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Helen Lambie (Goldstein)

I agree, not a good song (though I like the tune) and she agrees too, “not a good song, but it will make people laugh.” But boy, I sure wish I looked as good at 73 as she does at 78. And I’m sure Deb will forgive you.

Joanie Bender (Grosfeld)

Thanks Helen for that link. I LOVE Joan Baez. I went to her farewell concert this past April at the Warner Theatre. She is a beautiful soul and has such a unique voice and she is a fighter for social justice as we all know. i kind of liked the song I think because she sang it. The message is good. thanks again. She touches my heart. Love, Joanie

Jack Mallory

Deb was at the concert with me, Helen. I’m afraid it was probably obvious to her that there was another woman in my life.  

Temperature day time highs in the 70s, this week; night time lows in the 40s. An early fall? The foliage savants are predicting a slightly late and slow onset of color, with long-lasting full colors. “We expect to see more of the softer oranges and yellows than the bold reds . . .”  But the wetland red maples may be popping. 

So peak colors best bet is mid-late October, maybe into early Nov, for prospective visitors. Nora, for better or for worse, you’ll be smack dab in the middle of it.

5 years ago, Oct 12:

Nora Skinker (Morton)

Ahoy, classmates! Happily enjoying your comments re fall colors, art exhibits, Ms. Baez,  culinary delights and such!  Before expounding on issues, let me recommend going up to Cooperstown, NY during the fall color season. Of course, a preliminary requisite might be the desire to visit The Baseball Hall of Fame tucked within the breathtakingly beautiful, Rockwellian little town.  You will need two full days to explore it and believe me, it is not only interesting as heck but absolutely entertaining as well. Stay at a cute little B&B and eat at Nicoletta's, a culinary treasure in town. Both requiring reservations of course. We went the first week in November and thought the colors couldn't possibly be more intense.

Helen, was happy to see that you disagreed with ALL points I briefly mentioned in my most recent post: if, in fact, you do disagree with each point, please share with me (and all) what YOU might recommend we do to stop China from being the cheating trading partner they are (and have been) for so many decades. I greatly anticipate your response, since I think it's a painful time for our country during this tariff "squeeze" and would love to incorporate a Plan B to get to the long-term goal, without these sacrificial days preceding (hopefully) a beneficial deal. The forum is the perfect platform to put those ideas out there and talk about them!

As a second point: the noble endeavor, yet precipitous drawdown of Afghanistan (with which you and Jack apparently agree), seems pretty scary, given the premature decision made by Obama in 2011(against miliitary advice) to pull out of Iraq which signalled the rise of ISIS. It is my understanding that, though drawing down a few thousand US troops is prudent (albeit political), allowing our presence to fall below 8500 troops or so, would be to risk the region becoming a sanctuary for terrorism and therefore result in the rise of ISIS and al-Qaida. That has been the pattern - part and parcel - of the Afghan history. According to Graham, etal., it would be disastrous to outsource our national security to the Taliban, admitting that, though a deal might be struck with the Taliban, it would not be enough to fight the Islamic State terrorist group and al-Qaida in the region.  Assurances and guarantees for our complete security? Of course not - no more than taking air rifles out of American hands will insure the end of murders - but nonetheless, it seems prudent to go slowly rather than completely withdraw and leave an immediate vacuum to be filled by the bad guys. And all one needs do is read Nonie Darwish's books re living under the Taliban to know that they are untrustworthy and exceedingly bad guys, too. (Btw, It may help to know that Graham is preparing legislation that would require the secretaries of Defense and State to certify to Congress that reduction of troop levels to below 8,600 would not create an additional national security risk for the homeland). Yes, we are beyond weary of long standing wars, but as long as we are hated and hunted and threatened, we must be smart and not think radical Islam has changed its ideology one iota against the West. No?

I assume that Bill Maher's hateful rhetoric re David Koch was ok with Helen and Jack, as well? Interestingly, Mr. Koch gave $150M to the Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center in 2015 which happens to be where RBG had her surgery (treatment to remove her pancreatic cancer) recently. One might assume Mr. Maher is thrilled with the Justice's recovery but not so much with the fact that Mr. Koch's money helped save her. Sadly, his stinging retort upon Mr. Koch's death says nothing about the character of David Koch but everything about the character of Bill Maher.  JMHO.

