Ward R. Jones

Like a lot of people who own houses, we have a basketball goal mounted on a backboard, a pole by the driveway. Once white, the net of this goal is now gray. A ball tossed through it might shred the cotton, rain in tufts of white to the ground. Our son and grandsons haven't lobbed a ball at this net in decades. It doesn't sway much, even on windy days. It just is until a ball is tossed, swished. The new owner might from a short or long distance do that. In the meantime it hangs, waits, gray as my hair.

The news this a.m. has dire predictions for the GOP's standard barer, who "has become unacceptable, perhaps irreversibly so, to broad swaths of Americans," women are mentioned along with nonwhites, Hispanics, voters under 30, and those with a college education. Not mentioned, Hillary's relationship with Sidney Blumenthal, which has come to light recently, her "aid" sending classified information by email to her Blackberry. Currently under investigation by the National Security Agency and the FBI. Other news, the possible, probable, murder of a once pal of Putin's who got on his bad side, the wealthy Russian fled to the U.S. started buying property in Los Angeles, had several mansions some he planned to sell when he went to a fundraiser outside of Washington D C and was found dead. An autopsy revealed he was bludgeoned not cardiac arrest as reported by Moscow. What happens when you lose favor with Putin. A sadder, crueler, but more significant story involves a poor woman in Guatemala whose husband was away in the fields when truckloads of soldiers and police officers swarmed into her one room house blocking her exit and helping themselves to what food there was in the shack. They evicted her claiming the land belong to a Canadian mining company, then took turns ra**ng her, and then dragged her from her one room house and set it on fire. Someone reported what had happened, it became a story, and with help from those in sympathy she has taken her case to the courts, not in Guatemala, in Canada, her suit is against Hudson Bay Mineral, Inc. which has sent shivers through the mining industry. Let's hope they freeze to death.

The Republicans don't want a moderate jurist to serve on the Supreme Court, they want a staunch conservative. There are few among our millions of voters who are moderate, which is why Mitch McConnell and his brethren preach to their choir of conservatives. Harry Reid, were he still the Majority Leader, would preach the same sermon to his liberals. Divided we are, more deeply than at any time in our nation's history. A Franklin Roosevelt, a Ronald Reagan, can't unite the country, when we need it the most.

Carelessness, another example of it from Hillary Clinton, who trying to win white working class voters bellowed: "We're going to put a lot of coal miners and coal companies out of business." America Rising, an anti Clinton super PAC said the comment showed a "brazen disregard for men and women who help power America." Had she given some thought to her comment, as Bernie does so consistently, she could've used American Rising as a symbol of his duplicity, his double dealing on the issue of Super Pacs he's used so successfully to tie her to big money interests. Instead she dug a hole for herself. Not the first time, or the last. Passion, if not controlled like Bernie does so masterfully, can ruin a bid for the ultimate prize.

What would George Washington have thought on this day that honors him, about Donald Trump, Ted Cruz, and Marco Rubio, who so eagerly berate each other, debate after debate? Hillary and Bernie aren't as vicious, but they don't agree on anything. Yes, Washington was a war hero, a person admired by virtually every citizen for freeing them from tyranny. But what we have now is a love and hate fest where personality, dare I say it, trumps character, integrity, a sense of decency, honesty.

Bill and Hillary earned $7.7 million for 39 speeches to big banks including Goldman Sachs and UBS, another $1.8 million for Hillary when she gave eight speeches to big banks. $225,000 an hour. Her rejoinder for this $3,750 dollar speech, this after Bernie mentioned her Super Pac's raising $15 million from Wall Street, was: "You're the only one on this stage that voted to deregulate the financial market in 2000." What she didn't mention was his vote was cast in support of her husband's Commodity Futures Modernization Act. Bill later admitted he made a serious mistake in signing the bill, saying he didn't understand the extent to which these deals went bad. Which says something about how deep his wife had to dig to find something she could use to hide her greed.
http://www.politico.com/blogs/live-from-charleston-sc/20/01/hillary-clinton-goldman-sachs-speaking-fees-217920

The Silence of the Lambs continues here in Houston. Not a whisper of our $10 billion dollar debt from City Hall or elsewhere. That one report by Bill Balleza has been removed from the internet.

