Wonderful piece, Celeste. I also registered as a Dem when I was old enough to vote and I also voted for Nixon in the first election I could, 1972, for the same reason you did. My Santa Barbara friends at that time were shocked I voted for him. My response was “And who did we protest against about Vietnam? Right, a Democrat, LBJ.” I do think Nixon took too long to get us out and there are things he did, like with agriculture, that were not good. But basically I agree with you that he was a better president than he's given credit for. Although - and I'm repeating myself here - he did ask my father to head the IRS after his first election to use it to punish his enemies list. He was brilliant, but his own worst enemy.
I didn't like the Clintons, but my own alienation from the Democratic Party and my Democrat friends began in 2000. I was living in NYC where all my friends were Democrats. And it shocked me that they couldn't see how stupid a choice it was for the Democrats to go with him. When I said I was going to vote for Nader they went ballistic on me. It was when I realized how superior these people - many of them worked in the media - felt. Where my Democrat friends protested against Johnson in the 60s, they now were becoming like cult members. No criticism of the Party allowed. The tv show that for me embodies this change is West Wing which my Democrat friends all loved. For me it was insufferable self congratulatory schlock.
Then I voted for Obama twice and ended up protesting his policies, especially his surveillance, more than any other president. I never saw a single friend at those protests. Obama could do no wrong. Obama was the perfect real life West Wing president for them.
A number of my Democrat friends stopped talking to me after 2016, when they found out I voted for Trump. I tried to talk to them about what the Democratic Party has become, and why I left, but now they did call me a fascist. They finally entered the tv screen and have been living in West Wing ever since. Thank you again, Celeste.
Wow, thank you for this conversation, Polly. Yes Yes Yes to all you write. Regarding Bill Clinton, a male slut, it's always bothered me the way Monica Lewinsky was treated, and not an iota of support from the women's groups. This was workplace sexual abuse on a nuclear level. A young woman, interning for a charismatic much older man who also happens to be -- guess what -- the most powerful man in the world. Monica was the same age as many of my students at SBCC -- young and vulnerable. But, he and Hillary are now multi-millionaires and respected among the cultists. Thanks for standing your ground.
Theotokos thinks that because he was obsessed with porn from the age of 10 to 17 that this somehow means porn is to blame which is beyond ridiculous. It's called being a male and having to learn what all men of any substance learn which is to respect and enjoy your sex drive but it's maybe not the best thing to let it drive you, although 90 percent of the great songs from Puccini to Johnny Cash wouldn't have been written if they hadn't. Theo also behaved in an ungentlemanly style by insulting my mother because I wrote here that she was smart enough to buy my brother Playboy and encourage him to read the often terrific articles by famous authors as well as look at the photos. Somehow Theo's Catholic studies didn't teach him a basic fact of life: never insult anyone's mother.
Polly you falsely think masculinity lies in beung unchaste and objectifiying women. I refuse to let immorality define a man, I will strive to be chaste, modest, and pure even it offends you. Let the white lily of purity destroy the legacy of porn, and may they grow around the grave of Hugh Hefner! Long live the sacredness of marital sex, down with degeneracy! Jesus, Mary, Joseph crush this wicked evil and restore out society to what is true, good, and just!
You also continue to speak about me even though you refuse to engage me. Either stop thinking about me or actually respond to my criticism and arguments without reasorting to lies and personal attacks.
I didn't insult your mother nor do I insult anyones parents, Polly. Quit being disinegenous - also interesting that you seemingly have no issue in insulting people's fathers given your lack of concern in insulting them...
I rightfully called out immoral behavior on the part of yout mother in giving degenerate material to her son (Playboy). Porn is destructive and promotes objectification, it has no value. Being a true man means being chaste and not a slave to your desires. Sex is only to be enjoyed between a husband and wife, not an adolescent male...
If you think buying perverse material for your child is "smart" it shows how rotten our society has become - "But whoso shall cause one of these little ones who believe in Me to fall, it were better for him that a millstone were hung about his neck, and that he were drowned in the depth of the sea."
I will not apologize for rightfully criticizing the behavior of your mother - it's not am insult it's a call to integrity.
I liked JFK and would've voted for him if I was registered, even as a Republican. I liked his charisma. He was intelligent and you knew what he stood for (in comparison to you-know-who today). I grew up in a Republican home environment. I was a Baez folk music fan and followed her activities and her husband's protests, etc. Went to college in San Francisco in the 60's ... lots of protest there. Went to the Monterey Pop Festival in 1967 when working there for two years. The festival was great!
Well said Celeste. I graduated high school into the Vietnam conflict: to be a war requires congressional approval that never happened. President Eisenhower (R) declined France's request that we join them in Vietnam. JFK sent "advisors" and LBJ sent troops while he, and Defense Secretary McNamara , lied to us every night about Vietnam. President Nixon (R) pulled us out.
The ever brave McNamara, only after retiring as President of the World Bank, confessed and apologized for lying about Vietnam. Lying about something so life threatening to my classmates, and me, was unforgivable.
Interestingly, Robert McNamara was my Father’s Company Commander in the South Pacific during WWII. Dad was reunited with his former boss, Sec. McNamara when he and JFK visited VAFB in 62’.
McNamara also had quite the career as President of the Ford Motor Company.
Yes, McNamara knew where all the bodies were buried and knew WHO was responsible for the murder of JFK. Too bad he took that to his grave.
McNamara mentions the U.S. had an opportunity to get out of the Vietnam War in 1963, the same year I left high school. My mother told me one reason I avoided the draft was because I was the only male in the family that could carry on our Russell lineage. Unfortunately, I never had any kids. Too occupied with my work and hobby stuff and marrying late in life.
