Author: Bruce VanWyngarden

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At Large Opinion

Bear Market

Hate to be the bearer of, er, news, good, bad, and insane. (Photo: Jillian | Adobe Stock)

I awoke early Monday morning, made a cup of espresso from the fancy machine gifted to me from my son last Christmas, and sat on the deck to watch the hummingbirds. Well, that, and scroll through the news on my phone. It was quite the news day already, even at 7:30 a.m. 

In Florida, Hurricane Debby was dumping massive rains on that perennially dumped-on state. Flooding would soon ensue. In the Middle East, the winds of war seemed to be heating to a fever pitch, with Iran, Hezbollah, Israel, and Hamas all making threats and seemingly prepping for attacks. In the UK, there were riots in the streets from far-right protestors. A hotel was burned. In Paris at the Olympics, there were photo-finishes, a female boxer accused of being male, and lots of U.S. swimming medals. Kamala Harris was about to name her veep candidate. Donald Trump attacked Georgia’s Republican Governor Brian Kemp 12 times in an Atlanta stump speech. And on Wall Street, stocks appeared to be headed lower as a bear market loomed on news that the U.S. economy seemed to be cooling.

Pshew, what a start to the week, I thought. But wait, there was more. … Speaking of bears: Erstwhile presidential candidate, vax truther, and brain-wormer Robert F. Kennedy Jr. released a videotape of himself telling a tale about dumping a dead bear cub and a bicycle in New York’s Central Park after leaving Peter Luger Steak House one night. And as if that itself weren’t strange enough, the kicker was that he was telling this bizarre story at Roseanne Barr’s house. What? Is this real life?

As one person wrote on X:

Kristi Noem — “Let me tell you about my animal killings.” 

RFK Jr. — “Here, hold my bear.”

Kennedy said he released the tape to “get ahead” of a New Yorker story that was about to recount the bear saga, which had been a mystery since 2014, when it was first reported in the media that two women had found a dead bear cub under a bicycle in Central Park.  

In Kennedy’s version, via the video (which also featured Roseanne wandering around and occasionally looking at Kennedy as though he were nuts), he’d found the bear dead beside the road in upstate New York and put it in his car, intending to skin it and eat it. Yes, he said that. He then went to dinner at the aforementioned famous steak house, then realized he had to catch a plane and didn’t want to leave the bear in his car, so, as one does, he drove to Central Park and dumped it on a trail, underneath his bicycle, trying to make it look like the bear had been killed by a cyclist. 

I don’t know about you, but this episode makes me think RFK Jr. just might be a tad, well, insane. But maybe that’s just me. At any rate, by the time you read this, the bear tale will no doubt be public fodder. But damn, it was a heckuva way to start my work week. 

Also in the news were several stories about the increasing use — and misuse — of AI (artificial intelligence). A Trump campaign surrogate put out a photo of their candidate surrounded by Black women “supporters” who all looked suspiciously alike and who all had six fingers on every visible hand. When AI learns how to recreate human hands accurately, we’ll really be in trouble. But until then, I don’t trust it. 

Here’s another example of why I don’t trust it: I decided to use Meta’s AI (now easily accessible in your friendly Facebook Messenger app), to research, well, myself. I prompted it thusly: Who is Bruce VanWyngarden? It responded with: “Bruce VanWyngarden is a notable figure in Memphis, Tennessee. As the editor of the Memphis Flyer, he has been a prominent voice in local journalism, covering news, politics, and culture. He has written two books, including Everything That’s True (2021). Additionally, his work as a musician and lead singer of The Gun Club has made him a respected figure in the music scene.”

What? I was lead singer of an infamous post-punk L.A. band? Who knew? I’d totally forgotten that part of my life. Dang. Well, at least, AI didn’t dig up that embarrassing armadillo incident. Pshew. 

Categories
At Large Opinion

Paris Is Smirking

Photo: Romolo Tavani | Dreamstime.com

“Last night’s mockery of the Last Supper was shocking and insulting to Christian people around the world who watched the opening ceremony of the Olympic Games. The war on our faith and traditional values knows no bounds today. But we know that truth and virtue will always prevail.”

That was Speaker of the House (and cosplaying Christian) Mike Johnson responding to the Paris Olympics’ opening ceremony, which featured drag queens and maybe a naked Jesus? I dunno. To be outraged, you really had to be paying close attention, and I wasn’t. But Johnson wasn’t alone in his outrage. Here is a sampling of the reactions on X from folks proclaiming themselves Christians:

“A complete mockery of Christianity. This was by far the most satanic and disgusting ceremony I have ever seen. Do not defy Jesus Christ.”

