Donald Trump. Our Caligula.

TRUMP, the new champion of the American right, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness, wants to ban all Muslims from entering the United States. Let’s, just for the moment, forget that’s about the most un-American thing a candidate could say, and not totally contrary to the Constitution that the right wingers have so long claimed as their own. How, in the name of Caligula, are we supposed to do that? How do you confirm somebody’s religion? OH, yes. Weren’t the Nazis able to do that with tattoos in the concentration camps? You’ve got to do it somehow, no? Otherwise, what’s to stop somebody who wants to come to the US from saying, “No, man. I’m Hindu!”? Well, the only reasonable thing to do is put tattoos on them too, because they all look so much alike, you know? And, then, there are any other number of other dark-skinned people in the world who may practice religions that are not Christianity – so we should tag all of them, as well. Hope we get the tags right. Meantime, a native-born white supremacist (no, not Trump, some other one) blows up another federal building, or a Planned Parenthood clinic, or a homeless shelter; or guns down a shitload of school children. The utter stupidity of this guy being the top choice for Republicans is terrifying. Even Karl Rove and Dick Cheney – no paladins of civil rights, themselves – agree. To be clear, it’s not terrifying because he’s there, running without any qualifications whatsoever; without the first clue of how to govern in a democratic society; only as a dictator. This is America. He has a right to do that. It’s terrifying to know that we have that many would-be Nazis walking the streets, right beside us, with the ability to vote ... and to breed. I have to believe he will never be president, but the simple fact that he has so much support tells me that America is lost. The terrorists have won. Trump is Everyman; and Everyman is Trump. “I have existed from the morning of the world and I shall exist until the last star falls from the night. Although I have taken the form of Gaius Caligula, I am all men as I am no man and therefore I am a God.”

On Bigotry

[Bell ringing] Hurry up, class. Take your seats. Today, we’re going to have a discussion on the word “bigotry.” The Merriam-Webster online dictionary (because, really, who has “books” anymore?) defines it as such: “a person who is obstinately or intolerantly devoted to his or her own opinions and prejudices; especially : one who regards or treats the members of a group (as a racial or ethnic group) with hatred and intolerance.”

Just to avoid any confusion, going further, let’s go ahead and lay out the definition of “intolerance,” from the same online dictionary: : “the quality or state of being intolerant.” Shit. That didn’t help much, did it?

Here we go:
INTOLERANT.
1: unable or unwilling to endure
2a : unwilling to grant equal freedom of expression especially in religious matters
b : unwilling to grant or share social, political, or professional rights : bigoted.

Now. Are we understanding this, so far? Good.

So, as “intolerance” is an integral component of the definition of “bigotry,” it is important to work through that word to have a more complete grasp on the concept of “bigotry,” in the modern cultural context. Indeed, our language can be confusing to those who originated in other countries – and those born here who made the unfortunate choice to listen to pundits like Rush Limbaugh, Ann Coulter, Sean Hannity, et al. Perhaps some examples might be in order.

1. If you hate all liberals, because they are liberal, are you a bigot? (A: yes)
2. If you hate all conservatives because they are conservative, are you a bigot? (A: yes)
3. If you hate religious people, because they are religious, are you a bigot? (A: yes)
4. If you hate atheists, because they are atheists, are you a bigot? (A: yes)

Why? Because you are “intolerant” of their political and/or religious rights to have different opinions than your own about such matters; and unwilling to grant or share those rights. So, in America, we can safely say that, according to the dictionary definition, virtually everybody is a bigot – save the few blissful souls who have no political or religious affiliations of their own. . . wherever that guy might be.

5. If you hate people because they are black, are you a bigot? (A: yes)
6. If you refuse to listen to someone’s opinion because they are Iranian, are you a bigot? (A: yes)

Why? Because you are one who : “regards or treats the members of a group (as a racial or ethnic group) with hatred and intolerance.”

7. If you say “I think we should send all the black people (using a more colloquial term to identify them) back to Africa,” (identifying yourself as a bigot), and I vociferously disagree, does that make me a bigot? (A: oddly, yes)

Why? Because I am “unwilling to grant (you) equal freedom of expression.”

The definition gets a little milky here, doesn’t it?