Jack, I fail to see how advocating a hopeful, new, FDA approved drug to veterans who have not previously responded to adequate trials of the available treatments for major depression, is a bad thing. Why is recommending such a drug overlooking "the fundamental complexity of depression and to miss the root causes of the disease"? Are they somehow mutually exclusive? It would seem to me that bringing public attention to the need alone, is a good thing. And, if the drug only yielded benefits from 1 in 3 trials, how does that eliminate ANY success for those who may need it? My stage 4 sister lived two extra, unpredicted years of quality life after entering and qualifying for an unlikely cancer trial offered by Johns Hopkins Hospital in 2014. Trials are trials but often they are better than nothing. Or is the large company Johnson&Johnson somehow to blame? Please explain.

And finally, since we're all for better border security, aren't we happy to see 60 more miles of wall security? 

Glen Hirose

   The Natz are 14 - 3 since

Jack Mallory

Nora, you read the article on the use of the ketamine-derived drug. It is of unproven effectiveness and safety. Continued testing is ongoing but not completed A man whose only medical knowledge may be limited to the symptoms of bone spurs has instructed the VA to spend its limited funds on large amounts of this drug, which if it were to be used at all it would only be on a small number of patients. If this makes sense to you, Johnson and Johnson wishes you were a judge in Oklahoma!

We were unable to consolidate our control over Afghanistan with as many as 100,000 American troops in-country.  How would keeping 8,000 of our military keep terrorists there from attacking us? What strategy has the Commander in Chief articulated to explain our goals and how to achieve them? What are the benefits that will outweigh our participation in the continued mayhem over there?

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The peaceful view as I put in at Grafton Pond this morning.

But, unbeknownst to me, I was leaving behind a grim crime scene.

On my return, I was putting the 'yak back up on the car when the PortaPotty maintenance guy arrived. Suddenly, a police car pulled up (later iterations of this story will involve lights, sirens, helicopters, and the Grafton PD Swat Team).

Yes, the PortaPotty guy had discovered that HALF, FIFTY PERCENT, fully ONE OF THE TWO PortaPotties at the put in had been STOLEN! An entire PortaPotty (and ALL of its contents) gone, purloined, filched, lifted (literally, one supposes). 

The officer was extremely good natured as he took the report, while being teased unmercifully by the PortaPotty guy, the dispatcher ("guess this is the shittiest call you ever got!") and yours truly ("Weren't you in class the day they covered this at the police academy?")

Actually, the officer had a pretty good explanation of what had probably happened. This is rural NH, where there are pockets of real poverty. Some people live in RVs, trailers, houses without functioning plumbing. He figures somebody in such a situation had simply (if that really describes how you'd steal a PortaPotty) taken it home last night. Investigating the crime will consist of driving around looking for a shitter tucked into the woods near such a residence. 

Got to call my buddy Officer John and tell hin this story!

Robert Hall

Sabastian Smee has a thought provoking piece in the Style Section of today's Washington Post titled "A film's cool car deserves a look under the hood" obstensibly about Tarantino's new film "Once Upon a Time in Hollywood" that turns out to be more of a commentary on society.  www.washingtonpost.com/lifestyle/style/the-ugly-underside-of-brad-pitts-cool-car-in-once-upon-a-time-/2019/08/23/ecedeb20-c388-11e9-9986-1fb3e4397be4_story.html

Nori, Jack responded to your long post so I'll only add that 60 miles of old, deteriorated barrier have been upgraded to new, higher bollard style wall on our southern bolder, but no new wall has been added.  The current budget only plans for, at most, 17 miles of new barriers at this time.  And the American taxpayer is paying for it (and more specifically the American military because the funds were taken from needed base upgrades such as decent housing).  

Nora Skinker (Morton)

Perhaps you would better understand if you were one of the few standing to gain an element of relief from that ketamine-derived drug, Jack. A gamble my sister would surely understand. (When candidate Trump was campaigning, he spoke to the yearning Americans who recognized that when drugs were held up for months & years of testing, desperate, hurting people were being deprived of possible benefits. I suspect some of his urgency to recycle that message explains his insistence on the release of this drug). 

My goodness. What a fool I am! Let me rephrase: since we are all for better border security, I suppose we agree that the “newly enforced” 60 miles of wall is a good thing. 

Love the potty heist tale! And to further convey our ever-regressing society, check this out:

Jack Mallory

“Perhaps you would better understand if you were one of the few standing to gain an element of relief from that ketamine-derived drug.”

