On my kitchen wall there’s a poster with a slogan from World War II Britain: “Keep Calm and Carry On.” In the wake of the recent presidential debate (also known as The Debacle), pundit wannabes could use a sign like that. They fell all over each other pronouncing President Biden down for the count.

The worst offender was the New York Times Editorial Board, which should be charged with journalistic malfeasance. Almost before the MSNBC talking heads had finished their OMGs over Biden’s poorish performance on Thursday night, the NYT Board was out of the gate on the Internet (“digital edition”) calling for his scalp, a cry they repeated in print in the Sunday Opinion section:

“As it stands, the president is engaged in a reckless gamble. There are Democratic leaders better equipped to present clear, compelling and energetic alternatives to a second Trump presidency. “

And there were plenty more top-tier newsies and editorial writers who announced the same hasty conclusion.

Why?

Granted, the president was somewhat hoarse, and he obviously struggled not to revert to his childhood stutter. And yes, he seemed a bit fuzzy, with trouble choosing words and finishing sentences.

Why was he sounding like that? Watching at home I made an immediate diagnosis before he’d spoken the equivalent of three grafs: he had a cold, of course.

But colds don’t make you fuzzy, do they?

No, but as an experienced home medicator (daughter,spouse,parent, grandparent) I can tell you that a vast array of OTC (over the counter) cold remedies do. I’ve learned from personal experience not to take any of the stuff Big Pharma would like you to buy at CVS or Walgreens before doing anything moderately complicated, like driving … or participating in a debate.

I’m not a doctor, or at least just a J.D, not an M.D. That’s why I was gratified to learn that a trio of Yale professors, including two genuine M.Ds, agreed with my diagnosis. Their conclusion appeared on Saturday on the MedPage Today site::

“The most probable explanation for this transient period of cognitive impairment in an older person with a cold is a side effect of cold medications. If this is so, the handwringing should cease, and we should use the debate as a reminder of how common such reactions are rather than an indication that the president is chronically debilitated.”

Unfortunately, it seems that President Biden’s handlers, including his lovely wife perhaps, didn’t realize this. If the man had a bad cold, he should have been advised to announce that he’d lost his voice and offer to set another date.

Now, after the damage has occurred, here’s the advice of the Yale doctors:

“We need to know if President Biden took cold medications before the debate. His doctors should assess the role they may have played. How the American people assess the debate hinges on the answer. It would be tragic to magnify the meaning of an ill-timed adverse drug effect -- and potentially have it change the course of history.”

But following such sober advice is no fun for the commentariat. Sunday’s NYT Opinion is loaded with what Jamelle Bouie, interviewed there, called “hyperventilating panic”. His own comments are the exception; he catalogs the “fatal downsides to Biden leaving the race” which seem to have escaped the notice of his NYTO colleagues.

The Board members in particular don’t seem to be aware of how hard it would be for Democrats to mount a real campaign for a new candidate at this stage. They claimed, remember, that

“There are Democratic leaders better equipped to present clear, compelling and energetic alternatives to a second Trump presidency. “

Really? Who?

Liberals, traditionally Nervous Nellies always looking for alternatives, need to be constantly reminded that you can’t beat someone with no one, and the devil you know is usually the safer choice. An assortment of governors with little name recognition outside their own states would be risky even two years out, and we’re down to single digit numbers of months now. Senators are needed right where they are. Kamala Harris and Gavin Newsom have negatives well known to Californians.

The Times Editorial Board, like similar boards of other well-funded prestige papers, is populated by and large by people who have no real-life political experience. They tend to overestimate the influence of “independent” or “undecided” voters. From an early job as a campaign manager I know that people who describe themselves thus actually seldom vote. “Infrequent” registered voters on the rolls have probably moved away. Of the probable voters, a very small percentage will be changing their minds because of this debate.

As NYT and its competitors become more and more digital, man-bites-dog excitement becomes more and more desired as clickbait. Follow-up to the debate conspicuously lacked factchecking of Trump’s 90 straight minutes of lies—where’s the news in that? He performed as expected.

As my daughter pointed out to me, it’s a lot easier to deliver a smooth presentation if you don’t worry about facts, which is why some viewers claimed Trump “won”. He radiated confidence, not letting truth cramp his style.

The best analysis I’ve seen of how this first debate will or won’t, should or shouldn’t, affect the November election came from MSNBC’s Lawrence O’Donnell, someone who had a real political job working in the Senate before he became an opinion journalist.

You can see it here. His opening monologue is only about twenty minutes long and well worth the time.

Just as I'm ready to post this, the Supreme Court has given us all very good reasons to stop squabbling and get on with it. If we can't bar the door in November, we'll find out what real trouble looks like.

Well, July has started with a big bang. As I said last month, new issues will (probably) be posted on the first of the month, with new contributions added periodically throughout. Berkeley is calm, but the action is in DC. Keep an eye on People's Park.

