Law and Order, the Essentials

 

 Tombstone teaches a lot, but one takeaway is what happens when a city trades law and order for vice.

Jason Priestly plays a character called Billy Breakenridge. It’s such a small part that I had to look him up on IMDB. He’s the agent of change representing a love for culture and freedom (indulgence?) that sees how fleeting both can be without law and order. His friend, and likely lover, Mr. Fabian the stage actor is shot by a band of “Cowboys” led by Curly Bill.

Breakenridge instantly turns from friend of the outlaws to supporter of Earp. He ends his crusade right there and lets the men know “Sorry Sir, But we got to have some law”. He’s been hunting Earp for killing some of the local “Cowboys” that run Tombstone like a gangland.  The realization comes on like a flood when he sees Fabian dead from a vindictive cowboy.

Law and order is the chassis on which Western civilization rides. Every vehicle needs one. No one sees it except the builders but without a chassis the car falls apart. You can do a lot with the shape and style. Engines can be tooled for racing, hauling or just getting groceries around town. Body styles come in sleek and tough, classic and custom, but without the chassis the car is just a glossy frame.

The group called CHOP, in Seattle, installed a hasty government, erected a fence around the downtown area and put enforcers in charge. It’s ironic that the lawless Antifa types threw off the local authorities, to be free of it no doubt, and immediately established one of their own. Governing is tough enough when you have the will of the people. But when the inevitable crime wave happens who will enforce the existing law? What is the existing law in this newly established hovel? Are robbery and rape even crimes? What about murder? If so, by what moral principle is anything good or bad? What is the process by which a victim appeals to an established judge, or a court for retribution? Are the revolutionaries that run the place even looking out for each other?

The problems with our system of law and order are well known. It’s much easier for wealthy people to avoid prosecution and get by with committing crime. Money buys good lawyers and teams of investigators that can muddy the waters of a case even when the defendant is guilty. Slip and fall lawyers can wring dollars out of businesses like dank water from a mop. In states with no limits on damages, companies can get sued on even the slightest technicalities. Poor neighborhoods (not just minorities) have a likelier chance of encountering the police and being apprehended. Most legal infractions (misdemeanors and felonies) require some payment of fee to get out of, not to mention the court fees. The poor are disproportionately affected. The fees aren’t unjust per se, but it’s tough to climb out of debt with legal bills. Miss a payment, add another layer of fees.  

None of this is to say it’s an awful system but we do need to reform it on the margins. Sometimes it means voting for a person or bill designed to sort out some perceived wrong. But I don’t believe it’s a ‘systemically’ racist legal system. This is the standard Black Lives Matter line, not to mention countless Marxist groups in the country. American jurisprudence is rooted in the English common law tradition where property is protected and disputes are settled by a judge, or unbiased party. That decision is used as a reference for similar cases that follow.

 This business about our legal framework is a blog post for another day, but you get the point. So what does it mean that the institutions are systemically racist? If you mean discriminatory, exclusionary and unequal than you’re right. But if by ‘systemic’ you mean that the foundations (first principles) are rooted in an immoral understanding of rights and liberties, I’d call nonsense. The inequities are mostly in personal biases and an unwillingness to provide everyone in society with the same opportunities that the nation’s founding always provided for.

In Dr. King’s famous “I have a dream” speech he refers to this specifically as a bad promissory note for black Americans.

In a sense we've come to our nation's capital to cash a check. When the architects of our republic wrote the magnificent words of the Constitution and the Declaration of Independence, they were signing a promissory note to which every American was to fall heir. This note was a promise that all men, yes, black men as well as white men, would be guaranteed the "unalienable Rights" of "Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness." It is obvious today that America has defaulted on this promissory note, insofar as her citizens of color are concerned. Instead of honoring this sacred obligation, America has given the Negro people a bad check, a check which has come back marked "insufficient funds."

If King thought the founding was systemically racist he wouldn’t reference the Constitution or the Declaration as standards of legitimacy. Instead, he calls white society to live up to them. Law is something we interpret through the courts, but courts can go sideways for years with poor philosophy, bias, neglect and racism. Like a banged up chassis causing poor steering, bad law can damage a society. A dramatic correction is needed, as Martin Luther King well knew.

 Societies need standards of behavior and consistent protections in order to survive. Even decadent ones like the radicals in Seattle will soon discover “We got to have some law!”

