COUNTRY WISDOM NEWS

CHRISTMAS DAY,, 2016

 

(YES VIRGINIA, FRANCIS CHURCH LIVES,,,) 

 For a few years now these blogposts ( I would be flattering meself if I dared call them essays or even feuilletons, a word I could not find fast enough in my handy Webster's nor can I even pronounce correctly) have been attributed to my literary appropriator "The Joyful Moocher" - a tradition I am proud to continue by the way. In a previous life I often found it necessary and most lawful to ask permission of those whom I would dare to copy and more often than not I would receive such blessings as long as the rules were followed. As I have calcified with age my manners have withdrawn- as have I- and as I've convinced meself that very few people on this planet read my little blog I have gotten into the poor habits of what is fast a American Ruling Party custom: just act as if "it don't matter" anyway. As far as the Republicans are concerned there is ( to mooch from Yeats) "more substance in their enmities than in their love".

So on this Christmas Day if you're feeling not quite yourself for some stuck-in-your-craw reason, or the site and sounds of a Newt Gingrich are stomping in your Sunday morning head or visions of Kellyannes are clouding your mind, An American Appoggiatura is honored to share with our patient reader the following letter written by Mr. Robert M Lehnert which appeared in the December, 2016 issue of COUNTRY WISDOM NEWS :    

"November 10 - I've had much on my mind lately. Much I could not make sense of, understand and pull together in a complete coherent thought. Today, I finished reading Alan Paton's "Cry,The Beloved Country". I was moved by the following passage:

"It was Msimangu who had said, Msimangu who had no hate for any man, "I have one great fear in my heart, that one day when they turn to loving they will find we are turned to hating." Oh, the grave and somber words."

These words spoke to me. The words seemed so appropriate and necessary. A message of guidance and of warning. After reading it I knew what I wanted to say, and so I wrote:

It is a call to arms.
It is a time, as always, to fight.
And what will be your weapon of choice?
Mine is love.
Mine is kindness.
Mine is compassion.
Mine is understanding.
Mine is patience.
Mine is perseverance.
And when the battle is won, the fight will rage on,
and I will not tire.
Love & the spreading of love will
thrust me ever onward and be my
fuel.
Love will be my map, my guide.
For you my brother, for you my sister,
I will battle the horrors of ignorance.
I will not allow the death of civility.
I will cast the fear from hearts that
have embraced evil.
I will heal those who build their comforts
upon the suffering of others.
I will forgive those who wound because
they have not learned to heal.
I will tear open the minds of the
indoctrinated and lead them to
enlightenment.
I will embrace the highest power, not
simply in names and words and
doctrines, but in spirit & spirit of action.
I will combat darkness, by becoming
a bringer of light.
And I will not allow you to be consumed
by hatred. And I will hold fast 
and not allow my love to be stripped
from me.
Because I still believe, that love can
move mountains, that love can tear
down any and every wall.
I still believe, that fear has no power 
in the presence of love.
I still believe, what I have always
known, that it all begins, with me."

- Robert M. Lehnert, Patchogue 

On Thu, Dec 15, 2016 at 10:38 AM, Sam Enderby wrote:

Dear Country Wisdom,

Recently my wife and I ventured a road trip (you've never driven with her) up north a bit to Catskill and back down to New Paltz- we live close to Montgomery- and somewhere along the way I picked up your wonderful December issue.  How I never read it before I'll never know for I am always looking and reading and at my age that's pretty much all I ever do- anyway... It should be at least a weekly and it should be always a (union?) printed and locally published (hand-cranked if possible) and subscribed to ( but with exceptions) and freely distributed and beautifully written as it is. In your recent issue there is a lovely "letter to the editor" submitted by a Robert M. Lehnert from Patchogue,  which I believe is out on Long Island where many highways  end and once the Klan roamed unhinged- according to my grandmother (this was during the first "world war" times) and so Mr. L's letter is particularly a poignant and encouraging expression for today. I would like to re-copy it to my seldom read blog- with perhaps an intro and a word about your publication- I have no money to offer for any "rights" as such but I would be proud to offer the proper attributions. Mr. Lehnert is a mystery to me- I cannot even find him on those so-called social media outlets of Twitter and facebook- which tells me he must be a man of great warmth and integrity.

