Student debt

My parents, who were farmers, would probably have been considered middle class, though we never seemed to have much money.  I remember one vacation growing up, and that was a three-day trip to Niagara Falls.  Nonetheless, when I went to Ursinus College, a private school with private school tuition, somehow they scraped the money together to pay for my education.  I helped with employment in the college kitchen, doing odd jobs for professors, and working summers, and I had a small scholarship (which I lost one year for misbehavior), but I know that most of the bills were paid by my parents.

(In grad school I was a T.A., and that, along with summer jobs, paid tuition and was enough to live on.)

It always amazed me that so many students at San José State received no help from their parents.  Some students were working 40-hour a week jobs while trying to attend school full time, a near impossibility.  In some cases, of course, parents had no money to spare, but many times upper middle class parents living in the suburbs simply refused to help their kids with college.  The attitude was that they were adults and deserved no more support.  

I wonder how many of those people with student debt, which under the Supreme Court decision they must now pay and pay, have parents who refused to help their kids.

The end of affirmative action

It is a commonplace that people get more conservative as they get older.  I was pleased with today’s Supreme Court ruling that ended affirmative action.  Of course, you might say.  What would one expect from an old white guy.  

Actually I opposed affirmative action the way it was implemented from day one.  I certainly have no problem with the way I think the Johnson administration intended it–colleges and universities recruit, encourage, and assist minority groups to apply and help students once they are admitted.  The quotas, the headcounts–that’s what bothered me.  The idea that one might be admitted to a college based on the race of one’s parents was anathema to me.

I also believed it would pit minority groups against each other.  That is precisely what happened.  Informal quotas or limits were put on Asian applicants, much like those imposed on Jewish applicants decades ago.

Finally, socialist that I am, I believed that class was far more important an issue than race or ethnicity.  Poor people don’t get into college in America, no matter what their race or gender.  

When Hartnell College in Salinas implemented its affirmative action plan in 1974, I spoke out against it.  The president of the college, in front of a room full of people, then implied that I was a racist.  Nope.  Not me.  It is the doctrine that was racist, and I believe the Court was right.  I don’t often say that.

Pepin the Short and Roy the Inept

On the trip across the country (we just arrived home a half hour ago), we listened to a Great Courses class with 24 lectures taught by Philip Deileader and entitled "The Early Middle Ages."  We learned that some of the early leaders of the Franks had descriptors attached to their names, such as Pepin the Short or Louis the Pious or Charles the Simple.  I decided that I also needed a descriptor, and in my case it will be Roy the Inept, although Linda suggested it should be Roy the Clumsy.

Before we left home my computer guru Debbie set up my AirBook so that I could turn it on, connect to a motel's WiFi, hit one key, and then post.  I managed to do it twice, and then I inadvertently did something wrong, and that was the end of my posting.  

Now that I'm back at my desk, I will be able again to post for my tens of readers.  (Or so I hope.)  I will share some observations on the trip in the coming days, but for now I will just say that I interacted with people in 13 states, and every one of them was friendly and pleasant.  (We crossed 14 states, but one was West Virginia at Wheeling, and we drove straight through.)

And to the person in Rockville, Indiana, who had a yard sign that said "I support a woman's right to choose, " thank you.  You lifted my spirits.

Gorsuch

The Supreme Court ruled 5-4 against the Navajo Nation on a water issue.  The Navajos had sued to force the federal government to provide them with more water.  Climate change and agricultural uses have diminished water supplies.  The four who ruled in favor of the Navajos included the usual liberal three and Neil Gorsuch.  

Gorsuch is one of the most conservative members of the Court, but in every case that involves Indian rights or treaties, he votes in the side of the Indians.  I don’t know why, but I do wish at least one of the other members would join him.

Martinez, CA

Martinez is the county seat of Contra Costa County and the home town of John Muir, whose house is now part of the national park system.  It is also booming.  When I left CA 17 years ago Martinez was a sleepy little town.  Today the town is full of shops and pedestrians.  The marina is full of boats and the parks were great.  

On the way back to Chico we went past miles of green rice fields with graceful white egrets.  I’m trying to remember why I moved back to Pennsylvania.

Be Prepared

We took a hike today in the Capay Unit of the Sacramento River National Wildlife Refuge.  A number of rules were posted, such as no horses and no fires.

Along with the rules was this warning:  This is a natural and wild area, be alert!  You may encounter ticks, mosquitoes, wasps, yellow-jackets, bees, poison oak, stinging nettle, poison hemlock, rattlesnakes, feral pigs, & mountain lions.

The only thing we did encounter was a deer and a vulture.  The vulture did bother me, since it seemed to hover above me while we hiked. 