 

2020 Man!

 

I drove home from the gym today after an exhausting run on the treadmill. Running helps get the angry energy from the day out of my head. Morning runs put me in a positive mood to start. I guess between the two I prefer to run early but the gym isn’t ready to let us take showers yet. I can’t believe I uttered that statement but there it is, no showers at the gym. The way work is going I’m pretty keyed up by the time the day finished out and I need a release.

It isn’t work that’s stressful but life. Work makes sense. Work is orderly. Work needs me.

I think I’m watching too much news but I don’t really know how to stop.

Well turn off the TV dummy!! I don’t even watch TV news anymore.

It isn't like 50 years ago. Not many people plunk down at 6 and watch the evening news. The news is in everything today. It’s one mass blob of similar narratives squeezed into various items like jelly in donuts. News, sports, politics, and business all taste the same now.

 I watch TV at work which means I have to select a sports channel, it’s a sporting goods store after all. Now live sports don’t usually air between 9 and 5 Monday through Friday. Playoff baseball is an exception as well as a few other post season events, but mostly it’s just replays. Sports channels have either talking head shows or replays. Normally I’ll watch talking head shows because at least they are newsy and current. Some are better than others, or rather less obnoxious than others.  

Live sports aren’t happening right now (Yeah Virus!!) so it’s making the talk shows extra lame. But ever since the George Floyd murder it’s been an onslaught of racial politics, police brutality, and sycophantic apologies from anyone popular who happens to be close to a microphone.

Colin Kaepernick is back in the news as well. The NFL commissioner apologized to him for not taking him seriously, despite getting sued by Collin. They settled and Kap made out well. But this was a few years ago but the cop killing has put new fire into an old debate, or jelly into a new donut.

 Drew Brees apologized for saying he would never kneel in front the flag. American businesses can’t get their apology copy to the black community fast enough. If no apology is needed they issue some grovelly Black Lives Matter solidarity statement. Whenever I read one I just want to scream “Say black people matter! Or black people are essential!” Black Lives Matter is a Marxist group that sees America as a white supremacist country. The difference is critical.  

So I’m watching shows that have diving contests and poker games. I just have to tune out everything current because it’s all depressing. I get on Facebook to see how my friends are doing and everyone is posting pro or con stuff about marches, riots, looting, legislation. My podcasts are either sports or politics. Both are out.

I go to the gym and run where a TV in front of me shows the nightly news, CBS. It’s wall to wall negativity and pot stirring. Here come the narratives again in all the reporting, more jelly. The cop in Atlanta that killed the black man I didn’t watch the video. I refuse to. I’ve seen a few reports of baptism on the street corner where George Floyd was killed. That’s incredible but hardly anyone seems to know it. I can hardly make myself watch Netflix anymore either. I don’t want to see violence, even the fake sort that I normally can’t get enough of. So I read. Or go to bed early.

I’m sure that events in the country aren’t as bad as they look, but my creativity is being stretched. Maybe that’s a good thing. Maybe I’ll learn some trade or craft during this time and when people ask me how did I learn it, I can shake my head and say “2020 man”.  

Onward

I’m back running again. Hardly to the level I was before but at least I’m back at it. The plantar fasciitis I had is under control. There is some pain in the morning but only a little thereafter. Thank God for that, answer to prayer.

 During my last post about working out I whined about the gym policy on no showers. I can’t understand why letting members shower after a workout is asking for a spread of Covid 19, but there it is. I guess businesses have to just get on with whatever measures they need to start making money. At least Oklahoma is mostly back to normal, albeit with a few silly requirements thrown in to remind us about the pandemic. It’s forced me to go back to hitting the gym after a full day of work. I don’t love it. But until I can go back to mornings I’ll deal with the crowded night club feel. It's tough to get a decent treadmill at 5:30 in the evening though. Most of the available ones don't let you increase the hill slopes. 

So it's slow right now. The first time I got on the treadmill I hoped to get three miles. I made almost six, albeit with an extremely high heart rate to finish. I was up around 182 which is going hard. But it had been almost 10 weeks so I didn’t get too upset. Since then I’ve managed a few three mile days and a couple of fives, a few sixes. It’s too hot to get any real distance outdoors. I got up early the other day hoping for six in the sun. I managed 1 mile. ONE FREAKING MILE! I was exhausted. It wasn’t just the heat but I suspect that was the largest part. I’m just not in running shape anymore and it shows up more outdoors than on a treadmill. I need to drop a little weight as well. I got kind of lazy with the quarantine by sitting around and eating ice cream day after day. No excuses now. Gyms are open, I’m back to work and my foot feels a hundred times better.

