The funeral events for former President Jimmy Carter — who died Dec. 29th at the age of 100 — start today.
The “celebration of life” should continue for generations.
Because while his one-term presidency is largely regarded as ineffective, those four years don’t define him.
What should resonate is the way he lived his other 96 years, especially the 44 that followed his Presidential term. He helped cure diseases, helped make elections work, got on roofs and hammered and nailed, lived a 77-year marriage with Rosalynn that ended with her death in 2023 and taught a Sunday school class in Plains, Ga.
Three and a half million Africans were affected, hospitalized or killed by the Guinea worm in 1987. By 2023 there were 15 cases, total. Carter called it the most rewarding accomplishment of his life, and so was his work to minimize river blindness. He always found affairs of the soil more rewarding than pavement.
from the same post as above
Now let’s talk about those roofs, hammers, and nails.
The Carters demonstrated their commitment to social justice and basic human rights over and over again during their time in the White House. Their resolve only persisted since moving on, most notably through the Carter Center in Atlanta. They also worked on numerous Habitat builds both in the United States and around the world alongside passionate volunteers just like you.
Here is what Carter predicted at the dedication ceremony: “In the year 2000 this solar water heater behind me, which is being dedicated today, will still be here supplying cheap, efficient energy…. A generation from now, this solar heater can either be a curiosity, a museum piece, an example of a road not taken or it can be just a small part of one of the greatest and most exciting adventures ever undertaken by the American people.”
Would that we had listened to Jimmy. We’d be a lot better off today.
The Carter administration set a goal of deriving 20 percent of U.S. energy needs from such renewable sources by the turn of the century…
By 1986, the Reagan administration had gutted the research and development budgets for renewable energy at the then-fledgling U.S. Department of Energy (DoE) and eliminated tax breaks for the deployment of wind turbines and solar technologies—recommitting the nation to reliance on cheap but polluting fossil fuels, often from foreign suppliers.
Yep, Ronald Reagan, the guy who trounced Jimmy Carter in the 1980 election. He’s the former President who has a D.C. airport named after him, as well as countless schools, highways and streets.
Reagan’s policies also widened the racial wealth gap.
The history is clear: so-long as the basic architecture of Reagan’s economic vision — lower taxes on the wealthy, less regulation, less unionization — remains in place, closing the racial wealth gap will be hard.
BTW, ol’ Ronnie also had the solar panels taken down in 1986, even though they were working fine.
Curing disease. Providing a pathway to homeownership. Being an advocate for fair elections across the globe. Encouraging the use of renewable energy. Being a devoted husband for 77 years. Teaching Sunday school.
Or, helping the rich get richer at the expense of a social safety net.
Reagan’s tax changes had significant effects, increasing economic inequality across all metrics. These effects have continued to the present day, because Reagan’s tax changes have not come close to being counteracted.
“There is no purity for me, no absolute success or failure, and no room for the masterpiece. When I see artists who have made works that are recognized as masterpieces, I see them having to chase those works for the rest of their careers, and I just don’t want that axe to grind. I would rather be seen as an acceptable failure, as the guy that failed consistently and kept going, kept trying, kept exploring. I want to pivot and move and work on multiple things at once, and with that comes a lot of freedom. I think the whole mystery of making art is about choices that are bold.”
Our life can imitate his art. Most of us will never have a “masterpiece.” Which, as Rashid points out, is probably for the best, as having one traps us in a box constructed by others’ expectations.
But we sure as heck can be the person “that failed consistently and kept going, kept trying, kept exploring.”
It’s not the failure that defines us — unless we let it. It’s the keeping going…
The guy in the photo above might look like a surly biker dude, but really he’s a sweetheart – one of the kindest folks you’ll ever meet. [photo credit: Anna Stockton]
Hi name is Chuck Cleaver. Yeah, I know, it sounds like the stage name of a wrestling “heel” in the WWE. But that’s his real name. And he’s one of the best songwriters in the WWW – the Whole Wide World.
Five Saturdays ago, Chuck and Lisa Walker, his fellow songwriter and co-leader of the band Wussy, played a house concert at our house.
It was amazing. Spectacular, in a low-key way. Spine-tinglingly beautiful. They did a lot of songs from their upcoming album. A lot of those songs are tributes to… remembrances of… mournings for… their dear friend and fellow Wussy bandmate John Erhardt, who passed away a few years ago. John also was Chuck’s bandmate in his pre-Wussy band, The Ass Ponys. All those years spent in a van, traveling from gig to gig, turned them into more brothers than bandmates.
Three Saturdays later, Chuck and Lisa and their bandmates played a sold-out show at a local venue. It was only their second time performing as a full band since John passed away.
The love from the audience — and the band’s appreciation of that love — were palpable. Once again, they played several songs from the new album, the one for John. (He’s featured in the cover artwork, and his beautiful pedal steel work is on a couple of tracks.)
“It’s very definitely a record for John,” Cleaver says. “It’s a mourning record. We had to make it.”
The album had its official release a week ago Friday… and is amazing (as are all the other Wussy releases… as Jason Cohen said in his article linked above “There’s no middle ground with Wussy: They are either one of your very favorite bands or you just haven’t heard them yet.” I’m firmly in the former camp.)