Joe Micko

I first met Joe Micko during the Obama campaign when he was incredibly active in getting out yard signs.  I soon learned that he was a firm supporter of labor unions and was an active member of the Laborers’ Union.  Then I found out that he was involved with environmental causes.  Then I found out that he donated money to keep the Democratic Headquarters open.  Somewhat later I found out that he was a formidable wrestler when he was in college–and I hadn’t even known he went to college.

As his health declined, he had trouble getting out the signs, but he manned a table for the Ukrainian cause and remained steadfast in his support for the Ukrainians, and he never wavered in his progressive politics.  

I was so sad to hear of his death.  I’ll miss his political presence, but I’ll miss his friendship even more.  

Mormon crickets

If you want to see the effects of climate change, drive by the Great Salt Lake on I-80.  It may have filled somewhat because of an exceptionally rainy winter, but it is still down much further than it should be in mid-June.  Acres and acres of lake bottom are exposed to the air.

We are now in Elko, Nevada, where we saw thousands of Mormon crickets.  These are the very large bugs that had attacked the grain soon after the Mormons reached Utah.  The crops were saved by flocks of seagulls, which are still honored birds in Utah.  Too bad their habitat is disappearing.  

Where is Liz Cheney when we need her?

We are in Laramie.  We walked around the University of Wyoming campus and made snow balls from the hail on the grass.

On campus we saw the Simpson Family garden.  Alan Simpson was a Republican Senator and a Boy Scout during World War II.  As a Scout, he met some Japanese Scouts in the internment camp at Heart Mountain, including Norman Mineta, who later became my representative in the House.  Simpson and Mineta remained good friends.  This kind of thing was once possible in America. 

It is interesting that people in Wyoming have this myth of independence, yet when their member of Congress acts according to conscience and really is independent, they vote her out of office. 

In Atlantic, Iowa

 2nd day on the road.  617 miles today.  No papers.  No news.  Is Trump in jail yet?

On the road

Tomorrow we leave for California, I-80 all the way.  Should make it in five days. Posting might be a bit erratic.  

We usually stop at a roadside attraction on the way.  I’m thinking John Wayne’s birthplace in Iowa might be interesting.

It will be wonderful to ignore Trump’s indictment.  I am so sick of CNN and MSNBC and their non-stop coverage.  There must be some other news.  

Pat Robertson and James Watt

Remember when people said, “he’s a Christian” and you didn’t immediately think “bigot” or “racist” or “scam artist.”  That was before Pat Robertson.  He is largely responsible for Christianity’s bad name.  He was an evil person, and I wish he had died a long time ago instead of last week.

Remember when a Secretary of the Interior tried to protect American’s national treasurers.  James Watt, Reagan’s Interior Secretary, did his best to destroy America’s natural wonders.  He was also an evil person, and I wish he had died a long time ago instead of last week.

On the other hand, I am delighted to have outlived both of them.  I plan to stay alive until I also outlive a whole bunch of other people.  You can probably guess their names.

Letter to Majority Leader Steve Scalise

Congressman Steve Scalise

2049 Rayburn House Office Building

Washington, D.C. 20515

Dear Congressman Scalise:

I read with interest your comments that former President Trump should not be charged or tried for taking top secret documents from the White House.

This is an interesting idea.  Would you please be so kind as to send me a list of other Americans you think should be above the law?  That is a list that should be made public.

Sincerely,

Roy Christman

(I'll print his reply if I receive one.)

Grammar lessons

Lesson 1:  As you know, “Moms for Liberty” (or as they are also known “Moms for the Promotion of Fascism”) has claimed that teachers are indoctrinating children.  My friend Bill sent along this note:  If teachers could indoctrinate students, more people would use apostrophes correctly.

Lesson 2:  I was taught that when you use a series in a sentence, you place a comma before the “and.”  It is called the Oxford comma.  Students are now taught to drop this comma.  In a column today, Professor Rex Parker gave the best example of the reason we should use the Oxford comma.  It was from an article about Merle Haggard which contained this sentence:  “Among those interviewed were his two ex-wives, Kris Kristofferson and Robert Duvall.”  I think it is clear that that sentence would be improved with a comma before the word and.

If you were expecting me to comment on the indictment of Trump, I have just three words on that:  Lock him up.

Robocall scams

I have a very old-fashioned phone.  When it rings I have no idea who is calling me.  As a consequence, I answer as many as 15 scam calls a day.  I usually hang up, but sometimes I wait until a real person comes on the line so I can have a conversation.  I tell the scammers bad things about their mothers, or tell them they are smart enough to get a real job, or ask why I haven’t received my check yet.  I have so many more.  Hey, it’s a hobby.