The above link is the fifty-one McNamara talk of the "Tragedy and Lessons of Vietnam." Look up "Whiz Kids (Ford)" to learn some interesting facts about a group of all former military men who became Ford's executives in 1946. One of the whiz kids was McNamara led by their commanding officer Charles B. "Tex" Thornton. "Tex" created Litton Industries with Litton Data Systems starting their very first Big Project. I worked for Data Systems Division in Van Nuys between 1968 and 1974, starting out as the sustaining engineer for a year or so to replace two engineers that had spent ten years supporting the Marine Air Operations Central (AOC), Marine Tactical Data System (MTDS) developed in the 1950's, a hardwired (no software) digital system made up of transistors (no integrated circuits). To make a system change, I would have to pour through books of logic equations to figure out how to rewire the system to change a function, such as cause a foe aircraft (versus a friendly) identification to "blink" on the radar display ... an actual change requested by a General. The General would create an ECR (Engineering Change Request), I would respond to the ECR with an ECA (Engineering Change Analysis) and Systems Engineering would respond to how to implement the physical change with an ECP (Engineering Change Proposal) ... funny the stuff you can remember.
By the way, the most sought-after engineers back in those days were Jewish engineers which had a knack of being both very good engineers and managers. I wrote a paper on past Jewish engineer bosses and managers I worked with which are many. Litton Data Systems had about 3,000 employees during the MTDS system development days. Litton spared no expense to obtain the best in the industry at the time; I was fortunate to have worked with. Interesting how former, top level military men ended up being very good organizers to create successful companies. I have to give special recognition to Jewish engineers because they steered me in the right direction. Paul Hoffman taught me how to write technical reports, for example. So and so forth. Wikipedia lists the MTDS system.
Thanks for the trip down memory lane, Celeste. I remember the 72’ election well. I just started high school, so I wasn’t quite able to vote yet. My parents were true blue, New Deal Democrats and idolized the Kennedy’s. We all know how that turned out. As for Nixon, he made amazing progress and would have gone down as one of the greats, if not for Watergate. Interesting how that went down. I guess it’s purely coincidental that Nixon was in the process of getting cozy with the Arabs when Bernstein and Woodward from the Washington Post, spilled the beans!
Yes, my late parents wouldn’t recognize their Democratic Party, which has become unhinged, angry and woke! Don’t think the Kennedy’s, JFK or RFK would fit in these days either…rich, white, toxic male masculinity! RFK Jr. is living proof of how low the Dems will go in order of toeing the line.
My first election voting red was for Reagan, having voted for Carter (hate to admit) before and would stay Republican with Clinton (again, hate to admit it) being the one exception. But hey, Clinton was a real horny dog, but at least the budget was balanced!
Yes, this election has consequences and the stakes have never been higher. What amazes me is how close this election is, given the utter failure of the Dems. Who are Kamala supporters? If I had to generalize; alpha females/beta males! Certainly, Harris has the vote locked in with the rainbow, environmental and grievance crew!
Oh well, hopefully voters will see the light and vote for peace vs war, strength vs weakness and prosperity vs insolvency.
As for Dershowitz, glad he finally sees the light. Trump is polling well with American Jewry, not a surprise, given the Dems have shown their true, toxic and antisemitic colors! Clearly, the only real qualification Harris has among her voters is her race, which seems to be enough nowadays!
I read your piece with interest. I think it likely that Nixon's removal was a kind of coup. Do you recall the way Howard Dean's candidacy was crushed by the media playing his scream over and over? Yes it was a bit dorky, but compare that to the lack of basic public speaking skills of George W Bush or Kamala Harris! Dean's crime? Likely saying that the US should be more even handed in the Israel-Palestine conflict. And just a note, Alan "my underwear was on" Dershowitz is a shameless propagandist (exposed by Norman Finkelstein) and tied up with Epstein, who is believed to have been running a blackmail operation for Mossad . I would not look to him for guidance on anything.
Yes, the good ol’ “Honey Trap” claims another victim. The Mossad has perfected this intelligence technique. The term “Honey Trap” comes typically from ensnaring politicians into their lust for kinky sex, just like Bears love of honey! And yes, blackmail for future use is a big part of this.
P. Diddy is the latest version of this scam…wonder who are the latest politicians and celebrities to be caught up in the Honey Trap!
Thanks for your comments, Aimee. I'm not looking to Dershowitz for anything, beyond welcoming him to my camp. I wish more prominent Democrats would, and expose the Party for the corrupted beast it now is, a betrayal to so many of us.
Actually, there is proof of plagiarism and inaccuracy in his book that anyone who cares to look can discern for oneself. Sad to see you resort to claims to know the motives of Finkelstein who raised many valid criticisms. Speaking of poof, do you have any for that? Or are you like a wokist and assume the only reason anyone could disagree with you is because he or she is a bigot? Why not try reason and evidence to work to persuade others to your position instead?
My comment is directed only at Aimee Smith and her smears. To Celeste-before passing judgment, watch The Dersh Show on YouTube. You might be surprised. Of note, I’m not Jewish but based on some of the comments, lots of antisemitism.
Great article Celeste. While the Ds are a big part of our problems, the corruption on both sides of the aisle for decades has now delivered us deeply corrupt governments. It’s time to Wake Up America!
Our government is rotten to the core. If you doubt this, look at our corrupt courts, law enforcement, corrupt regulators, corporate complicity with government corruption, power hungry individuals and alliances, greedy political attitudes, rampant partisan jealousy, growing self indulgence, secrecy, possible pedophiles in high level positions, cruel drug enforcement, and deceit in every aspect of our government. Now what does a corrupt government create? Well, it creates fear in the populace. We have a fear for our future. We have increasing economic instability.
We have a fear of war, EMPs, biological contaminants, terrorist attacks, collapse of Social Security, unemployment, fear now that the Russians are coming, people being suicided and tortured, and fear for the loss of our very freedom and privacy. What does fear create? Well, it creates social discord. We have a clash over everything, over gun owners and non owners clash over immigration, abortion, racial conflict, religious conflict, environmental conflict, everything. What does conflict create?
