I have written three books now that are available on Amazon. They are all nicely finished full color paperbacks that make great gifts or an easy read on a rainy afternoon. You can find all three books in print or Kindle format HERE.
Nine Bullets | 100 Days Gone. What We Know
2) Donald Trump lies a lot -- pathologically so - but it is not clear he knows he is lying. It is more like he just doesn't pay any attention to what he says from one minute to the next. His toadies don't have the courage to tell him the truth. He also just doesn't care. Moreover, much of what the Administration says and does appears designed to troll the nation.
3) His gaps in knowledge and policy are being filled by the Russians, Nazis, and super-fundamentalist Christians. It would be one thing if he was thrust into this job while competent politicians were at his side to educate and guide him. However, he is surrounded by political neophytes and ideologues. No one in the White House knows anything about legislation or policy. He is learning about the world from some of the worst people you could assemble.
4) Meanwhile, Jeff Sessions is an example of competent evil (by comparison). Session's has been waiting his whole life to restore Jim Crow to the South and now he has the power to do it. His goals are to strip citizenship from immigrants to keep them from voting. Strip voting rights from protesters and people of color.
5) The Trump administration doesn't care about increasing his base because Jeff Sessions doesn't plan to let Democrats vote in the next election. Sessions efforts are part of a larger Republican plan fueled by White Nationalist fears of being outnumbered by minorities in the future. Sessions believes that the only way for Republicans to remain in power is to structure the democratic institutions so that non-Republicans can't vote. See North Carolina for examples of that tactics they plan to use.
6) The Russian thing is big, and Trump's inner circle knows it. Flynn, Manafort, Page, Gorka, Sessions - the list goes on. As the investigations continue, it will eventually be easier to list the people who weren't on the Russian payroll.
7) Trump is a bully, but he backs down easily. China figured out right away that Trump was a "paper tiger." A bully that backs down at the first hint of resistance. Paul Ryan and Congress took a little longer, but they are figuring it out too. He has no core principals, he does not do research and doesn't understand how the US government works. So even if he threatens you, he's got nothing to back it up and so he's an easy mark to roll.
8) Trump loves evil dictators, apparently. In his dreams Trump sees himself as a beloved mob boss or long ruling dictator. No surprise then that he's cuddling up to strong men while denouncing Democracies. This will come in handy when Sessions starts stripping people of their citizenship.
9) Republicans are misreading and misplaying the Trump victory. Most Republicans think that Trump's voters could primary them if they don't fall in line. As we've seen, however, Trump doesn't really have anything he cares about other than Trump. Congressional Republicans can't agree on any legislation to pass that will be popular, so they are going to face a referendum on Trump when they come up for reelection. By that time the Republican brand may be so tarnished by Trump's incompetence and mendacity that we could see a big loss for GOP in the general.
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Never Stop Learning: Confessions of a Dilettante
When I was a kid, I used to read encyclopedias.
We had two sets. The World Book 1975 was my favorite. It had a few color photos and it was amazing. Pick a letter off the shelf, open the book up and learn about something.
I loved learning about things.
I still do.
My parents set the example. My dad started his career on a slide rule and finally retired just a few years ago using 3D printers and computer modeling. From moon boots, to grocery checkout scanners to actual jetpacks for astronauts, my dad enjoyed a rich and varied career in the world of industrial design.
The trick he always says, is to never stop learning.
As a newspaper reporter, learning new things about the world was part of my job -- the absolute best part. As the editor on an online news site during the dot-com boom, I taught myself the nuts and bolts of how to design and publish using HTML code. We were trying to create a model of sustainable success on the web before anyone thought there was a future in online journalism.
The dot-com bubble burst, I changed careers.
A Whole New World
Next came nursing, where I went from an expert in one field to a complete novice in another. I had a whole world of medicine that I had to understand.
Continuing education is required for doctors and nurses because medical science changes rapidly. If you don’t keep learning, you aren’t practicing good medicine.
I try to teach myself how to fix things. Often, doing it yourself is barely worth the time and materials, but learning how to do it is where I find the reward.
The internet, of course, makes all this much easier. When we bought this old house 24 years ago we had to learn restoration and repairs ourselves. I thumbed through old handiman books that I picked up at thrift stores to teach myself the basics getting an old house livable.
My motto is “there is nothing I don’t know how to do, only things I haven’t learned yet.”
I am a notorious dilettante. I’ve taken flying lessons and classes in wood carving. Sometimes I find a new skill or area is just not for me.
Often I just fail.
A couple years ago, I bought a bass guitar and tried to teach myself how to play. I’d picked bass because I played trombone in school. I figured I’d try bass because I could still sort of read the bass clef. It didn’t work.
Learning from Failure
The most important part of failure is learning, and sometimes the most important part of learning is failing.
This year I swallowed that failure and am trying something new --
I have always been in love with the sound of the banjo. Probably a side effect of watching too much Hee Haw when I was a kid. I knew nothing about it other than I liked the sound. The open backed banjo is a perfect accompaniment to a rainy day.
With a Christmas gift card I bought a kit from Backyard Banjos and I’m trying to teach myself to play.
I had to start by putting the banjo together myself -- staining the wood and assembling the components to make the musical instrument. Then I had to learn how to string it and tune it.
A few books from the library and an online video lesson plan and I’m starting to actually make music.
When the rain forces us inside, it is a great time to open our minds. We have libraries at our fingertips, experts a few clicks away.
The internet is wonderful, especially if you live in a rural community. It opens up all sorts of opportunities to learn new things. That said, it has its limitations. I’ll try my online lessons but I may need to resort to in person classes.
Lifelong Learning
Thankfully lifelong learning opportunities abound in our community. We have two excellent community colleges and amazing libraries as well as a host of opportunities for learning all manner of skills to test and expand our minds and bodies. I’m dying take a class at the Barbey Maritime Center someday where you can learn everything from building boats to basket weaving.
For now, however, I am focused on my little blue banjo.
I think it will be good for me.
Learning to play an musical instrument at any age seems to confirm neurological benefits. Music keeps our brains young, even if we don’t start taking lessons until we are much older.
One researcher studied the impact of piano lessons on adults between the ages of 60 and 85. According to an article in National Geographic, she found that after six months, those who had received the lessons showed gains in memory, verbal fluency, information processing, planning ability and other cognitive functions when compared to a control group.
"People often shy away from learning to play a musical instrument at a later age, but it's definitely possible to learn and play well into late adulthood," University of South Florida researcher Jennifer Bugos explained. "Musical training seems to have a beneficial impact at whatever age you start. It contains all the components of a cognitive training program that sometimes are overlooked, and just as we work out our bodies, we should work out our minds."
Musical training has been shown to help improve motor skills recovery after a stroke. Other research is ongoing to see whether choir singing can help stave off the advance of dementia.
“Music reaches parts of the brain that other things can’t,” University of Westminster neuropsychologist Catherine Loveday told the Guardian. “It’s a strong cognitive stimulus that grows the brain in a way that nothing else does, and the evidence that musical training enhances things like working memory and language is very robust.”
So even if I never play a note for anyone other than myself, I’ll still get some benefit from whatever neural connections come together during this learning experience. That will help keep my brain in good shape to learn other new skills in the years to come.
I’m determined to never stop learning.
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This essay was originally published in the Daily Astorian, March 31, 2017.
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