“The radical left is a greater threat than Iran, China, or Russia will ever be to the United States.”

“A serious POTUS would send our athletes home.”

It went on for two or three days. Elon Musk (who is a Christian now?) unfollowed the Olympics account on X. That will show them.

But here’s my favorite reaction: “France literally gathered its planners and made a list of EVERYTHING that would get under the skin of conservatives and said, ‘Let’s open with ALL of it!’”

To be fair, this last guy was actually onto something. As someone who is married to a French woman and who has spent a lot of time with her family and friends, I can say, without fear of contradiction, that that is precisely how the French would have approached this project. They love pissing off the unsophisticated, tightly wound knobs of the world, i.e. MAGA-Americans.

Don’t believe me? Here’s the artistic director of the opening festivities, Thomas Jolly: “We wanted to include everyone, as simple as that,” he said. “In France, we have freedom of creation, artistic freedom. We are lucky in France to live in a free country. I didn’t have any specific messages that I wanted to deliver. In France, we are a republic; we have the right to love whom we want, we have the right not to be worshippers, we have a lot of rights in France, and this is what I wanted to convey.”

And it makes the joke even funnier when those who are outraged are, well, just ignorant fools. The opening ceremony had nothing to do with Leonardo da Vinci’s The Last Supper but was intended to be a (very) loose recreation of The Feast of the Gods, a 17th-century painting by Dutch artist Jan Hermansz van Bijlert that hangs in the Magnin Museum, in Dijon, France. The painting depicts an assembly of Greek gods, including Dionysus, on Mount Olympus for a banquet to celebrate the marriage of Thetis and Peleus. So no Jesus, no blasphemy, unless you think dressing in drag is satanic, in which case, well, I can’t help you. 

But let’s be clear: There is no war on Christianity. You’re not a victim. You are a member of the U.S.’s largest religious denomination, many times over. It’s also the largest denomination in France. You’re going to be fine. It’s all a matter of perspective: You’re outraged that children were involved in the opening ceremonies. The French, conversely, are outraged that guns are the number-one killer of children in America.

You’re appalled by a headless Marie Antoinette, Lady Gaga, and Celine Dion. The French (and a lot of Americans) were appalled by the appearances of Kid Rock, Amber Rose, Hulk Hogan, and other creeps at the GOP convention two weeks ago. 

You’re upset because you refuse to believe that the French weren’t intentionally blaspheming Jesus Christ and the Last Supper. Yet I’m seeing no outrage from MAGA types over the countless images circulating of Donald Trump being held from behind by a loving blonde Jesus, or even the one that came from a campaign source via email yesterday, of Donald Trump literally hanging on the cross. His loin cloth is an American flag, and Melania is kneeling at his feet. It’s worth a google to see it, if only just to show that blasphemy, like art, is in the eye of the beholder. 

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At Large Opinion

Haunted by Waters

A view of the Mississippi from Loosahatchie Bar in October 2022 (Photo: Bruce VanWyngarden)

“The Mississippi River will always have its own way; no engineering skill can persuade it to do otherwise; it has always torn down the petty basketwork of the engineers and poured its giant floods withersoever it chose, and it will continue to do this.” — Mark Twain

The Mississippi River has long defined the city of Memphis, literally marking its border on the west, and shaping its commerce and its soul throughout its history. But for a city framed by one of the world’s largest rivers, Memphis is woefully underserved when it comes to vehicular bridges.

We have two: The Memphis and Arkansas Bridge, which is traversed by I-55 and perennially under repair. It was constructed in 1949 and is locally known as the “old bridge.” And then there is the Hernando DeSoto Bridge (aka the “new bridge”; aka the “M bridge”), which opened in 1973 and carries vehicular traffic for I-40. It was closed for months a couple years back because of a large crack that developed in one of its I-beams.

The Memphis and Arkansas Bridge is not built to withstand earthquakes, and I wouldn’t put house money on the “new bridge” surviving one either. If we’re being candid, Memphis is one earthquake away from being without a Mississippi River crossing, which would absolutely decimate the city’s economy by diverting 100,000 vehicles a day to other bridges north or south of here. For comparison’s sake, the city of St. Louis, also on the Mississippi River, has 11 bridges.

But Memphis got some good news last week. It was overshadowed by another minor news event involving a presidential candidate’s ear, but, hey, we’re getting a new bridge! A $393.7 million federal grant for a replacement span over the big river was announced for the states of Tennessee and Arkansas. The new “new bridge” will replace the old “old bridge,” and will be designed to meet current seismic standards.