Ok, I get it, Nora. You’re not reading the article, which makes clear the possibility that the drug might work as a last resort, when other treatments have failed—on a small number of people. 

“current guidelines, a VA spokesperson told me by email, allow for esketamine’s occasional use in “veterans who have not previously responded to adequate trials of other available treatments for major depression . . . only for the treatment of severe cases of depression where other approaches haven’t helped . . . esketamine was deemed safe enough for doctors to consider prescribing when everything else has failed and a person is still suffering.”

”VA will closely monitor the use of esketamine in veterans to more fully understand its relative safety and effectiveness as compared to other available treatments. Based on this information, VA may revise its clinical guidance and formulary status if warranted.”

In no way does this justify Dr. Trump's orders to the VA to “go out and get as much of it as you can from Johnson & Johnson.”

Though with a half a billion dollar settlement against them just in Oklahoma, I can see why they’d want Trump pushing their pills—at $737.50 a daily dose!

You can read these articles without my help, Nora.

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Robert—I couldn’t get through the paywall to that WaPo piece. I get access to some WaPo stuff through Apple News, but not all. You’d think Bezos would give me a paywall key with my Amazon Prime membership! 

*********

Heron tag at home, after kayaking. Creeping up on it, through woods along the river. Sometimes that Sneaky Pete stuff they taught us in the army comes in handy! If I’d been a heron hunter . . . But I haven’t shot at anything with a face for almost 50 years.

Nora Skinker (Morton)

I believe that Oklahoma judge ruled J&J pay $500+ MILLION on the $500+ BILLION lawsuit, Jack. Interesting outcome, eh?

After reading the article twice, I still fail to see how it negates points made in my previous posts. Yes, more testing needed. Yes, possibly few helped. Yes, expensive projections. But all seem usual in medical trial determinations. Could it be that Trump’s rhetoric has yet again failed to live up to presidential expectations & THAT is the rub? 

Great shot of what-looks-like the ‘Grizabella’ of Grafton’s herons. 

Jack Mallory

A very interesting outcome, indeed. Half a billion dollars awarded to the first state to receive a judgement: money to remediate some of the costs of the health disaster caused by J&J's “‘false, misleading, and dangerous marketing campaigns’ that had ‘caused exponentially increasing rates of addiction, overdose deaths’ and babies born exposed to opioids.’” Women, teenagers, and veterans were special targets of corporate marketing. https://www.nytimes.com/2019/08/26/health/oklahoma-opioids-johnson-and-johnson.html?smid=nytcore-ios-share

If the 2000 or so similar suits around the country are as successful, at least some of the economic damage to individuals and society by conscienceless profit-mongering may be repaid. I’m sure we can agree that would be a positive outcome. The market system can be kept both productive and humane. Or not.

Joanie Bender (Grosfeld)

This is a very good article by Eugene Robinson. He is one of my favorite editorial writers. Love, Joanie

https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/trumps-obama-envy-is-getting-even-worse/2019/08/26/5dadc7d0-c83a-11e9-be05-f76ac4ec618c_story.html

Robert Hall

Jack Mallory

I could read that one, Joanie--thanks, good article. Although speculating about what drives Trump's sense of Obama inferiority and desire to present himself as "bigger" than his predecessor can lead one down paths one doesn't want to tread. 

Maybe he's just continuing his "Putin's my main man" theme. Let's reward the man who interfered in our election, invaded Ukraine, annexed the Crimean peninsula, and seems to be implicated in multiple murders in London (https://www.businessinsider.com/list-alleged-russian-assassinations-in-britain-litvinenko-2018-3) by restoring his place in the G8. Hell, maybe we could find a spot for Trump's bud MBS! Putin and MBS are both leaders who keep the mayhem out of the home country. Mostly.

Here's another good WaPo article I was able to access, on the Taliban negotiations and the futility of our continuing the war, there.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/we-need-to-take-the-best-deal-we-can-get-in-afghanistan/2019/08/26/62151e12-c809-11e9-be05-f76ac4ec618c_story.html

A few quotes:

"The United States has spent years slowly losing the war in Afghanistan. We have recently been losing with about 14,000 troops, but we were slowly losing in 2010 with 100,000 troops as well. We are not losing because of tactics or troop numbers but because of a catastrophic failure to define realistic war goals.”  (As I said earlier--no defined, coherent, achievable strategy.)