Now, it gets more complicated. Suppose you call me a murderer, when, in fact, I know I haven’t participated in any acts of murder. You have a “right” to say what you believe, but I am unwilling to grant or share that right (which makes me intolerant). I am obstinately or intolerantly devoted to my own opinions and prejudices about you, going forward. In fact, I think you are a complete asshole. When I express to you my extreme intolerance to your statement, am I a “bigot” for doing so?

By definition, I would have to conclude that, yes, I am. But you’re still an asshole. And, using the same criteria, you are also a bigot on one matter or another, even if I cannot presently identify it.

Is there some kind of “double negative” rule that applies to this definition, which is implied, but not expressed? Is it OK to be intolerant of one who is intolerant? If we deny (or simply don’t subscribe to) the “rights” of those like Hitler and Timothy McVeigh and Westboro Baptist Church and the 911 bombers, are we, by definition, bigots? Yes. Yes, we are; but they’re all still assholes.

Why then, do we give the word “bigot” any credence at all? Everybody qualifies on one issue or another. Going forward, my suggestion is that the word be dropped from our vocabulary and replaced with words that are easier to comprehend. “Dipshit,” for example.

Class dismissed.


©2015 Rick Baber

The Religious Conviction

OK. The de jour news (that’s French) seems to be all about the marriage license lady in Kentucky, or some backwoods place – so the Huckster grabs hold of it, trying to boost his income … I mean ratings with the religious right conservatives who look under every rock for proof that they are being persecuted … like, you know, Jesus.  Because they can’t ACT like Jesus, so this is a way for them to feel close to him. 

I’m sure she’s a very nice lady; and I’m sure her supporters (other than Huckabee, of course) are all very nice people.  And if the evil federal government was trying to force her to marry a woman (which is obviously not her preference, given all her marriages to men and babydaddies) then, you know what (?), I’d be right there in her corner – maybe even wearing some Amish-looking clothing, myself.  But nobody is trying to force her to marry a woman. And nobody is putting her in jail for not marrying a woman. They’re putting her in jail for violating federal law, which dictates that she can’t refuse marriage licenses to same-sex couples – regardless of what her “religious convictions” dictate.

Say, for a moment, that any employer gave a flying shit about what your religious convictions are when you’re performing your job. How is this lady signing these licenses any different from any other damn thing she might be doing there, in regards to those convictions? Does she refuse to grant marriage licenses to adulterers? Hasn’t it been made clear that she is an adulterer, herself?  Let’s leave Muslims out of the argument, because that’s too easy. Let’s talk about Jews. They don’t care. They’re cool. What if the head of your local health department refused to grant a license to a BBQ restaurant, simply because they were planning on serving pork?  Ain’t that the same thing?  I mean, that person doesn’t have to eat there; and he/she isn’t eating there and breaking his/her religious rules – but to go so far as to keep other people from enjoying a tastee pulled pork sandwich … that’s a little much, don’t you think? Stop. Re-read that. Where the hell is the difference?

WHAT IF whoever is in charge of granting licenses to a grocery store was … say … a Mormon? Would it be within that person’s religious rights to refuse to grant that store a license because it was going to sell beer and cigarettes and tea? Again, where the hell is the difference?

This lady’s motives are clear enough. She’s just looking for her 15 minutes. Who can blame her? And the Huckster – he’s always looking for another 15 minutes, and a way to generate donations. Always about the money with him. Big boy’s gotta eat. Who can blame him?  No, it’s the supporters of this woman and her cause and their refusal, or inability, to think this thing through that is most troubling.

(c) Rick Baber, 2015

We Get What We Want

    Your buddy, Dale, would make a better president than anybody who is currently running for that office. He doesn’t toe anybody’s party line. He looks at each issue on its own merits; uses logic and common sense to make his own decisions on those issues. He thinks, rather than simply putting the pegs into the holes where he is instructed to place them. This is why Dale would make a better president; and this is why he will never hold that office.

    Who can trust a guy like that? Who can afford to lay out all that money, just on the off-chance that every decision he makes will coincide with their financial interests? Purchasing the office of President – or any national office, really – is expensive business. Any potential contender who doesn’t have virtually unlimited cash behind him/her doesn’t have a snowball’s chance in hell of winning.  With the restrictions on campaign contributions all but gone, it’s not the people of this country – you or Dale – who decide who’ll be at the helm, it’s the money. The money tells the minions what to think, and for whom they should vote. And the minions believe them – because what choice do they have? And when somebody gives you lots of money, they’re going to expect something in return. No. Not something. Everything.