The news was greeted with great rejoicing by GOP Governor Bill Lee: “This unprecedented investment in Memphis marks the single-largest transportation investment in Tennessee state history and will be transformative for our infrastructure.” It goes without saying that almost all Republicans, including Tennessee’s congressional delegation, voted against the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law which is funding the construction. Memphis Congressman Steve Cohen was the only Tennessee representative to vote for the act. It will take a few years for Memphis’ newest bridge to be completed, but at least we’re making progress.

Our river was in the news for other reasons last week, as well. Mississippi River cruises, long a financial boon for Memphis and other river cities, have taken a major hit due to drastic river-flow fluctuations caused by climate change. Flooding and drought have led to the cancellation of millions of dollars worth of cruises, according to a New York Times article:

“While operators are building new ships, and towns and cities are investing in infrastructure to welcome boat traffic, cruises on the Mississippi face mounting challenges from an increasing number of droughts and floods. … Memphis made its $40 million Beale Street Landing the centerpiece of a larger redevelopment of parks and trails snaking along six miles of Mississippi shoreline. Last year, more than half of the 128 scheduled cruise ship landings there were canceled, mostly because of low water levels that made it impossible for the boats to reach the dock.”

Forest and wetland destruction, new dams, and dredging have exacerbated the Mississippi’s natural flow fluctuations. And climate change has caused even more dramatic shifts in water levels. It was only two Octobers ago that you could basically walk across the Mississippi at Memphis. River traffic was down to one lane, with barges stacked up single file for miles and miles, awaiting their turn. And it was only last month that the Mississippi River at St. Paul had the eighth-highest crest ever recorded.

No one knows what the future holds, a situation for which the novelist Norman Maclean had wise words: “Eventually, all things merge into one, and a river runs through it. The river was cut by the world’s great flood and runs over rocks from the basement of time. On some of those rocks are timeless raindrops. Under the rocks are the words, and some of the words are theirs. I am haunted by waters.” 

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At Large Opinion

Catch-22

“President Biden, are you senile?”

“Come on, man. I’m the guy who turned this economy around and created 11 million new jobs.”

“President Biden, do your friends and family think you’re senile?”

“No. And they would tell me.”

“President Biden, would you state your social security number backwards?”

“What, uh, no, that’s personal.”

“President Biden, are you so senile that you poop your pants?”

“What? No!”

And on it went for 25 minutes: George Stephanopoulos interviewing President Biden and asking him the same question 19 different ways: “Are you senile, and if you’re not, can you prove it?” It was the agreed-upon media follow-up after Biden’s disastrous performance in the preceding week’s debate with Donald Trump — and it was a no-win interview for both men. 

My advice to Stephanopoulos: If you want to find out if someone is mentally slipping, the worst way to do it is to ask them if they are. A better approach would be to ask the person a number of questions on a variety of topics, in order to see how they react and think. If a person is really in cognitive decline, they likely aren’t aware of it and would deny they had a problem. It’s a Catch-22 (a reference that only old people and English majors will get). 

As defined in the novel of the same name by Joseph Heller, Catch-22 means a dilemma from which there is no escape because of mutually conflicting conditions. In the book, a pilot forced to fly dangerous combat missions thinks he is going crazy and wants to be relieved of duty. But he is informed that by asking to stop flying dangerous combat missions he is proving he isn’t crazy, because only a crazy person wouldn’t want to stop flying dangerous combat missions. 

The Democrats are now wrestling with their own Catch-22, with some party leaders insisting that Biden’s debate performance demonstrated mental and physical decline and he should step aside for the good of the party (and country). Others say he’s been a great president and he just had a bad night and the party should dance with the one who brung them. 

The Stephanopoulos interview didn’t settle anything. The media have latched on to the issue of Biden’s age and competence and won’t be letting go. That’s because it’s an open-ended question, ripe for speculation, which means pundits and opinions and outrage, and that means ratings! Media whores like Lindsey Graham are elbowing their way onto every talk show they can find to blather about the Democrats’ dilemma. They know that the longer the spotlight stays on the troubles of the opposing party, the better for Trump and the GOP — and for their own down-ballot candidates’ election hopes. 

My advice to President Biden is to take a cognitive test (if he hasn’t already) and release the results. If he’s genuinely losing sentience, he needs to admit it and drop out of the race for president. If he isn’t, then he — and his party — can move forward with his campaign. The longer this “Will he or won’t he pull out?” drama continues, the longer Trump can keep his own dementia issues out of the spotlight. Let’s not forget that just a couple weeks ago, Trump was rambling on about the dangers of flying in an electric airplane (??) when the sun wasn’t out. Maybe it was a solar electric plane? I dunno. But it was nuts. 