That record-release Friday should’ve been a different type of release as well: a day of joy… celebration.
But on the Tuesday between their sold-out show and the Friday that their new album came out, Randy Cheek — Chuck’s longtime bandmate in the Ass Ponys — passed away.
I know life is a series of peaks and valleys. But my heart aches for Chuck, who was in the valley so long after losing John, and now, on the verge of a peak moment, got gut-punched back down into another valley. It’s not fair. And it sucks.
“Time is an assassin, when it finally tracks you down
You can’t tiptoe around it or conveniently skip town
So try to face it screaming and beating on your chest
So when it drags you to wherever, you know you did your best
Sure as the sun… ”
— “Sure as the Sun” from Wussy’s new album Cincinnati Ohio
I got to know Randy a tad, during my 97X radio days. He was exactly as Chuck described him: sweet, kind, truly hilarious.
It was nice to see Randy, John, Dave and Chuck back on stage together at the Ass Ponys reunion shows back in 2015. (Two nights – you’re damn right I went to both shows.)
(Jason Cohen’s Cincinnati Magazine article about those reunion shows is here.)
I took Chuck’s advice and cranked up this song that Randy wrote.
Playing Ass Ponys and Wussy tunes… it won’t bring John and Randy back, but it keeps them in our hearts. That’ll have to do.
Dear Friends Mysterious doorway Future life For better for worse Life’s blessings In heaven we know Our own glories
Glories of the sacred In the wonder days The wonder gifts The wonder story
In the quiet moments of reflection, let us honor Randall’s memory by embracing the beauty of each fleeting moment, knowing that his spirit resides in the eternal tapestry of existence, forever woven into the fabric of our hearts.
And if you share your bounty with others (both the food-food and the brain-food), you’ll enrich their lives too.
I came across the quote above on Bluesky. I was never very active on Twitter, but now that it’s solely a propaganda tool for a plutocrat, it was time to move onward and upward.
Our current system increasingly produces candidates who represent the extreme views of our electorate. The moderate majority – the backbone of our nation – finds itself unrepresented and increasingly disillusioned. If we continue down this path, we risk falling into an abyss of hyperbolic partisan turmoil from which we may struggle to recover.
Can we please ditch the two party system, truly “drain the swamp” of PAC/lobbyist influence, and introduce ranked-choice voting that rewards moderates vs. extremists?
The Nonpartisan Top Five Open Primary would standardize our primary election process. All candidates, regardless of party affiliation, would appear on a single ballot, and all voters would have the opportunity to participate. This simple change would have profound effects. Voters would no longer be limited to candidates from a single party – if you like a Democratic candidate for one office and a Republican for another, you’d have that choice. The top five candidates from this primary would then move on to the general election.
This system would put an end to the systemic voter suppression that comes from requiring membership in a private organization (a political party) to participate in taxpayer-funded elections. It would return power to the voters in nominating candidates, decreasing the influence of party insiders while still allowing parties to endorse and promote candidates as they see fit.
Importantly, it would increase the diversity of candidates, giving voters more choice and a better chance of finding representatives who truly reflect their values.
The general election would then use Ranked Choice Voting (RCV). This system is simple and intuitive, much like the choices we make every day. Voters can choose to vote for just one candidate or rank as many as they like. This allows people to vote their conscience without fear of “wasting” their vote or inadvertently helping a candidate they oppose. No longer would we be forced to choose the “lesser of two evils” – we could support the candidates we truly believe in.
RCV ensures that the winning candidate has the widest possible support. It has also been shown to reduce negative campaigning, as candidates have an incentive to appeal to a broader base rather than just energizing their core supporters.
Perhaps most importantly, it promotes a more collaborative legislative process. When legislators know they can’t be easily “primaried” by more extreme candidates, they’re free to work across the aisle and find real solutions that benefit all Nevadans.
It shouldn’t be “us” vs. “them” but that’s where we are today. Even if you’re on the “winning” side, you’ll probably wind up with the short end of the stick, unless your name is Elon Musk or Jeff Bezos.
You’ve probably heard a lot about two-party systems this election season — with most of that chatter being about our two-party political system’s failure to benefit everyday Americans while upholding the elite few. You’d probably even agree that ANY two-party system, given enough time, will always result in two powerful “sides” that squelch innovation, pick arbitrary winners and losers and reduce your choices. Two-party systems are good for the parties who operate them and bad for everyone else.
It’s hard to imagine the U.S. as that country.. Especially with the news bubbles that create echo chambers. The promulgation of lies via social media. The name-calling that gets blood boiling. The downright demonization of certain members of society. The pure hatred for — and sometimes inciting violence toward — opponents and their supporters.
Be honest: at the top of the ticket, which candidate do you think better fits the bill of “calm” and “open towards each other”? Which has a better chance of uniting our United States? (It’s U.S. after all, not US vs. THEM). Which one might create calm instead of chaos, not just here, but across the world?
blueandgolddreamer on Vive la Différence!: “Apathy is the worst. It says it all” Mar 25, 04:14
Thomas G Kuhl on (Basket)ball of Confusion: “So many thoughts. I agree that it should be about life lessons. Okay. I will go away quietly screaming” Mar 19, 02:57
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