Computer Rage!

Yes, that's what it was last night as I wrote a blog, “Defining Moments.” I went to transfer it from Pages to my Browser and somewhere’s along the way I LOST IT. Dam machine. This has always been my nightmare with this otherwise magical wonder. When I was writing my book “Wasn’t That A Time” I lost a couple of chapters and some smart ass Geeks at Apple found them and saved my life. Someone will ask, “but did you save it?’ yes of course I always do. Question is where did it go” No it’s not in Pages and it’s not in the Trash. Let me forget it for now.

Today I went to a beautiful wedding of two dear friends Bill and Didi out in the woods near Orient Point. It was a perfect example of how everyday life goes on no matter all the bullshit whirling around our economic-political crisis. In the darkest days of McCarthyism I was preoccupied with holding the union together. As I traveled the State as the NY State President of the Machinists Union I was always impressed with how people from Town to Town would continue with the rituals of their everyday existence. Somehow I always found that reassuring. Not sure why? Here’s more stuff to piss me off.

The Editorial Section of the Sunday Times has a full page story, “What Happened to the American Left” by Michael Kazin. (Pssst he has a new book out on the same subject.) Tell you about that soon as I read it. But for now let me just show you one example of what happened to the left. Accompanying the article is a half page picture of the Mayday Demonstration in Union Square New York in 1934. Yes, of course I was there. Guess who organized that and all the other major demonstrations of that period? The Communist Party that's who and there is absolutely no mention of that simple fact anywhere in Kazin’s article.

The word communist has been stricken from our speech except when the crazies want to scare the feathers off us chickens. The lesson that should be obvious is that if you demonize a critical part of the left you have cut of a major piece of the body politic.

The answer to Kazins question is there is no equivalent institution to the Communist Party that can actually organize a demonstration like the one shown in the picture. The demoneization of the communists is at the heart of the problem of the Left. Yes you can refuse to acknowledge that they even existed but with that you lose all the practical know how when it comes to organizing the discontent. The Tea Party has taken that over.

Thank you Didi and Bill for a enveloping us in all the love and joy in your Thomas Hardy day in the Countryside. The only thing missing was some Moooing Cows. Love RS