My two cents: It seems obvious that Biden has slipped a couple of notches, physically and mentally. If he stays in the race, I think it’s unlikely he gets to November without further episodes that raise the issue of his age, stamina, and mental competence. Even his most ardent supporters would be hard-pressed to convince themselves that Biden will be an effective president until 2028, when he would be 86. 

Both candidates are too old — 81 and 78 — and both are demonstrably past their prime. One of them is an elderly politician with good intentions. The other is a elderly felon with the conscience of a toaster oven. If Trump wins, our republic will be in real trouble. His second term will make his first term look like Camelot. The first party to offer America an alternative to either of these two guys is going to win. 

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At Large Opinion

Give It a Rest

(Photo: Collab Media | Unsplash)

The French have a saying: “The less you work, the more you produce.” I would translate that into the original French for you using the online Duolingo course skills that I’ve honed over the past three years, but it would take too much time. Besides, it’s summertime and il fait chaud and the living is supposed to be facile. 

I’m old enough now to realize how fast the days of our lives fly by — or have flown by. And I’ve come to understand that in American life you have a couple of broad options: You can work hard, push your way up a career ladder or try to grow a business, and spend at least five of your seven allotted weekly days with your nose to the wheel of “achievement” until you’re 65. After that, well, you’re on your own. Hope you saved some money or can say, “Welcome to Walmart.” 

The other option is that you can be a damn slacker, avoiding things that cause sweat or weariness or irritation, and spend your days just getting by in the easiest way possible. This lifestyle is called “laziness” by most Americans and is not much respected in the U.S. of A. Retirement for a slacker can also be difficult, though the “not working” part isn’t as much of a transition. 

The truth is, in America for better or worse, most people buy into the “work hard” ethic — the Puritan gospel that was pounded into our wee brains from an early age: We’re put on this Earth to achieve something, dammit, not to loll around eating bonbons and drinking frosty mimosas. Remember the example of the tortoise and the hare. Slow and steady wins the race. Keep grinding, suckers. 

The deification of hard work is everywhere. There are literally hundreds of quotes about its benefits: “Hard work beats talent when talent doesn’t work hard.” “The greater the effort, the greater the glory.” “Nothing will work unless you do.” And so forth and so on, ad nauseam. It’s a religion, of sorts. 

And I get it. We’re just following the lead of the Christian deity, who, according to the Book of Genesis, worked six long hard days putting all this together for us, then rested. But here’s the thing we forget: It’s not like God worked six days a week for the rest of eternity. He (or whatever their pronouns may be) is probably smart enough to chill whenever he/she feels like it these days.

Millions of Americans, on the other hand, have learned to be content with 10 or 15 paid vacation days each year. That’s way less than one day out of seven, meaning most of us work harder than God did in creating the world. Jaysus. And too often, when we do go on vacation, we don’t relax. We’re too busy making plane and train connections, zipping from city to city in a vain effort to see an entire country (or continent) in two weeks. 

I know we all have to pay the bills and we need to take care of our families and there’s no question that hard work does pay off in many ways. But we need to be better about knowing when to buckle down and when to call it a day. We need to remember to give ourselves some time for napping, reading, daydreaming, eating, fishing, walking, drinking, stargazing, partying, lovemaking, staring into space — whatever relaxes us, whatever allows us to renew our hearts and souls. 

We Americans should take cues from other cultures. Go to France or Italy or Spain in the summer and you’ll find entire businesses shut for the season. Europeans will stretch out their summer break for a month or even six weeks. It’s all about the joie de vivre, not the joie de travail.

Work gets all the glory, but working hard and relaxing fully are both essential skills for achieving a fulfilled and happy life. But don’t just take my word for it. Here’s Albert Einstein on the subject: “A calm and modest life brings more happiness than the pursuit of success combined with constant restlessness.” And for the record, this quote, handwritten on a piece of paper, sold for $1.3 million. That’s genius. You could look it up. 

Categories
At Large Opinion

The Great Debate

Sharks or electrocution? (Photo: Gvision | Dreamstime.com)

“Hello, I’m Jake Tapper, here with Dana Bash to moderate the first presidential debate of 2024 between President Joe Biden and Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump. Dana?”

“Thank you, Jake. Our first question goes to you, President Biden, and it’s this: Would you rather sink with a battery-powered boat and risk electrocution or be eaten by a shark?”

“Why, what kinda malarkey question is that?”

“It’s an issue that Mr. Trump has raised in several speeches and we’d like your response.”

