George Rebane
The flowering Obamagate scandals are simply “controversies” as National Propaganda Radio spent a great deal of time this morning assuring its audience. Nothing special here, the President always comes out to the formally prepared East Room in the evenings to remark on little kerfuffles or differences of opinion. Everyone go back to sleep.
Pioneer aviator Lyman Gilmore was celebrated yesterday at the school of his name. There was a big ceremony for students and speakers to recognize Nevada County’s contribution to early aviation. The event included an organized overflight by a large group of local aviators, some of them with national reputations. The flight was comprised of 18 private aircraft led by Jim Booth in his now familiar yellow AT-6 warbird followed in close formation by three members of the Ryder Flight. Getting all those airplanes in the air, oriented and lined up, and then back on the ground on a very windy day was a grand feat of organization and heads up piloting by all participants – H/T to our own Bob Hobert (Ryder Flight leader and RR reader, who also sent me the pic) for organizing and getting everyone briefed and debriefed. I was happy to be invited by Jim to again fly in the rear seat of the T-6.
“Untruth” versus lie. The media, led by Fox News, seems to have some problem with those terms. Even the conservative Dr Charles Krauthammer (around our house known as ‘The Bonze’), their most noble of nationally syndicated commentators, dripping with gravitas, can’t bring himself to call a lie a lie – well, he did once last night. On the air politicians aren’t lying, they’re telling “untruths”. For us with simpler minds, an untruth is any statement that is not true independent of the intent behind its utterance – misreading a clock and then falsely reporting the time is an untruth. A lie is a known untruth told with intent to deceive. Most politicians are inveterate liars, it’s part of the job requirements – let’s call a spade a spade when their lies are obvious to the whole country.
Rosa Koire will present an update on Agenda21, and how this UN inititiative has been making progress ‘Behind the Green Mask’. Here’s the info –
When: Tuesday May 21, 2013, 5:30 p.m. to 8:00 p.m.
Where: Grass Valley Veterans Hall, 225 S. Auburn Street, Grass Valley
Admission: $20 at the door; $15 in advance
Advance tickets: BriarPatch Co-op, online at www.cabpro.net (special events tab) or by calling CABPRO (530) 478-1331
Those of us a bit paranoid about government training guns on its own citizens (aka us), should keep their eye peeled on the first steps that our military has now taken in this direction. Obama’s Pentagon has “unilaterally” granted itself powers to aid local law enforcement agencies to curb “civil disturbances” by changing some wording in the US Code covering ‘Defense Support of Civilian Law Enforcement Agencies’ (more here).
[update] New speech codes will be sweeping the nation starting with the college campuses and the revision of what consists of sexually harrassing speech. This will not stop with either the campuses or sexual harrassment. All the while our astute progressives are protesting, 'What new regulations? there're no more new regulations. And let's talk about Bush instead.' Obama's fundamental transformation is on a roll. (more here).
[18may13 update] Well, it looks like it's CYA time in embassy land, at least in the mid-eastern part of the world. Now that everyone's attention is on the Benghazi debacle, tragedy, and cover-up, no ambassador in that part of the world is going to be left behind in alerting the mother temple (aka Foggy Bottom) that threats to their embassies and consulates are increasing. (more here) For sure Kerry is not going to hang on to Hillary's hand as he helps Obama throw her under the bus. So we are sure to see some visible muscle deployed closer to where the action is anticipated. And playing his cards right, maybe ol' John can emerge out of all this as the new, improved, and heroic hopeful for 2016. Crazier things have happened.
‘Breaking Bread’ on NCTV (updated)
George Rebane
These salons were stimulating affairs where the latest ideas in the sciences, politics, arts, religion, philosophy, and literature were presented and discussed. The invitees were the great thinkers, artists, writers – new and established – of the age, many of whom looked forward to these sessions as much for the nourishment of their bodies as of their minds. A salon always offered some of the finest foods and spirits with which the hostess could afford to ingratiate herself in the eyes of society. To be invited to attend a salon was a great honor, and you can imagine the competition of who was attending which salon(s) when and with whom.
Late yesterday afternoon we finished ‘taping’ the first installment of ‘Breaking Bread’ (BB), a new series that is to air over the coming months on NCTV Channel 11. BB is a roundtable discussion of ideas, happenings, and current issues of broad national interest. It is based loosely on the historical French salons which were hosted by ladies of high social rank and means during the so-called Enlightenment period that lasted from around 1740 to the start of the French Revolution in 1789.
(Versions of these classic salons were continued and expanded throughout Europe and America during the 19th century. In the late 1970s Jo Ann and I joined with a number of other couples to establish a 20th century dinner version of the salon that featured a prepared presentation of a thesis, sometimes rebutted by ‘the loyal opposition’, and then dissected by everyone until the early hours. These dinner salons went on for years and included some very interesting people and topics.)
The most recent inspiration for BB came from our own Reinette Senum and Patricia Smith, local activists and community leaders of known repute. After some preliminary plenary sessions under the able leadership of NCTV’s Access Coordinator Teri Hicklin, who will also direct the tapings, the program’s format was adopted and the first installments selected. BB will be a monthly one-hour offering, (co)hosted by one or two regular hosts, and featuring two or three invited guests. The program will consist of a civil discussion – not a debate – of the subject du jour between the host(s) and the guests.
The inaugural tranche of BB hosts are Patricia Smith (medicinal marijuana activist), Paul Emery (KVMR News Director already known to RR readers), Reinette Senum, Eric Tomb, and yours truly. As determined by a program’s host(s), one of the other hosts may also fill a guest role on a future program.
BB’s charter is to present definitive ideological viewpoints (ranging from crisp to outrageous?) on the selected issues – equivocation will be eschewed, i.e. no daisy talk – in such a manner that a landscape can emerge from which common ground may be identified, or an understanding of what notions, ideas, values, etc still stand in the way of our coming together. Of course, there will always be an effort to reach and identify some areas of consensus, no matter how minimal.
Yesterday’s launch was titled ‘Language and Labels’, and was moderated by Eric Tomb, a well-known bookseller, intellectual, and man about town in Nevada County. The program’s objective was to introduce the BB hosts, outline the show’s format and future, and give a sampling of it through a discussion of how language and labels guide and constrain our perspectives and perceptions. The airing times of this installment will be announced by NCTV.
The first Breaking Bread with guests will be ‘taped live’ on 1 May next. The subject will be the Second Amendment, and it will be co-hosted by Paul Emery and me.
[update] The first episode 'Language and Labels' was broadcast on 7 April 2013, and may be streamed from the NCTV archives from this page under Breaking Bread.
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