It creates deteriorating conditions for life. We have poor education and even worse, health care. We have national debt that's monumental. We have urban deterioration and poverty, homelessness, declining marriages, questionable foods, government spying on us, police brutality, brutality in prisons, brutal laws and regulations, theft through taxation, forced vaccinations, loss of farm and ranch lands. And what does the government do?
It is indifferent. We are a nation in chaos, and yet we are lulled at every turn by government propaganda, by the press and television, by our mutual assurances on social media, by our mental escapes, by our own apathy. Wake up, America!
Fight 4 Trump, an imperfect man, but the man in the arena fighting against the deep corruption throughout our governments. Ever wonder why there so much hate directed at Trump? Is he exposing their crimes?
I was attending LA Pierce College in 1972, one of the returned "in-country" Vietnam vets. I was very conflicted about American political parties, but eventually realized it was the Dems who caved politically, giving VN to the communists, just like they are trying to do today with the U.S.
I'll put in transportation mode........ The Train Wreck of "Alternative" transportation use was and is clear. The City of Santa Barbara no longer does bike counts because the numbers are so low they no longer meet the 1974 baseline counts?
One only has to look at the failure called State St. in Santa Barbara, the now proven disaster of Hollister narrowing in Old Town Goleta, to see the middle class and working poor have shown planners and elected officials 4 fingers and taken down 3. The people have stated it as an expression of anger over intentional transportation grid destruction.
Just perhaps the same people the author has walked away from are the same people that have left us with a transportation mess.
Yep! I have 3 cars, all gas-powered. My 2009 Jeep GC; my 1995 Silverado, and my first one, the 1968 VW dune buggy. I love them all, including the hum of the pickup's idling. I do have a bike that I am trying to sell on Next Door. You didn't ask, but my home is gas heated.
The trend that is picking up is that of "independents", voters that are seeing through their political picks especially now in the democratic party. But many Republicans are just as bad eg Neocons supporting war and destruction.
I am truly concerned about the fate of our nation following the election this year and I am going to say this out loud. We LOST our right and freedom to VOTE a long time ago. If the candidate does not support neocon agenda, the elections are rigged against that person. The rigging has reached new unprecedented heights since the last election. They are openly importing millions of illegals to vote!
The new candidate that comes in is "handled" by unelected bureaucrats who make sure that the new administration doesn't change course on "their" policies. We have seen how the neocons kept DJT from doing what he needed to do when he came into office in 2016.
This year the game has become a life and death situation for the neocons. If they don't win, they will be imprisoned for treason (hopefully DJT will do what needs to be done). Many in the cabal will probably be cannibalized by their own as they all know too much of each other's criminal activities and if one goes down, the whole club goes down. What we are seeing right now is this panic and desperation and the stress of losing power.
FUD stands for "fear, uncertainty, and doubt." It is an abiding social malaise, everyone feels it. The Religious see it as evidence of demonic forces at work, the Secular see it as political machinations. We ALL live under its shadow.
Here's a thought, Michael: From 2017-2021, how would you rate the federal government's impact on your life as an individual and on America? Were you better off, safer and more secure? Was the country and our place in the world? Same questions for 2021-to present. There is also a third choice on the ballot.
Interesting question. I would say the federal government has had very little impact on my personal life. Maybe that’s because I am one of the lucky ones. I got covid but fortunately had the shot and had a very mild case. Should I credit the gov. for that? Was the country safer and more secure? We have had the strongest military in the world throughout both periods… by far. Fortunately there were no terror attacks in either period. I believe our place in the world was lowered significantly during 2016-2020 when we made friends of our enemies and enemies of our friends. I believe our friends were relieved in 2020 and nervous today. 2021 to the present has been difficult. There is an immigration problem around the world and it’s a big problem for all of us. I believe we would have had this problem regardless of the administration. As far as the third choice, I’m not sure what you mean by that. I have a friend of mine who made what I thought was a trenchant comment: “I look at the two candidates and think what a shame that we have to pick one of them.”
The Big Government unions are always on one side of the ballot. They even run most of the country election offices, count the votes and call the balls and strikes. Make your choice on basic fundamentals; not any one candidate.
More Big Government, more tax dollar supported government employee union members, or the long slog back to limited government. Both will be very difficult roads for this country to take on the eve of its 250th birthday.
Remember how yow felt about America on her Bi-Centennial. What happened to us over these past 50 years?
Great article. You say, "I had one issue in 1972: Vietnam. I was twenty years old. Every year, my high school yearbooks were dedicated to the memory of alumni who died in service to our country."
I graduated in '63, the year Kennedy was assassinated, and the Vietnam War was ongoing. I would like to comment on the "service to our country." The only "service" the Vietnam War did was to kill many American citizens under the guise of being soldiers. Purely no purpose if a so-called "War" isn't fought to win. The U.S. got out of Vietnam with their tail between their legs. An unpopular "war" in the U.S. and because the North Vietnamese were one hell of a bunch of fighters. From an engineer's perspective having designed warfare equipment in several big corporations, the Vietnam War provided a testing ground for determining the effectiveness of U.S. military systems. Lucky for me my interests were in engineering, and I received student deferments and then an occupational deferment working at designing military electronics for a good portion of my lifetime. The Vietnam War should never be considered as having a purpose for protecting the U.S. The country was scammed by politicians and probably military contractors. There was absolutely no legitimate purpose for Americans to participate in Vietnam only to be killed.
I once rode around with a Vietnam vet as an occasional passenger in my car and he would dive under the dashboard on the passenger side of the car when a nearby car backfired. I don't have to explain why that occurred.
When I wrote, "in service to our country," Bill, I was being respectful to Vietnam Veterans. Recall what they returned to -- being spat upon and afraid to wear their uniforms in public. No ticker-tape parades and bands forcthem. Meantime, Jane Fonda was on the college circuit, an apologist for the North. I remember that she spoke at Pierce College, a free talk. In good conscience, I decided not to attend -- for the sake of our veterans and those still over there, including in the camps. To this day, I cannot bear to watch any of her films, it's visceral with me.