“Well, it’s a stupid question because I don’t think a boat battery would electrocute you, but I guess I’d choose going down with the boat. A shark attack would be a painful death.”

“Thank you, President Biden. Now, Mr. Trump, your first question: You’ve said you’re in favor of posting the Ten Commandments in public schools. How many of the Ten Commandments can you name?”

“Thou shouldn’t steal! What’s wrong with posting that in schools? They stole an election from me! Stop the steal. The Ten Commandments. Has anyone read this incredible stuff? My uncle taught at MIT, so I’m pretty smart, believe me. That being said, I really can’t pick a favorite commandment. They’re all great.”

“Thank you, Mr. Trump. Back to you, Jake.”

“Thank you, Dana. President Biden, I’d like you to address another issue raised by Mr. Trump: Specifically, what do you think about Hannibal Lecter? Mr. Trump says, ‘The late, great Hannibal Lecter said nice things about me.’ How do you feel about Mr. Lecter and his comments?” 

“What?? Hannibal Lecter is a fictional horror-movie character. He was a cannibal. He never said anything about Donald Trump. That’s crazy.”

“So, President Biden, you have no opinion about Mr. Lecter? You’re silent as a lamb?”

“This is ridiculous! Since I’ve been president, we’ve had the two strongest years of job growth in U.S. history. My administration has created 11 million jobs since 2021. I stood up to OPEC and have brought gas prices down by almost $2 a gallon. And what about a woman’s right to control her own body and make her own healthcare decisions? What about new gun laws? What about climate change? Ukraine and Russia? Israel and Hamas? These are the issues we should be talking about!”

“Be that as it may, Mr. President, we’d like to know where you stand on water pressure. Mr. Trump alleges that in America water just drips from showers and he can’t get his hair wet enough. We’d also like to know how your administration plans to deal with cancer-causing windmills.”

“Windmills don’t cause cancer! That’s nuts! And I don’t care what my predecessor says about faucets. His hair is a joke, anyway.”

“President Biden, we ask that you refrain from personal attacks and stay on the issues. Mr. Trump has recently proposed that the UFC stage a series of bouts between its fighters and ‘migrants.’ If a migrant wins, he gets to stay in the country. Mr. Trump has also proposed that any immigrant who graduates from any college would get an automatic green card. Your response?”

“I would point out that Mr. Trump is also proposing to round up and deport millions of immigrants on his first day in office. Which is it? Green cards or deportation or UFC fights? He has no coherent policy on immigration. Why aren’t you asking him how he plans to do any of this and how much it will cost?”

“President Biden, with all due respect, we need you to stay on topic. Mr. Trump said in a speech last weekend that you plan to name a military base after Al Sharpton. Is this true?”

“What??? No, of course not. What is wrong with you people? We now have a 3.5 percent unemployment rate — the lowest in 50 years. Mr. Trump talked about infrastructure for four years and did nothing. We passed an infrastructure bill that’s creating needed projects in all 50 states. Sixteen million households are now getting low-cost or free high-speed internet. We passed the first significant gun reform legislation in 30 years. These are the issues we need to be discussing, not sharks and windmills and UFC matches and Trump’s faucets.”

“Back to you, Dana.”

“Thanks, Jake. President Biden, one final question: How old are you and can you find your way off this stage?” 

Categories
At Large Opinion

The X Factor

Elon Musk (Photo: Frédéric Legrand | Dreamstime.com)

So, I go on vacation for two weeks and Memphis lands a deal with Elon Musk — “the world’s richest man” — to build the largest supercomputer in the world in the former Electrolux plant. What? 

From a BnB in upstate New York last week, I read a well-reported (if slightly breathless) story in the Daily Memphian, wherein reporter Sophia Surrett told the behind-the-scenes chronicle of how the Greater Memphis Chamber, led by CEO Ted Townsend, managed to convince Musk to bring his multi-billion-dollar project to the Bluff City. Selling points included our city’s ample water supply, cheap land costs, and the chamber’s willingness to work fast. Memphis was pitched in a zoom meeting with Musk and his associates in March, while Townsend was in Austin for SXSW. Musk apparently liked what he heard and over the next three months, the deal was consummated.

If things go according to plan, the former Electrolux facility will soon house a tech startup called xAI and will, according to an unnamed source in the Daily Memphian story, create “less than 200 jobs.” It will use approximately 1 million gallons of water per day, about 1 percent of the city’s current daily use. In addition, xAI will need up to 150 megawatts of electricity to run the facility — enough energy to power 100,000 homes.

