Three Columns (Gerson, Friedman and Parker), a Letter, Why "They" Stick with Trump and a Great Painter, Pablo Picasso

“Inherent Dignity” and “Equal and Inalienable Rights”

are what Michael Gerson writes about in his recent Washington Post column.  Sadly, I believe that Gerson’s words are far too deep for those Republicans who still support our President to understand.  (He is a strong conservative, but probably no longer a Republican.)  Hopefully, they will at least make it through the first paragraph, the crux of his message.  If you read nothing else on this posting, at least CLICK RIGHT HERE to read his column.  And read it twice if the impact of his message doesn’t initially sink in.  I did.

Jack Lippman

Why "They" Support Trump

The most popular news channel on TV is Fox News.  More people watch Fox than any other news outlet.  Fox’s Sean Hannity is the most popular news person on the tube!  The President even gets his news from Sean, which consists of a nightly regurgitation of Trump’s own positions, which serves to reinforce his belief in them when he hears Hannity preach them.  

Hannity

Frequently, Trump uses phrases like "everybody's saying this or that," when what he is talking about are his own thoughts fed back to him by "everybody" which translates as "Fox."  But it gets him off the hook.  He never say it.  "Everybody" did.

The gullible Americans who have enabled the White House to be occupied by this scoundrel are led down the trail by Fox, a Pied Piper whose destination is a place where democracy is replaced by expediency.  Trump himself is too ignorant to understand that he is being used by those whose dark and undemocratic economic and social goals have been opposed throughout history by true Americans of all political parties.  Sadly, this pathetic man does not even recognize that the lies he daily tells are indeed lies.  I give him credit for his honesty because he truly believes the fibs he tells are truth. 

  

There are many business people, whom if you ask, believe that lawyers and accountants exist only to enable clients to avoid breaking the law in their daily activities, and to aid them when they misstep and do illegal things.  They are hired to advise clients are as to just how far they can go to avoid breaking the law, how to go about doing it and to get them out of trouble when they find themselves in it.  It is this disrespect for the law, picturing it as an opponent, which is contrary to what Americans have always thought of the law, as being almost a holy thing, that Donald Trump has brought to the White House.

  

But back to Fox News.  If one watches news channels on TV, particularly CNN and MSNBC, they often include panels of journalists.  Frequently, those who work for the Washington Post or the New York Times are on these panels.  Both of these papers, which the President constantly denigrates as part of the media which he sees as “an enemy of the people,” have enormous daily circulation (Washington Post - 474,700, New York Times – 2,500,000) and great worldwide credibility despite the President’s lies about the media. Therefore, when a Post or Times reporter is on a news panel, he or she is someone deserving of being paid attention to. 

  

On Fox News, their panels are padded with representatives of the Weekly Standard (circulation – 105,000) and the Washington Examiner, another weekly, (circulation - 45,000).  Fox’s gullible viewers think these are real newspapers, comparable to the Times and the Post, since they have newspaper-like sounding names.  Actually, they are just minor conservative publications, far from the objectivity of real newspapers like the Times or the Post.  Their representatives on panels, therefore, really have little credibility.  But Fox viewers don’t know that.  They don’t read newspapers. 

  

Similarly, when discussing the Mueller investigation and its possible relationship to the Administration, CNN and MSNBC include former prosecutors and Justice Department employees on their panels.  On Fox, the viewer gets credential-less commentators on this subject. 

Colmes

When Fox includes a dissident voice on a panel, he or she usually looks unappealing (that's why they were picked) and is often slapped down by an unashamedly partisan host. The late Alan Colmes was an example of this. 

Another explanation of why Trump’s supporters stick with him despite his obvious lack of Presidential qualification is suggested by Eddie Glaude, Jr, former CIA operative and present Princeton faculty member.  

Glaude

Glaude, who frequently appears on MSNBC, maintains that the Republican base sticks with Trump because of (1) his misunderstood position as someone who will lower their taxes and (2) who quietly appeals to the latent racism still present in the American psyche.  (Two postings ago, on Nov. 11, this blog touched upon this in the next to last paragraph of my "Back to Poitics" comments.) He has commented that although racism officially died in the 1960’s, the funeral is taking a very long time and still goes on.  And these two factors, to some extent, underlie Trump’s support, over and above, but along with, his cheerleaders and rooting section at Fox News.

