Month: March 2024

Modest Mussorgsky’s Piano Symphony, “Pictures at an Exhibition,” famously features ten relatively brief, separate, and distinct musical movements portraying the varying emotions of a visitor to an art museum viewing in succession separate works of art. The emotionally differentiated music varies in tone, tempo, and style relative to the subject of the respective painting. In an analogous reprise of this dynamic, we have sought to create, for some contemporarily needed diversion, an imaginative and nostalgic tour of a fictional antique store,( or as in the title of the Charles Dickens, novel, an “Old Curiosity Shop,”) with some commentary. The period of reference is 1940-1950.

[The “Egg Cream.”] This now seldom-encountered beverage was an aficionado’s distinct gourmet specialty, but definitionally reliant on a skilled and experienced preparer (i.e., “soda jerk”). The traditional contents were simple, chocolate syrup, milk (in the required proportion), and fountain seltzer. Empirical success in the replication of the reverenced and legitimate “egg cream,” was vitally dependent upon the aesthetic sensitivity and skill of a dedicated soda jerk, who, (like the stereotypic violin virtuoso, dressed in formal wear), was traditionally garbed, in a white hat and apron. Such soda fountain artists, before delivering to the marble counter to present the customer with the requested beverage, would in an existentially important manner, discharge the seltzer to initially hit the curved back of a long-handled spoon as he gently mixed the contents successfully producing the definitional texture to the resultant, smooth and vitally bubbly “egg cream.”

[The “spaldeen”]  The possession of a pink rubber ball was fundamental to the street life of the city-dwelling young boy. It was ubiquitously essential for handball, stickball, punchball, stoopball, racquetball, catch, or just bouncing. In less prosperous neighborhoods where more elegant sports were not featured, the quintessential item was the rubber ball, termed by street youth, a “spaldeen” (“Spaulding”) as distinguished from the more economically privileged use of its fancier cousin, encased in some specious of fibrous material suitable for the desired aerodynamics in the sport of tennis, but dynamically undesirable for handball, stoopball and other sundry contests of impecunious City youth.

During wartime, our father, a hardworking immigrant, did his best to support the family in a time of economic stress,  “splurged” one day, and surprised us by bringing home a ball (rubber was scarce, expensive, and rationed during wartime) as a special present.  Our initial delight was followed by our (provincial) disappointment in the discovery that it was a tennis ball. The next day we energetically spent considerable time, (ungratefully) rubbing off the covering by abrading it against the concrete sidewalk to access the underlying, desired, and utilitarian rubber ball (the “spaldeen”).  

[The eggbeater] This memorable and useful hand appliance is still available albeit, seldom used, in contemporary times. As known, it consisted of circular metal discs, placed somewhat in circular opposition, activated and spun in tandem, responsive to turning a small handle on the grip;, thus causing a circular mixing or beating action for the culinary processing of eggs, baking ingredients, and the like. The art of food preparation has seen a multitudinous variety of efficient mixers, ranging from complex stationary devices to mechanical and hand-held, rendering the utility of the traditional eggbeater retrogressive and, apparently, culturally passé. We are, affirmatively in favor of culinary progress but will admit to the nostalgic feeling of singular prowess derived from personally whipping cream and other dynamically transforming comestibles.

[Radio, galoshes, hairbrush, hair pomade]

We can reminiscently recall the singular, central importance of the family radio. It was, in our early days, installed in a prominent item of living room or parlor furniture, featuring a cloth-like covered opening for the transmission of sound. In the relevant period, it was the family venue after Sunday dinner to jointly receive news of the European war and also enjoy the regular Sunday evening programs, such as “The House of Mystery,” and “Nick Carter” (detective) as well as the established comedies, “The Great Gildersleeve,” “Jack Benny” and “Fred Allen.” The extinction of this practice, commensurate with the radical changes in the perception and function of the family, is noted in an earlier writing, “Radio Days.” Later on, we saw its smaller, non-furniture iteration and thereafter the ubiquitous, sometimes, loudly intrusive use of the hand-held, battery-operated “portable radio.”

