The Trials and Tribulations of Z. Clement Folderol

Recently, I visited my neighbor…a long-time Howard County resident, the aforementioned Z. Clement Folderol.

As we sat on his porch, imbibing what was assuredly Crystal Light (“Because I believe in me!"), he mentioned that he had never seen such strife in the land of milk and honey, not since the introduction and debate over CB9-2017.

“Wait,” I said, “you were present for the Coolidge inauguration, you are saying that we are more divided, as a society, compared to then?”

“Absolutely.  Why did they call him Silent Cal?  It was mum’s the word.  Total peace and quiet.”

“That was only a few decades removed from the Civil War…and Maryland was a state where owning human beings was permissible.  Not to mention racial segregation and Jim Crow laws which were very much enforced in this state through much of the 60s.”

“Eh,” he waved his hand dismissively, “well that all worked out, didn’t it?”

“Well, to an extent, because people fought for their basic human rights…and it wasn’t exactly a picnic Clem, you should know, you were there.”

“Who can remember, after The Big One, we were just trying to settle down and raise families.”

“Those of you who were able to buy homes around here, sure, but de facto segregation persisted for many years after LBJ left office.”

He took a long sip.  “Maybe so…but Howard County has always been a haven for tolerance.”

“Has it been?  Have you attended any of the recent Council meetings?  Do you have a Facebook account?  There is some dire ugliness being said about some of our neighbors.”

“Oh you mean the illegals?”

“Read between the lines Mr. Folderol.  There are racial undertones not too far removed from the surface…being uttered by folks right here in HoCo.  It’s not “legal versus illegal,”…it’s clearly an “us vs. them” debate designed to amp up the fear quotient.  The anti-CB9 folks aren’t appealing to reason…what does that say to you?”

He squinted off in the direction of the sunset.  It being a cloudy night, there was no reason for the squint, but it matched his slow shrug. “Well,” he said, “people are afraid.”

“Afraid of what though?  Have you read the bill?  Do you think it will actually lead to a crime wave in Howard County?  Isn’t the opposition just appealing to the worst instincts of some of us?  Haven’t we seen this debate before, just in another form?”

“You ask a lot of questions.  It disrupts the quiet of the evening.”

“What progress is made without disruption?”

Stay tuned, as more will follow.

A Morning Conversation

“So why isn’t the Administration cutting deals on Keystone? On immigration?”

“Both fine questions Slats, but the President seems to be doubling-down.  Partially out of principle, partially because of optics…he doesn’t want to appear to be getting rolled, and the last element is that he doesn’t have much in the way of negotiating partners, with the GOP leadership in Congress being what it is.”

“Almost makes Newt look statesman-like.”

“Might be an overstretch. Is that coffee in that cup?”

“No. It’s a Drambuie Sunrise. It’s all the rage in Zurich now.”

“Sure.  Anyway, it is shaping up to be a brutal two years for 44. The only good news for the White House is that HRC is going to take a fair amount of heat.”

“The discourse is going to become increasingly polarized as candidates for the Big Chair appeal to their respective bases.  Compromise is going to be difficult on most domestic issues.  No will to deal, not with the aspirants bashing DC as they crisscross Iowa and New Hampshire. ”

“And the traditional pivot to a foreign policy focus isn’t promising either.   ISIS/ISIL, Putin indulging his revanchist inclinations, no hope of an Israeli-Palestinian peace deal.  What’s left? Maybe going after narco-terrorists in the Western Hemisphere?"       

 

“It’s 11:45 pm in America.”

“Perhaps not so dour a prognosis, but Happy Days have not yet arrived.”

“They should have spun off Potsie and Ralph Malph.  A good screwball buddy sitcom could have really helped with ABC’s Tuesday night prime time line up.”

“That isn’t what I meant and that is also a debatable proposition.  But I would have watched “The Tuscaderos!”

“Santorum would love another popular resurgence of ‘50s nostalgia. Of course he would embrace it without any sense of irony and he would forget all of the ‘unpleasant’ parts." 

“Of course not, the actual history of the time wouldn’t fit with his image of that decade as some sort of halcyon era of permanent triumphalism.”

“Pleasantville all over again, at least the first half of that movie.”

“Might not even need to worry about Santorum running again.  He said he would announce his decision in June of 2015.”

“Late.   Who is going to sit on the sidelines that long…for him?  The money and talent will flow elsewhere.”

“Yep.  It would be a significant infrastructure deficit. However, he still has some support on the ground in Iowa.  But he doesn’t want to limp into the fall debates looking like an also-ran four months before the Caucuses.”

“But if he runs, it will just make the Democratic Party seem considerably more centrist.”

“Santorum.  Cruz. Paul.  All together on one stage?  Hillary should be so lucky.”

“Or Bernie Sanders.”

“You need to spend more time state-side.  That just isn’t going to happen.  Are you catching your news on RT?”

“Heaven forbid! Pravda redux.  Now, what do they have on tap here?”

“It's a Panera. So nothing.”

“Right, let’s go.”

Stay tuned, as more will follow.