October 14

 Sort of overcast today. However, the forecast says no rain. The weather for the next week should be partly sunny with temps in the 60s and 70s and rain on two days--maybe. The news is giving Trump plenty of attention as the Gaza "truce" starts. His appearance with Netanyahu at the Knesset yesterday was covered in way too much detail. A few commentators noted the glaring omission from all the politicians remarks--the Palestinians. And I don't count the references to Hamas as references to the larger group of Palestinians. They aren't the same just as MAGA isn't the same as Americans generally.

However, the remarks in Jerusalem were of a piece with other actions taken by the Trump administration. A blogger I read almost every day had some remarks on his executive order on "Columbus Day." I didn't make a note of the post so I can't link to it. But it basically makes the "discovery" of the American continent the most momentous event in Western History. In the process he erases a good part of that history--the theft of Native land and the attempts to erase Native cultures. It shouldn't be a surprise since the administration has tried to erase mentions of the achievements of African Americans, women, Hispanic Americans, Asian Americans, and non-fundamentalist Christians from our history. One commentator this morning noted an observation I had made the Trump agenda is to focus solely on aspects of 1776 while skipping over 1619 (or much else of pre-Revolutionary history.)  That interviewee asked why (as I did some time ago) why they can't acknowledge the good with the bad, Yes, African slavery in the U.S. began in 1619; but, representative legislative government in Virginia began with the establishment of the  House of Burgesses also in 1619.

As Trump basked in the adulation showered on him in Jerusalem I had other thoughts: 1) George W. Bush appearing on that aircraft carrier under the "Mission Accomplished" banner (but our military presence in the Middle East didn't end until that disastrous exit from Afghanistan a couple of years ago), or 2) the several truce agreements that never survived the first stage and the release of part of the Israeli hostages. Let's see if they can keep the agreement together.

Joyce Vance posted an article today asking "ARE WE THE NAZIS NOW?". Actually, the question may be more on point than you would think. It started the gears of my memory working and what came up first was an adventure/mystery novel THE LEAGUE OF NIGHT AND FOG. I don't remember much of the novel but I do remember that I was intrigued by the link between the title and Nazi Germany and wondered if it was fictional or real.A bit of exploration led me to the NIGHT AND FOG (NACHT UND NEBEL) DECREE where the Nazi government legitimized extreme measures against any one in occupied territories could be kidnapped and murdered or disappeared at whim. Relatives were specifically forbidden from giving any relatives who enquired from giving any information about their fate. They simply disappeared into the night and fog. Resemble anything you have seen lately?