The Old Country

As dysfunctional as the United States political system appears, we've got nothing on the dysfunction of Europe.

The financial meltdown of 2008 was, arguably, largely a function of the greed and incompetence of America's high-roller financiers.  And while there is scant evidence to suggest that America's bankers are any less greedy, stupid, or incompetent than they were at the onset of the crisis, there is nonetheless some evidence that American banks have returned to something approaching rude health.  Thanks, of course, to huge dollops of federal aid and interest rates so low that savers such as myself wonder why we don't just stuff the greenbacks under the mattress.

And way too few American financiers are in prison.  But I digress...

Still, the U. S. of A. - the fiscal cliff notwithstanding -  appears to be the picture of political and financial sanity relative to the European Union.

For years after the creation of the euro, the financial markets determined that there was little difference in terms of risk between the sovereign debt of Germany and other euro members.

Then the markets suddenly determined there was a lot of difference.

So much for the rational market.

Financial bubbles or fiscal profligacy in Ireland, Portugal, Greece and subsequently in Italy and Spain has led to a profound crisis that threatens not only the euro but the existence of the European Union itself.  And the response by Europe's political class has been abysmal.

There are no statesman in Europe today.  Merkel, Hollande, and Cameron are hacks.  Notwithstanding the relatively robust health of the German state - German banks are weak and stewed to the gills with bad debt.  France is a wreck - their inflexible job market condemns the young to part-time jobs or no jobs at all.  The Tories in the UK flirt with leaving the European Union altogether.  A sorry state of affairs...

In the meantime, German (and other European creditors) demand ever more austerity from Greece and other Mediterranean types who the northerners now regard as miscreants.  The common people of the debtor nations suffer while their elites dodge taxes. There is rioting in the streets and more to come...

To add insult to injury the EU is now at loggerheads over their next seven year budget.  The French defend farm subsidies.  The English demand continuation of their budget rebates.  The debtor country governments are generally pissed-off over what they regard as broken promises.

A meltdown will be a serious problem for the world economy.

Lovely.

On a more positive note, a picture from my own personal aviation collection.

 A modified Lockheed Ventura 

I took this pic at the Juneau airport circa 1968.  The Ventura was used in WWII as a medium bomber (not very successfully) and found its niche as a maritime patrol and anti-submarine aircraft.  This plane was refurbished as an executive aircraft for parties unknown... 

Folly

The latest flare-up in the Israeli/Palestinian imbroglio has apparently been tamped down - thanks to American and Egyptian efforts.  And this time there were apparently only one hundred plus fatalities on the Palestinian side and three on the Israeli side.  I guess that is progress relative to past eruptions.

Still, one cannot help but marvel over the futility of the exercise. 

As a youngster I was captivated by the romance of the State of Israel.  I read biographies of Golda Meir and Moshe Dayan.  They were the good guys (and gals) - a democratic state in a hostile non-democratic region.

Today, I am much more ambivalent about Israel.

Israeli politics are polarized and their current government disgusts me.  Mr. Netanyahu's government depends on the support of extremists who reject the concept of a viable Palestinian state.  His government fails to prosecute radical settlers in the West Bank who lynch, harass, and destroy the crops of Palestinians whose only crime is living in lands coveted by the settlers.

Don't get me wrong.  Israel has every right to defend itself from folks shooting missiles into its territory from Gaza or from anyplace else.

But...Israel also has an obligation to live up to its international obligations. They must stop building illegal settlements.  And they must dismantle those illegal settlements that exist. Period.

I am no friend of Hamas in Gaza or of Hezbollah in Lebanon - or their Iranian patrons.

But I do believe American foreign policy needs to right itself - to get real.  The unquestioning support of an Israeli government that is neither willing to honor existing international obligations nor willing to negotiate in good faith with the Palestinians is a recipe for disaster for the United States. 

Indeed, it is folly.

On a more positive note - another pic from the Alaska Coastal series.

That's one sexy Goose.

Bright-Eyed and Bushy-Tailed

Another week gone by the wayside.  Not particularly eventful; but I was busy.  Cooking, cleaning and misc. elder errands were on the agenda.