-CNN: CEO Trump donor -

ABC: CEO Trump donor -

CBS: CEO Trump donor -

NBC: CEO Trump donor -

MSNBC: CEO Trump donor -

Washington Post: owner Jeff Bezo -

Wall Street Journal: Owner: Rupert Murdoch -

New York Times: CEO Trump donor. -

New York Post: Owner: Rupert Murdoch

Check out:

https://mstdn.social/@LilHulkQ ./112740884242629814

My neighbor and I are out looking in anticipation for little bites in the leaves of the plants in the strip between the sidewalk and the street. I call it the median, though a new friend constantly corrects me that the median is in the middle of the street. The strip has many names like road verge, parkways, medians, berms, hellstrip. It’s really owned by the city, but we’re responsible for maintaining it. 

I got help to dig up, pull out the weeds in my strip and my neighbor hired the same “helper” to take out the concrete. We’ve been going to the native plant stores and put in native plants, for birds, butterflies and caterpillars. We thought we had lost the caterpillars, but I got a text there were two. I’m thinking, I might have to put up a sign on the sidewalk, “caterpillar crossing” when they leave the plants to form their chrysalis and return as a butterfly. I planted the pipevine inside the front yard. 

Erin Diehm who introduced me to the thrill of native plants said it might be three or four years before I see the pipevine caterpillars and the black and iridescent blue pipevine butterflies. In pre-pandemic days as we walked together to the downtown Y, she would point out the yards with native plants with skippers, bees and butterflies and she would point out the yards with non-native imported plants as dead zones with no pollinators flitting from plant to plant. 

I shudder when I think of both the massive and focused herbicide and pesticide spraying to maintain big green lawns when I visit family in the Midwest. This along with monoculture, alien 

/non-native plants, urban sprawl, glass architecture and climate change is why we’ve lost a third of the birds in North America and are sitting on the edge of the collapse of nature. 

With all the swirling bad news, finding caterpillars is brightening my day. 

When I see the development plans at the Design Review Committee (DRC) and Zoning Adjustment Board (ZAB), I feel like the designs are for a past that is gone, not a warming future especially not an excessive heat warning day. Those building plans with bedrooms with no windows become deadly in a power failure. 

The 1598 University project (the bedrooms have windows) came back for final design approval to DRC on May 16 with a new architectural firm DJR out of Minneapolis, Minnesota. DRC rejected the changes DJR made to the design by Trachtenberg Architects and sent them back to the drawing board. DJR returned on June 20 bringing back the featured shading over windows and full samples of the exterior finish. The building exterior/finish was much improved, but landscape plans had a row of Canary pines. 

Mary Muszynski, MLA (Master of Landscape Architecture) is the DRC member with the responsibility for assessing and advising on project development landscape plans. 

Muszynski addressed the Canary pines in a way that was a first for DRC. She said that Canary pines are a highly flammable tree with resin and even though 1598 University is in the flats and not in one of the very high fire hazard severity zones, highly flammable trees should not be planted next to residences. 

Muszynski also asked DJR to reduce cultivars and increase native plants. 

It is summer, it is hot, we need to think and act differently which takes us to the property insurance crisis in the very high fire hazard severity zones (VHFHSZ). 

First to the Insurance Crisis Panel arranged by Councilmember Wengraf. 

I live in the formerly redlined area of Berkeley, the flats, not the wildland urban interface (WUI) or in fire zone 2 (Berkeley Hills) or 3 (Panoramic Hill). 

Here are my takeaways from the webinar: 1) If you own property in one of the high risk wildland urban interface fire areas or happen to sit in the same zip code, when you get that homeowner insurance policy cancellation notice or giant rate hike, check if you can change your status through home hardening measures (measures to make your property more resistant to wildfire). 2) Get to work immediately to find a replacement even if the actual cancellation may still be a couple of months or more away. 3) If you find an insurer the advice is jump on it as the offer can quickly slip away. 4) When all else fails, there is the California Fair Plan. 5) The California Fair Plan is intended to be temporary while searching for an insurer and may not (more like will not) offer the full coverage homeowners seek in normal circumstances. 

Though the name California Fair Plan makes it sound like it is a State of California sponsored backstop it is not. 

You can watch the Insurance Crisis webinar at https://youtu.be/76TV56X3dLk?si=GVAHverDe632u5Hk 

There wasn’t a lot of detail on the California Fair Plan by the panel. For a better understanding of the Fair Plan, Livable California sponsored an in-depth session which can be watched at: https://youtu.be/OWCewh-_26g?si=Czvbxeeeel2FOW8G&t=1 

The property insurance crisis is much broader than just California and Florida. ‘How ‘Kitty cats’ are wrecking the home insurance industry” by Jake Bittle originally published in Grist and republished in the Guardian gives a taste to how the cumulative impact of smaller catastrophic storms fueled by climate change are hitting the home insurance markets in the Midwest, plains and south. https://grist.org/extreme-weather/home-insurance-midwest-climate-disasters/ 

None of this is good news. 