The Times featured my old neighborhood, River Oaks in Houston, where when I was growing up there were families a lot wealthier than mine. Now wealth is even more concentrated, seven families live in mega mansions shown on the front page. Of the seven, three families gave $2 million to Republican candidates, the rest hundreds of thousands. As the headline notes, half the cash for the race for president came from just 158 families. Bernie Sanders is going to be all over this Tuesday night, as will Hillary, if not as passionately. And there is something wrong when wealth is concentrated like it is, one percent owning 70 percent of the wealth in our country. Huey Long is looking up from below, wishing he were alive.

The latest shooting was influenced, if not encouraged, by the social media. A chance to let people know how deranged he was.

Daily Mirror on Twitter “The 4chan post that shooter allegedly posted warning students https://t.co/NB921tfUip??”

The United Nations Refugee Agency has 9,300 employees in 23 countries to protect, its website says, millions of refugees. Those millions are in a few countries, Hungary the current roadblock. Shouldn't there be a migration, by air, of these thousands of UN employees to where these millions of desperate people are?

Desperate Crossing For 733 migrants crammed aboard two tiny boats somewhere between Libya and Italy, a leaky hull was neither the beginning nor the end of their troubles.

A baffling decision in light of what's specifically written in the Collective Bargaining Agreement: Article 42 Club Discipline, Sec. 1. (xv) Conduct detrimental to Club—maximum fine of an amount equal to one week’s salary and/or suspension without pay for a period not to exceed four (4) weeks.

Tom Brady’s Four-Game N.F.L. Suspension Erased by Judge The decision on Thursday was a blow to Commissioner Roger Goodell, who argued that the labor agreement gave him authority to carry out the suspension.

Facebook's coercion/extortion when $30 dollars isn't enough to "boost" for barely a day, your add:

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The latest shooter to gain publicity in Houston, where I live, and around the country. Gun control during these stump speeches in Iowa and New Hampshire have been rare. Hillary has been vague on this subject, arousing emotions, not solutions, with lines like this: "How many innocent people in our country from little children to church members to movie theater attendees? How many people do we need to see cut down before we act?" Martin O'Malley offered a more succinct, "I'm pi**ed." Bernie Sanders, whose home state has a history of gun ownership, voted against the Brady Act, and has yet to say a word against owning guns. Jeb Bush, who has an A plus rating from the NRA, blasted Obama with, "Why don't you focus more on keeping weapons out of the hands of Islamic terrorists and less on law abiding citizens?" Lindsey Graham blames mental health, not gun ownership, saying of a shooter in his home state, "this guy was not quite there." Ted Cruz, a rabid supporter of the Second Amendment, boasted about blocking expanded background checks. Rand Paul says it's not the government's job, "it's the people who've strayed away, not understanding where salvation comes from." Marco Rubio remains mute on the subject, telling CBS News in the wake of the massacre at Newton, Connecticut, "This issue cannot just be about guns. It has to be holistically about violence as it impacts the whole country." His "let's all get along" theory is yet to be described. Ben Carson has said "he would never advocate anything to interfere with Second Amendment rights." Rick Perry's solution? "Arm teachers in schools." Be ready to draw at the slightest provocation. Mike Huckabee, another A plus student of the NRA. Carly Fiorina supports the Second Amendment, and like Bobby Jindal accuses Obama of trying to score "cheap political points." Donald Trump in a recent interview boasted about his loyalty to the NRA. “I am a Life Member of the NRA and am proud of their service in protecting our right to keep and bear arms. The NRA’s efforts to stop dangerous, gun-banning legislation and regulation is invaluable. The media focus on those efforts overshadows the great work the NRA does on behalf of safety and conservation." Seems a little self contradictory, this last part, but there you are. Democrat and Republican presidential contenders all held prisoner by the Second Amendment, the NRA, and those who on a regular basis, shoot and kill a number of our citizens.