I’ll have to reacclimatize to this heat though. It’s a process I go through every summer. I can’t go as far distance wise but I really earn every mile. Some days I just have to stop half way through the run and continue at a slower pace or drop from exhaustion. At most that’s once a week though. I still run at the gym a lot in the summer. Drinking water throughout the day helps a lot too. My body doesn’t work as hard when I’m plenty hydrated. For all the preparation you just need to actually get out and grind it out. Nothing gets you back to distance and speed like just doing the work.

Onward.

Tsunami Warning

I had a dream the other night that I was in crowded office building with friends and family. The details are fuzzy as with almost all dreams. There was an air of impending doom that surrounded all of us. A tsunami was approaching and it was clear to everyone that it might kill a lot of people. 

A tsunami in Oklahoma? Really? Yes, now stay with me.

 It would certainly be destructive and wipe out the city as we knew it. I sensed the resolve among the people to deal with whatever came. Panic was not part of the deal. We trusted that no matter what came about, God was in control even in the destruction. I noticed a giant wave 100 feet or so forming outside the windows and moving swiftly toward our position. I curled up into a ball and let it collapse the building. I was oddly calm and prayed that whatever happened to me, I trusted in His ultimate plan. Not because He brought the storm, but because He takes care of His people.

I woke up (in the dream) to family and friends around me. I felt like I had been in a coma for a short time, a few weeks I guess. They filled me in on the details of the destruction. I lost a lot of possessions and a house, for some reason I had a swimming pool in the dream where I kept a whale. Yeah I know, weird stuff. But I’m sure my emotions surrounding the riots and very real threat of civil war pushed some of this to my subconscious. The giant wave is a coming change that wipes away the existing order. Storms mean rough times, tsunamis mean destruction. I’m not sure that the destruction was a necessary one though. I’ve read that a lot of people think the violence on our cities and the destruction must happen so the evil can be exposed.

I talked about Antifa in my last post. They are likely backed by left wing money connected to Marxist groups. Candace Owens thinks it’s George Soros and Open Society, but no one is sure. They are the most well-known but they aren’t the only ones spreading violence and burning property. I’m concerned that Americans don’t understand how evil Marxism is, how it enslaves and destroys. It might be an age thing but socialism just sounds like another option or another political party to the young. This is borne out in polls. Partly because we don’t have a Soviet Union to hold up as the anti-model, we have quit teaching it as a crime against humanity. But it’s a ruthless, liberty crushing system that rewards power and encourages ends over means.

The violence and destruction also overshadow some legitimate anger over relations between police and black men in inner cities. But it’s become for radical groups, an excuse to spread chaos and blame the country for capitalism, inequality, systemic racism, white supremacy and a mixed bag of grievance. The point of their war is to achieve power and prevent exposure of some uncomfortable truths, that corruption in Washington DC is deeper than we think. Could this be the tsunami in my dream? Will the country undergo a radical change that destroys a lot the current institutions and cultures? Is it necessary for the truth to come out about the corruption in high places?

The silver lining (in the dream) was the comfort I had in God. It was the most significant part of the dream, the clarifying element. The madness and destruction weren’t a surprise; they were expected. I don’t intend this to be anything more than a reflection of what was on my mind. I’m not predicting anything. Maybe the craziness of the last few weeks is a heavier mental weight than I imagined it to be. But when you’ve been a Christian for a few years you begin to understand when God is signaling in dreams. The rest are just pizza induced wackiness.

American Carnage; Antifa's lawlessness

The rioting is out of control. It’s been a little over a week since the barbaric killing of George Floyd in Minneapolis by police. Something feels different this time with the reactions from nearly everyone. Common sense tells me the meltdown and violence around the country are being stoked. But even with all the violence and carnage, the message of unity is getting out. I’ve never seen such support for the black community, from the Church and from law enforcement.

 Baltimore police took a ‘hands off’ approach to policing after the Freddie Gray incident. They still have a presence but it’s significantly reduced. Typically though, the murder rate had gone up 3 times in 2018, but what can they do? It’s too risky for the cops to stop people for shoplifting or vandalism. That's what will likely happen here, a kind of reverse 'broken windows' plan.  

 The carnage gets all the attention because it’s unprecedented in this country. Or if not unprecedented, at least it’s not something that happens every year. Los Angeles has seen terrible rioting in the 60s and the early 90s. Detroit had its day, as did Chicago during the Democratic convention of 1968. I don’t know a lot about Antifa or how they work, but you can bet they’re organized and entrenched in most major cities. I don't assume all the looting, burning and violence is by Antifa, but I do think they organize a lot of it.