When catastrophic events hit, they make a splash in the news cycle for a couple of days and then disappear. In Jake Bittle’s book The Great Displacement: Climate Change and the Next American Migration, Bittle takes us into the personal stories of how people’s lives and community are impacted and changed from the Four Horsemen of the Anthropocene, fire, heat, drought and flood. This book is definitely worth reading and not just because the section on fires is close to home, the Tubbs fire in Santa Rosa and the Camp fire that destroyed Paradise. As for floods, I will never look at Houston the same way.  

If you don’t have a TV with connection to CNN or didn’t watch the series Violent Earth you can still watch episode 2 Wildfire for $1.99+ https://www.vudu.com/content/browse/details/Violent-Earth-Wildfire/3305747 

Israel’s terrorist activities are growing exponentially, making all Americans complicit in their crimes. It ordered another mass expulsion of Palestinians from Khan Younis. It is imperative to address the grave concerns raised regarding Israel's military actions and the treatment of Palestinians.  

If the President does not immediately call for a ceasefire and the resumption of food, water, and fuel, he should resign, especially after his abysmal debate performance last week. Clearly, he is no match for the demonic Netanyahu, Prime Minister of Israel, who is capitalizing on Biden’s weakness. 

Israel's army has ordered a mass expulsion of Palestinians from Khan Younis, Gaza’s second-largest city, in preparation for another ground invasion. This action has resulted in the frantic evacuation of patients from the Gaza European Hospital, one of the last functioning medical centers in the region. The Palestinian Red Crescent Society has reported that at least eight people were killed and over 30 others were wounded in renewed strikes on southern Gaza. 

Freed Palestinian prisoners describe torture and degrading treatment in Israeli jails. On Monday, Israel freed the director of Gaza’s largest medical center after detaining him without charge for seven months. Dr. Muhammad Abu Salmiya of Al-Shifa Hospital said after his release that his Israeli captors broke his fingers and repeatedly struck him in the head as part of the daily torture he and other Palestinians endured. 

Dr. Muhammad Abu Salmiya: “The prisoners are undergoing extremely harsh conditions, from scarcity of food and drink, as well as physical torture. The prisoners are all facing brutal conditions right now. Hundreds of medical staff, including doctors, nurses, radiation specialists, and others, were targeted and are stuck in occupation army prisons being tortured."

An analysis of the nonfactual presentation in UC Berkeley’s flyer “A Renewed People’s Park for All” reveals the irrationality of the People’s Park project and the venality of UCB administration in pursuing it. This is amplified by the undercutting of park proponents’ win in the State Court of Appeal by AB 1307 and its subsequent impact on the recent State Supreme Court decision reversing that win. 

Moreover, an immediate concern is whether UC has done an adequate archeological investigation of the park. Given a recent official filing with the Northwest Information Center of the State Office of Historic Preservation showing evidence of Native American artifacts in or near the park, UC should present information to the public describing what steps it has taken to ascertain it will not continue its long history of destruction of historic Native sites, graves and objects. 

AB 1307 was nothing more than a sweetheart, backroom deal concocted by Assemblyperson Buffy Wicks. She had absolutely no contact with the plaintiffs in the court case or with any park proponents in the district she purportedly represents. There were no legislative committee hearings to air arguments on the bill, either pro or con. The bill can only be described as a piece of special interest legislation with the special interest being none other than UC. 

This outcome is disappointing because the nonprofit, community-based organizations were only asking for a public process under the California Environmental Quality Act. The Court of Appeal clearly saw that UC pursued a private process in determining it had no alternative other than to build on People’s Park. Our groups hired legal representation at great expense to advocate for transparency from UC. They played by the rules, and when UC did not like the outcome, it got the rules changed. 

This begs the question - Is the project about student housing or about destroying the park? This is particularly evident when the millions of wasted dollars of public funds are considered due to delays, legal and police costs, and the shipping container wall with razor wire. 

In order to meet its housing goal, UCB has claimed that it wants to build as much student housing as soon as possible. However, as an indication of its outrageously poor planning to reach the goal, UCB chose People’s Park as Housing Project #2 and then admitted early on that it would certainly experience delays due to the controversial nature of the project. Anchor House, Housing Project # 1, is nearly completed. If any of the many alternative sites had been chosen for Housing Project #2, it would likewise be nearly complete. 

Cal claims extensive public engagement and input on the project. However, it was only earlier this year that teach-ins were held on campus that included student groups, faculty and community groups that provided an open and balanced analysis of what it would mean to destroy People’s Park. In 2021, People’s Park Historic District Advocacy Group circulated an Open Letter with nearly 150 signatures that includes Berkeley residents, UCB professors, three former Berkeley mayors, three former Berkeley city councilmembers, many former Berkeley commissioners, Cal alumni and students, attorneys, architects, historians and many others who are concerned about the threatened destruction of People’s Park. Their representative views were never considered by campus administration. 

Additionally, several student groups support preservation of People’s Park - Pay Your Workers Campaign, Historic Preservation Club, Cal ACLU, and Suitcase Clinic. Add to that, two resolutions from the ASUC opposing destruction of the park, the Berkeley Faculty Association’s questioning of the project, and the many editorials in support of the park in the Daily Cal. Support has also come from the country’s leading preservation organization - The National Trust for Historic Preservation. 