I wasn't being critical of your phraseology, I only noted because it's commonly used with respect to Vietnam Veterans which really deserve an apology from the Federal Government for sending them into an unnecessary combat environment. I would never be critical of the Vietnam veterans; they didn't have much of a choice other than escaping to Canada. I have mixed feelings about Jane Fonda. Interesting how North Vietnam is a neighbor of South Vietnam and would obviously have a keen interest in the War ... even if it was to spread Communism. The U.S. can't go around the world using U.S. blood to try and impact other government philosophies. If anything, S. Vietnam was the only country at war with N. Vietnam, a war between the two countries. Jane Fonda's presence was probably one of the sources to terminate the war earlier, not a bad thing. Seems like S. Vietnam is doing fine in the world producing good products.
We were in the grip of the Cold War and the dying days of former European colonial empires. It was a time of fundamental transition, that led to the ultimately tragic miscalculations using the Vietnamese civil war as a surrogate for a world we had divided into communism and anti-communism.
“If we don’t stop them in Vietnam, we will be fighting them on the shores of Mexico”, were the final words from the UC Berkeley professor in his final class on the History of US Diplomacy, in 1965. The class gave him a standing ovation. This too was Berkeley in the 1960’s. Issues were not so clear back then, when each leading super power of that era had full global annihilation stocks of nuclear weapons. Stay Alive til ‘65 was our class motto.
Thank you for the reminder how critical the study of history remains, and how much the facts on the ground can evolve over time.
This article, like most in the Santa Barbara Current, demonstrates an amazing ability to see in perfect focus, one side of an issue while remaining blind to the other side. While many of the current positions favored by some (not all) Democrats are, not only off-putting, but also off-the wall, being proud of a vote for Richard Nixon — to stop the war in Vietnam, is like praising Custer for his planning skills. Note that Republicans have an at least equal number of bizarre beliefs like pets being eaten in Ohio. And when it comes to defecting party members, it is not hard to find people who have ‘escaped’ the current Republican Party — just look at former Presidents, Cabinet officials, Members of Congress and the like. The Republicans used to have principled positions that made sense. Now they are a cult — unable to see beyond their own emotions. The people in our country are good, kind and caring; they want to move confidently into the future, embracing and prospering from change. I think that they are tired of dismal, dank, dark, dim and dismayingly dangerous predictions of catastrophe associated with anything or any person that is different.
The “cult” requires hating Nixon. History is treating him more kindly and objectively. Nixon and “Watergate” may well have been the first Deep State coup, which have now become our daily political diet.
It was certainly the start of the current 24/7 breaking news media addiction. I was living in Wash DC when this was unraveling, associated with operations very close to the Oval Office.
"The Republicans used to have principled positions that made sense. Now they are a cult — unable to see beyond their own emotions. The people in our country are good, kind and caring; they want to move confidently into the future, embracing and prospering from change. I think that they are tired of dismal, dank, dark, dim and dismayingly dangerous predictions of catastrophe associated with anything or any person that is different."
Of course, classical liberalism is what you deem as principled and it keeps conservatives in line with a liber prder - so when they depart from this "inoffensive revolution you champion it is incredibly shocking to you that conservatives would dare seek to break away from the republican, liberal, and secular system you idolize.
Death to democracy! Long live the Catholic, Royal, and moral order!
Excuse me? Death to democracy? Who tried to overturn the results of an election? All change is difficult and has impacts, some adverse, on some people. It is revealing that you assume idolization on my part... could you possibly be projecting?
Trump did not try to overturn an election. He along with millions of others had serious questions and wanted a thorough investigation into the multiple irregularities, as allowed under federal election law. Stop with the lies.
Don't you think that by Trump and his allies filing over 60 lawsuits challenging the election results in multiple states (nearly all of which were dismissed or dropped due to lack of evidence) was an attempt to overturn the election? It wasn't a fact finding mission with questions and asking for a 'thorough investigation'.
No I hate democracy. I also don't care for elections and popular will. What's so wrong with overturning an election when the will of the people is just that - the will of People who idolize democracy embrace it uncritically and think any other form of government is inferior even though nothing about republicanism/democracy is inherently moral.
I was nine years old in 1972 and remember Nixon. I remember I didn’t like him. Not that I understood politics at the time. I just didn’t like the way he looked.
Yes, Nixon did have that look. But isn't it fascinating how the stuff that goes on today makes Watergate child's play? Kissinger and Nixon were a great pair.
I agree. It seemed such a huge deal. Opposition Spying….
We only thought it was a big deal because we were told to believe it was a big deal.
No one seems to care about Obama using the intel community to spy on Trump. Not only that, but hanging around under the guise of my youngest is still in school. Eight years later and Obama is still there, and hardy anyone on the streets talk about that. Simply amazing.
This is just me here, but I always wondered if Obama had made a deal with Hillary Clinton. She gets Sec'y of State, he gets a seat on SCOTUS after her election. Two people who did not like one another.
Nice piece, Celeste. Welcome to the club; hope you'll stay awhile!
Wonderful piece, Celeste. I also registered as a Dem when I was old enough to vote and I also voted for Nixon in the first election I could, 1972, for the same reason you did. My Santa Barbara friends at that time were shocked I voted for him. My response was “And who did we protest against about Vietnam? Right, a Democrat, LBJ.” I do think Nixon took too long to get us out and there are things he did, like with agriculture, that were not good. But basically I agree with you that he was a better president than he's given credit for. Although - and I'm repeating myself here - he did ask my father to head the IRS after his first election to use it to punish his enemies list. He was brilliant, but his own worst enemy.