"U.S. security requirements and national interests cannot begin to justify the human, strategic and financial costs of a continued, large-scale U.S. military presence in Afghanistan. It is long past time to accept the risks and difficult compromises of a negotiated settlement; they only become more severe the longer we delay.

".. . here is the hard reality: U.S. leverage in Afghanistan is a wasting asset. Washington could have made a much better deal five years ago, a still better deal five years before that and an unimaginably good deal in 2001 or 2002. If we fail to reach — or accept — the best deal available now, the best one available tomorrow will be worse."

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I tried the trick you suggested, Robert. WaPo is on to me. I may be a good liberal, but I'm just another free-loader in Jeff's eyes!

Joanie Bender (Grosfeld)

Trump is taking away diaster relief funds that are needed for hurricanes, etc. to increase his detention centerrs. Love, Joanie

https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/immigration/trump-admin-pulling-millions-fema-disaster-relief-send-southern-border-n1046691

Joanie Bender (Grosfeld)

Trump wants to change the medical deferred program that has helped serverly sick migrants get care they can't get in their home countries... often children stay in this country to get life saying treatment. Now he says that he is ending the program and they have to leave in 33 days. A 16 year old was crying as there is no program for cystic fibrosis in his country and he will die...and on and on....Love, Joanie  

https://www.npr.org/2019/08/27/754634022/trump-administration-ends-protection-for-migrants-medical-care

Joanie Bender (Grosfeld)

Me again with another article....keep hearing about these things coming up that are so disturbing and worrisome. I would have written something good about Trump had he pushed for background checks but after he met with the NRA he reneged on his calling for that...now he wants to hurt more of what's left of the pristine environment in Alaska. Love, Joanie

https://www.washingtonpost.com/climate-environment/trump-pushes-to-allow-new-logging-in-alaskas-tongass-national-forest/2019/08/27/b4ca78d6-c832-11e9-be05-f76ac4ec618c_story.html?noredirect=on

Nora Skinker (Morton)

RATS!!! I check into the forum today and STILL nothing from Helen to suggest there is another plan to get China to stop cheating besides this difficult path Trump is taking. How disappointing. 

Oh, well.

As a Redskins fan, I got a kick out of this email (below) sent to Clarence Page of the Chicago Tribune in response to an article he published concerning a name change for the Washington Redskins:

Dear Mr. Page,

I agree with our Native American population.  I am highly jilted by the racially charged name of the Washington Redskins.  One might argue that to name a professional football team after Native Americans would exalt them as fine warriors, but nay, nay.  We must be careful not to offend, and in the spirit of political correctness and courtesy, we must move forward.  Let's ditch the Kansas City Chiefs, the Atlanta Braves and the Cleveland Indians.  If your shorts are in a wad because of the reference the name Redskins make to skin color, then we need to get rid of the Cleveland Browns. The Carolina Panthers obviously were named to keep the memory of militant Blacks from the 60's alive.  Gone.  It's offensive to us white folk.  The New York Yankees offend the Southern population.  Do you see a team named for the Confederacy? No!  There is no room for any reference to that tragic war that cost the country so many young men's lives.  I am also offended by the blatant references to the Catholic religion among our sports team names.  Totally inappropriate to have the New Orleans Saints, the Los Angeles Angels or the San Diego Padres.  Then there are the team names that glorify criminals who raped and pillaged.  We are talking about those horrible Oakland Raiders, the Minnesota Vikings, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and the Pittsburgh Pirates!   Now, let us address those teams that clearly send the wrong message to our children.  The San Diego Chargers promote irresponsible fighting or even spending habits.  Wrong message for our children.  The New York Giants and San Francisco Giants promote obesity, a growing childhood epidemic.  Wrong message to our children. The Milwaukee Brewers.  Well that goes without saying.  Wrong message to our children.  So, there you go.  We need to support any legislation that comes out to rectify this travesty, because the government will likely become involved with this issue, as they should.  Just the kind of thing the do-nothing Congress loves. As a diehard Oregon State fan, my wife and I, with all of this in mind, suggest it might also make some sense to change the name of the Oregon State women's athletic teams to something other than "the Beavers" (especially when they play Southern California.  Do we really want the Trojans sticking it to the Beavers??)  I always love your articles and I generally agree with them.  As for the Redskins name I would suggest they change the name to the "Foreskins" to better represent their community, while paying tribute to the dick heads in Washington DC.

(Gotta love it.)