The weather has been seasonal.  Rain, snow, wind, more rain, a little snow and so forth.  Had shoveling to do a couple of mornings but it rained hard yesterday afternoon and evening and the snow has largely disappeared.  This weekend we'll have a change of pace as the temperature plummets into the teens.  Chance of snow, too.

I bought several sacks of victuals for my winged friends and also a bag of squirrel food.  The squirrel wasted no time making himself at home...mowed right through the groceries.

Squirrel on the dole...

The birdies haven't yet discovered the feeders in the back yard.  Two feeders with two different mixes...one blend should be particularly attractive to the Chickadees while the other should prove irresistible to my Pine Siskin pals.  I expect the Juncos will swing both ways...  As I recall, last year it took about a week for the word to get out in birdland...

In other news, the drama of the election season has been replaced with small ball stuff.  I am completely mystified by the fascination with the General and his girlfriend.  It is an unfortunate way to end a generally estimable career, to be sure; but it seems like a pretty straightforward "failure to keep it in his pants" story to me.   And he didn't even deny it - promptly resigned with as much dignity as the situation would allow.  As near as I can tell the story lingers largely because some Congresspersons are miffed that they weren't dished the dirt before it hit the news stand.  Too bad.

And the Benghazi inquisition strikes me as equally strange.  The fact that a confused situation was, well, confused, is not surprising to me.

Perhaps tomorrow's "fiscal cliff" summit will be more interesting - or at least more amusing.

Cheers! 

Elections

A very long day yesterday.  I got press-ganged by my buddy, Eric, to work at the polling station at Nugget Mall.  We were there just before 6 AM and I didn't leave until after 9 PM.  And I was the first of the team of five to leave...

It was an interesting experience.  We worked the Airport Precinct which extends as far south as Switzer Creek.  It is certainly more conservative than the downtown precincts and also attracted a lot of "walk-ins" who resided throughout the borough and even a number of folks from out-of-town.  As I recall, we issued around 970 ballots and over 150 of them were voted as "questioned" ballots. 

I was working one of the two "sign-in" stations and time after time a voter would start the conversation with something like "I don't think this is my precinct; but can I vote here anyway?"  I believe a very solid majority of these folks were persons under the age of 35 and it was abundantly clear they didn't "get" why they were required to present themselves at a particular place at a particular time in order to exercise their right to vote.

And frankly, I don't get it either.  By national standards Alaska's election system is reasonably fair and free of the sort of overt partisan voter suppression efforts that have been so evident elsewhere. Still, Alaska's system is  horse and buggy stuff and one cannot help but conclude that in a geographically challenged, sparsely populated,  and demographically mobile and diverse state like Alaska that it's well past time for a 21st century make-over.  Vote by mail comes immediately to mind although I'm sure there are other more technologically advanced options as well.

Of course, reform of the election system is not likely to be on the agenda for our Republican Governor and newly minted Republican House and Senate.  They will be far too busy coddling Big Oil.

As to the national poll, all I can say is "Whew!"  I was cautiously optimistic that President Obama would prevail but was very pleasantly surprised by the gain of a couple of Senate seats as well.  And while gains in the House were modest; they were gains nonetheless.

What happens next will largely depend on what lessons the GOP takes to heart from the election.  And I guess the odds would be that continued national political gridlock will be the order of the day.

Still, it will be fascinating to watch the internal machinations of the Republicans.  And while it would be premature, at best, to predict any sort of major realignment of the body politic; it is certainly the case that tensions within the GOP will have to be resolved in some fashion.

The decades old coalition of money (both corporate and private) and social conservatives is showing its age and is looking mighty frayed around the edges.  One would expect that the first reaction of each faction will be to blame the other for the GOP's dismal performance. 

The social conservatives will proclaim the problem was that Mr. Romney was just not a true conservative.

The folks who bankrolled the electoral fiasco will point their well manicured fingers at the grassroots tea party types and wonder out loud how Republicans will ever be able to compete nationally as long as the party continues to ignore the changing demographics of the country, demand the party's presidential contenders adopt positions that are abhorrent to a majority of Americans in order to secure the nomination, and then put forward certifiable nut cases like their recent Senate candidates in Missouri and Indiana. 

One is tempted to feel sorry for Speaker Boehner for whom these contradictions and conflicts are not in the least bit academic.  Come January he will have to manage the House majority's internal disputes in order to present a coherent Republican alternative to the President's agenda. 

