Two Depressing Reads

 

We’ve all spent way too much time at home this year.  And since we’ve been stuck at home, we have all seen a lot of TV and way too many commercials.  My vote for the worst commercials are the ones that feature people who owe tens of thousands of dollars in taxes.  They always claim that they owe the IRS money and the IRS is going to garnish their wages and take all of their nice stuff.  But “The Fresh Start Initiative” or some other program and the sponsor of the ad will make the IRS go away.   These tax cheats don’t owe the IRS money.  They owe the US Treasury money.  And the US Treasury is us, you and me.  Those tens of thousands of dollars are replaced by you and me.  I really wonder if other countries tolerate and reward tax cheats the way we do in the United States.

Too Much And Never Enough by Mary Trump and Disloyal by Michael Cohen are dystopic bookends, the making and facilitation of the private and public persona of Donald J. Trump.  Ms. Trump’s book deals principally with the family dynamics, the imposing cruel figure of her grandfather, Fred Trump, and the ultimate destruction of her late father Fred Trump, Jr., aka Freddy.  She details how Fred bullied and domineered his children, their spouses, ex-spouses, and grandchildren.  The pattern was set.  The cruelty was an end in itself.  Mr. Cohen picks up the story in 2006 and takes us behind the scenes of the Trump Organization and Trump’s personal dalliances.

Since Mary Trump is a Trump, the real start to her book isn’t about her need to expose her uncle as a charlatan or world-class grifter.  The core of her book is how her grandfather, in a final act of belligerence, cut her and her brother, the late Freddy’s children, from his will.  With the help of several reporters from the New York Times she learns that her uncle Donald, now President Trump, her Aunt Mary, the now disgraced former federal judge Maryanne Trump Barry, her uncle Robert Trump, and her aunt Elizabeth Trump Grau, her generation’s Tiffany Trump, conspired to cheat the federal government out of millions of dollars in inherence taxes.  They got away with a $30 million valuation of Fred Trump’s billion dollar estate.  As a bonus they were also able to cheat Mary and her brother, Fred Trump III, out of millions of dollars.  Lawsuits helped her and her brother get some of the money they had been due, but it wasn’t until the investigative reporters got involved did she fully grasp the extent of the deception.

Michael Cohen is an angry, angry man.  He spares no one in his detailed explanation of his downfall.  And he is clear that he, himself, is the one who deserves the most blame.  His goal was to be rich, famous, and powerful.  It was a drug and Donald Trump was his pusher.  Addicted, he willing lied, cheated, and stole to stay in the good graces of the man he called The Boss.  In the process he describes the lives he destroyed, the people and businesses he stiffed out of hundreds of thousands of dollars, and the rules (legal and norms) he broke at the behest of Donald Trump as the day to day duties of his job.

Much of the publicity surrounding Disloyal has been about the way Cohen and David Pecker of the National Enquirer protected and promoted Donald Trump and his interests.  The salacious details involving the “Catch and Kill” of the Karen McDougal story and the payoff of Stormy Daniels have received a lot of attention.  I recall writing about the boilerplate nature of the non-disclosure statement Stormy Daniels signed after it became public.  But it is the detailed stories of how Trump and Company screwed businesses, some as large as the Benjamin Moore Paint Company, that got my attention.  What Cohen describes in the book is the same bullying, foot-stomping, and aggrieved whining that we see playing out post-election.  The current behavior is totally predictable.

Mary Trump’s and Michael Cohen’s books are depressing because Donald Trump, by himself, is a failure.  For 70+ years he has benefitted from a combination of his father’s money and good graces, and a surprising collection of enablers, sycophants, and weasels.  He is adept at taking and alert to weakness, whether it was the others on the stage with him during the Republican Debates or the guys like Portman, Cruz, and Rubio in the Senate.  It is depressing that Donald Trump got this far.  And it is depressing that our country revealed itself to be so vulnerable.

There will be pardons issued in the next weeks.  It has been predicted that Trump will pardon himself.  The US Treasury will have been cheated one more time.  For those looking for good news, there isn’t a “Fresh Start Initiative” for State of New York taxes.