With thanks for your consideration and congratulations on your paper, I am

Sam Enderby 

Hi Sam.

Thank you for your kind words.

We strive to produce a high quality publication and it always feels great when someone recognizes our hard work.

Yes, you can publish Robert's piece on your blog.

As you said, just attribute it to being originally published in the December 2016 issue of Country Wisdom News.

I'm not sure where you live, but if you're not able to easily find Country Wisdom News, you can subscribe for $40 a year to receive the paper in your mailbox.

Happy holidays.

Chris Hewitt

--

Country Wisdom News
845-616-7834
countrywisdomnews.com

Country Wisdom News—now distributed at more than 400 locations in Ulster & Dutchess.

IT'S OPEN HOUSE IN AMERICA IV

 

from the Center for Public Integrity (I always like to respectfully add " or What's Left Of It")

Which one is Sonny?

 

 

 

Buying of the President 2016

Donald Trump's sons behind nonprofit selling access to president-elect

New Texas-based group not legally required to disclose its donors

By Carrie Levine

 

 

A new Texas nonprofit led by Donald Trump’s grown sons is offering access to the freshly-minted president during inauguration weekend — all in exchange for million-dollar donations to unnamed “conservation” charities, according to interviews and documents reviewed by the Center for Public Integrity.
And the donors’ identities may never be known.


Prospective million-dollar donors to the “Opening Day 2017” event — slated for Jan. 21, the day after inauguration, at Washington, D.C.’s Walter E. Washington Convention Center — receive a “private reception and photo opportunity for 16 guests with President Donald J. Trump,” a “multi-day hunting and/or fishing excursion for 4 guests with Donald Trump, Jr. and/or Eric Trump, and team,” as well as tickets to other events and “autographed guitars by an Opening Day 2017 performer.”

 Website TMZ.com first published a brochure hyping the happening. The brochure says that “all net proceeds from the Opening Day event will be donated to conservation charities,” but it does not name the charities or detail how net proceeds will be calculated.


and from Salon:

Monday, Dec 19, 2016 6:07 PM UTC

For just $1 million, you can kill animals with Donald Trump Jr. and Eric Trump

Trump's sons are bidding themselves off now, after they tried to auction off their sister

Eric Trump, left, and Donald Trump Jr., right, sons of Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump at Politics and Eggs in Manchester, N.H., Wednesday, Nov. 11, 2015. The event was hosted by New England Council and NH Institute of Politics. (AP Photo/Cheryl Senter)(Credit: AP)

 

For just $1 million, you can go hunting with the brothers grim, Donald Jr. and Eric Trump.

An invitation obtained by TMZ for an “Opening Day” party hosted by the Trump brothers promoted various packages offered to the VIP guests. One package, going for $1 million, included the chance to join Donald Jr. and Eric Trump on a “multi-day hunting and/or fishing excursion.”
Eric Trump has come under fire recently because he pulled a separate auction — which included a coffee date with sister Ivanka Trump — from a charity event after complaints surfaced that the donation could lead to conflicts of interests. Instead of changing the prize for the auction, or just donating the asking price to the charity recipient, St. Jude’s Hospital, Eric Trump simply removed the bidding from his website.
The invitation for the “Opening Day” party, scheduled the day after the inauguration, claimed that all net proceeds from the event will be donated to conservation charities.

IT'S OPEN HOUSE IN AMERICA III

THE BUYING OF LOT 1182106

Available to the Highest Bidder: By ERIC LIPTON and MAGGIE HABERMAN (from New York Times)

DEC. 15, 2016

"WASHINGTON — Ozan M. Ozkural, a London-based investment manager, found a creative way to gain one-on-one access to the new first family: He bid nearly $60,000 to have a cup of coffee with Ivanka Trump for a charity event she was hosting.