I didn't like the Clintons, but my own alienation from the Democratic Party and my Democrat friends began in 2000. I was living in NYC where all my friends were Democrats. And it shocked me that they couldn't see how stupid a choice it was for the Democrats to go with him. When I said I was going to vote for Nader they went ballistic on me. It was when I realized how superior these people - many of them worked in the media - felt. Where my Democrat friends protested against Johnson in the 60s, they now were becoming like cult members. No criticism of the Party allowed. The tv show that for me embodies this change is West Wing which my Democrat friends all loved. For me it was insufferable self congratulatory schlock.
Then I voted for Obama twice and ended up protesting his policies, especially his surveillance, more than any other president. I never saw a single friend at those protests. Obama could do no wrong. Obama was the perfect real life West Wing president for them.
A number of my Democrat friends stopped talking to me after 2016, when they found out I voted for Trump. I tried to talk to them about what the Democratic Party has become, and why I left, but now they did call me a fascist. They finally entered the tv screen and have been living in West Wing ever since. Thank you again, Celeste.
Yes the party that proclaims tolerance is the one that allows no deviation. Don’t vote the way they demand, banished! Don’t get the Jab, banished!
It has turned into a Cult.
Wow, thank you for this conversation, Polly. Yes Yes Yes to all you write. Regarding Bill Clinton, a male slut, it's always bothered me the way Monica Lewinsky was treated, and not an iota of support from the women's groups. This was workplace sexual abuse on a nuclear level. A young woman, interning for a charismatic much older man who also happens to be -- guess what -- the most powerful man in the world. Monica was the same age as many of my students at SBCC -- young and vulnerable. But, he and Hillary are now multi-millionaires and respected among the cultists. Thanks for standing your ground.
Just say "slut". Nothing about promiscuity is inherenlty feminine or natural to women. Indeed, fornication, adultery, etc are reciprocal sins.
I've been trying for years to become a male slut but it's not working!
Good. Keep it that way - your failure in this matter is an excellent thing as at least a woman is kept from being brought down with you.
Goog point.
Theotokos thinks that because he was obsessed with porn from the age of 10 to 17 that this somehow means porn is to blame which is beyond ridiculous. It's called being a male and having to learn what all men of any substance learn which is to respect and enjoy your sex drive but it's maybe not the best thing to let it drive you, although 90 percent of the great songs from Puccini to Johnny Cash wouldn't have been written if they hadn't. Theo also behaved in an ungentlemanly style by insulting my mother because I wrote here that she was smart enough to buy my brother Playboy and encourage him to read the often terrific articles by famous authors as well as look at the photos. Somehow Theo's Catholic studies didn't teach him a basic fact of life: never insult anyone's mother.
Polly you falsely think masculinity lies in beung unchaste and objectifiying women. I refuse to let immorality define a man, I will strive to be chaste, modest, and pure even it offends you. Let the white lily of purity destroy the legacy of porn, and may they grow around the grave of Hugh Hefner! Long live the sacredness of marital sex, down with degeneracy! Jesus, Mary, Joseph crush this wicked evil and restore out society to what is true, good, and just!
You also continue to speak about me even though you refuse to engage me. Either stop thinking about me or actually respond to my criticism and arguments without reasorting to lies and personal attacks.
I didn't insult your mother nor do I insult anyones parents, Polly. Quit being disinegenous - also interesting that you seemingly have no issue in insulting people's fathers given your lack of concern in insulting them...
I rightfully called out immoral behavior on the part of yout mother in giving degenerate material to her son (Playboy). Porn is destructive and promotes objectification, it has no value. Being a true man means being chaste and not a slave to your desires. Sex is only to be enjoyed between a husband and wife, not an adolescent male...
If you think buying perverse material for your child is "smart" it shows how rotten our society has become - "But whoso shall cause one of these little ones who believe in Me to fall, it were better for him that a millstone were hung about his neck, and that he were drowned in the depth of the sea."
I will not apologize for rightfully criticizing the behavior of your mother - it's not am insult it's a call to integrity.
I liked JFK and would've voted for him if I was registered, even as a Republican. I liked his charisma. He was intelligent and you knew what he stood for (in comparison to you-know-who today). I grew up in a Republican home environment. I was a Baez folk music fan and followed her activities and her husband's protests, etc. Went to college in San Francisco in the 60's ... lots of protest there. Went to the Monterey Pop Festival in 1967 when working there for two years. The festival was great!
Well said Celeste. I graduated high school into the Vietnam conflict: to be a war requires congressional approval that never happened. President Eisenhower (R) declined France's request that we join them in Vietnam. JFK sent "advisors" and LBJ sent troops while he, and Defense Secretary McNamara , lied to us every night about Vietnam. President Nixon (R) pulled us out.
The ever brave McNamara, only after retiring as President of the World Bank, confessed and apologized for lying about Vietnam. Lying about something so life threatening to my classmates, and me, was unforgivable.
Interestingly, Robert McNamara was my Father’s Company Commander in the South Pacific during WWII. Dad was reunited with his former boss, Sec. McNamara when he and JFK visited VAFB in 62’.
McNamara also had quite the career as President of the Ford Motor Company.
Yes, McNamara knew where all the bodies were buried and knew WHO was responsible for the murder of JFK. Too bad he took that to his grave.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kbJA6L-_dFs
McNamara mentions the U.S. had an opportunity to get out of the Vietnam War in 1963, the same year I left high school. My mother told me one reason I avoided the draft was because I was the only male in the family that could carry on our Russell lineage. Unfortunately, I never had any kids. Too occupied with my work and hobby stuff and marrying late in life.