Cal touts that 1.7 acres of the park would remain open space after development. However, the increasingly densely populated Southside needs probably at least three times the acreage of People’s Park to meet urban green space standards at the international, national, state or city level. Stripping much-needed open space from students and the community is particularly perverse because it is unnecessary. 

Cal states it has “secured housing vouchers from the City of Berkeley for this project” neglecting to explain that housing vouchers come from the federal Housing and Urban Development voucher program. Vouchers would only be available if UC completed an environmental impact report in compliance with the National Environmental Policy Act, a requirement UC refused for its original supportive housing project. Since UC has destroyed a site on the National Register of Historic Places, this will likely be a major deterrent for any potential nonprofit housing developer. 

Not only are the proposed buildings out-of-keeping with the area, they overshadow a National Landmark (Bernard Maybeck’s First Church), a building by famed architect Julia Morgan, the Anna Head complex by the founding member of Berkeley’s Ratcliff architectural dynasty, and many other historic structures that surround People’s Park. 

The university claims to honor the historic importance of the park but does so by destroying a place that is an official city landmark, recognized by the State Historic Resources Commission. And People's Park is also listed on the federal government's National Register of Historic Places as a site of such national importance that it's worthy of preservation. So UC's idea of honoring this historic place is to destroy it. 

Many who consider themselves part of the Cal family honor fact-based research and support social justice. We think of these values as having been strengthened by experiences at Berkeley. Therefore, it pains most Cal-affiliated people when UC Berkeley behaves like a greedy and abusive corporation without a conscience. 

Corporations can make expensive miscalculations, e.g., Ford’s Edsel. UC campuses likewise have made costly planning errors, e.g., UCSB’s “Dormzilla.” However, both of these mistakes were recognized and the projects were terminated. Harm only comes when a bad decision is stubbornly sustained at the cost of institutional integrity.

The United States spent decades in Afghanistan, spending billions, only to leave the situation for women far worse than before. It’s time for women around the world to be liberated from the imposition of archaic rules and customs, such as the mandatory hijab in Iran and the severe lack of women's rights in Afghanistan and throughout the Muslim world. The United Nations should convene a meeting to encourage Islam to modernize its faith.

Women worldwide should displace men in key government positions to bring order and sanity, correcting the mess men have created. This approach aligns with a simple Persian prayer: "I praise the thought well thought, the word well spoken, and the deed well done." It is worth noting that the founder of the Sikh faith was a pioneer of women's rights. When the Taliban retook power in Afghanistan in August 2021, they initially suspended education for girls above the sixth grade until conditions were deemed suitable under Islamic rules. Now, over 1,000 days later, school remains off-limits for girls older than 12, and restrictions have extended to universities. The Taliban claim education is an "internal matter," leaving the future of girls' education uncertain. 

Denial of education is only one of many Taliban decrees against women. Female civil servants were instructed not to report to work, and women are now barred from working at NGOs and humanitarian agencies, including the United Nations. Many female-owned businesses, such as beauty salons, have been shuttered. Women and girls must be accompanied by a male relative to travel. 

As a result, women and girls have been virtually erased from public life, deprived of their most basic rights. Afghan women began describing the Taliban’s policies as gender apartheid in the 1990s, and there is a growing call to criminalize such policies under international law. 

The Taliban’s institutionalized oppression is devastating not only for the current generation of Afghan women and girls but also for future generations. Boys, raised in a system that dehumanizes women, may follow their leaders’ example and continue to mistreat women, becoming vulnerable to radicalization, which poses security concerns beyond Afghanistan’s borders. The Taliban's gender policies also severely deprive LGBTQ individuals of their fundamental rights. 

Despite these oppressive conditions, Afghan women and girls are resisting. Some have protested in the streets, risking arrest and violence. Girls with internet access, a minority, are taking online classes, and female entrepreneurs are finding creative ways to circumvent restrictions. 

It would be easy to leave these women to struggle alone, claiming that the international community has done enough damage in Afghanistan. But that would be a grave disservice to both the defiant women and those without the economic capacity to fight back. We have an obligation to meet their bravery with increased protection, support, and solidarity. The upcoming meeting in Doha, Qatar, will discuss a political path forward for Afghanistan. The agenda, however, focuses on fighting narcotics and helping the private sector, excluding human rights and women's issues. If these exclusions are the price of the Taliban’s presence in Doha, the cost is too high. 

The international community must insist on reversing the restriction of Afghan women’s and girls’ rights, ensuring their meaningful participation in decision-making, and holding the Taliban accountable. Having these issues explicitly on the agenda in Doha would be an important first step. 

The bravery, dignity, and perseverance of millions of Afghans in the face of gross injustice must be matched by strong, principled, and effective international leadership. g

The Predictability of TV Newscasts
ABC World News, CBS Evening News and NBC Nightly News all seem to be working from the same script these days: An opening report on the latest floods, hurricanes, and wildfires (with no mention of "climate change") followed by "The Mass Shooting of the Day." And, to offset all the downer stories, the networks close each daily newscast with a short, upbeat "human-interest" story. 