    Corporations are people.  Young people – since their inclusion into that category only came about with Citizens United in 2010 – but people, just the same. So says the Supreme Court. These young people are very rich, which makes them very powerful in our current political system.  They pick candidates who can (and promise) do the most for them, and pour their money in behind those candidates.  It’s a bit of a gamble. If their guy wins, they’ll get their cash back, many times over.  If their guy loses, it’s not really a big deal because somebody else with money had to have made that happen. That other young person’s financial interests couldn’t be that much different.  Money wins.  Money makes more money.  Everybody’s happy. Well, except maybe the little guy, who aligned himself with one of these young citizens; fought in the trenches for them; gave them his vote, his blood, thinking, somehow, his life would be better for the effort. It rarely is.  So, not knowing what else to do, the little guy licks his wounds and tries to survive until the next election, when he will have an opportunity to make a better choice. He rarely does.

    Here’s where it gets complicated.  There are a whole damn lot more little guys than there are big corporations.  If all of the little guys banded together to watch out for their own interests, like the corporations do, their collective voice could be even louder.  But it’s hard being a little guy.  Somehow, somewhere up the food chain, practically all little guys are tantamount to servants of the corporations.  Little guy is afraid to step out of line for fear of retribution from his master.  He doesn’t have a golden parachute to break his fall, so he abides.  And the cycle continues.  And the rich get richer.  And the little guy ultimately accepts his role on the chess board and surrenders.

    Big money has many faces: business, religion, the war machine, to name a few. But, make no mistake, all of them are big money – the kings and queens and the bishops and knights who serve them directly – expecting, demanding, that you little guys get out in front of them and clear the way. When you fall, there will always be more little guys to take your place when the next battle commences. Even though you’re laying off the board in a little pile on the table, you get about a 50/50 shot at saying your side won. So, you’ve got that going for you. 

    There is no such thing as a democracy, in the context of world governments. We used to consider our form of government as a “representative democracy.” For quite a while, the United States has actually worked in what can best be described as a “constitutional republic.” The tint of that republic changes from election to election, as various faces of big money persuades the pawns to vote for big money’s benefit.  In the last few decades, we have moved closer to what could only be described as an “oligarchy” – where, in essence, a few (big money) govern over many (the little guy). Some big money is more transparent than others.  If Trump, or Walker (aka Koch Brothers) – the business face of big money - should win the next election, the republic will temporarily take a giant step toward a “plutocracy.”  This is a government controlled by a few wealthy people, and many will argue that we are already there. But with these guys, the mask is off, and we can quit pretending to be anything else.

    Huckabee and Cruz rely on another face of big money. Their election would undoubtedly move us toward a “theocracy.”  This is a government by immediate divine guidance or by officials who are regarded as divinely guided – meaning the Church (the Christian Church and nothing but the Church) would essentially be making our governmental decisions. After all, it would take a divine miracle for either of them to get elected. The question then would become which branch of the business of Christianity would make the calls. The answer would be Southern Baptist.

    Bernie Sanders is a self-described Democratic Socialist. That term scares the hell out of a whole lot of people in the United States who only hear the “socialist” part, bringing to mind the evil empires of Russia and China we all grew up learning to hate and fear.  Here’s the actual definition:  Democratic socialism is a political ideology advocating a democratic political system alongside a socialist economic system, involving a combination of political democracy with social ownership of the means of production. Sometimes used synonymously with "socialism", the adjective "democratic" is added to denote a system of political democracy similar to that found in existing Western societies.

    Take that as you will, but it means Bernie would move the country, if even slightly, toward that socialist boogeyman.

    Frustrated that nothing we’ve tried before has actually given us the government we think we should have, no matter which side we sit on, judging from the polls, Americans are faunching at the bits for some kind of dramatic change in our particular directions.  The right wants to go way to the right (Donald Trump, Scott Walker). The left wants to go way to the left (Bernie Sanders). Everybody pretty much assumes that the election of Hillary Clinton or Jeb Bush would just keep us in more or less the same place we are now.  The truth is, no matter which direction we go, we’ll come back toward the middle the next time, and we’ll remain a Plutocracy, ruled by one face or the other of big money.   This is, until the little guys rise up and demand that we reform our political system back to exclude big money; where each flesh & blood human’s vote actually matters and we’re not all bombarded by dollars on the airwaves and the newsprint and the internet telling us how to vote.