Back in 2016, while even recognizing that Trump was “an exaggerated indication of the rot that is at the heart of this country,” Glaude would still not support Hillary Clinton.  That Trump was “worse than her” was, to him, not sufficient reason to vote for her.  So he skipped voting for a Presidential candidate.  But as recently as last month, Glaude has said that he "overestimated" white people in 2016 and didn't think they would put someone like Donald Trump in office.  But it happened.  Hindsight is easy.  Foresight is hard.
JL

A Change of Pace:  Learn about Pablo Picasso

(The following material was developed from several internet sources)

Pablo Picasso was born on October 25, 1881, in Málaga, Spain. Displaying great talent for drawing, he devoted himself to art rather than schoolwork. Later, as a young painter in Barcelona, Picasso fell in with a crowd of artists and intellectuals which led to his decisive break from the classical methods and began what would become a lifelong process of experimentation and  innovation.  

A lifelong womanizer, Picasso had countless relationships with girlfriends, mistresses, muses and prostitutes, marrying only twice. Some of the women with whom he had relationships influenced his work greatly and might be considered his “muses.” Detailed and fascinating descriptions of these relationships  may be found by CLICKING RIGHT HERE or copying and pasting this link onto your browser line: http://www.anothermag.com/art-photography/8799/the-women-behind-the-work-picasso-and-his-muses .

Picasso is renowned for endlessly reinventing himself, switching between styles so radically different that his life's work seems to be the product of many great artists rather than just one. He explained this by saying that “Different themes inevitably require different methods of expression. This does not imply either evolution or progress; it is a matter of following the idea one wants to express and the way in which one wants to express it." 

  

Pablo Picasso’s work can be broken down into his “Blue Period” (1901-1904) when, emotionally depressed, he painted scenes of poverty, isolation and anguish, almost exclusively in shades of blue and green. Later, he introduced warmer colors, including beiges, pinks and reds, into his work. This was Picasso’s “Rose Period" (1904-06).  A “muse” influenced it.  Later, with his friend and fellow painter, Georges Braque, he developed what became known as Cubism, in which objects are broken apart and reassembled in an abstracted form. His “Demoiselles d'Avignon,” a chilling depiction of five nude prostitutes, revolutionized 20^th century art.

Les Demoiselles d'Avignon

The outbreak of World War One ushered in the next great change in Picasso's art. More somber, his works between 1918 and 1927 are categorized as part of his "Classical Period," amounting to a return to Realism.  From 1927 onward, Picasso turned to Surrealism, an outgrowth of Cubism, the greatest example of which is the anti-war painting, “Guernica."

Guernica

In the aftermath of World War Two, Picasso became more overtly political, joining the Communist Party. He continued to paint and superstitiously believed that keeping working would keep him alive.  It didn’t.  He died on April 8, 1973, at the age of 91, in Mougins, France, conceivably with a paintbrush in his hand.   

JL

Letter I Wrote To the Palm Beach Post (Hope they print it.)

Davis

“In the currently playing movie “Widows,” three widows of men killed when their robbery attempt goes wrong decide, despite their lack of criminal experience, to continue their spouses’ violent trade.  When one of them is assigned the chore of getting weapons for their escapade, she says that she doesn’t know how to go about doing that.  The character played by Viola Davis turns to her, replying, “Come on, this is America!”  In the next scene, the buyer is at a gun show.’

JL

Two More “Must Read” Columns

Here, friends, are two columns which anyone concerned with the destiny of our country must read.  So many of you don’t read newspapers these days and might miss them.  That’s why they are included here.  Please take the time to read them.

Parker and Friedman together

First is Tom Friedman’s recent New York Times column about the hypocrisy and morality of trading justice for arms sales.  To read it, CLICK HERE .  Meanwhile, in the Washington Post,  the ever-perceptive Kathleen Parker recently wrote about the danger of accepting the lack of empathy with which some current tragedies are faced as defining the “new normal.”  Parker is a solid rock upon which democracy can fix its anchor.  Read that column by CLICKING RIGHT HERE .

JL

HOW TO BE ALERTED TO FUTURE BLOG POSTINGS.

Many readers of this blog are alerted by Email every time a new posting appears.  If you wish to be added to that Email list, just let me know by sending me an email at Riart1@aol.com.

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To view older postings on this blog, just click on the appropriate date in the “Blog Archive” midway down the column off to the right or scroll down until you see the “Older Posts” notation at the very bottom of this posting.  The “Search Box” in the right side of the posting also may be helpful in locating a posting topic for which you are looking. THESE FEATURES, ALONG WITH OTHER VALUABLE “SIDEBAR” ITEMS, INCLUDING ADVERTISEMENTS, MAY NOT BE AVAILABLE ON ALL MOBILE DEVICES.  CHECK THEM OUT ON YOUR DESKTOP OR LAPTOP COMPUTERS.

