, it certainly appeared that the proud Scot was playing for a draw instead of a win. No Antonio Valencia to rampage down the right side, no Ashley Young, and no Danny Welbeck to operate in tandem up top with Wayne Rooney. Two days on, I’m still struggling to understand why Sir Alex started Ji-Sung Park, who hadn’t played since January. After creating a few early opportunities, Man U fell into a conservative, reactive posture, completely shorn of attacking verve. Rooney, star Man U striker, was alone up top, bereft of support, a deserted man on a deserted island. It was a very strange, timid performance by Man U. Goal differential favors Man City, and Man U fans are reduced to hoping for divine intervention.

The May Gloom is upon Santa Barbara. There’s a slight wind from the west, but little chance we’ll see the sun today.