In the "better-late-than-never response" category: going back to previous points that Joan made re Pelosi's decision to signal not impeaching Trump...this, after Pelosi's (seemingly sincere) declarations of Trump's obvious impeachment qualifications.  I had asked Joan if she was disappointed that Pelosi would be doing this for political reasons. Joan suggested Pelosi thought "why bother when the Senate will never follow suit".  I meant to follow up by suggesting that Pelosi's position was purely political and that if Pelosi REALLY felt it was morally correct to oust this President for the good of the nation, she would do it...or certainly SHOULD do it...without regard to what the Senate would do.  Doing the right and moral thing, even when it is goes against political headwinds, is what makes good statesmen. To advocate that this president has committed impeachable offenses and "not bother", doesn't (or shouldn't) fly. If that is true, Pelosi can't (or shouldn't) have it both ways. Thoughts?

Nora Skinker (Morton)

Oops, one more thing: soooo, I’m strolling down the beach the other day & I see this: 

Joanie Bender (Grosfeld)

Nori, you talk about Pelosi doing the moral and just thing in impeachment,  but where is your outrage about the moral and just thing to do when Trump has decided to stop the medical deferrment program for very sick migrant children who are getting lifesaving treatments in the US. He has decided to deport them to their countries where they cannot get those treatments and will die. They have 33 days to leave. I saw a 16 year old migrant with cystic fibrosis crying on TV about what awaits him if he has to leave and its death.. Where is the outrage over Trump's cruelty. Love, Joanie

Jack Mallory

And STILL nothing from Nora to justify her desire to keep thousands of American troops in harm's way in Afghanistan, killing and dying to no apparent purpose! How disappointing.

Oh, well.

What the hey. You want snarky, we can do snarky.

Helen Lambie (Goldstein)

Nori, have you suffered a severe bump on the head? Why would you think that a 73-year-old woman in Santa Rosa, California would have the solution to getting China to stop cheating in trade, and stop stealing our intellectual property? I just don’t think Trump’s tariffs are working. No one from Washington is rushing to my door asking for a solution to the world’s problems. If anyone does show up, I’ll be sure to send them in your direction. Meanwhile read this from NBC News https://www.nbcnews.com/business/economy/trade-tariffs-what-president-trump-says-versus-what-economists-know-n1046346. BTW, I never said I agreed with Bill Maher’s comment about David Koch. I, too, think it is horrible. But that doesn’t mean that I was a fan of Mr. Koch or his brother.

Jack Mallory

Seems fair to me to criticize Trump's tariff plans without having an alternative. His ignorance of who truly pays for the tariffs he ordains is enough to create suspicion that his plans are not well thought out. The report cited in the article Helen links to concludes that: 

“Trump’s new tariffs will cost Americans the majority of the tax break they are getting from Trump’s 2017 tax overhaul, which it estimates is around $1,300 per year.” https://www.cnbc.com/2019/08/19/heres-what-new-tariffs-will-cost-an-average-american-household.html

Similarly, I may not know how to create a stable, peaceful Afghanistan, but I can see what hasn’t worked for 18 years. Continuing to keep thousands of troops replicating those years won’t work any better than the first go-round, with its tens of thousands of casualties—even if “war isn't weary of us,” whatever that means. 

Joan Ruggles (Young)

Point of order here. Nori, do not quote me with words I never said. You claim I said "why bother when the Senate will never follow suit".  I never said that. What I did say was

"Re: Nancy Pelosi and her "expediency." So in your mind the moral choice for her would be to call for an impechment which is certainly doomed to failure? And she would be roundly attacked for wasting everybody's time? Not expediency, just practicality.  This won't end when DT is done with being president. Be patient like Nancy. Do you think the impeachment of Bill Clinton was a waste of time? I do. The Dems would be crazy to make the same mistake. But I guess you're proud of the Republicans impeaching him anyway? Because he lied about a blow job?"

I thought I made it clear. You rail on on and on about political expediency yet you won't accept it when faced with the reality. Just like a prosecutor who cannot bring a case against a suspect that he knows he will lose. Is that a moral failure on his part? According to you it is.

Jack Mallory

Why is labeling Trump's actions as impeachable but not following through with impeachment proceedings (although continuing to investigate) different from Trump making accusations of treason and not following through with prosecutions? I suppose one difference is that we can see the evidence for what may be high crimes and misdemeanors in the Mueller Report, but Trump offers no evidence for actual treason, nor any investigations. 

I guess another difference is that Nora doesn’t complain about it.