DAVE

www.againreally.com

Picture – Bookends – David L Cunix

 

Be Careful Who You Sue

 

 

December 2, 2022

We interrupt this regularly scheduled program for a FOX NEW ALERT – DEMOCRACY UNDER ATTACK.  In Washington, here’s Fox Contributor, former Vice-President, Mike Pence.  Mike, what’s happening?

Good afternoon, Geraldo.  Our democracy is under attack.  The states of New York and California have filed their case with the Supreme Court.   The suit seeks to overturn the recent Congressional elections in a number of states including Ohio, Florida, Alabama, Mississippi, Louisiana, and several others.  They allege that Gerrymandering and voter suppression have created an illegal process that resulted in an election that must be reversed.  I’m personally shocked at the idea of states suing states to change the results of an election.  Let’s join the New York / California press conference already in progress.

There is no argument that the named states have systematically disenfranchised

millions of voters.  This has cause the rest of our country great harm, which we are

prepared to argue before the Supreme Court.  Think about it, would a Ted Yoko of

Florida or a Jim Jordan of Ohio possibly get elected to any position of public trust

without Gerrymandering?

We will return to their press conference in a moment, but first we’re going to go to our reporter, En Ablur, who has caught up with Robert Lee, Alabama’s Attorney General.

Attorney General Lee, are you prepared to answer this suit?

En, this is terrible!  Fighting this law suit will be a burden on the taxpayers of Alabama.

We don’t have the money in our budget.  Sure, we were part of the Texas lawsuit in

2020, but that didn’t cost us a dime.  New York and California are serious and they

have some of the world’s best Jewish attorneys.  In 2020 all we had was Paxton from

Texas.  And who are New York or California to come and interfere with Alabama?  Our

people like our system.  You never hear them complain about standing in line to vote.

Back to you Mike. 

Thank you, En Ablur for that report.  This, ladies and gentlemen, is an affront to our democracy and everything we hold dear.  As I said to Mother last night, “These radicals with their leftist gay agenda will ruin our country by changing the natural order.  We must fight to make America great again”.   It is my hope that we keep our voting system the way it has been, the way it has always been, so that we can continue to elect the right people.  We’ll return to Geraldo after this message from My Pillow.

Be careful who you sue.  The counter-suit could be devastating.

DAVE

www.againreally.come

Picture – Revered and Ignored – David L Cunix

Lucky To Be In Ohio

The election is over in Ohio.  I guess we are lucky.  Since Trump won there won’t be a fight about our votes.  That appears to be how it works.  If Trump won, the election was fine.  If trump lost, not so much.  We won’t have Rudy and his cohorts camping out at our landscaping companies or courthouses casting aspersions on our voting process.  Sure we live in a state that has elevated gerrymandering to an art form, but out statewide elections weren’t really close.  So everything is copacetic.

The election process and results are under attack in Michigan, Arizona, Nevada, Georgia, and Pennsylvania.  Whether your guy won or lost, is this how you want this to end?  And if you get millions of votes tossed out this time and your guy magically wins, what happens next time.  And there will be a next time.

So we are lucky to live in Ohio.  I hope to be able to say that we are lucky to live in the United States of America.

DAVE

www.againreally.com

Picture – Fall In Ohio – David L Cunix

Time For A Cigar

 

 

I was going to write about the debate, but before I could there was other stuff to address.  And then another thing.  And another.  And, in truth I’m sick of Donald Trump.  And you are too.  In fact, even if you like Donald Trump, you have had enough.  So it is time for a cigar.

It was a beautiful fall day and Sally and I decided to take a walk in the park.  I felt that the day warranted a special cigar and I opened a new box from my office humidor, the AJ Fernandez New World.

What an attractive cigar.  Even Sally noticed the seven inch, dark brown, box-pressed beauty.  We talked about the difference between my cigars and her cigarettes during our walk.