The above link is the fifty-one McNamara talk of the "Tragedy and Lessons of Vietnam." Look up "Whiz Kids (Ford)" to learn some interesting facts about a group of all former military men who became Ford's executives in 1946. One of the whiz kids was McNamara led by their commanding officer Charles B. "Tex" Thornton. "Tex" created Litton Industries with Litton Data Systems starting their very first Big Project. I worked for Data Systems Division in Van Nuys between 1968 and 1974, starting out as the sustaining engineer for a year or so to replace two engineers that had spent ten years supporting the Marine Air Operations Central (AOC), Marine Tactical Data System (MTDS) developed in the 1950's, a hardwired (no software) digital system made up of transistors (no integrated circuits). To make a system change, I would have to pour through books of logic equations to figure out how to rewire the system to change a function, such as cause a foe aircraft (versus a friendly) identification to "blink" on the radar display ... an actual change requested by a General. The General would create an ECR (Engineering Change Request), I would respond to the ECR with an ECA (Engineering Change Analysis) and Systems Engineering would respond to how to implement the physical change with an ECP (Engineering Change Proposal) ... funny the stuff you can remember.
By the way, the most sought-after engineers back in those days were Jewish engineers which had a knack of being both very good engineers and managers. I wrote a paper on past Jewish engineer bosses and managers I worked with which are many. Litton Data Systems had about 3,000 employees during the MTDS system development days. Litton spared no expense to obtain the best in the industry at the time; I was fortunate to have worked with. Interesting how former, top level military men ended up being very good organizers to create successful companies. I have to give special recognition to Jewish engineers because they steered me in the right direction. Paul Hoffman taught me how to write technical reports, for example. So and so forth. Wikipedia lists the MTDS system.
Thanks for the trip down memory lane, Celeste. I remember the 72’ election well. I just started high school, so I wasn’t quite able to vote yet. My parents were true blue, New Deal Democrats and idolized the Kennedy’s. We all know how that turned out. As for Nixon, he made amazing progress and would have gone down as one of the greats, if not for Watergate. Interesting how that went down. I guess it’s purely coincidental that Nixon was in the process of getting cozy with the Arabs when Bernstein and Woodward from the Washington Post, spilled the beans!
Yes, my late parents wouldn’t recognize their Democratic Party, which has become unhinged, angry and woke! Don’t think the Kennedy’s, JFK or RFK would fit in these days either…rich, white, toxic male masculinity! RFK Jr. is living proof of how low the Dems will go in order of toeing the line.
My first election voting red was for Reagan, having voted for Carter (hate to admit) before and would stay Republican with Clinton (again, hate to admit it) being the one exception. But hey, Clinton was a real horny dog, but at least the budget was balanced!
Yes, this election has consequences and the stakes have never been higher. What amazes me is how close this election is, given the utter failure of the Dems. Who are Kamala supporters? If I had to generalize; alpha females/beta males! Certainly, Harris has the vote locked in with the rainbow, environmental and grievance crew!
Oh well, hopefully voters will see the light and vote for peace vs war, strength vs weakness and prosperity vs insolvency.
As for Dershowitz, glad he finally sees the light. Trump is polling well with American Jewry, not a surprise, given the Dems have shown their true, toxic and antisemitic colors! Clearly, the only real qualification Harris has among her voters is her race, which seems to be enough nowadays!
I read your piece with interest. I think it likely that Nixon's removal was a kind of coup. Do you recall the way Howard Dean's candidacy was crushed by the media playing his scream over and over? Yes it was a bit dorky, but compare that to the lack of basic public speaking skills of George W Bush or Kamala Harris! Dean's crime? Likely saying that the US should be more even handed in the Israel-Palestine conflict. And just a note, Alan "my underwear was on" Dershowitz is a shameless propagandist (exposed by Norman Finkelstein) and tied up with Epstein, who is believed to have been running a blackmail operation for Mossad . I would not look to him for guidance on anything.
Yes, the good ol’ “Honey Trap” claims another victim. The Mossad has perfected this intelligence technique. The term “Honey Trap” comes typically from ensnaring politicians into their lust for kinky sex, just like Bears love of honey! And yes, blackmail for future use is a big part of this.
P. Diddy is the latest version of this scam…wonder who are the latest politicians and celebrities to be caught up in the Honey Trap!
Thanks for your comments, Aimee. I'm not looking to Dershowitz for anything, beyond welcoming him to my camp. I wish more prominent Democrats would, and expose the Party for the corrupted beast it now is, a betrayal to so many of us.
Pack of lies with no concrete proof. Finkelstein is a self hating anti Israeli Jew.
Actually, there is proof of plagiarism and inaccuracy in his book that anyone who cares to look can discern for oneself. Sad to see you resort to claims to know the motives of Finkelstein who raised many valid criticisms. Speaking of poof, do you have any for that? Or are you like a wokist and assume the only reason anyone could disagree with you is because he or she is a bigot? Why not try reason and evidence to work to persuade others to your position instead?
My comment is directed only at Aimee Smith and her smears. To Celeste-before passing judgment, watch The Dersh Show on YouTube. You might be surprised. Of note, I’m not Jewish but based on some of the comments, lots of antisemitism.
I’m outta here.
Great article Celeste. While the Ds are a big part of our problems, the corruption on both sides of the aisle for decades has now delivered us deeply corrupt governments. It’s time to Wake Up America!
Our government is rotten to the core. If you doubt this, look at our corrupt courts, law enforcement, corrupt regulators, corporate complicity with government corruption, power hungry individuals and alliances, greedy political attitudes, rampant partisan jealousy, growing self indulgence, secrecy, possible pedophiles in high level positions, cruel drug enforcement, and deceit in every aspect of our government. Now what does a corrupt government create? Well, it creates fear in the populace. We have a fear for our future. We have increasing economic instability.
We have a fear of war, EMPs, biological contaminants, terrorist attacks, collapse of Social Security, unemployment, fear now that the Russians are coming, people being suicided and tortured, and fear for the loss of our very freedom and privacy. What does fear create? Well, it creates social discord. We have a clash over everything, over gun owners and non owners clash over immigration, abortion, racial conflict, religious conflict, environmental conflict, everything. What does conflict create?
It creates deteriorating conditions for life. We have poor education and even worse, health care. We have national debt that's monumental. We have urban deterioration and poverty, homelessness, declining marriages, questionable foods, government spying on us, police brutality, brutality in prisons, brutal laws and regulations, theft through taxation, forced vaccinations, loss of farm and ranch lands. And what does the government do?