We do not see galoshes (what is the derivation of that cacophonous name?) very much in recent days. These cumbersome, rubber, latch-closing, wide, half boots were universal as rainy footwear during the relevant period. The receipt of visitors on a rainy day would predictably evince, at the inside of the front door, small puddles of water and an aggregation of skewed wet black rubber. Young school-age children were innately adept at losing one of their pair of galoshes.

Hair dressings, including pomade and various oils (remember “Brilliantine”), long ago descended from the analogous wildlife status of “endangered” to “extinct,” with the change in tonsorial sensitivities. Men’s hairbrushes do persist, although mandatorily short stiff -haired, while in contrast, long-haired brushes are still flourishing in positive numbers and salubrious health for our sisters.

[Roller Skates]

Our virtual Curio Shop contains specimens of metal skates, popularly used and seen on city streets and sidewalks by young people. The metal skates were fixed to the skater’s shoes by metal clasp-like attachments at the toes. Skating on the sidewalk was a stimulating foot-vibrating experience, but safer than smooth rolling on the asphalt street; cobblestones were a definite “no-go.”  

During the contextual period, more decorous skating (to background music) was conducted at large public “Skating Rinks” and performed on a smoothly polished wooden floor. The rented skates were permanently affixed to fitted shoes. The antique store has pragmatically limited this building-size antique phenomenon to illustrative period photographs.

There appears to be a presenting scarcity of permissible dimension left to our traditional form of blog-style recitation of antique curios, in sheer contrast to a virtually unlimited quantity of relevant items gone retro. Thus, in order not to exceed the permissible dimensions of the classic blog, such items may be addressed by way of supplementary writings if desired.

-p.    

The term, ”nightmare,” may acceptably be described as a disturbing dream, manifesting itself during Man’s deep period of REM sleep, characterized by the presence of a basic fear, the latter, typically awakening the sleeper. By analogic contrast, our present theme, or “topic du jour,” concerns a nighttime trauma of such disturbing nature that, by its frightening verisimilitude, seems to be ruminatively reprised during waking hours. Our thematic nightmare stars, as its analogous version of the bone-chillingly and terrifying, “Freddie, Kreuger*” a psychopathic protagonist readily identifiable by his grotesquely groomed mop of orange-tinted hair whose starring role, in this horrific, interminable series of angst-ridden, nocturnal episodes, is assisted by a horde of compliant, and malignant disciples.

The conventional, salubrious dreams of the mainstream, democracy-loving Americans were abruptly disturbed by the unexpected intrusion of a sinister and repulsive appearance on the political scene, in the specter of the cognate horror-movie- protagonist, Donald J. Trump. The event soon led to a primal, and existential fear regarding the safety of our Republican Democracy.

In previous writings, we have commented on the immoral, felonious, and incapable persona of the protagonist of our thematic societal nightmare, viz., the multi-indicted, amoral, egomaniac, Donald J. Trump. For practical reasons of effective thematic presentation, his ample record of traitorous acts, such as the perverse relationship with Putin as well as other autocratic tyrants who oppose NATO, Ukraine, and our Democratic style polity. For perceived reasons of effective thematic presentation and contextual space said subjects shall be reserved for another essay. However, there may permissibly exist adequate contextual space for comment on the deleterious impact of his demonic presence, and that of his confederate supporters, on the basic foundational underpinning of our constitutional democracy.  

We have, on several relevant occasions, expressed our bewilderment as to the cause of the copious, populist attraction to the bizarre, orange-thatched, non-cinematic version of “Freddie Kreuger” We have found ourselves discombobulated, frustrated, and thus, unsatisfactorily relegated to the speculative theory that the exudations of his singular combination of egocentrism, ignorance, and lack of moral compass, dynamically induced a toxic, air-borne, and inhalable “miasma” (see: # M. 31, “Miasma”) that catalyzed and conglomerated a previously mute and amorphous horde of populists, conjointly evincing a plethora of assorted grievances, in combination with a shortfall of education, to succumb to his quasi- deification.