The most important thing, of course, is the taste.  But smoking a cigar is an experience.  It begins with the visual.  The appearance, the shape, size, and wrapper, the tobacco that you see on the outside, is one of personal preference.  The size and shape also impact how the cigar feels in your hand and in your mouth.  Most of my cigars, like this one, are between 6” and 7” long and have a ring size, circumference, of 50 – 54.  I have friends who prefer cigars that look to be about the size of cigarettes and others who prefer “Gordos” with a 60 ring.  Inside that wrapper are a blend of tobaccos that produce the flavor profile.  And the construction of the cigar is what creates a beautiful grey ash, a smooth draw, and an even burn.  The nicotine fix should be the least important part of enjoying a cigar.

You won’t see someone furtively smoking a cigar outside of an office building in sub-zero weather.

This particular cigar was crafted in Estelí, Nicaragua.  AJ Fernandez is a well-known major cigar producer.  The New World is a complex blend that produced a unique flavor.  Connoisseurs will tell you that they find notes of certain fruits, etc. when they take a sip of wine.  Cigar experts will say the same.  I can’t tell you that I tasted nuts or cocoa, but darn it was a good a cigar.

The walk, all three miles of it, were incredibly peaceful.  The only interruptions were the occasional bike riders and joggers.  I had an hour with Sally, nature, and an incredible cigar.  And no Trump.  I Know.  You’re jealous.

DAVE

www.againreally.com

Picture – Fall In Cleveland – David L Cunix

Rosh Hashanah 5781 (2020)

Today was the second day of Rosh Hashanah.  We, of course, had services yesterday and today.  Now before you get started, our services were held outside under a giant tent, the seating reflected the accepted recommendations for social distancing, and everyone wore a mask.  In fact, most of the Russian guys even wore their masks correctly.  I would say nes gadol haya sham, a great miracle happened there, but that would be a different holiday.

Outside.  The entire service was the same, yet different.  The Rabbi rose to blow the Shofar, an ancient instrument made of a ram’s horn.  The rabbi was born in Russia.  Next to me, as always, was my friend Danny who had been born in Iran.  Around me were men who were born in South Africa, Russia, and exotic Steubenville.  As the Shofar was sounded we were connected to our parents, grandparents, and generations going back thousands of years.  And we were connected to generations yet to come.

L’Shanah Tova Tikatev V’taihatem, may you and yours be inscribed and sealed [in the Book of Life] for a good and sweet new year.  May this be a year when we remember to honor our connections to both our past and our future.

DAVE

www.againreally.com

Picture – A Sweet Year – David L Cunix

Orphan

 

My mother, Gerna Cunix, passed away on August 25, 2020.   One of my friends, a guy who is still mourning the loss of his mother, told me that I was now a fellow orphan.   Orphan.  The term seemed odd to my 65 year old ears.  And then I remembered my mother, at the time in her mid-thirties, learning of the death of her mother and screaming, “I am now an orphan!”

My friend was very close to his mother, far closer than I was with mine or my mother was with hers.  The relationship with one’s last surviving parent seems to be only one of the factors involved in the loss felt by his or her death.  In talking with clients I have found some people are forced to address their own mortality while others find it disconcerting to suddenly be the oldest living members of their family.  Death is the great equalizer.  It awaits all of us.  The death of a parent is the reminder we can’t ignore.

I have frequently thought about my mother this summer as I’ve watched our country suffer through so many areas of conflict and failure.  We watched the news together most evenings when I was a child.  And I also remember that my parents and I agreed on very little during my teenage years.  My mother’s final dig would be that it was possible to love someone, but not like him.  Though initially surprised, I quickly embraced this concept.  I found it oddly liberating.  It made complete sense to me this idea that one could separate the emotional depth of Love from the intellectual assessment of Like.

So yes, you can Love our country but not particularly like it.  It is hard to like a country that does nothing to prevent gunmen from attacking schools and places of worship.  It is hard to like a country that experiences the 8+ minutes of the death of a fellow citizen by an officer of the law smugly looking into the camera.  It is hard to watch the dismantling of our public systems by those seeking personal enrichment.  It is hard to like a country still plagued by systemic racism. And yet, we can all still love our country, its unfulfilled promise, the concept of equality, and its potential.