The Justice department has been studying them since at least the Unite the Right rally in Charlottesville, Va. They wear masks and bludgeon people, like journalist Andy Ngo, who disagree with their Marxist policies. Officially they oppose Racism, Fascism and Capitalism. But when everyone is a fascist, racist and capitalist then no one is. They think America itself is guilty of all 3. But not just guilty of past grievances, 'rooted' in white supremacy since the founding. What chance does anyone stand if the country itself is sinful? They can think whatever they want but when they start to force their views with clubs and carnage, we have a problem.

Portland, Oregon is their stronghold. They seem to have the run of the place, shutting down traffic when they want and beating up citizens who get in the way.

They use the threat of violence to shut down conservative speakers at college campuses like Ann Coulter and Milo Yiannopoulos. They just tell the college they’ll burn and pillage if the guest is allowed to speak. The college shuts it down for ‘safety’. It isn’t hard to arrest these guys either. Just set a trap and arrest everyone throwing bombs and bricks. Make an announcement that Ben Shapiro is speaking at Stanford or wherever and wait for the mob to show up. Give them a few minutes to get start rioting and bring in a massive swat force. Charge them federally and make the sentences long.

This isn’t difficult but no one does it. Is it because of fear or is there some sympathy on America’s campuses from the faculty? Free speech doesn’t go on campus anymore sadly. These are domestic thugs that break easily when you apply the pressure of a serious jail time. They’ve been treated with kid gloves and given safe haven cities to dominate. But they aren’t terrorists in the mold of Al Qaeda. They’re bratty, rent-a-mob punks.

Aggressive burning and looting allowed to go unpunished by police, or other law enforcement will bring a counter force. No one wants right wing thugs running around anymore than we want left wing thugs. But if something isn’t done about it that’s exactly what will happen, especially if they come to the suburbs. This is still a country with a strong second amendment; a lot unsavory people have stockpiled weapons. Not to mention the regular folks who have guns and plan to defend if attacked. And guess what, they don’t live on 5^th Avenue or Rodeo Drive or Michigan Avenue. And since they’ve seen the destruction on TV they’re likely preparing for violence. City store fronts and parked cars don’t fight back, country folks do.

 The police and National Guard have about 1 more week (a guess) of this kind of destruction. Then the militias will take it back. And they won’t be using clubs and spray paint either. They’ll have shotguns and tactical gear. Punk rioters won’t stand a chance against an unaccountable militia. Then it really will be war. No one wants that.

Let’s pray for peace, our president and racial harmony.

“Make every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace.”

 Ephesians 4:3 (NIV)

 

 

Movies for Memorial Day

I’ve always liked war movies. There was a slew of them made about World War II in the 50’s and 60’s--some of them classics and some rather forgettable. As a kid I remember watching TNT on Memorial Day. They along with TBS used to play them back to back all day. I've seen a lot of greats that way. Commercial breaks during TV films were always annoying, but more so now that I stream so much. The minute I get it in my head to go to a movie on broadcast TV, one long string of ads is enough to break my habit. The commercial breaks aren’t evenly spaced either, I assume they still do it like that. You get a long beginning punctuated by a few commercials and by the end of the movie, it’s the opposite. Only someone with no other option sticks with a film until the end. Hospital patients come to mind.

I settled in to watch The Great Escape Monday night. I’m amazed by how well it holds up today. Good stories do that, they survive even after the color fades from the reels. The Great Escape is less a war movie than a caper/heist film. It’s a lot closer to Ocean’s Eleven than The Longest Day. What makes Ocean’s Eleven great (at least I think it’s great)? Colorful characters with unique skill sets and a specific plan established at the beginning. We know what the mission is so we aren’t surprised to see them work it out over the course of the movie. The Dirty Dozen has some elements of this too. But The Great Escape uses the war as a set piece. Because the men are cut off, the audience has no idea how the war effort is going. Soldiers complain to each other about their imprisonment but we don’t get long expositions on Hitler or the Nazis or successful battles. 

Since these guys are in a camp, their world is confined to planning, tunneling, and escaping detection. We're aware the inside politics from the German side. The Luftwaffe manages the camp instead of the SS, making it decent as far as prison is concerned. The SS were brutal thugs; having them as overseers would’ve been much worse. Captain Ramsey (James Donald) and Roger Bartlett (Richard Attenborough) discuss this very thing. Steve Mcqueen plays the 'cooler king' based loosely on an American pilot named William Ash. He steals every scene. He's just a great actor. 