Assuredly, our Nation has historically survived an abundant history of disturbing nightmares, “The Trail of Tears,” the “Great Depression,” “The Tulsa Klan Outrage,” two World Wars, “McCarthyism,” Father John Coughlin, the Viet Nam travesty and the Covid-19 pandemic, to cite a limited reference to some illustrative examples. Notwithstanding the monumentally significant impact of such historic nightmares, the American Nation, in its singular resilience, and cohesively dedicated efforts, awoke from each such nocturnal trauma to a vastly improved, stronger, and more cohesive Democratic Republic. Our thematic nightmare, contrastingly, evinces fearful signs of a potential democratic apocalypse.

An unforeseen and horrific consequence of the political elevation of our cinematically analogous “Freddie” (Donald J. Trump), has proximately resulted in an existential threat to the basic underpinnings of our Republican Democracy by his overt rejection of the Constitution and existing Law and by his public demonstrations of autocratic inclination.

Trump’s bizarrely cultish, ubiquitous influence on the over-sized National population of unschooled and endemically discontented citizens has disastrously resulted in self-interested and shamefully duty-overriding fears of their voting strength on the part of legislators, governmental officeholders, and worse, on the judiciary (remarkably, including SCOTUS)  in compliance,  with the anti-democratic, and theocratic policies of Donald Trump. The result has had a malignant impact on our body politic with universal metastasis demonstrated by the total emasculation of the Republican Party, the hapless stagnation of the Federal Legislature, and the dismaying transmogrification of the historically revered, U.S. Supreme Court into a degraded and unprincipled servant of influential political and religious lobbies.

In his former term as President, as well as thereafter, tactically employing his malevolent populist influence, Trump has comported himself in the classic autocratic manner (viz., denigrating the Media, promoting “alternate facts”), and treasonously befriending dictators of Nations antithetical to democracy and classic enemies of the United States and NATO. Our nightmarish protagonist has faithfully followed the autocratic field manual through his exacerbation of National divisiveness and his tactical practice of scapegoating. He has been nominated to run again for the American Presidency, which event has ignited our thematic bone-chilling nightmare. It is to be especially noted, that in a singular instance of truthfulness, Donald Trump has publically declared his intention to be a dictator, (“for one day”?!). This is the appropriate stuff of nightmares.

America’s historic nightmares, as illustrated above, were overcome by a Nation that was unified in its belief in freedom and democracy and its aspiration for universal equality. We will hope that its extant divisiveness, tactically encouraged and exacerbated by our autocratic nightmarish protagonist will not be too formidable a challenge to our happy awakening.

 At the time of this writing, Joseph Biden has just completed his democratically inspirational, State of the Union speech, while, simultaneously and instructively, Trump is entertaining the lifetime dictator, the Darth Vader of Hungary. The facts, as they often do, speak for themselves.

*Title: Origin:  Wes Craven film, “Nightmare on Elm Street”

-p.

Our considered and deliberated observation is, that the so-called, “immigration crisis,” is, in actuality, a domestic conceit of many citizens consisting of an unrealistically perceived fear of intrusion by foreign hordes of unwanted undesirables; and decidedly, not one created by the immigrants. Such populist sentiment is unfounded, and in our view, derives its etiology from the vulnerable response to a mélange of ignorance, false propaganda, and systemic bigotry. Resident citizens, notably, are the empirical authors of the publically termed, “immigrant crises;” not those ill-fated human beings enduring substantial hardship in their desperate quest for asylum and an acceptable, safe existence.

Our uniquely free and economically successful Nation has been, from the time of creation by its revered (immigrant) Founders, to the present day, principally populated by immigrants and their progeny. As articulated by our visibly prominent Statue of Liberty, Congressional Statutes, and our vaunted tradition of “E Pluribus Unum,” it has historically manifested a welcoming avenue for immigration to our free and successful Democratic Republic.

 As a safe, free, and economically successful Nation, eternally espousing valid pretensions of virtue and humanism, we can see no reasonable moral or practical rationale for the populist paucity of empathic interest and, especially, the inappropriate xenophobic deprecation of vulnerable and hungry fellow human beings, typically braving great danger to reach asylum and a normal existence.