Mr. Ozkural wanted to meet with Ms. Trump — who is considering playing an informal role in her father’s administration — to gain insight into topics like President-elect Donald J. Trump’s possible future dealings with Turkey and other nations where Mr. Ozkural invests, he said.

“The nature of my business, we talk to a lot of different governments, a lot of politicians and lawmakers across the world,” Mr. Ozkural said in an interview on Thursday, adding that he recently had a conversation with the president of Argentina. “You end up getting a better sense of what the modus operandi will be.”

Mr. Ozkural is one of several high-profile bidders in a feverish competition to win time with one of Mr. Trump’s children"

ITS OPEN HOUSE IN AMERICA II

"In the middle of the woods"

from THE NEW YORK TIMES, WEDS., DEC 14, 2016

"Shawn Henry, who once led the F.B.I.’s cyber division and is now president of CrowdStrike Services, the cybersecurity firm retained by the D.N.C. in April, said he was baffled that the F.B.I. did not call a more senior official at the D.N.C. or send an agent in person to the party headquarters to try to force a more vigorous response.

“We are not talking about an office that is in the middle of the woods of Montana,” Mr. Henry said. “We are talking about an office that is half a mile from the F.B.I. office that is getting the notification.”

“This is not a mom-and-pop delicatessen or a local library. This is a critical piece of the U.S. infrastructure because it relates to our electoral process, our elected officials, our legislative process, our executive process,” he added. “To me it is a high-level, serious issue, and if after a couple of months you don’t see any results, somebody ought to raise that to a higher level.”

The F.B.I. declined to comment on the agency’s handling of the hack. “The F.B.I. takes very seriously any compromise of public and private sector systems,” it said in a statement, adding that agents “will continue to share information” to help targets “safeguard their systems against the actions of persistent cybercriminals.”

-

The Perfect Weapon: How Russian Cyberpower Invaded the U.S. By ERIC LIPTON, DAVID E. SANGER and SCOTT SHANE 

IT'S OPEN HOUSE IN AMERICA

from Sam: 

How convenient is thy bounty, America....

Trump Expected to Pick Rep. Cathy McMorris Rodgers to Host Interior 

If confirmed by the Senate, she would lead administration’s efforts to open up federal lands and waters to fossil-fuel development 

Amy Harder and

Michael C. Bender

Updated Dec. 9, 2016 1:42 p.m. ET

WASHINGTON—President-elect Donald Trump is expected to tap Rep. Cathy McMorris Rodgers (R., Wash.) to lead the Interior Department, according to a person familiar with the matter.
Ms. McMorris Rodgers, a senior member of the House of Representatives, if confirmed by the Senate, would lead Mr. Trump’s efforts to open up federal lands and waters to fossil-fuel development and reverse environmental policies the Obama administration has pursued over the past eight years.

114th CONGRESS

2d Session

H. R. 5861

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

July 14, 2016

Mrs. McMorris Rodgers introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Natural Resources 

Lake Roosevelt NRA and Grand Coulee Dam

Double up your history in a water world of hydroelectric power, recreation, Indian heritage, and the Works Progress Administration's need for power and work. Today, the Grand Coulee Dam is the largest  provider of hydro power in the United States, and the lake formed behind it, one hundred and thirty miles of boating, camping, and old world and new world history. Beneath it lies a fort. Above it lies a fort. All around it lies the stories of the tribes in the area; Colville, Spokane, Lakes, Sanpoil, and Nespelem, who would come to the shores of the river and fish for salmon, and the white settlers who would come to convert them or pan for gold. And today, you can also visit the dam for a tour or laser light show, and learn how man could harness a river, and change the landscape, then create rivers of light and sound to tell you about 

A BILL

To establish terms and conditions under which the Secretary of the Interior shall convey, for fair market value, certain properties in the Lake Roosevelt National Recreation Area in the State of Washington to the permittees of those properties, and for other purposes.