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Jack Lippman 

Andrew Johnson's Impeachment, Trump and the Military, a Philadelphia Story and a Krugman Column

The Impeachment of Andrew Johnson

Andrew Johnson, assuming the Presidency after Lincoln’s assassination, had rather liberal ideas about dealing with the defeated Confederate states which had seceded.  Now that they were back, unhappily, but nevertheless back in the Union, he was ready to ignore the reasons for which the war was fought.

Lincoln’s Secretary of War, Edwin Stanton, had different ideas and with the Army occupying the South, he was no so willing as was President Johnson to forgive and forget for the sake of the Union.  His Republican supporters in Congress passed, over Johnson’s veto, the Tenure of Office Act, protecting those appointees whom the Congress had approved from being fired without Senatorial agreement.  Specifically, this act was intended to protect Stanton from the President’s vengeance.  Nevertheless, Johnson fired Stanton and replaced him with General Ulysses S. Grant temporarily.  Congress didn’t like this and liked it even less when Grant, seeing he was being used, quit in short order and Johnson appointed General Lorenzo Thomas to the post.  Thomas was no more than a mouthpiece for Johnson who would do as he was told.

Meanwhile, knowing Congress was backing him, Stanton locked himself in his office and refused to depart.  The Republican Congress supported him, and because the President was intentionally violating the Tenure of Office Act (among other things), passed Articles of Impeachment against him in the House of Representatives. In the Senate, however, the Articles fell one vote short of conviction, a “bought” Senator from Kansas siding with the President after a week of bargaining. Thus, Andrew Johnson survived his impeachment and went on to wreck the reconstruction of the South for which Abraham Lincoln had worked so hard and died.  It took almost a century to undo the harm Andrew Johnson initiated in the South after the Civil War.  Actually, we are still working on it.  (That is why, at least up to now, many historians rank Andrew Johnson as our worst President.)

The Tenure of Office Act was in effect only until 1877.  Nevertheless, any President who fires a Cabinet member who had been confirmed by the Senate had better watch himself, especially if he appoints someone to the job, even temporarily, whom Congress would never confirm.  Andrew Johnson narrowly escaped Congress’ wrath. 

That succeeding Presidents can get away with it is doubtful.  And that includes the present occupant of the White House who is unhappy with the way the Department of Justice goes about the business of administering justice.   There is a limit beyond which even Republicans will not go in continuing to support the thief who stole their Party.

JL

It Happened in Philadelphia

“Let’s not give too much power to the people, guys,” one of the Founding Fathers suggested.  “We were thirteen separate British colonies and now, we’re thirteen separate states, united into one country.  But let’s not get carried away.”

“Yeah,” another one of the Founders added, “Thirteen united ‘states.’  We can call ourselves the united ‘states’ of America.  But are we really united … or just separate states?”

“Sounds better when you capitalize it: The United States of America. Okay?”  Everyone seemed to like that. 

The first Founding Father continued, “But although nominally united, we still are separate states. Flip a couple of letters and ‘united” becomes “untied.”  We never ever intended to tear down the boundaries between the thirteen of us completely and share our wealth equally. Let’s not forget that.”

“You’re right,” another chimed in.  “We might have a common currency, a common navy to protect us, a common army if we need one, and deal with other nations as one country, not as thirteen separate states.  But still we remain thirteen separate and distinct states. The problem is how do we keep it that way with one government running the show. Those Articles of Confederation certainly didn’t work.”

James Madison was probably the speaker

The first speaker, a Founding Father from Virginia, spoke up.  “Guys, we can have it both ways!  When we set up a legislature, we should divide up its powers. Actually, we could have two separate legislatures, like they have in England, with a House of Lords and a House of Commons, dividing legislative powers between them.  One might represent all of the people of the United States as one country, and the other can represent the states, as individual states, united, but still separate, regardless of their population.  We could call that the Senate, like the Romans did.”

“Yeah,” injected someone probably from  either Rhode Island or Delaware, “Then those big states with all those people like Massachusetts, Pennsylvania and New York, won’t be able to step all over us little guys.  Every state should have the same number of representatives in the Senate and be the equal of any other state, regardless of size or population.  In the other legislature, we can let the number of representatives be determined by the populations of the states, making it a real "people's" body.  We can do a census every ten years to keep that  number up to date."