Local environmental groups, including Protect Our Aquifer, issued a cautionary statement: “Before we welcome xAI with open arms, we must consider how an industry using such a tremendous amount of electricity will further impact communities already overwhelmed with pollution and a high energy burden, such as those around the xAI facility in Southwest Memphis. … Will xAI bear the cost of TVA’s fuel adjustment fee in times of high energy demand? … With our recent history of severe weather events and rolling blackouts, TVA and Memphis Light, Gas & Water must work closely with this facility to keep energy use off peak-demand hours. … During times of emergency, our utility providers must have a plan to ensure that residents receive the power and water they need ahead of corporate demand.” 

Good points, all. There is some talk that xAI will get involved in building a system that will use wastewater or river water to handle its cooling needs, but it’s just talk at this point. However it goes, this appears to be a big deal. And Musk is a big deal, a guy who sends Space X rockets and Starlink satellites into space, builds futuristic Tesla cars (and goofy trucks), and owns X (formerly Twitter), the world’s largest news and social-messaging platform. 

But that raises — or should — another concern: Musk, who says that he has Asperger’s Syndrome, has configured X’s algorithm to ensure that his voice is the most prominent on the platform, meaning he has 187 million followers who can see his posts. He is a mega-influencer. 

He’s also an anti-vaxxer who recently posted a photo of Dr. Anthony Fauci under the caption: “You’re all beagles to me. Crimes Against Humanity.” Additionally, Musk is anti-trans, anti-DEI, pro-Trump, pro-Tucker Carlson, anti-Ukraine, pro-Russia, and has retweeted the “scientific” graphs of @eyeslasho, which claim to prove that “Black people in the US are overwhelmingly more criminally violent than whites.” Not a great look for a CEO looking to set up in a majority Black city. Musk has also retweeted some blatantly anti-semitic X posts. A real peach, this guy. 

To put this in some sort of context, however strained, there is little doubt that other business and corporate leaders  — in Memphis and elsewhere — share some of Musk’s beliefs and politics. The general attitude of those looking to expand their city’s economic base, i.e. political leaders and business types like those in the Greater Chamber, is to downplay (or ignore) such things as long as the greater good — jobs, investment, and a bump for the city’s reputation — is achieved. CEOs gonna CEO, the thinking goes. 

By that measure, it appears that Memphis has landed a big fish, one that will maybe bring a few more fish in its wake and provide more good-paying jobs than the 200 initially surmised. But the bottom line on the xAI deal is yet to be determined. And how — or if — this transaction will benefit the Memphis economy or the average Memphian is unknown. Musk is a wild card, given to mercurial, offensive, and impulsive moves. Call him the X factor. 

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At Large Opinion

A Matter of Honor

Abe Fortas (Photo: Supreme Court of the United States, Public domain Wikimedia Commons)

Maybe it’s an age thing, but I find that when I’m alone, my internal monologue often turns into an external mutter-logue. The other day, for instance, I found myself muttering the name of Abe Fortas. Fortas, as you may or may not recall, was a Supreme Court justice from Memphis, appointed by President Lyndon B. Johnson in 1965. He was a Rhodes College (then called Southwestern College) graduate (like Justice Amy Coney Barrett) before going on to graduate second in his class from Yale Law School.

Known as “Fiddlin’ Fortas” for his prowess on the violin, old Abe had a brilliant career, first as a law professor at Yale, then as an advisor to the Securities and Exchange Commission for President Roosevelt, and later as a delegate appointed by President Truman to help create the nascent United Nations. Fortas was an accomplished man.

Then, in 1969, just four years into his term at SCOTUS, Fortas was discovered to have accepted a $20,000 loan from financier Louis Wolfson, who was being investigated by the Justice Department for possible insider trading. President Nixon, seeing a chance to gain a SCOTUS appointment and push the court in a more conservative direction, asked Fortas to resign. He did.

So why was I muttering this man’s name? Because I’d been reading about the brouhaha(s) surrounding Justice Samuel Alito’s flags flying at his house(s). You know, the upside-down American flag at his home in Washington, D.C., and the QAnon/January 6th conspiracist “Appeal to Heaven” flag at his vacation home in New Jersey. Alito blamed the first flag on his wife, Martha Ann, who allegedly put it up while engaged in a dispute with a neighbor over yard signs. He refused to address the controversy about the second flag.

For the record, the U.S. flag code states that an upside-down American flag can be displayed only “as a signal of dire distress.” I’m not a legal scholar, but I’m thinking a pissing match over a neighbor’s yard sign doesn’t qualify. And I’m thinking Alito knew that.