1.Finding:

Congress finds that it is in the public interest to eliminate expensive and contentious disputes between the Secretary and permittees by conveying, for fair market value, certain federally owned land in the Lake Roosevelt National Recreation Area, Washington. 

Our RE Agent Cathy

2.Purpose:

The purpose of this Act is to establish terms and conditions under which the Secretary shall convey, for fair market value (less the improvements), certain Federal land in the Lake Roosevelt National Recreation Area, Washington.

3.Definitions

In this Act:

(1)

Permittee

The term permittee—

(A)

means a person who, on the date of the enactment of this Act, holds a valid permit for use of a Property; and (B) includes the permittee’s heirs, executors, and assigns of that permittee’s interest.

(2)

Property 

FOR SALE BY CATHY McMORRIS RODGERS

The term Property means Federal land (including improvements) associated by permit with one of 25 private cabins on 26 vacation sites located along Sherman Creek and Rickey Point in the Lake Roosevelt National Recreation Area.

(3) Secretary

The term Secretary means the Secretary of the Interior.

4. Sale of properties

(a) Timing; Purchaser To extend option To purchase

(1) In general

The Secretary shall give the permittee of a Property the first option to purchase that Property for fair market value (less the value of all permittee improvements) as determined under subsection (d). The Secretary shall convey the Property as soon as practicable after the date of the enactment of this Act, but no later than at the conclusion of the current permit period. If the Secretary fails to convey the property before the lease expires, the Secretary shall authorize permit extensions at no additional cost to the permittee. 

(2) Compensation for improvements

If a permittee declines to purchase a Property, the Secretary shall offer the Property for sale to the general public at fair market value, as determined under subsection (d). If a person other than the permittee purchases the Property, that person shall compensate the permittee for the fair market value of all private improvements made to the Property, as determined under subsection (d).

(3) Failure to sell

If no person submits a bid at or above the fair market value as determined under subsection (d), the property shall remain in Federal ownership.

(b) In general

The Secretary—

(1) shall offer to sell, for fair market value—

(A) all right, title, and interest of the United States in and to each Property, subject to valid existing rights; and

(B) easements for—

(i) vehicular access to such Property;

(ii) access to and use of one dock for such Property; and

(iii) access to and use of all boathouses, ramps, retaining walls, and other improvements for which access is provided in the permit for use of such Property on the date of the enactment of this Act; and 

(2) may sell, for fair market value, Federal land contiguous to each Property, not including shoreline or land needed to provide public access to the shoreline, if the Secretary—

(A) determines that such a sale will eliminate inholdings and facilitate administration of adjacent land remaining in Federal ownership after the sale of each Property; and

(B) after consultation with the appropriate Indian tribe, determines that such a sale will not adversely affect Indian cultural resources and sacred sites.

(c) Purchase process

The Secretary shall—

(1) solicit sealed bids for each Property; and

(2) sell each Property to the bidder who submits the highest bid at or above the fair market value of the Property, as determined under subsection (d).

(d) Appraisal

The Secretary shall conduct an appraisal of each Property (less the value of all permittee improvements) to determine the fair market value of that Property. The appraisal shall—

(1) be conducted in conformance with the Uniform Standards of Professional Appraisal Practice;

(2) appraise the value of the Property, including the value of appurtenant easements, exclusive of the value of private improvements made by permittees of the Property before the date of the appraisal; and

(3) appraise the value of all private improvements made by permittees of the Property before the date of the appraisal.

(e)  

Costs

The cost of a conveyance of a Property under this Act, including the cost of required appraisals, shall be paid—

(1) by the Secretary in the case of a sale to a permittee, from revenues of that sale; and

(2) by the purchaser in the case of a sale to any person other than the permittee.

5. Proceeds from the sale of land

Revenues from the sale of Federal land under this Act shall be made available to the Secretary, without further appropriation, for costs under section 4(e)(1) and for deferred maintenance activities in the Lake Roosevelt National Recreation Area.