    Until then, we get what we vote for. Meaning we get what we want. What do you want? You’re not as radical as you’ve been told you should be.

        ©2015   Rick Baber

SQUARE ONE

    Nothing’s really easy. There’s a revelation!

    Lots of people who read my first novel, Purity, told me they thought it should be made into a movie – because they “watched” it as a movie as they read it.  This, of course, pleased me, because I saw it as a movie as I wrote it. Truth is, I don’t read all that much for entertainment, but I do watch a lot of movies.

    The comments from readers started me thinking about who would play the role of the protagonist if Purity actually was a movie. I, certainly, would be perfect for the role, if only I could get past a couple of barriers. I look like a fat Skeletor on camera. I can’t act.

    Who then? 

    It was (Famous Actor) I kept seeing wiggling out of difficult situations as the hero, Jeff Davis, even as I wrote many of them.  He could do it.  How hard would it possibly be to get the script to him? He’s an Arkansas boy, after all.  The script is set in Arkansas. I know lots of people in Arkansas, and each of them knows somebody in Arkansas that I don’t. My mind was made up. (Famous) was going to make my movie.  Done deal.

    I put the word out.  Astonishingly, I was contacted by a sweet lady from Batesville who actually knew (Famous’) lawyer.  I won’t give her name here, because I haven’t asked her for permission, but she knows who she is (insert heart icon here). She gave me the Los Angeles lawyer’s contact information and I sent him an email, dropping her name.  It worked!  He got right back to me. He read the book. He liked it a lot, and asked me if I could adapt it to a screenplay.  “Sure!” I told him, “No problemo!”  Then, I frantically searched the internet to see what a screenplay looked like; downloaded some for reference; bought the appropriate software; and figured out how to write a script.

    Meantime, the lawyer tells me (Famous) is tied up with several projects, and he thinks another one of his clients might be able to do something much sooner with my story.  I jumped on that opportunity and worked with that Executive Producer, over a period of about 1 ½ years, using his notes to tweak the script into a pilot for a TV series. Dude kept telling me “The wheels of Hollywood move very slowly,” but he had me convinced that, eventually, we’d have the script packaged with “talent” and a director, then he would pitch it to one of the major studios.  We had numerous conversations about me writing the TV scripts once that became a reality – a gig that pays about half my yearly wages, per week!

    Well, now, I’m practically a bigshot. I ask Lawyer Dude if he thinks I need to get an agent. He says to me, “You’re already talking to me. Why would you need an agent?”  That made sense. I never even looked for an agent, considering that I was higher up on the food chain than some struggling writer looking for somebody to read his script.

    Time passes. I’m all hoity-toity, Mister soon-to-be Screenwriter, wondering if I should invite J.J. Abrams to my next party. He seems cool enough to hang out with me. EP Dude calls, periodically, discussing our options.  (Famous Actor) is apparently out.  Who could star in the lead?  Jeff Daniels took a gig with “The Newsroom,” so he’s out. What about Kevin Costner?  Jeff Bridges?  Jeff Bridges! Are you kidding me? The Big Lebowski playing the lead role in MY movie?  I’d sell previously-valued body parts to make that happen. Well, that’s just like, your opinion, man.

    These guys I was dealing with weren’t some jackleg shysters looking for some rube from Arkansas they could swindle money out of. They never asked me for a dime. They were the real deal with impressive credits to their names.  The deal was, we would all be Executive Producers, attempting to “package” the product (the script), and then pitch it to the money guys – the studios. If that never came to fruition, we’d all just walk away and no harm would be done.

    No harm done.

    About a year and a half into working with EP Dude, he calls me one late summer day and tells me that he is not having any luck getting those Hollywood wheels to turn.  The industry, it seems, isn’t interested in pursuing original material at the moment. They’re sticking with tried-&-true themes: Re-makes of previous hit movies; Sequels of previous hit movies; Comic book movies.  He has now teamed up with a very famous producer and a very famous actor to do just that – make a comic book movie – and he’s not going to have the time to continue to try to package my script. He wishes me luck. He’s walking away.  No harm done.