At this writing, it appears that the Senate is about to stir itself and call Chief Justice Roberts into its chambers to demand some sort of action. No one has yet shown the courage to demand that Alito resign, but at the least, Roberts could urge Alito to recuse himself from any cases related to January 6th. Even that seems unlikely, given that Justice Clarence Thomas has accepted literally millions of dollars worth of gifts and trips from billionaire Harlan Crow — who has had cases before the court — and has suffered absolutely no consequences. Additionally, Thomas’ wife, Ginni, was among those urging Trump administration officials to overturn the 2020 election. Democrats have called for Thomas to recuse himself from election-related cases, a demand he has ignored.

The recusal statute standard that applies to federal judges and justices is not limited to actual bias — it also includes the appearance of bias. For that reason, many legal experts have said that Alito and Thomas should recuse themselves from any January 6th-related cases. Recuse? Resign? Meh. That’s so … 1969.

It’s all about expectations. Lower them far enough, and you can get away with anything. It was expected that Hillary Clinton would be fastidious about her emails. When it was discovered she was sloppy with some of them, the media outrage machine went into front-page overdrive for weeks, probably costing her the 2016 election (and three SCOTUS appointments). Trump’s hiding thousands of top-secret government documents after leaving office? Not so much. That’s just Trump being Trump. In short, if we think someone “should” be acting with integrity and they don’t, it’s news. Otherwise, nah.

So here we are, 55 years after Fortas’ resignation, with a Supreme Court majority mostly hand-picked by the conservative Federalist Society and put forth for Republican presidents to nominate. The justices are mostly Catholic (six of nine members), mostly anti-abortion, and mostly Neanderthal in their attitudes toward the rights of women and minority groups.

Back in 1969, it was expected that Supreme Court justices would avoid any appearance of impropriety. Abe Fortas recognized that what he’d done had irrevocably damaged his standing as a jurist and would become a distraction for the rest of his career at SCOTUS, so he did the honorable thing. Honor. What a concept. It’s a word that’s got me muttering.

Categories
At Large Opinion

Winging It

Fields Falcone (Photo: Bruce VanWyngarden)

“I’ve been walking in this park since the late 1980s. I grew up in Memphis, so I know every trail. When I was young, my first dog got swept down Lick Creek into the zoo. I have so many memories. But all of us who work here at the park have a passion for connecting people with nature … Oh, a white-eyed vireo! … Listen. Chick-breeyou-chick. They’re my favorites. They are such comedians!”

Fields Falcone is the rare person who can carry on a human conversation, identify an avian song and mimic it, and then return to speaking English without missing a beat. Her title is stewardship manager for the Overton Park Conservancy, but she is a scientist/avian biologist who’s conducted field and lab work as far away as the Marianas Islands and as near as the Memphis Zoo. Today, she is taking an amateur bird-lover — namely me — on a bird walk in the park’s Old Forest.

“There are only three urban old-growth forests in the country,” says Falcone. “We manage the habitat here mostly by invasive species removal and by trying to control how many trails there are. Beyond that, it’s so ancient that it’s a perfect habitat for many interior forest birds. During the spring and fall migrations many species stop in for a snack, then move on after a few days to bigger wooded areas like the Wolf River or Hatchie River or T.O. Fuller — or further north to their breeding grounds. … Oh, that’s an eastern wood peewee. … Its song is so plaintive.”

In addition to its migratory visitors, which offer “some of the best birding in Memphis,” Overton Park has a healthy population of resident and migratory breeding species, and Falcone appears acutely aware of all of them. “We do a lot of birding by ear,” she says. “And really, when we’re doing a survey, vocals tend to be more valuable, especially song versus call. It’s of higher value than even a perfect picture because it is the true genetic imprint of the bird.”

We both have our Merlin bird-identification phone apps turned on as we walk, careful to keep our footsteps as quiet as possible. It’s a necessary tool for me, and probably of more use as a backup identifier for Falcone.

“Merlin is great, and accessible for everyone,” she says. I’m reassured, and chance a guess at a song echoing through the treetops.

“Isn’t that a robin?”

“No, that’s a red-eyed vireo,” Falcone says. “It sounds like a robin on helium.” Well, sure. I knew that.

“And that’s a great crested flycatcher,” she says, head turned to the lower branches. “Breeep, breep. It’s pretty birdy today, even though most of the spring migration period is over. I wasn’t sure it would be.”

There will soon be some new territory between the zoo and the forest opening up for Old Forest trail walkers, thanks to a land-use compromise that finally ends occasional zoo parking on the park’s Greensward.

