Bad week for…. everything

With the impending Supreme Court nomination that is sure to be gut-wrenchingly, mind-numblingly terrible, and the recent torrent of anti-human Supreme Court rulings, like their decisions on racist gerrymandering in Texas, the indefensible upholding of Trump’s travel ban,  and Janus v. AFSCME, New York Times editorial board (fake news!) gives some pithy advice that any hope for man and womankind in America is at the ballot box.

In unrelated news, the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights will be visiting our fair Capitol city next month to hear testimony about the myriad of collateral consequences facing people when they leave prison.  Topics will include barriers to employment including restrictions on professional licenses, and severely limited access to public benefits like housing assistance and SNAP.  Talk about things (like food, a place to live, steady income) that can easily be taken for granted….

Another even less appreciated problem for people when they leave prison is bad teeth, in part because of limited dental services in prison and also pre-incarceration, a likelihood of being among the 74 million Americans who lack dental coverage.

Dark days for sure, so feel free to just watch this slightly dated video from John Oliver's all-dog supreme court.  

You get what you pay for

West Virginia is dry as a bone right now, although it may rain tomorrow inshallah. It's so dry that dust springs up when our dogs walk across the field. The creek is dry except for a few holdout holes for the first time since 2012. Oh yeah, and fire season is  approaching.

Fall brush fires around here are not as catastrophic (for now) as those in California and other places, but they can be pretty scary. I remember one year when you could see long lines of fire snaking along the mountains of Logan County. In fact, the one on-duty injury I sustained in my short, happy and inglorious career as a volunteer fire fighter happened during a brush fire.

(Actually, it was a burn from a flare, but the flare started it.)

Anyhow, fire season and managing woodlands has gotten a bit harder lately, since the state had to lay off 37 foresters due to legislative inaction. Come to think of it, those guys might have been useful in reducing the impact of severe flooding in the future by monitoring the damage done by corporate clear cutters.

Holy hashtag failed state, Batman!

Meanwhile, the state's opioid crisis keeps rippling out. This WV Public Broadcasting story explores how it's impacting the foster care system in the state.

And, while we're at it, here's an op-ed by my friend the Rev. Matthew J. Watts about what might happen politically if all of the state's convicted felons voted. They can in WV, but many don't vote or even realize that it's legal here.

Finally, a little over a year ago I was part of an AFSC delegation to Palestine. I have many grim and sad memories of the trip. However, I have nothing but fondness when I think back on hanging with comrades and drinking Taybeh, a primo Palestinian beer.

Well...

There are all kinds of jokes about political corruption and election hijinks in West Virginia. One that you can't get through an election year without hearing several times is "Vote early, vote often. And remember--it's not the way they're cast, it's the way they're counted."

Then there all the jokes about dead people voting, particularly in the southern counties.

(Speaking as a native, I don't see what the big deal is about casting ballots for dead people, provided you vote for them the way they would have voted themselves. It's kind of like the hillbilly version of the communion of saints. Switching parties on the dead or voting for somebody they'd hate, however, should be punished severely. That's just wrong.)

Still and all, y'all know what day it is and what to do, if you haven't already done it.

HELL HAS BEEN DEFINED as truth realized too late. The reality of climate change might be like that too.

NOT THAT REALITY MATTERS, but here's one of WV's best state senators talking sense on health care reform.

BULLYING GOES POST-MODERN. This Gazette item looks at bullying, cyber as well as old school.

PRAYER AND MORE are discussed in the latest edition of the Rev. Jim Lewis' Notes from Under the Fig Tree (although I'd still like to see him fit under the fig trees at Goat Rope Farm and take notes--they are low riders).

GOAT ROPE ADVISORY LEVEL: ELEVATED

Post election dharma talk

Image courtesy of wikipedia.

This post was deliberately written before the election and I have no idea how things will turn out. Since I'm sure the results of many different races will be on most people's minds today and that most of us will be thinking that some were good and some were bad, I think a little Buddhist story might be appropriate now.

If memory serves, it goes something like this: One day, a poor farmer's horse ran away. His neighbors came to console him, but he said that this could be either good or bad--who could tell?

The horse came back with several other wild horses. His neighbors congratulated him on his good fortune. Just as before, he said that this could be either good or bad.

Then his son broke his leg while trying to tame one of the horses. His neighbors again consoled him, but he again said that he couldn't really know if that was good or bad.

Shortly thereafter, the army came by looking for conscripts and left his son behind because of the injury. As before, his neighbors congratulated him on his good fortune.

"Who can tell?," he said.

Here's hoping it's for the good.

PARTING SHOTS from the Bush administration may be hard to undo.

INTERESTING INTERVIEW. American historian Eric Foner has some interesting things to say in an interview with the German magazine Der Spiegel. Here's an excerpt:

SPIEGEL: In Europe people tend to call on the government in times of economic insecurity. Why doesn't this happen in the US?

Foner: First of all, in Europe it is the ordinary people who call on the government. Here, it is the rich who call on the government. Look at what is happening with investment bank Bear Stearns or mortgage lenders Fannie Mae. They have no qualms about turning to the government to rescue them. That is hundreds of billions of dollars involved there and the phrase here is, they are too big to fail. It is quite ironic.

MOVERS AND SHAKERS. Here's Foreign Policy's take on the world's most powerful religious leaders.

GOAT ROPE ADVISORY LEVEL: WHO CAN TELL?

Antici........pation (again)

Does the election have you howling at the moon?

The Gentle Reader may have noticed that there is an election going on today. Although this blog is about public affairs and policies (and whatever random topics are on my mind), El Cabrero has made no mention of it.

Here's the main reason: Goat Rope is the unofficial blog of the American Friends Service Committee WV Economic Justice Project. AFSC is a non-profit organization related to the Society of Friends (Quakers), although staff and volunteers come from all kinds of religious backgrounds.

While my day job is all about trying to improve conditions for low income and working families, I focus on issues rather than elections or candidates and these issues don't seem to go away no matter who or what party is in power.

In the spirit of 501(c)3 compliance, allow me to say a few things:

*if you haven't voted already, please get out and do so if you are registered.

*if you're not happy with the way it turns out, remember the theme here lately: the goddess Fortuna is fickle and her wheel turns. Sometimes she brings people up and sometimes down but the wheel keeps moving.

*sometimes you win by losing and lose by winning. It's hard to tell at the time.

*the country is in such a mess that whoever wins is going to have a rough time. If El Cabrero--God forbid--was ever elected to the office of the president, my first act would be to demand a recount. And people who care about good policies are going to have a lot of work to do however it turns out.

Here's hoping that by the time this day is over we have clear--and clean--winners.

DIGRESSION ON APPALACHIAN VOTING CUSTOMS. There's an old saying in West Virginia, "Vote early, vote often and it's not the way they're cast--it's the way they're counted."

There are all kinds of great stories about...shall we say colorful...Appalachian voting practices. One of these involves stories about dead people's ballots being counted.

As a true hillbilly unto the generations, part of me wants to say that it's OK to cast ballots for dead family members, as long as you know how they would have voted if they were still here.

But don't quote me on that.

A LITTLE (ABOUT) POLITICAL HUMOR here.

A LITERAL ECONOMIC MELTDOWN can be seen here.

ANGER MANAGEMENT here.

GOAT ROPE ADVISORY LEVEL: UNDETERMINED