Moreover, as a practical and empirical matter, there is an absence of any plausible rationale for the observed antipathy; not the issue of competition for jobs, (the media has reported the pressing need for more laborers) and not living space or resources. As observed in earlier writing relating to this latter context, the Nation, observably, has many thousands of miles of residentially feasible, vacant, and unused (arid) Southwestern and Western territories for reclamation (and relevant employment).  As an accessory beneficial possibility, the development and reclamation of such territories would ultimately increase our National GDP.

Notwithstanding consistent, creditable studies revealing immigrants to be law-abiding and reliable sources of industrious, taxpayers, and consumers, and constitute a valuable source of manpower for National military service our former President and his compliant acolytes have expressed their fear and loathing for all compassionate programs of humanistic immigration.

The proclaimed and harshly vocal champion of opposition to America’s salutary franchise of immigration is that orange-haired, infamous practitioner of the nonsensical idiom of “jabberwocky,” (see immediately preceding writing) viz., the orange-haired populist favorite, Donald Trump. To our perception, any cursory consideration of his unrelenting slander of the hapless and vulnerable applicants for American safety, residence, and citizenship, would predictably result in an evidence-based, and accurate diagnosis of mania.

Donald Trump, when speaking on the subject of immigration is consistently so discombobulated by the heavy mist and mind-disabling fog of his egregious bigotry, metastasized by his clinically neurotic self-love, as to be rendered legally blind to the substance of his bizarre and self-defeating emanations; which to any sentient Homo sapiens, would indicate the presence of delusional ideation. Trump, the High Priest of the worshipful congregation of the Blessed Church of No-Immigration, has often made the following, false and observably non-lucid, argument against immigration: “They (presumably, “other countries”) don’t even send (?) their best people; they send “CARAVANS” of rapists and criminals to our country to…”

No one requires a reminder that such pretensions or “moral” jabberwocky, are shamefully enunciated by a miscreant individual, officially charged with no less than 91 felonies, is the identified,” accused” in several criminal indictments,  has been judicially and factually determined to be a rapist and a substantial tax fraud, has incited violent insurrection against Washington and been officially charged with intentional purloining of top secret government documents, and treasonous interaction with America’s historic enemies, bribing for their silence, prostitutes with whom he has had brisk commerce and committed a cornucopia of unconstitutional acts, including devious and highly profitable violations of the Emolument Clause, committed election denial and blatant vote tampering. Is it conceivably, necessary to additionally observe that this paragon of virtue and avowed protector of the American Nation from the dreaded, “Caravans” of immigrants, has been married three times, in each instance to an immigrant spouse.

We would humbly and beneficially suggest a review of the immediately preceding blog on the subject of the arcane language of “Jabberwocky” which lexicon lists, under the category of “C,” the misused word, “caravan,”

-p.

---

 

The salubrious confluence of multi-diverse cultures historically comprising the American population, as noted in the Nation’s estimable motto, “E Pluribus Unum” (anti-immigrant proponents, please take note), has, empirically introduced to the Nation, a diverse host of cultural “second languages.” Strangely, within the past decade, a domestic, albeit quasi-rational, tongue has appeared among a considerable swath of our populist citizenry best characterized by analogy to the exotic poem in *Lewis Carroll’s “Through the Looking Glass,” termed, “Jabberwocky.” The singular feature of this home-grown idiom is that it is expressed in the general lexicon of American English, yet, analogous to the dynamic of the nonsensical verses of Lewis Carroll, lacks any recognizable semblance of rational content or communicated value.

An illustrative, and, especially significant, example of our thematic patois, may be observed in the utterances of its recognized lexicographer, Donald J. Trump, who, not content with serving four long and atrocious years as President (accruing no less than two Congressional Impeachments) is currently desirous of another such ignominious term. His speech, devotedly emulated by a substantial cultish following of populist sycophants, is predictably rich in jabberwocky emanations and demonstrably replete with bizarre and exotic ideation.