It is indifferent. We are a nation in chaos, and yet we are lulled at every turn by government propaganda, by the press and television, by our mutual assurances on social media, by our mental escapes, by our own apathy. Wake up, America!
Fight 4 Trump, an imperfect man, but the man in the arena fighting against the deep corruption throughout our governments. Ever wonder why there so much hate directed at Trump? Is he exposing their crimes?
I was attending LA Pierce College in 1972, one of the returned "in-country" Vietnam vets. I was very conflicted about American political parties, but eventually realized it was the Dems who caved politically, giving VN to the communists, just like they are trying to do today with the U.S.
A very effective statement.
I'll put in transportation mode........ The Train Wreck of "Alternative" transportation use was and is clear. The City of Santa Barbara no longer does bike counts because the numbers are so low they no longer meet the 1974 baseline counts?
One only has to look at the failure called State St. in Santa Barbara, the now proven disaster of Hollister narrowing in Old Town Goleta, to see the middle class and working poor have shown planners and elected officials 4 fingers and taken down 3. The people have stated it as an expression of anger over intentional transportation grid destruction.
Just perhaps the same people the author has walked away from are the same people that have left us with a transportation mess.
Yep! I have 3 cars, all gas-powered. My 2009 Jeep GC; my 1995 Silverado, and my first one, the 1968 VW dune buggy. I love them all, including the hum of the pickup's idling. I do have a bike that I am trying to sell on Next Door. You didn't ask, but my home is gas heated.
You are invited to attend the CAB Sep. meeting at the Elks Lodge this coming Wed. (last meeting of the month).....small meeting and you are invited.
Lodge 613 ? Time please.
The trend that is picking up is that of "independents", voters that are seeing through their political picks especially now in the democratic party. But many Republicans are just as bad eg Neocons supporting war and destruction.
I am truly concerned about the fate of our nation following the election this year and I am going to say this out loud. We LOST our right and freedom to VOTE a long time ago. If the candidate does not support neocon agenda, the elections are rigged against that person. The rigging has reached new unprecedented heights since the last election. They are openly importing millions of illegals to vote!
The new candidate that comes in is "handled" by unelected bureaucrats who make sure that the new administration doesn't change course on "their" policies. We have seen how the neocons kept DJT from doing what he needed to do when he came into office in 2016.
This year the game has become a life and death situation for the neocons. If they don't win, they will be imprisoned for treason (hopefully DJT will do what needs to be done). Many in the cabal will probably be cannibalized by their own as they all know too much of each other's criminal activities and if one goes down, the whole club goes down. What we are seeing right now is this panic and desperation and the stress of losing power.
FUD stands for "fear, uncertainty, and doubt." It is an abiding social malaise, everyone feels it. The Religious see it as evidence of demonic forces at work, the Secular see it as political machinations. We ALL live under its shadow.
Very nice article. But leaves one question: When you go to the ballot box who is there to vote for?
Here's a thought, Michael: From 2017-2021, how would you rate the federal government's impact on your life as an individual and on America? Were you better off, safer and more secure? Was the country and our place in the world? Same questions for 2021-to present. There is also a third choice on the ballot.
Interesting question. I would say the federal government has had very little impact on my personal life. Maybe that’s because I am one of the lucky ones. I got covid but fortunately had the shot and had a very mild case. Should I credit the gov. for that? Was the country safer and more secure? We have had the strongest military in the world throughout both periods… by far. Fortunately there were no terror attacks in either period. I believe our place in the world was lowered significantly during 2016-2020 when we made friends of our enemies and enemies of our friends. I believe our friends were relieved in 2020 and nervous today. 2021 to the present has been difficult. There is an immigration problem around the world and it’s a big problem for all of us. I believe we would have had this problem regardless of the administration. As far as the third choice, I’m not sure what you mean by that. I have a friend of mine who made what I thought was a trenchant comment: “I look at the two candidates and think what a shame that we have to pick one of them.”
The Big Government unions are always on one side of the ballot. They even run most of the country election offices, count the votes and call the balls and strikes. Make your choice on basic fundamentals; not any one candidate.
More Big Government, more tax dollar supported government employee union members, or the long slog back to limited government. Both will be very difficult roads for this country to take on the eve of its 250th birthday.
Remember how yow felt about America on her Bi-Centennial. What happened to us over these past 50 years?
Great article. You say, "I had one issue in 1972: Vietnam. I was twenty years old. Every year, my high school yearbooks were dedicated to the memory of alumni who died in service to our country."
I graduated in '63, the year Kennedy was assassinated, and the Vietnam War was ongoing. I would like to comment on the "service to our country." The only "service" the Vietnam War did was to kill many American citizens under the guise of being soldiers. Purely no purpose if a so-called "War" isn't fought to win. The U.S. got out of Vietnam with their tail between their legs. An unpopular "war" in the U.S. and because the North Vietnamese were one hell of a bunch of fighters. From an engineer's perspective having designed warfare equipment in several big corporations, the Vietnam War provided a testing ground for determining the effectiveness of U.S. military systems. Lucky for me my interests were in engineering, and I received student deferments and then an occupational deferment working at designing military electronics for a good portion of my lifetime. The Vietnam War should never be considered as having a purpose for protecting the U.S. The country was scammed by politicians and probably military contractors. There was absolutely no legitimate purpose for Americans to participate in Vietnam only to be killed.
I once rode around with a Vietnam vet as an occasional passenger in my car and he would dive under the dashboard on the passenger side of the car when a nearby car backfired. I don't have to explain why that occurred.
When I wrote, "in service to our country," Bill, I was being respectful to Vietnam Veterans. Recall what they returned to -- being spat upon and afraid to wear their uniforms in public. No ticker-tape parades and bands forcthem. Meantime, Jane Fonda was on the college circuit, an apologist for the North. I remember that she spoke at Pierce College, a free talk. In good conscience, I decided not to attend -- for the sake of our veterans and those still over there, including in the camps. To this day, I cannot bear to watch any of her films, it's visceral with me.