We are quickly approaching our next election.  There are forces that would like you to sit this one out.  There are people who want you to believe that all public servants are just politicians out to serve their narrow personal interests.  And there are those who would want you to believe governments can’t get anything done and can’t help solve our problems.  But we know better.  Our vote is one of our most precious possessions.  Don’t throw it away.  Casting your vote is your responsibility.  Understanding that there are good people in the police department, the fire department, pushing paper at your local city hall, watching out for all taxpayers at the IRS, and serving overseas in our armed forces acknowledges the basic humanity of our fellow citizens that may be constrained by systems that don’t support their values.  Some of our government workers could make more money in private enterprise but have chosen public service.  We have an opportunity to respect all of these positions, not just the ones that are fashionable or politically advantageous.  And so we must vote this year as if democracy, itself, is on the ballot.

We cannot let Uncle Sam die.  We cannot create that many orphans.

DAVE

www.againreally.com

Picture – An Empty Seat At The Table – David L Cunix

 

Virtual Perfection

The Roll Call of the States is my favorite part of our political conventions.  It is a national stage.  One by one each state is called and someone, often someone who has not spent a lot of time in front of a TV camera, surrounded by a cheering delegation, puffs out his/her chest and announces, “My state, G-d’s gift to mankind, proudly casts its 75 votes for the next president of the United States, _______.”  It’s fun.  It is just good TV.

Tuesday night could have been a disappointment.  No huge crowd.  No sweaty delegates in gaudy hats and five campaign buttons too many.  As I waited for it to begin I thought of the 1992 Democratic Convention.  I was on a honeymoon.  We were staying in a lovely lakeside resort in the middle of New Hampshire.  And yes, I was sitting on the edge of the bed tabulating the votes on my legal pad.  It was exciting watching Bill Clinton win.

The states are called in alphabetical order.  Alabama is always first.  The home state of the nominee passes so that it can cast the final or decisive votes.  Alabama was called and we were suddenly transported to the Edmund Pettus Bridge!  Representative Terri Sewell (D-Al) gave her state’s eight votes for Bernie Sanders and 52 votes for Joe Biden.  She also said:

“John Lewis marched across this bridge in 1965 to demand the right to vote. A lifetime later, civil rights and voting rights remain America’s great unfinished business. But those who walked this path before us showed us the way forward. If we want to honor John Lewis’s incredible life, let’s restore the Voting Rights Act and ensure our democracy belongs to all Americans.”

I turned to Sally and I said, “We are going to be OK.”  The states and territories were called.  We saw beautiful vistas, turquoise, and flowered shirts.  And even people who don’t like seafood were tempted by Rhode Island’s calamari.  This was the best roll call, ever.  Even if we are allowed to return to on-site conventions, the virtual roll calls must become a permanent fixture of the nominating process.

Some of my readers might think that this is a Democratic thing.  It is not.  The 1992 Republican Convention, which featured a sitting president fending off a challenge from his right flank, had lots of drama.  Conventions tell us what the candidates and the party think is important and how they view the country.  It is also a chance to see the rising stars.

The 1988 Democratic Convention featured an overly long, self-indulgent speech from a governor of a small state.  The people in the hall couldn’t wait for him to finish.  Many of us at home knew that we were meeting the next star of the party, a guy named Bill Clinton.  And that State Senator from Illinois who spoke at the 2004 Democratic Convention seemed to have succeeded pretty well.  Keep your eyes open.  We may see a future president this week or next.

This is not a zero sum game.  You can enjoy this week’s Democratic Party Convention and next week’s Republican Party Convention.  Our conventions are a part of our process, the way a free people nominate and elect our leadership.  Celebrate our process, all of our process.  Don’t shortcut.  Don’t skip any part of it.  It is all important.  It is our obligation to participate in every step.  Vote.  Vote like our country depends on it.  Vote because it is the most important way to maintain our way of life.

And save me some of that calamari.

Dave

www.againreally.com

Picture – Old School – David L Cunix

 

But They Can’t Swim!

 

Mitch McConnell would make a lousy life guard.  He won’t stay on duty.  He doesn’t seem to care about all of those people drowning, calling out for help.  The last time anyone saw Mitch he was on his way home for another summer vacation even though he was supposed to be on duty.