The most characteristic and ubiquitous example of Trump’s deplorable jabberwocky is seen in abbreviated form, the domicile of which is ritually situated on red-colored baseball caps, viz., “MAGA.” The latter logo, expressed in white prominent letters, represents the typically outrageous clap-trap of that identified snake oil salesman and incapable former President, Donald Trump; a quasi-deity to the meme of such compliant cap wearers, that abbreviates to, “Make America Great Again.” In an otherwise objective and legitimate application of such pronouncement, it conceivably would constitute a praiseworthy aspiration. However, as an enunciation by the neurotically, egotistical persona of Donald Trump, is deceitful, misleading, inappropriate, and, indeed, a clinical example of the recent epidemic of his demagogic Jabberwocky.

Similar in its deceitful dynamic to the enunciated and hypocritical, “Right to Life,” proponents, (who, despite their tactical meme, demonstrate authentic jabberwocky, by their opposition to assistance to the needy child (i.e., after its birth), opposition to abortion, yet, as well (bizarrely and inconsistently) contraception, oppose gun control, and promote Capital Punishment). It appears to be irrefutably obvious that the inappropriately selected, “Right to Life” meme is, irrefutably, a plain example of cynical, unadulterated, and ***, Jabberwocky.

Trump’s tactically egocentric and deceitful MAGA assertion is deceitfully articulated jabberwocky, shamefully consistent with his incessant, egocentric, and arrogant “snake-oil” promotion of himself; viz., make America great again. Such prediction of renewed greatness has been empirically disproven by the egregious damage he perpetrated in his embarrassing, four-year (twice-impeached) term. Nevertheless, Trump’s perception, neurotically impaired by an overriding egotistical persona combined with shameful ignorance, remarkably, without shame or embarrassment, touts his horn to the libretto of “Make America Great Again,” (read, “By electing me”). We would challenge any Trump acolyte to furnish any nationally beneficial or appropriate act (as contrasted with those that were personally profitable) for which he might deservedly take credit in his term of office. One might add to the challenge, Trump’s officially determined commission of an incomprehensible, 71 felonies and his many egregious and selfishly profitable violations of the “Emolument Clause of the U.S. Constitution,

By empirical comparison, President Joseph Biden,(whom Trump, only three years younger, chooses to criticize as old and incapable) can deservedly take credit for a plethora of beneficial accomplishments to date in his less than four-year term as President. Beneficially included are such matters as: bringing the pandemic under control (following Trump’s ignorant misfeasance, proximately resulting in hundreds of thousands of preventable deaths), significantly reducing national inflation,  the attainment of a historically high employment rate, reducing the oppressive level of tuition debt, marshaling through a nationally needed, major infrastructure bill, with its attendant facility of transportation, public safety, and inherent and substantially impactful, economic benefits, publically chastising Putin’s all-out aggression against Ukraine and initiating a program of military assistance to that assaulted democratic nation, being empathically and diplomatically engaged in empathic policies seeking to achieve a lasting truce and the amelioration of suffering of the Gaza civilian citizens, and, in his competent performance and spoken appearances, has demonstrated  an ardent support of democracy, compassionate humanism and an unfailingly ardent cheerleader for the salutary, American way of life.

In addition to the empirical comparison with Trump’s jabberwocky failure to accomplish any beneficial act benefiting the Nation, said demagogic fraud and ego-oriented, attention-seeking Man-child, has, by his public statements of autocratic intention irrefutably demonstrated that his election would transmogrify our singularly valuable Democratic Republic under his atavistic, Putin-like rule. He has indeed so stated and, has threateningly promised “retribution” to all who politically or oppose him.

In passing, it might be observed, in reference to the propagandist, jabberwocky slogan, “Make America Great Again,” that the Nation’s vaunted, historic greatness was achieved, notably, without participation by, or malicious interference from, the autocratic aspirations and serial mendacity (orange jabberwocky) of Donald Trump.

-p.   