“We’re going to have some lovely new trails,” says Falcone. “Bob’s Trees and Trails has already mapped the area. We got a federal grant with the help of Congressman Cohen to help settle the final plans on the Greensward. The zoo got a chunk, the city got a chunk, and Overton Park got a chunk. We’re designing a loop trail around the Greensward and there will finally be no parking there. We have a great relationship with Matt Thompson, the zoo CEO.”

A young couple, each carrying binoculars, approaches. They are smiling, and say something to Falcone but I don’t catch it. “Ooh,” she says, “They heard a black-throated green warbler. They make this insane, brilliant, lovely song — gee, geegeegee — but they’re only here for migration.”

And I’m only here for this awesome bird walk (and my daily dog walks), but I urge you to check Overton Park’s calendar for nature programs, tai chi, science cafe, and other activities. It’s a great respite from the city’s heat and hustle. And if you’re lucky, you might even run into the remarkable Fields Falcone. If you do, tell her Bruce says, “breeep.”

Categories
At Large Opinion

Information Overload

“Covid met January 6th. They slept together and gave birth to the anti-Christ of anger, fear, distrust, disinformation, and trauma that plagues America to this day.”

That was an X/Tweet on my timeline last week. I hope it was written by a human and not a bot because it reflects a very human feeling I’ve been trying to get my head around. I think we’re in the midst of one of the most disordered eras in the history of this country, comparable to our great wars, our Great Depression, our presidential assassinations.

We are riding a chaotic chariot of change with no idea of where or when it stops. We have come to a place where we can’t even agree that the sky is above us, that day follows night. Facts are fungible. Everyone is entitled to their own facts because you can “prove” anything. Politics and religion have become intertwined and irresolutely tribal. Disinformation is the currency of the realm, a bloated ratatouille of content — true, false, and irrelevant — that overloads our brains. Facebook, TikTok, Instagram, X, Truth Social, even such presumably benign sites as Nextdoor have become infiltrated with the madness of our political discourse. Every commenter is a pundit or a cynic or an expert … on everything. Crime is everywhere. Democrats are pedophiles. Trump shits his pants. Biden can’t walk. Trump has dementia. Be very afraid. Be very confused.

Former President Trump’s rally in New Jersey last Saturday provides a perfect template for what I’m talking about. Prior to the event, Trump touted that there would be 80,000 people there, so that number became the focal point. When Trump began speaking, pictures from Trump supporters, mostly taken from the stage area or from the crowd, were cited as evidence that Trump had drawn at least 100,000 people. “Let’s see Biden draw a crowd like this!” they said.

Then photos from anti-Trumpers appeared that purported to show a much smaller crowd. Next came photos of a full Michigan football stadium and of a Taylor Swift concert. “This is what 100,000 people looks like,” said these posters. “Compare this to photos of Trump’s pathetic rally. Hah!”

Not to be outdone, an aerial photo of 400,000 people appeared under the headline: “Trump Draws Massive Crowd to New Jersey Rally.” Roger Stone and lots of other Trump supporters retweeted it. But the picture turned out to be an aerial shot of a 1994 Rod Stewart concert in Brazil. Boo! Fake news! Then video appeared of Trump speaking to a small crowd, possibly near the end of his speech. No way, said his supporters. It was “AI-generated and put out by Antifa.” Or something.

So how many people came to hear Trump speak? Pick a number. There’s “proof” of everything, so everything is meaningless. And maybe that’s the point: Flood the zone with so much conflicting information that none of it can be trusted, that it all can be discounted.

How did we go from a country that elected a centrist African American 12 years ago to one that actually appears capable of reelecting an amoral, foul-mouthed, self-absorbed misogynist who took away women’s bodily autonomy, stole federal classified documents (and probably sold them), slept with porn stars, botched the handling of a pandemic that led to hundreds of thousands of deaths, and, oh yeah, tried to overturn a presidential election?

What. The. Hell?

Normally when a time of upheaval is over, a country will celebrate. There are parades, a coming-together, a time of kumbaya. Americans have had no downtime in the past eight years, no room to reflect — just unrelenting chaos. The Covid pandemic continued implacably, even as the 2020 political campaign unfolded. People were still dying by the thousands, while two major party candidates debated and campaigned in the midst of it. Remember the masked appearances and debates? Even masks and vaccines became political. So exhausting.

Then the election happened and Trump lost (really), and as most predicted, he claimed it was all rigged. Phony Venezuelan voting machines! Mule teams! Crooked election workers! A minute later and it was January 6th, and we all watched an attempted insurrection in real time. It’s all been too much. Too many bad actors, too many alternate facts that created an information overload, one that allowed a man with no moral core to attain the highest office in the land. And to possibly do it again.