The just say "No" strategy of the past four years may be tempting and will probably be the default position on many fronts.  But the"fiscal cliff" - the box that Speaker Boehner and other Congressional Republicans helped build last year with the expectation that a Republican President would subsequently dismantle it - now looms. 

Fasten your seat belts kids, it's going to be a bumpy ride.
 

And Now the Dark Time...

What happened?  When I left town it was in the mid-50's and the foliage was still more-or-less green.  It was fall or at least what passes as fall in these parts.  There was barely a hint of termination dust behind the Mendenall Glacier.

Upon boarding Alaska Flight 61 in Sea-Tac the pilot cheerfully announced that the weather in Juneau was clear and eighteen degrees.  Previous communications with mom had indicated that Juneau had already experienced its first Taku winds of the season - gusts downtown and in Douglas over sixty mph. 

Uh-oh...

Sure enough, final approach into Juneau included a bump or two and the wind was blowing pretty good down Lynn Canal.  And disembarking from the plane into the great outdoors confirmed the temperature.  It is winter. 

The point was driven home yesterday when we got a couple of inches of snow.  I was serenaded all morning by the sounds of sirens as Juneauites re-learned how to drive in the snow.  A couple of cars were in the ditch when I went downtown for a workout.

It's now 8 AM and barely twilight.  And it was getting pretty dim by 5 PM.  We are now entering The Dark Time.  Oh well...

My trip was fun but certainly not a typical vacation.  I spent the first week in Hillsboro at my friend Adam's mom's home.  Read all of Adam's medical and social records and made sure that his disability attorney had received all important documents.  We had a very good meeting with the vocational rehabilitation folks who have been working with Adam and procured a document that I expect may well be critical to the judge's decision.  The hearing itself occurred on October 17th.  After the hearing the attorney was coy as to the prognosis; but I interpreted his mumbling to indicate that approval is a 50/50 proposition.

After the hearing Adam and I took a road trip down the coast to Northern California. 

We stopped in Newport to visit his grandma who was in the hospital - she passed-away peacefully just a couple of days after we saw her.  She was very elderly and frail and I think the family recognized it was time...

The weather in southern Oregon and Cali was quite sunny.  We did the Redwoods tour including the Avenue of the Giants.

The Avenue of the Giants - these trees are big!

The southern Oregon coast just south of Coos Bay

From Arcata, California we motored up to Ashland, Oregon.  A night of theater.  None of that low-brow Shakespeare stuff for us.  No sirree.  We saw "Animal Crackers" the theatrical production that most folks would recognize from the Marx Brothers film of 1930.  It was great!  Hooray for Captain Spaulding, the African explorer...

Then back to Portland/Hillsboro for the weekend.  We went to a techno music show at the Memorial Colliseum - featuring one of Adam's favorite DJ's "Bassnectar".  I am now offically a Basshead.  The show was quite amazing.

Unfortunately, I did not get to visit any of my ol' Juneau pals living in the Great Northwest.  Next time, buddies!  I did get to spend some quality time at a great supper with Amanda and Leah in Portland.  Amanda hopes to be back to Juneau in a week or so and Leah is still beavering-away at the Sokol-Blosser winery.  They both looked fantastic!  I'm mighty fond of those gals.

So...time to settle in for the winter.  Mom is doing OK and I will ascertain auntie's status when I motor up to see her today.  Baked a couple of loaves of zucchini bread yesterday and will make deliveries here shortly.  I expect that auntie's house will need some serious work...

Later gang!

On Holiday

Wheels up this afternoon for Seattle.  And tomorrow morning I will motor down I-5 to Portland for a spell.

Sunday I will be enjoying fine dining with Amanda and Leah in the Pearl.  I do like Portland! 

I'll be staying at my pal Adam's home in Hillsboro.  Adam has his SSI eligibility hearing next week and I will be offering moral support and meeting with his attorneys.  Adam's mom has been doing a lot of the leg work getting prepared for the hearing and I will be more than happy to assist in any way I can...

After the hearing I hope I can manage some sort of road trip for a few days.  We'll see.  I will be back to Juneau no later than the end of the month.

Bottom line...no blogging for a bit.