Nearly 30 million Americans would tell you that a lifesaver was the $600 per week federal unemployment benefit that ended this past Saturday.  One day they were working and then, suddenly four months ago, they weren’t.  They were cooks, dental assistants, retail salespeople, and bartenders.  They ARE our neighbors.  They worked in our schools and our offices.  And now they don’t.

Many states were totally unprepared for the deluge of unemployment claims.  Some have yet to get caught up.  Unemployment doesn’t pay the bills, even in a state like Ohio.  And it is taxable.  One of my clients shared with me the details of her benefits.  She made $19,200 in 2019.  Her Ohio unemployment benefit is $172 per week before federal taxes, $155 net.  That doesn’t nearly cover food, shelter, health insurance, and the rest of her bills.  She is not alone.

The House of Representative passed the HEROES ACT, the bill to extend relief, on May 15th.   Mitch McConnell and the Senate didn’t begin to craft a response till the last week of July.  The Trump White House, hoping for miraculous cures to both COVID 19 and the economic woes, never bothered to prepare for the August 1st deadline.  There were no cures.

A large part of the problem is that the Trump’s point men on this issue are Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin and former-Congressman now White House Chief of Staff Mark Meadows.  As reported earlier today on CNBC:

“There’s no question, in certain cases where we’re paying people more to stay home than to work, that’s created issues in the entire economy,” Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said in an interview Sunday on ABC’s “This Week”.

Where are these jobs?  Restaurants and bars are closing early, if they even opened, due to the pandemic.  And retail, one of the largest employers in this country, is in dire straits.  In the last two months we’ve seen the reports of major retailers going belly up.   Signet Jewelers, LTD., will be closing another 400 stores.  Some of those stores, Kay Jewelers, Zales, and Jared, never reopened after the national shut-down.  Others will be closing soon.  There will be little justice for the employees of the retail clothier, Justice, which announced two weeks ago that all 600 + stores would be closed.  The Justice employees will join the soon to be unemployed from New York & Company.  This economy cannot absorb all of these people.  These individuals have talents, but what business is looking to grow in the middle of this mess.

I wanted to see for myself the status of our retail environment.  Properly masked I visited Great Lakes Mall, Beachwood Place, and Aurora Farms Premium Outlets to survey the damage.  To be honest, I was shocked.

There were plenty of vacant spaces in all three retail locations.  Big names, like Brooks Brothers, were no longer at Aurora Farms.  All of the kitchen and cooking related stores were gone.  I saw parents schlepping their children to shop for back to school clothing and shoes.  There were a lot of families at the outlet mall, but not a lot of bags.

Great Lakes and Beachwood were far more depressing.   Beachwood had one bright spot.  Carter’s, a children’s store, recently opened.  It is next to the Microsoft store that has never reopened.  Beachwood has another issue.  Reduced Hours.  The mall hours used to be 10 AM to 9 PM.  The official hours are now 11 AM to 7 PM.  It takes less employees to keep those stores open.  Less people employed.  I saw a number of stores open only noon to 5 or noon to 6.  One of the jewelry stores is even closed two days a week.  That store once employed six people.  Now there are only two.  These are our unemployed.

The moratorium on foreclosures and evictions has ended.  The additional $600 federal unemployment relief is gone.  And so is Mitch.  The negotiations are between the administration in the form of Mnuchin and Meadows and the Democratic leadership, Pelosi and Schumer.  McConnell and Trump said that this wasn’t needed when the House passed the HEROES ACT in May, calling it dead on arrival.     Now Trump has a couple of underlings working on it while Mitch is on vacation.  Will the bill get done?  Sure, eventually, but some people have to drown first.  But that is bound to happen you don’t have a very good lifeguard.

DAVE

www.againreally.com

Pictures – Signs Of The Times – David L Cunix

Playing With A Pretend Army

 

There are heavily armed men invading Portland.  Cleveland and other cities may be next.  What is the proper name for these irregulars?  What should we call them?