Our traditional reverence for The Supreme Court of the United States (“SCOTUS”) had been virtually comparable to the nature and intensity of religious belief. As the third branch, specified in our constitutionally designed “Separation of Powers,” it was created to empirically perform the vitally important duty of the Nation’s legal oversight and guidance, review the appropriate constitutional function of the other two branches of Government, Executive, and Legislative, and, as necessary, clarify legal disputes, emanating from the lower Courts. The mission of America’s highest Court was to, objectively and impartially, assure justice through the protection of constitutional rights. We have analogized its vitally important function to the traditional lighthouse whose emanations of light served as a navigational guide to seafarers and a protection from the hazards of dangerous shoals, reefs, and ambient rocks. The essence of the analogy consists in the High Court’s responsible and undertaken function in the guidance of our Ship of State when necessary, to the desirable destination of just resolution of foundational legal issues.

As stated, we eternally revered the legal acumen and circumspection evinced by such referential supervision by SCOTUS, in its demonstrated motivation to reliably protect the legal rights of the Nation and its citizens. Justices such as Marshall. Holmes, Cardozo, Brennan, Brandeis, and Warren were among the many judicial recipients of our veneration and high esteem. We took special pleasure in reading the opinions of Justice Benjamin Cardozo with high praise for their aesthetic style as well as their expressions of deliberated wisdom.

To ensure the implementation of the constitutional architecture mandating the “Separation of Powers,” procedural rules were established regarding standard applications for the acceptance of cases for consideration by SCOTUS. Prerequisite proceedings, known as applications for a “Writ of Certiorari,” in which an appellant had the obligation to demonstrate the complete absence or, indeed, any indirect potential impact of the relevant issues on any political matter. Such “Black Letter Law,” predicate, in combination with the lifetime appointment accorded to the nine SCOTUS justices, was prudently established to avoid the possibility of the corrupting influence of politics in the determinations of this “Court of Last Resort.” As said by Thomas Paine, “We have no King, the Law is King.”

To the credit of SCOTUS, this constitutionally salubrious policy was strictly and unwaveringly adhered to until the eventful, unprecedented 2000 SCOTUS case of Bush v. Gore. The acceptance and consideration of the latter case, dealing with political issues, (regarding issues arising from a contested count of Presidential ballots) was inarguably, political and against mandatory case precedent. It was, nevertheless, accepted and decided by the High Court. In our view, this was the first indication of the abandonment of the Court’s traditional neutrality and its unprecedented transmogrification and descent into the inappropriate state of political and religiously, influenced behavior. (See early essay: “WHERE YOU AT, SCOTUS?”).

It is painfully disappointing to observe that from the latter case, decided in the year 2,000, to the present, the nation has been witness to the deep, regressive morphing of SCOTUS from its venerable status as an impartial and objective arbitrator of foundational legal issues and wise interpreter of the law,  to its extant corrupt, politically and religiously influenced, condition. The High Court’s biased control by the Conservative majority of four, (tactically maintained by the perverse roadblocks of Senate Leader, Mitch McConnell) in tandem with the anti-democratic, Trump-influenced (“MAGA”) lobbies have proven to effectively and unashamedly eschew the traditionally responsible and impartial ethos of their historical predecessors, and render homage to the extant populist undemocratic, political and intrusive religious interests. The nation’s former guiding light has sadly, dimmed, if not been rendered opaque.

Accordingly, mainstream America has, of late, been obliged to endure, by errant decisional law, the unconstitutional catering to the atavistic religious lobby, for example, by inhumanely and unprecedentedly, overturning women’s long-established right of abortion,  and corruptly acceding to Conservative political influencers, for example, by their denying of relief from unconstitutional gerrymandering, morally base affirmative action, gun regulation, and an entire cornucopia of needed liberal reforms. SCOTUS has improperly and purposefully, assisted Donald Trump in his war on American democracy by its unseemly, partisan-influenced assistance to his improper efforts to delay, and thereby, tactically defeat his well-deserved criminal prosecution for his 71 publically admitted criminal felonies, including treason, incitement of insurrection [ref. Art, 14 (3)], voter interference, and the illegal purloining of top secret documents.

 Mainstream American citizens, in light of the empirically presenting facts, of necessity, must undertake the existentially vital responsibility to display the bright light of traditional democracy; and decree by its resounding vote, an effective “appellate” assurance of the continuance of our Democratic Republic, in consonance with the salutary provisions and intended spirit of the Constitution.

-p.

---