Here are a few stories that aren't being followed. 

Stuck in Space 

Since June 5, two US astronauts—Sumita Williams and Barry Wilmore—have been stranded in orbit, unable to return to Earth owing to helium leaks in their Starliner space capsule that could leave them without power needed to fuel the capsule's thrusters. The Starliner was designed by Boeing—the military contractor now famous for building passenger jets with badly bolted side doors. Asked for a response on the discovery of the helium leaks, a Boeing rep replied: "We thought we'd fixed that." 

The Starliner mission is a year behind schedule and $1.5 billion over budget (a performance typical of Pentagon-funded programs). If the Starliner remains off-line, the two stranded astronauts' back-up plan will involve "catching a ride" on Elon Musk's SpaceX vehicle, which is parked on the opposite side of the International Space Station. The Dragon space capsule has room for 7 passengers.. 

The Less-than-Admirable Admiral
A former Pentagon figure has been caught in the middle of a "revolving door" scandal. According to American Military News, former US Navy Vice Admiral Robert Burke has been accused of "attempting to secure government contracts in exchange for future employment." The Justice Department has accused Burke of colluding with Yougchul Kim and Meghan Messenger, co-CEOs of "an unnamed company" (aka "Company A") to steer a "sole-source contract" to the unnamed firm "in return for future employment." 

Burke also conspired with fellow Navy brass to offer the "unnamed company" a contact for a training program worth "triple-digit millions." Burke has been charged with acts of bribery and conspiracy that could land him in prison for up to 30 years—essentially a life sentence. No word on what penalties, if any, the "unnamed company" might face. 

Final note: the Justice Department's decision to hide the name of the complicit company is no match for Google. A search quickly reveals Company A is a firm called Next Jump: "Led by Co-CEOS Charlie Kim & Meghan Messenger, Next Jump is run by innovative mentors who are passionate about transforming the workplace." The company was also apparently passionate about transforming Admiral Burke's workplace. 

Yes to Peace. No to NATO: July 6-7
World BEYOND War and a long list of anti-war organizations are planning to converge on Washington DC for the 75^th anniversary of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization. But they aren't converging to join NATO's "big celebration of 75 years of itself"—with a host of militaristic meetings beginning in the US capitol on July 9 that is expected to draw "many presidents, prime ministers, foreign secretaries—and weapons dealers." 

The No to NATO global peace alliance is planning to host (and livestream) a summit on Saturday July 6 and a rally on Sunday July 7, with "various other actions in the days before and after that weekend" to say "Yes to Peace and No to NATO."' The organizers note that the demonstrations are not intended to promote any governments or political candidates and participants are asked not to bring any national flags or campaign signs. 

What's the gripe over NATO? For one thing, this post-WWII institution's founding principal—"an attack on one is an attack on all"—enshrines a threat of armed violence without just cause or constraint. It is an imperial threat that NATO's armies shares with drug cartels and Mafia enforcers. For another: NATO is no longer limited to the US, Canada and 10 European nations. Today NATO has nearly tripled in size with 32 members, including many countries that are found far outside NATO's original boundaries. 

If you can't make it to DC, you can follow the events live on YouTube at this embedded link. 

The GOP's Plans to Belabor Labor
Former Labor Secretary and UC economics professor Robert Reich must be outraged over the following piece of news. The Coalition of Human Needs recently noted: "At a time of skyrocketing CEO pay, stagnant wages for workers, and widening income inequality, House Republican appropriators have proposed drastic cuts to the Department of Labor (DOL)," including: 

• Cutting the National Labor Relations Board's budget to $200 million―a third of its current funding. 

• Slashing worker protection by cutting the Wage and Hour Division by 10% and OSHA by 12%—two agencies responsible for addressing child labor violations. 

• Blocking the DOL from preventing the misclassifying of employees as independent contractors―thereby excluding them from employment benefits and worker protections. 

• Targeting the DOL’s expansion of overtime pay rates. 

As usual, when it comes to aiding the working class, the GOPers are playing Stoppers and Loppers. 

Fashion Plates
Personalized license plates spotted about town.
BIG ZI
EZBIG
LIM SUN
MARI TAN
6NOCKS
TONBOLT
KAUII 13
KHCTKH
PAYMULA
SULAMEC
BGBLU24 (Big Blue 24?) 

Bumpersnickers
Ride the Surf
Blame Canada
Visualize Whirled Peas
Not Rich Enough for a Tax Break
Don't Assume I Share Your Prejudices
Shop at Wal-Mart. China Depends On It
Don't Believe Anything Until Its Been Officially Denied
Vote Republican. Won't You Help Us Profit From The Suffering of Others?
Join the Army and Travel to Exotic, Distant Lands, Meet Unusual, Exciting People, and Kill Them. 

I’ve been doing more reading than writing in the recent weeks and as usual the reading content is heavy, bringing a different frame to the war in Ukraine, Israel and Gaza, the debate and the Supreme Court. 