A few of the Founding Fathers stood up and appaluded.  One spoke up, "Now let's figure out exactly what powers the the Senate would have and what powers this House of *(the People's) Representatives, which is what we should call it, will have.  And what we leave out, can be left to the individual states to handle."

“Yeah,” a voice from the gallery shouted.  “They can handle the license plates for our wagons.”

That is more or less the way it probably happened.  And up to now, it has worked. 

Paul Krugman’s 11-8 New York Times column dealt with this.  It must be read.  Visit it by CLICKING HERE .  If that doesn’t work, just copy and paste this on your browser line:

https://www.nytimes.com/2018/11/08/opinion/midterms-senate-rural-urban.html  

* (The stenographer who was writing all this down back in 1789 left out these two words, "the People's," so we now just call it the House of Representatives.)

JL

Donald Trump Loves our Troops .... Sure!

If you want to know how much the President loves the military, be sure to read this Washington Post column.    Just Click Right Here to read what the Washington Post's Karen Tumulty had to say on Nov. 12. 

He respects our armed forces in the same way that a tin-horn third world dictator boasts about "his" army.  Of course the armed forces of the United States are "our" army and not those of our own tin-horn President.

His latest attack on retired Admiral McRaven, whose special forces got to Bin Ladin after the CIA found him, because he disagrees with the President politically, shows the shallowness of Trump's love affair with the military.  If they can be used, fine.  Otherwise, they warrant no respect from him.  That's our phony baloney President.  But the Republicans who continue to support him are no better than he is, although almost all of them know better.  The votes of the gullible Trump base are all that keep them from having to look for new jobs.

I can well understand how his gullible and often bigoted base of support swallows his malarky ... but it becomes increasingly difficult to understand why otherwise intelligent Republicans in Congress, whose Party he has destroyed, continue to put up with him.  When the impeachment votes come, and they eventually will, I wonder where they will stand.

The Founding Fathers, led by James Madison (pictured above) demanded that the military be under civilian control.  This is why our civilian President is Commander in Chief.  But by putting military people, used to taking orders from above, in White House civilian positions, Trump defeats this.  Perhaps the pageantry of uniforms and medals makes him feel less insecure.  Mattis, Kelly, Masterson, etc. all were great generals, but that doesn't turn them into great civilians automatically, as was the case with George Marshall at the end of World War Two.  But Trump likes the military because they profess loyalty and take orders.  His vision has no broader horizon than that.  Trump is un-American.  Republicans must learn that.

JL

HOW TO BE ALERTED TO FUTURE BLOG POSTINGS.

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HOW TO VIEW OLDER POSTINGS.                                                

To view older postings on this blog, just click on the appropriate date in the “Blog Archive” midway down the column off to the right or scroll down until you see the “Older Posts” notation at the very bottom of this posting.  The “Search Box” in the right side of the posting also may be helpful in locating a posting topic for which you are looking. THESE FEATURES, ALONG WITH OTHER VALUABLE “SIDEBAR” ITEMS, INCLUDING ADVERTISEMENTS, MAY NOT BE AVAILABLE ON ALL MOBILE DEVICES.  CHECK THEM OUT ON YOUR DESKTOP OR LAPTOP COMPUTERS.

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Jack Lippman 

Gun Violence and SCOTUS, Butterflies, Humor and a Bit of Politics

On Veterans Day, November 11, take a moment to honor those who have served to protect and defend our country.

Reducing Gun Violence Rests with the Supreme Court

Although retired since 2010, Supreme Court Justice John Paul Stevens has advocated repeal of the Second Amendment.  He has called the reasons for its existence “a relic of the 18th century."   But unfortunately, Stevens is no longer on the Court which is now dominated by five conservative Justices.

 

I recently wrote to these conservative Justices (Chief Justice John Roberts, Associate Justices Samuel Alito, Clarence Thomas, Neil Gorsuch and Brett Kavanaugh) about the Second Amendment.  Writing to them is preferable to Emails.  Hopefully such correspondence will perhaps reach one of a Justice’s clerks.

These Justices are all fully aware of the facts.  What they might not be aware of is the shift in the feeling of most American citizens toward the regulation of firearms.  Making them aware of that shift is important.  Letters can accomplish that.  The repeated tragedies in which the Court’s 2008 interpretation of the Second Amendment may have played a part may already be weighing heavily on their consciences.  They know what happened in Parkland, in Pittsburgh and in Thousand Oaks this year!   