In other news I have now put all the yards to bed...finished cutting-back perennials at mom's on Monday.  For the first time ever, I actually did all the fall chores in decent weather.  The chore is almost enjoyable when done under the sun.  I still have bulbs to plant but it's still been in the 50's during the day and I was afraid to stick 'em in the ground.  I should be able to manage the bulb planting when I return...

Well, gotta finish packing and think I'll head to town for a quick workout. 

I leave you with another gem from the Alaska Coastal series...

The ramp crew are dressed like caddies from the Masters.  

Hasta luego gang!

The Ryder Cup

I am a terrible golfer.  I enjoy it immensely.  I am just not very good at it.  Thus, it is hardly surprising that I watch a lot of professional golf on television.  If I can't do it...I can at least watch those who can...

This weekend the biennial Ryder Cup event was held near Chicago.  The best golfers of these United States take on the best the Europeans can  muster.  The tournament is held over three days with team events, e.g., four-ball, the first two days and then twelve mano y mano matches on Sunday.

The U.S. has not done particularly well in the Ryder Cup the past couple of decades.  But on Sunday morning the red-white-and blue crew were poised to pry the Cup out of the hands of the Europeans leading ten to six after two days of play.  The U.S. needed only to win five matches of twelve to clinch; and historically the Sunday matches have been the Americans' best event.  It looked mighty grim for the Old World.

Then the wheels came off the bus.  The Americans not only didn't play as well as they did the first two days - they didn't even look like the same players.  One of the biggest upsets in golf history ensued.  I was shocked, dismayed and appalled.  What happened?

Four American players prepare to tee-off on Sunday at the Ryder Cup.  Tragic.

  Four of America's best prepare to tee-off at the Ryder Cup on Sunday.

From left to right:  Phil Mickelson, Brandt Snedeker, Tiger Woods and Bubba Watson

These guys didn't even look like the same players from the earlier rounds...

The regular PGA season takes a break until January.  Time to focus on the baseball playoffs...

In other news, my pal Enrique arrived yesterday and will be staying with me through mid-December.  He is starring in Perseverance Theater's production of "Oklahoma!".  It's great to have a roomie again.  Unfortunately he arrived without his faithful four-legged companion, Nikki, who is being boarded with his mom in Texas.  The theater booked Enrique on a circuitous series of multi-airline flights from Austin to Juneau and the airlines refused to allow him to book a doggie on the flights.  Damn!  Nikki is my pooch pal.

The weather the past couple of days has been and is predicted to continue to be half-way decent.  On Sunday I cut back all the flowers in the yard, mowed for the last time, and spread fall fertilizer.  Yesterday I mowed mom's yard and fertilized there as well.  And today it's up to auntie's for the same treatment.

I have been spending a lot of time at auntie's helping out with chores and generally functioning as morale officer.  She has been pretty chipper.  She has decided to get a new TV and computer.  She is upgrading her TV offerings and finally getting a cable connection for the computer.  She has been operating with a dial-up modem (yes, they do still exist) and the slow connection does not work well for her.  For example, it takes about a half-hour to load my blog.  She gets impatient and tends to start pounding the keyboard with predictable and unfortunate results...

Last week I called our local telecommunications provider from auntie's phone to make the necessary arrangements.  The provider guy had to speak to auntie to verify that I had her permission to order the changes.  This took a mite longer than one might expect insofar as she felt compelled to reminisce about the history of television in Juneau.  

This trip down memory lane invariably begins (but does not end) with the story of how my arrival in this world coincided with the arrival of television in Juneau town.  I spent the first weeks of my life at auntie's home as mom recovered from some medical complications.  It seems that auntie and her daughter, Jan, found me quite charming and doted on me morning, noon, and night.  My uncle and cousin Sandy, - not so much.  They preferred to watch the test pattern on the new TV.  Although I have no recollection of these events, I find the story entirely credible - if for no other reason than I have heard the story a thousand times.

Finally, I was permitted to conclude the business at hand and at the end of conversation the call was transferred to a third-party to verify that auntie did, in fact, desire to change telephone providers.  As he prepared to transfer the call, the provider guy gently suggested that auntie might want to confine her answers to "yes" or "no" with the person at the verification service.  Auntie laughed - but also complied.  I was proud of the ol' gal.

Later gang!