    So … it’s over? Nothing is over until I say it is! Was it over when the Germans bombed Pearl Harbor? Hell no!  (If you’re a reader and not a movie-goer, you won’t get that. Just trust me with the quote.) We’ll endeavor to persevere, back at Square One, sending PMs to people I know on Facebook – and people I don’t - who might have a connection to the big leagues; posting my scripts online for anybody to read with the click of a mouse. Scratching. Clawing. Going the extra … uh … sorry. Lost my train of thought.

    Nothing’s really easy.

    

    ©2015   Rick Baber

America Has Gone Nuts

    After typing the title, I simply sat and stared at it for a while, hands on the keyboard, waiting for the next thought to come to mind.  What else is necessary? That pretty much sums it up. 

    Perhaps, I thought, some examples. But there are so many. Where does one start? How ‘bout an analogy?  It’s like it’s 1968 again, and I’m fighting over space in the back seat of my dad’s Mercury Montego with my younger sister and brother – all the way to grandma’s house.

    “He’s touching me!”

    “Move over then!”

    “They’re making me sit in the floorboard!”

    “I said ‘Shuttup!’ I’ll turn this damn car around right now!”

    “Aaughhhh! He just put his toe in my mouth!”

    “No, she bit my toe!”

    “Put your shoes on, your feet stink!”

    “Your face stinks.”

    “Mom!”

    “Honey, can you stick your feet out the window?”

    “Ri…Rob…Ran…. I’ll put you all in the trunk and you can fight it out in there!”

    “I’ll just ride up here in the back glass.”

    “No! It’s MY turn!”

     This is America today.  Whining and moaning and crying and being offended and needing to offend and struggling to appease is the rule of the day. On one end of the spectrum, we have people resigning from their jobs rather than continuing to work for a company, or a government, that condones same-sex marriage.  Like, no matter what that company or government did in the past, it’s this that’s bringing the downfall – the end of times, as many have actually called it.  Or, could it be that they were dissatisfied with their employment all along and just recognized the opportunity to get out seeming honorable?  Call me cynical, but I think God’s probably got better things to do than worry about the design of the icing you squirt on some cake or who you issue marriage licenses to in your Podunk little town. If you’re a dude that doesn’t want to marry another dude then … don’t. Nobody is making you.  Requiring you to register your gun doesn’t equate to having your doors kicked down by storm troopers and being drug away to a concentration camp. Allowing your employees to have birth control paid by their insurance doesn’t tell Jesus that you’re condoning abortion.  And removing the flag of an old, supposedly-gone domestic enemy of the United States from government properties isn’t tantamount to erasing your proud regional heritage. Get over it, you hyperbolic infants.

    On the other end of the spectrum – we skip to there, because there is no middle – are the do-gooders and guilt-ridden and wanna-be saints who can never seem to do enough to make amends and fix all that is wrong with people and society and manufacture peace and harmony and the holding of the hands, sitting ‘round the campfire… No. Not a campfire, because that causes pollutants.  Sitting ‘round the solar-powered campfire hologram singing old Coca Cola commercials.  They monitor your spoken and written words, and would monitor your thoughts, if possible, to make sure there is nothing in there anywhere that could be construed as offensive to any human being, animal, plant or sub-atomic particle.  Some are genuinely intent on this pursuit. Others, just wanting to be accepted into the group, don’t exactly know what they should do … but they try so hard.  One report shows that a TV network is pulling episodes of “The Dukes of Hazzard,” because a central “character” in the old series is a car, called The General Lee, that has a Confederate flag emblem, aka stars & bars, painted on the roof.  This idiotic action, in itself, will surely eliminate all racial strife in America.  Who the hell cares what two fictional rednecks from 1980s Georgia had painted on their car, or what they named it? The only reason anybody ever watched that show was to eagerly await any appearance by Daisy Duke, in those cut-off jeans.  Oh, I’m sorry. That was sexist and surely offended somebody. Well, get over it, Alice, facts is facts.

    America has gone nuts.  Problem is: where are we gonna go? This is the bed we have made for ourselves. Neither side is going to prevail.  There will be giving and taking and taking and giving, and, hopefully, we can ride this out without killing each other. It's too late to turn the car around.
All we can do at this point is wait and see what happens; rub our eyes; groan. Stuff like that. 

    That’s all for now. If I keep going, I might offend somebody.