Here is the text of the letter I sent recently to these five Justices:

Justice _________:

“I am certain that you are aware of the historical basis of the Second Amendment.  One does not have to be a strict interpreter of the Constitution to understand its clear language:

"A well-regulated militia" (this means a volunteer military force operating under a set of rules, and not just a gang of people running around with weapons),"being necessary to the security of a free state," (there were thirteen “free states” at the time comprising the “United States,” which a few years earlier had not been “free” but under British rule), "the right of the people to keep and bear arms, shall not be infringed" (for the purpose of being available with their arms to serve in those well-regulated militia in those “free states”).

Broader interpretations of the Second Amendment, including those ignoring its first dozen words, are political and should be avoided.

Some of the thirteen original states, remembering British rule, were still wary of the military power of a central government and wanted some counterbalance to that power, should the Federal government ever use it against a state.  That was the reason for the Second Amendment.  (The states which insisted on it were the ones where slavery was practiced. That was their underlying motivation.)”

I encourage you to write your own letter or copy the one I sent.  Emails aren’t the way to go with Supreme Court Justices.  But you can mail it, individually, to the Justices mentioned above at this address:

Supreme Court of the United States
 1 First Street, NE
 Washington, DC 20543

The chance of repeal of the Second Amendment during our lifetimes is highly remote.  Over the years, however, there will be legislation on both the Federal and State level which will accomplish that by providing that certain weapons be restricted or highly regulated and that other measures be taken to control who gets to possess them. 

Supreme Court Building in Washington

Such legislation will be challenged in the courts and the ultimate decision will rest with the Supreme Court.  That’s why letters such as this are important.

Jack Lippman

Laughs

“Seymour, get up!  You have to go to school!  You’ll be late!,” his mother shouted.

“Ma, I don’t wanna go to school,” Seymour answered.

“Why not?” she asked.

“Because all the teachers and all the students hate me, that’s why,” he answered.

“Seymour,” the mother declared, "You HAVE to go to school!  You’re the Principal!”

  

When you chuckle (?) at a joke like this, what is it at which you are laughing?  Could it be that you find it amusing that a middle-aged man is still living at home, as much under his mother's care as he was when he were a child?  What's funny about that?  He has problems, and they should be addressed properly, not laughed at.

If "Seymour" were "Shirley," or if the "waker-upper" were his father rather than his mother, would there even be a joke?  I doubt it.  This story is generated by the wellspring of humor based on the relationship between Jewish mothers and their sons, and which has contributed mightily to the income of many Catskill Mountain comedians as well as to that of many psychiatrists.

JL

News from the Butterfly Garden

This has been a bad year for Monarch butterflies.  Scientists have offered several explanations for this most common of butterflies becoming an only occasional visitor to its usual haunts. These reasons include the increase in the use of herbicides and pesticides in agriculture throughout the country which can not only kill Monarchs (in the form of eggs, caterpillars, chrysalises or actual butterflies) but can get rid of the milkweed without which Monarchs cannot survive.  Climate change and deforestation in areas of Mexico to which Monarchs migrate are also suggested as explanations for their decline.

Monarch in caterpillar form. (Tiny orange dots behind it
 are eggs laid by female Monarch butterflies
from which these things hatch)

I put several milkweed plants in the ground some months ago and they must have attracted some Monarchs because numerous Monarch caterpillars were spotted in the garden devouring most of the milkweed plants’ leaves.   But their evolution into butterflies just didn’t occur, and even with the regrowth of leaves on the milkweeds, only one caterpillar has been seen recently (pictured to the right this morning), which at least suggests that there have been Monarch butterflies around.  I just haven’t seen them.  My theory was that the caterpillars were being eaten by the geckos in the garden.  To get rid of them, I liberally scattered garlic cloves and also a few mothballs in the garden.  I also threw some egg shells there.  These are supposed to make the geckos think there are birds around, making them seek other hunting grounds.  The number of geckos has been reduced and I suspect the cause is the garlic.

Meanwhile, I have spotted an occasional Giant Swallowtail hanging around the wild lime tree in my yard.  The books say that is their favorite plant on which to lay eggs.  I haven’t seen any caterpillars on the tree, but the presence of these beautiful gold trimmed butterflies indicate that they must be there, unless the ones I see are just visitors.   If they are, they are welcome to lay their eggs right here.   I’ve also seen a few White Peacock butterflies around, but I doubt if they are breeding in my garden.  I suspect they inhabit the slopes of the canal behind my house.   These three varieties are pictured below.