After reading Anne Applebaum’s Red Famine: Stalin’s War on Ukraine on the Holodomor the entirely manmade famine of the 1930s also known as the Ukrainian Famine engineered by Joseph Stalin, it is difficult to believe the Ukrainians all these years later would be willing to negotiate a peace agreement with Russia that would give away any Ukrainian land. 

Memories are long. 

When I read Ronen Bergman’s book Rise and Kill First: The Secret History of Israel’s Targeted Assassinations I described it as brutal and it was with descriptions of bombings and torture followed by murder. But even that did not prepare me for the brutality in Ilan Pappe’s description of the Nakba in The Ethnic Cleansing of Palestine.  

In Ashfaaq Carim’s March 15, 2024 interview with Pappe, Pappe describes his journey sharing how through declassification of the historical documents of the Nakba in 1978 challenged the narrative and everything he and his friends had come to believe. Reading the declassified documents changed the trajectory of his career as a historian resulting in becoming an Israeli dissident and authoring The Ethnic Cleansing of Palestine in 2006. https://youtu.be/Bu1_OFUcd0g?si=81-xdtA6ftEmSPfO 

There seems to be an endless list of books on Israel and Palestine. Since November 2023, I’ve made my way through thirteen, have three in process and six more on hold. But it was Peter Maass’s April 9, 2024 opinion piece in the Washington Post, “I’m Jewish, and I’ve covered wars. I know war crimes when I see them” that led me to reading about the war in Bosnia in his first book Love Thy Neighbor: A Story of War published in 1996. 

There is a through line in my recent reading. Maass ponders in Love Thy Neighbor how the “wild beast” in human nature can so easily break the restraints of civilization and incite neighbors to torture, rape and murder one another. 

Bosnia was an integrated pluralistic society in 1992 prior to the war.  

There is so much that is quotable and memorable in Love Thy Neighbor that it seemed like the entire book was underlined when I borrowed it from the Berkeley library. The book isn’t easy to get. The Berkeley Central Library has one print copy and there are no e-editions. My reading journal is filled with pages of notes. 

From Love Thy Neighbor 

“What happened in Bosnia was not a Balkan Freak Show, but a violent process of national breakdown at the hand of political manipulators. The dynamics of fear and loathing between people of different backgrounds – ethnic or religious or economic – are not as unique or complex as we might like to believe. Violent breakdowns can occur in virtually any country during times of economic hardship, political transition or moral infirmity; such troubles create opportunities for manipulators and the manipulators create opportunities for the wild beast.” 

We are in a perilous time for our country. With the Heritage Foundation Project 2025 as a guide, Donald Trump and all of his enabling sycophants are poised to dismantle the governing we have known into an authoritarian state. 

With no hope of expanding the Supreme Court or impeaching the corrupted Clarence Thomas, the secure conservative majority of six to three has free rein or better free reign to create endless damage. 

We could say the dismantling has already begun with the decisions coming from the Supreme Court. 

The Court has even gone so far as to encourage payoffs. In Snyder v. United States, the Court decided in a 6 – 3 opinion that generous gifts after a “service” by state and local officials is not bribery/corruption. This was before Monday, July 1, 2024 when the Court bestowed broad immunity on a past and future Trump presidency, “The Court thus concludes that the President is absolutely immune from criminal prosecution for conduct within his exclusive sphere of constitutional authority.” (page 2 TRUMP v. UNITED STATES) https://d3i6fh83elv35t.cloudfront.net/static/2024/07/scotus_immunity-7-1.pdf 

Women, pregnant people were already disposable with the overturning of Roe v. Wade and the abortion bans that followed. As if that wasn’t enough, through the use of the filibuster the Senate minority blocked legislation to protect the right to contraception on June 5, 2024. And then, there was Biden’s inability to articulate a coherent answer to a question on abortion at the June 27, 2024 debate. 

Biden’s performance in the debate was a disaster. Friends were texting me they couldn’t take it anymore and shut off the debate. 

In the thread of emails, I’ve been receiving from a Democratic party-based group sending links to donating to Biden’s campaign and articles supporting Biden countering my comment that Biden looked like a deer in headlights and that his performance reinforced all my fears about his aging, they are all in. 

Biden has accomplished a lot, but these are no ordinary times. And prior to the debate, his accomplishments weren’t translating into a lead over Trump. In fact, besides being on the losing end, Biden has been polling behind Democratic Senators and Representatives. 

In the fallout from the debate, it is not the loyal Democrats that worry me. They will vote the ticket regardless. It is the people like the woman standing next to me waiting for the light to change to cross the street on Friday afternoon. I asked her if she watched the debate and what she thought. To her the debate was such a disaster, she said she can’t vote for either Biden or Trump. She expects to sit out voting. She voted for Biden last time. 

There was the young man at my house for the inspection of my rooftop solar. He didn’t watch the debate and wasn’t planning on voting. If he did vote he said he would probably vote for Trump as he is not impressed with Biden. 