   

    ©2015   Rick Baber

Forward, Into the Past

    Take a stroll with me, if you will, back in time; back to a magical moment in the history of the great state of Arkansas: September, 1957.  It’s front page news. Nine young people, who had the audacity to be born black, carrying their books, heads down in fear, bravely walking to the steps that led up to Central High School, surrounded by raging, screaming white people who didn’t want them going in there.  Here’s a quote from Elizabeth Eckford, who was 15 years old at the time.  “They moved closer and closer … somebody started yelling… I tried to see a friendly face somewhere in the crowd – someone who maybe could help. I looked into the face of an old woman and it seemed like a kind face, but when I looked at her again, she spat on me.”

    She spat on her.

    It’s not like the nine were going to get inside on September 4. Southern Democrat (yes, Democrat) Governor Orval Faubus had National Guard Troops there – to make sure they didn’t. 

    Five days later, September 9, the Little Rock School District condemned the governor’s deployment of troops. On September 24, Ike, the Republican (yes, Republican) President of the United States, sent the 101^st Airborne, federalized the Arkansas National Guard, and guess who was going to Central before October.

    Whew! That was tense. 

    Now, for today’s young people, some clarification of the labels. A brief history lesson, if you will.  It was Abraham Lincoln, a Republican, who freed the slaves. Orval Faubus, a Democrat, who blocked the Little Rock Nine.  Dwight Eisenhower, a Republican, who backed Faubus down.  Those labels – Democrat & Republican – are today synonymous with “Liberal” and “Conservative,” respectively.  People who are ignorant of history argue that it was conservatives who championed the advances of African Americans in our society, based upon the fact that they were Republicans.  But, you see, that is not true.

   “Liberal” means, at its core, “open to new behavior or opinions and willing to discard traditional values.”  “Conservative” means, at its core, “holding to traditional attitudes and values and cautious about change or innovation, typically in relation to politics or religion.” (Google).  Look it up.

    When the Emancipation Proclamation (one of those Executive Orders some folks are so convinced is tyranny today) was delivered by Honest Abe on January 1, 1863, the ownership of black people by white people was considered, at least by the southern states, a “traditional attitude and value.” The Confederate States were “cautious about change or innovation.”  The two sides fought this big war over that little dispute, and a combined total of 620,000 soldiers died in the process. In the end, Lincoln’s liberal agenda prevailed.

    The Southern Democrats, beginning in the 1850s, remained after the war, and didn’t get along well with the Republican black folk.  In 1933, there came a new Democrat president from New York named Franklin Roosevelt, who introduced a series of domestic programs known as “The New Deal.”   From that moment on, the Democrats, as a party, began to move to the left – aka liberalism.  Consequently, the Republicans moved to the right – aka conservatism.  “By 1936 the term ‘liberal’ was typically used for supporters of the New Deal, and ‘conservative’ for its opponents.” (Wikipedia – look it up.)  But the Southern Democrats, like Faubus, remained stuck in the old ways, until the Little Rock Nine put one of the final nails into their political coffins. 

  So, here we are now. Conservatives, on the right, Republicans; Liberals, on the left, Democrats.  OK?

    November, 2014. Conservative Republicans take over the Arkansas state government, duly elected by the good people of the state.  March, 2015, Arkansas lawmakers introduce the “Religious Freedom Bill” – a law specifically designed to give business owners and employers a legal defense to discrimination claims when they refuse to do business with people because they have religious objections to said people’s lifestyles or actions.  That’s my understanding, anyway.  It’s a thinly veiled effort to circumvent the federal anti-discrimination laws that have been brought about by “liberals” since 620,000 men died fighting over “civil rights” 150 years ago; and many more in the interim.

    Indisputably, these laws, being enacted by other states as well, are aimed at the LGBT community.  Some people just don’t want to have to do business with “the gays.”  You may be one of those people.  But consider that this same law could possibly be construed to allow somebody who doesn’t condone your actions or lifestyle, on religious principle, to discriminate against you or your family members at some point in the future.  It could happen. Do you drink? Smoke dope? Have “relations” with people outside of wedlock?  Do you work on Sunday? Do you eat pork?

    The Arkansas Legislature is doing its level best to take us back to those steps at Central High in 1957 – shining the world spotlight on us once again – leading us boldly forward into the 20^th century.

    How proud we all must be.   

 

© 2015, Rick Baber

http://www.rickbaber.com