Houston deputy shooting: Shannon Miles had mental evaluation The man charged in the shooting of a Houston sheriff’s deputy was found three years ago to be mentally unfit to stand trial.

A doctor-writer, who like Walker Percy, wrote in detail about science and psychology. Oliver Sacks had a knack for drawing attention. "The Man Who Mistook His Wife for a Hat" would. Fantastic perceptions of real people were part of his story telling. Tales told in his deeply human way. He'll be missed.

Oliver Sacks, Casting Light on the Interconnectedness of Life Whether writing about his patients, his love of chemistry or the power of music, Dr. Sacks leapfrogged among disciplines, shedding light on the connections between science and art.

Facebook is limiting its posting of friends' messages, one of mine said. The day before yesterday I posted a quote by Truman Capote saying Burnt Corn, a small town in Alabama where my wife is from, was his favorite place on earth. From a paper in Monroeville where he and Harper Lee lived. She still does in a nursing home. My father-in-law was on a bank board with Alice, Harper's sister, and Truman, when a young man, made many trips to Burnt Corn, where in a country store on a federal highway Andrew Jackson traveled to fight the Seminoles, the future author of Breakfast at Tiffany's and In Cold Blood, would sit and talk with Shelby's father. Like my friend's, this post never appeared.

"I am seated in an office, surrounded by heads and bodies. My posture is consciously congruent to the shape of my hard chair. This is a cold room in University Administration, wood-walled, Remington-hung, double-windowed against the November heat, insulated from Administrative sounds by the reception area outside, at which Uncle Charlie, Mr. deLint and I were lately received.
I am in here.
Three facts have resolved into place before summer-weight sportcoats and half-Windsors across a polished pine conference table shiny with the spidered light of an Arizona noon. These are three Deans---of Admissions, Academic Affairs, Athletic Affairs. I do not know which face belongs to whom.
I believe I appear neutral, maybe even pleasant, though I've been coached to err on the side of neutrality and not attempt what would feel to me like a pleasant expression or smile.
I have committed to crossing my legs I hope carefully, ankle to knee, hands together in the lap of my slacks. My fingers are mated into a mirrored series of what manifests, to me, as the letter X. The interview room's other personnel include: the University's Director of Composition, its varsity tennis coach, and Academy professor Mr. A. deLint. C. T. is beside me; the others sit, stand and stand, respectively, at the periphery of my focus. The tennis coach jingles pocket change. There is something vaguely digestive about the room's odor. The high-traction sole of my complimentary Nike sneaker runs parallel to the wobbling loafer of my mother's half brother, here in his capacity as Headmaster, sitting in the chair to what I hope is my immediate right, also facing Deans."

From David Foster Wallace's Infinite Jest. This 1,074 page novel, including footnotes, has recently been in the news. A movie starring Jason Segel will soon be out. Something as mammoth as this can't be tackled on screen. It's been condensed to a five-day interview, replicating the actual one between David Foster Wallace and a Rolling-Stone reporter, David Lipsky. It took me months to read the novel, but just typing the above brought some of it back. His brilliance still shines.

The news that Harper Lee's "Go Set a Watchman" has sold more than a million copies its first week is surprising given the negative publicity heaped upon this prequel. Atticus Finch, an Archie Bunker to many who feel betrayed, and with emotions broiling a book burning might be more appropriate, if not on the scale of N**i Germany, or a boycott, people with signs marching as they did in Charleston, South Carolina to remove the Confederate flag. The aging, arthritic Atticus could've been in that crowd, waving his. A confession: I went to a college whose president was, for five years, Robert E. Lee. In 1856 he wrote a letter to President Pierce saying this: "There are few, I believe, in this enlightened age, who will not acknowledge that slavery as an institution is a moral and political evil." The year he became president of Washington College he signed an Amnesty Oath. President Andrew Johnson had issued a pardon to those who fought in the war. Lee was not pardoned. His citizenship was not restored. Months ago the Confederate battle flags were removed from Lee Chapel. His remains may be in the years to come. Atticus Finch, a fictional character, may dodge the slings and arrows of fate.