I wasn't being critical of your phraseology, I only noted because it's commonly used with respect to Vietnam Veterans which really deserve an apology from the Federal Government for sending them into an unnecessary combat environment. I would never be critical of the Vietnam veterans; they didn't have much of a choice other than escaping to Canada. I have mixed feelings about Jane Fonda. Interesting how North Vietnam is a neighbor of South Vietnam and would obviously have a keen interest in the War ... even if it was to spread Communism. The U.S. can't go around the world using U.S. blood to try and impact other government philosophies. If anything, S. Vietnam was the only country at war with N. Vietnam, a war between the two countries. Jane Fonda's presence was probably one of the sources to terminate the war earlier, not a bad thing. Seems like S. Vietnam is doing fine in the world producing good products.
I so agree. We have not yet learned to stay out of civil wars. Thanks for the engaging discussion in this thread.
It took years for me to stop ducking or jumping when I heard backfires, helicopters overhead, or the pungent smell of diesel.
We were in the grip of the Cold War and the dying days of former European colonial empires. It was a time of fundamental transition, that led to the ultimately tragic miscalculations using the Vietnamese civil war as a surrogate for a world we had divided into communism and anti-communism.
“If we don’t stop them in Vietnam, we will be fighting them on the shores of Mexico”, were the final words from the UC Berkeley professor in his final class on the History of US Diplomacy, in 1965. The class gave him a standing ovation. This too was Berkeley in the 1960’s. Issues were not so clear back then, when each leading super power of that era had full global annihilation stocks of nuclear weapons. Stay Alive til ‘65 was our class motto.
Thank you for the reminder how critical the study of history remains, and how much the facts on the ground can evolve over time.
This article, like most in the Santa Barbara Current, demonstrates an amazing ability to see in perfect focus, one side of an issue while remaining blind to the other side. While many of the current positions favored by some (not all) Democrats are, not only off-putting, but also off-the wall, being proud of a vote for Richard Nixon — to stop the war in Vietnam, is like praising Custer for his planning skills. Note that Republicans have an at least equal number of bizarre beliefs like pets being eaten in Ohio. And when it comes to defecting party members, it is not hard to find people who have ‘escaped’ the current Republican Party — just look at former Presidents, Cabinet officials, Members of Congress and the like. The Republicans used to have principled positions that made sense. Now they are a cult — unable to see beyond their own emotions. The people in our country are good, kind and caring; they want to move confidently into the future, embracing and prospering from change. I think that they are tired of dismal, dank, dark, dim and dismayingly dangerous predictions of catastrophe associated with anything or any person that is different.
Hey Mr Martini, it's an opinion piece.
The “cult” requires hating Nixon. History is treating him more kindly and objectively. Nixon and “Watergate” may well have been the first Deep State coup, which have now become our daily political diet.
It was certainly the start of the current 24/7 breaking news media addiction. I was living in Wash DC when this was unraveling, associated with operations very close to the Oval Office.
"The Republicans used to have principled positions that made sense. Now they are a cult — unable to see beyond their own emotions. The people in our country are good, kind and caring; they want to move confidently into the future, embracing and prospering from change. I think that they are tired of dismal, dank, dark, dim and dismayingly dangerous predictions of catastrophe associated with anything or any person that is different."
Of course, classical liberalism is what you deem as principled and it keeps conservatives in line with a liber prder - so when they depart from this "inoffensive revolution you champion it is incredibly shocking to you that conservatives would dare seek to break away from the republican, liberal, and secular system you idolize.
Death to democracy! Long live the Catholic, Royal, and moral order!
Excuse me? Death to democracy? Who tried to overturn the results of an election? All change is difficult and has impacts, some adverse, on some people. It is revealing that you assume idolization on my part... could you possibly be projecting?
You've got to have been on this site for awhile to get Theos position.
Trump did not try to overturn an election. He along with millions of others had serious questions and wanted a thorough investigation into the multiple irregularities, as allowed under federal election law. Stop with the lies.
Don't you think that by Trump and his allies filing over 60 lawsuits challenging the election results in multiple states (nearly all of which were dismissed or dropped due to lack of evidence) was an attempt to overturn the election? It wasn't a fact finding mission with questions and asking for a 'thorough investigation'.
No I hate democracy. I also don't care for elections and popular will. What's so wrong with overturning an election when the will of the people is just that - the will of People who idolize democracy embrace it uncritically and think any other form of government is inferior even though nothing about republicanism/democracy is inherently moral.
It’s difficult to believe that the Democrat party of today is even a party eligible for governance in the United States.
I was nine years old in 1972 and remember Nixon. I remember I didn’t like him. Not that I understood politics at the time. I just didn’t like the way he looked.
Yes, Nixon did have that look. But isn't it fascinating how the stuff that goes on today makes Watergate child's play? Kissinger and Nixon were a great pair.
If you haven't, Bill, look up Henry Kissinger's moving eulogy to President Nixon.
I'll do that, thanks for the info.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qkNf3gN4E-k
Very moving ... they had a great fondness towards each other.
Thanks for the link. I recall that at the time. the LA Times published Kissinger's eulogy in the paper.
I agree. It seemed such a huge deal. Opposition Spying….
We only thought it was a big deal because we were told to believe it was a big deal.
No one seems to care about Obama using the intel community to spy on Trump. Not only that, but hanging around under the guise of my youngest is still in school. Eight years later and Obama is still there, and hardy anyone on the streets talk about that. Simply amazing.
This is just me here, but I always wondered if Obama had made a deal with Hillary Clinton. She gets Sec'y of State, he gets a seat on SCOTUS after her election. Two people who did not like one another.
Classy piece, Celeste. Let’s hope more and more Dems are wondering what on earth has become of their party.