  • Trump’s Paramilitary Goon Squad
  • Camo-shirted Stormtroopers
  • The universally understood – Mercenaries

The first attack took place in Lafayette Park outside of the White House.  Pictures revealed that the uniformed shock troops, which did not have any visible names, are from a number of federal agencies.  Some of those agencies that make up the Protecting American Communities Task Force (PACT) utilize private contractors.  Part of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) is the Federal Protection Service which relies on private contractors.  Those are not policemen.  They are not National Guard.  They are not military.  They are not trained to interact with peaceful or even non-peaceful protestors.  At best some of them are qualified to quell a prison uprising.  The citizens of Portland, Chicago, or even Cleveland are not rioting maximum security prisoners.

Ted Wheeler, the mayor of Portland, has asked for them to go.  Governor Kate Brown has asked for them to go.  But this invading force isn’t going anywhere.

There is a fear of the “Other” that is being stoked by certain people in this country to our collective harm. Is this your view of right and wrong?   Felipe Nystrom is an international cycling champion, court translator in the city of Portland, and a naturalized US citizen.  He was accosted last week outside of the county courthouse.  Below is his description of the encounter is his own words:

I had to sit on this for a couple of days because of how pissed off I was but here’s my rant. I am and always will be a Costarrican who happens to be a US citizen. I love my country and will always be a respectful guest in this one. However I will not stand for racism whether it is obvious or the person just doesn’t realize it.

Last Friday morning I went to the Multnomah County Court House for work. When I got there about 830 AM I saw a sign on the door that diaf it was court furlough day and that it was closed. So while standing on the sidewalk I called my agency to see what was going on since it was strange that I’d been given a grand jury appointment yo interpret for on a day the court was closed. While the phone was ringing I heard a firm, almost angry, voice from behind me say

“Put the phone down”

I ignored it since it couldn’t possibly have been directed at me since I wasn’t doing anything. Almost immediately a second voice in an even firmer voice said

“WE SAID PUT THE PHONE DOWN. NOW!!!”

At this point I turned around and saw to armed men standing very close to me. Then the first guy said again “Put. The. Phone. Down…Now”

So with confused look on my face I started to put my phone in my pocket and immediately one of them said

“Keep your hands where i can see them!” As he reached his hand closer to his gun.

I thought for a moment I was being pranked so I said

“Well guys make up your minds. You want my phone down or my hands up?”

To which one of them replied “Don’t get fucking cute with us”

Next that same guy asked for my name and I gave it to him. He asked where I lived and provided my address.

I at this point aksed who they were and what this was about. The reply was

“You don’t fucking ask questions. We ask the questions. You answer them. Got it?!”

While he was saying this the other guy was on his radio.

The next question was “Where are you from?”

I answered ” I live in Portland”

As this was happening, two more of these guys showed up so now there were 4 armed men surrounding me.

I have dealt with racist comments many times since I move to PDX and can very quickly notice when somebody is doing it. That question “where are you from” only happens in 2 forms. One of genuine interests to learn something about someone and the other way. To get me to say that i am from another country.

Next one of the recently arrived guys asked again “Where are you from?”

Again I said Portland.

“No no no! I asked where are you from?”

“Where???”

“Portland” I said again.

“This is my address..” and provided it again.

This all only took a matter of minutes but they kept getting closer and closer to me.

“Let’s see some ID”

I never carry my wallet with me. I think wallets are bulky and by not keeping cash or my card on me I save millions by not buying teas and cookies all day so i keep it in my car. Usually my work badge is good enough for anything I need to do at work. We were literally 5 ft from my car and I explained as much and that of we could just go to my car i could show them.

“It’s in my car. My car is right here”

To which they reply…

“So you’re saying you don’t have ID”

“It’s in my car, which is right there”

Another call on the radio and within seconds a pick up pulls up and 2 more of these guys get out. Now there are 6 armed men surrounding me. Every second that passes they keep creeping closer and closer.

“I am going to ask you one more time, where are you from?”

“I live in Portland. “

It is my belief that in that moment they were going to take me into custody as an illegal immigrant. But by sheer luck a deputy district attorney who i had interprered for earlier in the week for a dofferenr grand jury, happened to be coming into work and as he walked by

sar me and asked if I was ok.