Apparently the film takes liberties with the historical details of the escape itself. That’s a nice way of saying, there was a true escape but the details are fiction. But it’s a fun watch and doesn’t feel old in the way that some movies do. I mentioned the The Longest Day already but that one feels dated. It’s too big and too long. It tries to cover a lot of information but ends up looking like a documentary. We see A-list actors for a couple of minutes, John Wayne explaining the click device, Robert Mitchum on the beach, Henry Fonda taking fire, but we miss out on the granular story. The scenes of the men storming the beachhead at Normandy are impressive. The overhead continuous shot, was a first for its day, but it feels like a brilliant work of photography and not an emotional event.

It’s a grand spectacle that nails it historically but stays above the grubbiness of human misery. It’s ironic that The Longest Day covers literally one day and feels like 6 months; The Great Escape covers at least 6 months and feels like a week. I don’t mean to say it doesn’t stand up as a quality movie, it certainly does. As film making goes it’s incredible. But modern audiences want to know a character or group of characters and watch them grow through the ordeal.

I can’t imagine how I used to watch a 3 hour movie like that with all the commercial interruptions. No way would I do that anymore. What I’ll do instead is find as many old war movies as possible and catch up. I don’t think I’ve seen Midway yet and that’s supposed to be a Classic. A lot of these I’ve seen in bits and pieces. They run all day and unfortunately they run together in my memory.  I’ve never watched Tora! Tora! Tora! either and that one is supposedly a must.

I'll have to make this a once per month thing instead of once per year.

The Goldfinch; Review

 Every so often critics rip a movie apart that I really liked. I wasn’t sure exactly what to think. The film received universal scorn. The book won a Pulitzer prize but I never read it. My review is based solely on the movie. Normally it works the other way for me. I read the book and then see the movie. But I’ve been let down too many times; this probably explains the negative reaction from others.

This time I’m only watching the movie.

A terrorist bombing in the Metropolitan Museum of Art changes the directions and destroys the fortunes of a handful of people. Young Theo (Oakes Fegley) gets separated from his mother just before the explosion kills her and most of the patrons. Two things happen right after; first an old man gives Theo a ring with instructions to take it to an antique dealer. Second, Theo grabs the painting (The Goldfinch) and keeps it in his bag. He manages to get out in the rubble and dust without anyone questioning him. It’s the only possession he has connecting him to that day. The museum assumes it was destroyed.

 He is wracked by grief over the death of his mother. His Father (Luke Wilson) doesn’t show up to claim him till a few months later. He is an unstable man with gambling issues and debt, living in Las Vegas with his girlfriend. Theo has been taken in by a wealthy Park Avenue family until his dad could be located. He moves out to Las Vegas with his dad and falls into adolescent drug and alcohol abuse. His companion is a Russian kid whose father is never around, providing both boys ample opportunity for trouble. After a few years in Vegas, Theo runs away to New York where the antiques dealer, Hobie (played by Jeffrey Wright) lets him live and work.

Goldfinch unfolds mystery like, putting some of the end near the beginning and the beginning near the end. It’s about grief and tragedy, but also fate and seeing how events change the trajectory of life. Theo is a mixture of the people in his life who influence him after the event. We see the bombing in a handful of chopped up scenes that reveal a little more each time, until it all makes sense.  

 Critics hated the way the story breezed through the characters and flattened their development. Book comparisons are always unfair; who really wants to see an 18 hour movie? 

The real theme is the way random connections work to make us into the person we become. Tragedy is often the spark that pushes people together. It’s a long movie (2 ½ hours) but it succeeds as showing instead of telling. The painting is the one constant thing in his life, or so we think. He hides his grief in the painting that he keeps in a storage unit along with prescription drugs. Ansel Elgort, who plays the adult Theo, reminds me of Matt Damon from The Talented Mr. Ripley-a well-mannered and sophisticated guy, with dark secrets and a lack of ethics. His charm is mostly a veneer. 

   

The scenes are beautifully shot with lots of detail. That might have influenced my opinion more than I admit. You can't create a film around a piece of art and not obsess over the pictures you show the audience.

 I can see where the story is thin in spots, like the last 30 minutes or so seem to come out of nowhere and conclude all at once. But it’s a grand spectacle I’m a fan of great shots. I found Nicole Kidman, who plays the matriarch of the wealthy New York family, to be a little wooden. The idea was to turn her from a WASP-y snob into a warmer person late in life. She undergoes a tragedy as well that changes the direction of her life. But there just wasn’t enough of her in the movie to pull it off convincingly.

   

Most critics see The Goldfinch as a pretty mess, I loved it.