Has anyone gotten the "Important Action Required--Child Directed Policy" from Amazon Associates? It asks for a declaration that none of my sites target children under 13 and gives me a link to click on to verify that. The link shows this, an ad of Amazon's, a bait and switch if there ever was one.

Amazon.com Associates: The web's most popular and successful Affiliate Program Online shopping from a great selection of Help; Explore Associates, Compensation, Online Reporting, Link Types, Web Services, Current Associates, Publishers & Vendors & more at everyday low prices.

The shocking news that Harper Lee had changed Atticus Finch from a man of moral integrity to an aging racist has caused a revolt in literary circles, many claiming they will not read a page of "Go Set a Watchman." The book they loved when this saintly lawyer defended Tom Robinson sold 40 million copies world wide they now, when the 72 year old asks Scout "Do you want Negroes by the carload in our schools and churches and theaters? Do you want them in our world?" brand racist and would not read a page of. So what was Harper Lee thinking when she changed her main character? Having lived a long life she learned something about human nature. That people change as they get older, not always for the best. This Atticus has different views, but like all literature, his is a true reflection of character. Scout's older father has changed. He's not a saint, he's human. We all are, and stories like this remind us of that.

We're in Los Angeles with Ran, Cristi, and Juliette. A block from Santa Monica Boulevard, where two more away is a park with a bowling lawn, ponds for turtles, ducks, and other fly by birds, also slides, swings that Juliette has, with a smile, slid, ridden.

This piece I posted about Shelby Foote, an esteemed historian, may've been deemed politically incorrect by Facebook, but I'm posting it again for those with open minds about our past.

INTERVIEWER

Had you been alive during the Civil War, would you have fought for the Confederates?

FOOTE

No doubt about it. What’s more, I would fight for the Confederacy today if the circumstances were similar. There’s a great deal of misunderstanding about the Confederacy, the Confederate flag, slavery, the whole thing. The political correctness of today is no way to look at the middle of the nineteenth century. The Confederates fought for some substantially good things. States rights is not just a theoretical excuse for oppressing people. You have to understand that the raggedy Confederate soldier who owned no slaves and probably couldn’t even read the Constitution, let alone understand it, when he was captured by Union soldiers and asked, What are you fighting for? replied, I’m fighting because you’re down here. So I certainly would have fought to keep people from invading my native state. There’s another good reason for fighting for the Confederacy. Life would have been intolerable if you hadn’t. The women of the South just would not allow somebody to stay home and sulk while the war was going on. It didn’t take conscription to grab him. The women made him go.

Shelby Foote, an esteemed historian who became famous after appearing on Ken Burns's documentary, "The Civil War" had this to say about the Confederate flag and slavery when asked during a Paris review if he would've fought for the South: "No doubt about it. What’s more, I would fight for the Confederacy today if the circumstances were similar. There’s a great deal of misunderstanding about the Confederacy, the Confederate flag, slavery, the whole thing. The political correctness of today is no way to look at the middle of the nineteenth century. The Confederates fought for some substantially good things. States rights is not just a theoretical excuse for oppressing people. You have to understand that the raggedy Confederate soldier who owned no slaves and probably couldn’t even read the Constitution, let alone understand it, when he was captured by Union soldiers and asked, What are you fighting for? replied, I’m fighting because you’re down here. So I certainly would have fought to keep people from invading my native state. There’s another good reason for fighting for the Confederacy. Life would have been intolerable if you hadn’t. The women of the South just would not allow somebody to stay home and sulk while the war was going on. It didn’t take conscription to grab him. The women made him go."

Sad to see this. James Salter was among the best writers of realistic fiction. He wasn't known as well as Updike, Roth, Bellow, or Ford. Of the books he wrote, only two "A Sport and a Pastime" and "Light Years" drew interest from those who read realistic fiction. Known for his writing about s*x, an American's intimate relations with a young woman narrated by a third person almost wasn't published until George Plimpton used his Paris Review credentials to make "A Sport and a Pastime," known. His work as a novelist was preceded by a much different career. After graduating from West Point, he joined the Army Air Force and for years served as a fighter pilot. He retired, started a second life as a writer. Sadly, he had just agreed to write a book for Knopf about his writing life when he died. Dusk, a collection of short stories, I'm getting for Father's Day.