One of these men immediately turned to him and said

“This is official business move along right now… keep walking.”

The DDA replied “hang on. I’m a DDA. What’s going on here?”

As soon as he said “DDA” I saw an immediate change in all six of their faces. They looked at eachother so as to ask with their eyes, what they were going to do. At this point one of them said let’s see your ID and two of them walked me to my car. I showed it to them. One of them took a picture of it with his phone. He gave it back and just like that they left.

If there could be any doubt that racism alive and well in this country currently fueled by the president this is yet another example of it.

I want to leave this picture here because for those of us that are not white there is a ver real possibility that when we leave home we may very well not come back and this way there’s a nice picture for the record.

For doing nothing more than going to work while being a US citizen but brown I was very close to being taken and the worst part is that I have no idea by who or where I would have been taken. That is the fear that I get to live with for no other reason than BREATHING WHILE BROWN IN THE USA. 

Are you next?  Are you white enough?  Could someone mistake you as being “Other”?  Don’t be so sure.  Is this martial law?  Where will you be safe once the invading force arrives?

DAVE

www.againreally.com

Picture – Playing With A Pretend Army – David L Cunix

Quick Note – Mr. Nystrom was obviously shaken by the experience.  I see no reason to correct his grammar or spelling.  I wonder if any of us could do any better under the circumstances.

 

Today’s Lesson

 

A different Parshah or Chapter of the Torah (Five Books of Moses) is read each week in synagogue.  It is a time-honored tradition for scholars to look at a Parshah and find a particular point to highlight.  This is called a D’var Torah.  What lesson can we learn and apply today from a book that is thousands of years old?  Different scholars would/could find different lessons.  And then others who might not be scholars, such as you and I, have the opportunity to read both the Chapter and the work of the learned to craft our own opinions and analysis.  All of these questions and studies are good and encouraged.  The Torah will withstand scrutiny.  We grow from the exercise.

A young Rabbi wrote a brilliant D’var Torah about this week’s Parshah Matot-Masei (Numbers 30:2 – 36:13).  I am purposely omitting the Rabbi’s name because he would be distressed if he thought anyone would perceive him to be political or choosing sides.  And though I don’t want today’s post to be viewed through a partisan lens, that may not be possible in today’s environment.

The young Rabbi noted that this week’s Chapter discussed, in part, the preparation of the Jewish people to conquer and then divide the Promised Land.  Two of the tribes asked to have their portions on the east bank of the Jordan instead of west of the river.  These two tribes, Reuben and Gad, had lots of livestock and viewed the land suitable.  The Bible says that they requested this land “Pens for the flock we shall build here for our livestock, and cities for our small children.”

“Immediately, Moses chastises them and corrects their mistake”, wrote my friend.  He cited Moses response, “Build for yourself cities for your small children and pens for your flock”.  The lesson to be learned was (and is!) to put the children ahead of the animals and possessions.

The Rabbi’s lesson went on to explore the workaholic who is a business success but a failure as a parent and spouse.  And though that is valid and important, my mind flew in a different direction.  I thought about the current debate about the opening of our schools.

Should we reopen our schools to in-person instruction?  Don’t just tell me Yes or No.  Tell me WHY.  I believe that we all agree that children need both the education and socialization of the school environment.  But are we moving to open the schools now for the benefit of the children or to help the economy?  If it is for the children, what is your plan to make schools safe for the children and all of the adults in the school community?  If it is for the economy, how do you propose to balance the risks vs. the reward?

There is no national plan for the schools.  There are no guidelines and no financing to retrofit the buildings.  We are no more organized or prepared now than we were when the schools closed four months ago.  We have politicians demanding that the children are returned to the buildings.  Many of these same politicians have been diverting the public’s money to for profit online schools that specialized in remote learning.  It is reasonable to be skeptical of their motives.

Thousands of years ago we learned how easy it was to confuse our priorities, to forget that our children are more important than our possessions.  It is a lesson that we need to learn, as a country, today.

DAVE

www.againreally.com

Picture – They Will Return – David L Cunix