What appears obvious is that Biden can perform exceptionally when he has a teleprompter. But, stepping away from scripted settings and rote glad-handing interactions, Biden falls apart. Biden lost his train of thought, was at times incoherent, was unable to counter Trump’s barrage of lies and on the question on abortion which is undoubtedly one of the most important issues for young voters he blew it. 

This cannot be explained away, by saying Biden has a stutter or he had a cold or was tired. 

We need a fully functioning president or at the very least we need a team around Biden who have enough sense, not to put him into situations where he will fail. 

Think back to the 2020 Biden Trump debate. Biden was sharp in control. This time Biden struggled through responses. The description I heard that was most fitting was in the Ezra Klein post-debate podcast. It was, as if Biden’s cue cards fell on the floor in a pile and as he was trying to pick them up he spouted off in whatever order he found them. 

Friday morning following the debate on Morning Joe, Joe Scarborough left behind his usual cheer leading for another Biden term and spoke honestly “failure is not an option” and asked if any Fortune 500 company would keep a CEO in place who appeared as Biden did last night losing his train of thought unable to respond to Trump’s continuous string of lies. The answer is, of course, no. 

Mika (on Morning Joe) came to Biden’s defense, saying we shouldn’t be so quick to judge. 

I agree with Ezra Klein’s post saying that the job of the president is not just to do the job, but to instill confidence that as president he is capable of doing the job. 

I can’t imagine a President Biden able to fulfill his responsibilities for another term. 

As I see it, we don’t have a large enough core of faithful supporters who will vote for Biden to defeat Trump even without considering third party candidates siphoning away votes. 

Plus, Biden losing means an unrestrained Trump. When Trump tells his followers, “I am your retribution” we should believe him. 

Biden’s responses in the debate told me why we are nine months into a war on Gaza that is an unremitting horror, a moral and political failure and the move to peace in Ukraine is beyond grasp. 

Biden has burned through voters who supported him in 2020 in his handling of Israel in the war on Gaza. 

This is a train wreck. 

Back to Love Thy Neighbor. 

“The goal of imperial wars, which we are most familiar with is to conquer and rule [Russia’s war on Ukraine]. The goal of nationalist wars, as in Bosnia [and the Nakba] is to conquer and cleanse. These contests are winner take-all. When you are faced with enemies who wish to expunge you from your land, and when those enemies offer a treaty that ensures their boots will stay on your throat, suffocating you one day, you have little choice but to keep struggling, even though the odds are against you and people who call themselves your friends are saying you should give up. Resistance becomes not an option but an imperative.” 

An article on Gaza in the Guardian many weeks ago described the destruction of housing and the toxins from bombings left behind would take possibly fourteen years to clean up. Looking at the photos of the devastation that make it out despite the targeted killing of journalists in Palestine makes fourteen years sound like unrealistic optimism. Along with the destruction of housing (domicide), hospitals and infrastructure, there is the destruction of schools and universities (scholasticide) and the killing of scholars, educators, artists – the erasure of history. 

Then there is the war crime of starvation. 

I find it difficult to describe what is happening in Gaza as anything other than genocide. 

Councilmember Lunaparra at the divbbs with the keffiyeh over her shoulders is smart, articulate, well-informed, impressive as someone who is young and a fresh college graduate, but she is no match for the pro-Israel power players dominating Berkeley City Council leadership. Her promise of a ceasefire resolution is dead just like the thousands of innocent Palestinian children.  

There was one bright spot in my recent reading, Ali Velshi’s just released Small Acts of Courage: A legacy of Endurance and the Fight for Democracy. The book is part memoir, part history. It is the story of immigration, finding country and home beginning with Velshi’s great grandfather leaving India for South Africa and family members crossing paths with Nelson Mandela, Gandhi, Tolstoy Farm, living through Apartheid, the liberation of Kenya to self-governing and landing in Canada. The section on the pluralistic, multi-culture, immigrant welcoming Canada is inspiring. Small Acts of Courage is a book I highly recommend. 

In Trump v. United States, the Supreme Court ruled 6-3 that Donald Trump is immune from prosecution for official acts but may not shield all his efforts to overturn the 2020 election while president. The court returned the case to the trial judge to decide which Trump’s acts may be prosecutable.

Practically speaking there will be no trial before the election and if elected, Trump will likely have his attorney general end the case. Who said Trump was not above the law?

With Trump’s likely election and the implementation of Project 2025, also known as the Presidential Transition Project, a collection of conservative policy proposals from the Heritage Foundation to reshape the United States federal government and consolidate executive power, the transition of our country from a democracy to a banana republic will be well on its way.

President Biden succeeded in accomplishing good policies for our future, recovering from trump's chaotic disaster.

But, presidents don't get to create and administrate good policies unless they can communicate them well to the public, and debunk the opponent's "policies" and character. Biden failed to do that during the "debate." Repubs will play and replay the debate's many cringe-worthy moments endlessly.

A wise man knows how to see himself. Wise people understand that aging is inevitable and final. Wisdom knows when to step aside, victorious, rather than remain in a final competition that will crush one's reputation into ignominy.  