James Salter, a ‘Writer’s Writer’ Short on Sales but Long on Acclaim, Dies at 90 Mr. Salter wrote slowly, exactingly and, by almost every critic’s estimation, beautifully. But he never achieved the broad popularity he craved.

The shooting of 9 people in a church by a white boy reminded me of Colfax, Louisiana where my grandfather was from. A hundred black men were killed by members of the Ku Klux Klan. They were, like the black people they murdered, poor. My grandfather was too, but he got an education, graduated from Tulane Law School, became a judge, presided over cases in two parishes.
Poverty breeds hatred. Bernie Sanders, like Huey Long, has seized this issue. It can be when one percent of the population owns 70 percent of the wealth. A dangerous time for us, and will be until we raise our standard of living, have fewer people standing on street corners, boys like this one in Charleston who hate more than they read, think, work.

The Cardinals are in trouble, if not on the field, in a court of law. The Computer Fraud and Abuse Act provides that if anyone "knowingly accesses a computer without authorization and thereby obtains information from any protected computer without authorization and causes damage or loss" that person is subject to a fine or imprisonment up to ten years, or both. This doesn't include the multiple offenses which could apply to each Cardinal employee, or the hundreds of thousands of dollars recoverable in a civil suit. Much as they'd like to, the Cardinals can't fly away from this.

If you're tired of Donald Trump's egotistical rant/presidential announcement, the Spokane woman who changed from white to black, or tried to, or the rain from tropical storm Bill, listen to this as I did after searching for a lighter, happier subject, and was rewarded by one of my favorite pieces, Benjamin Britten's "The Young Person's Guide to the Orchestra" And yes, you can do this while perusing Facebook, Twitter, the latest on the Cardinal's hacking into the Astros secret formula for winning games.

Full length - Britten: The Young Person's Guide to the orchestra Kölner Philharmonie - WDR Sinfonieorchester Köln Benjamin Britten: The young people's guide to the orchestra conducted by: Jukka Pekka Saraste (Chefdirigent)

We've got a storm moving our way from the Gulf. East Texas the projected path, which is where we in Houston are. A few weeks ago we got eleven inches, this downpour in the dark of night. Five people drowned. I'm hoping we don't have a replay of that. After hours of sitting, typing, revising, I'll leave the study, go outside where I'll do the usual to the pool, the backwashing, the removing of baskets, the leaves that cake them, add the chlorine tablets, and some other stuff with this filtration system, except the last part, the adding water to the pool, which may overflow.

The trade deal that's caused embarrassment by his own party to Obama, the democrats opposed to a free trade agreement with Japan, Australia, and nine other Pacific rim nations. Harmful to our working class. As harmful China, not a member of the Trans-Pacific Partnership, but because of their power and influence they'll do what we're accused of, build plants in these countries and ship what's made back to China. This country that cyber attacks ours, their most recent 4.2 million government employees, is a threat to us, our allies, not to mention the environment, and yet with all the rhetoric we hear from politicians so eager to make their voices heard, there's rarely a word about China, the threat they pose.

Do monks, those fifteen or so whose sixteenth century chapel is high on a ridge overlooking the Mediterranean, a blue green that flashes bands of white light to these men whose hair is cut like Friar Tuck's was, bald on top, a ring of hair, these Italian monks keeping their chins to chest, and not just during prayer, when they walk, talk, pray. But do they, I wonder, when no one's looking, and they're in the part of the chapel where corn husks are shredded, fed to the chickens, when they reach into the pocket of their wool gowns and pull out an I-Phone, check their messages, send a Tweet, then quietly go from the chapel's pen to its more enclosed alter, where they kneel before a cross, and beg forgiveness of their sins?

Verizon is buying AOL. $4.4 billion, the price tag.