From top to bottom, Monarch, Giant Swallowtail and White Peacock butterflies

JL

Back to Politics

The Democratic Party will be a majority in the newly elected House of Representatives, all the seats of which were up for election on November 6.   They also captured seven governorships from the Republicans.  On the other hand, in the one-third of the Senate which was being elected, the Republican Party increased their majority by two or three seats over the Democrats.  This increase, while significant, represents voters in only one third of the nation’s states and is not so much an omen for the future as were their losses in the House, which represents the entire country.

Generally, the margin of victory for Democrats came from the votes of women, minority groups and younger people.  Republican victories came from the traditional Republican/Trumpian base, its hard-to-crack core anchored in older white male voters and recent right-wing recruits to the G.O.P.

The Democratic victories did not prevent the loss of Senate seats in North Dakota, Missouri, Indiana and possibly Florida, where the factors discussed below all come into play.  The Democrats did capture a Republican Senate seat in Nevada, limiting their losses to two or three seats in the Upper House.

Let’s look at what prevented the Democrats from achieving a greater gain on Election Day than what they did accomplish in races for seats in the House of Representatives, in governorship races and in State legislatures.  What strength did the G.O.P. have in places like Indiana, Missouri and North Dakota, for example, to repel the Democrats?  I think it is a matter of “image.”

In the eyes of many voters in rural areas and small cities across America, beyond whatever their programs might contain, the Democratic Party is seen as representing the urban elite of the major cities on the east and west coasts, along with the large minority populations found there, along with the social services these groups may require.  

The G.O.P. attempts to cash in on this image by making Nancy Pelosi the poster girl for it.  The history of political bosses and machines in these places, while no longer a factor, also lingers in their image of the Democratic Party.  While these voters, basically from a White Protestant culture, are not specifically racist nor bigoted, they are well aware that the Democratic Party has many Black, Latino, Jewish and at least in big cities, Roman Catholic adherents.  They don’t openly criticize the Democrats for this but it is often buried in the back of their thinking somewhere.  They see the Democrat “cohort” as different from theirs.  They can sense that what might be good for Los Angeles or New York City might not be good for Des Moines, and vote accordingly. 

 

Kansas Governor-Elect Kelly

This “image” problem is all that prevents the Democrats from picking up all the marbles once the old white guys die off.  Better (and more highly paid) analysts than me are probably working on this right now.  One of the things they probably are examining are the details of Democrat Laura Kelly’s victory over Kris Kobach in the Kansas governorship race.  If the Democrats can pull that off in Kansas, they can do it anywhere.

JL

HOW TO BE ALERTED TO FUTURE BLOG POSTINGS.

Many readers of this blog are alerted by Email every time a new posting appears.  If you wish to be added to that Email list, just let me know by sending me an email at Riart1@aol.com.

HOW TO CONTACT ME or CONTRIBUTE MATERIAL TO JACKSPOTPOURRI.com 

Contact me by email at Riart1@aol.com.   YOU ALSO CAN SEND ME YOUR CONTRIBUTIONS TO BE PUBLISHED IN THIS BLOG AS WELL AS YOUR COMMENTS AT THAT ADDRESS.  (Comments can also be made by clicking on the "Post a Comment" link at the blog's end, though few followers of the blog have done that lately.)

MOBILE DEVICE ACCESS.

DID YOU KNOW THAT www.jackspotpourri.com IS ALSO AVAILABLE ON YOUR MOBILE DEVICES IN A MODIFIED, EASY-TO-READ, FORMAT?   

HOW TO VIEW OLDER POSTINGS.                                                

To view older postings on this blog, just click on the appropriate date in the “Blog Archive” midway down the column off to the right or scroll down until you see the “Older Posts” notation at the very bottom of this posting.  The “Search Box” in the right side of the posting also may be helpful in locating a posting topic for which you are looking. THESE FEATURES, ALONG WITH OTHER VALUABLE “SIDEBAR” ITEMS, INCLUDING ADVERTISEMENTS, MAY NOT BE AVAILABLE ON ALL MOBILE DEVICES.  CHECK THEM OUT ON YOUR DESKTOP OR LAPTOP COMPUTERS.

HOW TO FORWARD POSTINGS.

To send this posting to a friend, or enemy for that matter, whom you think might be interested in it, just click on the envelope with the arrow on the "Comments" line directly below, enabling you to send them an Email providing a link directly to this posting.  You might also want to let me know their Email address so that they may be alerted to future postings.

Jack Lippman