Democratic accomplishments need another standard-bearer who can represent, with vigor, the values and vision our country needs to continue. The threat of losing this election requires putting the good of the country above personal ambition. 

Some kindly suggestions to Joe Biden are necessary. The question is: From whom will he listen?

I am Jack, I'm a 59-year-old man, and I have suffered from a psychotic-type psychiatric condition my entire adult life.

A major psychiatric condition has the potential to ruin your life if you let it. And you should not let that happen. Despite the massive hardships that come with mental illness, you are better off not giving in to it, and you are better off getting what you can still get. And part of not letting this condition do away with your happiness is to adapt. And there is a lot of adapting you must do.

A psychotic condition may be the most severe category of mental illness and the worst in terms of affecting your present and future life. If you are new to psychosis, whether you are the patient or a family member, there is a lot to learn, and there may be a lot of unpleasant surprises. How do you manage psychotic symptoms? Is the medication truly necessary? What can I expect? What will be my son's or daughter's capabilities, and what will be the limitations? 

To begin: Almost universally, if a young person suffers from psychotic symptoms, he or she must have medication. There is no getting around it. 

In 1982, at the age of eighteen, I first became ill with paranoid schizophrenia. I had an extremely bad episode of psychosis that rocked my family and from which I was lucky to get out of alive. I was put on medication, and it made all the difference. Had medications not yet been invented, I would have been fully out of luck. 

Antipsychotics are a relatively recent discovery that began with Thorazine. In 1952, scientists discovered Thorazine to have a dramatic effect on psychotic patients. 

But it is a natural consequence of being treated with antipsychotics for patients to try to become noncompliant, even while these are drugs may be the only things that stand in the way of total disaster. The side effects of Thorazine, Stelazine, Haldol, and many more drugs produce a great deal of physical and mental suffering. To get the patient on board with taking antipsychotics, it is up to the patient to gain the necessary insight. When we fully realize the consequences of going noncompliant, most of us will choose to take our medication rather than let our lives be ruined by a neurobiological condition. 

The lifetime decision of compliance that I made did not come quickly or easily. I had several episodes of noncompliance and resultant psychotic illness. At age 30, I was smart enough to realize what I was up against. I also knew that my parents were getting too old to deal with me as a psychotic person. Additionally, I needed to have a life. And this was only achievable through medication compliance. 

But in 1982, this was not yet the case. 

Despite the urging of doctors, family members, and my better judgment, I stopped medication after five months. I had a job cleaning and polishing supermarket floors in the East Bay. I was able to move out of my family's home and live in shared rental across town. 

A year later, the disease caught up with me and I was fully ill once again, but this time I was not violent. I was picked up while trying to steal gasoline from a gas station. The debt for the gas was resolvable. However, I needed a much greater level of care in the months that ensued, because my brain condition had been harmed by the time off of medication. 

Taking psychiatric medications is generally not the most fun thing we can do. And if the meds are antipsychotics, the side effects can be very unpleasant and sometimes disconcerting. 

In addition to being medicated, there is more that we need to do to get well. It helps to be in contact with other human beings. Getting employment that is isolating could have a harmful effect. Old school psychiatry might not acknowledge what I just said. Old school psychiatry, in my feeling, is wrong about a lot of things. 

The diagnosis they gave me was seemingly fully correct. Yet the prognosis was wrong, and the prognosis didn't do me any favors. 

When I reached my early twenties and was back at work, it was a period in which I could regard myself as "normal," and I didn't define myself as a mentally ill person. I was a young man, I had semiprofessional employment in video repair, and I had girlfriends. 

When I reached age 25, I started to experience more setbacks. A man decided he wanted to have a fistfight with me. He may have been a drug dealer, or he may have just been irate. Being knocked to the ground and hit in the face was not the favorite experience of my life. 

When I was in my mid-twenties, things had become difficult enough that I decided to apply for Social Security. It was a last resort, because I truly didn't want to give up on working. 

In my quest to become successful, many people and circumstances have invariably come out of the woodwork to interfere. 

Finally, I am approaching age 60, and success is in my scope. I have a professional activity that I'm good at. Many people acknowledge me as a good person. And I can shrug off, ignore, or deflect further attempts at knocking me down. Or so I hope. Please wish me luck. 

With the With the Fourth of July Holiday on Thursday there are only two meetings this week.  

· Monday, July 1, 2024: The Land Use Committee meets at 10 am in the hybrid format with TOPA and Housing for Artists on the agenda.  

· Wednesday, July 3, 2024: The Facilities Infrastructure, Transportation, Environment & Sustainability meets at 2 pm in the hybrid format on curb management. 

The July 9 City Council agenda is available for review. The City Council summer recess is from July 31 – September 9, 2024. 

Check the City website for late announcements and meetings posted on short notice at: https://berkeleyca.gov/ 

At the bottom are the directions for getting on or off the email list for the Activist’s Calendar and Activist’s Diary. 

For how to make the most out of ZOOM with closed captioning, zoom transcripts, saving CHAT and converting YouTube to a transcript go to https://tinyurl.com/3jau6ym8