Now I read that the Pennsylvania Attorney General Michelle Henry is prosecuting phone scams.  She recently reached a $250,000 settlement against a phone scammer based in New York.  She and some other states are now going after Avid Telecom.  That’s the company that tells you your car warranty has run out.  The company is estimated to have made 24.5 BILLION calls.

Lately I’ve been telling the scammers that the PA Attorney General is coming for them.  Also things they may not have known about their mothers.

"Don't join the book burners" by Dwight Eisenhower

In a speech at the Dartmouth College Commencement on June 14, 1953, then President Eisenhower spoke about efforts by people like Sen. Joe McCarthy to ban books.  In his speech Ike stated, “Don’t think you’re going to conceal faults by concealing evidence that they ever existed.”

He noted that you can’t defeat communism unless you know what it is.  He went on  “And we have got to fight it with something better, not try to conceal the thinking of our own people.  They are part of America.  And even if they think ideas that are contrary to ours, their right to say them, their right to record them, and their right to have them at places where they’re accessible to others is unquestioned, or it’s not America.”

Easton Renaissance

Easton, Pennsylvania, always had potential.  It’s the home of Lafayette College, headquarters of the Crayola company, and hometown of boxer Larry Holmes, and it is situated along the Delaware River.  Today we took a walk along the Karl Stirner Art Trail next to Bushklill Creek.  The creek is clear and full of fish, the sculptures are fun and thoughtful, and the path is level and easy to walk.

Downtown is lively and clean with excellent restaurants and plenty of places to sit and relax.  Easton has seen a marked improvement from what it was just ten years ago.  My hat is off to the citizens and the government of the town.

(I might mention, though, if you do walk the art trail, watch out for the poison ivy.  There is some healthy poison ivy growing along that trail.)

Tonight's Weissport Borough Council meeting

I’ve been attending borough and township meetings in Carbon County, Pennsylvania, to talk about a resolution against the use of sewage sludge on agricultural fields.  I don’t want to get into that issue in this post.

What I do want to write about is how much I like going to these meetings.  People who say they hate politics or think all politicians are crooks should attend some local government meetings where ordinary citizens grapple with issues and try to solve problems.  They do this with limited funds.  They occasionally deal with angry citizens who demand immediate attention.  They may have different opinions, but they discuss rather than argue.  I would bet that if you go to one of these township or borough meetings there is no way you can tell who is a Democrat or who is a Republican.  It is a refreshing reaffirmation of democracy 

Duck Stamps

Environmental news tends to be depressing.  Climate change, animal and plant extinctions, and disappearing habitat make for depressing reading.  So here is something to celebrate.  Migratory waterfowl are doing fairly well, and one of the reasons is the Migratory Bird Hunting and Conservation stamp.  Income from the stamps, sold since 1934, have provided funds to help in the preservation of over five million acres of waterfowl habitat.  Over five million acres!

I am often amazed at how many wonderful things were started during the New Deal.

I learned about the success of the Duck Stamps in the Summer issue of the Nature Conservancy magazine, p. 52.

Stop Moms for Liberty

Stop Moms for Liberty is a group formed in reaction to the right-wing fanatics called “Moms for Liberty,” begun in 2021 to take material out of schools that relates to race, gender, or gay rights.  Moms for Liberty has launched campaigns to take over school boards, get librarians fired, and remove any books or lessons they don’t like.  Fortunately, more reasonable people have stepped forward and launched their own group, Stop Moms for Liberty.  

In Monroe County the Chair of the county chapter of Moms for Liberty went on Facebook and threatened the Chair of the Stop Moms for Liberty, going as far as saying she knew where the kids of the Stop Moms Chair went to school.  The Moms for Liberty Chair was found guilty of harassment and fined $200.  She’s claiming a free speech right to threaten families.  

I have no idea whether any members of the Lehighton Area School District are members of Moms for Liberty (couldn’t they just be honest and call themselves Moms for Censorship and Intimidation?), but from what I’ve read, it certainly wouldn’t surprise me.

The account of the Monroe case is in the June 2, 2023, Pocono Record, pp. 1A, 5A. 

Baby Killdeer

We have a baby killdeer in the field in the field above our shed.  I saw it when I was up there getting the lawn mower.  I don’t think it can fly yet, but it can run fairly fast.  Both parents are with it, and when I was up they did their routine of acting like they had broken wings to distract me from the baby.  

There are few things as cute as a killdeer chick.  There are few animal parents as caring and as brave as killdeer parents.  I don’t want to anthropomorphize this, but it is hard not